Daisuke Abe, an executive officer at Weathernews, explains about an AI weather forecasting model in the city of Chiba in July. Artificial intelligence is gaining ground in weather forecasting. Weather forecasts have traditionally relied on numerical weather prediction, in which supercomputers process observational data and simulate atmospheric conditions on the basis of the laws of physics. In recent years, however, AI-based weather models have emerged. These systems analyze vast amounts of historical data to predict future weather patterns. Meteorological agencies and private-sector companies around the world are now developing proprietary AI forecasting models.

Yoshihisa Kainuma, chairman of Minebea Mitsumi, says the company plans to focus on ballooning orders for its ball bearings, used inside AI server fans and humanoid joints. Minebea Mitsumi, one of Japan's biggest corporate dealmakers, is hitting pause on acquisitions to focus on its output of ball bearings, motors and actuators for AI hardware to chase lucrative returns from the emerging technology. The key supplier to Nintendo is eyeing climbing market forecasts for data centers and humanoid robots, and sees "unlimited" upside ahead, according to Chairman Yoshihisa Kainuma, who said the company has no current plans for deals. "We are so busy," he said in an interview. "It's more important for us to focus on the volume of work in front of us, rather than on M&A and pouring managerial resources into a new arena." In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Warnings from researchers at Anthropic that increasingly powerful artificial intelligence models could escape human control and even lead to the extinction of the human race have drawn attention in China, where policymakers have been preparing for some of the same risks. Beijing - Warnings from researchers at leading U.S. artificial intelligence developer Anthropic that increasingly powerful models could escape human control and even lead to the extinction of the human race have drawn attention in China, where policymakers have been preparing for some of the same risks. The U.S. and China are the two major driving forces of frontier AI development and the technology's global adoption. Both superpowers have been increasingly at loggerheads over each other's AI policies and industry practices, with these issues slated to feature prominently in bilateral talks later this month. Despite the race to develop increasingly powerful AI systems, regulatory frameworks and public statements from Beijing underscore how Chinese authorities regard the possibility of advanced AI escaping effective human oversight as serious enough to plan for. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Trump dismisses AI safety alarm, says U.S. already has tools to police industry U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Sept. 2. | REUTERS WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. already has guardrails in place to regulate and prosecute AI companies, appearing to play down concerns expressed by industry leaders over the weekend about the misuse of artificial intelligence harming people. Public alarm about the potential danger posed by AI is growing, after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon said last week he had resigned, in part because the "people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade." AI-related stocks fell worldwide on Monday after leaders of some of the industry's largest companies called for slowing the pace of the technology's development. "The only control or'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!" Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that China would benefit from the doubt being cast on AI development. Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in Washington. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

When AI art has no author: Study finds generated images often can't be traced to training data When an artificial intelligence image generator produces a portrait, whose work went into it? The question sits at the center of lawsuits, licensing deals, and proposed regulations worldwide. Policymakers want a way to assign responsibility. New work from a team of researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) suggests that for models trained on large datasets, the question may often have no answer. It's not that the tools for finding it are inadequate.

From 25-27 August, UK RAS STEPS members came together at the University of York's Institute for Safe Autonomy for a three-day Micromaze Robot Hackathon. Working in teams, participants were challenged to design, build and program autonomous robots capable of navigating a series of increasingly complex mazes. Each team used a custom Raspberry Pi Pico W robotics platform, designed a laser-cut chassis, integrated motors and sensors, and developed its control software in MicroPython. Participants had access to ultrasonic, infrared and time-of-flight sensors, alongside laser-cutting and 3D-printing facilities. The final challenge considered maze performance, collision avoidance, robot design, code quality, wireless control and any innovative features developed by the teams.

Hosted by Ben Byford, The Machine Ethics Podcast brings together interviews with academics, authors, business leaders, designers and engineers on the subject of autonomous algorithms, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and technology's impact on society. This time we're chatting with E.M. about the promise of AI and making human connection easier, speech recognition and supporting linguistic diversity, making useful technologies that have a purpose, Mozilla Data Collective, under-represented cultures in datasets, accidental monocultures with technology, negative uses of datasets, AI literacy, the instability of LLMs and more E.M. Lewis-Jong is a Founder, Impact Entrepreneur and HCI researcher working at the intersection of community technology, open data, and inclusive AI. They are the Founder and CEO of the Mozilla Data Collective, a community-led platform for ethical creation, curation, and control of AI training datasets; built on the principle that people should be able to share their data on their own terms. They previously served as a VP at Mozilla Foundation, and the Director for Mozilla's Common Voice, an open-source platform enabling communities worldwide to preserve, revitalise, and contribute their languages to the future of speech tech. E.M. holds an MA in Modern History from the University of Oxford and is expecting a PhD in Informatics and Engineering at the University of Sussex, with research focused on controllability in conversational and voice AI for adolescents.

Researchers have developed a low-cost, semi-automated, AI-driven method that uses remote cameras to survey bumblebees and potentially other insects. The new tool could have important implications for efforts to conserve declining insect populations . This includes bumblebee species, several of which have been petitioned to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Researchers also say the technology could benefit agriculture, given that many crops depend on insects as pollinators. "Insects are vitally important, and we need methods to better understand their populations," said Michael Getz, a data scientist at Biodiversity Research Institute in Maine, who led this research as a master's student at Oregon State University.

A demonstrator operates a humanoid robot during the launch of Galbot's unmanned robot convenience store in Hong Kong on Aug. 31. BEIJING - Humanoid robots working on factory floors, artificial intelligence models challenging global rivals and electric-vehicle plants churning out cars at breathtaking scale are drawing a new wave of foreign visitors to China. Investors and entrepreneurs are paying thousands of dollars for rare access to Chinese factories, seeking a front-row seat to what many believe could be the next technological revolution. The influx reflects mounting fears of a "China shock 2.0," with Western boardrooms and capitals confronting the possibility that Chinese companies are seizing the lead in advanced manufacturing and cutting-edge technologies. 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.

AI boom is testing tech firms' climate pledges A SpaceXAI data center under construction in Southaven, Mississippi, on Aug. 2 | AFP-JIJI Geneva - Technology companies are stepping up their climate commitments but not fast enough to counter rapidly inflating energy needs linked to the artificial intelligence boom, a report said Wednesday. Despite progress in climate reporting and renewable electricity use, tech firms are falling short in cutting emissions at the pace required to achieve global climate targets, the Greening Digital Companies 2026 report found. Published by the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), a sustainable development organization, the report monitors the emissions and climate commitments of 200 major tech companies worldwide. 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. With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories.