A Justice Ministry panel discusses how the voices of individuals should be protected under publicity and portrait rights, amid a rise in the unauthorized use of celebrities' voices by generative artificial intelligence, at the ministry in Tokyo on Friday. An expert panel under the Justice Ministry has agreed that the voices of individuals should be protected under publicity and portrait rights, amid a rise in the unauthorized use of celebrities' voices by generative artificial intelligence. The agreement was made Friday, during the first meeting of the panel on civil compensation claims related to the unauthorized use of celebrities' images and voices by generative AI. The ministry is set to compile guidelines on the scope and standards for illegal acts under current law by this summer. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Andon Market in San Francisco represents a vision, however flawed, of a future when more sophisticated AI agents take over work traditionally done by humans. In San Francisco's upscale Cow Hollow district, the introduction of a boutique selling coffee table games, tote bags and other household items would be pretty unremarkable. However, Andon Market has one key differentiator: It's run by AI. At this store, an artificial intelligence agent named Luna effectively acts as the chief executive officer of the operation. It decides what products to offer and how much to charge for them.

SoftBank Group's mobile unit plans to transform part of its factory in Osaka Prefecture into one of Japan's biggest production lines for large-scale batteries in an ambitious attempt at powering its own artificial intelligence data centers. SoftBank Corp. aims to bring that production online within the next five years, according to people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be named as deliberations remain private. After SoftBank executives mulled different purposes for the plant in the city of Sakai, including robotics manufacturing, they decided to pursue energy. The Tokyo-based group led by Masayoshi Son is one of the world's foremost supporters of AI, having committed hundreds of billions of dollars to investment in data centers, cloud services and bets on startups like OpenAI.

In the AI era, Apple's strengths may become its constraints Apple has expressed some willingness to use AI technology developed by rivals when needed. San Francisco - Apple built its empire on control. For decades, the company's tightly managed ecosystem, spanning custom chips, proprietary operating systems and curated apps, delivered devices that were secure and easy to use. That approach helped turn the iPhone into the most successful consumer product in history, generating nearly $210 billion in revenue last year. It also made Apple the world's top-valued company for much of the past decade, a position only overtaken by artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia in 2024.

Terra Drone's Terra A1 interceptor drone has entered active combat use in Ukraine after being deployed to a military unit tasked with countering Russian uncrewed aerial systems. Japanese drone company Terra Drone said its Terra A1 interceptor -- developed with its Ukrainian partner Amazing Drones -- has moved from the lab to the front lines, entering active combat use in Ukraine against Russian-made Shahed drones. "Deployment for defense purposes has already begun with a military unit, and evaluation and feedback collection under actual operating conditions are currently under way," the Tokyo-based firm, which recently made a strategic investment in the Ukrainian startup, said in a recent statement. Terra Drone explained that this initial "real-world operational deployment" -- carried out via its local partner -- will follow a phased rollout, where new equipment is first issued to a single unit and then expanded to further deployments depending on evaluations from the field. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

One-person company SoloNest sounder Karen Dai preparing for a coffee chat at a conference room in Shanghai on April 12. | AFP-JIJI Shanghai - Young Chinese, many who fear age discrimination in their workplace after turning 35, are increasingly starting one-person companies that have artificial intelligence do most of the work. Smaller startups are already in vogue in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, with rapidly advancing AI tools seen as a welcome teammate even as they threaten layoffs at existing firms. More young people in China are subscribing to the model, as cities pledge millions of dollars in funding and rent subsidies for such ventures, in alignment with Beijing's political goal of technological self-reliance. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

A soldier carries a drone during a military parade in Washington on June 14, 2025. The Pentagon's largest-ever budget request earmarks $75 billion for drones and technologies to counter them, mainly for a massive increase for a little-known office working with U.S. commandos to test and evaluate various systems, according to defense officials. The drone-funding proposal includes $54.6 billion for the Defense Autonomous Working Group, or DAWG, from just $225.9 million this year. That would appear to be the largest single year-over-year boost of any defense program or office, meaning it's likely to draw particular congressional and public scrutiny in an already eye-catching $1.5 trillion request that's 42% larger than this year's budget. The big boost for the Pentagon's little-known drone unit comes as the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran illustrates how drones can help level the playing field against even the world's most well-funded armed forces.

Meta to capture U.S. employee mouse movements and keystrokes to train AI NEW YORK - Meta is installing new tracking software on U.S.-based employees' computers to capture mouse movements, clicks and keystrokes for use in training its artificial intelligence models, part of a broad initiative to build AI agents that can perform work tasks autonomously, the company told staffers in internal memos. The tool, called Model Capability Initiative (MCI), will run on work-related apps and websites and will also take occasional snapshots of the content on employees' screens, according to one of the memos, posted by a staff AI research scientist on Tuesday in a channel for the company's model-building Meta SuperIntelligence Labs team. The purpose, according to the memo, was to improve the company's AI models in areas where they struggle to replicate how humans interact with computers, like choosing from dropdown menus and using keyboard shortcuts. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

Japanet is expanding its venture capital fund with Pegasus Tech Ventures, after early investments in firms like SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI showed strong growth. Japanese home shopping company Japanet is expanding its venture capital fund with San Jose-based Pegasus Tech Ventures, following the success of early bets in SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI. The Nagasaki-based retailer known for infomercials targeting seniors in aging Japan will allocate $200 million to the fund, up from an initial $50 million in 2021, following significant growth" in investments so far, the companies said in a statement. The fund, of which Pegasus is general partner, will focus on areas such as generative AI, robotics and space technology. Its Japan portfolio includes startup Aillis, which seeks to use artificial intelligence to analyze medical scans. Asian companies have struggled to win stakes in promising startups in Silicon Valley, hampered by a lack of personal connections and reputation for slow decision-making. Pegasus also manages startup investments on behalf of Toyota Motor-affiliate Aisin, Japanese chemical maker Denka, Taiwan's Asustek Computer and Acer and Indonesia's pharma company Kalbe Farma. Everybody wants a piece of the Silicon Valley AI action," Pegasus Chief Executive Officer Anis Uzzaman said on a video call.

Attendees at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, China, take pictures of various service robots on display. At the world's largest trade show, it's not just the clientele that had a different look this year. Despite the near absence of buyers wearing a traditional Arab headdress and robe at the Canton Fair, a vast showcase that started last week in China's southern metropolis of Guangzhou, a brash new generation of tech companies stood out just as much. Few wanted to dwell on the war. Even as the conflict in the Middle East once more fractures global commerce, interviews with more than a dozen exporters at the fair found many were already eager to look beyond the hostilities blamed for the worst energy disruption in generations.