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Social media companies to be fined if they fail to remove self-harm content in UK

Trigger Warning: Mention of suicide and self-harm

How many times have you stumbled upon questionable or grotesque content on social media and asked yourself – How the hell did this get here?

It has been more times than one would imagine (which is zero) and government authorities around the world have not shown any interest in trying to regulate self-harm/suicide content on social media, until now! The Britain government has taken the first step to stop the spread of self-harm content on social media and ordered to fine social media companies that fail to remove such content. This decision has been taken as a part of the overhaul of legislation governing online behavior.

UK to fine social media companies over self-harm content

The debate about government organizations infiltrating social media platforms to promote their agenda has been long and tiring. While I stand tall on the belief that a governing body has no right to make definitive changes to what people say on social media as it tampers with people’s right to an opinion, this is one aspect where I do not mind the government doing so. There has been an influx of suicide-related content on social media that indirectly encourages the act as opposed to educating people about it. Normalizing content that in a way ‘promotes’ suicide or self-harm undoubtedly has a lasting effect on young impressionable minds and society as a whole.

Recently, Britain’s culture, media, and sports ministry issued a statement saying that it now needs social media firms to block a wide range of content. “Social media firms can no longer remain silent bystanders … and they’ll face fines for allowing this abusive and destructive behavior to continue on their platforms under our laws,” said UK’s Digital Secretary Michelle Donelan.

The proposal aims to block videos and images viewed by 14-year-old Molly Russell whose death in 2017 sparked a public conversation about social media content. The investigation following her death concluded that social media platforms had fed content to her that romanticized the acts of self-harm by younger people. Social media algorithms are known to feed content a user indulges in thus the allegation of such platforms feeding malicious content does not feel far-fetched.

While Britain is the first country to take this step towards the right decision, one can only hope the rest of the countries follow suit!

If you or anybody you know who is struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts and need help can reach out to the numbers listed below –

Mitram Foundation – 08025722573 or 9019708133
AASRA – 91-9820466726
Lifeline Foundation – 9088030303

Elon Musk ideates an ‘Alternative Phone’ if Twitter is removed from Apple and Google stores

What happens when tech giants like Apple and Google decide to drop an application from their app stores? Besides the obvious lawsuits, the banned application or platform takes a major hit when it comes to revenue and adding new users. Something on similar lines was witnessed by Epic Games’ Fortnite when Apple and Google decided to drop the game from their platform. Now, Elon Musk has shared what his plans are for if and when Apple and Google drop Twitter from their respective stores.

Elon Musk’s ‘Alternative Phone’

Musk fanatics are quick to support the billionaire when it comes to almost anything. But, will they buy a phone to use Twitter and prove their loyalty to him? Musk surely thinks so as he recently hinted that he may have to create an alternative phone.

Both Apple and Google charge app developers a fee of 15-30% on all-app transactions. On the other hand, Twitter is all set to roll out the $8 Blue subscription yet again. Since it will be an in-app purchase, Twitter will have to adhere to the rules laid out by Apple/Google to pay up the 15-30% fee. It is not sure whether Musk will retaliate against this practice by the tech giants or simply go with it. Thus, when a known podcast host put forward the idea of Musk making his own smartphone device, the billionaire found it interesting.

Elon Musk tweeted that if it ever comes to the point where Apple and Google kick Twitter out of their respective app stores then he would be left with no other choice but to build his own alternative smartphone. Musk fanatics were quick to jump in and write that he has the potential to revolutionize the smartphone market. Is a Tesla phone in the works? We’ll see!

Across The Spider-Verse To Feature Six Distinct Art Styles

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was undoubtedly one of the best-animated films ever made which managed to capture the essence of Spider-Man better than any other film. Fans of the previous film’s animation have a lot waiting for them in the store as its sequel will feature multiple animation styles in the forefront. If there is one thing fans can expect from Sony’s Spider-Verse films is that they will be left surprised by the animation and writers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are making sure of it!

Spider-Verse becomes more vibrant!

I was taken aback by the first film’s visuals when I saw it initially. It felt like an acid trip caught on celluloid delivering a cinematic experience like no other. In the second film, the Spider-Verse will be explored furthermore with more and more Spider-People jumping in from the multiverse with each of them having a distinct animation style. The latest actor to join the spider gang is Daniel Kaluuya who will be seen playing the character of Spider-Punk, an edgy iteration of the web-slinging hero. The film will feature Peter Parker, Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Woman, and Miles Morales. We also expect a dash of Spider-Noir and a splash of the comedic Spider-Pig. That’s a lot of spiders!

