Latest news with #Alibaba
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump, Xi turn up the heat in a battle for the future
Ominously for copyright holders, he said that AI companies had to be able to use 'that pool of knowledge' without experiencing the complexity of contract negotiations. The administration's objective is to make America's AI sector and its technologies the global standards for AI, exporting the technologies to its allies. 'We want the entire world to be running on American artificial intelligence stack. That is our cloud, our chips, our algorithms, all of that needs to be exported and packaged to the world so that we become the ecosystem of choice globally,' the White House science and technology director, Michael Kratsios, told Bloomberg. China's approach, or at least the approach it publicly stated last week at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, is very different. China's premier, Li Qiang, said AI innovation was being hampered by bottlenecks, like access to semiconductors, that could lead to AI becoming an 'exclusive game for a few countries and companies.' Loading 'Currently, overall global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences, particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts and institutional rules. 'We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus, as soon as possible,' he said. China has proposed creating a new international organisation to develop AI, arguing that AI has risks that require nations to collaborate. Denied access by the US to the most advanced semiconductors, China has adopted an 'open source' approach to AI, with its leading AI companies – companies like DeepSeek and Alibaba – making their large language models available to developers within and outside China as a strategy for fast-tracking a low-cost approach to developing AI and differentiating itself from Trump's America First approach. Beijing wants China, not the US, to influence international standards for AI and its AI companies to win a bigger proportion of the global AI market. It is placing a particular emphasis on the development of AI within the 'Global South' group of loosely aligned countries that it has been working to bring within its sphere of influence. In the US, the race is on between the mega tech companies to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI), or human-level artificial intelligence. In China, Xi Jinping appears more focused on AI applications, or usages with practical applications for industries. The two countries are therefore pursuing somewhat different AI goals, which might reflect the success of America's export controls in denying China access to the most advanced chips and chip-making equipment required to pursue AGI. It might also be that China doesn't believe AGI will be attainable within a reasonable timeframe. In Europe, as you'd expect, the focus has been on heavily regulating AI, prohibiting some AI practices that manipulate behaviours or are exploitative: imposing rules on the use of AI in critical infrastructure, employment and other sectors regarded as high-risk and legislating in areas like the transparency of the data used for the models, the protection of copyright and the management of risks. The competition between the US and China in particular, and the differing nature of their strategies might accelerate the development and deployment of AI, but it could also inflate the risks. In Australia, where there aren't yet any AI-specific regulations, the prevailing sentiment appears to be for 'light touch' regulation, with safeguards. Trump has effectively abandoned the safeguards the Biden regime tried to erect around the development of AI, essentially adopting the laissez-faire approach that most of the big US technology companies (which contributed heavily to his presidential campaign) have been lobbying for. Having jettisoned Biden's guardrails, he's told the technology advisers in the administration that they have six months to come up with a new set of AI policies that support his plan to fast-track AI projects, boost US technology exports and expunge the 'woke' out from AI. He has said he will use every rule at his disposal to facilitate the building of AI infrastructure like data centres and chip-manufacturing plants and the energy infrastructure they require and use the US export-Import Bank and Development Finance Corp to help spread US AI technologies to other countries. The US will do 'whatever it takes to lead the world in artificial intelligence,' he said. Given that those developing AI systems have themselves warned that it poses risks, not just to individuals but humankind, Trump's deregulatory approach is itself risky. Moreover, the competition between the US and China in particular, and the differing nature of their strategies might accelerate the development and deployment of AI, but it could also inflate the risks. Loading That could particularly be the case if one of the superpowers were to establish a clear lead in AI technologies and the other feared having to deal with the entrenched technological and geopolitical dominance of the winner of the race to become the global standard for AI. Given how world-changing and disruptive AI might be, and the pace at which AI developments are occurring, the stakes in this contest for AI leadership – not just for the US and China – are extremely high.
