According to Vic Wu, General Manager of the Specialist Team Unit (STU) of Microsoft Taiwan, the era of exploratory AI is over. As the industry enters the second quarter of 2026, it is no longer asking if AI works, but how to manage the increasing volume of digital labor now entering the global workforce.
US-based AI startup Anthropic is navigating a pivotal moment that blends legal confrontation with financial ambition, as the firm both fends off a US government ban and explores a potential initial public offering (IPO), according to Bloomberg.
At the intersection of global semiconductor power and cultural influence, K-pop band 2AM's Lim Seul-Ong delivered a keynote at the AI Expo, reframing the AI race as a battle for human time. While the focus is typically on enterprise productivity, Lim introduced "the 8-hour war" concept, arguing that the ultimate leader in the AI ecosystem will be whoever captures the final third of a person's day. This refers to the eight hours dedicated to leisure, fandom, and emotional connection. While tech giants focus on faster chips and more massive models, Lim argued that these are engines idling without a destination. To reach the mass market, AI must transition from a solely tech to an experience industry, using entertainment as the medium to turn raw computing power into something humans can actually feel.
