GoKawiil
Tech News
At a closed-door gathering, a group of business executives reportedly described AI safety risks as genuine concerns rather than hype, and called on President Trump to pursue joint safeguards with China. The discussion reflects growing unease among corporate leaders about the pace of AI development outstripping regulatory and safety measures.
China's state-run China Daily newspaper pushed back against Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's proposal to slow the pace of frontier AI development, an idea also backed by Sam Altman and Elon Musk. The publication argued the plan is less about safety concerns and more a coordinated attempt to hobble China's AI progress, secure friendlier U.S. regulation, and sustain investor enthusiasm for American AI firms.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in an All-In Podcast interview that China will develop its own advanced lithography machines, comparable to those made by ASML, within the next three to four years. He argued China's manufacturing strength makes such a timeline achievable, despite the country's current reliance on older-generation tools from Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment that support only 90nm and possibly 28nm-class chipmaking.
Mozilla's latest State of Open Source AI report, using data through September 1, finds top Chinese open-weight models are closing in on closed US frontier systems, lagging by only a few percentage points on key benchmarks while costing far less to run. The report estimates the capability gap at roughly 4.4 months based on METR task-horizon data, close to Epoch AI's independent four-month estimate, and notes one Chinese model scored within a point of a leading Claude model on Terminal-Bench at under a fifth of the price.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has proposed that the US and China cooperate to slow AI development given its safety risks, while also urging Washington to widen its technological lead through export controls and anti-distillation measures. Chinese officials and AI researchers have pushed back, arguing the proposal amounts to asking China to accept restrictions first while the US locks in an advantage, rather than a genuine offer of cooperation between equals.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink stated at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference that the US has placed weapons in orbit capable of defending against hostile action, without detailing what these systems are. This marks the first open US acknowledgment of orbital weapons deployment after decades of officially framing space activity as peaceful.
Solar panel prices have dropped from roughly $5-6 per watt in 2000 to about 12 cents today, largely due to expanded Chinese manufacturing capacity, according to Ember co-founder Dave Jones. This price collapse has pushed businesses in countries like Pakistan, the Philippines, and across Africa to install their own solar systems, with worldwide small-scale solar capacity nearing 1.2 terawatts by the end of 2025.
Chinese filmmakers are increasingly turning to AI tools like ChatGPT, Kimi and DeepSeek to draft screenplays and generate footage, with one studio producing a 90-minute AI-assisted film for roughly $500,000 versus the millions typical productions cost. Director Lu Beike, known for the series 'Three-Body,' says AI-generated scenes still fall short of live performances, sometimes forcing crews to make real actors look less realistic so they blend with AI-generated environments.
US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink stated in a speech that the military has already placed space control weapons in orbit capable of defending US forces against hostile action. He gave no details on what the weapons are, how they work, or how many exist, and the Air Force declined to comment further when asked.
At a Hyrox competition in China, Australian record holder Joanna Wietrzyk went on to win the event despite fecal matter visibly running down her legs, contaminating shared equipment like rowing machines, sleds and medicine balls. Organizers allowed the competition to proceed, sparking widespread outrage online over the health risks posed to other athletes using the same stations.
Mixue, the Chinese soft-serve and tea chain founded by brothers Zhang Hongchao and Zhang Hongfu, now operates more than 47,000 stores worldwide, more than McDonald's, per the Wall Street Journal. The company built its footprint by targeting smaller Chinese cities and towns with cheap products, such as 45-cent cones, rather than competing in major urban markets. Mixue recently went public in Hong Kong and is valued around $10 billion.
Bill Gates told Reuters that no government has adequately studied or planned for the risks AI poses to jobs and society, comparing the technology's arrival to an alien invasion in movies where global powers unite to respond. He said he has discussed these concerns with leaders including Donald Trump and is seeking a meeting with Xi Jinping, and suggested some jobs should be designated 'Human Reserved.'