Japan's manga artists can't ignore AI any more

5 hours ago

Find out what's new on ST website and app.
The brushstrokes of generative AI can help anime and manga to thrive.
Japan's creative sector has been wrestling with the question of the role of generative AI in the production process.
Imagine if the late Osamu Tezuka, Japan's revered 'Godfather of Manga' for his pioneering artistic techniques and visionary behind the iconic worlds of Astro Boy and Black Jack, were alive today. What would his stance be on generative artificial intelligence (AI)?
His eldest son Macoto Tezka believes that he would have embraced it.

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India's IT giant Tata Consultancy Services to cut 12,000 jobs

Straits Times

2 hours ago

Straits Times

India's IT giant Tata Consultancy Services to cut 12,000 jobs

Find out what's new on ST website and app. TCS employs 613,000 people worldwide, and the IT services sector is one of India's biggest employers and revenue earners. Mumbai - Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said on July 27 it will cut around 2 per cent of its global workforce, or about 12,000 jobs, as demand contracts in the sector it leads. The software services firm – India's largest by market cap – said the reductions would mainly affect employees in middle and senior roles and would be rolled out over the course of 2025. TCS employs 613,000 people worldwide, and the IT services sector is one of India's biggest employers and revenue earners. The US$283 billion (S$362.5 billion) sector has had to contend with clients holding back non-essential technology spending because of weak demand, persistent inflation and lingering uncertainty over US trade policies. The company said the move was part of efforts to become a 'future-ready' organisation as it enters new markets and scales up its use of artificial intelligence. 'As part of this journey, we will also be releasing associates from the organisation whose deployment may not be feasible,' TCS said in a statement. It said the restructuring was being carried out with 'due care' to avoid disruption to client services. After TCS's June-quarter revenue fell short of expectations, chief executive officer K Krithivasan said in July that there were delays in client decision-making and project starts. IT services are the most visible part of India's modern economy and historically one of its biggest white-collar job creators, driving the expansion of the middle class. But a slowdown in the sector has seen hundreds of thousands of new graduates struggle to find work. Phil Fersht, CEO of IT advisory firm HFS Research, said that the impact of AI is eating into the people-heavy services model in the sector. '(That model) is forcing large service providers such as TCS to rebalance their workforces to maintain profit margins and stay price-competitive in a cut-throat market where clients are demanding 20-30 per cent price reductions,' Mr Fersht said. The decision by TCS, considering its culture of being a stable place to work, highlights this sectoral trend, he added. AFP, REUTERS

S'pore pressing ahead with R&D on emerging energy options, including hydrogen, geothermal

Straits Times

5 hours ago

Straits Times

S'pore pressing ahead with R&D on emerging energy options, including hydrogen, geothermal

