Arabic language AI models will improve output of developers in region, says executive

Localized language models like ALLaM are “really the way to release the opportunity of AI much more broadly,” Cook explained. (AN/File)
Localized language models like ALLaM are “really the way to release the opportunity of AI much more broadly,” Cook explained. (AN/File)
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Updated 12 September 2024
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Arabic language AI models will improve output of developers in region, says executive

Arabic language AI models will improve output of developers in region, says executive
  • Saudi-developed ALLaM model will be hosted on Microsoft’s Azure platform

RIYADH: Arabic large language models, or ALLaM, will boost the regional capabilities of artificial intelligence and improve productivity for app developers, according to a Microsoft executive.

His comments came after the announcement that the Saudi-developed ALLaM would be hosted on Microsoft’s Azure platform.

“For Arab developers and people who are developing applications in the Arabic(-speaking) world, there will be a fidelity and an improvement of the operational output that would not come from using some of the other language models,” Antony Cook, deputy general counsel at Microsoft, told Arab News on the sidelines of the Global AI Summit in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Localized language models like ALLaM are “really the way to release the opportunity of AI much more broadly,” Cook explained.

“I think one of the things we’re focused on as a company is making sure that there is a range of models that are available on the Azure platform that really then meet the different social and business opportunities that exist.”

ALLaM was developed by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority with the intention of enhancing Arabic language AI services and inspiring innovation within the field across Saudi Arabia and internationally.

According to the Arabic massive multi-task language understanding — a standardized test to assess AI performance — ALLaM secured first place in its category.

The language model was developed within the National Center for AI and is built and trained on Microsoft Azure’s robust infrastructure.

The decision to have ALLaM available on Azure emphasizes its advanced capabilities in understanding and generating Arabic content across multiple channels, according to the announcement.

Cook went on to describe the “tremendous work that was put into developing the ALLaM large language model,” saying that “it will have a fidelity that will enable services to be delivered and applications to be built leveraging the large language model, which we’re very excited about.”

Dr. Mishari Al-Mishari, deputy director of SDAIA, said in a statement: “ALLaM represents a significant milestone in our journey towards AI excellence.

“With the general availability on Azure, we are not only expanding access to this powerful language model and advancing AI innovation, but also ensuring that the Arabic language and culture are deeply embedded in this technological evolution.

“Our collaboration with Microsoft marks a significant step forward in our journey to empower government institutions in the Kingdom to effectively leverage the latest advancements in generative AI to enhance public services and improve the quality of life for all.”

Turki Badhris, president of Microsoft Arabia, said that this is a landmark moment in the region and that they are “thrilled to be working alongside our partners at SDAIA to provide a robust platform that supports the development and deployment of advanced AI models tailored to the Arabic language and culture.

“Together, we are paving the way for a new era of AI advancements, collaborations and empowerment in the Kingdom and beyond.”

Badhris also said the AI transformation will help people, nongovernmental organizations, and businesses in all industries to unlock their full potential.

The collaboration between SDAIA and Microsoft also includes the establishment of a center of excellence to expedite the development of AI solutions and the launch of a Microsoft AI academy aimed at harnessing national talent and broadening expertise in the AI sector.

“I think the part that the Kingdom is doing very well is that marriage of aspiration, having a body that can actually orchestrate and implement that across government, and then at the same time, learning from what is going on elsewhere, but adapting that very specifically to what is most important and most relevant in Saudi,” Cook said.

“When I look at AI, one of the parts that is really important is to build confidence that the technology is being used in responsible ways.

“That’s something at Microsoft that we’ve focused on really from the very start of AI and have accelerated our work as generative AI became so prevalent.

“The Kingdom also has done a great job in this. You know, they’ve set out, through SDAIA’s work, the work around ethical principles.

“And the ethical principles underline the way in which the true ethical considerations can be then actually implemented into the practices that are responsible for the development of the technology.”

The GAIN Summit, currently in its third edition, is running from Sept. 10-12 at Riyadh’s King Abdulaziz International Conference Center.


