Six of the most influential minds in artificial intelligence joined FT Live for an exclusive conversation on how their breakthroughs and the current state of AI are shaping our world.
On 6 November, Jensen Huang, Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, Fei-Fei Li, Yann LeCun, and Bill Dally spoke with the FT’s AI editor, Madhumita Murgia at the FT Future of AI Summit in London. Together, they reflected on decades of pioneering work — from neural networks to generative AI and discuss the ethical, social, and economic implications of the technology they helped to create.
All six, along with Professor John Hopfield, are recipients of the 2025 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering for their foundational contributions to machine learning and AI.
To stop one Chinese railway, Cambodia didn’t hesitate to start a border war and orchestrate a coup to remove Thailand’s Prime Minister. The result? A crushing defeat and having to ship gold to China as an apology. Behind this Southeast Asian geopolitical showdown lies a battle for the region’s entire economic lifeline!
Thailand’s 36-year-old Prime Minister Paetongtarn was ousted shortly after taking office. Why did Cambodia’s Hun Sen go to such extremes? Why does the Pan-Asian Railway upgrade from Kunming to Bangkok make Cambodia so anxious? The different choices made by Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand under China’s railway strategy reveal the survival dilemma of small nations caught in great power competition.
This video provides in-depth analysis of: ✅ How the Pan-Asian Railway system is revolutionizing Southeast Asia’s economic landscape ✅ Why Cambodia desperately tried to block China-Thailand railway cooperation ✅ How Hun Sen had to send gold as appeasement after his scheme failed ✅ The decline of American influence in Southeast Asia ✅ How China is reshaping geopolitical dynamics through infrastructure
In the Southeast Asian chess game, those who move first win, those who hesitate lose. When railways change destinies, small nations face choices more brutal than we imagine.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell just shocked the market — announcing an early halt to balance sheet reduction.Behind this “technical” move lies a much deeper signal: liquidity stress and growing systemic risk. Gold’s surge, defying good news, isn’t about war — it’s about a loss of trust in the monetary system.
In this video, I’ll explain: Why Powell’s sudden stop means the market is “running dry”; Why gold is rising not because of inflation, but because of monetary distrust; How to structure your portfolio in three layers: Gold ETFs, Short-Term Treasuries, and AI Growth ETFs; What this liquidity shift means for global assets.
Another Smart Chinese scientist returned to China! 又一位聰明的中國科學家回國了!
SCMP: In the 1960s, mathematician Hillel Furstenberg proposed a conjecture: that a number cannot appear “simple and highly regular” under two “independent” rulers simultaneously. That changed in 2019 when Chinese mathematician Wu Meng, then an associate professor at the University of Oulu, one of Finland’s largest universities, solved the problem. 《南華早報》：1960年代，數學家希勒爾·弗斯滕伯格提出猜想：一個數字不可能在兩把「獨立」的尺規下同時呈現「簡單且高度規則」的形態。這個局面在2019年被改變——當時任教於芬蘭規模最大的大學之一奧盧大學的中國數學家吳夢解決了這道難題。 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3332443/rising-star-mathematician-wu-meng-returns-china-finland?
Video: Someone who can’t even calculate “4×6” correctly in their head! What gives her that sense of superiority in front of Chinese people? 數學心算「4×6」都算不對的人！在中國人面前，是誰給她的優越感?
What do you feel when a high school student who can’t even get “4×6” right turns around and sympathizes with you for “not being free”?
This video made me laugh, but in the end, it left me deep in thought. Are we merely laughing at her ignorance? Where does her inexplicable sense of superiority toward Chinese people come from?
In this video, we will thoroughly tear away the warm and fuzzy facade of “happiness education” and take you into a world you may have never known—the century-long struggle of overseas Chinese caught in cultural divides.
Ready for a cognitive impact? Click to open the video, and let’s uncover the truth together.
Johnson Choi grew up in Hong Kong required to learn 3 languages, Cantonese, Mandarin and English. We are required not only to speak also to write and read. Have you asked yourself why American Born Chinese felt learning more than one language not important. Do you know most countries in Asia and Europe masters 2-3 languages! You may say because Americans are superior! We as Americans called the shot. What if US can no longer called the shot? Think about it. 当一个连“4×6”都算不对的高中生，反过来同情你“不自由”时，你是什么感觉？
Video: Ryukyu (Okinawa) Issue: China Takes Action via Diplomatic Initiative! Chinese representatives at the United Nations introduced the concept of “Ryukyu indigenous people,” using historical and legal grounds to create fissures in the post-war order and bring the undetermined status of Okinawa to the forefront as an international trending topic. 影片有英文字幕: 琉球议题 – 中國亮劍！中国外交主动设局！中国代表在联合国抛出“琉球原住民”概念，以历史与法理双锚撬开战后秩序裂缝，将冲绳地位未定议题推上国际热搜. https://rumble.com/v71l6jo-ryukyu-okinawa-issue-china-takes-action-via-diplomatic-initiative.html https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8DgAMS5/
Japan’s former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba: The Meiji Restoration was not a miracle—it survived by plundering 230 million taels of silver from China…日本前首相石破茂：明治維新不是奇迹，是靠搶中國2.3億兩白銀續命…
In October 2025, Shigeru Ishiba slipped a seven-page A4 document into the hands of journalists, his calm tone dropping like a bombshell: “The Meiji Restoration survived entirely thanks to the 230 million taels of silver plundered from China in 1895. Without this money, the reformists would have been torn apart by inflation.” As soon as his words landed, the LDP headquarters scrambled to contain the fallout overnight, with right-wing lawmakers denouncing him as a “traitor.”
