OpenAI halts MLK videos as deepfakes spark outrage
Washington, United States -- OpenAI has suspended its Sora 2 artificial intelligence tool from creating videos of civil rights icon...
Geostrategy
Meta activates Facebook ‘teen accounts’ worldwide
Paris, France -- Meta said Thursday it was activating so-called "teen accounts" with additional protections for adolescent Facebook and Messenger...
Geostrategy
Interview
UAE’s steady economic rise fertile ground for growth of facilities management
A steady stream of development projects and year-round tourism in the country propel demand for tech-enabled facilities management, says Adnan...
- In a market like the UAE, or the GCC in general, where things evolve daily, adaptation is essential, said Jabri.
- Our industry is increasingly focused on sustainability, and technology plays a pivotal role in enabling environmentally friendly practices, he added.
Geostrategy
First orbital rocket launched from Europe crashes seconds after blast-off
Oslo, Norway -- The first orbital rocket launched from continental Europe crashed seconds after blast-off Sunday, in a closely watched...
- Isar Aerospace, which had said it did not expect to reach orbit with the launch, said the two-stage rocket fell into the sea, adding that "the launch pad seems to be intact".
- The 28-metre (92-foot) tall, two-meter diameter rocket has a one-ton carrying capacity, but was unloaded for the test flight.
Business
‘Something is rotten’: Apple’s AI strategy faces doubts
New York, United States - Has Apple, the biggest company in the world, bungled its generative artificial intelligence strategy? Doubts...
- Doubts arose when tech analyst John Gruber criticized Apple in a blog titled "Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino."
- The analyst admitted frustration for not questioning Apple's Siri genAI upgrade announced last June
Science
Firms and researchers at odds over superhuman AI
The belief that human-or-better intelligence -- often called "artificial general intelligence" (AGI) -- will emerge from current machine-learning techniques fuels...
- "Systems that start to point to AGI are coming into view," OpenAI chief Sam Altman wrote in a blog post last month.
- Such predictions help justify the hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into computing hardware and the energy supplies to run it.
Business
Does ‘vibe coding’ make everyone a programmer?
New York, United States -- Can a complete tech novice create a website using everyday language on ChatGPT? That's the...
- The ChatGPT and Claude interfaces can write an entire program line by line on demand, as can Gemini, which launched its dedicated version, Gemini Canvas.
- Other generative AI platforms specifically dedicated to coding have also made their mark in recent months, from Cursor to Loveable, or Bolt, Replit and Windsurf.
Arts & Culture
Italian paper prints fully-AI edition, but not to ‘kill’ journalism
Rome, Italy -- In a world first, an Italian newspaper is printing a fully AI-generated edition for a month in...
- Il Foglio, a daily broadsheet with an irreverent touch and a circulation of about 29,000, says it is the first newspaper in the world to print entire editions created through AI.
- The newspaper's 20-odd journalists ask a version of ChatGPT to write a story on a specific subject in a specific tone, and it produces a text using information scraped off internet
Business
ADQ and US equity firm ECP to invest $25bn in data center energy projects
Dubai, UAE -- Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ has partnered with the American private equity firm Energy Capital Partners...
- Though the partnership’s primary focus will be the USA, a portion of the capital may also be allocated towards opportunities in selected other international markets.
- The combined initial capital contribution from the partners is expected to amount to $5 billion.
Geostrategy
Deepfakes can clone your voice in 5 seconds, tech firms mount defense
Las Vegas, United States -- Tech firms are fighting the scourge of deepfakes, those deceptively realistic voices or videos used...
- Hong Kong police recently revealed that a multinational firm employee was tricked into wiring $26m to crooks who staged a videoconference with AI avatars of his colleagues.
- A recent study by identification start-up iBoom found that a scant tenth of one percent of Americans and Britons were able to correctly tell when a picture or video was a deepfake.
Business
China’s Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek
Baidu announced in a WeChat post that its latest X1 reasoning model -- which the company claims performs similarly to...
- Baidu also made the models free to use, more than two weeks ahead of schedule. Previously, users had to pay a monthly subscription to access the company's latest AI models.
- Technology companies in China have been scrambling to release improved AI platforms since start-up DeepSeek shocked its rivals with its open source and highly cost-efficient model
Interview
The future of logistics: Insights from DHL’s Amadou Diallo
The future of logistics is a convergence of technology, sustainability, and human ingenuity, which are transforming supply chains into more...
- in the MEA region, key hubs such as Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Casablanca, Salalah, Nairobi, Durban, and Tema serve as vital nodes for regional distribution.
- Additionally, hubs like Istanbul, Dubai, and Addis Ababa improve connectivity within this region, said Diallo.
Most Read
Revenue from Saudi cinema may exceed $1bn by 2030KSA, UAE play well as e-gaming trends across GCCExclusive: Middle East’s retail sector rides on AR and hybrid shopping to become $600bn digital economyTECOM Group profit soars 13%UAE startups eye Saudi Arabia for growth, expansionSaudi Arabia leads GCC AI healthcare raceDisparity remains as Saudis, Emiratis see wealth gains
OpenAI halts MLK videos as deepfakes spark outrage
Washington, United States -- OpenAI has suspended its Sora 2 artificial intelligence tool from creating videos of civil rights icon...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Musk clashes with Altman after accusing App Store of favoring OpenAI
San Francisco, United States -- Elon Musk has accused Apple of unfairly favoring ChatGPT on its App Store and threatened...
Business
Passwords under threat as tech giants seek tougher security
Paris, France -Fingerprints, access keys and facial recognition are putting a new squeeze on passwords as the traditional computer security...
Science
Walking sharks, bombing crocodiles: Italian Brainrot memes only kids know
Shouty, crude and often nonsensical Italian voiceovers feature in many of the clips made by people in various countries that...
Arts & Culture
Most Read
Geostrategy
Meta says working to thwart WhatsApp scammers
San Francisco, United States -- Meta on Tuesday said it shut nearly seven million WhatsApp accounts linked to scammers in...
- Meta on Tuesday said it shut nearly seven million WhatsApp accounts linked to scammers in the first half of this year.
- Meta on Tuesday began prompting WhatsApp users to be wary when added to unfamiliar chat groups by people they don't know.
Geostrategy
Humanoid robots embodiment of China’s AI ambitions
Shanghai, China -- Serving craft beer, playing mahjong, stacking shelves and boxing, the dozens of humanoid robots at Shanghai's World...
- The Chinese government has poured support into robotics, an area in which some experts think China might already have the upper hand over the United States.
- Tech giant Baidu on Saturday announced a new generation of technology for its "digital humans" -- AI agents modelled on real people.
Geostrategy
Urgent need for ‘global approach’ on AI regulation: UN tech chief
Geneva, Switzerland -- The world urgently needs to find a global approach on regulating artificial intelligence, the United Nations' top...
- Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU), said regulation was key as concerns rise over fast-moving technology.
- Bogdan-Martin, the first woman to serve as ITU secretary-general in the organization's nearly 160-year history, also stressed the need to get more women into the digital space.