Business news

Business

When a robot becomes the boss: Exploring authority, obedience and relationships with machines

How does a robot perform as a boss at work? The results of research by Polish scientists published in Cognition, Technology & Work suggest that while robots can command obedience, they are not as proficient at it as humans. ...

Business

Taiwan tech giant Foxconn's 2024 profit misses forecasts

Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn reported on Friday a lower-than-expected net profit for 2024 as consumer electronic gadgets underperformed, although demand for its artificial intelligence servers remained robust.

Business

Games industry still a hostile environment for many women

Five years on from a first wave of harassment scandals that rocked the world of gaming, multiple women working in the industry tell AFP they have seen or experienced sexism in the workplace, fearing economic hardship in the ...

Business

Bluesky wants 'a world without Caesars' for social media

"A world without Caesars." With this message emblazoned in Latin on her black T-shirt, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber greeted a standing-room-only audience at the South by Southwest festival.

Business

US tech firm Salesforce to invest $1.0 bn in Singapore

US cloud software giant Salesforce said Wednesday it planned to invest $1.0 billion in Singapore over the next five years to boost the use of artificial intelligence agents (AI) in the workforce.

Consumer & Gadgets

What is the 'digital gender gap?'

Digital technologies, such as the internet and mobile phones, have spread widely, and become integral to many parts of our lives. Yet women continue to lag behind men in digital access in many countries.

Consumer & Gadgets

The impact of app crashes on consumer engagement

High-profile mobile app crashes reveal how life can be upended when an app freezes abruptly or shuts down. The Sonos app crash in May of last year left users of the wireless multi-room sound systems unable to do things like ...

Business

Texas tech boom: Silicon Valley's southern outpost rises

Held every year in the capital of conservative-leaning Texas, the South by Southwest festival increasingly celebrates the state's emergence as a technology hub stepping out of Silicon Valley's shadow.

Business

DeepSeek is coming for Sam Altman's other company too

If OpenAI LLC were a listed company, Monday would have been a very bad day for the stock. But Chief Executive Sam Altman also happens to be chairman of another, less well-known company that is listed, a developer of nuclear ...

Business

SoftBank eyes $15-25 bn investment in OpenAI: FT

Japan's SoftBank is in talks to invest $15-25 billion in OpenAI in a deal that would make it the ChatGPT-maker's biggest financial backer, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

Business

Meta posts big profit, aims to take AI lead

Social media giant Meta on Wednesday reported surging profits and revenue for 2024, announcing ambitious plans to expand its artificial intelligence infrastructure in the year ahead.

Business

UK car sector fears for Trump tariffs as output falls

Britain's vehicle production slid below one million units last year as the sector transitions to electric cars, an industry body said Thursday as it warned over US President Donald Trump's tariff threats.

Business

AI creates new winners and losers in the labor market

Demand for professional skills has changed significantly since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, according to a new study. But the picture is complex. While there were fewer jobs in areas such as copywriting and translation, ...