9 hours ago

AI Replaces Boyfriends In China, Making Entrepreneur Yao Runhao A Billionaire

When relationship issues are brought up with women, a typical pattern is observed: their boyfriends do not respond quickly to messages, ignore on-time calls, and are impatient to hear about their day-to-day experiences. What if technology fixed these problems? Although this may not be an idea that rings true for most in India, it has caught on big in China, where virtual boyfriends powered by artificial intelligence (AI) have been a surprise hit. The entrepreneur behind this creative solution has even become a billionaire, and his success definitely highlights the increasing need for such unusual partnerships. According to Forbes, Alicia Wang, a 32-year-old editor at a Shanghai-based newspaper, has found the ideal boyfriend: Li Shen, a 27-year-old surgeon who goes by the English nickname Zayne. Tall and handsome, Zayne responds quickly to text messages, answers the phone promptly and listens patiently to Wang recounting the highs and lows of her day. Zayne’s only drawback: he doesn’t exist outside a silicon chip. The news portal further mentioned that Wang is one of an estimated six million monthly active players of the popular dating simulation game Love and Deepspace. Launched in January 2024 and developed by Shanghai-based Paper Games, it uses AI and voice recognition to […]

3 days ago

New Saudi Arabia e-Services For Citizens, Expats

Saudi Arabia has launched a set of new digital services on a government platform for its citizens and expatriates to enhance the efficiency of its services to the public. The new services available on the Interior Ministry’s Absher app include uploading photos of dependents to issue or renew a passport, updating passport data for foreign residents, and viewing the digital identity, which allows expatriates to display their digital identity, view its data, and present it when requested by competent authorities in the kingdom.  Other services pertain to Saudis’ national ID card, and updating the educational qualifications registered in the Ministry of Education systems. Accordingly, the ID card can be renewed, and replaced in case of loss or damage, with the possibility to take a personal photo via the app, while the educational qualification update service allows beneficiaries to register the document on Absher. The Interior Ministry’s Directorate of Civil Affairs explained that beneficiaries can view the procedures and requirements of the new services by logging into their accounts on the Absher platform and app on smartphones. The latest services were launched by chief of the Saudi Directorate of Passports Maj. Gen. Saleh Al Murabba. He said the directorate continues to […]

3 days ago

Saudi Arabia Ranks 4th And Riyadh 3rd Globally In Digital Services

Saudi Arabia ranked fourth globally in the United Nations E-Government Development Index 2024 (EGDI 2024). The Kingdom jumped 25 places in the EGDI 2024 to be among the group of leading countries worldwide. It also ranked second among the G20 countries and first regionally in the digital services index in addition to achieving seventh place in the e-participation index. The city of Riyadh has achieved third place out of 193 cities around the world. Minister of Communications and Information Technology and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Digital Government Authority Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha expressed his thanks and appreciation of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman for the unlimited support that the technical and digital sector receives and the efforts being made to support the digital transformation in the government sector. Al-Swaha said that this leap and historical position of the Kingdom is the result of the support from the Crown Prince, noting that this support has culminated in Saudi Arabia’s digital superiority and leadership, which reflects the plans and programs of Saudi Vision 2030. “At the same time, it enhances the Kingdom’s role as an effective and […]

4 days ago

As Gold Nears $3,000, Here’s How Its Surge Compares to Bitcoin and the Stock Market

Gold has been on an impressive run toward the $3,000-an-ounce milestone, with a years-long buying spree by central banks and economic uncertainty tied to President Donald Trump’s policies leading the metal to outperform other asset classes so far this year. Gold-mining stocks, meanwhile, have started to play catch up this year after lagging behind the metal’s climb in 2024. Yet long term, despite record highs for gold futures, the metal has failed to keep up with the pace of lofty gains in bitcoin and the U.S. stock market. “Gold typically does well when other assets do badly — most of all, when the stock market falls and keeps falling,” said Adrian Ash, London-based director of research at physical-gold marketplace BullionVault. “But stocks right now are also knocking on record highs,” Ash noted. In his more than 25 years in the gold market, he said he’s “only seen gold and stocks move like this twice” — first in 2005 to 2007 on the eve of the global financial crisis, and in mid-2020 when “stimmy checks, zero rates and pandemic [quantitative easing] laid the groundwork for double-digit inflation.” Year to date, futures prices for gold in New York GC00-0.37% have climbed more than 11%, […]

5 days ago

iGA CE: More Than 13,000 Registrations For Revamped eKey 2.0 Within One Day Of Launch

Mohammed Ali Al Qaed, Chief Executive of the Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA), announced that the total number of registrations of the Revamped eKey 2.0 app exceeded 13,000 within one day of its official launch.  Al Qaed mentioned that such engagement in downloading the app reflects the public awareness and advanced digital culture among the citizens and residents in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and their interest in benefiting from modern technologies to access the services provided to them. He also pointed out that these initial statistics support the Authority’s efforts in implementing digital transformation strategies, demonstrated by the initiatives under the Government Programme for 2023-2026. These initiatives aim to continue the digitisation of services, develop government systems and channels, and adopt modern technologies that enhance user experience while ensuring the highest levels of security.  iGA invites the public to download the Revamped eKey 2.0 app, available via the eGovernment Apps Store, bahrain.bh/apps, as well as other stores such as iOS, Android, and Huawei. iGA also encourages all citizens and residents to submit their inquiries, feedback, and suggestions via the National Suggestions and Complaints System or through the Tawasul app, or directly contact the Government Services Contact Centre at 80008001.  It […]

