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
Japan’s Saudi crude oil imports reach 41.8% of October total
TOKYO: Japan’s imports of Saudi oil in October 2024 amounted to 27.8 million barrels, a significant 41.8 percent of the total, according to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Agency of Natural Resources and Energy.
During October, Japan imported 66.53 million barrels, of which the Arab share was 97.8 percent or 65.06 million barrels.
The strategic importance of Arab countries in Japan’s energy security is highlighted by their significant contribution to Japan’s oil imports. The main contribution was from four Arab countries — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar — as well as the neutral zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The UAE emerged as the largest supplier, providing 31.8 million barrels, which accounted for 47.8 percent of the total imports. Qatar and Kuwait followed, contributing 2.7 million barrels (4.1 percent) and 2.04 million barrels (3.1 percent), respectively. The neutral zone, a smaller supplier, provided 1.1 percent of Japan’s total imports.
Japan’s geopolitical decisions continue to shape its oil imports. With a ban on oil imports from Iran and Russia, the rest of its oil imports in October were sourced from Central and South America (0.9 percent), Southeast Asia (0.8 percent), Oceania (0.3 percent), and the US (0.2 percent).
Gunmen attack checkpoint, abduct six laborers in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province
- The Baloch Liberation Army claims responsibility for twin attacks in Nushki district this week
- Pakistan has announced an operation against Baloch separatists targeting Chinese nationals
QUETTA: Baloch separatist militants have targeted a dam construction site and a Levies check post in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan in two separate attacks, a senior official confirmed Saturday, abducting six laborers and seizing weapons just days after Pakistan announced a comprehensive operation against armed factions in the province.
The attacks occurred late Thursday night along the border of the remote Nushki and Kharan districts.
Pakistan’s largest but sparsely populated province, Balochistan borders Afghanistan and Iran and is central to the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. The region has been the site of a low-level insurgency by separatist militants for over two decades, though violence has intensified in recent months.
In August, the province witnessed a series of coordinated attacks that killed over 50 people.
“Unknown armed men attacked a dam construction site in Nushki district on Thursday night and abducted six laborers,” Additional Chief Secretary Home Shahab Ali Shah said while speaking to Arab News. “The laborers were working for a private construction company.”
“In another incident, armed men attacked a Levies check post at Zarin Jungle area and snatched three submachine guns from the soldiers,” he continued, adding that no loss of life was reported in the attack.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a prominent militant group in the province, claimed responsibility for the attacks on Friday, saying the group seized weapons from the Levies and “arrested” construction company personnel.
“BLA fighters captured a post of the Pakistani Levies force on the highway at Zarin Jungle and seized the weapons,” it said in a statement. “At the same time, different squads of fighters conducted a snap-check on the highway and arrested five personnel working on a construction project.”
It added the BLA had destroyed the construction company’s machinery and equipment by setting them on fire.
Rich in land and mineral wealth, Balochistan is otherwise an impoverished region, prompting separatist groups to accuse Pakistan of exploiting provincial resources, including gold and copper.
Pakistan denies the allegations and says the government is carrying out several development projects in the region to ensure its prosperity and improve the quality of life of its residents.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif approved a “comprehensive military operation” in Balochistan against the separatist outfits involved in attacks on Pakistani security forces after a suicide bombing at the Quetta Railway Station killed about 25 people, including army troops.
Baloch separatists have also been involved in targeting Chinese workers in Pakistan, prompting Beijing to urge authorities in Islamabad to provide them with foolproof security.
‘Moana 2’ dials up its Pacific Island influences in grown-up sequel, say filmmakers
DUBAI: Out now in cinemas across the Middle East, Walt Disney Animation Studio’s highly anticipated “Moana 2” reunites audiences with its seafaring heroine (Auli’i Cravalho) and her best buddy Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson).
Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, the sequel sees Moana journey to the far seas of Oceania for a new adventure after receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors.
The filmmakers said that they were especially committed to representing the Pacific Island communities and peoples respectfully and with integrity, and that meant turning to the Oceanic Cultural Trust once again for guidance.
As with the first film, the “Moana 2” filmmakers assembled a team of cultural experts in anthropology, history, dance and movement, canoes and navigation, linguistics and various cultural practices from the Pacific Islands.
“I think we’re just really fortunate to work with our Oceanic Cultural Trust, led by Kalikolehua Hurley. We all care really deeply about the world of ‘Moana,’ and want to get it right. We definitely wanted to be intentional about the cultural nuances and home in on it, whether it was with clothing or designs in any way, but we also just wanted to create a movie that felt true to what it means to be from the Pacific,” said co-director Hand in an interview with Arab News.
“I would say that we really let Moana sort of dictate where the story goes,” added co-director Ledoux Miller. “We were really intentional about building off that foundation of the first film and thinking really carefully about what that first journey was. It was a story of identity and of her really coming into her own. So, it felt like a really natural extension that we would continue that idea of self-growth and evolution. We love the idea that as you grow as a leader, you learn new things about yourself, and you have to realize that you never stop discovering new depths to yourself and new things that you’re capable of.”
