SUSONO — Woven City near Mount Fuji is where Japanese automaker Toyota plans to test everyday living with robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous zero-emissions transportation. Daisuke Toyoda, an executive in charge of the project from the automaker's founding family, stressed it's not "a smart city." "We're making a test course for mobility so that's a little bit different. We're not a real estate developer," he said Saturday during a tour of the facility, where the first phase of construction was completed. The Associated Press was the first foreign media to get a preview of the $10 billion Woven City. The first phase spans 47,000 square meters (506,000 square feet), roughly the size of about five baseball fields. When completed, it will be 294,000 square meters (3.1 million square feet). Built on the grounds of a shuttered Toyota Motor Corp. auto plant, it's meant to be a place where researchers and startups come together to share ideas, according to Toyoda. Ambitious plans for futuristic cities have sputtered or are unfinished, including one proposed by Google's parent company Alphabet in Toronto; "Neom" in Saudi Arabia; a project near San Francisco, spearheaded by a former Goldman Sachs trader, and Masdar City next to Abu Dhabi's airport. Woven City's construction began in 2021. All the buildings are connected by underground passageways, where autonomous vehicles will scuttle around collecting garbage and making deliveries. No one is living there yet. The first residents will total just 100 people. Called "weavers," they're workers at Toyota and partner companies, including instant noodle maker Nissin and Daikin, which manufactures air-conditioners. Coffee maker UCC was serving hot drinks from an autonomous-drive bus, parked in a square surrounded by still-empty apartment complexes. The city's name honors Toyota's beginnings as a maker of automatic textile looms. Sakichi Toyoda, Daisuke Toyoda's great-great-grandfather, just wanted to make life easier for his mother, who toiled on a manual loom. There was little talk of using electric vehicles, an area where Toyota has lagged. While Tesla and Byd emerged as big EV players, Toyota has been pushing hydrogen, the energy of choice in Woven City. Toyota officials acknowledged it doesn't expect to make money from Woven City, at least not for years. Keisuke Konishi, auto analyst at Quick Corporate Valuation Research Center, believes Toyota wants to work on robotic rides to rival Google's Waymo — even if it means building an entire complex. "Toyota has the money to do all that," he said.

After China’s DeepSeek gained global recognition, some argue that the U.S.-China rivalry in AI may be upended. In addition, the Chinese Communist Party is actively offering to help developing countries strengthen their AI capacity building. Observers said that China is selling its AI software to targeted regions, which can challenge U.S. AI and serve as a strategy for Chinese companies to get more business overseas. Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 

BRUSSELS — The European Commission said Thursday it had approved 920 million-euro of German state aid, or $960 million, to Infineon Technologies for the construction of a new semiconductor manufacturing plant in Dresden. The measure will allow Infineon to complete the MEGAFAB-DD project, which will be able to produce a wide range of different types of computer chips, the Commission said. Chipmakers across the globe are pouring billions of dollars into new plants, as they take advantage of generous subsidies from the United States and the EU to keep the West ahead of China in developing cutting-edge semiconductor technology. The European Commission has earmarked 15 billion euros for public and private semiconductor projects by 2030. "This new manufacturing plant will bring flexible production capacity to the EU and thereby strengthen Europe's security of supply, resilience and technological autonomy in semiconductor technologies, in line with the objectives set out in the European Chips Act," the Commission said in a statement. The Commission said the plant -- which is slated to reach full capacity in 2031 -- will be a front-end facility, covering wafer processing, testing and separation, adding that its chips will be used in industrial, automotive and consumer applications. The aid will take the form of a direct grant of up to 920 million euros to Infineon to support its overall investment, amounting to 3.5 billion euros. Infineon, Germany’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, which was spun off from Siemens 25 years ago, has said the plant will be the largest single investment in its history. Infineon has agreed with the EU to ensure the project will bring wider positive effects to the EU semiconductor value chain and invest in the research and development of the next generation of chips in Europe, the Commission said. It will also contribute to crisis preparedness by committing to implement priority-rated orders in the case of a supply shortage, in line with the European Chips Act. 

WASHINGTON — Chinese social media users are not impressed by the newly released AI model Grok 3 by Elon Musk's xAI, retaining their preference and support for DeepSeek, the free China-made AI model that rivals leading Western competitors while costing significantly less to train. Click here for the full story in Mandarin.

A recent study found doctors were able to detect breast cancer more often when they used artificial intelligence to help read mammogram results. As VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, AI helped boost the breast cancer detection rate by more than 17%.

