The Chinese App That Puts Instagram to Shame

In the ancient city of Dali, I saw firsthand how RedNote has evolved from a lifestyle platform into the tool that powers the country’s tourism industry.

ChatGPT Has ‘Goblin’ Mania in the US. In China It Will ‘Catch You Steadily’

OpenAI’s chatbot has some weird linguistic tics in Chinese that are driving users crazy.

A Dark-Money Campaign Is Paying Influencers to Frame Chinese AI as a Threat

Build American AI, a nonprofit linked to a super PAC bankrolled by executives at OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz, is funding a campaign to spread pro-AI messaging and stoke fears about China.

Rednote Draws a Line Between China and the World

As the platform expands abroad, it’s taking steps to separate Chinese users from the international audiences it once brought together.

The Online Fiction Boom Reimagining China’s History

Chinese fantasy novels reimagine the past with modern tech and ideology. A new book argues they also help reinforce authoritarian politics.

China Is Cracking Down on Scams. Just Not the Ones Hitting Americans

As Beijing clamps down on fraud at home, researchers say crime syndicates are shifting their focus to victims elsewhere.

AI Research Is Getting Harder to Separate From Geopolitics

A policy change announced by NeurIPS, the world’s leading AI research conference, drew widespread backlash from Chinese researchers this week and then was quickly reversed.

A New Game Turns the H-1B Visa System Into a Surreal Simulation

Inspired by real immigrant stories, H1B.Life captures the uncertainty, trade-offs, and pure luck that shape the lives of people trying to build a future in the US.

China’s OpenClaw Boom Is a Gold Rush for AI Companies

Hype around the open source agent is driving people to rent cloud servers and buy AI subscriptions just to try it, creating a windfall for tech companies.

ByteDance’s AI Ambitions Are Being Hampered by Compute Restraints and Copyright Concerns

ByteDance’s new Seedance 2.0 AI video model seemed unstoppable—until heavy demand strained the company’s compute capacity and copyright complaints began piling up.