Being of Samoan descent, Ledoux Miller said that she felt the weight of representing her community through filming and beyond.
“I would say it’s front of mind even right now, it’s every day. To be a part of making the key creative decisions for creating this film was truly an honor, but absolutely a responsibility as well. I feel very protective of my community, but I feel protective of Moana too. I’m also like a Moana fan, and I want to do right by her, but I couldn’t be prouder of what we put together, and I’m so excited for my family to see this. I think I’ll breathe a little easier once they do,” she said.
One of the main new characters we meet in “Moana 2” is Simea, Moana’s younger sibling (voiced by Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda).
“The first film was really about Moana connecting to her past, and as this story is really all about the future and where she is going to bring her people, it made so much sense to put in an emotional relationship that she has with her little sister, and that embodiment of the future is right there for her. I think you really fall in love with the relationship from the first moment that you see them together, and that lasts all the way until the very end of the film,” Hand said.
West faces ‘reckoning’ over Middle East radicalization: UK spy chief
- MI6 head Richard Moore cites ‘terrible loss of innocent life’
- ‘In 37 years in the intelligence profession, I’ve never seen the world in a more dangerous state’
LONDON: The West has “yet to have a full reckoning with the radicalizing impact of the fighting, the terrible loss of innocent life in the Middle East and the horrors of Oct. 7,” the head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service MI6 has warned.
Richard Moore made the comments in a speech delivered to the British Embassy in Paris, and was joined by his French counterpart Nicolas Lerner.
Moore said: “In 37 years in the intelligence profession, I’ve never seen the world in a more dangerous state. And the impact on Europe, our shared European home, could hardly be more serious.”
Daesh is expanding its reach and staging deadly attacks in Iran and Russia despite suffering significant territorial setbacks, he added, warning that “the menace of terrorism has not gone away.”
In October last year, Ken McCallum, the head of Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5, said his agency was monitoring for increased terror risks in the UK due to the Gaza war. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in over a year of fighting.
In Lebanon, a 60-day truce agreed this week between Hezbollah and Israel brought an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of Lebanese civilians.
Bangladesh prepares to send Hajj pilgrims by sea after 40 years
- Bangladesh has been struggling to meet its Hajj pilgrim quota due to high airfares
- Travel by sea estimated to help decrease the cost of pilgrimage package by about $900
DHAKA: Bangladeshi authorities are preparing to resume sending Hajj pilgrims via the sea route, aiming to significantly reduce travel costs starting next year.
For the past few years, Bangladesh, one of the most populous Muslim-majority countries, has struggled to meet its Hajj quota, as fewer people have been able to afford the pilgrimage since international airfares surged after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The possibility of pilgrimage by sea was discussed during Bangladeshi Religious Affairs Adviser Khalid Hossain’s meeting with Saudi Hajj and Umrah Minister Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah in Jeddah last month.
Dhaka’s envoy to the Kingdom, Brig. Gen. S.M. Rakibullah, told Arab News on Thursday that the first session on the logistics was set to take place next week.
“We have received confirmation from (the) Saudi authority regarding the transportation of pilgrims by sea. A coordination meeting on this issue will be held in Jeddah on the 3rd of December,” he said.
Targeting to start sending pilgrims by sea already during next year’s Hajj season — which will take place between June 4 and June 9 — Bangladeshi authorities are planning to reduce the cost of pilgrimage packages.
The price of the current 2025 package is about $4,000.
“We will declare a new Hajj package for the pilgrims who are interested in taking the sea route,” Matiul Islam, additional secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Arab News.
“This new sea route will help us in fulfilling the Hajj quota ... Our assigned shipping company is working on sourcing the ship. If we get ship on time, there is no other problem at our end.”
Hajj travel by sea will take place for the first time in four decades.
“To the best of my knowledge, in 1984, Bangladeshi pilgrims traveled to the Kingdom by ship to perform the Hajj rituals for the last time,” Islam said.
Karnaphuli Ship Builders, the shipping company chosen by the Bangladeshi government to operate the route, expects that the new mode of transport will reduce the cost of the current pilgrimage package by more than 20 percent.
It plans to purchase a 32-story ship to carry pilgrims from the southern Bangladeshi port of Chottogram to Jeddah.
“The costs of the Hajj journey will be reduced by around $900,” said M.A. Rashid, the company’s managing director.
“We have already sourced a Caribbean cruise ... The ship will carry up to 3,000 pilgrims at a time. It will take eight days to reach from Chottogram Port to Jeddah.”
Last year, Saudi Arabia granted Bangladesh a quota of 127,000 pilgrims, but because of high inflation and the cost of flights to the Middle East, only 85,000 were able to embark on the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam.
