Latest news with #CatherineThorbecke
South China Morning Post
05-08-2025
- South China Morning Post
Should you use AI to plan trips? Why it doesn't mean a better holiday
By Catherine Thorbecke On a recent trip to Taiwan, I turned to ChatGPT to ask for recommendations for the best beef noodles in my area – with the very specific request that the shop had to accept credit cards, as I was running low on local currency. The chatbot immediately recommended a place that was a short walk and featured some of the most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth beef tendon I have ever had. I was pleased to be the only foreigner in the no-frills, no-air-conditioning joint that was home to a fat, orange cat taking a nap under one of the metal stools. But after my meal, I panicked when the impatient woman behind the counter had to put aside the dumplings she was folding to try and communicate in English to me that it was cash only. Even a quick Google search of the hole in the wall would have saved me from this fate, and I felt foolish for blindly trusting the AI's outputs.
Mint
13-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
China could yet trump the US in a global scramble for AI talent
Next Story Catherine Thorbecke Big sign-on bonuses can keep Silicon Valley ahead for the time being, but it's clear that Chinese education is driving key advances in artificial intelligence (AI) that America should envy. Eventually, China could win the talent war. There are signs that Chinese campuses are hotbeds of AI research. Gift this article Today's eye-watering artificial intelligence (AI) outlays aren't for high-end chips or data centres, but individuals. The competition for AI talent prompted Meta Platforms to reportedly offer sign-on bonuses of $100 million to lure senior staff from rivals. Today's eye-watering artificial intelligence (AI) outlays aren't for high-end chips or data centres, but individuals. The competition for AI talent prompted Meta Platforms to reportedly offer sign-on bonuses of $100 million to lure senior staff from rivals. It feels 'as if someone has broken into our home and stolen something," OpenAI's chief research officer said of the aggressive poaching in a memo to staff. The latest victim: Apple Inc, which just lost top executive Ruoming Pang to Meta. It's telling that so many superstar players that US tech titans are boasting of adding to their rosters are of Chinese origin. Including Pang, eight of the 12 new recruits to the Meta Superintelligence Labs team graduated from universities in mainland China before pursuing careers abroad. It means that a key driver of the global AI race is a scramble for Chinese talent. The outsize role they play in developing AI systems for China's geopolitical rival isn't likely lost on Beijing. In other tech fields where workers hold a knowledge edge, the government hasn't been afraid of asking them to return home. Authorities have already reportedly restricted travel for some of DeepSeek's employees. Instead of cracking down on immigration, US policymakers must do more to entice the best and brightest from China and beyond. But American business leaders shouldn't assume that the big paychecks alone will win an international talent contest. Researchers at Harvard University last month said that the number of high-impact scientific publications shows that China dominates in 'raw human capital for AI." This helps drive indigenous research despite US advantages in computing power and investment. Top workers may still be keen on making money overseas, but that does not mean a lot of them will not stay at home. Separate researchers at Stanford University in May analyzed data on the more than 200 authors listed on DeepSeek's technical papers. The firm's success story is 'fundamentally, one of homegrown talent," they found. Half of DeepSeek's team never left China for education or work, and those who did ultimately returned to pursue AI development. This has policy implications for the US. China looks at international experience less as a brain drain and more as a way for researchers to acquire knowledge before returning home, the Stanford paper said. The US 'may be mistakenly assuming it has a permanent talent lead." This finding aligns with other data that suggests America has been losing its allure as a destination for top-tier AI researchers. Only 42% of these individuals worked in the US in 2022, compared to 59% in 2019. During that same period, China was closing the gap fast, rising to 28% from 11%. The Chinese government, meanwhile, has been funding AI labs and research at universities as part of industrial policy. It's not clear how well this investment has paid off, but it has helped incubate talent who went on to support breakthroughs at private companies. One of DeepSeek's keystone papers, for example, was