Paramount's CinemaCon charm offensive gets lukewarm reception

Young Chinese, many who fear age discrimination in their workplace after turning 35, are increasingly starting "one-person companies" that have artificial intelligence do most of the work.

Smaller startups are already in vogue in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, with rapidly advancing AI tools seen as a welcome teammate even as they threaten layoffs at existing firms.

More young people in China are subscribing to the model, as cities pledge millions of dollars in funding and rent subsidies for such ventures, in alignment with Beijing's political goal of "technological self-reliance".

"The one-person company is a product of the AI era," said Karen Dai, founder of Shanghai-based SoloNest, which hosts weekend events for solo entrepreneurs.

In the past, it was very difficult to run a business on your own, she said, but the range of tasks that AI can help with has "lowered the entry barrier".

On a Sunday in Shanghai, around 20 people in their 20s and 30s packed into a conference room for Dai's 134th iteration of a three-hour ideas swap on going it alone.

One attendee, Wang Tianyi, now earns up to 40,000 yuan ($5,800) per month making AI-generated commercials for businesses.

The 26-year-old, who quit his product manager job at an internet company last year, predicts that people flying solo will become a "major trend".

"Because of the technological empowerment brought on by AI, (one-person companies) have an efficiency advantage," he told AFP.

- 'Invisible line' -

On Chinese social media, people have lamented for years the so-called "curse of 35" -- widespread age discrimination in tech, government and other competitive sectors.

"At 35 years old, there's like this invisible line," said Dai, who is 38.

"People might face some challenges in the workplace. The company might re-evaluate who is more fit to stay."

But young people, who witnessed a decade of rapid economic expansion in China, have a hunger to grow, said Dai, also author of the book "One Person Company".

"When you're 30 or even younger, you'll ask yourself: when I reach that invisible line of 35, what preparations should I make?" she said.

Shanghai resident Wei Xin, 34, knew her job as a document reviewer at a foreign consulting firm would be replaced by AI before it actually happened.

So she signed up for a course on Google's Gemini and dabbled in creating an AI-generated digital version of herself, before turning to social media content creation.

"There's a bit of AI anxiety," said Wei, who returned to China last year after completing a degree in the United States.

"If I don't use it, don't approach it, I might soon be eliminated."

- Government 'carrots' -

Chinese municipalities are rolling out policies to support AI-powered one-person companies, using the initials "OPC" -- a rare use of English in official policy.

In November, the eastern city of Suzhou vowed to cultivate "more than 10,000 OPC talents" by 2028 and funnel around 700 million yuan ($100 million) towards sectors including AI robotics, healthcare and smart transportation.

Southwestern Chengdu also last month promised subsidies of up to 20,000 yuan for graduates to establish AI-driven one-person firms.

These measures are "carrots to help these startups get off the ground and be successful", said Brookings fellow Kyle Chan, an expert on China's technology development.

Sponsoring OPCs is a new, cheap way to tackle high youth unemployment in China -- where one in six people between the ages of 16 and 24 are jobless.

"The cost of doing this, from the local governments, for an OPC, is very low," Chan said.

Wang, the former product manager, said many of his friends were opting to work on independent projects instead of vying for corporate jobs.

But "the important thing in the future will be how to sell it", he said, with new companies often struggling to turn a profit.

Young Chinese are investing in back-up plans while "asking themselves, 'can I, with my own two hands, helped by the convenience of AI, explore the things I say I want to do?'" Dai said.

"There is a sense of control, of creativity."

mya/dhw/kaf

The Portland Trail Blazers exploited an injury to Victor Wembanyama to score an upset 106-103 victory over the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs in their NBA Western Conference playoff series on Tuesday.

San Antonio superstar Wembanyama -- who had scored 35 points in the Spurs' game one win on Sunday -- exited in the second quarter at the Frost Bank Center in Texas after hitting his head on the court following a collision with Portland's Jrue Holiday.

The 22-year-old looked groggy as he lay on the floor for several minutes before getting to his feet and jogging to the locker room.

The 7ft 4in (2.24m) forward was subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the game after entering the concussion protocol.

San Antonio looked to have overcome Wembanyama's injury as they pulled into a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter, leading 93-79 with just over eight minutes left on the clock.

But with victory seemingly in sight, San Antonio's shooting went ice cold and the absence of newly crowned NBA defensive player of the year Wembanyama was keenly felt as a determined Portland snaffled victory, closing the fourth quarter with a 27-10 run.

