Cheap and powerful AI campaigns target voters in India

The Bihar state election was awash with voice clones and synthetic videos that reached voters easily and spread misinformation. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 6 hours ago

The hidden Kenyan workers training China’s AI models

An unemployment crisis has created fertile ground for companies to step in with opaque systems built on WhatsApp groups, middlemen, and bargain-basement wages. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 4 days ago

When Musk joined Trump, countries rolled out the red carpet for Starlink

Newly revealed contract between Starlink and Bangladesh shows how these deals are made. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 5 days ago

Will DeepSeek’s new model spark another global AI shake-up in 2026?

DeepSeek’s R2 launch was likely delayed by limited access to compute, but a new model is on its way, intensifying the AI rivalry between the U.S. and China. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 6 days ago

H-1B to Plan B: India’s top tech talent looks beyond the U.S.

India’s tech talent is increasingly opting for opportunities at home and in other countries, as the lure of the U.S. fades. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 7 days ago

ChatGPT turns 3

Since its November 2022 launch, ChatGPT has been a global phenomenon. Here’s a look at its impact on work, life, and more across the world. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 12 days ago

Chinese businesses are transforming Mexico City’s poshest neighborhood

A growing Chinese techie community in Nuevo Polanco is fueling a boom in restaurants and markets to serve them. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 13 days ago

What the UAE is doing in Silicon Valley

The California research lab is part of Abu Dhabi’s multipronged AI strategy that includes G42 and the MBZ University of AI. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 14 days ago

U.S. gains in AI race as Gulf nations ditch China for chips

Washington has all but locked Beijing out of the Middle East’s trillion-dollar artificial intelligence ambitions. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 17 days ago

Meet the tech leaders bringing Syria into the digital age

A dictator falls unexpectedly. Then what? | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 18 days ago

China is setting the pace in the EV race, and the West can’t keep up

The mainland’s breakneck development speed is reshaping the global EV industry. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 19 days ago

China starts a food fight over Western EV tariffs

Beijing is targeting agricultural sectors worth billions to pressure governments into dropping 100% electric vehicle duties. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 20 days ago

ChatGPT is huge in India. These locally focused startups found a way to compete

Indian founders are building digital data sets for low-resource languages by involving the community, and count on local relevance to go against big tech platforms. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 21 days ago

Tesla needs the world to make Elon Musk a trillionaire

As Tesla struggles in markets beyond the U.S., Chinese automakers are winning from Southeast Asia to Europe. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 25 days ago

China wants electric cars to feed power back to the grid

The world's largest EV fleet could become a giant battery network if economic and technical hurdles are overcome. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 26 days ago

Gaza’s tech community reflects on two years of war

Members of the startup accelerator Gaza Sky Geeks share how the war changed their lives. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 27 days ago

Why BYD can’t do for China what Ford did for America

The Chinese EV giant has conquered global markets by selling millions of cars, but it hasn’t supercharged China’s soft power. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 27 days ago

He fled Assad. Now he’s leading Syria’s tech transformation

In his first interview on the job, Abdulsalam Haykal explains how he plans to rebuild the country’s shattered digital infrastructure — and why he came back after years in exile. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 28 days ago

How TikTok cozied up to wealthy investors in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

In her new book, Every Screen on the Planet: The War Over TikTok, journalist Emily Baker-White charts the Chinese app’s rise to becoming a global juggernaut. Here is an excerpt on the company’s courtship of the Gulf nations ahead of a deal on its U.S. operations. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Microsoft, Google say their data centers create thousands of jobs. Their permit filings say otherwise

Big figures floated by Chile, and tech giants promise economy-wide impact, as permits show fewer onsite jobs after construction. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

The bombing of Gaza Sky Geeks

For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks built a tech future for the Gaza Strip. Then came war. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

“I Deliver Parcels in Beijing”: Chinese literary sensation reaches U.S.

Hu Anyan, a former courier who wrote a best-selling book about the grueling job of delivering packages, discusses life, technology, and the future of work. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

As China tightens its grip on rare earths, can Brazil be an alternative source?