Find out what's new on ST website and app. Singapore is likely to continue to rely on natural gas, a fossil fuel, even as it looks for cleaner energy sources. SINGAPORE - Singapore is considering all possible options to reduce emissions from its carbon-intensive energy sector. But some technologies, such as those relating to hydrogen, geothermal and carbon capture, need more time to mature before they become viable for the country. In his first interview as Singapore's Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology, Dr Tan See Leng spoke at length on some of these areas, and how Singapore is pushing ahead with research and development on these fronts. 'It is hard to commit today to hydrogen, carbon capture, or for that matter, geothermal, because at this particular point in time, we don't have enough details yet,' he said. 'But we are relentless in our pursuit for research and development, so we have scholars all over to look at which is the cutting-edge technology... Even if we cannot be a first mover in some of it, we want to be the fastest adopter.' Dr Tan said Singapore will spare no effort in ensuring that the nation achieves its target of net-zero emissions by 2050 . 'At the same time, we want... all the different supply pathways to be resilient and affordable. I think that is the key and objective,' he said. On hydrogen Hydrogen can be considered a clean fuel as it does not produce any planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) when burned. It can be produced by passing an electrical current through water, separating it into hydrogen and oxygen. But in order to be considered green, the electricity must be generated by renewable energy, so the process does not emit any CO2. Dr Tan said that due to Singapore's limited renewable energy resources, it is unable to produce green hydrogen domestically . The Republic would have to instead import this fuel – which must be transported at extremely low temperatures of around minus 253 deg C. For context, some Covid-19 mRNA vaccines had to be transported at temperatures ranging from minus 90 deg C to minus 60 deg C, and required specialised cold-chain logistics management. Dr Tan said transporting green hydrogen over long distances is costly, and Singapore is investing in research in developing carrier systems that will allow the country to import it. For example, the Government has a Directed Hydrogen Programme, which has awarded about $43 million to six projects that can help make hydrogen technologies more viable and scalable. One way to transport hydrogen is by using ammonia as a carrier. Ammonia is relatively stable and can be stored and transported at ambient temperatures. Ammonia can either be combusted directly for electricity generation or 'cracked' to separate hydrogen from it, although this reaction would require very high operating temperatures. Singapore in October 2022 also launched the National Hydrogen Strategy, which will accelerate the development and deployment of hydrogen. Dr Tan also noted a $62.5 million Low- Carbon Technology Translational Testbed that will support companies in scaling up low-carbon solutions closer to commercial development. On geothermal energy Geothermal energy is another potential energy source that Singapore is exploring. A 2022 report commissioned by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) mentioned that emerging technology, including nuclear and geothermal, could potentially supply around 10 per cent of Singapore's energy needs by 2050. In July, The Straits Times reported that a second discovery of high temperatures underground in northern Singapore has shown the potential of using geothermal energy to generate electricity here. Geothermal energy refers to heat derived from the earth's core . However, Dr Tan noted that geothermal energy here is still at a 'very nascent' stage. For example , experts have said it remains to be seen if there is feasibility for sustained energy provision – referring to whether the underground heat reservoirs are able to provide sufficient energy to generate electricity in a stable way – to tell if the energy is economically feasible. EMA had told ST that the authority's current focus is to map out Singapore's underground heat resource . It has commissioned another study to investigate this and the results are expected to be completed in 2026. EMA is also studying other aspects of geothermal energy deployment, such as how deep geothermal systems would need to be regulated, and what their potential impact on the environment is. On carbon capture and storage Carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions essentially refer to technology that can take planet-warming CO2 out of the atmosphere for storage underground. Singapore is likely to continue to rely on natural gas, a fossil fuel, even as it looks for cleaner energy sources. But one area being explored is whether emissions from the energy and chemical sectors in Singapore can be captured and stored, Dr Tan said. He noted that the Government is working with an industry consortium formed by ExxonMobil and Shell, known as S Hub, to study the feasibility of aggregating CO2 emissions in Singapore for storage in other countries. S Hub has plans to develop a CCS project that can permanently store 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2030, either in rock formations deep underground or under the seabed. On July 14, three power generation companies were given the green light to conduct CCS feasibility studies to help Singapore transition to a low-carbon future. They will study two pathways of capturing carbon in the power sector to remove carbon emissions. The first method involves installing an on-site unit to capture CO2 from exhaust gas after natural gas has been burned. The waste gas typically contains CO2, water vapour, nitrogen and oxygen. The other technique involves capturing the CO2 generated when hydrogen is produced from natural gas. The hydrogen can be burned to generate electricity and does not produce any CO2 during the combustion. 'We are starting small. We only target those very hard-to-abate sectors,' said Dr Tan. These are emissions-intensive sectors that have limited alternatives for decarbonisation, and include the power, industry and chemical sectors found on Jurong Island. He said carbon capture is a 'well-proven' technology that has been in use in Norway. Other organisations – including the International Energy Agency and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN's climate science body – consider carbon capture a credible pathway for countries to reach net-zero emissions, he added.

Straits Times

5 hours ago

Straits Times