Tech

Meta to churn out chatbots with unique personalities amid cutthroat AI race

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Financial Times Tuesday reported that tech giant Meta Platforms is all set to roll out a series of AI-powered chatbots with distinct personalities as early as September.

The company has been working on prototypes for chatbots that can engage in human-like conversations with users, aiming to enhance user engagement on its social media platforms.

Based in Menlo Park, California, the social media giant is testing various chatbot personalities, including one that speaks like Abraham Lincoln and another that provides travel advice in the style of a surfer.

These chatbots are intended to serve as a new search function and offer personalised recommendations to users.

The development of these chatbots coincides with Meta’s efforts to improve user retention on its recently launched text-based app, Threads, which experienced a significant drop in users shortly after its release on July 5.

Although Reuters reached out to Meta for comment on the Financial Times report, the company declined to provide any additional information.

Despite challenges faced in 2022, Meta’s advertising revenue has seen a robust increase, and the company forecasts third-quarter revenue above market expectations.

Meta has also been capitalizing on the growing excitement surrounding AI technology, and it recently introduced a commercial version of its open-source AI model, Llama 2, which Microsoft will distribute through its Azure cloud service and run on the Windows operating system.

In a separate report, Bloomberg News revealed that Apple is working on AI offerings similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.

The company has developed its own framework called ‘Ajax’ for creating large language models and is currently testing a chatbot that some engineers refer to as ‘Apple GPT’.

Meta shares surged nearly 8% at the end of last month as a rosy revenue forecast showed that artificial intelligence was helping the social media giant boost engagement and ad sales even in an uncertain economy.

The Facebook owner was set to add about $60 billion to its market value after strong second-quarter earnings encouraged 18 analysts to lift their target price on a stock that has already more than doubled this year.

Meta in mid-July announced releasing a commercial version of its open-source artificial intelligence model Llama, the company said on Tuesday, giving start-ups and other businesses a powerful free-of-charge alternative to pricey proprietary models sold by OpenAI and Google.

The new version of the model, called Llama 2, will be distributed by Microsoft through its Azure cloud service and will run on the Windows operating system, Meta said in a blog post, referring to Microsoft as “our preferred partner” for the release.

Latest News

Bitcoin makes its first breach of $94,000.

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

As news broke that Donald Trump’s social media company was in negotiations to acquire cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt (BKKT.N), Bitcoin surged to a record high above $94,000, adding to optimism that the next Trump administration would be cryptocurrency-friendly.

This year, Bitcoin, the largest and most well-known cryptocurrency in the world, has more than doubled in value. Just before the close of the previous session, it reached a record high of $94,078 before closing at $92,104 in Asian hours on Wednesday.

According to the Financial Times, which cited two persons with knowledge, NYSE-owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE.N) is supporting Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT.O), opens new tab, which runs Truth Social, in its pursuit of an all-stock purchase of Bakkt.

In addition to traders taking advantage of the first day of options trading on the Nasdaq over BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT.O), Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG, stated that the Trump deal chatter had helped push bitcoin to a record high.

As traders hoped that President-elect Trump’s pledged support for digital assets would result in a less stringent regulatory framework and give bitcoin a boost after a sluggish few months, cryptocurrencies have surged since the U.S. election on November 5.

According to data and analytics aggregator CoinGecko, the global cryptocurrency market is now worth over $3 trillion, a new high, due to the growing excitement.

Australian online broker Pepperstone’s head of research, Chris Weston, stated that there is genuine underlying purchasing pressure on bitcoin and that “another kick higher should bring in a fresh chase from those who like to buy what’s strong.”

Latest News

The PTA discloses how many VPNs are registered in Pakistan.

Published

4 days ago

Farwa

Speaking at the Senate Standing Committee on IT meeting in Islamabad, which was presided over by Palwasha Khan, was the PTA chief.

The continuous regulation of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in Pakistan was the main topic of discussion. The committee called for the next meeting and voiced concerns about the Minister of State for IT’s absence for the third consecutive session.

“We have spent the last two years developing VPN legislation. Uninterrupted internet connection is guaranteed by registered VPNs without sacrificing privacy, according to the PTA chairman.

During the session, Senator Muhammad Humayun criticized the measures, saying, “Shutting down platforms like X (formerly Twitter) is jeopardizing the entire IT industry and impacting the livelihoods of over 2.5 million individuals in Pakistan.”

He opposed laws that would hurt independent contractors and small companies.

Although the PTA promised that registered VPNs would not experience internet outages, committee members wanted to know the exact legal foundation for these regulations. Senator Kamran Murtaza asked for documents that detailed the requirements for registration.

“If VPN services are abruptly halted, there will be a major backlash,” Senator Afnan Ullah said. While pointing out that Pakistan’s IT exports had increased by 20% in the previous year, he emphasised that the sector was still lagging behind India.

Concerns over the viability of the existing VPN whitelist method were voiced by the committee. While IT officials admitted that more than 1 million freelancers in Pakistan rely significantly on VPNs for their business, Senator Humayun pointed out that the laws should be more beneficial than harmful.

Latest News

Pakistan declares AI chatbots to be dangers to security.

Published

1 week ago

Farwa

The National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) has released a security advisory concerning the increasing utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, emphasizing potential hazards related to the exposing of private data.

The recommendation recognizes that AI chatbots, like ChatGPT, have gained significant popularity for personal and professional duties owing to their capacity to improve productivity and engagement. Nonetheless, the CERT cautions that these AI systems frequently retain sensitive information, so posing a danger of data breaches.

Engagements with AI chatbots may encompass sensitive information, such as corporate strategy, personal dialogues, or confidential correspondence, which could be compromised if inadequately safeguarded. The warning emphasizes the necessity for a comprehensive cybersecurity framework to alleviate concerns associated with AI chatbot utilization.

Users are advised against inputting critical information into AI chatbots and are encouraged to deactivate any chat-saving functionalities to mitigate the danger of unwanted data access. The CERT additionally advises performing routine system security checks and employing monitoring tools to identify any anomalous behavior from AI chatbots.

Organizations are urged to adopt rigorous security protocols to safeguard against possible data breaches resulting from AI-driven interactions.