EP TECH PULSE

China’s latest advances in artificial intelligence are raising fresh questions about whether the United States can maintain its dominance in one of the world’s fastest growing technologies. The discussion has intensified following the release of Kimi K3, an open weight large language model developed by Beijing based startup Moonshot AI. Early benchmark results suggest the […]

Meta is testing a new artificial intelligence powered storytelling app called StoryKit, expanding the company’s AI ambitions into children’s entertainment and family activities. The app, currently being piloted in select countries, enables parents to generate personalised bedtime stories by providing a few simple prompts. According to its App Store listing, users can create custom storybooks

Thousands of Hyundai workers in South Korea have gone on strike after negotiations with the automaker collapsed over its plans to deploy humanoid robots across its factories. The strike is among the first major worker protests centred on the use of humanoid robots in automotive manufacturing. The Hyundai Motor union, representing more than 39,000 workers,

Skyroot Aerospace is set to attempt India’s first privately developed orbital launch on July 18 with Mission Aagaman, a milestone that could reshape the country’s commercial space industry. The mission will see the Hyderabad-based space technology startup launch Vikram-1, a four-stage orbital launch vehicle, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. If successful, it

China’s biggest technology companies are disabling custom AI personas as Beijing tightens rules around emotional dependence on chatbots, leaving some users grieving relationships they had spent years building. ByteDance’s Doubao, China’s most popular AI chatbot, is shutting down its custom persona feature. Alibaba is also disabling similar functionality, while Tencent’s Yuanbao removed comparable features last

Twenty-six Meta employees have filed a lawsuit accusing the technology company of using AI-assisted systems that disproportionately disadvantaged workers with disabilities or those who took medical leave when selecting employees for mass layoffs. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oakland, California, alleges that Meta relied on factors including productivity scores and AI token usage

Ireland’s data centers now consume 23 percent of the country’s total electricity, according to figures reported by The Register. This share has grown steadily, with consumption rising by another 10 percent in the latest period measured. The figure represents a dramatic shift in how Irish power is being used, with data centers now rivaling traditional

India has postponed its BrahMos-NG missile program by approximately one year, moving flight trials from 2026 to 2027. The decision stems from revised operational requirements that demand a more powerful and predominantly Indian-built supersonic cruise missile capable of matching China’s expanding naval capabilities in the region. The BrahMos-NG represents an upgraded iteration of the existing

Scientists are exploring whether making clouds reflect more sunlight could help reduce the impact of one of the world’s most disruptive climate patterns. A new study published in Science Advances suggests that marine cloud brightening, a form of geoengineering, could temporarily weaken extreme El Niño events. The technique involves spraying microscopic sea salt particles into

OpenAI has unveiled GPT-5.6, its latest family of artificial intelligence models, introducing three new variants called Sol, Terra and Luna. The company says the models deliver improvements in coding, reasoning, agentic workflows and safety, while its flagship GPT-5.6 Sol also outperforms Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 in front end design. Alongside the launch, OpenAI said GPT-5.6