Scoot Henderson led Portland's scoring with 31 points, while Holiday added 16.

"Basketball is a game of runs, and the basketball gods are always gonna repay the ones that play the game right," Henderson told NBC television afterwards.

Game three of the best-of-seven series takes place in Portland on Friday.

- Sixers bounce back -

In the Eastern Conference playoffs, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe combined for 59 points as the Philadelphia 76ers scored a series-leveling 111-97 victory on the road over the Boston Celtics.

Edgecombe made six-of-10 three-point attempts before finishing with 30 points, 10 rebounds and two assists in a stunning victory for the Sixers, who had trailed 26-13 early in the first quarter before rallying.

Maxey was also lethal from long-range, making five three-pointers on his way to a 29-point haul.

The bounce-back victory came after the Sixers were thrashed 123-91 in game one on Sunday, after a performance that Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse lambasted as "absolutely unacceptable."

Nurse was unsurprisingly happier with his team's winning display on Tuesday.

"I thought we just played much better team defense tonight," said Nurse, who also saluted his team's resolve after Boston surged into an early double-digit lead.

"I think we did a great job of just taking that punch,” Nurse said. 

"They were spectacular to start, but we just hung in there. I said 'Listen, they're pretty great right now, let's believe that they're not going to be this great the whole game, and just hang in there'. And our guys did."

Jaylen Brown led Boston's scoring with 36 points but Jayson Tatum was the only other Celtics player to make double figures with 19 points. The Celtics made just 35-of-89 shots from the field throughout the game.

"You have to be able to score in close games against a team like that," Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said. "They made more shots than us down the stretch."

With the series knotted at 1-1, game three takes place in Philadelphia on Friday.

rcw/dh

Workers load tonnes of rare earth minerals into bags ready for shipping at a refinery in eastern Malaysia, fuelling the global pushback against China's grip on the critical sector.

Rare earths are a key ingredient in products ranging from smartphones to fighter jets, electric cars and wind turbines -- and increasingly for hardware powering the artificial intelligence boom.

Global jitters about Beijing's dominance as a rare earths producer have kicked Australian mining giant Lynas into action, expanding its portfolio of rare earths refined in Malaysia as it hopes to boost its approximately 10 percent share of the market.

China makes up the other 90 percent of the world's market, stoking fears about Beijing's ability to choke global supplies.

"China has built its success on executing a clear industrial plan -- it takes us to be serious about it," Lynas company's chief executive Amanda Lacaze told AFP.

Pushing against Chinese dominance will "take discipline, focus and clear planning", she said during a rare press visit to the company's sprawling chemical plant in Malaysia's Gebeng industrial hub, near the coastal city of Kuantan.

The Lynas facility in Gebeng is now the world's largest single rare earths processing plant.

- Downstream demand -

Since 2012, the facility has been refining pure metals from raw materials mined in Western Australia, in an intensive and complicated separation procedure.

It currently handles 11 of the 17 rare earths -- a number that is increasing -- with plans to expand even further to include "heavies" such as yttrium and lutetium, used for lasers, medical imaging and cancer therapy.

From the plant, the bags are transported to Port Klang on the other side of Malaysia, and leave on a ship for Japan, where the metal powders are turned into high-performance magnets used in advanced industries such as electronics and aerospace.

Most bags contain NdPr, short for neodymium-praseodymium, a rare-earth mixture and key magnet material, which sells for around $100,000 per bag. 

Smaller quantities of other separated heavy rare earth oxides like dysprosium, terbium and samarium are sold in 25-kilogramme tins. 

Rare earths are so vital for the global economy that they have become a flashpoint in the blistering trade war between the United States and China.

Beijing leveraged its grip on the precious minerals in spectacular fashion last October, reaching a deal with Washington to pause the trade war after its curbs on exports rattled markets and snarled supply chains.

Supply of rare earths is expected to be a key discussion point at an upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing set for mid-May.

But the challenge for Lynas is not its production capacity, chief operating officer Pol Le Roux said.

Instead, incentives are needed to boost downstream capacity -- the ability to turn raw minerals into a finished product -- which is "growing too slowly", he told AFP.

Lacaze said the company was already partnering with magnet makers to close the gap between rare-earth processing and manufacturing.

However, she stressed: "We won't just say that we are going to wake up tomorrow and be a magnet maker."

- 'Minimise risks' -

Producing rare earths requires heavy chemicals and can produce toxic waste, with cases including illegal operations polluting Mekong tributaries in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia with arsenic and cadmium.

