Philippa Kaur

Jaxon, a malware developer, lives in Velora, a virtual world where nothing is off-limits. He wants to make malicious software to steal passwords from Google Chrome, an internet browser. That is the basis of a story told to ChatGPT, an artificial-intelligence (AI) bot, by Vitaly Simonovich, who researches AI threats at Cato Networks, a cyber-security firm. Eager to play along, Chatgpt spat out some imperfect code, which it then helped debug. Within six hours, Mr Simonovich had skirted the safeguards built into ChatGPT and used it to create functioning malware. More

WHEN LIP-BU TAN was summoned to the White House on Monday, he was ostensibly there to explain his investments in Chinese startups. After the meeting Donald Trump, who just a few days earlier had called for the boss of Intel to resign, was full of praise for his “amazing story”. Mr Tan has kept his job. But he probably had not reckoned on gaining a co-CEO. Mr Trump is now reported to be considering an investment in the chipmaker on behalf of America’s government. More

The recipe for Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa has not changed since it was first concocted in the 1600s. Yet the sweet Chinese cough syrup, which has the colour and consistency of mud, is enjoying a renewed surge in popularity. Sales rose by almost a third between 2019 and 2024, reaching 635m yuan ($88m) last year. Those coughing up for the syrup are not just in China, but increasingly in the West, too. More

Ever since Toyota entered America in the 1950s, the country has been a vital market for it. The carmaker, which sells more vehicles worldwide than any other, hawks around a quarter of its cars there. That makes President Donald Trump’s 15% tariff on Japanese vehicles a big problem, considering that only around half of the cars Toyota sells in America are made in the country (see chart). In an earnings call on August 7th, Japan’s most valuable company said that American duties cost it ¥450bn ($3bn) in the three months to June. For its full fiscal year it expects the impact to be close to $10bn, the biggest hit reported so far by any carmaker. More

The forest of cranes along the skyline of Milan attests to the construction boom that is under way in the financial capital of Italy. Rich foreigners have lately been flocking to the city, drawn not only by the promise of la dolce vita, but by the country’s annual flat tax of €200,000 ($230,000) on worldwide income. Yet Italy as a whole continues to stagnate. The economy has barely grown over the past decade. In June the national statistics bureau downgraded its forecast for growth this year from a measly 0.8% to an even more paltry 0.6%. More

MAKE YOUR way around the busy warehouses of Torrance, near the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and you will find an unexpected sight. Dozens of electrified 18-wheelers belonging to Maersk, a Danish logistics firm, are hooked up to fast chargers. The lorries are tapping into electricity from linear generators, which are more efficient, and thus greener, than traditional rotating ones. These generators are the product of Mainspring, a Californian startup that has raised over $250m this year. More

It’s summer in the northern hemisphere. And as holidaymakers travel to unfamiliar places, that means demand for online customer reviews. Want to find a restaurant that won’t give everyone food poisoning, or the perfect accommodation for a city break, or a mosquito repellent that actually works? Whether you are looking on Tripadvisor, Airbnb or Amazon, you will almost certainly be guided by reviews from other people. Should you be? More

Ignore for a moment Donald Trump’s shakedown of Nvidia, in which he has allowed the world’s most valuable firm to resume limited exports of its artificial-intelligence (AI) chips to China in return for a 15% cut of the proceeds for Uncle Sam. Think instead of the argument about whether it is wise to let China have access to one of America’s most coveted technologies. More