Latest news with #Duan
International Business Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- International Business Times
The Rise of AI in Asia: The Pivotal Works of Yuyan Duan
In the global pursuit of artificial intelligence, Silicon Valley has traditionally led the way. However, Asia is rapidly becoming a crucial hub for AI deployment, education, and startup development. A new generation of founders in Singapore and Southeast Asia is emerging, characterized by strong technical skills, market understanding, and entrepreneurial drive. Yuyan Duan, an enterprise AI strategist based in the U.S., is playing a pivotal role in this evolution. Rather than creating another chatbot or pitching another AI fund, she's focused on providing essential resources to these founders. Her work centers on developing practical tools, frameworks, and systems that adapt Silicon Valley's AI advancements for a global audience. Her book, "AIGC: From 0 to 1," published in early 2024, is the first Regional Asian-language book on generative AI written after the release of GPT-4. It serves as a hands-on guide for technical founders, product managers, and startup educators navigating the complexities of AI agents, orchestration tools, and enterprise readiness. Duan identified a significant gap in accessible resources for local-language speaking founders: "There was no single source that taught applied AI to founders in the region, " she explains. "I wrote this book because I knew how many brilliant people were building, but lacked access to the frameworks we take for granted in the Valley." The book has quickly gained traction within Asian tech communities. It has been adopted by bootcamps in the region, cited in academic publications, and featured on platforms like Tencent News and NetEase News. Its insights have also been shared in technical workshops, founder roundtables, and investor briefings in Singapore and Taiwan. The impact of Duan's work extends beyond her book. A founder reported using her agent evaluation framework to refine a product demo, which significantly improved investor communication. A startup mentor in Singapore noted that the book provided a clear roadmap for a previously scattered team, enabling them to progress from prototype to pitch-ready. "The startup world in Asia is moving fast," Yuyan notes. "But many founders are still stuck in translation, not of language, but of systems. They understand the tech, but not how to shape it into something scalable, governable, and investable." Duan's unique position, as an insider to Silicon Valley's AI product development with a focus on a bilingual, global audience, sets her work apart. Duan's community initiative, AI+, has also played a significant role in fostering the growth of AI startups. The platform has organized over 150 events, including tailored Go-To-Market (GTM) workshops designed to tackle the most urgent commercialization roadblocks. These workshops, presided over by Duan, unite entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders, and have become a vital resource for emerging AI ventures. "It's incredibly rewarding to see founders exchanging lessons learned in real time," Duan commented. "We want to create an environment where they can troubleshoot their toughest GTM challenges with people who've actually been through it." Numerous startups connected through AI+ have secured funding from prominent venture firms and incubators, including a16z, Plug n Play Tech Center, Fusion Fund, Draper University, TSVC, DCM Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund and more. These successes underscore the importance of the practical frameworks, go-to-market strategies, and real-world validation emphasized by Duan and AI+. Duan emphasizes that AI is not solely a technical field, but also a social one. She believes in building systems that foster trust, collaboration, and regional adaptation. This is particularly relevant in Asia, where governments are rapidly establishing AI frameworks, but where consistent implementation at the ground level is often lacking. For example, Singapore prioritizes AI ethics and governance. Duan's work helps to bridge these policy goals with practical startup execution. Duan's multifaceted efforts, ranging from judging AI compliance at the Stanford Law School Hackathon to mentoring early-stage teams at Jessup University's Startup Co-op and creating a globally relevant, bilingual AI playbook, provide structure in an environment often characterized by hype. "The next wave of innovation will come from founders who newly set foot in and outside the Valley", "But they'll need infrastructure, trusted systems, usable blueprints, and frameworks that work in their local context." Duan's future plans include expanding AI+ programming across Asia-Pacific, developing educational resources for cross-border teams, and potentially releasing an English-language version of "AIGC: From 0 to 1" for global distribution. She aims to establish a common language for AI development, not only linguistically, but also through scalable systems, potentially shaping the future of the global AI landscape.
Hindustan Times
01-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Company livestreams employees working from office during weekend, draws backlash
A Chinese company has invited criticism online after live-streaming footage of its staff working over the weekend, but employees say they're comfortable with the practice. According to South China Morning Post, the snack wholesaler Miaohuo Net, based in China's Zhengzhou, has been regularly broadcasting its office via an account on a popular short-form video platform. In one such live stream, around 15 employees were shown working through the weekend. According to the company's owner, surnamed Xing, the streams are meant to show that the company has a genuine in-house team, not one that outsources tasks. 'Some companies claim to have a team but actually outsource their work; we want to assure people that we are a legitimate company with a dedicated team,' Xing told Hongxing News on April 16. The company, which shifted from a traditional wholesaler to a live-streaming-led internet business last year, says the idea behind livestreaming its office is to build customer trust by showcasing a 'true and transparent' workplace. Miaohuo Net has 50 employees, though official records from 2023 indicate that only 13 have been enrolled in company-provided insurance, often seen as a rough indicator of the actual workforce. Xing said that his company offers all employees a two-day weekend. However, some employees choose to work over the weekend to earn overtime pay. Although the company officially offers two-day weekends, some employees voluntarily choose to work overtime to meet deadlines and are compensated accordingly, he said. Xing added that employees have not complained about being on camera during office hours. One employee, surnamed Duan, confirmed that he had no issue with the livestream, even though viewers have criticised it as an invasion of privacy. 'Many people live-stream at scenic spots when I visit those places too,' he said, adding that company benefits include overtime pay and annual trips for employees. Still, the approach has sparked concerns on social media over employee rights and privacy. Critics questioned whether staff can truly object to being filmed in a workplace where power dynamics may discourage dissent.