Netflix says 50 million households worldwide tuned in for Paul-Tyson match

Netflix says 50 million households worldwide tuned in for Paul-Tyson match
Updated 17 November 2024
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Netflix says 50 million households worldwide tuned in for Paul-Tyson match

Netflix says 50 million households worldwide tuned in for Paul-Tyson match

Netflix said on Saturday that 60 million households worldwide had tuned in for the highly anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, and the event peaked at 65 million streams, according to a statement.
The bout between the 27-year-old social media influencer-turned-prize fighter Paul and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Tyson, which Paul won, was streamed live on Netflix.
Nearly 50 million households tuned in for the co-main event between Ireland’s lightweight champion Katie Taylor and Puerto Rico’s featherweight champion Amanda Serrano, according to Netflix.
“The bout is likely to be the most watched professional women’s sporting event in US history,” Netflix said in its statement.
There were some hiccups during the live-stream of the match, with over 90,000 users reporting problems on Netflix at its peak, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.
However, the streaming platform was back up on Saturday after the outage that lasted roughly 6 hours in the United States.


Renowned Lebanese journalist quits MTV over death threats by alleged Hezbollah supporters

Renowned Lebanese journalist quits MTV over death threats by alleged Hezbollah supporters
Updated 16 November 2024
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Renowned Lebanese journalist quits MTV over death threats by alleged Hezbollah supporters

Renowned Lebanese journalist quits MTV over death threats by alleged Hezbollah supporters
  • ‘I decided to leave MTV because of the intimidations that reached the point of death threats,’ says Dr. Eman Shweikh on X
  • Samir Kassir Eyes Center reports that since Nov. 12 Shweikh had been subjected to a campaign of threats, incitement, accusations of treason

DUBAI: A renowned Lebanese journalist has taken to social media platform X to announce her departure from MTV following alleged death threats believed to have been made by supporters of Hezbollah.
Not mentioning the Iran-backed group by name, Dr. Eman Shweikh, a TV presenter at MTV, journalist and university professor, wrote: “I decided to leave MTV because of the intimidations that reached the point of death threats and the harassment that I am exposed to, which reached the point of following me home and chasing me on the road, in addition to harassing my family.”
The Samir Kassir Eyes Center reported that since Nov. 12 Shweikh had been subjected to a campaign of threats, incitement and accusations of treason due to her political opinions that she publishes on X, and because of her work for MTV.
The purported threats and harassment prompted her to leave her job at the channel.
The TV presenter added in her tweet: “The (Lebanese) state is absent, and laws are inexistent, and I do not want to expose my life and the lives of my family to danger. I want to live in safety and peace. Thank you to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MTV Michel Murr.”
Shweikh’s tweet received thousands of likes and hundreds of retweets and comments.
Replying to her tweet, advocate Tarek Chindeb said: “The threat to kill journalist Eman Shweikh makes us believe at every moment that we cannot build a state in Lebanon in the presence of illegal weapons and militias outside accountability.”
Expressing solidarity, Chindeb hoped that the Lebanese security and judicial authorities would do their duty to protect her, and arrest the culprits.
Political analyst Magdi Khalil also replied to Shweikh’s tweet, saying: “Ideological militias do not know participation, but rather overpowering. They do not know dialogue, but rather the threat of violence.”
MTV journalist Nawal Berry and cameraman Dany Tanios were attacked in July while attempting to cover the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold.
It was not the first time Berry and her team had been assaulted by Hezbollah loyalists. During the early days of the Oct. 17 revolution in 2019, she and her team faced a violent attack and had their camera smashed.
Supporters of Hezbollah have a history of assaulting and threatening journalists. Targets have included Layal Alekhtiar, who received death threats in 2021 and faced legal action last year for interviewing an Israeli spokesperson; Dima Sadek; Ali Al-Amin; and others.
At the time of publishing, Shweikh could not be reached for comment.


What is Bluesky, the fast-growing social platform welcoming fleeing X users?

What is Bluesky, the fast-growing social platform welcoming fleeing X users?
Updated 16 November 2024
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What is Bluesky, the fast-growing social platform welcoming fleeing X users?