Lord and Miller recently sat down for an interview with Empire where they revealed that while the first film had one animation style which dominated the film, this one has six. This creative choice was made by the makers in order to wow the audience every time the multiverse entered a new environment. The teaser of the sequel only focussed on two of the styles while four others are yet to be revealed. Interestingly, one of the animation themes known as ‘Mumbattan’ is inspired by the Indian comic book style. It will be interesting to see how this ‘Desi Tadka’ inspires the mammoth Hollywood animation film!

Mercedes Benz to introduce a subscription fee for better acceleration!

The subscription model has taken over the world in recent years. If the subscription model had not become so common for various services, I would find it weird to be paying for a Bisleri water monthly subscription, but here we are! Well if OTT, Newspapers, YouTube Premium, and many more were not enough ways for you to spend on subscriptions, Mercedes will now be asking users to pay an annual fee in order to allow the auto giant’s electric vehicles to accelerate faster!

Mercedes Annual Fee

BBC was the first publication to report that Mercedes will be charging its users a sum of $1200 which is shy of a lakh rupees every year for its cars to be faster. So will this annual fee magically make your electric merc accelerate super fast? No. The fee reportedly only allows users to reduce the time required to go from 0 to 60 mph by a second. That’s right, just one second!

This won’t be the first time a car manufacturer has introduced a subscription service. It was earlier this year when BMW launched a subscription fee for heated seats. However, the launch date of this subscription model by Mercedes has not yet been revealed. Toyota had also announced a while back that it would charge consumers $8 per month to enable the remote start feature in their cars.

Imagine buying a product at a full premium price and having to pay an additional fee to get the best out of it. As someone who is not an auto fanatic, I cannot make sense of this subscription model. However, fans on the internet have certainly been vocal about this decision by Mercedes stating that they would much rather receive a finished product than have to pay subscriptions for everything!

Challenges with AI – Long Way to Go!

Deep learning, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are some fancy terms that people throw around casually while talking about the future of technology. A majority of humanity is convinced that AI and machine learning is the future and that it will be taking over the world sooner than expected. While AI as a technology has revolutionalized several sectors like the manufacturing industry, healthcare, and space exploration, it is not where you think it is. Yes, AI has been growing at a steady rate gaining popularity and growing smarter with each passing day. But that does not mean that it is flawless!

It is surely important to note that AI right now is facing a number of challenges but that doesn’t stop it from upscaling year by year. Reportedly, AI can boost business productivity by up to 40%, whereas, the number of AI-related startups around the world has grown 14 times since 2000. Since the application of this technology spreads wide and its exploration is still limited, there are a number of obstacles currently present in the field which is to be conquered. Let’s have a look at all the challenges currently with AI –

Human-level

This is perhaps one of the biggest challenges currently with AI which has kept researchers and developers scratching their heads. While AI currently is smart and some companies boast over 90% accuracy in their daily AI tasks, humans are simply smarter. Humans are sharper and more accurate than AI as of now, which is contrary to the popular belief that the technology is smarter than us.

Let’s take a simple example here, whenever you’re asked to ‘Confirm if you’re not a robot’ before entering a website, you can simply point out all the pictures consisting of a bus or a traffic signal, or dogs. AI, on the other hand, just cannot do so effectively. Sounds strange right? Why cannot a smart algorithm figure out which photos feature dogs? For a deep learning algorithm to perform a similar task will require a large amount of finetuning. It would require a large dataset, hyperparameter optimization, strong computing power, and uninterrupted training and testing of data. Sounds exhausting!

Data

The most crucial aspect of deep/machine learning models is their basis on the availability of data and the resources to train them. Humans have a lot of data. This data is generated from billions of users from around the world. However, there are chances of this data being used for bad purposes. Plus, data security is another important aspect that looms upon us as a possible threat. It was only back in 2021 when 533 million Facebook users had their data leaked from over 100 countries. What would happen if an AI algorithm is fed data of that magnitude? It’s scary to even think about! Plus, the data leaks can also make their way to the dark web which can later be used for nefarious activities. Some companies are currently working towards tackling this issue by training the data on smart devices which do not send data back to the servers, but only the trained model.

