News/Global
How Macron is positioning France as the ideal destination for sustainable AI
Artificial intelligence development in France is getting a boost from President Emmanuel Macron, who is positioning the country as an ideal destination for AI companies due to its clean energy infrastructure. The French leader's push comes as nations globally compete to attract AI investments and talent. Key announcement: During the AI Action Summit in Paris, President Macron emphasized France's readiness to compete in the artificial intelligence sector, specifically highlighting the country's nuclear-powered electricity grid. Macron directly appealed to business leaders to choose Europe, and specifically France, for their AI operations The French president contrasted France's clean energy approach with other...
read Feb 10, 2025AI transforms agriculture across Africa and beyond, from language translation to drones
The agricultural sector is undergoing significant transformation through artificial intelligence applications, particularly in developing regions like Africa where farming challenges are acute. While much attention focuses on AI advancement in major economies, practical AI implementations in agriculture are creating meaningful impact in food security and sustainable farming practices. Current State of Agricultural AI: Traditional farming faces multiple challenges including disease management, weather unpredictability, and resource limitations, particularly in developing regions where these issues directly impact global food security. In Ghana, recent cocoa crop diseases have demonstrated how agricultural challenges can affect both local economies and global supply chains Farmers in...
read Feb 10, 2025The Open Arabic LLM Leaderboard just got a new update — here’s what’s inside
The Open Arabic LLM Leaderboard has emerged as a crucial benchmarking tool for evaluating Arabic language AI models, with its first version attracting over 46,000 visitors and 700+ model submissions. The second version introduces significant improvements to provide more accurate and comprehensive evaluation of Arabic language models through native benchmarks and enhanced testing methodologies. Key improvements and modifications: The updated leaderboard addresses critical limitations of its predecessor by removing saturated tasks and introducing high-quality native Arabic benchmarks. The new version eliminates machine-translated tasks in favor of authentically Arabic content A weekly submission limit of 5 models per organization has been...
read Feb 8, 2025Meta-UNESCO partnership will bring AI translation to underserved languages worldwide
Meta has launched a new Language Technology Partner Programme in collaboration with UNESCO to enhance AI translation and speech recognition capabilities for underserved and indigenous languages worldwide. Program Overview; The initiative, spearheaded by Meta's Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team, combines open-source AI models with research to expand linguistic diversity in digital spaces. The program seeks partners to contribute speech recordings, transcriptions, and translated text to improve AI language models The Government of Nunavut, Canada has already joined the initiative, providing data for Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun languages Partners must contribute at least 10 hours of speech recordings with transcriptions and 200+...
read Feb 7, 2025Chinese AI delegation heads to Paris summit
China's Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing will attend the AI Action Summit in France as President Xi Jinping's special representative, joining delegates from nearly 100 nations to discuss artificial intelligence safety and development. Summit details and participation: The AI Action Summit in France will run from Sunday through February 12, bringing together global leaders to address the future of AI technology. Representatives from approximately 100 nations are expected to participate in discussions focused on the safe development of artificial intelligence U.S. Vice President JD Vance will lead the American delegation, though notably without technical staff from the AI Safety Institute The...
read Feb 7, 2025UAE to invest billions in French AI technology
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced plans to invest up to $50 billion in France's artificial intelligence sector, marking a significant international collaboration in AI development. The investment details: The UAE's commitment includes building Europe's largest AI hub in France, featuring a massive data center with 1 gigawatt of capacity and a dedicated AI campus. The agreement was formalized during a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in Paris The facility is positioned to become a cornerstone of European AI infrastructure The investment represents one of the largest foreign direct investments in...
read Feb 6, 2025Russian TV duped by hoax about DeepSeek’s Soviet Era Inspiration
Russia's state television broadcasted a satirical news story claiming China's DeepSeek AI was based on Soviet-era code, highlighting ongoing cultural nostalgia for past technological achievements. The key development: A fake interview published by Russian satirical website Panorama, falsely attributing DeepSeek's AI technology to 1985 Soviet programming, was broadcast as legitimate news on state-run Rossiya One television channel. The fabricated story featured a fictional interview with DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng praising Soviet programmers The report claimed the AI code originated from work by Viktor Glushkov, a pioneer who created the first Soviet personal computer Glushkov was noted for developing an early...
read Feb 6, 2025Russia’s Sberbank plans AI collaboration with China after DeepSeek advance
Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, announced plans to collaborate with Chinese researchers on artificial intelligence projects, following DeepSeek's development of a cost-effective AI model that challenges U.S. competitors. Key development: Sberbank's First Deputy CEO Alexander Vedyakhin revealed the bank's intention to leverage its scientific talent pool for joint AI research initiatives with Chinese partners. The announcement comes in the wake of DeepSeek's breakthrough in creating a powerful AI model at significantly lower costs compared to U.S. alternatives Sberbank's strategic move indicates a growing trend of international AI collaboration outside of traditional Western technology hubs The bank aims to utilize its existing...
