The latest addition to China's Tiangong space station is an AI chatbot with expertise in navigation and tactical planning. Named Wukong AI--after the protagonist of the "Monkey King" legend in Chinese mythology, Sun Wukong--the chatbot was introduced on the space station in mid-July, and has already completed its first mission: supporting three taikonauts during a spacewalk. Information about Wukong AI remains limited. Chinese authorities have said that they developed it from a domestic open-source AI model; according to Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, engineers designed it to meet the requirements of manned space missions, and focused its knowledge-base on aerospace flight data. "This system can provide rapid and effective information support for complex operations and fault handling by crew members, improving work efficiency, in-orbit psychological support, and coordination between space and ground teams," Zou Pengfei of the taikonaut training center, told Xinhua.

A Chinese spacecraft carrying rock and soil samples from the far side of the Moon has lifted off from the lunar surface to start its journey back to Earth, according to state media. The achievement on Tuesday is a world first and the latest leap for Beijing's decades-old space programme, which aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030. The Xinhua News Agency, citing the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said that the ascender of the Chang'e-6 probe took off at 7:38am local time on Tuesday (23:38 GMT) and entered a preset orbit around the moon. It described the move as "an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history". The Chang'e-6 probe was launched last month and its lander touched down on the far side of the Moon on Sunday.

China's state news agency Xinhua this week introduced the newest members of its newsroom: AI anchors who will report "tirelessly" all day every day, from anywhere in the country. Chinese viewers were greeted with a digital version of a regular Xinhua news anchor named Qiu Hao. The anchor, wearing a red tie and pin-striped suit, nods his head in emphasis, blinking and raising his eyebrows slightly. "Not only can I accompany you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I can be endlessly copied and present at different scenes to bring you the news," he says.

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. The U.S. military downed a drone deemed to have hostile intent Tuesday that was headed toward a base in southeast Syria that houses 200 American troops, a senior defense official told Fox News' Jennifer Griffin. Two unmanned aerial systems were spotted entering the At Tanf Garrison Deconfliction Zone located along the Iraq and Jordan-Syria border. One of the two drones traveled deeper into the zone and was shot down after "demonstrating hostile intent," Capt.

Beijing – China and the United States will set up a joint working group on climate change, China's official Xinhua News Agency said, in a potentially positive takeaway from what was an unusually rancorous high-level meeting. The top Chinese and U.S. diplomats, in their first meeting of Joe Biden's presidency on Thursday and Friday, publicly rebuked each other's policies at the start of what Washington called "tough and direct" talks in Alaska. But the Chinese delegation said after the meeting the two sides were "committed to enhancing communication and cooperation in the field of climate change," Xinhua said on Saturday. They would also hold talks to facilitate the activities of diplomats and consular missions, "as well as on issues related to media reporters in the spirit of reciprocity and mutual benefit," the report said. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Sunday.

Israel will allow autonomous vehicle driving without the presence of a human driver as required nowadays, said a statement issued by Israeli Ministry of Transport on Thursday. The ministry said that a new planned legislation will allow advanced tests as well as free or paid passenger rides in autonomous vehicles via a dedicated application. "This is a huge step forward in promoting autonomous vehicles in Israel," the ministry said in its statement. So far, all testing of autonomous vehicles in Israel are carried out with a safety driver to take over the vehicle in case of emergency. "The new legislation will advance activities of leading technology companies in Israel, as they will be able to conduct advanced testing and operate autonomous vehicles," according to the ministry.

SHANGHAI, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Due to COVID-19, the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2020 in Shanghai this week adopted a hybrid model where offline exhibitions and online displays took place simultaneously to showcase the latest artificial intelligence (AI) applications and frontier development. More than 500 AI experts and executives, including Nobel laureates and Turing Award winners, attended this year's WAIC held from Thursday to Saturday with the theme of "Intelligent Connectivity, Indivisible Community." Photo taken on July 3, 2020 shows the research center of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on the "AIsland" of Zhangjiang Science City in Pudong New Area, east China's Shanghai. AI has already demonstrated its potential to transform societies, economies and industries, but this is just the beginning, according to experts at the conference. WAIC plays a critical role in bringing people together to learn from one another and identify ways of collaborating to achieve more.

China's state news agency has revealed its first 3D AI-powered news anchor after replicating the looks and the actions of a human journalist with cutting-edge technologies. The virtual female presenter, branded as the world's first of its kind, can move around smoothly and display complex facial expressions. She can even change her outfits and hairstyles according to different scenarios, a spokesperson said. Beijing's state media has revealed'the world's first 3D AI news anchor' today after'cloning' a human reporter with cutting edge technologies. The virtual female presenter, branded as the world's first of its kind, can move around smoothly and display complex facial expressions The uncanny avatar (pictured), named Xin Xiaowei, was developed by Xinhua along with Sogou, a Chinese technology company specialising in web search.

People around the world enjoy "virtual human" characters, whether in Hollywood films, Japanese anime, or video games. In recent years, AI-powered virtual humans have increasingly insinuated themselves into our daily lives. The virtual pop icon Teresa Teng has performed songs with Taiwanese singer Jay Chou, achieving huge success. The popular Chinese debate show "I CAN I BB" hosted a spirited episode on whether "Falling in love with an AI human can be considered true love or not," where many people argued it is possible for a human to fall in love with an AI. Are there limits to such human-machine relationships?

BEIJING – Feeling stressed by the deadly coronavirus? Have a good cry, say Chinese health experts. If that doesn't work, buy a punching bag for the office -- or try singing. The advice for people in China struggling to cope mentally with the virus comes as schools and businesses delay reopening this week, to help contain the spread of the SARS-like pathogen that has claimed more than 420 lives. With public attractions closed, events canceled and citizens urged to stay home to avoid infections over the extended Spring Festival break, their psychological health is coming under the spotlight.