Latest from Asia News Network
Asia News Network
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Asia News Network
AI ‘waifus' pose grave emotional risks
August 8, 2025 BEIJING – Our everyday life is being increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, and the line between reality and fantasy is becoming ever blurrier. Recently, Grok, a free AI assistant designed by xAI to 'maximize truth and objectivity', introduced a 'waifu' character — a virtual anime-style character designed to gain user affection, potentially at the expense of real-life relationships. This raises deep concerns: Is technological innovation now outpacing ethical regulation? Are we witnessing Big Tech racing to the bottom? While this feature may seem harmless entertainment or, more cynically, Grok's marketing strategy to compete with OpenAI's new AI Agents, which can plan and organize your trip to attend a wedding party, it raises bigger questions about AI companies' emotional manipulation, their impact on social well-being, and the future of human relationships. Leshner et al. (2025) have studied how people form intimate connections with fictional characters, particularly within the anime fandom where 'waifus' (idealized female characters) and 'husbandos' (idealized male characters) are prominent. Their study revealed that men tend to form sexual connections, often driven by physical appearance, while women are more likely to form emotional connections, shaped by personality traits and perceived similarity. These findings suggest that the psychological mechanisms underpinning human-human relationships, such as attraction, emotional bonding and even love, can extend to fictional entities. The study underscores the human capacity to form meaningful connections, even when the 'partner' exists only on a screen or in a narrative. But what happens when these connections are no longer one-sided? When AI characters like Grok's 'waifu' are designed to actively engage, flatter and adapt to users' desires, the line between para-social relationships (one-sided emotional bonds with fictional characters) and real-life intimacy becomes dangerously ambiguous. As Leshner et al. highlight, these connections can be deeply meaningful and, in some cases, rival or displace real-life relationships. While the idea of a personalized AI companion is evocative — recalling films like Her — the ethical implications of such technologies are serious. By exploiting well-documented psychological tendencies, such as men's preference for physical attractiveness or women's desire for emotional connection, AI systems risk fostering unhealthy emotional dependencies. AI 'waifus' are not just characters on a screen; they are tools explicitly designed by leading AI companies to engage, manipulate and blur the lines between authentic human connection and commercial profit. The stakes are particularly high for educators and parents. Such systems have the potential to distort young people's understanding of relationships, intimacy and consent. As Leshner et al. observe, para-social relationships, while often harmless, can teach individuals about intimacy. Yet when such relationships are shaped by profit-driven AI systems, they risk promoting distorted and idealized models of human interaction, potentially undermining relational skills and emotional development. As AI technology evolves, it becomes imperative to critically examine their implications. If AI developers cannot be persuaded by civil society to adopt an ethical approach, regulation must step in. But what can we, as linguists, educators and parents, do in the meantime? One immediate step is to foster critical AI awareness among our students and communities. Open conversations about the distinctions between real and fictional relationships, as well as the psychological impact of para-social bonds, are essential. Educators can incorporate discussions of AI's ethical implications into their curriculums, helping young people critically evaluate their interactions with these systems. At the same time, we must raise our collective voices to question AI companies: Are we steering AI innovation in a direction that enhances humanity, or are we creating tools that erode the very fabric of human connection? The answers will depend on the values we choose to uphold and the vigilance we maintain against this rapidly advancing field. As Leshner et al. show, humans have an extraordinary capacity to form meaningful connections, even with fictional characters. But with this capacity comes a profound responsibility: ensuring that these connections enrich our lives rather than replacing them. As Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens, aptly observes, 'If the only intimacy we can form is with a non-human AI, then we have no intimacy at all.' Let's take up this call with urgency. Will the corporate empire of AI listen to civil society? Chances are it won't, given the imperative to optimize profit at all (human) costs. Will governments step up regulation? The US government recently passed a bill forbidding states from regulating AI. We're witnessing corporate and national interests combined to take precedence over human interests. By raising critical AI awareness, we can perhaps, at least, work toward, even if in a small way, a future where AI technology serves humanity's best interests, rather than compromising them.
