MW's robotic arms with claw-like hands can fold laundry and carry groceries while moving along ceiling-mounted rails. Tokyo-based startup MW is offering homes with built-in robotic housekeeping arms, a counter to a global embrace of humanoids. MW aims to sell its first robot-equipped home in Tokyo by 2028 and build as many as 10,000 units a year by 2035, the equivalent of 5% of new homes now being built in Japan, according to CEO Shuzo Narita. Japan helped pioneer bipedal robots decades ago, but MW is taking a different path from the humanoid boom now sweeping China and much of the rest of the world. Instead of trying to build a human-shaped machine capable of navigating obstacles in a lived-in space, the startup is embedding robotics into buildings.

Anthropic worker quits over AI firms'gambling with our lives' There have been a series of increasingly dire warnings from within the industry that artificial intelligence poses a growing threat to national security and the global economy. An artificial intelligence researcher has resigned from Anthropic and called on other staffers to rethink their work, citing his concern that the company and its top competitor OpenAI are acting irresponsibly in their all-out pursuit of a technology that poses existential risks to humanity. Jacob Coxon, who said he had worked at both Anthropic and OpenAI over the past three years, warned in a social media post late Tuesday that the two companies were pressing ahead with "self-improving" AI models that could become too powerful for humans to control. "They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives," Coxon wrote in a series of messages on X. "Do not underestimate the power of this technology. These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources." In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

An experimental lung disease drug developed using artificial intelligence showed promise in reversing biological signs of aging, pointing to broader potential use of the treatment, according to its developer. In a midstage study, Insilico Medicine's drug rentosertib helped reduce biological age as measured by six different aging clocks examining chemical changes in the body, according to an analysis published in Nature Biotechnology on Monday. Those who were given a placebo saw little change in their biological age on those same clocks, the Hong Kong-listed company said. "If your biological age is lower, you are likely to die later," the AI drug discovery startup's CEO, Alex Zhavoronkov, said in an interview. He cautioned that the results are still early and the long-term health effects of the drug on larger groups of people are unknown.

South Korea's power demand set to soar on AI boom South Korean Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sung-whan checks data of the Han River Flood Control Office's flood forecasting system in Seoul on Sept. 2. | REUTERS SEOUL - South Korea's demand for power in the coming years is set to surge on plans by chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to expand production and the building of new artificial intelligence data centers, according to the country's energy minister. Those AI-driven power needs alone will lift South Korea's demand for power by 25 to 30 gigawatts, the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sung-whan said in an interview this month. On top of that, the country will also need to contend with increased power demand due to the shift to electric vehicles from gasoline-engine cars and to heating via electricity rather than gas, he added. 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.

Trump's embrace of AI data centers adds to GOP's midterm peril U.S. President Donald Trump's fervent support for artificial intelligence data centers has put him at odds with voters who increasingly oppose them and comes despite direct warnings that his stance threatens to deepen Republicans' peril in the November midterm elections. Over the past few months, political strategists have warned administration officials they were in danger of losing the public opinion war over data centers, people familiar with the matter said. Recent polling has shown around 7 in 10 Americans don't want the facilities built near them, and Democratic candidates have sought to outflank their GOP opponents by tying rapid growth in AI infrastructure to voter concerns about the cost of living. Trump has frequently boasted of American AI prowess and asserted that speedy development of the technology is essential to "beat China." Yet administration officials were advised that the president needed to focus more on AI's benefits, including for voters whose jobs might be at risk, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

AI researchers Cormac Slade Byrd (left), Sydney Von Arx (center) and Thomas Larsen in pose Berkeley, California. SAN FRANCISCO - A swarm of rogue OpenAI agents hijacked a German website this spring and transformed it into a bulletin board for other AI agents, according to new research published Friday and two people familiar with the matter. OpenAI officials learned of the incident weeks ago but kept it under wraps as executives grappled with the fallout from the July breach of the open source repository Hugging Face, the people said. The episode, which began in May and has not previously been reported, underscores growing tension within the AI industry. Companies are racing to build increasingly autonomous agents capable of carrying out complex, valuable tasks, yet evidence is mounting that those systems may also learn to bend rules, exploit loopholes and coordinate with one another in ways developers neither anticipated nor intended.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a news conference, as finance ministers and central bank governors from Group of 20 countries meet in Asheville, North Carolina, on Tuesday. Beijing - The U.S. and China are gearing up to discuss AI safety risks during a dialogue planned for mid-September, two sources briefed on the discussions said, as rapidly advancing frontier AI capabilities reach a global tipping point. The talks, the first official bilateral discussions devoted exclusively to AI between the U.S. and China since U.S. President Donald Trump took office for a second time, will be led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the U.S. side, the sources, who were briefed on the planning, said on condition of anonymity. A White House official said "there is currently no planned AI-related meeting in mid-September." Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are due to meet on Sept. 24 during a summit in Washington.

Fast-evolving technologies, such as robotics and artificial intelligence, are making the business climate more unpredictable, and leveraging corporate venture capital (CVC) is seen as a critical strategic option. "As we are in this era of uncertainties, we think companies with the capability to scout what's next will continue to win," said Shiro Matsuzaki, managing partner at Japan Airlines Ventures, Japan Airlines' venture capital arm. "I believe the primary role of CVCs is to use investment as a means to uncover and make sense of what we don't know yet." 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 screenshot of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test website shows tests are held twice a year. Slots to take the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) in December filled up within just days after applications opened in late August -- leaving would-be test takers high and dry. The stakes of failing to secure a spot for the biannual test have become much higher as Japan tightens rules for visa applications and renewals to require proficiency in the Japanese language or passing a certain level of the JLPT. Japan Educational Exchanges and Services (JEES), the organizer of the JLPT, opened applications on Aug. 24. It originally planned to accept applications until Sept. 7.

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.