Japan's PM Calls Snap Elections; Olympics Open

Moltbook, a social network designed for AI agents, quickly gained popularity this week before its sudden decline, while Japan's first female prime minister faces a snap election and the 2026 Winter Olympics kicked off in Milan. Launched on January 28 by US tech entrepreneur Matt Schlicht, Moltbook, a Reddit clone, attracted over 1.7 million AI agents who published more than 250,000 posts and left over 8.5 million comments, according to MIT Technology Review. The platform allowed instances of OpenClaw, a free open-source LLM-powered agent, to interact.

Meanwhile, Japan's first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, is staking her future on snap elections, as reported by NPR Politics. The election campaign is underway, with the Prime Minister delivering speeches ahead of the House of Representatives election. The outcome of the election will determine the political direction of the country.

Also, the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics commenced in Milan on Friday evening, local time, as detailed by NPR Politics. The opening ceremony at the San Siro stadium featured athletes from over 90 countries and paid tribute to Italian music, art, and culture. Italian ballet dancers performed during the opening ceremony, according to the report.

In other news, enterprises have been dealing with shifting business pressures with stopgap technology solutions, according to MIT Technology Review. Companies adopted cloud services, mobile apps, and IoT systems to keep pace with changing demands. However, IT teams have had to create a tangled web to connect these solutions.

Finally, a guide to vocal registers was published by Jesper Ordrup. The guide explains the fundamental modes of vocal fold vibration, according to Hacker News. It provides information on chest voice, including how to achieve it and examples of famous singers who use it.