Knowledge Barrier

There are a number of implementations of AI in the market right now. AI can replace the traditional systems currently in use effectively. But the problem here lies in the actual knowledge of AI around the world. Sure, AI can be used by tech enthusiasts, students, and researchers on a global scale. But right now, there are only a number of people who are aware of the potential of AI. The technology still only reigns in the territory of science fiction amongst people due to its representation in pop culture. The adaptation of AI into the mainstream with the use of it to upscale production, manage resources and understand consumer behavior is still a far-off dream.

Computing power

Machine Learning and Deep Learning are the baby steps required to develop artificial intelligence. But, the amount of computing prowess these power-hungry algorithms require is one of the top reasons why AI is not where it should be right now. These algorithms demand a high number of cores and GPUs to work efficiently. Right now, humanity has already figured out a number of domains where we can implement AI deep learning frameworks. Be it tracking the cosmos or asteroids, and human health care, AI can be implemented to an extent that can be life-changing but the lack of computing power keeps us at bay. These algorithms require supercomputing powers and they do not come cheap. Not everyone can afford a supercomputer to build an AI including some of our smartest brains.

Sony WF-LS900n Review: Substance Over Style!

If you’re looking for TWS in India then you know there are a number of options for you to choose from. The Indian market is saturated with wireless earphones ranging from different price points. However, it isn’t easy to find a capable TWS in the market that suits your preferences while delivering a premium performance at a considerably affordable price point. This is where Sony’s latest offering, the WF-LS900N comes in! Sony has delivered when it comes to providing users with lightweight earbuds that deliver powerful performance and pack many features, and we’re all here for it!

Features & Design

There’s no innovation when it comes to design with the WF-LS900N as compared to its predecessor which came with an open ring design. Here, users get a familiar in-ear design in a lightweight form factor. This means that both the eartubes and the silicone eartips sit inside the ear to give a proper seal. Sony India has claimed that the wireless earbuds weigh approximately 4.8 grams in weight making them one of the lightest in the market. While using the earbuds over an extended period of time, I was surprised how the annoying ear pain staple to in-ear devices, in general, was not present here. The earbuds and their casing is made out of recycled plastic which gives a distinct rugged feel.

There are ample features packed along with the WF-LS900N. One might expect Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and that is surely present here. Along with ANC, the WF-LS900N also offer you ambient sound or transparency mode that can be quickly enabled with a tap on the left earbud. Tapping on the right earbuds pauses/plays the music. The best feature of the WF-LS900N for me was the option to enable ‘Quick Attention’ Here, users can simply press on the earbuds for the volume to drop quickly to have a conversation and remove the finger for the volume to return to normal. It was a novel feature that allowed me to have small talks during work hours.

Battery Life

The WF-LS900N comes with six hours of battery life with activated ANC, as claimed by Sony. In my testing of the earbuds, the result was somewhat close to the company claim with 5 and a half hours of ANC playback. The performance can be bumped up to 9 hours of playtime by turning off ANC. The earbuds get charged up relatively quickly and have lasted me for over 2 days in light usage and a day in heavy usage.

Sound

Everything comes down to the sound performance when we’re talking about TWS. So how well does the WF-LS900N perform? Simply put, the new Sony TWS are power performers that provide a premium sound experience with deep bass. There’s an overall balance to the sound that does lean to either flat sound or too loud. However, the balanced approach might not be for everyone, for which there are a number of customizations available in the ‘headphones Connect’ app. There’s little left to desire here when it comes to the sound quality of the WF-LS900N!

Verdict

While the Rs 13,990 price point might be heavy for some to shell out for a TWS, we feel it is worth it. The WF-LS900N provides premium sound quality in a comfortable and light fit which makes it a worthy investment.

Rating – ★★★★

Elizabeth Holmes sentenced for more than 11 years over Theranos scam

Elizabeth Holmes was once the face of the Silicon Valley start-up culture. People viewed her as an example of women pioneering in the competitive space of start-ups with the company Theranos which promised to revolutionize blood testing as we know it. However, the once-start-up icon has emerged as a symbol of Silicon Valley’s deceitful side! Elizabeth was given a sentence of 11 years and 3 months for defrauding investors with her failed blood-testing start-up that was once valued at $9 billion. The founder was able to secure heavy funding from investors but it was later discovered that she had lied about the technology and the business transactions of her company which led to four convictions on fraudulent felony charges in January this year.

Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos story

Elizabeth Holmes made her way to the start-up market by claiming that Theranos had invented a medical device that could identify a wide array of diseases and disorders from a few drops of blood. The ‘Endgame’ of this fraudulent claim was to replace traditional blood-testing labs with portable devices that could be used at homes, hospitals, pharmacies, and more. The implementation of this technology was even said to be for battlefields where soldiers could quickly identify their diseases. However, it was later discovered that the technology was never really functional and all her claims were untrue. Holmes served as the CEO of Theranos throughout its 15-year history from its inception to its downfall, making the company her brainchild.