read Feb 5, 2025Geneva non-profit IAIGA launches to establish global coordination for AI safety
The International AI Governance Alliance (IAIGA) has launched as a new Geneva-based non-profit organization aimed at establishing global coordination for AI development and safety standards. Core mission and structure: IAIGA emerges from the Center for Existential Safety with two primary objectives focused on global AI coordination and regulation. The organization seeks to create an independent global intelligence network to coordinate AI research and ensure fair distribution of AI-derived economic benefits A key initiative involves developing an enforceable international treaty establishing AI safety standards and benefit-sharing mechanisms The organization is currently recruiting AI safety experts and global governance specialists Current progress...
read Feb 5, 2025Ooh La La and AI: Global regulation talks continue at French summit
The third AI Action Summit, co-chaired by France and India, will convene global leaders, scientists, and industry experts in Paris on February 10-11, 2025, to address artificial intelligence governance and innovation. Event Overview and Participation: The summit will bring together a diverse group of global stakeholders to discuss AI regulation and development. 60 heads of state and government will attend, including U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, European Commission President Ursula Van der Leyen, Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Ding Xuexiang, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi The event will feature Nobel and Turing Prize laureates among hundreds of scientists and academic...
read Feb 5, 2025Mediapro, Google partner to create AI tools for Spanish media and news professionals
Spanish broadcaster Mediapro and Google Cloud have expanded their partnership to develop generative AI solutions specifically for the media and entertainment industry. Partnership Overview: Mediapro and Google Cloud unveiled their enhanced collaboration at ISE 2025 in Barcelona, focusing on developing AI-powered creative tools and platforms. The partnership builds on their initial collaboration from 2023, which involved several proof-of-concept projects A new creativity lab will be established to develop specialized platforms for image and video generation The initiative brings together professionals from Mediapro's AI Center of Innovation and Google Cloud experts Key Development Plans: The collaboration's first major project will be...
read Feb 5, 2025DeepSeek’s clever efficiency upends the global AI race
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, has released a new AI model that operates at significantly lower costs while maintaining competitive performance capabilities. Core innovation: DeepSeek-R1 represents a major advancement in AI efficiency, operating at up to 50 times lower cost than comparable U.S. models while being capable of running on standard laptop hardware rather than specialized chips. The model was reportedly developed for just $6 million, though this figure excludes significant operational and infrastructure costs DeepSeek achieved this efficiency through advanced techniques including a "mixture of experts" architecture that selectively activates only relevant parts of the model Additional optimization methods...
read Jan 29, 2025Abu Dhabi wants to be the world’s first AI-powered government by 2027
The Abu Dhabi government has announced a $13 billion investment to become the world's first fully AI-powered government by 2027, integrating artificial intelligence across all government operations and services. Strategic Overview: The Abu Dhabi Government Digital Strategy 2025-2027, developed by the Department of Government Enablement (DGE), aims to create a comprehensive AI-powered governance model. The initiative will implement sovereign cloud computing across all government operations, enabling complete digitalization and automation of services The strategy includes the deployment of over 200 AI solutions across government services A unified digital enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform will integrate various government functions into a...
read Jan 29, 2025SLIMA Kashif is a new open-source AI model designed specifically for Arabic
SILMA Kashif 2B Instruct v1.0 is a new bilingual AI model specifically designed for Arabic and English retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) tasks, with a primary focus on question answering and secondary capabilities in entity extraction. Core capabilities and architecture: The model is built on Google Gemma's foundation and operates within the 3-9 billion parameter range, featuring a 12,000-token context window for processing large amounts of text. The model excels at answering questions in both Arabic and English languages It processes both short snippets and lengthy passages effectively The system can provide both concise and detailed responses based on context Entity extraction...
read Jan 28, 2025How the UAE is pioneering AI-driven healthcare transformation
Dubai's healthcare system is undergoing a significant transformation through the integration of artificial intelligence, robotics, and digital health solutions. Strategic Focus: The UAE is implementing a comprehensive healthcare modernization plan that combines advanced technology with medical innovation to enhance patient care and operational efficiency. The government has established regulatory frameworks and infrastructure investments to support the integration of new healthcare technologies Public-private partnerships are playing a crucial role in accelerating healthcare innovation and adoption Key initiatives like the Dubai Health Strategy 2021 and Abu Dhabi Healthcare Strategy are providing strategic direction for these developments Technological Implementation: AI and machine learning...
read Jan 27, 2025At Davos, local leaders all seemed to have one thing on their minds: AI
The World Economic Forum in Davos featured a prominent day-long conference focused on artificial intelligence and sustainability, drawing overwhelming interest from global leaders and innovators. Event Overview: The "Imagination in Action: Architects of the Global Future" conference, organized by Brookline venture capitalist John Werner, attracted over 2,000 sign-ups for just 200 available seats. The 12-hour event featured 26 consecutive panels and fireside chats without breaks The conference space, a dome that cost over $1 million to rent, was sponsored by consulting firms Deloitte and Tata Consultancy Services Attendees faced a screening process for free admission, with consistent long lines outside...
