United News of Bangladesh

China has issued new ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence in medical imaging research, aiming to ensure the safe and responsible development and clinical use of the technology. The Ministry of Science and Technology announced the guidelines on Friday. AI medical imaging uses artificial intelligence to analyse CT scans, MRI images and ultrasound results, helping doctors detect diseases and improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosis. However, the technology also involves large amounts of sensitive health information and raises concerns over privacy, data security, algorithmic bias and accountability. The new guidelines, issued by the medical ethics subcommittee of the national science and technology ethics committee, set out six key principles. These include promoting human welfare, ensuring fairness, respecting human autonomy, protecting privacy and data security, maintaining safety and control, and improving transparency. The guidelines said patients' health and interests must remain the top priority. Researchers will be required to obtain informed consent from people taking part in AI medical imaging research. Participants will also have the right to withdraw their consent at any time. The guidelines make clear that humans, not AI systems, will remain ultimately responsible for medical decisions. AI-generated results cannot be used as final diagnoses, while doctors will retain the final authority in making clinical decisions. The rules also ban exaggerated claims about the performance of AI models. Researchers and developers have also been urged to ensure fairness in AI systems and reduce the risk of biased diagnoses caused by unbalanced or limited training data. The guidelines are aimed at promoting the responsible use of AI in healthcare while ensuring that patient safety, privacy and human oversight remain central to the development of the technology.

Taiwanese prosecutors have charged nine people, including an Nvidia employee and two former Super Micro employees, over the alleged illegal export of high-end artificial intelligence servers to mainland China. The case adds to growing tensions surrounding the global AI technology race between the United States and China. Taiwan is a major supplier of advanced semiconductors used in AI systems, making its technology sector a key part of the US-China competition. Washington has imposed restrictions on Nvidia’s sales of advanced AI chips to China since 2022 and has tightened those controls in recent years. According to the Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office, sales of high-end AI servers by Nvidia require strict checks under export rules. Companies must also inspect customers on site when more than eight such servers are purchased. Prosecutors said the servers involved in the case contained B300 graphics processing units (GPUs), which are banned from being sold to China. Nvidia spokesperson Patrick Rutherford said the company would work with Taiwanese authorities to resolve the allegations as quickly as possible. Super Micro said two of its former employees were arrested after the company cooperated with Taiwanese authorities. It added that it would continue strengthening its export compliance measures. Prosecutors said 74 servers were successfully sent to China. Of these, 50 were routed through Indonesia, 16 were shipped directly to China and eight were sent to Japan and then Hong Kong before reaching the mainland. Another shipment involving 56 servers failed, and those machines remain in Taiwan. Prosecutors are seeking maximum five-year prison terms for four of the nine defendants. One of them, an Nvidia manager identified only by his surname Chang, was described as a key figure who authorized the release of the B300 GPUs. Prosecutors also alleged that some defendants set up a company in Japan and created fake websites and documents to bypass export restrictions.

As artificial intelligence rapidly changes China's job market, workers are increasingly worried about being replaced, while others are learning to use AI to find new opportunities. Computer programmer Fei Zhaojun experienced the change firsthand. His boss recently asked whether AI could soon replace human programmers. Two weeks later, Fei and about 160 colleagues lost their jobs at a Beijing company. The 40-year-old had once doubted that AI could handle programming properly. But he now believes many mid-level coding jobs can be replaced. "Even if it is a disaster that leads to replacing all humans, at this stage, you just have to use it as everyone else is using it," Fei said. He is currently taking a career break and making short vlog-style videos about ordinary people's lives while deciding what to do next. China is among the world's leading adopters of AI, with strong government support encouraging businesses and workers to use AI tools and robots. Shujing He, a Beijing-based senior analyst at research and advisory firm Plenum, said there appears to be less opposition to AI in China than in some other countries. "Individuals who worry about being replaced, as well as those who have already left traditional workplaces, are often eager to experiment with AI-enabled businesses and independent ventures," she said. AI changes traditional jobsPart-time translator Du Qinchun in Chengdu has been helping train an AI translation model. The work has temporarily brought him more opportunities, but he said wages in the translation industry have fallen by more than half compared with several years ago. The spread of AI translation tools has also reduced interest in foreign-language university programs. According to market research firm IDC, the share of Chinese industrial companies using AI models and AI "agents" rose to 47.5% last year from 9.6% in 2024. AI and robotics are also moving into physical jobs. Humanoid robots are being tested for tasks such as sorting parcels, directing traffic and making coffee. Food delivery robots are spreading in some parts of the country, raising concerns about the future of millions of delivery workers. Generative AI is also increasingly being used in China's short-drama industry for writing, production and distribution. Chinese media