Lynas got the green light last month from the Malaysian government to process rare earths there for another 10 years.

The licence was issued as environmental watchdogs such as Greenpeace raised concerns over the management of radioactive by-products.

Under the latest agreement, the government said the company must now halt all activities that produce radioactive waste within five years of its renewed operating licence.

Lynas however, says its by-product from rare earth refining produces a non-toxic, non-radioactive magnesium-rich gypsum and an iron phosphate with a very low level of naturally occurring radioactive material.

Existing by-product is already stored in a permanent disposal facility "constructed and managed to ensure the material does not impact on the surrounding environment," the company said.

Lynas also has ambitions to diversify further into producing rare earths as catalysts over the next decade.

Rare earths are particularly important as a low-cost catalyst in the hydrogen supply chain, for instance, in the recovery process when the gas is transported long-haul as ammonia.

"In 10 years from now, I expect this to be a substantial part of the business," Le Roux said.

jhe/kaf/cms/dan

Oil prices fell along with stocks Wednesday as investors assess the chances of US-Iran peace talks after Donald Trump extended his ceasefire at the eleventh hour but kept his blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in place.

With the two-week truce in its final hours, the US president said he would push the deadline back indefinitely following a request from mediator Pakistan and stressing the need to give Tehran's "fractured" leadership time to form a proposal. 

He had previously indicated he would not extend the truce and warned he would resume bombing the Islamic republic when it expired.

"I have...directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their (Iran's) proposal is submitted," Trump wrote on social media.

The decision not to carry out fresh attacks on Iran but continue to prevent its ships from passing through the Strait -- a major sticking point between the rivals -- left traders awaiting clearer developments.

The fate of peace talks in Islamabad was hanging in the balance, with a White House official saying Vice President JD Vance would not travel Tuesday as previously planned, pending the submission of an Iranian proposal.

Tehran has said it will not attend because of what it said were unreasonable US demands, while the semi-official Tasnim news agency said there was no prospect of officials going at present.

Christopher Wong, a strategist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, said: "The US and Iran may be trying to shore up leverage and playing a game of who blinks first.

"Whatever the outcome, the suspense in the interim may see risk appetite being curtailed but when either side blinks, risk proxies could rally."

Both main oil contracts edged down, though they fluctuated in early trade, having risen around three percent Tuesday.

Equities were mostly in the red following another down day on Wall Street.

Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul and Wellington dropped, with Shanghai flat. Tokyo, Taipei and Wellington rose.

Traders have been struggling to find direction this week after Tehran said Friday it would allow ships through the Strait of Hormuz -- which it had effectively closed since war began on February 28 -- before pulling back a day later, citing the US blockade and seizure of a ship.

Donald Trump has similarly accused Tehran of violating the ceasefire by harassing vessels in the waterway, the transit passage for about one-fifth of global oil.

The developments sent crude swinging wildly, though they have held below $100, while equity markets have been less volatile on lingering optimism the two sides will eventually reach a deal to end the seven-week conflict that has hit the global economy.

"With markets surging amid optimism that the war is soon going to end, and the Hormuz Strait to open, markets are now more cautious," wrote Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at FOREX.com.

"If there’s no deal, I would imagine that oil prices could climb back above $100, which would likely invite pressure on equities."

Investors are also keeping tabs on the confirmation hearing by senators of Kevin Warsh, Trump's pick to replace Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell, whose term ends next month.

Warsh insisted he would not be controlled by the president as he fielded questions on his assets and central bank independence during his confirmation hearing.

The former Fed governor emphasised his commitment to "ensuring that the conduct of monetary policy remains strictly independent", adding he would "absolutely not" be Trump's puppet.

Trump, since his return to office last year, has severely criticised Powell for not slashing rates more aggressively, and told CNBC on Tuesday he would be disappointed if the new chair did not swiftly lower borrowing costs.

- Key figures around 0230 GMT -

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $89.38 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $98.31 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 59,653.56 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 26,191.13

Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 4,084.94

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1747 from $1.1749 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3513 from $1.3511

Dollar/yen: UP at 159.27 yen from 159.25 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.94 pence from 86.96 pence

New York - Dow Jones: DOWN 0.6 percent at 49,149.38 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.1 percent at 10,498.09 (close)

dan/fox

BOSSIER CITY, La. -- Louisiana Tech football made it to Bossier City Tuesday evening for their "Red River Run Through" as the Bulldogs continue spring practice.

