Number of preschoolers in Singapore learning with AI programmes jumps 75%
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CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Microsoft in advanced talks for continued access to OpenAI tech, Bloomberg News reports
Microsoft is in advanced talks for a deal that would give the Windows maker continued access to critical OpenAI technology in the future, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the negotiations. The companies have discussed new terms that would allow Microsoft to use OpenAI's latest models and technology even if the ChatGPT maker declares it has achieved artificial general intelligence (AGI), or AI that surpasses human intelligence, the report said. A clause in OpenAI's current contract with Microsoft will shut the software giant out of some rights to the startup's advanced technology when it achieves AGI. Negotiators have been meeting regularly, and an agreement could come together in a matter of weeks, Bloomberg News reported. Microsoft and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. OpenAI needs Microsoft's approval to complete its transition into a public-benefit corporation. The two have been in negotiations for months to revise the terms of their investment, including the future equity stake Microsoft will hold in OpenAI. Last month, The Information reported that Microsoft and OpenAI were at odds over the AGI clause. OpenAI is also facing a lawsuit from Elon Musk, who co-founded the company with Sam Altman in 2015 but left before it surged in popularity, accusing OpenAI of straying from its founding mission — to develop AI for the good of humanity, not corporate profit. Microsoft is set to report June quarter earnings on Wednesday, with its relationship with OpenAI in the spotlight, as the startup turns to rivals Google, Oracle and CoreWeave for cloud capacity.
Business Times
4 hours ago
- Business Times
How Big Tech plans to feed AI's voracious appetite for power
AMERICA'S tech giants are masters of the digital realm. Yet, as they bet stupendous sums on artificial intelligence (AI), their ambitions are facing constraints in the physical world. Shortages of chips and data-centre equipment such as transformers and switching gear mean soaring prices and lengthy waits. Just as pressing is access to energy, as utilities struggle to match the demands of Silicon Valley. Last week, US President Donald Trump published an 'AI action plan' which describes America's stagnating energy capacity as a threat to the country's 'AI dominance'. How is Big Tech coping with a worsening power crunch? Demand is rocketing thanks to ever more ambitious AI plans by the hyperscalers – Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta – all of which rely on data centres to run their services. On Jul 23, Alphabet, the owner of Google, said it would increase its capital spending for 2025 by US$10 billion to US$85 billion, taking the expected combined total for the hyperscalers to US$322 billion this year. This is up from US$125 billion four years ago, as they splash out on bigger and more power-hungry data centres. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's boss, recently unveiled Project Prometheus, a cluster of such centres in Louisiana covering an area almost the size of Manhattan. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up New facilities consume more electricity than ever. A rack of servers stuffed with AI chips requires about 10 times more power than a non-AI version a few years ago. A study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that in 2023, US data centres used 176 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity. ' Hyperscalers are also playing more of a role in directly commissioning power projects. That not only includes striking deals directly with power firms, but also building generation capacity at data centres to reduce reliance on grid connections. ' That is forecast to increase to between 325 TWh and 580 TWh by 2028, or 7 to 12 per cent of America's total consumption, with hyperscalers accounting for about half. The situation is further complicated by the shifting requirements of AI. Most of the computing power now trains AI models. As the technology is adopted more widely, more of it will be used for inference, when an AI system responds to a query. To speed up responses, many in the industry argue that inference data centres need to be near where people are using the software. But available land and power are even harder to find near cities. Already overloaded Faced with a power shortage, America's tech giants are turning to 'less than ideal places', says a former executive. Many of the preferred places, such as North Virginia, with favourable tax regimes and proximity to high-capacity fibre-optic cables that ferry data around, are already overloaded with data centres. Yet, even the new spots, such as Hillsboro, Oregon, and Columbus, Ohio, are becoming 'capped out', explains Pat Lynch, executive managing director of data centre solutions at CBRE, a property firm. Vacancies are near an all-time low, and centres due for completion in 2028 are already fully booked. Another strategy is to team up with smaller rivals. In June, Google announced that it would rent data-centre capacity from CoreWeave, an AI cloud provider which has already signed a similar five-year US$10 billion leasing deal with Microsoft. Part of the capacity for such 'neoclouds' comes from repurposing facilities once used to mine cryptocurrencies. Tech firms are also scouring the land for fresh sources of power. Amazon Web Services planned to buy and develop a nuclear-powered data centre from Talen Energy, an electricity generator. The deal was blocked by regulators for fear of raising locals' bills. On Jul 15, Google announced a US$3 billion deal for hydropower from a dam in Pennsylvania. Hyperscalers are also playing more of a role in directly commissioning power projects. That not only includes striking deals directly with power firms, but also building generation capacity at data centres to reduce reliance on grid connections. A survey by Bloom Energy, a power provider, finds that data-centre bosses expect that 27 per cent of facilities will have onsite power by 2030, whereas last year that share was only 1 per cent. ' A final strategy is to go abroad. Data centre capacity is set to soar in the Gulf countries, where big sovereign-wealth funds are bankrolling developments. ' Google signed a US$20 billion deal in December with Intersect Power, a developer, to build a data centre and solar farm with battery storage. Some of the power for Meta's Prometheus will come from natural gas extracted at the location. The hyperscalers' desperation is helping cultivate novel sources of generation. Google has an agreement with Kairos Power, a startup developing small-modular reactors (SMRs), to provide nuclear power from 2030. Amazon has invested in X-energy, another SMR startup. Google and Meta have signed deals for geothermal energy, tapping the heat from the earth's crust. Microsoft is dabbling in hydrogen fuel cells as backup power for data centres. Extremes in demand Making the grid more flexible is another way to ensure reliable supplies of energy. Tyler Norris, a fellow at Duke University, says