Frankly speaking ...

It is a comfortable belief: AI is just a mirror. Critics often dismiss large AI systems, especially large language models, as statistical parrots that reflect our words, images, and ideas without any deeper agency. They argue that such systems cannot come up with new ideas. I think that is wrong. The question is not whether AI has consciousness or human-style understanding. The question is whether it can see associations and links that humans often miss. Human civilisation also advances through copying and recombination. We build on what came before. AI does something related, though in a different manner. It notices connections across vast bodies of data and turns those relationships into outputs that can feel surprising to us. In this essay I will look at several examples — a Go match, a mathematical proof, a rocket engine, a strange portrait, and a drug candidate — where I think AI has done something novel and interesting. Move 37: A Strategy That Broke Human Intuition In Mar...

Dispelling the Myth that China Does Not Innovate The idea that China is merely a "copycat" nation, lacking originality, is increasingly outdated. While its economic rise did involve adapting foreign technologies, this narrative ignores both a long history of invention and a present-day transformation into a global innovation leader. Historically, China produced world-changing inventions such as paper-making , printing , gunpowder , and the compass —the "Four Great Inventions." These were not isolated breakthroughs but part of a sustained tradition of technological advancement. Other contributions, including the wheelbarrow , umbrella , abacus , and cast iron , highlight a culture of ingenuity that predates modern globalisation. In recent decades, China has shifted from imitation to independent innovation , driven by a deliberate, government-led strategy for technological self-reliance. The country has massively increased research and development (R&D) funding, ...