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• IBM claims 'real world' edge in quantum computing race

  IBM insists that it is now closer than ever and can map out the path toward having a quantum system that can fulfill actual use cases.

  

• UK launches AI skills drive for workers and schoolchildren

  The UK's AI sector is valued at £72 billion and is projected to exceed £800 billion by 2035. It is growing 30 times faster than the rest of the economy, employing over 64,000 people, according to government figures.

  

• Apple under pressure to shine after AI stumble

  Industry insiders will be watching to see whether Apple addresses the AI stumble or focuses on less splashy announcements, including a rumored overhaul of its operating systems for its line of devices.

  

• US labor unions fight to contain AI disruption

  But the emergence of advanced "physical AI" promises a new generation of intelligent robots that won't be limited to repetitive tasks -- potentially displacing far more blue-collar workers than ever before.

  

• Google Deepmind CEO says global AI cooperation 'difficult'

  At London's South by Southwest (SXSW) festival on Monday, Hassabis, who has won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on AI, also addressed the challenges that artificial general intelligence (AGI) -- a technology that could match and even surpass human capability -- would bring.

  

• Silicon Valley VCs navigate uncertain AI future

  The stakes have grown so high that even major venture capital firms -- the same ones that helped birth the internet revolution -- can no longer compete.

  

• Meta AI bot used a billion times monthly: Mark Zuckerberg

  It was not clear how much Meta AI use involved people seeking out the chatbot versus passive users of Meta AI, as it is built into features in its family of apps.

  

• South Africa moves to ease black empowerment law under Starlink pressure

  Telecoms companies operating in South Africa, including those with foreign investment, are currently required to provide 30% equity to historically disadvantaged groups -- a policy created to mitigate the legacy of racial inequality left by apartheid.

  

• China's Xiaomi to invest nearly $7 bn in chips: Founder

  In pursuit of Xiaomi's semiconductor ambitions, the firm has developed an investment plan involving "at least 10 years of investment and at least 50 billion yuan", Lei added.

  

• Global chip giants converge on Taiwan for Computex

  The four-day event will draw computer and chip companies from around the world to Taiwan, whose semiconductor industry is critical to the production of everything from iPhones to the servers that run ChatGPT.

  

• China hands suspended death sentence to ex-chief of state chip giant

  China has sought to increase its self-reliance in the field of semiconductors, which are used in everything from televisions to weapons and supercomputers, particularly as they have become a focus of trade tensions between Beijing and countries like the United States.