reports said the number of live-action short and vertical video series fell by about 75% in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. Plenum analyst He said jobs requiring specialized training are becoming easier to perform with AI, particularly in software development and multimedia production. The International Labour Organization has also warned that women may face greater job risks from AI because they are more likely to work in roles that can be automated and remain underrepresented in science and technology. AI brings both risks and opportunitiesChina's government is promoting its "AI Plus" initiative and a five-year plan through 2030 to expand AI across industries as the country competes with the United States in technology. Zilan Qian, a research associate at Oxford China Policy Lab, said China's strong government support could allow AI to spread across different sectors faster than in many other countries. The rapid adoption comes as China's economy faces other challenges. Consumer spending has remained weak partly because people are worried about job security, while a long-running housing downturn has reduced household wealth. Cornell University economics professor Eswar Prasad said China's technology sector could increase productivity but may not create enough new jobs. "AI is likely to lift productivity across the board but could have a severe disruptive effect on employment," he said, warning that this could worsen employment problems and affect social stability. China's overall urban unemployment rate is around 5%, while unemployment among people aged 16 to 24, excluding students, is about three times higher. However, some experts believe AI could become useful as China's workforce shrinks. The country's population is aging rapidly, and by 2050 there are expected to be fewer than two working-age adults for every retiree. "Automation could partially offset a shrinking workforce rather than being purely a threat to it," said Xuenan Cao, a professor at San Francisco Bay University. Workers find new ways to adaptSome Chinese workers are already using AI to build new careers. Wang Zhicheng, 32, previously worked as a scriptwriter for a company producing 3D educational videos for children. He regularly used AI for brainstorming and fact-checking. After the company laid off about half of its 13 scriptwriters, Wang resigned and began working independently, producing illustrated children's books. He said AI can save time but its output is sometimes repetitive, formulaic and inconsistent. "You can treat AI as a tool just like (Microsoft) Word," Wang said. "Humans are still the decision makers on which one to pick or pursue among all that AI generates." For high school chemistry teacher Yang Zheng, AI is less of a threat and more of a useful classroom tool. The 29-year-old said students can use AI to get immediate answers and ask follow-up questions, although the technology sometimes makes mistakes. "It is a good thing for students as it generates in real-time so that students can ask follow-up questions," Yang said. "It often gets things wrong, but it improves over time."

Russia disabled thousands of satellite modems in Ukraine and other European countries on the day it invaded Ukraine in 2022, disrupting communications. Now, an artificial intelligence-assisted tool is being used to help protect satellite networks from similar attacks amid growing concerns over Russian aggression and cyber threats from Iran. Cybersecurity company Atalanta has launched Argo, a product that includes technology being used to test the resilience of Viasat’s satellite communications network, which was targeted in the 2022 cyberattack. Cybersecurity experts say the technology offers a new way to protect critical infrastructure from increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. Atalanta says Argo uses what it calls “software understanding,” combining advanced mathematics and AI to examine software and internet-connected systems and identify vulnerabilities more thoroughly. Recent conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have highlighted the growing risks posed by cyberattacks on essential services. Several US government agencies have warned this summer that Iranian hackers have targeted water and wastewater systems and other critical infrastructure. “The tools and techniques of yesterday do not scale for today,” Atalanta CEO and co-founder Anjana Rajan told The Associated Press, saying software understanding would be increasingly important for systems critical to the United States. Nick Saunders, Viasat’s chief of cyber strategy, said the technology is helping the company strengthen its network against future attacks while also providing mathematical evidence to support its security claims. “We have built over the past year, working with Atalanta ... a capability where we can start to develop an understanding of how our systems are more resilient against attacks,” Saunders said. Atalanta is also working on the Genesis Mission, a Department of Energy initiative aimed at developing autonomous nuclear reactors. Greg Shannon, chief cybersecurity scientist at the government’s Idaho National Laboratory, said such technology could eventually become a standard part of testing new systems. “In a decade or two, I would expect it to be just part of the standard development tool kits,” Shannon said. He noted that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has invested billions of dollars in related technology over the past two decades. That research helped create demand for systems such as Argo. DARPA, the US military’s advanced research agency, has played a key role in developing technologies including the internet and stealth aircraft. “They've probably invested well over $2 billion in various programs to advance formal methods ... and we're finally seeing them start to come to fruition,” Shannon said. Last year, Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael said in a prerecorded address to a DARPA software conference that he viewed the mathematics behind Atalanta’s technology as an important part of the military’s cybersecurity future. He said he wanted it to become the Department of Defense’s “gold standard” for cybersecurity.