co-authored by scholars at Tsinghua University, Peking University and Nanjing University. In this way, China has been building an ecosystem of innovation that doesn't centre around poaching individual star players. Domestic firms are less able to spend so lavishly to attract top talent. US private investment in AI was nearly 12 times the amount in China, according to a recent analysis. Earlier this year, the state-backed news outlet Global Times reported on 'high-paying job offers" from DeepSeek, which could amount to annual income of some 1.54 million yuan per year (just under $215,000). It's a significant sum in urban China, but hardly the instant millionaire-minting figures being tossed around in Silicon Valley. DeepSeek is nonetheless in the midst of a recruitment blitz—one that's trying to attract overseas Chinese AI researchers to come back home. It has posted a spate of roles on LinkedIn, a platform that's not used domestically. As my colleague Dave Lee has written, this is about more than just money, but instead convincing workers that their contribution 'will matter most in the history books." DeepSeek may be hoping that this pitch will work on homesick Chinese talent. Ultimately, just under half of the world's top-tier AI researchers come from China, compared to 18% from the US. Many may be seeking opportunities abroad, but Beijing is pulling all its levers to convince at least some to stay at a time when America isn't signalling a warm welcome. Mind boggling sign-on bonuses from Silicon Valley may be enough to win a cross-border battle for talent, but time will tell if it's enough to win the war. ©Bloomberg The author is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech. Topics You May Be Interested In Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
12-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: Writing a script where one's the villain and the victim
Have you ever found yourself narrating your own downfall, mid-happening? Like watching yourself eat that sixth pani puri despite knowing your stomach's already waving a white flag. Or sending that risky text, half-hoping it doesn't deliver. It's a strange sensation, being both the one who lights the match and the one who watches the fire rise. That's what the world feels like currently. From AI brain-drains and misunderstood ideologies to short-sellers cast as traitors and cricketers who stopped just short of greatness, everyone seems caught playing both villain and victim in scripts they helped write. Let's dive in. Take Meta's billion-dollar scramble for Chinese-origin AI talent. Catherine Thorbecke writes how the US is desperately courting the same researchers it once eyed with suspicion. Meanwhile, China, supposedly the loser in this talent tug-of-war, is building an even stronger bench by treating global experience as prep work—not poaching. In the global AI drama, the West writes itself as hero, but the talent, nearly half of it Chinese, may be quietly penning a different ending. Meanwhile, Mihir S Sharma asks us to look past the shimmering glow of the American dream. Its racial and political storylines are so deeply specific that borrowing them can be hazardous. Yet the world often mimics America's script on governance and economics, forgetting the US plays by rules no one else can afford. The cultural empire may last, but its domestic politics are less a global blueprint and more a Shakespearean tragedy: powerful, but not reproducible. And then there's the market's favourite antagonist, the short seller. Devangshu Datta lays out how modern-day market saboteurs are often right in principle but wronged in perception. Whether it's Hindenburg or Viceroy, these actors operate in full daylight, with reasoned bets and public disclosures. But nationalism often turns them into villains, ignoring that free markets need skeptics just as much as believers. Every drama needs both protagonists and foils, or it's just propaganda. Closer home, Shekhar Gupta dissects the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's cryptic call for leaders to retire at 75, a line that stirred speculation about Narendra Modi's political future. But this wasn't a plot twist. Modi remains the exception to RSS norms, much like he's always been. The true generational handover may come post-2029, or if Bhagwat himself retires this September. Until then, quiet jockeying and succession shadows may deepen, but Modi's grip on power keeps the curtains firmly drawn. Sometimes, though, not playing the lead is the most heroic thing. Uddalok Bhattacharya captures this rare grace in Wiaan Mulder's refusal to break Brian Lara's record out of reverence. In a sport built on numbers, he chose humility over headlines. A reminder that even in a world obsessed with winning, stepping aside can be the boldest move of all. Stay tuned!
