LONDON: Snap Inc. on Wednesday said its artificial intelligence chatbot will now be able to respond to users’ messages with a fully AI-generated image, as the owner of photo messaging app Snapchat deepens its work in AI technology.
The announcement came at Snap’s annual Partner Summit. The company aims to use the technology to speed up its development of augmented reality (AR) features, or computerized images overlayed on top of photos and videos of the real world.
Generative AI has captured the tech industry’s focus in recent months and can generate original text or photos in response to prompts. Snap’s chatbot, called My AI, which can help users with everything from writing poems to searching for information, was built using startup OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology.
My AI is now available free to all Snapchat users and can be invoked to respond to questions in conversations between friends on Snapchat, Snap said on Wednesday. The chatbot was first rolled out to users who pay $3.99 a month for the company’s premium subscription Snapchat+.
My AI could help users explore more parts of the Snapchat app by recommending lenses, which can add effects to photos and videos, or use the app’s map feature to recommend real-world places to visit, said Evan Spiegel, chief executive of Snap, in an interview.
“This is the first time we’re bringing AI into communication, which is the core of our service,” he said. “People are really using My AI as a creative tool.”
My AI’s ability to respond to users with its own AI-generated images will be available first on Snapchat+, which has reached 3 million subscribers, Snap said.
As AI chatbots have grown, so have concerns about whether AI could plagiarize published works, provide inaccurate information or return harmful responses to queries.
Snap said it added new safety guard-rails to My AI, including temporarily restricting a user’s access to the chatbot if they repeatedly ask it inappropriate or harmful questions.
Snap analyzes conversations with My AI and has found that 99.5 percent of the chatbot’s responses adhere to Snapchat’s community guidelines, Spiegel said.
He added that My AI will now also take a user’s age into consideration “to make sure the conversation is age-appropriate.”
On Wednesday, the Santa Monica, California-based company also unveiled new AR mirrors which can be installed in stores to help customers virtually try on clothing items or see which accessories would match their outfit.
Retailers Nike and Men’s Warehouse are using the mirrors in some stores, Snap said.
The mirrors are part of an enterprise division Snap launched last month to help other companies build AR experiences for their own apps and websites. The venture could also help Snap diversify beyond digital advertising, which currently makes up the majority of its revenue.
Snap expands AI chatbot with ability to create images
https://arab.news/nj7nz
Snap expands AI chatbot with ability to create images
- My AI chatbot helps users to better explore app's features
Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone secures $3.2bn in project contracts: chairman
RIYADH: Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone secured 144 projects worth $3.2 billion between July 2023 and April 2024, down from $4.9 billion recorded during July 2022 to May 2023.
This comes amidst ongoing attacks in the Red Sea since October, leading to significant global economic disruption, particularly affecting container shipping traffic and global trade.
This is evident in a 50 percent drop in Suez Canal trade in the first two months of 2024 compared to the previous year, and a 32 percent decrease in trade through the Panama Canal, as reported by the International Monetary Fund in a March blog post.
In a statement issued by the Egyptian Cabinet, Walid Gamal El-Din, chairman of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone, revealed that out of the 144 projects in its industrial zones and ports, 67 have obtained final approvals, while 77 have received initial approvals.
He added that more than 25,000 direct and indirect job opportunities will be created upon the completion and operation of these projects.
This reflects the authority’s ongoing efforts and activities despite the negative impact of regional developments on port revenues.
It also aligns with the entity’s mission to attract businesses from around the region by offering easy access to local markets and talent.
Furthermore, the chairman disclosed that the implementation rates of investment projects within the industrial zones reached 77 percent, while those in ports reached 71 percent.
Regarding Chinese investments in the special economic zone TEDA, El-Din explained that there are 42 existing projects, with an additional 12 projects under construction awaiting operating licenses. Additionally, 40 projects are currently in the process of completing procedures to obtain building licenses.
On green hydrogen projects, the chairman highlighted that between January and April, 12 framework agreements and six memorandums of understanding were signed, with an additional MoU set to be signed soon.