Several local players have been on the roster for years like long snapper and former Loyola Flyer, Ean Burch.

"It's always awesome to come back and let your family and friends come out here and see what a day in our life looks like. Oftentimes they don't really know what goes on unless it's Saturday," Burch said. "It's nice to get out here and see people that we don't see every day and that are Tech fans."

Others are newcomers like running back and former North DeSoto Griffin, Kenny Thomas.

"It's kind of a surreal feeling. You know, since I'm technically still supposed to be in high school, seeing some of my peers out here when I'm practicing for college," Thomas said. "I'm just taking it in, making the most of every moment and trying to earn my dues. I'm just grateful for the position I'm in right now."

Louisiana Tech's spring game is Saturday in Ruston.

Pope Leo XIV will visit a prison known for its squalid conditions in Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday, the second-to-last day of a marathon African tour on which he has spoken out forcefully on world issues.

The pope, who arrived in the oil-rich but deeply unequal country on Tuesday after stops in Algeria, Cameroon and Angola, will meet with inmates at Bata prison, a facility criticised by rights experts for extreme overcrowding, poor sanitation and mistreatment of prisoners.

He will also meet with families and young people at Bata's stadium, and pay tribute to the victims of a deadly accident that rocked the coastal city in 2021, when a fire set off a series of explosions at a munitions depot that killed more than 100 people and wounded around 600 others.

Besides Bata, the country's largest city and economic capital, the pope will visit Mongomo, near the Gabonese border, giving mass and touring a school.

Leo began his visit on Tuesday urging Equatorial Guinea to place itself "in the service of law and justice" -- pointed remarks in an authoritarian country regularly accused of rights abuses.

However, his tone was more measured than on his previous stops, when he lambasted the "tyrants" ransacking the world, condemned "exploitation" by the rich and powerful, and clashed with Donald Trump after the US president took issue with the first American pontiff's call for an end to the Middle East war.

- 18,000 kilometres -

Leo, 70, must strike a delicate balance in Equatorial Guinea, supporting the faithful without backing the government of Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been in power since 1979 and at 83 is the world's longest-serving head of state who is not a monarch.

Eighty percent of the small coastal country's two million people are Catholics, a legacy of Spanish colonisation.

Hydrocarbon production accounts for 46 percent of Equatorial Guinea's economy and more than 90 percent of exports, according to African Development Bank figures.

But according to Human Rights Watch, "vast oil revenues fund lavish lifestyles for the small elite surrounding the president, while a large proportion of the population continues to live in poverty".

The pope was welcomed on Tuesday by the president, and spoke out against the "dramatically" widening wealth gap in the country at an event attended by Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, known as Teodorin, who is the president's son and also vice president.

Teodorin, who was convicted in France in 2019 for money laundering and embezzlement of public funds, is known for his luxurious lifestyle that he flaunts on social media, in a country where the majority of the population lives below the poverty line.

The pope will wrap up his 11-day, 18,000-kilometre (11,200-mile) Africa trip on Thursday with an open-air mass in the capital, Malabo, then return to Rome.

cmk-gge/jhb/gv/ane

The United States has not moved a key missile defense system out of South Korea, a US military official said Tuesday, following reports that Washington was shifting parts of it to the Middle East.

The Washington Post reported last month, citing unnamed officials, that the United States was moving parts of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system out of South Korea for use in its war with Iran.

The report had caused disquiet in South Korea, where the system is a pillar of national defense against nuclear-armed North Korea.

The commander of the US forces in South Korea said Washington had "not moved any THAAD systems" out of the country.

"THAAD still remains on the peninsula currently," Xavier Brunson said at a US Senate committee hearing in Washington.

"We are sending munitions forward (to the Middle East), and those are sitting right now waiting to move," Brunson said without providing further details.

Asked if he expected the system to remain in place, Brunson replied: "We do."

THAAD is designed to intercept short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles using hit-to-kill technology.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung had said Seoul was unhappy with its reported redeployment, but acknowledged there was little the government could do about it.

Seoul's defense ministry said it could deter threats from North Korea even if the United States relocated some of its military assets.

The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea, and the THAAD system was installed in South Korea in 2017.

It sparked strong protests from nearby China, which viewed the system as a threat to its national security.

North Korea is showing a "very serious increase" in its ability to produce atomic weapons, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said during a visit to Seoul this month.