What is Bluesky, the fast-growing social platform welcoming fleeing X users?
  • Bluesky said in mid-November that its total users surged to 15 million, up from roughly 13 million at the end of October, as some X users look for an alternative platform to post their thoughts and talk to others online

SAN FRANCISCO: Disgruntled X users are again flocking to Bluesky, a newer social media platform that grew out of the former Twitter before billionaire Elon Musk took it over in 2022. While it remains small compared to established online spaces such as X, it has emerged as an alternative for those looking for a different mood, lighter and friendlier and less influenced by Musk.
What is Bluesky?
Championed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky was an invitation-only space until it opened to the public in February. That invite-only period gave the site time to build out moderation tools and other features. The platform resembles Musk’s X, with a “discover” feed and a chronological feed for accounts that users follow. Users can send direct messages and pin posts, as well as find “starter packs” that provide a curated list of people and custom feeds to follow.
Why is Bluesky growing?
Bluesky said in mid-November that its total users surged to 15 million, up from roughly 13 million at the end of October, as some X users look for an alternative platform to post their thoughts and talk to others online. The post-election uptick in users isn’t the first time Bluesky has benefited from people leaving X. The platform gained 2.6 million users in the week after X was banned in Brazil in August — 85 percent of them from Brazil, the company said. About 500,000 new users signed up in one day in October, when X signaled that blocked accounts would be able to see a user’s public posts.
Across the platform, new users — among them journalists, left-leaning politicians and celebrities — have posted memes and shared that they were looking forward to using a space free from advertisements and hate speech. Some said it reminded them of the early days of Twitter more than a decade ago.
Despite Bluesky’s growth, X posted after the election that it had “dominated the global conversation on the US election” and had set new records.
Beyond social networking
Bluesky, though, has bigger ambitions than to supplant X. Beyond the platform itself, it is building a technical foundation — what it calls “a protocol for public conversation” — that could make social networks work across different platforms — also known as interoperability — like email, blogs or phone numbers.
Currently, you can’t cross between social platforms to leave a comment on someone’s account. Twitter users must stay on Twitter and TikTok users must stay on TikTok if they want to interact with accounts on those services. Big Tech companies have largely built moats around their online properties, which helps serve their advertising-focused business models.
Bluesky is trying to reimagine all of this and working toward interoperability.

 


Media group IMI and UAE Media Council sign deal to recruit and train local talent

Media group IMI and UAE Media Council sign deal to recruit and train local talent
Updated 14 November 2024
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Media group IMI and UAE Media Council sign deal to recruit and train local talent

Media group IMI and UAE Media Council sign deal to recruit and train local talent
  • Collaboration is part of the Media Apprenticeship Program launched last year by the Media Council and the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council
  • It targets existing Emirati media professionals, as well as graduates and final-year students in media-related studies

DUBAI: IMI, a media group in the UAE formerly known as International Media Investments, has signed a cooperation agreement with the UAE Media Council to train and recruit local talent and develop media infrastructure in the country.

The initiative is part of the Media Apprenticeship Program, an initiative launched in May 2023 by the UAE Media Council and the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council. It targets existing Emirati media professionals, as well as graduates and final-year students in media-related studies, with the aim of developing the next generation of talent in the nation’s media sector.

The agreement was signed at IMI’s new headquarters in Abu Dhabi by Mohammed Saeed Al-Shehhi, secretary-general of the UAE Media Council, and Rani Raad, CEO of the recently rebranded IMI Group, which owns several news outlets including Sky News Arabia, The National newspaper, Al-Ain News and CNN Business Arabic.

“We are proud to be the first global media group in the UAE to partner with the UAE Media Council on this initiative,” said Raad.

IMI Group, he added, can offer “aspiring Emirati talent unique opportunities to learn about the best media assets and standards” through its network of companies and the IMI Media Academy.

Launched in September, the IMI Media Academy employs the latest learning methodologies and offers an advanced curriculum focusing on the media industry, journalism and content creation.

Al-Shehhi highlighted the need to forge stronger partnerships with private media companies, and for cohesive country-wide efforts to develop the sector.