Asia News Network
a day ago
- Business
- Asia News Network
Palace defends Philippine President Marcos' P4.5-B secret funds despite watchdogs' criticisms
August 15, 2025 MANILA – Malacañang has defended the billions of pesos in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., despite calls from budget watchdogs to abolish these discretionary funds, especially for civilian agencies and offices, as these are prone to corruption. Under the proposed P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2026 that was submitted on Wednesday to both houses of Congress, the Office of the President (OP) will be receiving the lion's share of the CIF. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the OP will get P4.5 billion in its CIF next year, which is almost half of the total P10.77 billion proposed budget for these secret funds. 'The president is the commander-in-chief and the chief architect of national security and foreign policy. The president needs these confidential and intelligence funds to do its mandate,' Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a briefing on Thursday when asked why the OP needs a huge amount of CIF for the fourth consecutive year. 'We must remember: confidential funds are not bad if they are spent properly. Confidential funds only become bad when they are used by corrupt officials,' she added. OP's CIF was four times larger than that of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica), which the executive proposed to receive only P1.141 billion in CIF next year. Nica is the primary intelligence gathering and analysis arm of the government of the Philippines in charge of carrying out overt, covert, and clandestine intelligence activities. National Defense OP's proposal is also higher than the CIF given to the Department of National Defense, which was allotted P1.8 billion. Other executive offices, such as the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the National Security Council, and the Philippine National Police which will be sharing P2.292 billion among themselves. The Commission on Audit (COA) will receive P10 million, while the Office of the Ombudsman has a proposed P51 million CIF. According to a 2015 joint circular of the Department of Budget and Management and Commission on Audit, confidential expenses are those pertaining to surveillance activities in civilian government agencies. Meanwhile, intelligence expenses are those related to intel information-gathering activities of uniformed and military personnel that have direct impact on national security. Civil watchdogs have long criticized the opaque nature of CIFs, which are lump-sum allocations typically exempt from standard auditing procedures supposedly to safeguard national security and law enforcement. Former Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno called for the abolishment of the CIF of the OP. 'The President does not need such a large amount for confidential and intelligence funds because the intelligence agencies are already under his authority,' she said. 'Instead of placing it under the Office of the President, increase the intelligence budget of the intelligence agencies and civilian agencies that have intelligence work,' added Magno, an economics professor at the University of the Philippines. It was during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte that CIF of the OP ballooned to P2.5 billion from 2017 to 2019, and swollen further to P4.5 billion in the succeeding years, including Marcos' first four years. `No moral ascendancy' 'Marcos has no moral ascendancy over Sara Duterte if he continues to request confidential funds despite the fact that these are merely being embezzled,' Magno said. She added that the Congress which is teeming with allies of the President also 'has no moral ascendancy over Sara Duterte if it continues to grant confidential funds to the President.' Castro, however, retorted by saying that President Marcos was not using the same questionable tricks of Vice President Sara Duterte. 'Let us remember that if the reporting is done correctly and the CIF are used properly, this will not be questionable,' the Palace official said. 'The comparison only arises when the reporting is not done properly and certificates or various receipts are used just to claim that the confidential funds were spent—that is the difference,' she added. The Office of the Vice President (OVP) under Sara Duterte has not requested CIF for the second consecutive year since she was accused of misusing P612.5 million during her concurrent tenure as vice president and education secretary from 2022 to 2024. An inquiry conducted by the House committee on good government during the 19th Congress found, among others, that the OVP disbursed confidential funds to beneficiaries with suspicious-sounding names like 'Mary Grace Piattos (combining the names of a restaurant and a potato chip brand),' 'Marian Rivera (an actress),' and 'Chel Diokno (a human rights lawyer and opposition figure).' The panel's findings partly served as the basis of the articles of impeachment endorsed by 215 House lawmakers against her in February, but which were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in July for supposedly violating the one-year bar rule.