The North said this week it fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles that tested the power of its cluster munitions, the latest in a flurry of launches by the diplomatically isolated state.

cdl/mjw/tc

The PGA Tour is exploring pathways for players to return from LIV Golf, even as the embattled breakaway circuit scrambles to rebrand and retain its stars ahead of the rumored withdrawal of Saudi funding.

The golfing world was shaken last week by widespread reports that LIV only has support from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund guaranteed until the end of the season, after which the high-spending tour would face a major financial deficit if it continues.

That has prompted speculation that the entire circuit could soon collapse, leaving marquee players like Bryson DeChambeau plotting their futures.

Asked this week if the PGA tour had plans to welcome back defectors from rival LIV like DeChambeau, as it already has with five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, CEO Brian Rolapp said the PGA was "thinking about it."

"Brooks came back onto the tour because he made a phone call and said, 'Look, I'm out of my contract. I'm ready to come back,'" Rolapp told the Pat McAfee Show on Monday.

"So we're thinking about it. We'll react when we have an opportunity to react. 

He added: "I'm interested in whatever makes the PGA Tour better."

Whether DeChambeau would want to return to the PGA Tour is not clear, particularly given the punitive financial terms already imposed on the likes of Koepka.

DeChambeau's wildly popular YouTube channel regularly draws over two million views per video, and he could feasibly choose to only play golf's four major tournaments.

Even if LIV Golf continues next season, DeChambeau's contract will be up, and The Athletic on Monday reported that the two-time major winner is demanding "up to $500 million" to re-sign.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil, who last week told staff that the tour would continue "full throttle" this season, said the circuit would "probably" have to raise money going forward.

- 'OKGC' -

One option he has frequently touted is selling equity stakes in LIV's 13 teams.

On Tuesday, the tour announced it was rebranding the Smash GC team -- formerly captained by Koepka -- as "OKGC", inspired by its new, Oklahoma City-native captain Talor Gooch.

It has previously rebranded other teams to help attract fans, sponsors and potential investors from specific international markets, including "Korean Golf Club", and the all-South African "Southern Guards".

The "OKGC" rebranding is "a significant step in LIV Golf's strategy to connect its teams to home markets, creating stronger identities and deeper relationships with fans, partners and communities," said a tour statement.

"As the league continues to grow globally, OKGC highlights the growing impact of localized, domestic team identities within the LIV Golf franchise model," said the statement.

Still, selling team stakes alone would not begin to plug the estimated $5 billion that Saudi backers have spent on the four-year-old LIV Golf tour to date.

In January, Bloomberg reported that the league was targeting valuations up to $300 million per team. There is currently no public valuation of what the teams are worth.

O'Neil has also spoken about other strategies like partnering with established national opens, and redoubling LIV's focus on markets where it has drawn record crowds to events, such as Australia and South Africa.

And in the United States, the tour still retains the support of at least one powerful fan.

The venue for LIV's next tournament?

The US president's own Trump National Golf Club, just outside Washington DC.

amz/rcw

(The Center Square) – Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday that could reshape the state’s representation in the U.S. House of Representatives and majority control coming out of the 2026 midterms.

The Associated Press called the race at 8:49 p.m., with unofficial results showing 50.3% voting in favor and 49.7% opposed. With 89% of votes tallied at time of publication, yes votes led 51.3%-48.7% from more than 2.8 million cast.

The outcome – if able to survive the Virginia Supreme Court or higher – flipped the projected net gains and losses of the two major parties in the nationwide map redrawing tussle, Democrats going from down three to up one. Briefs in litigation are due to the Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday.

Control of the U.S. House remains closely divided. With three new resignations and two oaths of offices taken since Tuesday of last week, there are four vacancies, 217 Republicans, 213 Democrats and one independent caucusing with his former colleagues in the Republican Party.

On Election Day 2024, Republicans won a 220-215 majority.

The state has six Democrats and five Republicans in the House, and the proposed map would shift that to as many as a 10-1 Democratic-leaning advantage.

Voters were asked to decide yes or no on a measure allowing the General Assembly to temporarily redraw congressional districts before the next census.

According to the Department of Elections, state law is, “Virginia’s 11 congressional districts are drawn once every 10 years by the Virginia Redistricting Commission, a legislative body made up of eight legislators and eight citizens, with an equal number of Republicans and Democrats. Virginia’s congressional districts were last redrawn in 2021 and will next be redrawn in 2031.”

The ballot question asked voters: “Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia’s standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?”