He said the partnership with IMI demonstrates the Media Council’s “commitment to empowering the media sector to attain global leadership by investing in the development of national skills and talents and equipping them with the latest media tools and technologies.”

It also aligns with the council’s desire “to nurture a new generation of talents capable of spearheading the sector and achieving significant accomplishments in the future,” he added.


Spotify introduces ‘Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24’ residency program for emerging talent

Spotify introduces ‘Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24’ residency program for emerging talent
Updated 15 November 2024
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Spotify introduces ‘Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24’ residency program for emerging talent

Spotify introduces ‘Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24’ residency program for emerging talent
  • Initiative covers songwriting and music production, music marketing, music rights and industry knowledge, and touring and performing
  • The Kingdom is an ‘incredibly exciting market’ for Spotify, says platform’s regional managing director

DUBAI: Spotify this month introduced Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24, the first iteration of a program dedicated to the promotion and development of the emerging music scene in the Kingdom.

“We’re incredibly thrilled to launch Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24 and are eager to see the impact it will have on the career growth of the selected artists,” Akshat Harbola, managing director of Spotify in the Middle East and North Africa region, told Arab News.

The program, which ran from Nov. 6 to 11, represented “a long-term investment in nurturing up-and-coming talent, starting with a residency format this year,” he added.

It brought together four local talents who feature on Spotify’s Fresh Finds Arabia playlist, a showcase of the best new music by independent artists and labels from the region: BrownMusic, known for merging Arabic and English lyrics with contemporary experimental electronic beats; hip-hop artist Grzzlee; Kali-B, a singer, songwriter and producer; and Seera, an all-female Arabic psychedelic rock band.

They were chosen by Spotify’s local editorial team as “standout talent” that had “already made an impression on our Fresh Finds Arabia playlist,” Harbola said.

Spotify seeks to showcase different musical genres through the program, he added, and so “we took special care to prioritize a diverse range of styles that highlight the new generation of creators” from Saudi Arabia. The selected artists “have proven they can connect with listeners and are ready to elevate their careers.”

The residency program provided them with support, mentorship and a host of resources aimed at accelerating their growth as artists and expanding their presence in the Saudi music industry, Spotify said.

The program’s curriculum focused on four topics: songwriting and music production; music marketing; music rights and industry knowledge; and touring and performing.

Experts such as lyricist, writer and creative director Menna El-Kiey, and musicians and producers Ntitled, El Waili, Soufiane Az and Ismail Nosrat, offered guidance to the participants on songwriting, beat-making, mixing and mastering.

Amin Kabbani, vice president of Arabic talent at entertainment company Live Nation Middle East, provided insights into planning and executing a successful tour, managing logistics and engaging with fans.

Sony Publishing MENA led the session on music rights and industry knowledge, during which the participants learned about intellectual property, and how to protect their work and navigate the business side of their art.

Spotify also worked with the artists to record new tracks at creative hub Merwas in Riyadh, and the results will be released by the end of the year. Nada Al-Tuwaijri, the CEO of Merwas, said the studio is “committed to nurturing talent and providing artists with the tools and environment they need to unlock their creative potential.”

She added: “The Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24 initiative aligns perfectly with our vision of supporting emerging talent in the Kingdom, the region and beyond.”

Harbola said that the Kingdom is “an incredibly exciting market” for Spotify and although he was “unable to share specific listenership rankings, the level of engagement in Saudi Arabia is truly remarkable.”

The company is seeing a “strong surge” in the popularity of pop music, especially Egyptian pop, and Khaleeji music, “which remains central to Saudi listeners,” he added.

The platform’s focus on the Kingdom has grown in recent months through initiatives such as “Tarab,” a campaign that celebrated Khaleeji music and spotlighted Saudi-based RADAR Arabia artist Sultan Al-Murshed in New York’s Times Square.

Harbola said that the burgeoning local music scene and audience engagement on Spotify is driving the company’s efforts to introduce initiatives such as Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24 and commit to them on a long-term basis

“While we don’t have set dates for future iterations (of the residency), our focus remains on curating unique experiences tailored to artists’ needs in different markets, whether through this initiative or other Spotify Music Programs across MENA,” he added.