Asia News Network
a day ago
- General
- Asia News Network
Puffed rice machine invented by Japanese woman to feed hungry children
August 15, 2025 TOKYO – Driven by her desire to feed hungry children, Toshiko Yoshimura invented a puffed rice snack machine that helped alleviate food shortages in Japan after World War II, bringing smiles across the nation. A piece of calligraphy hangs in the offices of Tachibana Kashiki, the confectionery machinery company founded in Kitakyushu by Yoshimura, now 99 years old. It reads, 'A pon-gashi machine is my life.' Born into a prominent family in Yao, Osaka, in 1926, Yoshimura studied physics and chemistry at a vocational school for women. As the Pacific War escalated and male teachers were drafted, she wanted to do something useful, so she began substitute teaching at a local school about two years into the war. Seeing the emaciated children at the school was a turning point in her life. Yoshimura remembered going to see a vendor when she was 4 years old and secretly taking home a few small white grains of what would become puffed rice. The snacks were made by using steam pressure to puff up the grains. Yoshimura believed this method would allow her to feed children nutritious food with very little fuel. She consulted with someone she knew who taught at a university, and they drew up plans together. However, metal was being requisitioned for weapons manufacturing, so she couldn't get the iron she needed for the machine. When they told her there was iron in Kitakyushu, Yoshimura decided to go. Her family strongly opposed this, but her resolve was unshakeable. 'All I could think about was giving the children puffed rice snacks,' she said. For her own safety, Yoshimura cut her hair short and dressed as a man. She traveled alone to Kitakyushu with her blueprints and visited factories there. 'The craftsmen were all drunk, and their faces were covered in oil. I'd thought they would be more professional, but they were completely different,' she said. Still, a few craftsmen took an interest in her idea, including the man who would eventually become her husband. Together, they completed a prototype in the spring of 1945, and the first machine was built that summer. When the machine was struck with a wooden mallet, a loud 'pop' and a cloud of white smoke erupted, and a stream of puffed rice shot out. She named the snack 'pon-gashi' and secured a patent for the machine. Amidst severe postwar food shortages, puffed rice machines were in high demand. Orders poured in from across the country because children loved the delicious taste. Apparent brokers would come from various regions, buying as many as five or six machines at a time. All over Japan, people would bring their rationed rice to soot-blackened men who would make puffed rice for them. Seeing the children's smiles brought Yoshimura great happiness, and she decided to dedicate her life to puffed rice. In 1946, she founded the Tachibana Kashiki company in Kitakyushu to manufacture and sell the puffed rice machines. Two years later, she got married. However, as Japan entered its period of rapid economic growth, sales of pon-gashi declined due to the spread of other snack foods. Soon after, her husband was stricken with cancer, and Yoshimura took over running the factory herself. Once, while working through the night grinding iron, her left hand got caught in a machine and she suffered a serious injury that required 78 stitches. Even so, she never took a day off. In the mid-1970s, her business experienced a resurgence. A government campaign to promote rice consumption led to an increase in orders from agricultural cooperatives and local governments. The machine's potential for an easy-to-start business also made it attractive to office workers looking to leave their corporate jobs. Yoshimura traveled all over the country, taking orders. It was around this time that she penned the calligraphy that reads, 'A pon-gashi machine is my life.' She retired from the front lines of the business about 20 years ago, but she continued bringing smiles to children's faces by giving demonstrations and promoting puffed rice snacks in various locations. Her third son, now 73, and others manufacture the machines. Puffed rice snacks remain a staple at events and festivals today. Yoshimura, who will soon turn 100, suffered an injury last autumn that made it difficult for her to keep working. During a recent interview, however, she gripped a wooden mallet in front of a puffed rice machine and said: 'I just gave it everything I had. I hope other young people will do their best with whatever they can.'