Holmes was duping a number of her investors and the medical industry with claims to revolutionize the blood-testing method. Just her claims allowed her to have an accelerated and monstrous success. Some publications also named her as the next Steve Jobs, which was a title she took to heart. During her prime, she could be seen sporting black turtlenecks evidently paying homage to Jobs. Many notable moguls of the industry were also drawn to her deception as Theranos’ blood testing kit was regarded as the next big revolution in the medical industry.

Back in 2014, when Elizabeth Holmes was 30 and her stake in Theranos was valued at a whopping $4.5 billion, Forbes titled her the ‘World’s Youngest Female Self-Made Billionaire.’ The title in 2022 lies with Queen Mother Rihanna, and rightly so! However, it was back in 2015 when Wall Street Journal’s capable reporters put Theranos under their microscopic lens and ran articles questioning the company’s technology. It was the same year when Theranos shut down.

Ultimately, the Elizabeth Holmes Theranos incident is no less than a Hollywood crime film. it won’t be wrong to call Holmes the ‘She-Wolf of Silicon Valley’. However, Holmes’ lawyers are most likely to appeal her conviction for which had sought leniency on account of her pregnancy.

Global Landscape – Countries Leading the AI Race

The adoption of AI has been growing across the globe at a rapid scale. Right now, many countries have a stake in the AI revolution. The current exciting developments in the AI field are sweeping the globe off its feet and influencing all businesses around the world. AI enables face recognition, corporate development, self-driving vehicles, and better online outcomes that influence the decision of many if not every business out there.

Reportedly, the global AI market will be valued at a staggering $360bn by 2028, growing at an annual rate of 33.6%. The use of AI can be seen across a number of industries be it the transportation, manufacturing, finance, and even education sectors. Due to this extensive influence of AI on multiple sectors, many countries have now jumped in to invest heavily in AI research and development. The reason behind this heavy investment is to sustain long-term growth and the protection of national security. There is simply no denying that AI will develop to the point in the future where it will directly influence our lives (Hopefully not like an episode from Black Mirror!) AI will play a huge role in the corporate environment in the near future thus it is not a surprise that many countries are now deeply invested in the technology. It is time to have a look at all the countries currently making a big splash in the AI race –

China

I am sure you’re not surprised to see China on this list to any degree! China has long been an aspirational world leader in artificial intelligence. According to China’s own State Council, it will become the global leader in AI by 2030 having a reported market capitalization of $150 billion. Another thing to note here is that the country has published more deep-learning research papers than any other country from around the world. But, China’s high population is also a factor responsible for its growth in the AI sector. The most significant factor for AI’s growth in China is its internet-using population which amounts up to a massive 75 million which generates a gigantic amount of digital data to handle and for AI algorithms to learn from (Data Privacy is a myth, my friends!) Another factor here for China’s lead in the AI sector is its government’s transparent ambitions and objectives with the technology. Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba are only some of the Chinese AI companies that are leading the AI sector.

USA

When it comes to conquering AI technology, the United States has been one of the leaders. The country has a well-established tech culture with some of the prominent tech giants based out of it. Whereas, the country has also profited from $10 billion in complete venture financing which is directed toward artificial intelligence. The USA has been a well-known player when it comes to offering technological advancements in manufacturing robots to the world. It also plays a crucial role in the manufacturing and industrial industries. Be it Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and IBM, these are all big parts of the development of the AI industry and are based out of the USA. The United States currently has all the components required to dominate the field of AI and robotics thus it makes number two on our list.

Canada

With some of the world’s most talented brains and creators of AI technology, Canada has paved its way to becoming an AI leader. The Canadian government is heavily invested in AI and plates a significant role in its advancement in the country. It was back in march 2017 when the Canadian government announced a total investment of $125 million in the field of AI. Canada mainly focuses on two AI components like Machine Learning which is based out of Montreal and Toronto and Reinforcement learning which is based out of Alberta. Waterloo is Canada’s big AI hub having over 90 firms dedicated to AI development.

Germany

Germany ranks number sixth globally when it comes to the number of AI research articles published. The country is known for its precision and technological advancements. Be it self-driving cars, quantum computing, or robots, Germany has placed itself as a leader in AI development. Germany, similar to China has the ambition to become the global leader in AI. For this reason, two of its top technology universities and its top exporting state are currently collaborating with corporations like Porsche, Bosch, and Daimler to develop rich artificial intelligence.