Mint
30-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
Company faces backlash after live-streaming employees working over the weekend, ‘We are corporate slaves'
A snack company in China called Miaohuo Net has faced strong criticism after live-streaming its employees working in the office on the weekend. The company, based in Zhengzhou, Henan province, said the idea was to build customer trust by showing their real working process. They used a popular video app to stream about 15 staff members working. According to the company's owner, Mr Xing, this has been done before. It shows they are 'honest and transparent' in their work. 'Some companies claim to have a team but actually outsource their work; we want to assure people that we are a legitimate company with a dedicated team,' the South China Morning Post quoted Xing as saying. Miaohuo Net has 50 employees, but 2023 data shows insurance was provided for only 13. The company gives two-day weekends, but some workers choose to work extra on weekends to finish tasks. They are paid for the overtime. Owner Xing said the cameras were clearly visible during the live-streams, and no staff complained. An employee named Duan said he was fine being filmed and compared it to people live-streaming at tourist spots. According to the employee, the company offers good benefits like overtime pay and yearly trips. Such things keep him happy. The decision to live-stream, however, did not go well with social media users. One of them commented, 'How can any employee voice dissatisfaction in this environment? It would imply that they are not committed to working hard enough.' One of them wrote, 'We are corporate slaves, expected to follow our bosses' orders without the ability to say no.' China's Civil Code bans using someone's image without consent. Labour laws say overtime should not cross three hours a day or 36 hours a week. As per the law, they should get at least one day off. Lawyer Zhao told the SCMP that employees had given consent for livestreaming. Therefore, it was legal. First Published: 30 Apr 2025, 04:48 PM IST
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New Straits Times
28-04-2025
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
#NSTviral: Malaysians heroically lift car blocking traffic in Subang Jaya [WATCH]
SUBANG JAYA: Malaysians rallied together to lift a car that was double-parked and blocking another vehicle from exiting at Jalan Putra Mahkota 7/6B, Putra Heights. In a viral TikTok video shared by user Alianadhierah, a group of men were seen lifting a red Perodua Axia, which had been irresponsibly parked and obstructing cars along a row of shoplots. Despite the Perodua Axia weighing between 850kg and 890kg, the group successfully managed to lift the car. Alianadhierah said that the thoughtless driver had failed to leave a contact number, later updating that the driver was fined by traffic police in a subsequent video. The post, which has garnered over 321,000 views and 109 comments, sparked mixed reactions from Netizens. Some criticised the irresponsible driver's actions, while others praised the kindness of the group of men who came to the rescue. User Duan joked, "The car owner must be looking out of the window above the shoplots." Another user, Fero, expressed anger at the driver's actions, saying, "The driver didn't consider the inconvenience caused to others." Meanwhile, user Nur Ikhwanie Lim Yee Chia commended the heroes who helped lift the car, saying, "Hats off to those who generously helped lift the car. Thankfully, it was an Axia — if it had been a lorry or a bus, it would have been a whole different story!"
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
How recently discovered giant magma 'cap' helps prevent eruption at Yellowstone National Park
MAMMOTH SPRINGS, Wyo. – Scientists found that a "cap" made of a supercritical fluid and magma stands between the magma reservoir underneath Yellowstone National Park and a volcanic eruption. In a recent article published in Nature, researchers were able to make this determination when they pinpointed the depth of the top of the reservoir for the first time, according to lead author Chenglong Duan. Duan and his team found the depth where the reservoir began by using a 53,000-pound vibroseis truck, a vehicle usually used for oil and gas exploration, to send seismic waves into the ground in Yellowstone. They then used more than 600 seismometers to record the signals from the truck. Based on the seismic readings, the research team determined that the reservoir began at just over 2 miles beneath the surface. Yellowstone National Park Gears Up For Summer Season "The motivation behind my research is to advance structural seismic imaging beyond the limits of conventional travel-time methods," said Duan, a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Rice University. "Using a wave-equation imaging technique I developed during my Ph.D. for irregular seismic data, we made one of the first super clear images of the top of the magma reservoir beneath Yellowstone caldera." That image is featured below, with the magma reservoir cap noted with a black arrow. The research team also noticed something curious about the top of the reservoir. "Seeing such a strong reflector at that depth was a surprise," said co-author and Rice University Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences professor Brandon Schmandt. "It tells us that something physically distinct is happening there — likely a buildup of partially molten rock interspersed with gas bubbles." More accurately called "supercritical fluid" for their unique state in the magma chamber, Schmandt noted that those bubbles formed when volatiles, or small fractions of elements like hydrogen, carbon and sulfur, in the magma are released in the upper areas of the chamber. He likened the phenomenon to a soda can, which has bubbles that are dissolved in the liquid. When the can is opened, the bubbles come out of the liquid and rise to the top of the can. But also like the bubbles in a pressurized soda can, the bubbles dissolved in the magma underneath Yellowstone have the potential to build up and lead to a volcanic eruption. How To Watch Fox Weather However, researchers found that, in addition to the bubbles rising to the top of the magma chamber, the peculiar geology in the national park is preventing that from occurring. Schmandt noted that the park's systems of hydrothermal features provide passageways for the bubbles to escape the magma chamber and reduce the amount of pressure in the chamber. "Yellowstone's magma reservoir is a lively system that is not very far from the surface, just about 2 miles deep, and bubbles are rising through it," he said. "It's remarkable that we can get detailed information about the subsurface without directly breaking ground, and that technology is important for studying natural hazards and resources."Original article source: How recently discovered giant magma 'cap' helps prevent eruption at Yellowstone National Park
