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9 months ago
Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has issued a warning amid rising WhatsApp phishing scams in the country. The firm clarified that it’s only official communication channels are via Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, Facebook and email. According to the warning issued by Binance, there has been a surge in “social engineering attempts” against the industry via social media and other applications. Users are urged to stay alert and exercise caution against these possible phishing scams by following communication from official sources only. Another way to spot the likelihood of a scam is by looking out for spelling mistakes. Two-factor authentication is highly encouraged as an extra protective layer to user accounts, users are also encouraged to refrain from clicking on links in unsolicited messages. Additionally, the use of strong passwords is highly recommended. The rise of scams is inevitable as the landscape of crypto and social media continues to expand. WhatsApp being one of the most widely used communication channel across the world is being targeted by scammers as a point of contact for scams. Nathan Swain, Chief Information Security Officer at Binance, said: “Binance remains steadfast in its commitment to user safety and protection, information security, and ongoing education initiatives […]
9 months ago
Artificial intelligence had its breakout year in 2023, with large language models (LLMs) and text-to-image generators capturing the attention and imagination of technologists and investors alike. Similar to other recent breakthrough technologies like the internet and the smartphone, the early stage of AI’s tech adoption cycle has already seen the creation of highly-used software products. This visualization from Visual Capitalist’s 2024 Global Forecast Series report uses data from Writerbuddy and Coatue to rank and visualize the most popular AI tools of 2023 along with key recent tech adoption cycles and the software products that defined them. The Most Visited Artificial Intelligence Websites of 2023 Not surprisingly, ChatGPT, OpenAI’s product that sparked the artificial intelligence boom in late 2022, emerged as the most popular AI tool of 2023. ChatGPT dominated the industry’s web visits with more than 60% of visits from September 2022 to August 2023, racking up 14.6 billion visits to their website. Following ChatGPT is another chatbot, Character.AI, which rather than being a singular LLM for general and productivity-related user queries is a collection of characters (also known as “dialog agents”) that users can freely converse with. These range from popular characters from TV shows and video games to […]
9 months ago
Cancer research has evolved significantly over time. In 1882, a surgeon performed the first mastectomy to treat breast cancer. By 1950, researchers linked smoking to lung cancer. In 2010, the FDA approved a vaccine to treat prostate cancer. Now, as Visual Capitalist’s Jenna Ross and Sabrina Fortin explain below, researchers have found another weapon in the fight against cancer: AI. This graphic from Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust explores the growing role that AI is playing in cancer research. Cancer Research Publications The influence of AI is evident in the scientific literature. PubMed, a database of biomedical research, has seen growth in the number of articles where both AI and cancer are a major topic. The number of publications has risen substantially, particularly in the last few years. The Potential of AI Researchers believe that AI will positively impact the cancer field in numerous ways. In a 2023 study, authors of peer-reviewed scientific articles on AI and cancer were asked about the future of AI. Above all, researchers expect AI to have the highest near-term impact on grading and classifying cancer through image analysis. A cancer’s grade refers to how abnormal the cells look, with more abnormal cells growing more quickly. Following this, researchers believe […]
9 months ago
Amazon Alexa marked its two-year anniversary with a resounding success in delivering hyper-localised experiences to homes across the Middle East. Middle East customers have proven to be among the most engaged globally for the second consecutive year, averaging 14 interactions per day per customer. In 2023, Alexa’s monthly active users in the Middle East witnessed an impressive 40 percent increase, reflecting a substantial surge in engagement. The number of Alexa interactions also saw a substantial YoY growth of 30 percent compared to 2022. Smart Home automation has emerged as the dominant segment for Alexa usage in the Middle East, with customers increasingly relying on the voice-activated assistant to control their connected devices. Lights have been turned on and off over 24 million times in homes across Saudi Arabia and the UAE in 2023 alone. Air conditioners rank as the second-most frequently used smart appliances, with over 8.9 million actions recorded year-to-date in these two countries. On average, Middle East customers have 11 smart appliances connected to Alexa, highlighting the growing adoption of voice-enabled home automation. Beyond Smart Home control, Middle East customers turn to Alexa for entertainment and spiritual needs. Audio streaming, including music, Quran recitations, radio, and podcasts, stands […]
