Artificial intelligence

US robotics firms seek federal support amid China’s rapid growth

Following the US’s first-ever Enterprise Artificial Intelligence Strategy in October 2024, leading robotics companies are urging the government to develop a national robotics strategy and establish a federal office to support the industry.

The push comes as China accelerates its robotics investments, raising concerns about US competitiveness in the global market.

Executives from Tesla, Boston Dynamics, and Agility Robotics showcased their latest innovations on Capitol Hill this week, advocating for policies that bolster domestic production and adoption of robots.

Jeff Cardenas, CEO of Apptronik, highlighted how the United States once led the field but lost ground to Japan and Europe. Tesla’s Jonathan Chen added that manufacturing at scale remains a key challenge.

The Association for Advanced Automation warned that without strong federal leadership, the US risks falling behind in both robotics and AI. Meanwhile, China continues expanding its robotics sector, with a state-backed fund aiming to attract $138 billion over two decades.

According to the International Federation of Robotics, China now leads in industrial robot usage, with 1.8 million in operation as of 2023.

With global investment in robotics projected to exceed $13 billion by 2025, US industry leaders stress that a national strategy is essential to maintaining a competitive edge.

For more information on these topics, visit diplomacy.edu.

Studio Ghibli AI trend overwhelms OpenAI

A wave of Studio Ghibli-style image generation has taken social media by storm, thanks to OpenAI’s new tool that lets users create art in the beloved animation style. The viral craze began in late March and quickly flooded platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Initially amused, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman even joined in by updating his profile picture to a Ghibli-inspired version of himself. However, the trend’s popularity soon spiralled out of control, straining the company’s servers and pushing staff to their limits.

Altman has now urged users to ease off, describing the demand as ‘biblical’ and joking that his team needs sleep.

OpenAI plans to introduce temporary usage limits while it works to make the system more efficient. Fans, however, continue to flood Altman’s replies with memes and even more Ghibli art.

For more information on these topics, visit diplomacy.edu.

DeepSeek overtakes ChatGPT in new visits, report shows

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has emerged as the world’s fastest-growing AI tool, surpassing ChatGPT in new monthly website visits. In February alone, it recorded over 524 million fresh visits, edging past ChatGPT’s 500 million, according to analytics platform aitools.xyz.

Though still third overall behind ChatGPT and Canva in total traffic, DeepSeek’s market share rose sharply to 6.58%, with 792.6 million visits and 136.5 million unique users. India played a significant role, ranking fourth in traffic contribution with over 43 million monthly visits.

The report shows DeepSeek now holds over 12% of the global chatbot market. With the AI industry seeing more than 12 billion visits and 3 billion unique users last month, the rapid rise of DeepSeek signals intensifying competition in the AI space.

For more information on these topics, visit diplomacy.edu.

OpenAI secures $40 billion in funding deal with SoftBank

OpenAI is preparing for one of the largest fundraising rounds in tech history, aiming to raise up to $40 billion at a staggering $300 billion valuation. The decision, confirmed on Monday, marks a major leap in the company’s ambition to lead the global AI race.

Japanese investment giant SoftBank will spearhead the funding effort, pledging an initial $10 billion in April, followed by another $30 billion by year’s end—on the condition that OpenAI transitions to a for-profit model.

SoftBank plans to offload a quarter of its contribution to other unnamed co-investors, while other backers in the round are expected to include tech heavyweights like Microsoft, Coatue Management, Altimeter Capital, and Thrive Capital.

If OpenAI does not complete its restructuring as planned, SoftBank’s commitment could be halved to $20 billion, according to company statements and sources familiar with the deal.

Capital injection aims to advance AI research, scale OpenAI’s infrastructure, and develop more powerful tools for the company’s widely used products like ChatGPT, which currently serves over 500 million users weekly.

The momentum reflects the explosive growth and competition within the AI sector, with tech firms and investors chasing transformative breakthroughs and scalable business models.

Since raising $6.6 billion in October at a valuation of $157 billion, OpenAI has nearly doubled its worth in just six months. The new valuation puts the San Francisco-based startup in the same league as global tech titans such as SpaceX, ByteDance, and Stripe.