Facing acute labour shortages, an ageing population and long-standing productivity problems, Japan would appear to be an ideal environment for the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). Yet AI use in Japanese workplaces remains relatively slow and cautious compared with the United States and the United Kingdom. Japan’s response to AI is beginning to resemble one of the country’s traditional, slow-moving Noh plays. Everyone on stage agrees that urgent action is needed, and the message is repeated with solemnity, but the actors remain largely frozen in place. While that may build dramatic tension, it does little to address the country’s immediate economic challenges. Data on workplace AI use suggests Japan is lagging behind. Only 8.4% of Japanese workers use AI in their jobs, according to a report published late last year by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The figure compares with 50% in the US and 32% in the UK. In Singapore, where AI adoption is reportedly among the highest in the world and the highest in Asia, 56% of workers are said to use AI several times a week. So why is Japan moving so cautiously? Austin Xu, co-founder of US start-up Kuse AI, attributes the slow adoption to the conservative and risk-averse nature of many Japanese companies. His company recently opened an office in Japan to market its AI systems to local businesses. “Some organisations genuinely take a long time to make decisions because of their process and consensus-driven culture,” he says. “Tolerance for AI mistakes is close to zero, particularly in client-facing roles. Some would rather leave a position vacant than allow a machine to handle it.” Xu says the approach is very different in the US, where some companies are already giving AI agents greater freedom to improve productivity. In many American workplaces, he says, AI systems are introduced as assistants and gradually become part of normal workflows, with managers willing to test them and correct mistakes along the way. Japanese companies, by contrast, often require more evidence before trusting AI, he adds. Parrisa Haghirian, professor of international management at Kyoto University of Advanced Science, also believes risk aversion is a major factor. “The challenges of adopting AI are similar to those involved in introducing any kind of change in Japanese firms,” she says. “This is why AI use remains limited and cautious, particularly in workplaces.” Haghirian contrasts Japan’s approach with the more entrepreneurial culture in the US, saying Japanese companies are particularly sensitive to errors, uncertainty and reputational damage. Because generative AI is still not completely reliable, she says, Japanese companies mainly use it for relatively low-risk activities such as writing, summarising documents and gathering information. Its use remains much more limited in core operations, decision-making and broader business-process improvements. Japan’s healthcare sector is considered especially slow to embrace AI. Some hospitals have yet to fully digitise patient records. “Paper documents accumulate at a staggering scale,” an employee at a Japanese hospital, who requested anonymity, says. “It’s like the Stone Age.” The Japanese government is aware of the broader problem and is seeking to encourage businesses to adopt AI. Last year, parliament passed the country’s first AI Promotion Act, which uses a light-touch regulatory approach aimed at encouraging greater investment in AI. Tokyo has pledged to make Japan “the world’s most-friendly country for developing and utilizing AI.” The government sees AI as a potential tool for improving productivity, an area where Japan continues to perform poorly compared with other G7 economies. Japan’s Ministry of Finance says business adoption of AI has increased substantially, with 75% of companies now using the technology, compared with just 11% five years ago. Critics, however, say the headline figure masks the limited use of AI within many companies. Only a small proportion of employees may actually use the technology, and even those users often rely on it for only a narrow range of tasks. Prof Yasushi Ogasawara, an expert on Japan’s social system and technology at Meiji University, says the country also lacks enough workers with strong technology skills. “Although Japanese people like using gadgets such as smartphones, digital literacy is low here,” he says. The problem is underscored by a report earlier this year estimating that Japan could face a shortage of nearly 800,000 IT professionals by 2030. Many Japanese companies also continue to rely on outdated computer systems, with around 60% reportedly more than two decades old. Ogasawara says companies also face pressure to avoid contributing to unemployment, making them more cautious about developing AI that could replace human workers. “The government is talking about AI, reskilling and digital skills, but in reality it is difficult to adapt human resources to digital skills because the top priority is maintaining full employment,” he says. There are signs of change, however. Some companies are beginning to prioritise “AI literacy” when recruiting new graduates. Larger private-sector firms such as major trading company Kanematsu are hiring graduates with strong AI skills. Uta Yamaguchi, who joined the company in April, says she frequently uses AI at work, as do many of her colleagues. She uses it to draft emails for her boss, summarise complex documents and record and summarise meetings. However, she says AI systems capable of independently handling multi-step tasks remain virtually unheard of in Japan compared with the US. Her employer, known for being forward-looking, has now begun introducing such systems. Ogasawara says the pace of change in Japan remains limited. “Japanese society expects painless reform, so I think it can be said that drastic reform is difficult, to say the least,” he says. Disruption may remain an uncomfortable concept in Japan, but without greater willingness to embrace change, the productivity gains the country urgently needs from AI could remain out of reach. #Source: BBC