9 months ago
In 2023, UAE residents increased their downloads of virtual private network (VPN) apps by 1.83 million, reaching a total of 6.1 million, as reported in the latest update of the Global VPN Adoption Index by Atlas VPN. This pushed the VPN adoption rate in the UAE to 61.7 per cent last year, the second highest in the world after Qatar’s 69.87 per cent. The adoption rate shows what percentage of the country’s population downloaded VPN services in 2023. Globally, in 2022, the UAE had the highest adoption rate after Qatar. The UAE recorded the highest VPN application downloads in 2023 in the past four years, surpassing the pandemic year’s downloads of 6.09 million in 2020. VPN downloads peaked in UAE during the pandemic year as residents were largely staying indoors due to travel and movement restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19. The usage of VPN in the UAE is not illegal if it’s used as per the guidelines of the UAE government and the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA). However, using VPNs for illegal means or to commit a crime is a serious offence under the UAE Decree Law No (34) of 2021 concerning combating rumours and […]
9 months ago
Following the Search Generative Experience (SGE) and Slides, Google Bard is set to get its own image generator. As shared by Dylan Roussel on X/Twitter, an unreleased Google Bard changelog — dated for January 18 — reveals how you can “Create images with Bard.” Like other tools, you “simply enter a few words to bring your imagination to life” with the ability to download or “Generate more.” It should be powered by Google’s Imagen family of models. Back to the future? 👀 Here's what's coming next in Bard. . . tomorrow. Image generation with Bard will use Imagen, Google's Text-to-Image "diffusion technology."https://t.co/FNeiCsS2ar Important: The content of this changelog may still be changed until officially released. pic.twitter.com/9yRNjHNrLq — Dylan Roussel (@evowizz) January 17, 2024 In December, Google announced Imagen 2 with “significantly improved image quality” (as seen below). This ability to create “high-quality, photorealistic, high-resolution, aesthetically pleasing images” is aimed at enterprise use cases like logo generation or creating images with text overlays. Google Search introduced a similar image generator in October. If you’re enrolled in SGE, you can find it at google.com/search/images. “Draw” or “sketch” prompts can be directly entered into the Search field. SGE generates four images at a time, while there are daily limits on generation. […]
9 months ago
Apple quietly introduced a rare discount on its latest iPhones in China, cutting prices as much as 500 yuan ($70) amid sagging demand and increasing competitive pressure in the world’s top smartphone market. That a time-limited promotion will be offered on Apple’s official Chinese website from Thursday to Sunday before the Lunar New Year holiday season. This is the first time in years Apple has slashed prices of the latest iPhones. Appel’s website says, “Discounts this year encompass everything from the iPhone 13 to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.” Discounts are being offered on Macbooks. And iPads, Watches, and AirPods. The rare discount comes as analysts from Piper Sandler and Barclays downgraded Apple in recent weeks due to slumping iPhone demand. It was just last week when Jeffries analyst Edison Lee told clients that iPhone sales in China plunged 30% in the first week of 2024 compared to the same week last year. Lee showed that Chinese shopping platforms like Suning and WeChat offered discounts on the latest iPhones. iPhone discounts have soared. We suspect the made-in-China Mate 60 Pro, which defied Western tech sanctions and has a top-of-the-line processor, has spurred patriotic fervor among Mainland consumers for domestic handsets. Also, companies and government agencies have told staffers to abandon Apple […]
9 months ago
Your iPhone features an AI subject detection tool built into the Magnifier app. Don’t worry if that’s news to you, because it was news to me, too. With all the buzz around the big names in AI tools, like ChatGPT and Google Bard, the humble Magnifier tool has flown under the radar a little. Using AI, the iOS Magnifier app is capable of detecting and identifying subjects using the camera, then describing them to you via on-screen text and spoken descriptions. The app can also use the same detection system to identify doors and people. It’s an awesome accessibility feature that can describe surroundings to people who may not be able to see it for themselves. While the Magnifier app is available on most iPhones, subject detection depends on your iPhone having a LiDAR scanner, which is limited to Pro and Pro Max models from the iPhone 12 Pro onward. That means if you have a standard iPhone model, you won’t be able to use the AI subject detection. If you do have an iPhone 12 Pro or later, the AI powered Magnifier tool is easy to use, and this guide is here to show you how. How to use the AI-powered iOS Magnifier app […]
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