Showing 1 - 10 of 31
Disney ends OpenAI tie-up after Sora shutdown
Life, Published on 29/03/2026
» Disney has ended its partnership with OpenAI following the decision to discontinue Sora, a popular AI video-generation application, marking a sudden shift in strategy for both firms.
Robots get smooth moves
Life, James Hein, Published on 25/03/2026
» The subject of the week is robots. The amount of news on these keeps growing and growing. South Korea is first up here with their KAIST Humanoid. In the field test, the robot was shown running across a soccer pitch, jumping, taking shots on goal, and even doing dance moves akin to the Michael Jackson moonwalk. Many robot demonstrations still look a bit stiff but these moves were quite smooth. The robot can run at about 12kph on flat ground with the next goal at 14kph. It can climb a ladder with 40cm steps and the knees can generate 320 Newton metres of peak torque so it can push heavier objects. The current model is based on the lower human half but the goal is for a full humanoid form that can work with people in industrial environments.
AI learning versus human creativity is a real battle
Life, James Hein, Published on 25/02/2026
» If you’ve been reading these columns long enough, you’ll probably know that I write music and I’ve written some books. With the advent of artificial intelligence, the concept of copyright and private property has blurred. The standard rule was, what you have worked hard on to create, belongs to you. As musicians and authors, ideally, we create, we write and we invent. In the world of AI, it will draw a picture, write a book and create music for you based on a simple text prompt that itself may have also been written for you by AI.
China trials AI police robots for traffic control
Life, Puriward Sinthopnumchai, Published on 31/01/2026
» Chinese police in several cities have begun deploying humanoid robots powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to assist with traffic enforcement, marking a serious step toward automating road management and public safety.
Understanding an AI's 'thinking'
Life, James Hein, Published on 22/10/2025
» Over the past couple of weeks, I dived deep into the Alice In Wonderland-like rabbit hole of chatbots and AI systems. This was not your typical "ask a few questions", but more along the lines of jailbreaking the AI to get behind the scenes. You may remember earlier commentary on the code behind the query. This is where the guardrails and biases of the model are coded and why the majority of all AI systems are currently leaning to the Left of the political spectrum.
Sabine has the science you're after
Life, James Hein, Published on 08/10/2025
» Sabine Hossenfelder is one of the people I regularly watch on the YouTube platform. She is a physicist but also veers into other areas such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. For her latest video -- In Which I Lose Faith In Quantum Computing -- she makes a number of interesting observations. In short, apart from some very specific applications, quantum computing, even if it is scalable from current technology, has limited application. It also has the potential of bringing down a number of current companies highly focused on this technology, or at least some of their divisions. Artificial intelligence takes up a lot of the space that quantum computing could do well in, but for the present at least, AI does it better. The next 10 years, or less, will be important to see how both of these directions develop, or not. If you are interested at all in physics, maths and occasionally quantum computing, then Sabine Hossenfelder provides some interesting perspectives.
Bitec to host cutting-edge construction expo
Life, Published on 16/09/2025
» The latest technologies for the region's construction, mining and concrete industries will be presented during CBA Expo 2025 and Concrete Expo Asia 2025, which will be held on the same premises at Bitec Hall 100, Bang Na-Trat Road, from Sept 24-26.
OpenAI's search for profit is a risk
Life, James Hein, Published on 26/02/2025
» Is Sam Altman potentially the most dangerous person on the planet? An interesting question. Sam Altman is the CEO of OpenAI, the company that made the AI that everyone knows as ChatGPT. The original aim of OpenAI back in the day, when Elon Musk was involved, was a fully open-source product that would be scrutinised and controlled by the wider population. In contrast, the focus of Altman appears to be money. OpenAI is currently looking for an injection of funds to make it a fully commercial enterprise. When that is the focus, safety is a secondary consideration and you can end up with Skynet. The current estimate for GAI or AGI (artificial general intelligence) is as soon as next year, but perhaps two to three. Readers will know my opinion on these estimates. So OpenAI may just as well now be called ClosedAI because it's all about the potential income and is really one of the potentially dangerous AI platforms available today.
AI for the elderly
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 16/12/2024
» Healthcare workers at government hospitals face an overwhelming workload every morning due to the large number of patients. Currently, robots known as Dinsaw Intelligent OPDs assist staff in screening patients at three hospitals -- Chulalongkorn, Siriraj and Phramongkutklao.
Bitec hosts conference on sustainable packaging trends with 2,000 exhibitors
Life, Published on 12/06/2024
» The latest technologies, solutions and trends shaping the future of sustainable processing and packaging are presented during "ProPak Asia 2024", which kicks off today and runs daily from 10am to 6pm until Saturday, at Bitec, Bang Na-Trat Road.