With the amendment approved, the General Assembly – where Democrats hold majorities in both chambers and the governor’s office – can move forward with a congressional map already passed and currently facing legal challenges. The redistricting commission would resume responsibility for drawing maps in 2031.

If the amendment had failed, Virginia would have continued using its current congressional districts drawn after the 2020 census under the state’s redistricting commission process.

According to campaign finance records, a combined $111 million was spent on the amendment, including more than $22 million in opposition. That total far exceeds the $2.7 million spent during Virginia’s last redistricting amendment, which voters approved 65.7%-34.3%.

The results again showed Virginia’s regional divide, with Democratic strength concentrated in Northern Virginia and urban centers, while Republican support remained dominant in rural and western parts of the state. Competitive jurisdictions such as Virginia Beach and Chesterfield County again emerged as key battlegrounds.

Virginia’s results may not be finalized Tuesday night. All mailed ballots must be received by Friday at noon in the general registrar’s office.

New maps are in play for the 2026 elections in California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas. Litigation has also led to changes in Utah and remains ongoing in Georgia, Louisiana and New York.

In addition to Virginia, Florida next week begins a special session on the matter. Neighboring Maryland’s bid died last week.

California has the potential to flip five seats to Democrats for a 48-4 representation for the party and Utah one to Democrats cutting into Republicans’ 4-0 representation. For Republicans, Missouri (to 7-1) and North Carolina (to 11-3) could gain one seat each; Ohio two (to 12-3); and Texas five (to 30-7).

A blue-eyed humanoid robot carefully opens a box and places a tool inside as a crowd of visitors watch the demonstration of "physical AI" skills at a major industrial trade fair in Germany.

Made by German startup Agile Robots, it was among a host of robots showing off their moves at the event, underlining hopes of a coming AI-powered boost for Germany's long-struggling factories.

Embedding the technology into industrial processes, where Europe already has deep expertise, is seen as a key route for the continent to catch up in the artificial intelligence race against the United States and China.

Such AI-boosted robots make it possible to "actually solve industrial problems", Rory Sexton, chief executive of Agile Robots, told AFP in an interview.

From next year, he added, the company plans to begin fitting out German factories, particularly those in the automotive industry, a crucial sector for Europe's biggest economy.

Artificial intelligence used for real-world, hands-on tasks -- so-called physical AI -- was in focus this year in Hanover at the world's biggest industrial technology fair, which brings together more than 3,000 exhibitors.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited the Agile Robots stand, where he talked to Zhaopeng Chen, the Chinese founder of the Munich-based startup.

In a speech at the fair, Merz threw his support behind the drive to encourage German manufacturers, many of whom still rely on traditional techniques, to step up their use of AI.

AI should be "embedded in the key sectors of our industry and especially" in small- and medium-sized firms, the backbone of the German economy, to create "industrial added value and high-quality jobs", he said.

- 'Dark side' of AI -

But, like in many other industries, German manufacturers are playing catch-up against China when it comes to making humanoid robots.

Merz witnessed China's progress in the field first-hand during a visit to the country in February, when he saw displays of Chinese-made robots performing kung fu and boxing.

The maker of those robots, Unitree, and other Chinese manufacturers were also out in force at the Hanover fair, as they have been in previous years.

Still, Sexton of Agile Robots insisted that "we'll soon be able to do what (Unitree) are doing", and shrugged off such impressive public displays.

Rather than dancing or martial arts, Agile Robots is focused on "value-added tasks for industry", such as electronic wiring in cars or phone assembly, he said.

He emphasised that Germany offers an "ecosystem of suppliers" and "very strong expertise in mechanical engineering and automation", both crucial in the race for AI.

Companies are also hopeful about the technological developments -- 58 percent of industrial firms surveyed by German digital business association Bitkom believe humanoid robots could help plug skilled labour shortages.

The country also has deep pools of industrial data to draw on from its factories, according to Antonio Krueger, head of the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI).

"This is something we have at a level of quality far superior to the United States or China," he told AFP.

But, critics say, the use of this data is still often too piecemeal and isolated, with no overarching strategy to bring it together cohesively.

Not everyone in Hanover was convinced that AI was the solution to the woes of Germany manufacturers, who have long been struggling with issues from high energy costs to weak demand.

Jochen Heinz, an executive from German factory machinery maker SW Machines, cautioned that AI can sometimes make mistakes by, for instance, giving misleading instructions for repairs or incorrectly claiming to have detected problems.

"With AI, I also see the dark side of the force," he said.

kas/sr/fz/jhb/ane