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Chinese Micro-Drama Boom User base climbs 7% to 660 million Generates billions in U.S.

GPT-5’s advanced capabilities cause a dramatic surge in power consumption Developer OpenAI acknowledges the growing challenge Big Tech companies rapidly building new data centers, heightening risks of power shortages Analysts warn that OpenAI

This article was independently developed by The Economy editorial team and draws on original analysis published by East Asia Forum. The content has been substantially rewritten, expanded, and reframed for broader context and relevance. All views expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the official position of East Asia Forum or its contributors.

This article is based on ideas originally published by VoxEU – Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and has been independently rewritten and extended by The Economy editorial team. While inspired by the original analysis, the content presented here reflects a broader interpretation and additional commentary. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of VoxEU or CEPR.

For two decades, we've treated language as a human input/output problem: fingers to type, lungs and lips to speak, and years of training to master a second language. That design hypothesis has just been broken. In August 2025, a team led by Stanford reported a brain implant that decoded "internal speech" — silent, self-generated words — at the command with up to 74% accuracy from a vocabulary of 125,000 words,  protected by a thought password that prevented accidental decoding in about 98% of cases.

In July 2025, Google DeepMind reported that the Gemini "Deep Think" system solved five of the six problems of the International Mathematical Olympiad for 35/42 points - gold medal level from the competition's scoring rubric. This is not just a feat of technology. It is a testament to the potential of artificial intelligence to inspire admiration and curiosity, sparking new ideas and approaches in education.

This article was independently developed by The Economy editorial team and draws on original analysis published by East Asia Forum. The content has been substantially rewritten, expanded, and reframed for broader context and relevance. All views expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the official position of East Asia Forum or its contributors.

This article was independently developed by The Economy editorial team and draws on original analysis published by East Asia Forum. The content has been substantially rewritten, expanded, and reframed for broader context and relevance. All views expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the official position of East Asia Forum or its contributors.

Seventy-two percent of U.S. teens have used an AI "partner," and more than half say they use one regularly. That's not a niche. It's the new default for teen relaxation, practice talks, and (increasingly) advice on familiar problems. At the same time, a national data snapshot shows that 54% of 12-17-year-olds report difficulty getting the necessary mental health care.

This article is based on ideas originally published by VoxEU – Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and has been independently rewritten and extended by The Economy editorial team. While inspired by the original analysis, the content presented here reflects a broader interpretation and additional commentary. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of VoxEU or CEPR.

U.S. to deploy tracking tools to detect unauthorized AI chip transfers China’s semiconductor security concerns become reality U.S. Congress has been discussing mandatory location tracking for chips Reports have revealed that the U.S.

Samsung Electronics to invest $172 million in a new research center in Yokohama, Japan Strengthening advanced semiconductor “packaging” capabilities for next-generation chips Korea’s packaging technology still trails behind Taiwan’s cutting-edge leadership

U.S. July CPI rose 2.7%, below expectations Futures market prices in 96% probability of 25bp cut Treasury Secretary Bessent presses for 50bp “big cut” The July U.S.

Trump’s primary goal in talks with Putin: securing ceasefire agreement Preparatory step toward potential three-way summit including Zelensky “Trump will make clear he has every option on the table” U.S.

10nm-Class 1b Process-Based ‘Samsung LPDDR5X’ Adjusting LPDDR5X Supply Allocation for Galaxy S25 Series Micron Share Reduced Following Yield and Performance Gains Samsung Electronics LPDDR5X Image/ Photo = Sam

Facility Investments Resume to Speed HBM EntryExperience Gained from DDR5 Pursuit

Declares End to Nuclear Phase-Out as a National StrategySMRs Emerge as a Solution to Power Shortages

A recent wave of coverage claimed that Reinforcement Learning (RL) had leaped pure math by navigating the notoriously thorny Andrews-Curtis landscape, downplaying long-term potential counterexamples and hinting – breathlessly – at tools that could one day predict stock crashes, pandemics, and even climate disasters years in advance. The research team made progress: by combining the RL standard with intelligent motion compression ("supermoves"), they found paths through cases that had resisted search for decades.

This article is based on ideas originally published by VoxEU – Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and has been independently rewritten and extended by The Economy editorial team. While inspired by the original analysis, the content presented here reflects a broader interpretation and additional commentary. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of VoxEU or CEPR.

This article is based on ideas originally published by VoxEU – Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and has been independently rewritten and extended by The Economy editorial team. While inspired by the original analysis, the content presented here reflects a broader interpretation and additional commentary. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of VoxEU or CEPR.