Greetings from your #techasia host Yifan this week. I am sending this newsletter after my flight to New York, where I will attend the Climate Economics Journalism Fellowship hosted by New York University.
The fellowship will take place as world leaders gather in the city to discuss the most pressing global issues at the annual United Nations General Assembly. Leaders of 193 UN member countries will begin general debates on Tuesday next week, and representatives from each country will address the international community.
The growing climate crisis has been a major theme of world leaders' speeches in recent years, and is expected to continue to dominate this year's assembly.
As our world undergoes a major technological transformation, much of the discussion has focused on how emerging technologies can shape our economies. But their impact on the climate is often overlooked, like the hidden value of artificial intelligence, for example. Rapidly growing technology has an insatiable appetite for energy and a growing carbon footprint that could accelerate wildfires, floods, extreme weather and all the dangers that come with climate change.
However, the climate costs of AI are unlikely to be a top priority for global leaders to discuss at the UN General Assembly this year, as governments around the world are still grappling with the fundamentals of managing AI, including disinformation and copyright issues. disruption with generative AI.
No global framework exists to govern this potentially revolutionary technology, but several countries, notably the United States and China, are competing to set governance standards. Can the two AI superpowers reach some consensus on how to control a powerful new tool in the General Assembly? Let's wait and see.
TikTok's day in court
Monday was perhaps one of the most important days in the history of the company for TikTok. The ByteDance-owned app made its case before three judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to overturn a sell-or-ban bill passed by Washington in April.
TikTok claims that the forced cutback by the US government under the Protection of Americans from Foreign Enemies Controlled Applications Act is unconstitutional. It claims that the law violates American users' First Amendment rights to the constitution and the company's right to equal protection under the law.
However, the justices debated whether constitutional rights should apply to TikTok because of its Chinese ownership and the US government's potential national security threats the app poses to the country, according to Nikkei Asia. Yifan Yu writes.
The fate of the app is still up in the air after Monday's court hearing. The judges, who heard the arguments of both sides, did not make an immediate decision on the case. TikTok asked a judge to order an order to stop the 270-day countdown that requires ByteDance to take down ByteDance by January 19, 2025, or the app will face a full U.S. ban.
Limiting chip technology exports to China
The United States and Japan are moving closer to a deal after tense talks to limit technology exports to China's chip industry as Tokyo fears retaliation from Beijing.
People familiar with the matter in Washington and Tokyo say the months-long talks between the two countries are close to a breakthrough. A Japanese official warned that the situation remains “quite fragile” amid concerns about China's response. Demetri Sevastopoulo in Washington and Leo Lewis Write for the Financial Times in Tokyo.
Washington is poised to unveil new export controls ahead of November's presidential election, including one that would force non-US companies to obtain licenses to sell products to China that will help China's technology sector.
Japan and the United States have discussed how to limit the impact of any Chinese retaliation as Washington and its allies seek to counter Beijing.
The US wants to make it difficult for China to acquire critical chip-making tools. The export controls are designed to close loopholes in existing rules and add restrictions that reflect progress in chipmaking by Huawei and other Chinese groups over the past two years.
The restrictions will have the biggest impact on ASML in the Netherlands and Tokyo Electron in Japan.
Energy account of Asian technology
As supply chains shift away from China, economies across Asia are scrambling to take advantage of once-in-a-generation opportunities. But do they have enough clean energy to sustain economic growth and fight global warming while attracting investment in chips, artificial intelligence, data centers and other technologies?
Taiwan and South Korea boast the world's second- and third-largest semiconductor industries after the United States, while Japan is struggling to regain lost chip capacity. All three economies remain heavy users of fossil fuels, with Japan and Taiwan de facto heavy users of fossil fuels since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Nikkei Asia's Lauly Lee and Cheng Ting-Fang report.
The challenge is two-fold for places like Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, which have been major beneficiaries of companies shifting production away from China amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Who didn't?
Most of the world is not involved in the debate about how artificial intelligence should be governed internationally.
Of the 193 UN member states, 118 have not participated in any cross-regional AI governance initiatives such as the OECD AI Principles, the G20 AI Principles and the most recent Seoul Ministerial Declaration, according to a report issued by the UN Secretary-General Assembly on Thursday. – Artificial Intelligence Consultancy.
But a report released just days before country leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly in New York showed that Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and the United States have all participated in leading international AI governance initiatives, Nikkei Asia reported. Yifan Yu reports.
“With its development in the hands of a few multinational companies in a few countries, the effects of AI risk being unleashed on the majority of people without any say in decision-making,” the report urges countries to take advantage of. The UN as a platform to lay the groundwork for an inclusive global AI governance framework.
Suggested readings
1. Taiwan's chip industry suppliers are leaving for Japan's “Silicon Island” (Nikkei Asia).
2. Microsoft wants more 'clarity' on AI chips in Middle East (FT)
3. South Korea's AI memory chips starve Japanese suppliers for growth (Nikkei Asia)
4. TikTok warns of 'shocking' consequences of US seizure or ban (FT) law
5. AUKUS considers Japan's potential cooperation in autonomous maritime systems (Nikkei Asia)
6. AI will help Sony expand Japanese anime's growing fan base (FT)
7. Sharp and Foxconn's EV prototype shows a new way of car design (Nikkei Asia)
8. Abu Dhabi's Mubadala buys stake in Revolut (FT).
9. DeepL translation targets Taiwan as next key Asian market (Nikkei Asia)
10. Pink Floyd in talks with Sony to sell music rights (FT)
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