AsianFin--Google DeepMind has released a new version of AlphaFold, a landmark tool for predicting protein structures, that puts the artificial intelligence (AI) software on a path to make breakthroughs in biology research and bolster a business that Google’s AI chief says could be worth north of $100 billion. AlphaFold, an AI system developed by Google DeepMind that predicts a protein’s 3D structure from its amino acid sequence, was initially launched in 2018. In late 2020, the company made a significant advance in molecular biology by using AlphaFold 2 to successfully predict the behavior of microscopic proteins. AlphaFold3, the newest version of AlphaFold, developed by researchers at DeepMind and its sister company Isomorphic Labs under the leadership of cofounder Dem

AsianFin--Chinese on-demand local services giant Meituan has launched its international food-delivery platform in Saudi Arabia, marking the company’s first overseas expansion amid slowing growth in the Chinese market. In April, Beijing-based Meituan has debuted its KeeTa app in the Middle East with Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, as the first stop. The company’s global expansion is emblematic of a push by Chinese companies abroad, seeking growth as local market becomes over-crowded while consumption wanes. The move into Riyadh, one of the wealthiest cities in the region, follows a successful foray into Hong Kong in 2023. The company’s entry into Riyadh pits Meituan against local rivals including Jahez International Co, Delivery Hero’s

AsianFin--Apple on Tuesday announced new versions of its iPad Air and iPad Pro tablets. “This is the biggest day for iPad since its introduction,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a short video posted on the company’s website.   Apple's latest iPad models mark the longest gap between updates since the device's launch in 2011, with the last release dating back to October 2022. The fresh iPad models use a new Apple chip called the M4, an update from the M3 chips that currently power Apple’s laptops. Apple said that the M4 chip was an “outrageously powerful chip for AI,” highlighting its ability to help power software that isolates subjects from their backgrounds in videos. The Apple M4 chip is built on a 'second-generation' 3-nanometer process, which the company says provides the same perform

AsianFin--The year of 2024 has become a remarkable year for inbound tourism, since China expanded its 144-hour visa-free transit policy to more countries. In some major transit stops and also tourist destinations, like Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu, visitors from different countries and regions carrying travel bags and cameras flood landmarks and popular restaurants in these cities. They have become witnesses of China's prosperous tourism market, and have provided some individual vivid windows for the world to take a closer look at this big and diverse country. The number of inbound tourists to China in the first four months of 2024 (including air and rail travel) has increased by 244% compared to the same period in 2023, according to domestic travel platform Ctrip. The top

AsianFin--Apple has been working on its own chip designed to run artificial intelligence software in data center servers, a move that has the potential to give the company an advantage in the AI arms race, WSJ reported. Over the past decade, Apple has emerged as a leading player designing chips for iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch and Mac computers. The server project, which is internally code-named Project ACDC—for Apple Chips in Data Center—will be used to to run the company’s servers, according to people familiar with the matter. Project ACDC has been in the works for several years and it is uncertain when the new chip will be unveiled, if it happens at all. Apple has promised many new AI products and announcements at its Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Collaborating closel

AsianFin--Microsoft is training a new, in-house AI language model to match the scale and sophistication of AI models from tech giants Google and OpenAI, The Information reported on Monday. This marks the first time Microsoft has built its own AI model of this magnitude since investing over $10 billion in OpenAI for the rights to reuse the startup's AI models. OpenAI's GPT-4 powers not only ChatGPT but also Microsoft Copilot. The new model, internally referred to as MAI-1, is being overseen by recently hired Mustafa Suleyman, the Google DeepMind co-founder and former CEO of AI startup Inflection, the report said, citing two Microsoft employees with knowledge of the matter. According to The Information, Suleyman, previously associated with Google DeepMind and the CEO of AI startup

AsianFin-- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has noted on Sunday the poor will benefit more from artificial intelligence than the rich in answering questions from Sally Kornbluth, MIT president and cell biologist. "If (AI services) become something that everyone gets for free, that should help poor people more than rich people," he said. In response to a question asked by Kornbluth, Altman also addressed bias, saying OpenAI has made surprisingly good progress in dealing with its influence. "For as much as people like to talk about this and say 'oh, we can use these things because they're just spewing toxic waste all the time,'" he said, "GPT works well (in some ways) …and… who decides what bias means? How do we decide what the system is supposed to do?" Then he menti

AsianFin—Billionaire investing legend Warren Buffett took stage at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders’ meeting on Saturday, honoring his longtime business partner Charlie Munger, detailing the enhanced responsibilities of the executives designated to succeed him eventually, and delving into Berkshire's prospects. Here are some remarks during the meeting on various topics from Buffett: On artificial intelligence (AI): Buffett has noted that artificial intelligence has enormous potentials to do harm, giving his own experience to support the view.   “When you think about the potential for scamming people ... if I was interested in investing in scamming, it’s gonna be the growth industry of all time and it’s enabled, in a way” by AI, Buffett said. Buffett pointed to the technology’s

AsianFin— Legendary investor Warren Buffett has noted that artificial intelligence has enormous potentials to do harm, giving his own experience to support the view.   “When you think about the potential for scamming people ... if I was interested in investing in scamming, it’s gonna be the growth industry of all time and it’s enabled, in a way” by AI, Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting on Saturday. Buffett pointed to the technology’s ability to reproduce realistic and misleading content in an effort to send money to bad actors. He told the audience of the meeting that he was once misled into sending money online to a person who claimed to a fake Warren Buffett. “Obviously, AI has potential for good things too, but ... I do think,