Journalism begins where hype ends

,,

The rise of powerful AI will be either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity. We do not yet know which."

—Stephen Hawking

‘Symphony, Not Solo’: China Offers the World a Glimpse of Its AI Might at WAIC 2026

Signage at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai, held from 17 to 20 July. Photo: Official Agency, PRC

The World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai closed with 20.36 billion yuan in intended procurement deals, a new intergovernmental AI body signed by 29 countries, and Xi Jinping’s first in-person address a coordinated pitch to the Global South weeks after Washington launched its own AI alliance.

BrainCo Debuts Brain-to-Robot AI Platform at WAIC 2026

BrainCo's mind-controlled robotic arm grasps an object during a live demonstration at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026 in Shanghai. (Credit: BrainCo / WAIC 2026 . Pic Credit: BrainCo

At WAIC 2026 in Shanghai, China’s BrainCo unveiled a brain-to-robot AI platform that lets a user direct a robotic arm through EEG signals alone decoding neural intent into machine commands in under 200 milliseconds.