IBM has announced its latest offering, Watsonx Code Assistant for Z, a generative AI-powered product designed to expedite the translation of COBOL to Java on the ‘IBM Z’ platform, ultimately boosting developer productivity. Set to become generally available in the fourth quarter of 2023, this tool is geared toward accelerating COBOL application modernization.
Kareem Yusuf, PhD, Senior Vice President of Product Management and Growth at IBM Software, explained that Watsonx Code Assistant for Z is engineered for precision. It is built to swiftly and accurately convert code optimized for IBM Z, reducing time to market and expanding the pool of skilled developers.
IBM’s Watson Code Assistant simplifies the coding process by providing AI-generated recommendations to assist developers. It leverages generative AI and automated tooling to support mainframe application modernization, preserving the performance, security, and resilience attributes of IBM Z.
This product is specifically designed to refactor, transform, and validate COBOL code, speeding up the time-to-value and enhancing capabilities for essential application modernization on IBM Z.
It relies on a 20 billion-parameter large language model (LLM) for code processing.
COBOL, a widely used data processing language, plays a critical role in numerous business and operational processes worldwide. By employing Watsonx Code Assistant for Z, developers can more easily and incrementally transform COBOL business services into well-architected, high-quality Java code compared to other methods.
Generative AI empowers developers to efficiently assess, update, validate, and test code, enabling them to modernise large applications more swiftly while concentrating on higher-impact tasks. IBM’s Watsonx Code Assistant for Z represents a significant step forward in COBOL-to-Java translation and mainframe application enhancement.
YouTube has introduced a suite of AI-powered tools to empower creators and artists, enabling them to produce, edit, and share content in innovative ways. These AI-driven capabilities aim to simplify the creative process and expand creative expression possibilities, ultimately helping YouTube creators reach wider audiences.
Neal Mohan, YouTube’s CEO, expressed the platform’s commitment to empowering creators and artists by making complex tasks easier and turning impossible dreams into reality.
At the “Made on YouTube” event, YouTube showcased “Dream Screen,” an experimental generative AI tool for Shorts, the platform’s short-form video feature. Dream Screen rapidly generates AI-generated video or photo backgrounds based on user prompts, catering to Shorts content creators.
YouTube Studio introduced an AI feature that generates personalized topic ideas and outlines for videos, based on trending content. Additionally, an AI-powered music recommendation system suggests audio based on video descriptions.
The newly launched YouTube Create app offers video editing tools, including precise editing, automatic captioning, voiceovers, and a library of filters, effects, transitions, and royalty-free music. It simplifies video production without requiring complex editing software. YouTube’s AI initiatives also include “Aloud,” an AI-powered dubbing tool being tested in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, and assistive search in Creator Music to help creators find suitable soundtracks.
Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s Global Head of Music, emphasized their collaboration with the creative community and the music industry to harness AI’s potential in amplifying creativity and driving business innovation. YouTube aims to empower its vast community of creators and artists by leveraging AI as a valuable tool, ushering in a new era of creativity and content production.
A small town in southern Spain has been rattled by a scandal involving the distribution of AI-generated images of young girls within several local schools. These deepfake images, primarily sourced from the girls’ social media profiles where they appeared fully clothed, were disseminated across at least four out of Almendralejo’s five middle schools, as reported by El País.
The artificial intelligence application responsible for this disturbing act processed the images to create new, fake ones portraying the girls in a naked state, according to the report. This unsettling development stemmed from the use of an AI-powered app known as “Clothoff,” which allows users to manipulate images to undress subjects.
The victims in this case include more than 20 girls aged 11 to 17 in Almendralejo, a town situated in the western Spanish region of Extremadura. The matter came to light after Miriam Al Adib, a doctor and the mother of one of the affected girls, used her social media platform to raise awareness of the incident.
The distressing situation has prompted a collective response, with parents creating a WhatsApp group to support the victims. At least 10 individuals have been identified as suspects in the case, some of whom are reportedly as young as 13 years old. It’s important to note that, in Spain, children under 14 years old cannot face criminal charges.
Spain’s national police force, la Policía Nacional, continues to investigate this troubling incident that has left a profound impact on the girls and their community.
Ever since the launch of Sam Altman’s Worldcoin project, the hype around the concept has significantly risen. Numerous questions are being asked about the same and curiosity as to what the technology holds for the future is gripping the masses. What Worldcoin is, how one can register for the same, various challenges facing the project, how safe the project is, and what are its chances of being successful, are some of the questions being asked.
What is Worldcoin?
Worldcoin, the ambitious cryptocurrency and digital ID project spearheaded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, was launched recently on July 24 after years in development. The “orb,” a biometric device that scans the iris, which must be used in person and provides users with a distinct digital identity to confirm they are a genuine human and not a bot, is the distinctive feature of the project.
The project also includes a cryptocurrency called Worldcoin (WLD) that can be used after a user has verified their identity, as well as an app that enables users to use it to send and receive payments, make purchases, and transfer other digital assets. During its launch last month, Worldcoin announced that it is expanding its eyeball-scanning operations to 35 cities in 20 countries after gaining more than 2 million users during a trial period.
