Go legend defeated by AI warns of the tech’s harmful impacts

Olympics Update

The Team Mongolia uniforms, designed by @michelamazonka, will be worn for the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening and Closing ceremony. Be on the lookout for them at the Opening ceremony in 2 weeks!

Sports

Canadian Chinese NBA draftee emerges as “Rookie of the Year” favorite

The Memphis Grizzlies' Zach Edey is now the betting favorite to win Rookie of the Year after a stellar summer league debut on Monday. The 22-year-old center, who played college basketball for Purdue University, impressed with a 14-point, 15-rebound performance, including a game-tying buzzer-beater against the Jazz.

Quick rise: Edey, initially a long shot at +2,000 odds after being picked 9th in last month's NBA draft, is now at +600 at DraftKings, FanDuel and ESPN Bet as of Wednesday. He has surpassed early favorites like the Washington Wizards’ Alex Sarr (+600 at ESPN Bet, +650 at DraftKings and +700 at FanDuel) and Atlanta Hawks’ Zaccharie Risacher (+700 at DraftKings, +750 at ESPN Bet and FanDuel).

Memphis matchup: The 7-foot-4 Toronto native has expressed excitement about playing alongside Grizzlies star Ja Morant after being drafted: “I think he's the best in the league. Being able to have that pressure offensively and do the things that he does, just makes my life that much easier."

Tech

Go legend defeated by AI warns of the tech’s harmful impacts

Lee Se-Dol, renowned for his 18 world championships in the strategic board game Go, voiced concerns about the negative impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) in a recent interview. The 41-year-old South Korean, who famously lost to Google DeepMind's AI program AlphaGo in 2016, highlighted potential consequences beyond the game of Go, such as diminishing appreciation for human creativity and originality, as well as job displacement.

Turning point: Lee's encounter with AI, which he has called “an entity that cannot be defeated,” marked a turning point in both his career and the public perception of AI's capabilities. The 2016 match, where AlphaGo defeated Lee in four out of five games, sent shockwaves through the Go community and beyond, demonstrating AI's potential to surpass even the most skilled human players.

Advocacy for better AI integration: Since retiring in 2019, Lee has become an advocate for AI education, emphasizing the importance of a balanced approach to technology integration. "I faced the issues of AI early, but it will happen for others," Lee told The New York Times. "It may not be a happy ending. People used to be in awe of creativity, originality, and innovation. But since AI came, a lot of that has disappeared."

News

Oakland hit with subpoena after FBI raids on mayor’s home

A U.S. attorney has issued a subpoena to the City of Oakland — addressed to City Attorney Barbara Parker — following FBI raids on June 20 at several locations, including Mayor Sheng Thao’s home. It demands various documents, including communications related to Thao’s partner Andre Jones, recycling firm California Waste Solutions and its owners, the Duong family. It also requests documents related to the former Oakland Army Base, anti-homelessness efforts considered by the city council last year, and mobile home construction company Evolutionary Homes, LLC, which was founded by two-time city council candidate Mario Juarez and is also tied to the Duongs.

Why it was issued: The subpoena comes amid a federal investigation whose precise targets remain unclear. Legal experts suggest it could involve potential bribery or public corruption, focusing on possible “pay to play” activities involving Thao’s campaign and subsequent actions.

Crime reporting controversy: Separately, a San Francisco Chronicle review revealed inaccuracies in Oakland’s crime data reporting, which had stated a 33% reduction in crime. The actual reduction may be closer to 20% or even less, according to the outlet.

Crime

Man arrested for brutal robbery of Asian senior in Oakland is repeat offender

Clarence Esteen III, 31, accused of attacking and robbing a senior Asian woman and her companion in Oakland, California, on July 5, has been arrested and is awaiting charges. The incident, which was caught in a now-viral surveillance video, occurred in the 5500 block of San Pablo Ave.

Immediate arrest: An off-duty police officer reportedly saw the incident and followed the suspect, who eventually dropped the stolen items. The officer then arrested him and helped return the victims’ belongings.

Repeat offender: Esteen was reportedly released from prison for another robbery 11 days before the latest incident. He is also facing charges from three other robberies that occurred at McDonald's, Papa Johns and Cassave.

