PORT SUDAN: Dozens of Sudanese demonstrated outside the seat of the army-backed government in Port Sudan on Tuesday to protest against its move to enact a partial currency swap.
The army-backed government had set a Monday deadline for residents of the six states under its control to swap old 500 and 1,000 Sudanese pound banknotes for new ones.
But as dozens protested outside government offices in the Red Sea port city on Tuesday, information minister Khalid Al-Aiser announced that residents would have until Jan. 6 to replace their old notes.
The value of the Sudanese pound has plummeted during 20 months of fighting between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, from 500 to the dollar in April 2023 to 2,500 to the dollar now.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted more than 12 million and left no sector of the economy unscathed.
The army-backed government says the partial currency swap aims to “protect the national economy and combat criminal operations” by counterfeiters.
But the arrival of Monday’s deadline paralyzed transport and trade in Port Sudan, the country’s main export outlet.
Bus drivers, petrol stations and store owners refused to accept the old banknotes, while banks had only limited supplies of the new notes, AFP correspondents reported.
Many Sudanese accused the administration of placing an extra burden on the war-weary and increasingly impoverished population.
Critics have also warned that the move risks adding an economic dimension to the divide between areas under army control and those held by the RSF.
The RSF now controls nearly all the western region of Darfur and swathes of the center and south, while the army holds the north and east.
Greater Khartoum is split between the warring sides.
The RSF has already banned the use of the new notes in areas under its control and accused the army of “a conspiracy to divide the country.”
Dozens protest in Sudan as army-backed govt switches out banknotes
https://arab.news/2qhzv
Dozens protest in Sudan as army-backed govt switches out banknotes
- Army-backed government set deadline for residents of the six states under its control to swap old 500 and 1,000 Sudanese pound banknotes for new ones
First AI-aided transaction in Dubai promises to change way consumers shop
- Artificial intelligence agent purchases movie tickets for a customer after asking a few questions
DUBAI: CEO of Mastercard Michael Miebach announced on Tuesday that the company, in conjunction with UAE retailer Majid Al-Futtaim, had successfully completed the first transaction by an AI agent in Dubai.
An AI agent purchased movie tickets for a customer after asking a few questions during the transaction.
Speaking at the Dubai Future Forum alongside UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence Omar Al-Olama, Miebach said that in the future “AI agents” would guide most transactions.
Al-Olama hailed the transaction, saying it was part of a future that would streamline the way people consumed online and in person.
“I saw that transaction, I found it extremely seamless,” Olama told the crowd at the Museum of the Future. “It’s very, very convenient, and it’s like having the best personal assistant that will do everything for you, select the movie, get your best seats, find the best timing, the closest location to you, and make a payment without many instructions. And that’s why it stood out.”
While retail chatbots that help customers have been around for some time, Mastercard’s new agentic solution differs in that it is able to make the transaction directly, working like a real-life assistant with access to your finances.
Asked by Al-Olama whether this risked agentic AI going on shopping sprees without consent, likening it to giving away card details to your child, Miebach said that the risk could be mitigated through the right mix of controls and regulation.
“If you think about it from a perspective of powering a digital economy in a country like the UAE, a lot of things need to have (happened) in the background to make it safe, to make it secure, to make it intuitive,” Miebach told the forum.
“When AI starts to make decisions on your behalf for shopping, that can be very scary. So, we (have) got to put in the controls, and all of that is what Mastercard’s Agent Pay has done.”
Miebach said that he envisioned a future where agents would start to understand your preferences for groceries, movies and retail items and make purchases seamlessly when asked, which would substantially streamline the experience of customers.
But he believed that before the technology could really take off, companies and governments would have to gain the trust of individuals and communities.
“What happens if something goes wrong in the world of an AI-generated transaction? And so, what do you do as a consumer? You say, I never intended to do this transaction, and you lose trust,” Miebach said.
“So we have to build in the safeguards. We have to build in the controls. And that is what our business does for a living. That’s what regulators look at. I think it’s really important.”