5 days ago

Saudi Arabia Bets On Flying Taxis And Autonomous Vehicles To Transform Mobility

Saudi Arabia is positioning itself at the forefront of mobility innovation, with industry leaders highlighting the potential of flying taxis and autonomous vehicles at the LEAP conference in Riyadh.  FlyNow, a developer of electric aviation solutions, is preparing to roll out a modular system of helicopters to transport goods and passengers, according to co-founder and chief operating officer Yvonne Winter.  “Economic growth is tightly linked to mobility,” Winter said during a panel discussion, adding: “And to solve traffic issues related to congestion, air quality pollution, and noise pollution, air transportation is the way to go.”  She described this new industry as “the low-altitude economy,” and insisted that “together we have to find a way to unlock it.” Winter noted that one of the biggest challenges for international governments and regulatory bodies is the absence of a feasible blueprint for implementation — an issue FlyNow has tackled with a step-by-step approach that “is considered to be very safe.”  As part of this approach, a regulatory sandbox has been developed to validate different vehicles, air traffic management systems, and operational reports before progressing to cargo applications.  Following extensive cargo trials over low-population areas, FlyNow plans to expand testing to urban settings and passenger transport.  […]

5 days ago

MENA Tech Startup Launches First AI-Powered Arabic Phone Bot

Saudi-based tech company Maqsam has unveiled the region’s first phone bot powered by artificial intelligence capable of handling customer service calls entirely in Arabic and English, including several dialects. Speaking to Arab News at LEAP 2025 Tech Conference, Fouad Jeryes, cofounder and chief business officer of Maqsam, said the innovation tackles a central challenge businesses face when trying to provide a seamless Arabic-language customer service. “Most global AI solutions do not support Arabic well,” Jeryes said. “There aren’t solutions that actually speak Arabic, so it’s a big gap here.” The smartphone bot developed by Maqsam transcribes speech, understands intent, and responds fluently in Arabic, offering 24/7 automated support.  Unlike existing machine-learning solutions, which are predominantly optimized for English, the bot handles linguistic variations across the Arab world, ensuring a more natural and effective customer experience. Despite Arabic being one of the world’s most widely spoken languages, businesses have struggled to implement tech-powered customer service solutions that accurately process different dialects. The bot’s ability to recognize and adapt to different Arabic dialects makes it particularly valuable for businesses operating in several markets in the MENA region. “Good customer service is crucial for customer retention and trust, as it takes many positive […]

5 days ago

OpenAI CEO: Costs To Run Each Level Of AI Falls 10x Every Year

The cost of using any given level of artificial intelligence (AI) falls by approximately ten-fold every year and could lead to a dramatic decrease in the price of goods, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.  “The cost to use a given level of AI falls about 10x every 12 months, and lower prices lead to much more use,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a blog post about AI economics on Feb. 9. Altman referred to the cost falling by around 150 times from the firm’s GPT-4 model in early 2023 to GPT-4o in mid-2024.  This is dramatically faster than Moore’s Law, he said, referring to the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles about every two years, leading to greater processing power, efficiency and reduced costs for electronic devices.  “In some ways, AI may turn out to be like the transistor economically — a big scientific discovery that scales well and that seeps into almost every corner of the economy,” he said.  Altman predicted that the price of many goods would eventually fall dramatically, adding:  “Right now, the cost of intelligence and the cost of energy constrain a lot of things.”  However, the price of luxury goods and a few […]

6 days ago

Investments of Over $7.5bn Announced on Second Day of LEAP 2025

The LEAP 25 conference attracted investments worth more than $7.5 billion in technology and artificial intelligence on its second day. This follows announcements of investments worth more than $14.9 billion on the first day of the conference. NEOM announced a collaboration with Datavolt to invest $5 billion to build the world’s first fully sustainable AI data center, with a capacity of 1.5 gigawatts in OXAGON. Mobily announced an investment of $911 million in strategic projects to develop digital infrastructure, including submarine cables and the development of data centers in Saudi Arabia. Alfanar Company revealed an investment of $1.4 billion to develop four data centers with a capacity of 88 gigawatts, to support the growth of the digital economy and develop business solutions. Zoom is investing $75 million to boost artificial intelligence and innovation, and to establish new data centers to support technology companies and government agencies in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian Railways (SAR) announced an investment of $51 million in a private fiber optic network. LEAP is one of the largest technology events in the world, with more than 1,800 technology exhibitors, 1,000 speakers, and 680 startups participating. The conference offers more than 20 technology tracks covering multiple fields, including: […]

1 week ago

Apple Ordered To Provide UK Gov’t Access To All User Data On The Cloud

The Washington Post reported Friday that the United Kingdom’s deep state has demanded that Apple create a back door for them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud—what would be an unprecedented erosion of online privacy and civil liberties. Citing anonymous sources, the Post reported that the British government’s undisclosed order was issued last month. It reportedly requires Apple to give officials blanket capability to view fully encrypted material. Typically, Apple has assisted authorities on a case-by-case basis—such as helping the FBI access a terrorist’s phone, for example. The Post noted that the access sought by the UK “has no known precedent in major democracies.” According to the Post, the UK’s order was made pursuant to the sweeping U.K. Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which authorizes law enforcement to compel assistance from companies to access user data. “The law, known by critics as the Snoopers’ Charter, makes it a criminal offense to reveal that the government has even made such a demand,” the Post reported. “Apple can appeal the U.K. capability notice to a secret technical panel, which would consider arguments about the expense of the requirement, and to a judge who would weigh whether the request was in proportion to […]

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