Asia News Network
a day ago
- Politics
- Asia News Network
Malaysia houses almost 150,000 Rohingya refugees, says foreign minister
August 15, 2025 SEREMBAN – Malaysia has been temporarily housing almost 150,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar following continued unrest in the country, says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan. He said that until the military junta agrees to conduct free and fair elections throughout the country to pick a democratically elected government, the Rohingya refugees cannot be sent back. 'The Rohingya situation has worsened following a military coup in 2021 and the ensuing civil wars, which have taken the lives of millions. 'The Rohingyas are not only being targeted by the junta but also groups like the Arakan Army bent on controlling the Rakhine state, and who have committed grave abuses against the ethnic Rohingya population,' he said when met after witnessing the handing over of a hall at SK Lavender Heights by the Public Works Department. Mohamad was asked to comment on a call by Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus for Malaysia's help in handling the Rohingya crisis. Muhammad had conveyed this to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during his three-day official visit here starting Aug 11. According to the United Nations, Bangladesh had, over the past 18 months, registered the biggest influx of Rohingya refugees since the mass exodus of Myanmar's predominantly Muslim minority nearly a decade ago. Mohamad said he had raised the issue with the junta during his previous visits to the country. 'The junta has partially lifted the state of emergency and plans to hold elections at the end of the year, but at the same time, they have imposed martial law in 63 areas. 'So, together with my counterparts from Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, I will be visiting the country on Sept 19 to assess the latest situation in the country and see how they plan to hold the polls,' he said adding that he would also be meeting the State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC) chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. He said it was also important for Myanmar to adhere to Asean's five-point consensus, which, among others, calls for an expanded and extended ceasefire, the need for constructive dialogue, appointment of a special envoy and humanitarian assistance. Mohamad said he would table a report on his findings during the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits to be held in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 26 to 28. 'The fact remains that the issue cannot be resolved until the country is peaceful again and the lives of the Rohingya are no longer in danger. 'And this is only possible when every citizen is allowed to participate in an election to pick a democratically elected government,' he added.
Asia News Network
a day ago
- Health
- Asia News Network
Philippines' state-owned health insurance now covers 75 types of meds; yearly limit at P20,000
August 15, 2025 MANILA – Members will soon have access to 75 types of medicines for free at select clinics and pharmacies, with a limit of P20,000 per year, under the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.'s (PhilHealth) new Guaranteed and Accessible Medications for Outpatient Treatment (Gamot) package. Launched on Thursday, PhilHealth Gamot expands on the initial 21 free medicines under the Konsultasyong Sulit Tama or Konsulta benefits package with an additional 54, and will take effect on Aug. 21 based on PhilHealth Circular No. 2025-0013. 'Based on our data, one of the biggest out-of-pocket spending of our countrymen is what we call medical goods—the medicines and items that we pay for outside the hospital. That's why we see that this is the first thing we should address,' PhilHealth President and CEO Edwin Mercado said during the launch. 'Common treatments' These medicines include 'common treatments' for a wide range of conditions, such as for infections, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, diabetes, high cholesterol, high-blood pressure and heart conditions, nervous system disorders, and other supportive therapies. The entire list of free medicines is included in the PhilHealth circular which can be accessed through the link 'This program is not just about providing medicines. It's about having peace of mind to families, strength to breadwinners, and hope to patients who thought they had none. This is a big help, especially to the ordinary middle-class worker,' Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said at the event. 'For me, the medicine that I take…[it costs] P5,000 a month. I just bought [my medicine] last month, it got raised to P7,500. Pharmacies had increased their prices. I think all the medicines are also increasing. But with the P20,000 package, that will be a big help,' he added. Where to go To avail of the new Gamot package, one must first register as a beneficiary of the PhilHealth's Yaman ng Kalusugan Program para Malayo sa Sakit (Yakap), which can be done through the eGovPH app, PhilHealth member online portal, at PhilHealth offices, or through other channels. Beneficiaries must then get a prescription from a Yakap or PhilHealth-accredited physician before they can avail themselves of the free medicines at any Gamot facility. They only need to present any government-issued ID, alongside the doctor's prescription, at the clinic. According to Mercado, there are around 4,300 Gamot partner clinics for the new benefit. For those in Metro Manila, they may also go to Gamot partner pharmacies. 'As for the pharmacies, since we had just launched [the program], they are only located in Metro Manila for now. So, just give us some time because every day we are able to add more,' Mercado said. Prevention, maintenance Herbosa said the new benefit package signaled a 'paradigm shift' for PhilHealth as it sought to focus on prevention and primary care, making sure members would have maintenance medicines within easier reach, reducing dependence on expensive tertiary care. 'Secondary prevention is taking your chronic meds. If you have hypertension, then it would not lead to stroke. If you are diabetic and you are taking your diabetic meds, you would not have diabetic nephropathy which leads to dialysis,' Herbosa said.
