BoomGrow Productions and CelcomDigi Berhad have formed a strategic partnership to revolutionise Malaysia’s agricultural industry by integrating cutting-edge technologies such as 5G, AI, and extended reality (XR) into precision farming practices. That collaboration represents a significant step towards enhancing sustainable farming and boosting food production in the country. The overarching goal of the partnership is to transform traditional agricultural methods by leveraging the power of advanced technologies and setting new standards for efficient and sustainable farming practices in Malaysia.
One of the key innovations at the heart of this partnership is the implementation of 5G-Enhanced Precision Farming in BoomGrow’s Machine Farms. By utilising CelcomDigi’s reliable 5G network, supported by ZTE, BoomGrow will be able to connect sensors and monitoring systems throughout its farms.
The integration of 5G technology enables real-time data feedback, facilitating precise control over indoor farming environments and ensuring optimal conditions for crop growth. The seamless connectivity provided by CelcomDigi’s extensive network coverage in Malaysia will allow for the consolidation of data from all BoomGrow Machine Farms into a central dashboard, enabling seamless oversight and management of the farming operations.
In addition, the partnership also focuses on leveraging AI-driven analytics to optimise productivity and decision-making processes within the Machine Farms. Advanced AI algorithms will provide in-depth analysis and insights by processing complex datasets and plant visualisations from multiple farms.
In Nairobi, Kenya’s bustling tech hub, a new attraction draws crowds: the Robot Cafe, where robots deliver meals to diners. This innovative eatery, the first of its kind in East Africa, features three robots—Claire, R24, and Nadia—gliding between tables with food trays, captivating customers who come to witness this futuristic service. The cafe’s owner, Mohammed Abbas, was inspired to bring robot waiters to Kenya after experiencing them in Asia and Europe despite the high cost of importing the technology.
While the robots add a unique, entertaining element to the dining experience, they don’t replace human staff. Waiters still play a crucial role in taking orders and serving drinks, with the robots primarily handling food delivery. The technology highlights the potential for automation in the hospitality industry, but cafe manager John Kariuki notes that robots aren’t a cost-saving replacement for human workers. Instead, they complement the service, showing how human and robotic labour coexist.
Industry experts believe robotic and human service can thrive together, catering to different customer preferences. While some diners may enjoy the novelty of robot service, others still value the warmth and personal touch that only human waitstaff can provide. As Nairobi continues to grow as a tech hub, the Robot Cafe symbolizes the city’s embrace of innovation while recognizing the enduring importance of human interaction in hospitality.
Elon Musk’s xAI has launched Colossus, now the world’s most powerful AI training system, setting a new benchmark in the rapidly advancing field of AI. Colossus, which boasts a 100k H100 training cluster, is set to double in size in the coming months, solidifying its position as a leading force in AI development. This achievement places xAI ahead of competitors, with Colossus surpassing the capabilities of even the most advanced models to date, including those from OpenAI.
This weekend, the @xAI team brought our Colossus 100k H100 training cluster online. From start to finish, it was done in 122 days.
Colossus is the most powerful AI training system in the world. Moreover, it will double in size to 200k (50k H200s) in a few months.
The development of Colossus was accomplished in collaboration with Nvidia, a leader in semiconductor technology. The system’s power is driven by many GPUs, making it the most potent AI training system currently available. Industry reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, with many experts praising the accomplishment as a significant milestone in AI technology. Nvidia, which provided the cutting-edge H200 semiconductors for Colossus, highlighted the model’s exceptional gains in energy efficiency.
Musk’s ambitions in AI extend beyond Colossus. He has plans for a supercomputer that could be operational by 2025 and has expressed support for regulatory measures to ensure the safe development of AI. Despite the controversies surrounding these regulations, Musk remains a vocal advocate for responsible AI innovation, aiming to balance progress with public safety.