Furthermore, El-Din provided insights into the development work progress in the authority’s ports, noting a 94 percent implementation rate in Ain Sokhna Port, 86 percent in East Port Said Port, and 93.8 percent in West Port Said Port.
Additionally, he mentioned a 73.7 percent implementation rate in Al-Arish Port and 75 percent in the West Qantara West zone.
Moreover, the chairman reviewed the ship bunkering operations and marine services at the authority’s ports. He noted that the body implemented the first ship bunkering operation with green fuel in East Port Said Port in August 2023.
He also highlighted that the development work of the East Ismaili Zone has reached 100 percent implementation of some works.
About 15 percent of world shipping traffic transits via the Suez Canal, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia. The Suez Canal is also an important source of foreign currency for Egypt.
KSrelief health projects help vulnerable worldwide
RIYADH: Saudi aid agency KSrelief recently completed voluntary medical projects in Port Sudan, Sudan, providing neurosurgery and spine surgery for children and adults.
The program involved 15 volunteers performing 28 surgeries, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
In Yemen, KSrelief concluded a similar initiative, performing heart surgery and catheterization on children and adults.
Throughout the campaign, 23 volunteers conducted 25 open-heart surgeries, 166 adult catheterizations and 57 pediatric catheterizations.
These efforts represent Saudi Arabia’s support, through KSrelief, to needy communities worldwide, SPA stated.
In Lebanon, KSrelief-funded ambulance services by the Subul Al Salam Social Association in the Miniyeh district completed 64 missions in one week.
The ambulance service transported patients to and from hospitals and provided emergency services to accident victims in the district.
The project aims to bolster ambulance services in refugee areas and host communities in Lebanon.
Review: Cannes title ‘Everybody Loves Touda’ is a sparkling example of Nabil Ayouch’s work
CANNES: Directed by Morocco’s Nabil Ayouch, Cannes Film Festival title “Everybody Loves Touda” is a compelling look at a single mother, Touda (an excellent Nisrin Erradi), who lives by the age-old dictum “never say die.”
Living in a small town, she is a bundle of music and mirth and her dances seem to bring cheer to her audience, but she soon faces unwanted attention.
The Cannes screening ended with a standing ovation, and Ayouch’s fourth outing at the festival seemed to garner far more audience appreciation than in earlier years. In 2012, his critically acclaimed drama “Horses of God” played in the Un Certain Regard section, which is second in importance to the main competition and is widely seen as a platform for experimental cinema. But Ayouch has also played in the In Competition section for the coveted Palme d’Or — his 2021 feature “Casablanca Beats,” the first title from Morocco since 1962 to vie for this honor, proved a sensation.
Like his other movies, Ayouch approaches “Everybody Loves Touda” with fascinating realism that at times may appear a little too harsh. Having written the script with Mayam Touzani (“The Blue Caftan”), Ayouch may have given us formulaic fare, but he infuses Touda with a kind of determination that is awesome. Striving to relocate to Casablanca, where her deaf son would have better schooling and she herself could find greater opportunities, Touda begins to sing in village nightclubs, bearing with a grin the lecherous gaze of men drunk with delusion.
This is not the first time that Ayouch puts women in such precarious positions. His 2008 “Whatever Lola Wants” talks about the trials of a postal worker in New York who dreams of becoming an Egyptian belly dancer, and “Much Loved” (which played at in the Director's Fortnight section) created a storm with its exploration of prostitution in Morocco.
Peppered with lively music (by Flemming Nordkrog), Touda croons folkloric songs on liberation and other forms of women’s rights. The actress’s gripping performance causes the narrative to sparkle —Erradi has a remarkable on-screen presence that makes the movie a joy to watch.
Ship that caused deadly Baltimore bridge collapse has been refloated and is moving back to port
- The disaster killed six construction workers and snarled traffic into Baltimore Harbor
- Several tugboats are escorting the Dali on its 2.5-mile path to the marine terminal
BALTIMORE: The container ship that caused the deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge was refloated Monday and has begun slowly moving back to port.