China’s export curbs have forced the U.S. to find critical minerals elsewhere. Can Latin America keep up the supply? | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

China’s $143 billion push to dominate the global EV industry

After years of investing in Europe, Chinese EV and battery firms are turning to Asia, Africa, and Latin America | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Most of the world’s space launches are controlled by just three countries

China, the U.S., and Russia dominate space launches. Can alternatives emerge? | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

The metaverse is rewriting the rules of who can be a K-pop star

In an industry studded with megastars like BTS and Blackpink, virtual idols are building powerful new fandoms even while their true identities remain obscured. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Do India’s EV policies discriminate against China? Experts weigh in

The jury is out on whether India’s policies to aid the growth of its domestic EV industries are anti-China. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Malawi’s new farmhand: AI that speaks the local language

Ulangizi AI combines ChatGPT’s power with traditional know-how and government data to help crops — and families — flourish. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

A lithium bust leaves Latin American towns in the dust

With plummeting prices and slowing demand for EVs, the once-thriving mining towns of Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia are now struggling. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

The world needs more launchpads. Oman wants to help

Can a small country build a space industry from scratch? | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Japanese convenience stores are hiring robots run by workers in the Philippines

Filipino tele-operators remotely control Japan’s convenience store robots and train AI, benefiting from an uptick in automation-related jobs. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

EVs are depreciating much faster than gas-powered cars

Plummeting resale values are threatening to derail the world's transition to electric transportation. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

China, Taiwan, and the vulnerable web of undersea cables

In his new book, The Web Beneath the Waves, writer Samanth Subramanian examines big tech’s role in subsea cables and growing geopolitical tensions around them. Below is an excerpt on the threats that Taiwan faces from China. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

AI-powered textbooks fail to make the grade in South Korea

South Korea’s AI learning program was rolled back after just four months after a backlash from teachers, students, and parents, underlining the challenges in embedding the technology in education. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

AI flood forecasting allows aid to reach farmers before disaster strikes

Using Google’s Flood Hub, nonprofit trial program sends early warning and unconditional cash to workers. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

The AI dilemma: To compete with China, the U.S. needs Chinese talent

Immigration restrictions can accelerate the flight of top talent, threatening the strategy that it is better to have the brightest minds working for U.S. companies. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Indonesia’s film industry embraces AI to make Hollywood-style movies for cheap

Generative AI video and text tools are transforming some of the labor-intensive parts of filmmaking, and are largely welcomed in Indonesia’s homegrown industry. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Tesla starts slashing prices amid costly battle with BYD

Elon Musk's $5,000 price cut fails to match BYD's advantage as the Chinese EV maker dominates global markets. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 months ago

The Chinese migrant workers powering the deadly EV nickel boom

30,000 Chinese workers travel thousands of miles to remote islands in Eastern Indonesia to process nickel — and put their lives at risk on the frontier of the green energy transition. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 months ago

Courts don’t know what to do about AI crimes

AI-generated images and videos are stumping prosecutors in Latin America, even as courts embrace AI to tackle case backlogs. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 months ago

Young people in China are embracing AI therapy

Cheap, accessible, and friendly AI tools can augment scarce professional help, but there are risks to overreliance on the technology. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 months ago

China’s most infamous ghost town is now training ground for driverless trucks

The empty boulevards that once symbolized the mainland’s property bust now serve as testing grounds for hundreds of autonomous vehicles. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 months ago

Livestream shopping stars face off against trolls, hagglers, and AI rivals

Livestream sellers have built booming careers. Now, bots are threatening to steal their spotlight and their customers. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 months ago

AI is reshaping childhood in China

Government support and tech companies’ drive for profit fuel a rush to integrate AI tools, from robot tutors to chatbots, in education and caretaking. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 months ago

These leading Syrian apps are helping rebuild the country after Assad

Meet the Syrian tech optimists who believe a new wave of innovation can help the country bounce back from civil war and sanctions. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 months ago

China charges ahead as South Korea’s battery giants lose their spark

South Korea’s top battery makers are losing ground as Chinese firms dominate with cheaper technology, factory scale, and state backing. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 months ago

The UAE’s University of AI is a pipeline for top tech talent

UAE has secured massive computing power. Its state-backed flagship university is now on the prowl for talent. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 months ago

China won the EV race. Up next: freight trucks

Nine Chinese giants dominate a market Tesla and Volvo can barely crack | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 months ago