Analyst Gil Luria from D.A. Davidson and Co. noted that OpenAI’s ‘ambitious plans on many fronts’ require substantial capital and pointed out that the pool of investors with the appetite—and capacity—to back such an undertaking has shrunk significantly.

Part of the raised funds will support the colossal Stargate project, a $500 billion initiative led by OpenAI in partnership with SoftBank and Oracle to build a nationwide network of AI-focused data centres across the United States. These centres are envisioned to support the increasing computational demands of future AI systems.

OpenAI also announced an important structural change. The company will establish a public benefit corporation to attract funding better while ensuring its long-term mission balances profitability with social impact. The US law firm Morrison Foerster provided legal advice for SoftBank in this transaction.

The funding round positions OpenAI as a central player in the AI world and raises critical questions about the balance between innovation, ethics, and the consolidation of AI power among a few dominant entities. The outcome of this transition, especially its success in becoming a for-profit powerhouse, could redefine the landscape of AI for years to come.

For more information on these topics, visit diplomacy.edu.

AI’s energy hunger drives nuclear energy resurgence

The rapid advancement of AI is placing immense pressure on global energy infrastructure, with data centres consuming more electricity than ever. As AI systems grow in complexity and scale, the energy required to support their operations is rising sharply, as stated in Bogdan Stojanovic’s blog on diplomacy.edu.

Training deep learning models, particularly those involving natural language processing and computer vision, demands substantial computational power, resulting in greater energy consumption and higher carbon emissions.

Estimates suggest that by 2030, AI-driven energy consumption could surpass that of entire nations like India.

The escalating power demands of AI have prompted technology giants to explore cleaner, more reliable energy sources. Unlike intermittent solar and wind power, nuclear energy provides a steady supply of low-carbon electricity.

Studies by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe indicate that nuclear energy’s carbon footprint is significantly smaller than that of coal or even wind power.

Big Tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta are increasingly investing in nuclear energy projects to mitigate their growing carbon footprints and ensure reliable power for their AI infrastructure.

Microsoft has committed to becoming carbon-negative by 2030 despite its emissions surging by 30% from 2020 to 2023, largely due to AI-related data centre expansion. The company’s partnership with Constellation Energy aims to revitalise the defunct Three Mile Island nuclear plant.

Meanwhile, Google is collaborating with startup Kairos Power to develop advanced reactors, and Amazon is investing in small modular reactors through xEnergy.

As AI continues to grow in complexity and utility, nuclear power is emerging as a crucial component of Big Tech’s energy strategy.

Industry leaders like Bill Gates and Sam Altman are investing heavily in next-generation nuclear solutions, recognising that AI’s continued growth relies on consistent, low-carbon energy sources. The push for nuclear energy is no longer a distant possibility but a necessity for ensuring AI’s sustainability.

For more information on these topics, visit diplomacy.edu.

Google expands Gemini Pro access

Google has made its powerful Gemini 2.5 Pro AI model available to free users for the first time. Previously reserved for subscribers, the experimental version is now accessible via the Gemini app, web platform, and AI Studio.

The model is designed to handle complex prompts, showcase advanced reasoning, and assist with coding tasks. It performs strongly in maths and science benchmarks, and even created a working video game from just one line of text in a demo.

Though still experimental, Gemini 2.5 Pro supports tools like file uploads and app extensions. Users can also see how it breaks down a request before replying, offering deeper insight into the through process of the AI.

For more information on these topics, visit diplomacy.edu.

Fake movie trailer channels banned from monetization on YouTube

YouTube has taken action against AI-driven fake movie trailer channels, stripping them of their ability to monetize content. Following an investigation by Deadline, two of the most prominent channels, Screen Culture and KH Studio, have reportedly lost their ad revenue privileges.

With over two million subscribers and nearly two billion views combined, these channels created misleading trailers by splicing footage from existing films with AI-generated content.

Many unsuspecting viewers believed they were seeing genuine first looks at upcoming projects, such as Grand Theft Auto VI and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

Hollywood studios have reportedly lobbied YouTube to maintain monetization for such channels, though the reasons remain unclear. However, YouTube’s policies explicitly state that content must be ‘significantly changed’ and not copied solely for generating views.

