Motorola Edge 40 Pro Arrives in US With Bigger Battery:
The Motorola Moto X40 is still making its way around the world under different names. It started off in China as the Moto X40 and it arrived in the global market last month as the Edge 40 Pro. Now it has also reached the US market as the Motorola Edge Plus (2023) with identical specs, but a slightly larger battery. It has a 5,100 mAh battery versus a 4,600 mAh unit.
3G/4G Users in Pakistan Near 125 Million:
The number of 3G and 4G users in Pakistan increased by 0.69 million from 124.16 million by end-February to 124.85 million by end-March, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) data revealed. The number of cellular subscribers in Pakistan increased from 193.85 million by end-February to 194.12 million by end-March. The Monthly Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration increased from 52.58 percent by end-February to 52.79 percent by end-March.
Google Pixel 7a Confirmed to Launch Next Week at I/O Event:
As per tradition, the highly-anticipated mid-range Google Pixel 7a is expected to debut during Google’s annual I/O developer conference, which is scheduled to take place on May 10th this year. In a recent announcement, Google confirmed that the device will be available for purchase on Flipkart in India on May 11th, just one day after the supposed official announcement of the device. If priced correctly, the Pixel 7a could be an attractive offer for consumers.
PTA Receives Over 17,000 Complaints Against Telcos:
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) received 17,092 complaints from telecom consumers against different telecom operators and cellular operators in March 2023, out of which 16,956 (99.2 percent) were resolved. Official data revealed that the complaints were received against various telecom operators, including cellular mobile operators (CMOs), Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL), long-distance international (LDI) operators, wireless local loop (WLL) operators, and internet service providers (ISPs), during March.
University in Dubai Counters ChatGPT Use With Simple and Effective Method:
Curtain University Dubai has decided to reintroduce handwritten exams after many students started using ChatGPT, an AI text generator, to complete their assignments. The development comes after several students in the ‘Introduction to Management’ course at the university were found using the AI tool to complete their essays.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 to Launch Earlier Than Expected:
Samsung may be launching its Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 foldables earlier than originally anticipated this year. While Samsung has yet to confirm or deny the rumor, a Korean publication called The Elec has claimed that the two foldable phones will be introduced 2-3 weeks earlier than their predecessors in July. This decision is reportedly due to concerns about Q2 2023 earnings, and in an effort to improve Q3 numbers, Samsung is considering an early unveiling of the Fold 5 and Flip 5 in late July instead of the second week of August.
International Police Seizes Dark Web Market Recovering Millions of Dollars:
Europol announced on Tuesday that a “dark web” marketplace has been shut down following a multi-continental crackdown, leading to the arrest of 288 suspects and the recovery of over $54.8 million in cash and virtual currency. The operation, called SpecTor, was a collaboration between law enforcement agencies from the US, UK, Brazil, and Europe. In addition to the arrests and financial recovery, the police also seized nearly a ton of drugs and 117 firearms.
Microsoft is Working on Custom Chips to Rival Apple:
Microsoft is planning to enter the custom silicon market, following the success of Apple’s M series chips. A report from Windows Latest suggests that the company is currently working on custom ARM chips, which will be optimized to work alongside the new Windows 12 operating system for maximum efficiency.
The ‘Godfather of AI’ Has Left Google Over Ethical Concerns:
Geoffrey Hinton, known as the ‘Godfather of AI,’ resigned from Google due to its relentless pursuit of perfecting AI without considering ethical implications. Hinton, who served as Google’s Vice President, confirmed to The New York Times that he submitted his resignation in April this year. His departure from the company has raised concerns about potential problems brewing within Google’s AI development. While high-profile exits are not uncommon in the tech world, the resignation of Geoffrey Hinton from Google is a significant one. Hinton left the company due to concerns about the dangers of uncontrolled and unregulated AI. He has expressed worries that Google’s AI work could be focused on outpacing competitors, which could lead to a range of ethical issues.
Zong 4G Announces Corporate Partnership with Shabbir Tiles and Ceramics Ltd.:
Zong 4G, one of Pakistan’s leading telecom operators, has signed a contract with Shabbir Tiles and Ceramics Ltd, one of the country’s largest manufacturers and suppliers of tiles and ceramics, to provide customized corporate voice, data, and Enterprise solutions. The partnership will enable Shabbir Tiles and Ceramics Ltd to perform daily operations with increased efficiency and reliability. As part of the partnership, Zong 4G will provide Shabbir Tiles and Ceramics Ltd with tailored data and voice services for its core operational business. The contract signing ceremony was held in the presence of representatives from both companies.