But the numbers don’t lie: Japan’s annual budget at the time was only 53 million taels, and this indemnity directly swelled the national treasury by four times. A staggering 84.7% was poured into military spending—Yawata Steel Works, Yokosuka Shipyard, and the Matsushima-class warships were all fed with this blood-stained silver. Even more brutally, to scrape together the funds, the Qing government pledged customs and salt taxes to foreign powers, only to turn around and double down on taxing farmland. That year, over three million people in the North China Plain became refugees due to tax hikes. Meanwhile, Japan shipped cheap cotton cloth back to Shanghai, crushing the budding local textile mills—machines were sold as scrap metal, and workers packed their bags and leaped into the Huangpu River.
Why did Ishiba overturn the table? On the surface, it’s about “reflecting on history,” but at its core, it’s sounding the death knell for present-day Japan: The defense budget for the 2025 fiscal year has risen to 9.9 trillion yen, accounting for 1.8% of GDP, with plans to reach 2% by 2027. Yet, Japan relies on China for 90% of its oil and 70% of its heavy rare earths. If maritime routes were blocked, Self-Defense Force aircraft would be grounded within half an hour. Ishiba slammed the table during an internal LDP meeting: “If we keep fantasizing about seizing resources through war, Japan will face starvation and fuel shortages!” The discussion was cut short when Sanae Takaichi declared, “No new statements are needed,” forcing Ishiba to issue a statement in his personal capacity. The next day, he was trending on social media, attacked by right-wing media.
Here’s how the story is likely to unfold: The Ministry of Defense has already drafted the 2026 budget, with missile procurement increasing by 12% compared to this year. Yet, domestic shipyards lack even skilled welders—Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Nagasaki Shipyard recruited for three months and only eight fresh graduates showed up. No matter how high the wages, they can’t overcome young people’s reluctance to “work for militarism.” The Ministry of Finance has even bigger headaches: the national debt has soared to 250% of GDP, and even major banks are hesitant about further bond issuance. Nomura Securities’ internal models show that if interest rates rise by just 0.5 percentage points, annual interest payments would devour the entire education and healthcare budgets.
On the other side, China’s General Administration of Customs just released October data, further tightening the export control list for rare earths to Japan. Exports of high-precision neodymium iron boron magnets fell by 38% year-on-year. The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry privately estimates that if supplies were completely cut off, the motor costs for Toyota and Honda would double, and their global market share in new energy vehicles would shrink by another three percentage points. In other words, Japan lacks even the “props” to replicate the post-Sino-Japanese War script of “striking it rich and turning the tables.”
In my view, Ishiba hasn’t suddenly developed a conscience—he’s just done the math: If a real conflict breaks out, Japan would run out of missiles in the first wave and have to buy crude oil on the black market. With inflated oil prices, convenience store rice balls would cost 200 yen each, and voters would immediately take to the streets to oust the prime minister. History is never an “inspirational blockbuster” seen through a filter—it only recognizes cold, hard costs. A century ago, Japan survived by sucking China’s blood. Today, the transfusion lines have been disconnected. Any attempt to find a new “blood bag” will only rupture its own arteries first.
Video with English subtitles: After the birth of the Lynx, China no longer had light infantry, but KO any Western infantry not a problem! 影片有英文字幕: 山貓坦克問世後，中國雖然失去了輕步兵，但擊敗美國地面部隊卻不成問題!
With the world’s best light infantry, we created tactical myths on the Korean battlefield.
But today, the Chinese Army is facing a profound “end”.
✅ Significance to the country: The most intuitive manifestation of China’s rise in national power and industrial take-off! From “not wearing a helmet just to carry an extra kilogram of supplies” to today’s “Cat Cat Car Family” fully armed, we have completely said goodbye to the “fear of insufficient firepower”. The infantry is no longer flesh and blood light infantry, but “superhuman” tactical units equipped with heavy artillery firepower.
✅ Significance to the world: “If you are poor, you will intersect; if you are rich, you will cover!” The Chinese army uses “wheeled exoskeletons” such as the “Lynx all-terrain vehicle” to provide a lower-cost, more efficient mechanized/informationized infantry solution, even surpassing the exoskeleton technology in the West that is still in the conceptual stage, leading the direction of change in the future infantry battlefield.
✅ What it means to us: From “Xiaomi plus rifle” to “first interspersed and then covered”, behind this tactical change is the continued strength of China’s comprehensive national strength. It allows us to see a more prosperous and powerful motherland with more confidence to defend peace. The People’s Liberation Army of the future will be a steel division that is intelligent, unmanned, and heavy on firepower!
The 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) concluded yesterday (10th) in Shanghai, China bought $83.49 billion, a 4.4% increase from the previous session. 第八屆中國國際進口博覽會昨日（10日）在上海閉幕, 中國買進834.9億美元，比前交易會成長4.4%
According to Wu Zhengping, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the China International Import Expo Bureau, speaking at the closing press conference, this year’s expo set multiple historical records: the intended transaction value, calculated on a one-year basis, reached $83.49 billion, a 4.4% increase from the previous session, setting a new historical high. The enterprise exhibition area exceeded 367,000 square meters, with 4,108 companies participating from 138 countries and regions, both setting new records in exhibition area and number of participating enterprises.
Wu also noted that among the exhibitors, 290 were Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders, while 180 companies have participated in all eight sessions, fully demonstrating the strong and sustained appeal of China’s vast market and large-scale economy.
This year, a total of 380 Hong Kong businesses participated, accounting for nearly 10% of all exhibitors, with the number and scale reaching a new historical record. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council stated that it arranged over 1,000 business matching events, allowing Hong Kong exhibitors to engage face-to-face with buyers and others. This year, a live broadcast room was also set up in the food hall to increase their exposure, leading to successful cooperation outcomes for multiple exhibitors.
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