Mint
08-07-2025
- Mint
Campus conundrum: Educators lack clarity on how to deal with AI in classrooms
Next Story Catherine Thorbecke A furore in Singapore has erupted over the issue and educators might be erring by barring AI tools that could help students. Although the impact of AI on education is far from clear, adaptation should be the aim. Resistance seems futile. The impact of AI on education is unclear but adaptation is key. Gift this article An artificial intelligence furore that's consuming Singapore's academic community reveals how we've lost the plot over the role the hyped-up technology should play in higher education. An artificial intelligence furore that's consuming Singapore's academic community reveals how we've lost the plot over the role the hyped-up technology should play in higher education. A student at Nanyang Technological University said in a Reddit post that she used a digital tool to alphabetize her citations for a term paper. When it was flagged for typos, she was then accused of breaking the rules over the use of Generative AI for the assignment. It snowballed when two more students came forward with similar complaints, one alleging that she was penalized for using ChatGPT to help with initial research, even though she says she did not use the bot to draft the essay. The school, which publicly states it embraces AI for learning, initially defended its zero-tolerance stance in this case in statements to local media. But internet users rallied around the original Reddit poster and rejoiced at an update that she won an appeal to rid her transcript of the 'academic fraud' label. It may sound like a run-of-the-mill university dispute. But there's a reason the saga went so viral, garnering thousands of upvotes and heated opinions from online commentators. It has laid bare the strange new world we've found ourselves in, as students and faculty are rushing to keep pace with how AI should or shouldn't be used in universities. It's a global conundrum, but the debate has especially roiled Asia. Stereotypes of math nerds and tiger moms aside, a rigorous focus on tertiary studies is often credited for the region's dramatic economic rise. The importance of education—and long hours of studying—is instilled from the earliest age. So how does this change in the AI era? The reality is that nobody has the answer yet. Despite promises from ed-tech leaders that we're on the cusp of 'the biggest positive transformation that education has ever seen,' the data on academic outcomes hasn't kept pace with the technology's adoption. There are no long-term studies on how AI tools impact learning and cognitive functions—and viral headlines that it could make us lazy and dumb only add to the anxiety. Meanwhile, the race to not be left behind in implementing the technology risks turning an entire generation of developing minds into guinea pigs. For educators navigating this moment, the answer is not to turn a blind eye. Even if some teachers discourage the use of AI, it has become all but unavoidable for many scholars doing research in the internet age. Also Read: You're absolutely right, as the AI chatbot says Most Google searches now lead with automated summaries. Scrolling through these should not count as academic dishonesty. An informal survey of 500 Singaporean students from secondary school through university conducted by a local news outlet this year found that 84% were using products like ChatGPT for homework on a weekly basis. In China, many universities are turning to AI cheating detectors, even though the technology is imperfect. Some students are reporting on social media that they have to dumb down their writing to pass these tests or shell out cash for such detection tools themselves to ensure they beat them before submitting their papers. It doesn't have to be this way. The chaotic moment of transition has put new onus on educators to adapt and shift the focus on the learning process as much as the final results, Yeow Meng Chee, the provost and chief academic and innovation officer at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, tells me. This does not mean villainizing AI, but treating it as a tool and ensuring a student understands how they arrived at their final conclusion even if they used technology. This process also helps ensure the AI outputs, which remain imperfect and prone to hallucinations (or typos), are checked and understood. Ultimately, professors who make the biggest difference aren't those who improve exam scores but who build trust, teach empathy and instil confidence in students to solve complex problems. The most important parts of learning still can't be optimized by a machine. The Singapore saga shows how everyone is on edge and whether a reference-sorting website even counts as a generative AI tool isn't clear. It also exposed another irony: Saving time on a tedious task would likely be welcomed when the student enters the workforce—if the technology hasn't already taken her entry-level job. Demand for AI literacy in the labour market is becoming a must-have and universities ignoring it would do a disservice to student cohorts entering the real world. We're still a few years away from understanding the full impact of AI on teaching and how it can best be used in higher education. But let's not miss the forest for the trees as we figure it out. ©Bloomberg The author is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech. Topics You May Be Interested In Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
Bloomberg
01-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Daybreak Asia: Tariff Threats Offset Wall Street Gains
Asian stocks are poised for a cautious open as investors weighed the buoyant mood on Wall Street with lingering concerns over the global impact of President Donald Trump's tariff agenda. Equity-index futures pointed to a decline in Tokyo as Trump threatened to impose a fresh tariff level on Japan. Contracts for the S&P 500 edged down 0.1% after the index notched its best quarter since December 2023 on Monday, with technology shares leading. Wall Street's bulls drove stocks to all-time highs at the end of a solid quarter amid hopes the US is moving closer to reaching concrete deals with its top trading partners. We break down the forces driving the day's price action with Burns McKinney, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at NFJ Investment Group. Plus - with thousands of generative AI tools flooding the market and firms slashing prices to zero, Chinese startups are battling not just global rivals - but each other. We explore the challenges facing the so-called "Little Dragons," the role of state support, and why monetizing AI might be the industry's biggest unsolved puzzle with Catherine Thorbecke, Asia Tech Columnist for Bloomberg Opinion.