Microsoft is Adding Bing AI to SwiftKey Keyboard:
Microsoft recently added Bing AI support to its popular SwiftKey keyboard, putting its AI chatbot at the fingertips of many. This integration is now coming to all modern Samsung Galaxy phones, whether you like it or not. Samsung phones have their own Android launcher called One UI and it uses Microsoft’s SwiftKey keyboard by default. This means that the keyboard’s new Bing AI integration is coming in straight through the window uninvited.
Huawei P60 Series Global Launch Date Confirmed:
Huawei has announced the global launch of its highly anticipated P60 series on May 9th in Munich. The event will also feature other flagship devices, although details have not been disclosed. Fans can expect to see the Huawei Mate X3 foldable phone, as well as wearable devices such as the Huawei Watch Ultimate and FreeBuds 5. The P60 lineup consists of the vanilla P60, P60 Pro, and P60 Art smartphones, all of which were recently unveiled in China. All models feature a 6.67-inch 1080p curved OLED screen with a 120Hz (LTPO) refresh rate. The display supports 1.07 billion colors, 1,440Hz PWM dimming, and features a punch-hole cutout with a 13MP front camera.
Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert shows affected by US TV writers’ strike:
More than 11,000 television and film writers in the US are on strike as their union seeks a deal for better wages and job security. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, launched early on Tuesday, is the largest of its kind since 2007 and threatens some of television’s most watched and beloved shows. Here is a quick breakdown on the immediate impact the strike will have on viewers, and how the last strike of this kind changed television.
ADHD on TikTok: Raising awareness or driving inaccurate self-diagnosis?:
ADHD is massive on TikTok. Creators who’ve taken the hashtag to more than 20 billion views say they’ve helped to spread awareness and normalise the condition. But some worry that the flood of content on our feeds and For You pages is also perpetuating stereotypes and encouraging potentially inaccurate self-diagnosis. BBC Asian Network spoke to people with ADHD, a TikToker who makes videos about it, and a doctor to find out more.
Dyson plans £100m research hub in Bristol city centre:
Engineering giant Dyson plans to invest £100m in a new research and development hub in central Bristol. The technology centre would be home to hundreds of software and artificial intelligence (AI) engineers, the company said. Dyson said it had chosen Bristol because it was an “international hub for software and digital skills”. The centre is planned for a Dyson-owned building opposite Castle Park, close to Bristol Bridge. The company is still going through the process of applying for planning permission to convert the building’s use, and it is not yet clear when it will be fully operational.
With writers on strike, can an AI chatbot be as funny as Stephen Colbert?:
Hollywood writers are on strike – and late-night TV is on hiatus. Could AI be a substitute? For the first time in 15 years, TV and film writers are putting down their proverbial pen in protest, after union negotiations between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and major studios broke down over concerns about not just wages, but also the use of artificial intelligence to write scripts. The WGA likened the use of AI in screenwriting to plagiarism and said it was fighting to regulate the technology because it “undermines writers’ working standards including compensation.” Among the first casualties of the strike is late-night TV, which relies on a bevy of writers to quickly turn the day’s events into comedy gold. So far, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon have all announced a hiatus as writers take to the picket line.
Tinder swipes left on Russia a year after invasion:
The owner of the dating apps Tinder and Hinge has announced it will stop operating in Russia, more than a year after the war in Ukraine broke out. Match Group said its brands were taking steps to “restrict access” to services and would withdraw from the Russian market completely by 30 June. The move comes after many global companies cut ties with Russia after the invasion in February 2022. The BBC has approached Match Group for comment. The US company made the announcement in its annual report on Tuesday, adding that it was “committed to protecting human rights”. In the immediate weeks after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, many businesses, largely Western firms, announced they were suspending activities in Russia, or withdrawing from the country altogether.
AI: Which jobs are most at risk from the technology?:
As the man widely seen as the godfather of artificial intelligence (AI) warns about growing dangers from how it is developing, businesses are scrambling to see how they can use the technology to their advantage. Geoffrey Hinton, 75, who used to work for Google has warned that AI chatbots could soon be more intelligent than humans. Many businesses bosses are telling me that the hot topic presented at board meetings is how to deploy ChatGPT style technology across their businesses as quickly as possible. A few weeks ago, I watched as the boss of one of Britain’s biggest consumer-facing companies looked at his computer, entered the transcript of a customer complaint call, and asked ChatGPT to summarise it and respond to it based on set of rules he made up on the spot. In about a minute it came up with a very credible answer, with no need for any coding. The end result was, I’m told, about 85% accurate. That is a bit less than human call centre staff, but it cost a fraction of a percentage point of the cost of deploying staff.