India

Yes, India is also a pioneer when it comes to artificial intelligence. Our rapidly growing nation is currently going through a massive digital transformation thanks to the cost-effective internet provided here. This digital revolution has a direct impact on the growth of AI in the country. The government of India may not have granted any funding or allocation to the AI sector but the country is still covering a massive ground in AI thanks to various initiatives taken by individual companies.

Race to the Top! – Companies Leading AI Research

Artificial Intelligence has surely become a growing force in the business industry today. Be it cloud computing or edge computing, AI is being used as a mix and match of technologies to exceed in several aspects of a business. AI-enabled solutions have become popular thanks to businesses now transforming digitally. The number of businesses now using AI services reportedly grew by 270% from 2015 to 2019, it is still rising as 2022 comes to a close and will only continue to grow more in the coming years. As of 2022, the AI services market is reportedly forecast to grow to US $62.5bn which is a considerable growth from US $19.4bn back in 2020.

While machine learning leads the pack in the AI revolution, businesses are expanding their technological reach with the help of other technologies like predictive analysis, business intelligence, data warehouse tools, and deep learning. These technologies enable big business giants to alleviate several industrial obstructions with ease. Surely, entire industries are being reshaped with AI right now. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) companies have now swiftly changed their platforms to AI, whereas AI in healthcare has also proven to be a boon in patient healthcare.

Several companies have showcased a great interest in AI during the pandemic to better the customer experience in a variety of areas. In our AI special we wanted to have a look at all the companies currently leading the race of AI and Machine Learning through the integration of their technologies into apps and systems. Check them out right now –

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AWS clearly takes the cake when it comes to being the leader in cloud computing. The company offers both consumer and business-related AI products and services. A number of its AI services build into end-consumer products. Let’s take Amazon Echo as an example, this little speaker brings AI right into your home through your personal voice assistant, Alexa. While Alexa is known as Amazon’s AI, its primary AI service is called ‘Lex’. It is an Alexa variant that is exclusive to businesses. There is also Polly which turns text into speech and Rekognition which is an image recognition service. Besides AWS, Amazon has a number of products based on AI.

There’s the SageMaker Data Wrangler, a new service that is meant to accelerate the data preparation for machine learning and AI applications. Amazon Codeguru is another service by Amazon which allows coders to enhance their code quality with the help of Ai-powered code suggestions. Finally, Amazon also has Kendra which is an AI and machine learning-powered search tool meant for corporate purposes.

Google

I am sure you’re not surprised to Google on this list as it is among the top AI companies right now. While there are several ways Google integrates AI in its business, one notable AI innovation by the company is the Multitask Unified Model famously known as MUM. This technology is aimed to enhance the Google search experience amongst users. MUM is used to better link the information that a web searcher is looking for with precise accuracy. Google has been on a massive AI acquisition binge as it is deeply invested in the integration of AI into our daily lives. Google Cloud itself sells a number of AI and machine learning services to companies around the world. The industry-leading TensorFlow software project and its very own Tensor AI chip project are known around the world.

Microsoft

Microsoft is a juggernaut when it comes to the betterment of AI technology. The company not only provides technology but also funds and experiences to organizations working on AI to tackle global issues. Microsoft AI has the potential to enable anyone be it an individual or an organization to study, develop, and innovate in the field. Back in 2020, Microsoft unveiled Project Bonsai, a platform for designing industrial control systems. The company had also launched Project Moab which was an experimental platform designed to introduce engineers and developers to Bonsai. Microsoft also build the Specktacom which was geared toward cricketers. Speckatacom was a technology dedicated to collecting data on speed, quality, twists, and the swing of a cricket bat using a tiny sensor attached to the bat. It used wireless technology and cloud analytics to collect the data.

Alibaba Cloud

Alibaba Cloud is the leading cloud platform in Asia. It offers its clients a top-notch machine-learning platform for AI. The company has managed to make AI easy for users with the help of a visually pleasing interface. Companies using Alibaba Cloud’s platform can simply drag and drop data components into a canvas in order to assemble their AI functionality. On the platform, users can also find the scores of algorithm components that can handle a number of different tasks. This enables businesses to use pre-built solutions for their tasks without the hassle of building one which can be time consuming. One can surely expect Alibaba to show significant improvement and growth in the AI sector in the coming years.