Transcript

Hello and welcome to today’s news from TotemoTech on February 7th, 2024. In today’s news, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed an AI agent called PokeLLMon that achieved human-level performance in command-based battle games like Pokemon. The AI agent, equipped with a large language model (LLM), had a win rate of 56% against experienced players. This development opens up new possibilities for AI in gaming.

Moving on to our next story, a research group consisting of Tokyo Institute of Technology, University at Buffalo, Kobe University, and Kyoto University has published a study on the gender bias in research papers. Their findings show that ‘female-led research papers’ are less likely to be cited compared to ‘male-led research papers.’ This highlights the gender disparity in the academic communities of Japan, China, and South Korea.

Next, we have news from the business world. KDDI, a major telecommunications company, is planning a tender offer for Lawson, one of the largest convenience store chains in Japan. After the tender offer, Mitsubishi Corporation and KDDI will jointly manage Lawson, with each holding a 50% stake. This move aims to create a new alliance, referred to as ‘GAFA L,’ to compete with the tech giants.

Shifting gears to the automotive industry, there has been a resurgence in the popularity of hybrid cars, particularly in Europe and North America. Toyota Motor Corporation’s third-quarter financial results support this trend, indicating an increase in the adoption of hybrid vehicles across all regions.

In the tech sector, Rakuten Symphony has announced the full launch of its online storage service, Rakuten Drive. This service provides users with cloud storage and offers a free plan with 10GB of storage. With the growing demand for digital storage, Rakuten Drive aims to cater to users’ needs for secure and convenient file storage.

Moving on to a social phenomenon, young people are experiencing a new form of harassment called ‘Maruharassment.’ This term refers to the fear that young people feel when they receive messages from older generations that end with a period. Experts attribute this fear to the generation gap between older adults who are accustomed to email communication and younger individuals who primarily use social media. The difference in perception and communication styles has led to the emergence of this unique issue.

Lastly, Adobe has announced a price increase for its Creative Cloud subscription. Starting from March 5th, 2024, the monthly cost of the Complete Plan will be raised by 1,300 yen. Adobe justifies this increase by stating that it reflects the added value of new features, updates, and the expansion of AI-powered capabilities.

That’s all for today’s news. Thank you for tuning in to TotemoTech. Stay updated with the latest tech developments and join us again for our next episode. Visit JapanDailyNews.com for the news, yen exchange rates, and a daily Japanese proverb.

Keywords - japan, tech, news