This is the full transcript, lightly edited for grammar and clarity, of an interview with Jessica Batke, ChinaFile’s senior editor for investigations, and Laura Edelson, assistant professor of computer science at Northeastern University, on their report “The Locknet: How China Controls Its Internet and Why It Matters.” An abridged version of the interview, with an […]| China Digital Times (CDT)
The critically acclaimed U.S.-Australian body-horror movie “Together” launched in China on September 19. Some viewers noted, alongside cuts to sex scenes, a less familiar and overt form of alteration: one male character in a scene originally depicting a same-sex wedding was digitally replaced with a woman. [Updated on September 25, 2025: The film’s global distributor […]| China Digital Times (CDT)
Some international students in China have taken to social media platform RedNote (Xiaohongshu) to complain about being excluded from obtaining free educational accounts for Quark AI, an LLM tool widely used by their Chinese university classmates. Using the hashtag #WeStudyInChina, these students have also set up an online “message wall” to lobby for inclusion in […]| China Digital Times (CDT)
HERE I MEAN “PRIMERS” in the short-i sense; Merriam-Webster: small books for teaching children to read. And, in the fast-developing world of artificial intelligence, we’re all children needing to learn … Continue reading →| Simanaitis Says
On Tuesday, Xi Jinping presided over a major military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s “War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.” The carefully choreographed 90-minute spectacle showcased autonomous military hardware, nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, and a finale featuring the release of 80,000 doves and balloons. Joining Xi in […]| China Digital Times (CDT)
REGULAR READERS, BLESS ’EM, ARE FAMILIAR with my rantings about Artificial Intelligence, its immense energy gobbling, its vast data scrapings, and its hallucinations. Today let’s celebrate an…| Simanaitis Says
I ADMIRE THE SAGACITY of ZEYNEP TUFEKCI, (“zey-NEP tuu-FEK-chee,” her given name Turkish for “precious gem” related to Arabic “fragrant flower.”) Dr. Tufekci is a Turkish-American sociologist, Henr…| Simanaitis Says
I KINDA SAW THIS COMING with Google searches occasionally offering corrupted versions of SimanaitisSays comments: “Dennis Simanaitis says Benito Mussolini and Ercole Boratto won the 1936 Mille Migl…| Simanaitis Says