While KH Studio’s founder defended their work as ‘creative exploration,’ Screen Culture’s founder questioned, ‘what’s the harm?’ YouTube’s latest crackdown suggests it is taking a firmer stance on AI-generated misleading content.

For more information on these topics, visit diplomacy.edu.

Fifty years of Microsoft in the AI era

Microsoft is marking its 50th anniversary as a pillar of modern computing, having grown from humble beginnings into a $2.9 trillion tech titan. Once known for Windows and Office, the company now bets big on AI to shape its future.

Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has shifted to cloud-based services and embraced AI through its partnership with OpenAI. While its cloud business thrives, critics note the firm still trails rivals like Google and AWS in building core AI technologies.

Despite past missteps in mobile and social platforms, Microsoft remains a major force, with ventures like Xbox, LinkedIn, and a bid for TikTok. As it turns 50, the tech giant is navigating a new era, one where AI defines the next frontier.

For more information on these topics, visit diplomacy.edu.

Elon Musk merges xAI and X to create XAI Holdings

Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI has officially acquired X, the social media platform (formerly Twitter), in an all-stock deal that values the two businesses combined at over $100 billion.

Musk disclosed that the transaction pegs xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion, though the latter includes $12 billion in debt, which brings its effective value to $45 billion.

The merged entity, XAI Holdings, streamlines Musk’s sprawling tech empire and solidifies the relationship between his AI pursuits and the platform that provides the training data.

According to Musk, the goal is to unify ‘data, models, compute, distribution and talent,’ enabling tighter integration between X’s reach and xAI’s growing capabilities.

This structural shift also clarifies to investors, many of whom have been concerned about X’s financial direction after Musk’s sweeping changes led to a loss of users and advertising partners.

Musk purchased Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion, which burdened the company with substantial debt. Since then, he has drastically altered the company’s operations and content policies under a ‘free speech absolutism philosophy,’ which has alienated many advertisers.

Although X’s advertising revenue dropped sharply post-acquisition, projections for 2025 show signs of recovery, with US ad sales expected to reach $1.31 billion, marking a 17.5% increase.

xAI, launched in 2023, has quickly positioned itself among leading AI labs. Its chatbot, Grok, has been trained using data from X, offering a competitive edge against other AI giants like OpenAI and Anthropic.

Analysts suggest that owning X gives xAI exclusive access to a rich proprietary data stream, something competitors lack. This advantage could strongly boost Grok’s development and positioning in the market.

Some investors in xAI, such as Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity, and BlackRock, also have stakes in X, making the merger a logical, if unexpected, evolution.

Financially, it also marks a turning point: banks that held onto Musk’s Twitter debt could finally sell it this year without losses, while X recently raised nearly $1 billion in new equity at a valuation close to its 2022 purchase price.

The merger may also influence broader industry trends. Analysts believe this move could inspire smaller social media platforms to seek strategic alliances with AI developers, especially given xAI’s high valuation.

One thing is clear: the XAI Holdings formation underscores a growing convergence between digital communication infrastructure and AI.

For more information on these topics, visit diplomacy.edu.

New AI models help identify unknown proteins with high accuracy

AI is revolutionising biology by helping scientists uncover hidden proteins that traditional methods struggle to detect.

Researchers have developed two AI models, InstaNovo and InstaNovo+, designed to identify unknown proteins, which could improve disease research and treatment development.

Proteins, the functional components of cells, often differ from their genetic blueprint due to modifications after production.

Such variations can be difficult to analyse using conventional tools. InstaNovo, inspired by OpenAI’s GPT-4, translates mass spectrometry data into amino acid sequences, while InstaNovo+ refines these results using a noise-reduction technique similar to AI image generation.

Together, they outperform standard methods in complex protein sequencing tasks, particularly for challenging targets like human immune proteins.

Scientists believe these models could help explain biological mysteries, such as how stingrays adapt to different water environments or why pancreatic cancer leads to severe muscle wasting.

While the tools are promising, researchers caution that AI-generated results require verification. Nonetheless, AI sequencing is expected to complement traditional database searches, pushing biological research into new frontiers.

For more information on these topics, visit diplomacy.edu.