The Dali has remained at the collapse site since it lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns on March 26, killing six construction workers and snarling traffic into Baltimore Harbor.
The ship appeared to start moving shortly after 6 a.m. as crews started to maneuver it out of the wreckage. It started and stopped a few times before slowly backing away from the collapse site.
Officials said it would move at about 1 mph on the roughly 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) trip, a fraction of the speed it was traveling when it lost power and crashed into the bridge. Pieces of the bridge’s steel trusses protruded from its bow, which remained covered in concrete from the collapsed roadway.
Officials have said they plan to unload the ship’s containers and complete some short-term repairs while it’s docked in Baltimore.
Monday morning’s high tide had been expected to bring the best conditions for crews to refloat and start moving the ship, according to a statement from the Key Bridge Response Unified Command.
Several tugboats were escorting the Dali on its path to the marine terminal. The work is expected to last at least 21 hours.
Crews conducted a controlled demolition on May 13 to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed bridge.
The Dali experienced four electrical blackouts within about 10 hours before leaving the Port of Baltimore for Sri Lanka and hitting the bridge, according to a preliminary report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Philippines blames China for loss of giant clams in disputed shoal and urges environmental inquiry
- Philippines has blamed Chinese fishermen for a massive loss of giant clams in a disputed shoal controlled by China’s coast guard
- There was no immediate response from China
MANILA: The Philippines blamed Chinese fishermen on Monday for a massive loss of giant clams in a disputed shoal controlled by China’s coast guard in the South China Sea and urged an international inquiry into the amount of environmental damage in the area.
The Philippine coast guard presented surveillance photographs of Chinese fishermen harvesting large numbers of giant clams for a number of years in a lagoon at Scarborough Shoal, but said signs of such activities stopped in March 2019.
Parts of the surrounding coral appeared to be badly scarred, in what the coast guard said was apparently a futile search by the Chinese for more clams. The lagoon is a prominent fishing area which Filipinos call Bajo de Masinloc and the Chinese calll Huangyan Dao off the northwestern Philippines.
“Those were the last remaining giant clams that we saw in Bajo de Masinloc,” Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said at a news conference.
“We are alarmed and worried about the situation that’s happening there,” National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said. He said China should allow an independent inquiry by experts from the United Nations and environmental groups.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Beijing has repeatedly asserted its sovereignty over much of the busy South China Sea. The territorial disputes involve China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. The Indonesian navy has also been involved in skirmishes with the Chinese coast guard and fishing vessels in the Natuna waters in the margins of the South China Sea.
The Philippines has adopted a policy of publicizing China’s increasingly assertive actions in the contested waters to gain international support, and the news conference was its latest effort to condemn China’s stewardship of Scarborough Shoal.
China effectively seized the shoal in 2012 after a standoff that ended when Philippine government ships withdrew based on what Manila said was a deal brokered by American officials to ease the dangerous confrontation. China reneged on its promise to remove its ships and has since surrounded the shoal with coast guard and suspected militia ships, according to Philippine officials.
Since then, the Chinese coast guard has had a series of skirmishes with Philippine patrol ships and fishing boats, which have been prevented from entering the lagoon, ringed by mostly submerged coral outcrops. Three weeks ago, Chinese ships fired powerful water cannons that damaged Philippine coast guard and fisheries vessels.
“They’re preventing us from getting into the lagoon,” Malaya said. “We can ask third-party environmental groups or even the United Nations to do a fact-finding mission to determine the environmental situation.”
The Philippines has brought its territorial disputes with China to international arbitration and largely won. The 2016 ruling invalidated China’s expansive claims to much of the South China Sea, a key global trade route, on historical grounds and cited Chinese government actions that resulted in environmental damage in the offshore region.
China refused to participate in the arbitration, rejected its ruling and continues to defy it.
The territorial hostilities have sparked fears of a larger conflict that could involve the US, which has warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines, its long-time treaty ally, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
