8 h. ago China’s ‘silent sanction’ on US semiconductors creates a weapons generation gap

In addition to the spectacle of Wednesday’s military parade in Tiananmen Square, with its rows of never-before-seen weapons and equipment, was a less visible but highly consequential shift. At its heart lies China’s growing dominance in gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology, giving it a strategic advantage that is reshaping the global arms race, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Physics. “Behind this technological advancement lies a ‘hidden thread’...

Events

41 h. ago AI, lasers and chips: the science and tech of China’s military parade

China’s military parade on Wednesday – featuring the latest AI-powered uncrewed vehicles, laser weapons and missiles – signalled an arms race fuelled by scientific and technological advances. Artificial intelligence, optics and physics and information technologies have underscored how innovations will shape the future of modern warfare, paving the way for futuristic intelligent systems. “The parade featured unmanned intelligent systems, underwater combat units, cyber and electronic forces and...

Events

57 h. ago China should not fuel an arms race, says a close watcher of its nuclear policy

China should not fuel an arms race, says a close watcher of its nuclear policy  The Economist

Events

5 d. ago Multipolar arms race takes ballistic missile threat to new levels

War is just one press of a button away, and the likelihood of that happening – even if accidental – is not insignificant. The advancement of ballistic missile capabilities has opened up new battle spaces. Just as during the Cold War, today’s adversaries can hold each other’s populations hostage under the threat of nuclear war. As we mark 80 years since the second world war ended, it is becoming easier to fathom our world at war again. However, while it may be true the “long peace” was more an...

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2 w. ago US underestimating China’s AI progress, OpenAI’s Sam Altman says

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the United States may be underestimating China’s significant advances in artificial intelligence, warning that Washington’s technology restrictions are no impediment to that progress. “I’m worried about China,” the 40-year-old Altman was quoted as saying on Monday in a report by American business news channel CNBC. He indicated that the AI arms race between the US and China was more complex than it appeared. “There’s inference capacity, where China probably can build...

Politics

2 w. ago Is China hiding its rare earth production plans? US tensions fuel speculation

Is China hiding its rare earth production plans? US tensions fuel speculation  South China Morning Post

Events

2 w. ago India and Pakistan enter a new missile race after deadly border clash

India and Pakistan have embarked on a new arms race, investing billions in advanced missile systems that observers warn could define the next era of South Asian warfare. The moves follow their deadly four-day conflict in May, which saw some of the most intense border hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals in years. Earlier this month, India announced it would procure an additional 110 BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles as part of a new 670 billion rupee (US$8.7 billion) defence...

Events

3 w. ago China's Tencent beats Q2 revenue forecasts as gaming, AI fuel growth

China's Tencent beats Q2 revenue forecasts as gaming, AI fuel growth  Reuters

Politics

4 w. ago Unique genes that make us smart may also fuel cancer: China study

A genetic study in China that could have major implications for human evolution – and cancer research – has shown that a special type of recently evolved gene can be sequestered by cancerous tumours to fuel their growth. The team of researchers from Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) examined a group of young genes that emerged de novo, meaning they recently evolved from regions of the genome that do not code for proteins rather than from coding genes through typical...

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