Myanmar cracks down on flow of information by blocking VPNs
BANGKOK — Myanmar’s military government has launched a major effort to block free communication on the internet, shutting off access to virtual private networks — known as VPNs — which can be used to circumvent blockages of banned websites and…
G7 leaders discuss economic threats from China, AI ethics
On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden wrapped up meetings in Italy with leaders of the Group of Seven democracies. The leaders focused on threats they say China poses to the global economy and artificial intelligence ethics championed by Pope Francis….
World leaders discuss AI as China’s digital influence in Latin America grows
washington — Pope Francis, originally from Argentina, spoke Friday about the ethics of artificial intelligence at the G7 summit at a time when China has been rolling out its own AI standards and building technological infrastructure in developing nations, including…
New ‘crypto bill’ could mainstream digital currencies in US
The lack of laws governing digital currencies has slowed their expansion in the United States. Cryptocurrency investors tell VOA’s Deana Mitchell they are encouraged that the U.S. House of Representatives is considering a new legal framework for electronic money. Source:…
Google AI Gemini parrots China’s propaganda
Washington — VOA’s Mandarin Service recently took Google’s artificial intelligence assistant Gemini for a test drive by asking it dozens of questions in Mandarin, but when it was asked about topics including China’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang or street…
Apple shows off AI features at annual conference
Apple unveiled its AI technology, called Apple Intelligence, on Monday, which will be integrated across its suite of apps, as it aims to become the face of generative AI for consumers and gain an edge over rival Microsoft. The company…
Some US families opt to raise teens sans social media
WESTPORT, Connecticut — Kate Bulkeley’s pledge to stay off social media in high school worked at first. She watched the benefits pile up: She was getting excellent grades. She read lots of books. The family had lively conversations around the…
Netflix’s recipe for success includes ‘secret sauce’ spiced with tech savvy
LOS GATOS, California — Although its video streaming service sparkles with a Hollywood sheen, Netflix still taps its roots in Silicon Valley to stay a step ahead of traditional TV and movie studios. The Los Gatos, California, company, based more…
US lawmakers call for scrutiny of NewsBreak app over Chinese origins
WASHINGTON AND LONDON — Three U.S. lawmakers have called for more scrutiny of NewsBreak, a popular news aggregation app in the United States, after Reuters reported it has Chinese origins and has used artificial intelligence tools to produce erroneous stories….
AI ‘gold rush’ for chatbot training data could run out of human-written text
Artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT could soon run out of what keeps making them smarter — the tens of trillions of words people have written and shared online. A new study released Thursday by research group Epoch AI projects that…