NAIROBI, KENYA — Milk and egg vendor Caroline Mukundi has lost a lot of her stock in her years of selling fresh food at a Nairobi market. Mukundi said she had no way to keep food fresh, and the cost of refrigerating was out of reach. “The food would go bad,” she said, and she would have to throw it away. “It was a big challenge for me.” Mukundi said her situation turned around when she acquired a solar-powered refrigerator. The refrigerators, named Koolboks and manufactured in Kenya, are fitted with ice compartments that can chill food even without a source of power. The devices can keep food cool for up to four days without electricity, even with limited sunlight. Customers can buy the refrigerators on a customized payment model, said Natalie Casey, chief business officer at the Koolboks startup company. “They can be between 1,500 and 3,000 US dollars, because it includes not only the appliances but also the solar panels and battery storage to enable the continuous cooling,” she said. “We’ve decided what might be more accessible to them is to first pay a down payment between 20 and 35% of the total, and the customer can pay in installments of up to 24 months.” Koolboks has sold about 7,000 solar-powered refrigerators. Conventional refrigerators for businesses can cost anywhere from $11,000 to $100,000 or more, said Dorothy Otieno, program manager at the Center for Environmental Justice and Development. “Some businesses, especially small businesses, are not able to afford it,” she said. “We are looking at, for example, how businesses can be supported to get access to [the Koolboks refrigerators], especially for communities that are not able to afford,” she said. The refrigerator was among dozens of innovations showcased at the recent Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi. The conference’s founder, Andrew Fassnidge, told VOA that such creations are crucial to solving local problems on the continent. “What’s interesting with ... Koolboks refrigeration is, if we look at the Covid vaccine, one of the biggest issues at the time was refrigeration, and it’s still an issue in most markets,” he said. Koolboks markets a refrigerator specifically for vaccines. The refrigerators could have an impact on climate change, too. A 2024 survey by the U.N. Environmental Program showed Kenya has a high level of food waste, with annual waste ranging from 40 to 100 kilograms per person. Environmentalists say high levels of organic waste worsen climate change, so preventing food waste can have an impact.

Manila, Philippines — The Philippines has detected foreign attempts to access intelligence data, but its cyber minister said on Tuesday no breaches have been recorded so far. Attempts to steal data are wide-ranging, said minister for information and communications Ivan Uy. Advanced Persistent Threats or APTs have repeatedly attempted but failed to infiltrate government systems, suggesting the country's cyber-defenses have held firm. APTs are a general term for cyber actors or groups, often state-backed, that engage in malicious cyber activities. "These have been present for quite some time, and threats come from many actors, but a big majority of them are foreign," Uy told Reuters. Some of these threats, which Uy referred to as "sleepers," had been embedded in systems before being exposed by government's cyber security efforts. "Why are these things operating in those systems, without even anybody calling it out?," he said. So far, the government has not seen any cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure, he said. "Hopefully it's because our cyber defenses and cyber security are strong enough," he said. Uy acknowledged the difficulty of attributing cyber intrusions to specific attackers, as they sometimes leave misleading digital traces. However, the government is working through diplomatic channels and sharing intelligence with the military, including with other countries, to validate threats and strengthen defenses, he said. Last year, the Philippine said it thwarted attempts by hackers operating in China to break into websites and e-mail systems of the Philippine president and government agencies, including one promoting maritime security. Uy described the escalating cyber threats as part of a global arms race, where nations and criminal organizations exploit digital vulnerabilities for financial or strategic gain. "World War III is happening and it is cyber," Uy said. "These weapons are non-kinetic. They are cyber, digital, virtual, but it's happening. The attacks and defenses are happening as we speak, without any physical manifestation." Beyond cyberattacks, Uy has also flagged a surge in deepfakes and what he referred to as "fake news media outlets" aiming to manipulate public opinion ahead of the Philippines' mid-term elections in May, and the ministry has deployed tools to combat them. "Misinformation and disinformation are riskier with respect to democracies like ours, because we rely on elections, and elections are based on personal opinion," Uy said.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — South Korea's data protection authority on Monday said new downloads of the Chinese AI app DeepSeek had been suspended in the country after DeepSeek acknowledged failing to take into account some of the agency's rules on protecting personal data. The service of the app will be resumed once improvements are made in accordance with the country's privacy law, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said in a media briefing. The measure that came into force on Saturday aims to block new downloads of the app, the agency said, though DeepSeek's web service remains accessible in the country. The Chinese startup appointed legal representatives last week in South Korea and had acknowledged partially neglecting considerations of the country's data protection law, the PIPC said. Italy's data protection authority, the Garante, said last month it had ordered DeepSeek to block its chatbot in the country after failing to address the regulator's concerns over its privacy policy. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment. When asked about earlier moves by South Korean government departments to block DeepSeek, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told a briefing on February 6 that the Chinese government attached great importance to data privacy and security and protected it in accordance with the law. The spokesperson also said Beijing would never ask any company or individual to collect or store data in breach of laws.

