Technology

Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, has established a strategic partnership with South Korean technology company Kakao, as his firm navigates increased competition following DeepSeek's emergence in the global artificial intelligence market. Kakao, which operates South Korea's dominant messaging platform KakaoTalk along with major banking and taxi-hailing services, announced on Tuesday it would integrate ChatGPT into its new AI offerings. This alliance forms part of OpenAI's broader strategic positioning within the industry, supported by the Stargate initiative - a $500 billion AI infrastructure investment program announced by President Donald Trump. The emergence of DeepSeek has created significant ripples in Silicon Valley, with industry observers noting its impressive performance capabilities and competitive cost structure. This development has prompted increased scrutiny of U.S. AI development strategies. During his Seoul visit, Altman expressed enthusiasm about the partnership: "We're excited to bring advanced AI to […]

Meta is working to resolve a technical issue on Instagram where searches for "Democrat" or "Democrats" display a "results hidden" message. The timing of this problem, occurring after President Donald Trump's inauguration which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attended, has led some users to suggest political bias. Meta has denied these claims, stating that the technical issue affects various hashtags, including some Republican-related terms. Social media expert Matt Navarra describes the situation as "embarrassing" for Instagram. "In a hyper-partisan environment, even unintentional errors like this can escalate into accusations of partisanship," he noted. "If these issues are not resolved quickly they risk fuelling conspiracy theories and damaging Meta's reputation." Currently, searching "#Democrat" or "#Democrats" shows no results, while "#Republican" displays 3.3 million posts. Manual searches for "Democrats" show a message stating "we've hidden these results" and warning about potentially sensitive content. […]

Chinese automaker BYD reported strong electric vehicle (EV) sales for December 2023, delivering 207,734 EVs and reaching 1.76 million units for the year, fueled by consumer incentives and competitive pricing strategies. Tesla's quarterly sales figures are anticipated today, following a period where the American manufacturer maintained a narrow lead over BYD in EV sales. The Shenzhen-based company has been steadily closing this gap. BYD's total vehicle sales grew by 41% year-over-year in 2023, primarily driven by hybrid vehicle demand. The company benefited from increased domestic sales in China, where market competition reduced prices while government incentives encouraged consumers to transition to more efficient vehicles. With 90% of its sales concentrated in China, BYD has strengthened its position against international brands like Volkswagen and Toyota in the Chinese market. As Chinese EV manufacturers expand, traditional automakers face challenges in Western markets. […]

The United States Department of Homeland Security and South Korean government have announced a collaborative initiative to address cryptocurrency-related cybercrime. The partnership focuses on developing advanced technologies to protect crypto platforms from cyberattacks, strengthen infrastructure security, and improve the tracking of stolen digital assets. A key focus of the research will be investigating methods used to launder stolen funds and convert them into cryptocurrencies through ransomware attacks. The collaboration is particularly significant given South Korea's concerns about North Korea's cyber activities, as the US government reports that the North Korean Lazarus Group has allegedly stolen approximately $900 million in 2024. Recent events highlight these concerns. The decentralized exchange Hyperliquid experienced $476,000 in suspicious Ethereum transactions, leading to $60 million in user withdrawals, though the platform denied being targeted by the Lazarus Group. North Korea reportedly uses cryptocurrency mixing services like […]