read Jan 25, 2025The unintended consequences of the $500B Stargate Project
The Stargate Project's $500 billion AI infrastructure investment highlights a critical intersection of technological advancement, energy consumption, and environmental sustainability. With data centers projected to consume 12% of U.S. electricity by 2028, this initiative underscores the urgent need for balancing AI growth with innovative and equitable solutions to address its environmental and ethical impacts. The big picture: The ambitious initiative aims to strengthen America's AI capabilities through massive data center expansion, but faces crucial sustainability challenges. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that data center electricity usage has tripled from 58 TWh in 2014 to 176 TWh in 2023 Projections...
read Jan 24, 2025Smart partners with Deeproute.AI to bring advanced autonomous driving to global markets
Smart, an automaker working in Europe and China, has formed a strategic partnership with DeepRoute.ai to develop and integrate advanced autonomous driving technology into its vehicle lineup. Partnership Details: The collaboration aims to implement DeepRoute's AI-powered autonomous driving platform across Smart's vehicle range, building upon existing integration in the Smart #5 SUV. The partnership will equip Smart vehicles with the DeepRoute IO intelligent driving platform Features include autonomous parking and navigation of complex scenarios like sharp turns, roundabouts, and unmarked roads DeepRoute's technology operates without requiring high-definition mapping Company Backgrounds: Smart and DeepRoute.ai bring complementary expertise and market presence to...
read Jan 23, 2025Trump’s $500B AI deal includes funding from scandal-plagued UAE royals
Former President Donald Trump's $500 billion AI infrastructure project, Stargate, has secured $7 billion in funding from MGX, an Abu Dhabi investment company led by UAE President's brother Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, raising ethical concerns about the source of capital. Project overview and scope: The Stargate initiative aims to build AI infrastructure in the United States with an initial goal of raising $100 billion, eventually expanding to $500 billion over several years. The project represents one of the largest proposed investments in AI infrastructure to date MGX's $7 billion contribution marks a significant initial commitment to the project...
read Jan 23, 2025Pope warns of AI truth crisis after viral deepfake image
Pope Francis highlights AI's growing impact on truth and society after becoming a deepfake target himself. The central issue: Pope Francis addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos regarding artificial intelligence's role in exacerbating what he termed a "crisis of truth" in public discourse. In a written message delivered by Cardinal Peter Turkson, the Pope emphasized that AI-generated content has become nearly indistinguishable from human-created work He called for increased oversight from governments and businesses in managing AI development The pontiff stressed the importance of maintaining human decision-making in crucial matters, rather than delegating to algorithms Personal experience with AI...
read Jan 23, 20254 CEOs reveal AI and cyber insights at Davos
The World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos brought together influential CEOs who shared insights on AI, cybersecurity, banking, and political implications for 2025. Key executives and context: Four major portfolio company CEOs - from CrowdStrike, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and Salesforce - offered their perspectives on critical business and technology trends during the Davos summit. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and ECB President Christine Lagarde were among the key speakers Donald Trump is scheduled to speak remotely on Thursday BlackRock CEO Larry Fink will participate in an economic panel on Friday CrowdStrike's cybersecurity outlook: CEO George Kurtz addressed the evolving...
read Jan 22, 2025USAII brings AI workforce upskilling certification programs to TechHR Pulse Mumbai 2025
USAII® will exhibit its AI certification programs at the People Matters TechHR Pulse Mumbai 2025 event, showcasing solutions for workforce upskilling in artificial intelligence. Event Overview: The People Matters TechHR Pulse Mumbai 2025 conference will bring together over 700 industry leaders at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai on February 5, 2025. The event will focus on workforce innovation, learning development, and business acceleration strategies Key attendees include talent leaders, HR professionals, tech innovators, and entrepreneurs USAII® will be located at Booth #E-10, where they will demonstrate their certification programs USAII's Participation Goals: The United States Artificial Intelligence Institute aims to highlight...
read Jan 22, 2025Google reportedly developed AI tools for the Israeli military
Google's direct collaboration with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on AI tools has been revealed through internal company documents, contradicting previous public statements about the nature of their work in Israel. Key revelations: Internal documents obtained by the Washington Post show Google's cloud division actively worked with the IDF following Hamas's October 7th attack on Israel and the subsequent ground invasion of Gaza. Google employees rushed to provide AI services to the IDF, competing directly with Amazon for the military's attention Documents reveal multiple instances of Google staff escalating the IDF's requests for AI technology access Internal communications show employees warning...
read Jan 22, 2025AI risks and Trump’s trade plans take center stage at Davos
Key focus areas: The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland centers on UN Chief António Guterres' keynote address, artificial intelligence developments, and Trump's trade policies. UN Secretary-General António Guterres is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech focusing on climate action The forum will examine economic prospects for major powers including China and Russia Donald Trump's proposed trade tariffs and their potential impact on global commerce will be discussed AI investments and developments: Trump announced a significant joint venture for artificial intelligence infrastructure development in the United States. A partnership between Oracle, SoftBank, and OpenAI plans to invest up to...
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