China has released ethical guidelines for autonomous driving technology, highlighting the need for user safety and technology transparency. Publishing the guidelines on Wednesday, the Ministry of Science and Technology said automated driving systems “must demonstrate a high degree of respect for human life and actively seek effective strategies to minimise harm”. Algorithms, models and other…
A senior executive from Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s largest producer of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), urged authorities on the mainland to intervene in the price war that is roiling the market for new energy cars. Ni Jun, CATL’s chief manufacturing officer, on Wednesday said the brutal discount war would not end if…
China has disclosed details about a 60 billion yuan (US$8.2 billion) state fund aimed at early-stage investments in artificial intelligence (AI) projects, underscoring Beijing’s commitment to advancing the industry through state-led investments. Zhang Jianhua, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology overseeing the fund, said at a conference in Shenzhen that the…
China has removed Jin Zhuanglong as party chief of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, two months after he disappeared from public view. He has been replaced by Li Lecheng, 59, the governor of the struggling northeastern rust-belt province of Liaoning, according to the ministry’s website. He was also removed from a list of…
Hammering home the central government’s hope that tech breakthroughs will become a driving force for the Chinese economy and help pave a path of self-reliance, Premier Li Qiang has called on state-owned telecom giants to accelerate research and be more innovative. The urging came during visits by Li on Tuesday to companies and research centres…
This is the final story in a three-part series examining the future of China’s humanoid robots; competition between the US and China; and Beijing’s efforts to gain an advantage in this emerging arena. In this piece, we look at how local and national government policies and innovation centres are fuelling dreams of global technological supremacy….
The Stargate Project – a venture initially led by SoftBank Group, ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Oracle and Emirati investment firm MGX – plans to plough up to US$500 billion in the US over the next four years into an advanced network of data centres, housing high-performance computing infrastructure needed for AI development initiatives. The first such…
A dedicated fund for state capital grants to supercharge breakthroughs in China’s aircraft-technology research will soon accept applications and identify recipients, as Beijing builds on the momentum of home-grown jets such as the C919 to develop domestic aviation solutions and components. The fund, established by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and National Natural…
In eastern China, a robot that can identify and chase suspects follows police officers as they patrol the streets in a crowded commercial district, as Beijing seeks new ways to deploy advanced technology to aid police. Police in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, are reportedly using the robots, which could be equipped with suppression tools such as…
Tech operators in China have been given a deadline to rectify issues with recommendation algorithms, as authorities move to revise cybersecurity regulations in place since 2021. A three-month campaign to address “typical issues with algorithms” on online platforms was launched on Sunday, according to a notice from the Communist Party’s commission for cyberspace affairs, the…