The Age
2 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
Trump, Xi turn up the heat in a battle for the future
Ominously for copyright holders, he said that AI companies had to be able to use 'that pool of knowledge' without experiencing the complexity of contract negotiations. The administration's objective is to make America's AI sector and its technologies the global standards for AI, exporting the technologies to its allies. 'We want the entire world to be running on American artificial intelligence stack. That is our cloud, our chips, our algorithms, all of that needs to be exported and packaged to the world so that we become the ecosystem of choice globally,' the White House science and technology director, Michael Kratsios, told Bloomberg. China's approach, or at least the approach it publicly stated last week at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, is very different. China's premier, Li Qiang, said AI innovation was being hampered by bottlenecks, like access to semiconductors, that could lead to AI becoming an 'exclusive game for a few countries and companies.' Loading 'Currently, overall global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences, particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts and institutional rules. 'We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus, as soon as possible,' he said. China has proposed creating a new international organisation to develop AI, arguing that AI has risks that require nations to collaborate. Denied access by the US to the most advanced semiconductors, China has adopted an 'open source' approach to AI, with its leading AI companies – companies like DeepSeek and Alibaba – making their large language models available to developers within and outside China as a strategy for fast-tracking a low-cost approach to developing AI and differentiating itself from Trump's America First approach. Beijing wants China, not the US, to influence international standards for AI and its AI companies to win a bigger proportion of the global AI market. It is placing a particular emphasis on the development of AI within the 'Global South' group of loosely aligned countries that it has been working to bring within its sphere of influence. In the US, the race is on between the mega tech companies to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI), or human-level artificial intelligence. In China, Xi Jinping appears more focused on AI applications, or usages with practical applications for industries. The two countries are therefore pursuing somewhat different AI goals, which might reflect the success of America's export controls in denying China access to the most advanced chips and chip-making equipment required to pursue AGI. It might also be that China doesn't believe AGI will be attainable within a reasonable timeframe. In Europe, as you'd expect, the focus has been on heavily regulating AI, prohibiting some AI practices that manipulate behaviours or are exploitative: imposing rules on the use of AI in critical infrastructure, employment and other sectors regarded as high-risk and legislating in areas like the transparency of the data used for the models, the protection of copyright and the management of risks. The competition between the US and China in particular, and the differing nature of their strategies might accelerate the development and deployment of AI, but it could also inflate the risks. In Australia, where there aren't yet any AI-specific regulations, the prevailing sentiment appears to be for 'light touch' regulation, with safeguards. Trump has effectively abandoned the safeguards the Biden regime tried to erect around the development of AI, essentially adopting the laissez-faire approach that most of the big US technology companies (which contributed heavily to his presidential campaign) have been lobbying for. Having jettisoned Biden's guardrails, he's told the technology advisers in the administration that they have six months to come up with a new set of AI policies that support his plan to fast-track AI projects, boost US technology exports and expunge the 'woke' out from AI. He has said he will use every rule at his disposal to facilitate the building of AI infrastructure like data centres and chip-manufacturing plants and the energy infrastructure they require and use the US export-Import Bank and Development Finance Corp to help spread US AI technologies to other countries. The US will do 'whatever it takes to lead the world in artificial intelligence,' he said. Given that those developing AI systems have themselves warned that it poses risks, not just to individuals but humankind, Trump's deregulatory approach is itself risky. Moreover, the competition between the US and China in particular, and the differing nature of their strategies might accelerate the development and deployment of AI, but it could also inflate the risks. Loading That could particularly be the case if one of the superpowers were to establish a clear lead in AI technologies and the other feared having to deal with the entrenched technological and geopolitical dominance of the winner of the race to become the global standard for AI. Given how world-changing and disruptive AI might be, and the pace at which AI developments are occurring, the stakes in this contest for AI leadership – not just for the US and China – are extremely high.
