Robots can outrun humans, but can they plug in a cable? Booster Robotics humanoid robots walk in formation during the opening ceremony for the second World Humanoid Robot Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Saturday. Beijing - China's humanoid robots have shown they can run quicker than the fastest humans. Now comes the real test: can they also handle packaging and warehouse operations while reliably performing precision tasks like connecting cables designed to evaluate their ability to work like humans in less flashy jobs? The five-day World Humanoid Robot Games, which began Saturday in Beijing, combine events modeled on human sports with those designed to test the robots in simulated factories, restaurants, offices and in emergency situations.

Iran condemns U.S. plans to announce new sanctions Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf stands with members of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces at the grave of Iraqi paramilitary commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was killed alongside Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad International Airport in January 2020, in Najaf, Iraq, on Friday. CAIRO/WASHINGTON - Iran on Saturday denounced U.S. plans to announce new sanctions that could put further strain on the Islamic Republic's economy and have an impact on its most important trading partners, including China. After nearly six months of war since the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on Feb. 28, the sides are not firing at each other but also showing no sign of pursuing peace talks. Oil shipments are at a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran threatening to strike any unauthorized oil tankers that try to transit the vital waterway, and Iran's economy is already under immense pressure from sanctions. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Fujifilm this month opened a new fabrication building that will help it triple production of post-CMP cleaners -- essential for removing particles and residues from wafers after chemical-mechanical polishing -- at its factory in Oita Prefecture. Fujifilm Holdings is expanding production of key materials used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing to capitalize on surging demand. The global expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence has created bottlenecks and shortages across the supply chain, which has boosted the company better known for its cameras and office copier machines. Fujifilm this month opened a new fabrication building that will help it triple production of post-CMP cleaners at its factory in Oita Prefecture. These are essential for removing particles and residues from wafers after chemical-mechanical polishing. The Tokyo-based company spent ¥7 billion ($44 million) on the expansion project after forecasting the market will grow rapidly going forward.

Services using facial recognition technology are expanding in Japan, allowing, for example, touchless or ticketless entry through train station gates and payments at shops without the need to take out a wallet or a credit card. Expectations are growing that the evolution of artificial intelligence will improve accuracy of facial recognition systems and help reduce fraud. Meanwhile, concerns about privacy violations persist, making thorough user information management essential. Trial Holdings, which runs discount stores and other operations, has introduced a payment service using NEC's facial recognition technology at 15 stores in Tokyo and Fukuoka Prefecture. Advance registration allows customers to shop simply by scanning goods at the self-checkout counter without using cash or smartphone payment services.

A government advisory panel is planning to discuss how best to use AI in education amid growing concerns the technology could be reducing the ability of students to think for themselves. A Japanese government advisory panel is set to start considering ways to appropriately and effectively utilize artificial intelligence in school education amid the continuing evolution of the new cutting-edge technology. At a general meeting of the Central Council for Education on Friday, education minister Yohei Matsumoto asked the panel for discussions on the government's next five-year basic education promotion program from fiscal 2028. The council plans to compile its recommendations in fiscal 2027, which begins next April. There are growing concerns that excessive reliance on AI may reduce opportunities for students to think and make decisions on their own.

An OpenAI tool that could upload Apple customer data to that company's network is likely to spark questions on privacy. OpenAI rolled out support on Thursday for controlling Apple's iMessage service via ChatGPT, a move with the potential to raise privacy concerns for the iPhone maker. The new feature, available for ChatGPT on the Mac, allows the OpenAI system to take actions such as reading, writing and sending text messages. It also can search through messages and get summaries and other information about conversations from the Apple Messages app. Apple has positioned itself as a staunch privacy advocate, and it's protective about the contents of users' messages. An OpenAI tool that could upload Apple customer data to that company's network is likely to spark questions.

Researchers led by Kouhei Masumoto, a professor of psychology at Kobe University, posed ethical dilemmas that are variations of the classic trolley problem to participants of a study and presented them with artificial intelligence-generated counterarguments for the two choices they could make. If ChatGPT challenged your moral judgment, would you be persuaded? A recent study suggests that more than 30% of people would, highlighting the significant influence of artificial intelligence on views about questions with no easy answers. The study also found that older adults showed a greater tendency to be swayed in their opinions, pointing to a potential danger of persuasive technologies in a rapidly graying society such as Japan. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Japan is considering setting out a nonbinding code for generative artificial intelligence businesses to encourage them to disclose their AI training data and methods for collecting such data to the public. A government panel Tuesday broadly approved a plan to adopt what is known as a "principle code" for generative artificial intelligence businesses to protect intellectual property rights by urging firms to disclose their AI training data and methods for collecting such data to the public. A draft code was presented at an online meeting of an expert panel on intellectual property rights in the AI era. It is based on a law on AI-related technology enacted in May 2025 and seeks to balance rights protection with technological innovation. The government will use a "comply or explain" approach, under which it will set out a nonbinding code for generative AI businesses, including system developers and service providers, allowing them to choose either to comply with the code or publicly explain why they will not comply. Firms that decide to comply with the code will announce their compliance on their websites and notify the government.

How U.S. military funding propelled China's robot dogs A child sits next to G1 humanoid robots produced by China's Unitree Robotics as he interacts with a Go2 robot, at a Unitree store in Beijing on Aug. 1. | REUTERS WASHINGTON - China's Unitree Robotics -- among the world's biggest producers of humanoid and quadruped robots -- based designs for its most successful robot dogs on innovations funded by the U.S. military, according to a former U.S. defense technology official and three top researchers involved in the project. Unitree's $1,600 Go2 model, launched in 2023, helped the company rapidly dominate the global quadruped robot market -- its Shanghai initial public offering has drawn frenzied demand. Another Unitree robot has been shown on Chinese state television, armed and accompanying People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops on an exercise. These robots draw on breakthroughs in quadruped movement financed by the U.S. DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and other military programs, the researchers and the former official said. 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.

China's Unitree unveils'Superman' robot as fervor builds ahead of Shanghai debut SHANGHAI/BEIJING - China's Unitree unveiled a new high-speed robot it dubbed "Superman" on Monday, days before becoming the first general-purpose robotics company to list on mainland China's stock market. Unitree, the world's biggest humanoid-robot maker by sales, will start trading in Shanghai on Wednesday after raising 6.1 billion yuan ($905 million) in an initial public offering last week. The company, based in the eastern Chinese tech hub of Hangzhou, said it developed the new robot in just over three months. It achieved a standing jump of 2 meters and reached a top speed of 12.66 meters per second. The Shanghai debut coincides with the opening of the World Robot Conference in Beijing, adding to investor attention on a company whose humanoid robots have drawn global notice for running, dancing and performing martial arts. The IPO was more than 8,000 times oversubscribed by retail investors, a record for Shanghai's tech-focused STAR Market.