Exciting to see Colossus, the world’s largest GPU #supercomputer, come online in record time. Colossus is powered by @nvidia's #acceleratedcomputing platform, delivering breakthrough performance with exceptional gains in #energyefficiency.
The rise of automated kitchens, once the stuff of science fiction, is now a global reality, with robots already preparing everything from burgers to sushi, says Patrick Lin, professor of philosophy at California State Polytechnic University. As AI-driven technology advances, its integration into kitchens – first in commercial settings and eventually in homes – could profoundly reshape how food is prepared and consumed. This transformation may echo the impact of the microwave oven, which revolutionised mealtime convenience but also brought social and cultural disruptions.
While AI kitchens promise benefits like enhanced creativity for chefs and personalised meal preparation, they also pose risks to human well-being and cultural traditions. Cooking, a therapeutic and educational experience, could become obsolete, weakening family bonds and diminishing the transfer of knowledge and skills. Moreover, AI’s tendency to simplify or stereotype cultural nuances could lead to a loss of culinary diversity and changes in community dynamics if robots replace human chefs.
AI kitchens’ potential safety and ethical challenges are significant, from food safety concerns to the loss of jobs in the food service industry. As these technologies continue to develop, it is crucial to consider their broader societal implications, ensuring that the benefits of automation do not come at the expense of our deeply rooted food traditions and the human experience they enrich.
An unusual pair of news anchors in Venezuela has emerged—El Pana and La Chama. These AI-generated figures, designed to look and sound realistic, are the creation of Connectas, a Colombia-based organisation. The ‘Operation Retweet’ initiative aims to disseminate news from several independent Venezuelan media outlets while protecting journalists from government repression. The project’s director, Carlos Huertas, explained that using AI allows them to bypass the escalating risks real reporters face in the country.
Why does it matter?
The Venezuelan government has been cracking down on journalists, protesters, and opposition figures amid a disputed election, with at least ten journalists arrested since mid-June, eight of whom remain imprisoned on severe charges. The crackdown is part of a broader effort to stifle dissent in response to the ongoing election dispute between President Nicolas Maduro and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. While Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, claims victory with the backing of the Supreme Court and electoral authority, the opposition argues that their candidate won by a large margin.
Protests over the election have resulted in 27 deaths and over 2,400 arrests. The situation has drawn international concern, with many questioning the election’s fairness and calling for the release of full vote tallies. Despite the government’s efforts to suppress dissent, the AI news anchors symbolise creative resistance, delivering news without putting human reporters at further risk.
California’s efforts to regulate the use of digital replicas of performers took a significant step forward with the passage of AB 1836 in the state Senate. The new bill mandates that studios obtain explicit consent from the estates of deceased performers before creating digital replicas for use in films, TV shows, video games, and other media. The move comes just days after the California legislature passed AB 2602, which enforces similar consent requirements for living actors.
SAG-AFTRA Statement on Today's Passing of CA Assembly Bill 1836: "For those who would use the digital replicas of deceased performers in films, TV shows, videogames, audiobooks, sound recordings and more, without first getting the consent of those performers’ estates, … 1/3
SAG-AFTRA, the union representing film and television performers, has strongly advocated for these measures, emphasising the importance of protecting performers’ rights in the digital age. In a statement released after the Senate’s approval of AB 1836, the union described the bill as a ‘legislative priority’ and urged Governor Gavin Newsom to sign it into law. The union’s stance highlights the growing concern over the unauthorised use of digital replicas, particularly as technology makes it increasingly easy to recreate performers’ likenesses long after they have passed away, keeping the audience concerned and aware of the issue.
If signed into law, AB 1836 would ensure that the estates of deceased performers have control over how their likenesses are used, potentially setting a precedent for other states to follow. However, the bill also raises practical challenges, such as determining who has the authority to grant consent on behalf of the deceased, which could complicate its implementation. The bill reflects a broader push within the entertainment industry to establish clear legal protections against exploiting living and deceased performers in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Alongside the AI bill, the passing of bill AB 1836 underscores California’s role as a leader in entertainment industry legislation, particularly in areas where technology intersects with performers’ rights. As the debate over digital replicas continues, the potential impact of AB 1836 on the industry could have far-reaching implications, keeping the audience engaged and interested in the future of entertainment law.