Mid East Info
4 hours ago
- Automotive
- Mid East Info
Alibaba Unveils Intelligent Cockpits, Enterprise Partnerships and AI Glasses at WAIC 2025 - Middle East Business News and Information
Shanghai, China, July 2025 — At the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), Alibaba Group showcased a series of AI-driven innovation, unveiling the next-generation intelligent automotive cockpits, transformative collaborations with global enterprises and its first AI-powered smart glasses. All powered by Alibaba's advanced Qwen large language models (LLMs), these breakthroughs demonstrate how AI is moving beyond the lab and into real-world applications across automotive, facility management and consumer wearable technology. 'The innovations underscore Alibaba's growing role as a leader in applied generative AI, delivering intelligent solutions that are not only technologically advanced but deeply integrated into everyday experiences and industrial workflows,' said Jingren Zhou, CTO of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. Alibaba Launches Next-Generation AI Cockpit Experience: Alibaba has unveiled its latest large multimodal model (LMM) solution powered by Qwen and specifically designed for automotive intelligent cockpits, developed in collaboration with global semiconductor leader Qualcomm and Banma, its intelligent cockpit solution provider. Built on Alibaba's Qwen models' visual understanding and multimodal capabilities, the system runs on Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8397 platform, delivering a more natural, intuitive, and proactive in-car AI experience. At the heart of the system is Yan AI, Banma's intelligent assistant, which leverages Qwen's advanced language understanding, visual processing, and contextual reasoning to enable seamless human-vehicle interaction. Drivers can use natural voice commands to reserve restaurant tables, purchase movie tickets, request navigation, or find the fastest route. Beyond reactive responses, Yan AI anticipates user needs—suggesting adjustments to cabin temperature, recommending music playlists during long drives, making the mobility experience more smoothing. Global Enterprises Harness Qwen to Drive Efficiency and Innovation Alibaba also spotlighted how global industry leaders are leveraging Qwen to transform their operations, from accelerating product innovation to building smarter, more sustainable cities. For example, Signify, the world leader in lighting, has launched the industry's first GenAI agent powered by Alibaba's self-developed large language model Qwen. By harnessing Qwen's advanced capability to effectively handle complex tasks, the GenAI agent has been integrated into Signify's connected street lighting system Interact City Flex that monitors, controls and manages street lighting, to further reduce energy consumption while boosting maintenance efficiency. Powered by Qwen, the upgraded system simplifies operation by allowing users to generate and deploy AI-driven dimming strategies through natural language commends. It also flags anomalies and provides solutions to improve efficiency on facility management and maintenance. 'Digital transformation in urban environments relies on intelligent systems that make city management smarter and more sustainable,' said Hans Nikol, Head of Open Innovation of Signify. 'By making use of Alibaba's Qwen model in our GenAI Agent, we're empowering cities to proactively reduce energy consumption and lower operational costs. This collaboration marks an important step in intelligent city management and underlines our commitment to innovation and our vision for greener, brighter cities.' Quark AI Glasses: Alibaba's Entry into the Future of Wearable Intelligence Alibaba has entered the AI wearables market with the debut of Quark AI Glasses, its first self-developed smart eyewear. Seamlessly powered by the Qwen large language model and Quark's multimodal AI capabilities, the device is designed to serve as an intelligent, all-day wearable assistant that blends style, comfort, and functionality. Lightweight and ergonomically designed, Quark AI Glasses support hands-free calling, music streaming, real-time language translation, and meeting transcription—making them ideal for professionals, travelers, and tech-savvy users. The glasses are engineered to deliver smooth AI-enabled interactions, featuring long battery life and high-quality imaging to ensure a premium user experience. A key highlight is the deep integration with Alibaba's ecosystem. Users can access navigation through Amap's innovative near-eye display system, optimized for walking and cycling. They can also use Alipay to watch and pay, compare prices on Taobao while shopping, receive travel alerts from Fliggy —all through voice interactions. Quark AI Glasses are scheduled for official release in China by the end of 2025, marking a significant step in Alibaba's vision to bring ambient, context-aware AI into daily life. As the Qwen series continues to evolve, Alibaba remains committed to open innovation, empowering developers, businesses, and governments worldwide to build the intelligent future. With over 400 million downloads and more than 140,000 derivative models created, the Qwen model series has become one of the most widely adopted open-source AI series globally. About Alibaba Cloud: Established in 2009, Alibaba Cloud is the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group. It offers a complete suite of cloud services to customers worldwide, including elastic computing, database, storage, network virtualization services, large-scale computing, security, big data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) services. Alibaba has been named the leading IaaS provider in Asia Pacific by revenue in U.S. dollars since 2018, according to Gartner. It has also maintained its position as one of the world's leading public cloud IaaS service providers since 2018, according to IDC.