As the technology world races toward artificial intelligence, a growing number of enthusiasts are looking back to the early days of computing by collecting and restoring vintage computers. Software engineer Josh Dersch is one of them. He spends hours in his garage trying to bring decades-old machines back to life and estimates that he has more than 200 vintage computers and related devices at his home in Seattle. “I’ve always found the origins of things fascinating,” Dersch said. “It’s a fun challenge to figure out what’s wrong and repair it. You can understand the whole system from top to bottom.” Dersch is part of a growing community dedicated to preserving the computers that helped start the digital revolution. While Silicon Valley is now focused on developing AI and other advanced technologies, vintage computer enthusiasts are keeping machines made by Atari, Commodore and IBM alive — systems that paved the way for today’s laptops, smartphones and wearable devices. For collectors, these machines are not outdated junk but important pieces of computer history. Many enjoy hearing the familiar sounds of old machines and playing simple games such as “Pong” and “Space Invaders.” “Interest in the history of computers and everything connected to it is growing,” said Erik Klein, president of the Vintage Computer Federation, which holds an annual festival at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Vintage computer festivals draw thousandsMore than 3,500 people attended a two-day Vintage Computer Festival in early August to mark the 50th anniversary of Apple, founded in nearby Cupertino in 1976. The event included a panel discussion with Apple co-founders Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, who recalled the company’s early days as a small startup led by the late Steve Jobs. More than a dozen similar events are now held in cities across North America, South America and Europe. Klein said the growing interest is also driving demand for vintage computers on online marketplaces. Rare and iconic machines, such as the Apple-1 — Apple’s first product — can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. At the festival, collectors displayed computers they had carefully restored to working condition, giving visitors a chance to use machines developed long before the internet, social media and AI became part of everyday life. Restoring the ‘grandfather’ of modern computersDersch traveled from Seattle to showcase the prized machine in his collection — a Xerox Alto. He spent years restoring the computer, which is often described as the “grandfather of the modern computer.” It was developed at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center in the 1970s. The Alto was among the first computers to move beyond text-based displays and introduce technologies such as the mouse and graphical user interface, including windows, icons and cursors. Those features later became standard in personal computers and are widely credited with influencing early products developed by Jobs and Bill Gates. Dersch’s exhibit included a fully working Xerox Alto workstation with its large vertical monitor, bulky keyboard and mouse. It also featured large disk drives that stored only tiny amounts of data compared with modern storage devices. “It’s fun to show people what I’ve done and see what others have done,” Dersch said. “There’s also a section where I can buy more old machines to take home, so that’s always fun.” Klein, a Silicon Valley software engineering manager, was once an avid collector himself. At one point, he had about 150 computer systems, along with accessories, manuals and original packaging, packed into his closets and garage. But the collection eventually became too much to manage, and Klein worried that it could become a burden for his family. He gradually sold or gave away most of his machines, keeping only a few favorites. Hobby spreading around the worldKlein now puts his passion for vintage computers into organizing festivals, repair workshops, swap meets and other events through the Vintage Computer Federation. “It’s really about sharing the history and encouraging people to maintain, collect and enjoy this vintage technology,” he said. Sellam Ismail, who organized the first vintage computer festival in 1997, said he is pleased to see how much the collector community has grown. The first festival, held at a venue east of San Francisco, attracted about 150 hobbyists. Ismail organized the events for about a decade before helping establish the Vintage Computer Federation, which now runs festivals in the United States and Canada. He has also helped groups organize similar events in Argentina, Germany and Switzerland. “The community grew. More and more people started getting old computers and collecting them,” said Ismail, who once had a huge collection stored in a warehouse. With the festival approaching its 30th anniversary next year, Ismail expects the hobby to continue expanding. “Next year is the 30th anniversary, and I expect this to continue and grow even bigger,” he said.