South Korean police have initiated an investigation into the messaging platform Telegram, probing its potential involvement in the spread of sexually explicit deepfake content. Authorities in South Korea are focusing on whether the platform may have facilitated the distribution of illegal material, following concerns raised by media reports.
Telegram responded by stating that it moderates harmful content on its platform through AI tools, proactive monitoring, and user reports. The company said millions of pieces of harmful content are removed each day.
South Korean authorities are determined to address the issue, with heightened efforts underway to fight the rising number of deepfake crimes, which have caused widespread alarm across the country.
OpenAI recently unveiled the Model Spec, a comprehensive framework designed to guide the behaviour of its GPT models in the OpenAI API and ChatGPT. The document is a crucial resource for researchers and data labellers involved in reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), ensuring that models align with user intent and adhere to ethical standards.
The Model Spec is organised into three main components: Objectives provide broad directional goals, Rules establish specific instructions to prevent harmful outcomes and maintain legality, and Defaults offer basic style guidance and allow user flexibility while ensuring consistency.
The initiative serves multiple important purposes. It provides a framework for businesses to implement ethical AI, improve customer service quality, navigate regulations, and gain a competitive advantage through reliable AI systems. The Spec also addresses common issues by preventing users from prompting the model to ignore instructions and providing guidance on how models should refuse tasks.
OpenAI’s Model Spec represents a significant advancement in AI models’ fine-tuning and ethical alignment. As a living document, it will evolve based on community feedback and practical applications, contributing to the broader discourse on responsible AI development and public engagement in determining model behaviour.
Ericsson and Telstra have achieved a significant milestone in mobile connectivity with the launch of Ericsson’s 4th generation Radio Access Network (RAN) compute platform. The advanced technology introduces the RAN Processor 6672 in a Centralized RAN (C-RAN) configuration, offering over three times the capacity of previous models and greatly enhancing data speeds, reliability, and efficiency.
The new RAN Compute units handle critical digital signal processing tasks and achieve up to 60% lower energy consumption than traditional setups. Such efficiency supports sustainability goals while improving network performance. Additionally, the platform integrates advanced automation and AI/ML capabilities, enabling support for up to 20 times more AI models and paving the way for future technologies like 5G Advanced and 6G.
Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson, Australia, and New Zealand, highlighted the global importance of this deployment, noting it enhances current services and prepares the network for future innovations. Sri Amirthalingam, Telstra’s Executive for Wireless Network Engineering, emphasised that this technology will provide a superior mobile experience and support increased network capacity, setting the stage for future advancements.
Japan’s defence ministry is ramping up investments in AI, automation, and troop welfare as it tackles a growing recruitment crisis. The ministry announced these measures alongside its latest budget request, aiming to maintain a strong military presence amid a shrinking birth rate and increasing security concerns surrounding China.
A 6.9% increase in defence spending has been proposed, totalling a record 8.5 trillion yen ($59 billion). The strategy shift will fund AI surveillance systems for military bases, unmanned drones, and new automated warships with smaller crews. The move comes after Japan’s Self Defence Forces (SDF) experienced its worst recruitment year, enrolling less than half its target.
To address the shortfall, the defence ministry plans to offer financial incentives and improve living conditions, including more private sleeping quarters and better social media access. Special efforts are being made to increase female recruitment, with new accommodation and enhanced harassment prevention measures also included in the budget.
Japan is also exploring outsourcing training and support operations to civilian contractors and former SDF members, freeing up more troops for frontline duties.
As China’s military power grows, these steps form part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s broader strategy to strengthen Japan’s defence capabilities.
