The reality of AI-run startups: My search for an AI agent’s founder

I kept hearing about entrepreneurs in China running “one-person companies” with the help of artificial intelligence agents, which handle everything from coding to managing emails. How well do agents work? When I got an email pitch from an AI-run company, I was intrigued.  The sender introduced me to an AI app called YiXiang, a digital […]

Is AI replacing jobs? Chinese tech giants layoff workforce

Chinese tech giants are quietly shrinking their workforce — echoing a pattern playing out in Silicon Valley. In 2025, e-commerce major AlibabaiAlibabaAlibaba, founded in 1999 by Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma, is one of the most prominent global e-commerce companies that operates platforms like AliExpress, Taobao, and Tmall.READ MORE reduced its head count by 34% as […]

International Rescue Committee uses AI to help refugees

As rising conflict and forced displacement drive unprecedented humanitarian needs, adoption of artificial intelligence in humanitarian work has the potential to scale services for some of the most vulnerable populations in the world. Since 2015, Signpost — a program founded by the International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps, which creates digital help centers to aid […]

US tech embraces Sam Altman’s World iris-scan ID banned in places

A Sam Altman-backed technology that many governments rejected is finding traction in the American corporate world. On April 17, World, a project designed to distinguish humans from bots using biometrics, announced strategic partnerships with Tinder, Zoom, and Docusign. The three companies will use World’s digital identification to verify users, aiming to reduce deepfakes, scams, and […]

Asia is excited about AI, the U.S. not so much

A Molotov cocktail-type device was flung at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. Days earlier, more than a dozen shots were fired at the front door of an Indianapolis councilman who had backed the construction of a data center. No one was injured in these incidents, but they […]

Edtech’s pandemic boom is over as K-12 startup funding craters

The pandemic’s biggest bet on online learning has gone bust. Global edtech investment peaked at $16.7 billion in 2021, fueled by lockdowns that kept millions of children out of classrooms. By 2025, venture capital had plummeted to less than $3 billion, according to Tracxn, a Bengaluru-based platform that tracks global startup funding. The majority of […]

Why AI for social good fails

In the decades-long pursuit of solving social problems using technology, artificial intelligence is the newest hammer. From education and employment to agriculture, AI is increasingly presented as a solution to nearly every challenge. In the book AI Snake Oil, authors Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor compare this trend to the “snake oil” of the early […]

What Netflix’s AI bet on Ben Affleck’s startup means for VFX

Netflix’s latest acquisition is threatening thousands of livelihoods from Los Angeles to Mumbai. On March 5, Netflix acquired InterPositive, an artificial intelligence company built by Hollywood actor Ben Affleck, for an undisclosed sum. InterPositive automates color grading, relighting, and continuity fixes. This work is currently done frame by frame by artists in India, South Korea, […]

AI adoption will accelerate the e-waste crisis

I’m sure my family in Mumbai is a lot like yours: three old smartphones sit unused in a hidden ziplock bag. My mom is scouring the study. “There was another flip phone, where did that go?” she says as she unearths two iPod Touches and, eventually, an outdated iPad. Soon, thanks to AI, there will […]

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