9 h. ago Ant Group unit enters China’s humanoid robotics sector with first product

Ant Group unveiled its first humanoid robot at a trade show in Shanghai on Thursday, heralding the Chinese fintech company’s entry into the increasingly competitive field of embodied artificial intelligence to take on rivals like Unitree Robotics. The wheeled, two-armed humanoid, named R1, was developed by Ant’s robotics unit Ant Lingbo Technology, also known as Robbyant. At the company’s booth at the Inclusion Conference on the Bund on Thursday, the second day of the four-day event, one R1...

Politics

26 h. ago AI agents to replace humans as basic unit of a company, Lee Kai

Artificial intelligence agents are emerging as an instrument of transformation in the workforce, with the potential to replace humans in traditional roles, according to computer scientist Lee Kai-fu, founder and CEO of the Chinese start-up 01.AI. “The basic unit of a company will evolve from a human being to an AI agent,” Lee said on Thursday at a summit on disruptive technologies hosted by Swiss bank UBS. AI agents are software apps that use AI to autonomously execute tasks and achieve goals on...

Politics

26 h. ago AI agents to replace humans as basic units of a company, Lee Kai

Artificial intelligence agents are emerging as an instrument of transformation in the workforce, with the potential to replace humans in traditional roles, according to computer scientist Lee Kai-fu, founder and CEO of the Chinese start-up 01.AI. “The basic unit of a company will evolve from a human being to an AI agent,” Lee said on Thursday at a summit on disruptive technologies hosted by Swiss bank UBS. AI agents are software apps that use AI to autonomously execute tasks and achieve goals on...

Politics

26 h. ago AI agents to replace humans as basic units of a company, Kai

Artificial intelligence agents are emerging as an instrument of transformation in the workforce, with the potential to replace humans in traditional roles, according to computer scientist Kai-Fu Lee, founder and CEO of the Chinese start-up 01.AI. “The basic unit of a company will evolve from a human being to an AI agent,” Lee said on Thursday at a summit on disruptive technologies hosted by Swiss bank UBS. AI agents are software apps that use AI to autonomously execute tasks and achieve goals on...

Politics

7 d. ago Starbucks China valued at about US$5 billion by bidders, sources say

Most of the bidders seeking to buy a portion of Starbucks’ China operations have submitted offers valuing the business at as much as US$5 billion, said two people with knowledge of the discussions. That would make a potential deal one of the most valuable China unit divestments by a global consumer company in recent years. The offers, which have not been reported previously, would let Starbucks push ahead with the sale in a market where it faces sluggish growth and stiff competition from local...

Economics

8 d. ago US sanctions China’s Guangzhou Tengyue Chemical for alleged fentanyl trafficking

The United States on Wednesday sanctioned a Chinese chemical company that it alleges is manufacturing and coordinating shipments of illicit opioids, such as fentanyl, and chemical agents into the country. The move comes amid recent stepped-up moves in Washington to target China on the fentanyl issue despite stabilising bilateral ties. A Treasury Department statement said sanctions have been placed on Guangzhou Tengyue Chemical, based in China’s southern Guangdong province, and two of the...

Politics

2 w. ago Singer with ‘Hong Kong Spirit’ picked by American Idol creator for pop group

A 20-year-old Hong Kong woman who emerged from the same talent show as local heartthrob Keung To of popular boy band Mirror has been chosen to join a global pop group created by the man behind American Idol. XIX Entertainment, the company that runs the global pop group Now United made up of a rolling international membership, announced on Thursday that its newest addition was Hongkonger Ariel Tsang. Tsang said in a media showcase that the opportunity had come at a “perfect time”. “I was in a...

Politics

3 w. ago Huawei opens Douyin account to promote HiSilicon as it expands chip design work

Huawei Technologies has opened an account on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, to promote the custom design services of its HiSilicon chip unit, even as the company continues to maintain a cloak of secrecy around its Kirin smartphone and Ascend AI chips. The Douyin account, set up by HiSilicon (Shanghai), said the company aimed to “enable smart devices for a fully connected world.” As of Thursday, it had three posts and nearly 50,000 followers. The first post, published on Wednesday, was a...

Economics

4 w. ago Unitree founder: lack of advanced AI deters mass adoption of robots

The biggest obstacle to the mass deployment of robots is the lack of advanced artificial intelligence, according to Wang Xingxing, founder of China’s leading robotics company Unitree. Robotic AI had not reached a critical threshold necessary for widespread adoption, Wang said in an interview published on Wednesday by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party. He reiterated his earlier assertion that the “ChatGPT moment” for the robotics industry had yet to arrive. “This...

Politics