LONDON: Facebook-owner Meta published an artificial intelligence model on Wednesday that can pick out individual objects from within an image, along with a dataset of image annotations that it said was the largest ever of its kind.
The company’s research division said in a blog post that its Segment Anything Model, or SAM, could identify objects in images and videos even in cases where it had not encountered those items in its training.
Using SAM, objects can be selected by clicking on them or writing text prompts. In one demonstration, writing the word “cat” prompted the tool to draw boxes around each of several cats in a photo.
Big tech companies have been trumpeting their artificial intelligence breakthroughs since Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot became a sensation in the fall, triggering a wave of investments and a race to dominate the space.
Meta has teased several features that deploy the type of generative AI popularized by ChatGPT, which creates brand new content instead of simply identifying or categorizing data like other AI, although it has not yet released a product.
Examples include a tool that spins up surrealist videos from text prompts and another that generates children’s book illustrations from prose.
Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has said that incorporating such generative AI “creative aids” into Meta’s apps is a priority this year.
Meta does already use technology similar to SAM internally for activities like tagging photos, moderating prohibited content and determining which posts to recommend to users of Facebook and Instagram.
The company said SAM’s release would broaden access to that type of technology.
The SAM model and dataset will be available for download under a non-commercial license. Users uploading their own images to an accompanying prototype likewise must agree to use it only for research purposes.
Meta releases AI model that can identify items within images
https://arab.news/2aqgn
Meta releases AI model that can identify items within images
- Segment Anything Model to broaden access to moderate prohibited content, determine recommended posts
Shahid, Disney+ and OSN+ launch exclusive streaming bundle across GCC
- Bundle available exclusively visa Shahid for $25 a month
RIYADH: In a landmark regional collaboration, Shahid, Disney+, and OSN+ have announced an exclusive streaming bundle that brings together world-class hits from the three platforms under a single subscription in a first-of-its-kind offer for audiences in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The all-in-one entertainment package, available only through Shahid in the GCC for about $25 a month, grants subscribers full access to three leading platforms covering Hollywood blockbusters, Disney+’s expansive range of beloved films, animations and series, OSN+’s library of HBO originals and international hits, and Shahid’s Arabic premium content.
The bundle is designed to simplify subscription management with a unified payment model, allowing viewers to access all three apps at the price of two and offering a streamlined user experience.
Natasha Matos-Hemingway, chief commercial and marketing officer at Shahid, said the partnership reflects a broader effort to expand digital entertainment offerings in the Middle East, catering to a growing audience seeking diversity, convenience and high-quality programming.
“We are proud to collaborate with OSN+ and Disney+ to offer an unmatched streaming experience to our subscribers,” she said. “With one subscription, one payment, and full access to premium content from all three platforms, we’re delivering unbeatable convenience, value and entertainment.”
With a growing demand for high-quality on-demand content, the bundle is expected to attract a wide range of users seeking comprehensive entertainment without juggling multiple subscriptions.
The move also signals increasing cooperation between global media giants and regional platforms, in a bid to meet the entertainment preferences of Arab audiences while expanding market reach.
Karl Holmes, SVP and general manager at Disney+ EMEA, said the collaboration will bring award-winning series like FX’s “Shogun” and favorites such as “Lilo & Stitch” into a unique bundle with Shahid’s regional hits including “Al Dariya.”
The agreement “reflects a shared ambition between Disney+ and Shahid to shape the future of entertainment in the Middle East,” said Holmes. “The Middle East is young, dynamic and fast-growing, and we’re delighted to give consumers a new and easy way to access extraordinary content at exceptional value.”
Choucri Khairallah, chief business officer at OSN+, said the partnership takes OSN+’s entertainment experience “to the next level.”
He added: “Today’s audiences expect more than great content; they seek seamless access, variety and exceptional value. This all-in-one bundle delivers exactly that.”