AI ‘godfather’ Geoffrey Hinton warns of dangers as he quits Google:
A man widely seen as the godfather of artificial intelligence (AI) has quit his job, warning about the growing dangers from developments in the field. Geoffrey Hinton, 75, announced his resignation from Google in a statement to the New York Times, saying he now regretted his work. He told the BBC some of the dangers of AI chatbots were “quite scary”. “Right now, they’re not more intelligent than us, as far as I can tell. But I think they soon may be.” Dr Hinton also accepted that his age had played into his decision to leave the tech giant, telling the BBC: “I’m 75, so it’s time to retire.” Dr Hinton’s pioneering research on neural networks and deep learning has paved the way for current AI systems like ChatGPT.
Why there is serious money in kitchen fumes:
On the windy roof of a Burger King in Malmö, southern Sweden, Maggad Khalidy points to a large metal box attached to a jungle of pipes and wires. From the outside, it’s far from an eye-catching innovation, but Mr Khalidy, who owns the fast food franchise that runs this restaurant, says it has saved the branch the equivalent of around $16,000 (£13,000) a year in heating bills. The box contains a new form of heat exchange equipment called Lepido, developed by a Malmö start-up called Enjay. It spotted a gap in the market for recovering energy from kitchen fumes, and using it to heat other areas inside restaurant buildings – helping to cut bills for conventional heating, and reduce emissions in the process. “We were a bit sceptical in the beginning,” says Mr Khalidy, whose Burger King franchise in the Malmö suburb Bulltofta was selected for Enjay’s initial pilot project in 2016. “But we see the savings, and the return on investment is quite fast as well.” Enjay believes its patented product is the first in the world to offer profitable energy recovery from polluted kitchen exhaust air. Lepido became commercially available in 2018 and has since been installed in around 250 Burger King franchises across Sweden, Norway and Denmark, as well as school and hotel kitchens across the Nordics and the Benelux region.
Capita: Watchdog warns pension funds over data after hack:
Hundreds of pension funds have been asked to check whether data was stolen by cybercriminals during a major hack of the UK’s largest outsourcer. The Pensions Regulator has asked trustees responsible for funds that use Capita as an administrator to assess whether clients’ data is at risk. After the hack in March, information apparently containing Capita data began to circulate on the dark web. They included home addresses and passport images. The pensions watchdog said on Sunday that it had written to the hundreds of pension funds that employ Capita to administer their payment systems.
UK chip giant Arm files for blockbuster US share listing:
British microchip designing giant Arm has filed to sell its shares in the US, setting the stage for what could be the biggest stock market listing this year. The Cambridge-based firm is reportedly aiming to raise up to $10bn (£8bn). In a blow to the UK, the company said in March that it did not plan to list its shares in London. Arm was bought in 2016 by Japanese conglomerate Softbank in a deal worth £23.4bn. At the time Arm was listed in London and New York. The firm designs the tech behind processors – commonly known as chips – that power devices from smartphones to game consoles. Its designs are used by chip manufacturers like the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and household brands like Apple and Samsung to build their own processors. Softbank said it had “confidentially submitted a draft registration statement” for the listing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The people turning time into a currency:
After spending 10 years as a Buddhist nun in Myanmar, Coral Sunone realised that she needed some fashion help when she returned to the outside world. But with money tight, getting assistance from a professional stylist was simply out of the question. Or was it? Coral, who is based in Malaysia, heard of a website called TimeRepublik, which describes itself as “a timebank for the internet era”. Time banking is in essence a more sophisticated form of bartering. You don’t pay someone in money for a job that they do for you. Instead you give that person time credits that they can then use to get a service without financial payment from someone else. Via the TimeRepublik website, Coral was able to connect with Cherish Cullison, a New York-based professional wardrobe stylist and costume designer. Over Zoom, Cherish was able to help Coral find the modern clothing that best suited her. “She styled me very well,” says Coral. “No money can pay for such a transaction, it is priceless, it is based on trust.” The two have stayed in touch after they first met on TimeRepublik a few years ago. This has included Coral returning the favour of assistance, and giving Cherish some meditation lessons. Cherish says it is good that “the expectation of money is out of the way”. “Instead you really get to the core of things and you discover something, I think, that’s greater and sort of priceless.”