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
What are China's most dynamic cities? New report gives surprising answer
China's most dynamic local economies are no longer metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai, but lesser-known cities including Hangzhou and Hefei, according to a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The findings reflect a growing shift in China's economic landscape, as smaller cities emerge as a main engine of growth due to their strength in advanced manufacturing, clean energy and other emerging sectors. The annual report by the EIU ranks Chinese cities in terms of their growth potential, with the eastern city of Hangzhou – home to e-commerce giant Alibaba, artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek, and several other major technology companies – topping the list for the fifth consecutive year. It was followed in the ranking by Hefei – an eastern city known for being a hub for semiconductor and electric car companies – and the southwestern industrial powerhouse of Chengdu. Shenzhen, often dubbed China's Silicon Valley, placed fifth, while Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai all failed to make the top 10.
Gizmodo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
China's Newest Pair of Smart Glasses Are Meta's Biggest Threat Yet
It's official: Alibaba is entering the smart glasses game. After rumors that percolated late last week, Alibaba unveiled its official plans to put out frames that look awfully similar to Meta's Ray-Bans, but with a few key advantages that could help them blow way past U.S. competition. The smart glasses, called Quark AI, are actually a lot more similar to Meta's Ray-Bans than I expected. For one, they do not feature a display of any kind and instead focus more on here-and-now features like calling, audio, translation, and using a built-in camera to take pictures. If those all sound like familiar capabilities, it's because Meta's Ray-Bans can do all of those things. If you're reading that with deflation, I wouldn't blame you, given how advanced China's smart glasses field has become and the resources that Alibaba has at its disposal. But just because those capabilities are similar doesn't mean Quark AI can't push the ball forward. Alibaba just previewed its first AI-powered smart glasses — Quark — at WAIC 2025 in Shanghai. 🔹 Built on the Qwen model series🔹 Qualcomm AR1 + low-power dual system chip🔹 Seamless Alipay, Taobao, and Amap integration🔹 40% slimmer than current market glasses — Wes Roth (@WesRothMoney) July 28, 2025For one, Alibaba, unlike Meta, has access to different services that Meta doesn't. Among those is Alipay, which is a popular mobile payment service used predominantly in China but is becoming more widely accepted worldwide. As we've already seen in other smart glasses, like Xiaomi's recent entrant, that integration opens the door for some cool (and maybe concerning) mobile payment features. Similar to Xiaomi's smart glasses, Alibaba says Quark AI supports Alipay for purchasing things using QR codes. If it's anything like Xiaomi's feature—and I'm almost certain it is—users will use the camera to scan a QR code and then use the glasses' voice assistant to confirm payment. If it works as promised, that gives Alibaba's glasses one more advantage over Meta. Oh, also, these are 40% smaller than other similar smart glasses on the market, according to Alibaba, which is great for anyone who doesn't want to look like they're wearing a gadget on their face. And it's not just mobile payments where Alibaba may have the edge in more feature-rich smart glasses. Alibaba also shared plans to integrate navigation into its glasses, which is an area where I find Meta's Ray-Bans to be sorely lacking. I've been using Meta's Ray-Bans for almost a year now, and while I can load up Google Maps on my phone and pipe in step-by-step navigation through its Bluetooth audio, it's not the same as doing all of that natively. While I can't say for sure, Alibaba's glasses, with a tighter integration of GPS, may be able to launch navigation natively by prompting the glasses with a voice command. That may seem small, but it goes a long way in making smart glasses feel actually smart. It's hard to say for sure just where Alibaba will bring its smart glasses when they actually get released, and there's still a lot we don't know, including price, details on camera quality, battery life, and all that very important technical stuff. But from a possibility perspective, it's hard not to recognize a lot of potential for Meta-crushing functionality. If Quark AI is half as capable as Xiaomi's entrant into the space, I'd say Meta has a lot of catching up to do with its third-gen Ray-Ban smart glasses.