Crime

Ex-Japan soldier settles with sexual assault attackers after landmark case

Rina Gonoi, a former soldier sexually assaulted while serving in Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force, reached a civil settlement with three of her convicted attackers. The settlement includes apologies and an undisclosed monetary compensation for the abuse she endured between late 2020 and August 2021.

Guilty verdicts: The Fukushima District Court found Shutaro Shibuya, Akito Sekine and Yusuke Kimezawa guilty of sexually assaulting Gonoi in December 2023. They were sentenced to two years in prison with suspended sentences for four years.

What’s next: Gonoi’s decision to go public is seen as a desperate but necessary step in Japan, where sexual assault victims often face stigma and reluctance to come forward. Her case has inspired over 1,400 others to report similar incidents within the JSDF. The trial against the government and other former colleagues involved in Gonoi’s abuse will continue.

News

Vietnam-born man is one of Ukraine’s toughest war heroes

Tung Nguyen, who was born in Vietnam but moved to Chernihiv to join his parents when he turned 18, returned to the frontlines to defend his resident country from the Russian invasion despite being previously injured twice in the line of duty. Tung, who studied in Kyiv and worked as a fitness trainer and bodybuilder, received citizenship after winning the all-Ukraine championship in 2019.

Defending his homeland: “Ukraine gave me a lot – I studied here, worked here, I married a Ukrainian. I can’t even say it’s my second homeland at this point, it’s just my homeland,” Tung, who started as a volunteer delivering food and medicine to Chernihiv before enlisting in the Ukrainian army, told The Guardian. “Before the start of full-scale war, I didn’t know many Vietnamese people, but now they support me a lot. Lots of Vietnamese people wrote me messages of support, people brought food to the hospital,” he added, referencing how the community rallied behind him after he was injured in battle in May 2023 and December 2023.

They were unprepared: Many of the 100,000 Vietnamese people living in Ukraine were reportedly caught off guard when Russia began its invasion in February 2022. A Vietnamese citizen living in Kharkiv, where one of Ukraine’s largest Vietnamese enclaves resides, recalled to Radio Free Asia’s Vietnamese Service at the time how Ambassador Nguyen Hong Thach reassured them that a war between Ukraine and Russia would not occur, as the embassy was closely monitoring the situation. “The Vietnamese government’s efforts to protect its citizens here are really slow and ineffective,” the person said.

More Asian News

Retired U.S. figure skater Mirai Nagasu shares photos of new baby: Former Olympian Mirai Nagasu, 31, surprised her fans by sharing a few pictures of her newborn son, Taiga, on Instagram on Tuesday. Nagasu first introduced Taiga to her fans in a short video on June 20. Engaged to American ice dancer Michael Bramante, 32, in 2023, Nagasu gave birth to their son on April 13, as she shared in her recent post.

Olivia Munn and John Mulaney hold wedding ceremony in New York: Olivia Munn and John Mulaney are married. The celebrity couple held the ceremony at a friend’s house in New York over the weekend, with Sam Waterston, Munn's co-star from “The Newsroom,” officiating, according to People. Munn and Mulaney "got engaged in the fall of 2023," a source told Entertainment Tonight. They welcomed their son, Malcolm Hiệp, a few months after announcing in September 2021 that they were expecting a baby. Munn celebrated their son’s birthday last week, just months after undergoing a hysterectomy for her breast cancer.

Uncle Roger to open restaurant in Malaysia: Malaysian comic Nigel Ng, also known by his online persona Uncle Roger, is planning to open a restaurant in Malaysia sometime later this year. Ng dropped the news midway through his video uploaded to YouTube on July 1, titled “Uncle Roger Miss Anthony Bourdain.” He shared: “By the way, another reason to go [to] Malaysia, Uncle Roger actually gonna open my very first restaurant over there. Coming soon later this year, but shh, don’t tell anyone, OK? This little secret. Just for loyal niece and nephew watching this video.”

Japanese railway company employs a robot: West Japan Railways (WJR) has started using a 40-foot robot to handle some maintenance work along the rails, such as trimming tree branches and painting metal frames. Besides its impressive height, the robot can hold a paintbrush and a chainsaw and carry heavy objects up to 88 pounds. At a press conference, company president Kazuaki Hasegawa noted that WJR hopes to “use [the] machines for all kinds of maintenance operations of our infrastructure” in the future.