electricity systems are designed for extremes in demand. A hot and sunny morning in Texas, say, will send people rushing to switch on air-conditioning units. If data centres agree not to use grid power at peak times by tapping batteries or using onsite generators, that can allow more to be added to the grid without overburdening it. Data-centre operators that do this could get priority in the queue for power from the grid. XAI, owned by Elon Musk, participated in a flexibility programme for its data centre in Memphis. SemiAnalysis, a research outfit, argues that this helped it get faster access to electricity. The tech giants are providing support in other ways, too. Google has teamed up with CTC Global, a cable-maker, to help utilities and states upgrade transmission lines. ' Malaysia had been Asia's data-centre hot spot, thanks in part to cheap energy, though a surcharge for data centres which came into force on Jul 1 may put off the hyperscalers. ' A final strategy is to go abroad . Data centre capacity is set to soar in the Gulf countries, where big sovereign-wealth funds are bankrolling developments. Spain, with its abundant solar power, is another popular destination. Malaysia had been Asia's data-centre hot spot , thanks in part to cheap energy, though a surcharge for data centres which came into force on Jul 1 may put off the hyperscalers. Making the right choice is crucial. Building huge data centres can run into trouble. Project Stargate, led by OpenAI, an AI startup, and SoftBank, a giant Japanese tech investor, has reportedly hit setbacks after disagreements about power providers and site selection. Peter Freed, an executive formerly at Meta and now a consultant, notes that building highly customised data centres for training models in the middle of nowhere may prove a bad idea. 'I worry about stranded-asset risk,' he says. And as no one knows what the demand for AI will be over the next two years, even the most advanced AI model might struggle to give definitive advice. ©2025 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved
Asia News Network
4 hours ago
- Asia News Network
From aviation to healthcare, workers have taken small steps to be early adopters of AI in Singapore
July 25, 2025 SINGAPORE – As part of a concerted push to become an artificial intelligence-savvy nation, there are plans to nurture a large pool of AI users across various sectors in Singapore's 3.5 million strong workforce. These AI early adopters – who could be lawyers, accountants, doctors – will show their peers how the technology can be useful for daily tasks, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo at an AI conference on July 22. The size of this pool of users will have to far exceed the 15,000 AI practitioners that Singapore already aims to nurture and hire, Mrs Teo said, detailing how small states can compete on the global AI stage dominated by big boys such as the US and China. Singapore has already taken small steps in various sectors. Here are some early developments: 1. Banking – AI coach provides career development advice In July, South-east Asia's largest lender DBS Bank launched a virtual career coach developed with an external vendor to help its staff figure out future career moves within the bank and the necessary training to accompany the moves. Powered by generative AI, this chatbot can pick out potential career shifts and give advice on what needs to be done to qualify for the dream role. The answers are customised based on the chatbot's understanding of an employee's current role, skill sets and personal motivation. It is also able to provide tips on how to demonstrate sought-after traits for such roles, and highlight the available support for formal training they may need. iCoach was trained on the banks' career development-related resources and advice from top leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith. The chatbot is available for use round the clock for employees in Singapore, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and India to start with. The bank has around 41,000 employees across 19 markets currently. 2. Legal – AI service summarises case judgments for efficiency A new feature called LawNet AI, launched in 2024, has allowed around 6,000 lawyers in Singapore to say goodbye to sifting through endless walls of text contained within thousands of case judgments to prepare for their own cases. The Singapore Academy of Law and Infocomm Media Development Authority jointly developed the AI service, which can summarise case judgments that mostly exist as lengthy transcripts. It is accessible to users of the LawNet legal research portal, which nearly all lawyers subscribe to for looking up past cases and conducting research. Hundreds of AI-generated results were reviewed by justices' law clerks to reduce the risks of the AI service generating incorrect or nonsensical results. The reviewed copies were then fed back into the system, to increase its accuracy rate. Text in the generated summary is labelled with reference to the original sources, to help users fact-check the information with ease. 3. Healthcare – AI service helps nurses structure handover notes accurately It often takes up to one hour to hand over information about patients between shift changes. But an AI tool is being trialled at Alexandra Hospital to cut down the time taken to generate handover notes. CareScribe helps to summarise and structure handover notes for the incoming nursing shift, so nurses can use the time saved to tend to patients. 'Most handovers are currently conducted through verbal communication with handwritten documentation, which can present challenges in maintaining consistency and completeness,' said Dr Ravi Shankar, principal investigator and research fellow at Alexandra Hospital's medical affairs research office. CareScribe, which currently can be accessed via a webpage, allows nurses to upload photos or voice notes, which are then transcribed and summarised in a structured format. The notes are organised in an ABCDEFG template, which stands for acuity assessment, background history and behaviour, conditions and care plans, drugs, equipment, family and goals. Critical clinical information – such as patient safety alerts, medication-related updates and scheduled procedures – is also highlighted by the system. 4. Aviation – AI eye in the sky to scan airport runways for safety Through a series of high-definition cameras, an AI system used at Changi Airport helps to scan the runways for any debris or foreign objects that can damage aircraft or disrupt flights. Dubbed iFerret, the system can pick up on a variety of interference such as metal parts, wildlife, animal carcasses and other objects as small as 4cm round the clock. 'When it comes to flights, the most critical period is take-off and landing, and even something as small as a monitor lizard can be a disruption and impact the process,' said a spokesperson for technology services provider NCS, which collaborated with Changi to develop the system. iFerret acts as an extra set of eyes for air traffic controllers, instead of relying only on airport staff who scan the runways several times daily. It is also trained to avoid flagging images that are false alerts, such as reflections on a damp runway.
