President Lee Jae-myung wants to provide all of South Korea's 51 million people with free, unlimited access to an AI assistant powered by domestic models. The initiative aligns with the state-business collaboration model that has underpinned the country’s development, but it has to contend with the massive costs of the necessary infrastructure.
According to a report by Aon, a 2.5 per cent wage increase for entry-level jobs is accompanied by a 3.2 per cent drop in the number of workers employed in such roles. The number of recent graduates finding their first job within six months is also down. While AI is altering the first rung of the career ladder, it is not eliminating future talent.
Whilst public use of AI in agriculture and healthcare is becoming increasingly widespread, the issue of the effectiveness of these new tools is becoming ever more apparent in a region where many communities speak different languages that are not widely spoken globally. The challenge of developing tailor-made models for ASEAN countries.
“Tracing Scribes and Scrolls” is a research project investigating the provenance of the texts from the ancient Dead Sea Library. Dating from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD, they are written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Ranging from biblical books to wisdom literature, they provide a window into the pluralism of the Second Temple period.
Defence Minister Chan calls for data sharing, energy networks, and free movement to unlock a regional economy larger than its parts, a crucial step towards a truly integrated economic community. Singapore is set to chair the organisation in 2027.
The first regulations on artificial intelligence services designed to build emotional bonds with users have come into effect. Chinese authorities want to combat emotional dependence and inappropriate content. ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent are eliminating or modifying features dedicated to “virtual companions”.
In Rome some 200 scientists, former heads of state and government, and prominent individuals signed a declaration, inspired by the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. In it, they call for an unarmed and disarming peace in the age of artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons. The document urges the international community to draft an international treaty to ban the use of automated systems in the management of nuclear arsenals.
From one of China’s leading artificial intelligence companies comes a story that echoes the challenges to the dignity of work raised by Leo XIV in *Magnifica Humanitas*. In this case, the ‘handover’ was voluntary, but there is a growing trend towards zhengliu, the digital ‘distillation’ of employees’ skills. And there are young workers in the tech sector who are trying to protect themselves with tools that ‘hide’ parts of their work.
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