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — There is no need for one country to control the semiconductor industry, which is complex and needs a division of labor, Taiwan's top technology official said on Saturday after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the island's chip dominance. Trump repeated claims on Thursday that Taiwan had taken the industry and he wanted it back in the United States, saying he aimed to restore U.S. chip manufacturing. Wu Cheng-wen, head of Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council, did not name Trump in a Facebook post but referred to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's comments on Friday that the island would be a reliable partner in the democratic supply chain of the global semiconductor industry. Wu wrote that Taiwan has in recent years often been asked how its semiconductor industry had become an internationally acclaimed benchmark. "How did we achieve this? Obviously, we did not gain this for no reason from other countries," he said, recounting how the government developed the sector from the 1970s, including helping found TSMC, now the world's largest contract chipmaker, in 1987. "This shows that Taiwan has invested half a century of hard work to achieve today's success, and it certainly wasn't something taken easily from other countries." Each country has its own specialty for chips, from Japan making chemicals and equipment to the United States, which is "second to none" on the design and application of innovative systems, Wu said. "The semiconductor industry is highly complex and requires precise specialization and division of labor. Given that each country has its own unique industrial strengths, there is no need for a single nation to fully control or monopolize all technologies globally." Taiwan is willing to be used as a base to assist "friendly democratic countries" in playing their appropriate roles in the semiconductor supply chain, Wu said.

TAIPEI — Taiwan President Lai Ching-te pledged on Friday to talk with the United States about President Donald Trump’s concerns over the chip industry and to increase U.S. investment and buy more from the country, while also spending more on defense. Trump spoke critically about Taiwan on Thursday, saying he aimed to restore U.S. manufacturing of semiconductor chips and repeating claims about Taiwan having taken away the industry he wanted back in the United States. Speaking to reporters after holding a meeting of the National Security Council at the presidential office, Lai said that the global semiconductor supply chain is an ecosystem in which the division of work among various countries is important. "We of course are aware of President Trump's concerns," Lai said. "Taiwan's government will communicate and discuss with the semiconductor industry and come up with good strategies. Then we will come up with good proposals and engage in further discussions with the United States," he added. Democratic countries including the United States should come together to build a global alliance for AI chips and a "democratic supply chain" for advanced chips, Lai said. "While admittedly we have the advantage in semiconductors, we also see it as Taiwan's responsibility to contribute to the prosperity of the international community." Taiwan is home to the world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, a major supplier to companies including Apple and Nvidia, and a crucial part of the developing AI industry. TSMC is investing $65 billion in new factories in the U.S. state of Arizona, a project begun in 2020 under Trump's first administration. TSMC's Taipei-listed shares closed down 2.8% on Friday, underperforming the broader market, which ended off 1.1%. A senior Taiwan security official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity in order to speak more freely, said if TSMC judged it was feasible to increase its U.S. investment, Taiwan's government would help in talks with the United States. TSMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The official added that communications between Taiwan and U.S. economic, security and defense officials at present was "quite good" and "strong support from the United States can be felt". US support The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, but is the democratically governed island's most important international backer and arms supplier. Trump cheered Taiwan last week after a joint U.S.-Japan statement following Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's visit to Washington called for "maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait" and voiced support for "Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations." But Taiwan also runs a large trade surplus with the United States, which surged 83% last year, with the island's exports to the U.S. hitting a record $111.4 billion, driven by demand for high-tech products such as semiconductors. Lai said that the United States is Taiwan's largest foreign investment destination, and that Taiwan is the United States' most reliable trade partner. Trump has also previously criticized Taiwan, which faces a growing military threat from China, for not spending enough on defense, a criticism he has made of many U.S. allies. "Taiwan must demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves," Lai said, adding his government is working to propose a special budget this year to boost defense spending from 2.5% of its GDP to 3%. His government is involved in a standoff with parliament, where opposition parties hold a majority, over cuts to the budget, including defense spending. "Certainly, more and more friends and allies have expressed concern to us, worried whether Taiwan's determination for its self-defense has weakened," Lai said.  

Technology company Google recently broke with its long-standing policy against developing AI weapons. VOA's Matt Dibble has more from Silicon Valley.

At this week’s Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, world leaders and technologists gathered to discuss the rapidly evolving field of generative artificial intelligence. Many are eager to join the global AI race, while others are proceeding with caution. Tina Trinh reports.