Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 130

Upstart Chinese AI company DeepSeek’s founder started out as a low-key hedge fund entrepreneur

The 40-year-old founder of China’s DeepSeek, an AI startup that has startled markets with its capacity to compete with industry leaders like OpenAI, kept a low profile as he built up a hedge fund and then refined its quantitative models to branch into artificial intelligence. Liang Wenfeng, who founded DeepSeek in 2023, was born in southern China’s Guangdong and studied in eastern China’s

Philippine president offers a deal to China: Stop sea aggression and I’ll return missiles to US

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. offered on Friday to remove a U.S. missile system from the Philippines if China halts what he called its “aggressive and coercive behavior” in the disputed South China Sea. The U.S. Army installed the Typhon mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines in April last year to support what the longtime treaty allies described as training for joint

With acoustic blast, China ups aggression in disputed waters: Philippine Navy

China’s use of a long-range acoustic device against Filipino sailors in the South China Sea marks an “increase in aggression” in the disputed waters, a Philippine Navy spokesman said. The BRP Cabra, a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship, faced off with Chinese coast guard vessel 3203 and two other Chinese ships as it tried to sail on Saturday within Manila’s exclusive economic zone off the coast of

Ethnic Mongolian dissident Hada gets Nobel Peace Prize nomination

Four Japanese lawmakers have nominated ethnic Mongolian political prisoner Hada for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, citing his continuing advocacy for his people living under Chinese Communist Party rule despite years of persecution. Hada, who goes by one name, has been jailed or under house arrest in China since 1995 for his advocacy work for ethnic Mongolians in China. He is the co-founder of the

Thai lawyer petitions court for release of detained Uyghurs

A Thai lawyer is seeking the release of 42 Uyghurs who have spent more than a decade in detention and who rights groups fear could be deported to China where they would be at risk of torture. The men from the mostly Muslim minority from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China have been held on immigration charges at a Thai detention center since attempting to escape Beijing’s persecution

Is China Really Powerless to Stop the ‘Scamdemic’? The Truth Is More Complex

Pale, gaunt, and with a freshly shaved head, Chinese actor Wang Xing sat flanked by Thai police in the border town of Mae Sot on Jan. 7 to discuss his terrifying ordeal. The 31-year-old had flown to Bangkok for what he thought was a meeting with Thai movie executives. Instead, he was trafficked across the border to wartorn Myanmar’s lawless Myawaddy region, where he was forcibly put to work

DeepSeek chaos suggests ‘America First’ may not always win

The stunning rise of DeepSeek is sending shockwaves through the artificial intelligence world, threatening America’s dominance that seemed set in stone just a week ago. The fact that a little-known Chinese startup has built a model that can compete with leading US AI systems is challenging the conventional wisdom that it takes gobs of money and unlimited access to cutting-edge computer chips to

Multiple people killed in crowd crush at world’s largest religious festival

Multiple people were killed in a crowd crush at the world’s largest religious gathering in India early Wednesday, as tens of millions of devotees went to bathe in a river on one of the most sacred days of a Hindu festival.An official source at a local hospital told CNN they had received 14 bodies around 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday. About 20 people were also being treated for minor injuries,

Chinese zodiac predictions: What’s in store for 2025 as we enter the Year of the Snake

Bidding farewell to the mythical Dragon, the world welcomes the Year of the Snake on January 29 — the first day of the Lunar New Year. For those who celebrate this ancient festival, starting the year on a positive note is essential. In addition to eating auspicious foods and taking part in luck-enhancing activities, many people turn to the stars for hints about what lies in store for the months

DeepSeek: How China's 'AI heroes' overcame US curbs to stun Silicon Valley

When ChatGPT stormed the world of artificial intelligence (AI), an inevitable question followed: did it spell trouble for China, America's biggest tech rival? Two years on, a new AI model from China has flipped that question: can the US stop Chinese innovation?For a while, Beijing seemed to fumble with its answer to ChatGPT, which is not available in China. Unimpressed users mocked Ernie, the