From government offices to classrooms, hospitals to farms, Bangladesh is preparing to take a broader leap into the age of Artificial Intelligence, with the government placing AI at the centre of its development and modernisation strategy. The ambition goes beyond simply introducing new technology. According to the budget document for the 2026-27 fiscal year, the government is undertaking a series of initiatives to deploy AI-based technologies to address inefficiencies and complexities in public services, enabling faster decision-making, improved data analysis and enhanced service quality. The document says wider use of AI across government agencies is expected to make administrative processes more efficient, transparent and timely, while improving citizens’ access to public services. The government is also pursuing AI-driven initiatives to develop smart cities and make citizen services more user friendly. As part of its broader digital transformation agenda, AI is being incorporated into the education system to equip students with the skills required for future workplaces. Beyond education, the government plans to expand AI applications in the health, agriculture and public service sectors, aiming to create a technology-driven and service-oriented Bangladesh. The budget document also highlights the rapid growth of Bangladesh’s electronics industry, describing it as one of the country’s fastest-growing and most promising sectors after the ready-made garments industry. It says the availability of affordable digital devices is essential for the development of the country’s ICT sector. To achieve this, the government intends to encourage domestic production of electronic devices, making them more accessible to citizens while creating opportunities for exports. Through appropriate policy support, the government expects Bangladesh to emerge as one of the world’s leading electronics manufacturing hubs within the next five years. The budget also places strong emphasis on harnessing the country’s youthful population, describing young people as Bangladesh’s greatest asset and a major force for future economic growth. To capitalise on their talent and innovation, the government plans to promote startups, freelancing and digital entrepreneurship through technology-based training and skills development programmes designed to prepare young Bangladeshis for the global labour market. The government believes the expansion of the ICT and automation-based economy will generate new employment opportunities and enable young entrepreneurs to become key contributors to economic development. As part of these efforts, it has initiated work on a modern startup policy and plans to consolidate various startup funds into a unified financing mechanism to improve access to funding for innovative businesses. The government’s broader objective is to build an innovative and self-reliant Bangladesh by empowering its youth and fostering a vibrant technology ecosystem. The budget document says that with adequate policy support and investment, Bangladesh’s talented young innovators will be capable of establishing world-class technology hubs comparable to Silicon Valley in the United States, Shenzhen in China, Singapore and Dubai.

An experiment using artificial intelligence (AI) at the annual Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany, received a mixed response on Saturday, with the AI-assisted stage production drawing boos from parts of the audience after leaving many spectators confused. According to German news agency dpa, curator Marcus Lobbes and his team were booed and whistled at as they appeared on stage after the performance of Götterdämmerung. However, the singers, musicians and especially conductor Christian Thielemann received warm applause. Festival organisers had announced before the performance that it would be the first time AI played a role on stage at the event, not as a performer but as a tool to generate visual projections. The production featured constantly changing AI-created images, while the singers remained the main focus on stage. The visuals combined light, textures, historical references and artistic themes, with the AI using images selected in advance by Lobbes and his team from the Academy for Theater and Digitality in Dortmund. The projections included scenes from earlier performances of Wagner's famous Ring cycle as well as historical images. According to dpa, many audience members were puzzled by the visual collage, which included images of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the World Trade Center towers after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and a postage stamp marking German reunification in 1990. The festival's website says each performance will be different because the AI-generated images and associations continuously change. Two more AI-assisted performances are scheduled.

Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported a record operating profit of 89.5 trillion won ($62 billion) for the April-June quarter, as the South Korean technology giant and rival SK Hynix continue to benefit from surging global demand for chips used in artificial intelligence systems. The earnings came a day after SK Hynix, the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, also reported record quarterly revenue, highlighting how the global AI boom is boosting South Korea's semiconductor industry. However, shares of both companies have fallen sharply this week amid concerns about their huge planned investments to expand chip production and growing competition from China. Samsung's second-quarter operating profit was more than 19 times higher than a year earlier, with almost all of the earnings coming from its semiconductor business. The chip division benefited from higher prices, strong demand for AI servers and increased sales of advanced high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI applications. These gains more than offset losses in Samsung's mobile devices, televisions and home appliances businesses, which were affected partly by higher component costs. Samsung's quarterly revenue also reached a record 171.5 trillion won ($119 billion). The company said it expects demand for memory chips to remain strong during the second half of the year, supported by continued investment in AI infrastructure and wider use of so-called agentic AI. Demand for chips used in data centers is also expected to grow further, potentially keeping supplies below market demand, Samsung said. SK Hynix reported record second-quarter revenue of 60.5 trillion won ($42 billion) on Wednesday. However, its profit fell short of market expectations, sending its shares down more than 9 percent. Samsung's shares have also declined this week. Kim Jaejune, an executive in Samsung's memory chip division, said the gap between chip supply and demand could widen further in 2027. He said Samsung plans to begin construction of its second semiconductor factory in Taylor, Texas, before the end of this year, with the facility expected to start operations by 2030. Kim said Samsung has secured long-term chip supply agreements with five major global data center customers, possibly referring to Amazon Web Services, Google, Meta, Oracle and Microsoft. The company is also in talks with other major technology firms as demand for AI infrastructure continues to rise. "Despite our efforts to increase production, demand growth is outpacing our efforts," Kim said during a conference call. Samsung and SK Hynix together account for about two-thirds of global memory chip production. Both companies are making major investments in new semiconductor factories and data centers as South Korea seeks to strengthen its position in the global AI industry. However, some analysts have raised concerns about whether such large-scale spending will generate sufficient returns. South Korean chipmakers are also facing pressure from concerns over stronger competition from China. Reports that a state-owned Chinese company has started mass-producing domestically developed immersion deep-ultraviolet lithography machines, which are important for advanced chip manufacturing, have added to investor concerns. The strong stock market debut of Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies has also increased worries about competition from China, analysts said. Last month, Samsung and SK Hynix announced plans to jointly invest 800 trillion won ($554 billion) in a new semiconductor hub in southwestern South Korea to take advantage of rapidly growing AI-related demand. The heads of Samsung, SK and South Korean automaker Hyundai joined President Lee Jae Myung during his trip to San Francisco last week, where they announced hundreds of billions of dollars in planned cooperation with major US technology companies. The agreements involve AI firms OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as chip designers Nvidia and Broadcom, and cover chip technology, data centers and other AI infrastructure. Kim Yong-beom, President Lee's chief policy adviser, said at a foreign media roundtable last week that the initiatives show how global technology companies are seeking long-term partnerships with South Korean chipmakers to secure reliable supplies of memory chips for AI systems. However, the sharp swings in the share prices of Samsung, SK Hynix and other global technology companies suggest that investors are increasingly looking beyond short-term earnings and focusing on whether such growth can be sustained over the long term, semiconductor analyst Son In-joon of Eugene Securities said in a report this week.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, driven by strong growth in artificial intelligence (AI), digital advertising and cloud services. The California-based technology company said on Wednesday that it earned $112.11 billion, or $9.11 per share, during the April-June quarter, up sharply from $28.2 billion, or $2.31 per share, in the same period last year. Revenue increased 24 percent to $119.8 billion, compared with $96.43 billion a year earlier, exceeding Wall Street analysts’ average estimate of $117.06 billion, according to FactSet. Alphabet said its net income was boosted by a $98 billion gain, mainly from increases in the value of its equity investments, particularly SpaceX, which went public in June. “Our AI investments are redefining what’s possible across every part of our business,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement. Industry analysts said the results highlight the company’s growing strength in AI. Emarketer analyst Nate Elliott said Google’s AI chatbot Gemini is close to reaching one billion users, joining AI Overviews and AI Mode as major AI products. He also said growing demand for AI services is driving rapid expansion in Google Cloud, while strong search advertising performance suggests AI is strengthening, rather than replacing, Google’s core search business. Advertising remained Alphabet’s biggest source of revenue, helped by strong demand linked to the FIFA World Cup, particularly on YouTube. The company also reported solid growth in its cloud business, supported by rising demand for its AI products and services, including chips, AI models, data, security and AI agent platforms. Following the earnings announcement, Alphabet shares rose $2.71 to $344.62 in after-hours trading.