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Elyssa Lopez · · 7 min read

When AI meets human nature

Welcome to The Prompt, your Monday dive into the world of AI that puts Asia front and center. From Big Tech’s power players to the region’s scrappy disruptors, we cover it all. Want full access to all our AI reporting? Subscribe to us here.


Hello reader,

We’ve seen some unprecedented moves in the AI space last week.

For one, South Korea passed the world’s first AI regulation policy. As both the US and China race to support their AI startups with funding, here is South Korea seeking safety for its constituents.

Some of its provisions include a mandate to ensure AI-generated content are labelled as such, and that human intervention is required for any “high-impact” fields, which range from nuclear energy to drinking water. It’s inspiring.

Meanwhile, US tech leaders cannot even agree on what to do when AI takes over human jobs. It was one of the hottest topics at last week’s World Economic Forum, and we touch on that a bit later in the newsletter.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

This week’s The Prompt follows the past week’s news cycle pattern, in that we have updates that could (hopefully) inspire, surprise, or at least make you more informed than before you read our stories (wink wink).

Our first top read this week is about Rlwrld, a South Korea-based startup that aims to craft a visual language action model that would enable robots to achieve dexterity on their hands.

Hand movements are some of the trickiest moves to master for robots, and Rlwrld’s founder is hoping his deep data from South Korean manufacturing giants could help him edge over competitors from China and the US.

Speaking of competition, our second top read focuses on the AI text-to-video space, which is expected to face a reckoning this year. With more platforms in the fray, economists believe a bubble may be brewing.

These startups would have no choice but to go ham on marketing or post-training their models. Either way could be expensive.

Despite the high costs of building AI startups, our list of standout AI deals prove investors are still flushing more money into the sector. This week’s list features a Singapore-based startup with a ballsy promise: a money-back guarantee for clients if its AI agents fail their requirements.

Elyssa Lopez, journalist

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TIA Writer

Elyssa Lopez

I write business stories from Manila. If you have story tips, please send an email to elyssa@techinasia.com. You may also find me on X @elyssalopz.