Alex Balani, who co-founded Worldcoin, is the main force behind Worldcoin at the moment. Until it reaches its final level of decentralization, Blani is the CEPO of Tools for Humanity, the company that is developing Worldcoin. Balani said, “The necessity for identity verification is no longer a topic of serious debate in the era of artificial intelligence. Worldcoin aims to create a privacy-first, decentralized, and maximally inclusive solution to this issue.”
Users must first download the World App before they can register with an email address and password. After registering, they need to visit the nearest Worldcoin orb operator which can be located through the Worldcoin application or the official website. One can easily book the slot for the scan through either of the options. To verify that the user is a human, the orb will scan their iris. After the user’s human identity is confirmed, a World ID is given to the user which can be used for transactions. After receiving the World ID, registered users will receive one WLD token as compensation. The app allows you to view your WLD balance and transactions. Additionally, you can send and receive WLD by inputting addresses or scanning QR codes.
How safe is Worldcoin?
According to the official website, the first wallet created for the Worldcoin project, World App, may be downloaded and used without providing any personal information. This includes, name, phone number, photo, passport, etc. The Worldcoin ecosystem powers World ID, a global identity technology that lets the users maintain anonymity. It is not linked to your wallet because they both have separate accounts with unique keys and different functions. Each holder of a World ID can choose which (if any) personal data to share with third parties when using World ID because everything is optional and no personal data is divulged by default.
When it comes to the Orb and the captured iris images, after generating the iris code, the Orb by default immediately deletes iris photos. This allows Worldcoin to train its iris identification and segmentation models and related algorithms using the users’ iris photos. Considering all this, it seems quite believable that users will have proper control over their personal information, however it is a little early to set anything in stone.
Despite the company’s pledge to never disclose the personal data, the privacy policy of Worldcoin does reserve the right to share user information “between and among their current and future parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and other companies under common control and ownership, in conjunction with merger negotiations, and in order to respond to mandatory legal demands.” This does leave one concerned about their privacy.
Will Worldcoin be a success?
The Worldcoin project has encountered its fair share of criticisms since its unofficial launch a few years ago. The use of biometric data, such as eye scans, to confirm users’ identities is a major source of concern when it comes to the privacy dangers associated with the collection, storage, and utilization of such data. Others have expressed concern about Worldcoin being used to identify people in such a personal and specific way, given that one crucial feature of the blockchain, the technology underlying cryptocurrencies and other distributed networks, is to conceal one’s identity. For some, the fact that the project offered WLD cryptocurrency in exchange for early signups amounted to a fair share of skepticism and criticism for being a blatant bribe.
Furthermore, the orb scan is not entirely oblivious to any flaws. According to three persons familiar with the matter, Worldcoin uncovered a vulnerability last year where operators were trying to trick the system into making several signups for the same user. At least three Kenyan operators were dismissed for exploiting the Orb to increase their signup rates in an effort to receive bigger rewards. Earlier this year, the startup issued a software upgrade to address the problem. According to a former Worldcoin employee, the incident was so serious that senior authorities, including CEO Alex Blania, were informed.
Now that Worldcoin has officially started, Altman stated he intends to sign up 50 million users. Given the requirement for in-person appointment for each iris scan, it is uncertain how rapidly the company will be able to scale. According to the Worldcoin website, the project is actively recruiting orb operators for various locations and has already manufactured about 2000 orbs. Despite this, doubts still remain as to how the targets will be achieved.
Conclusion
There seem to be major issues with Worldcoin that need to be addressed. First, if we keep aside the novelty of scanning the iris to verify identity, the Worldcoin project raises serious questions about the sensitive data protection and the implications of that data being disclosed in any form. Second, it remains unclear how the colossal number of scans will be feasible, let alone the worries around how easy it is to tamper with Orb to recreate identity.
While much is being said about Altman’s Worldcoin, it seems that the co-founders are unclear about the direction in which the project is going and its application. Financial transactions, voting, airdropping cryptocurrency, remittances, and website logins are among the list of potential uses for Worldcoins identification system, according to one document. As the company is still in its early stage, it might be premature to make any bold predictions. However, once the above-mentioned issues are addressed and the company wins the trust of its users, Worldcoin does have the potential of becoming a household name in the industry.
On Tuesday, Deloitte announced the opening of its global artificial intelligence (AI) market incubator, which will support Indian and international businesses and foster innovation in generative AI.
The company said in a statement that the AI incubator will leverage the in-depth industry knowledge and AI expertise of their professionals, including data scientists and engineers. To ensure speed, lower time to market, and instant value generation in crucial projects, these professionals collaborate using a multidisciplinary model based on design thinking, the release said.
According to Deloitte, it has signed over 100 firms in the last six months and presently has active global engagements in the fields of medicine discovery, customer experience, content creation, and personal avatars.
According to Deloitte, the establishment of the Global Generative AI Market Incubator is also in line with the government’s broad strategy for fostering digital talent and prospects fueled by AI.
Sathish Gopalaiah, president, consulting at Deloitte India said, “Through this initiative, we aim to resolve unique industry cases by providing the right strategy and drawing on the strengths of our collaboration with alliance partners.”
In order to assist businesses with strategic breakthroughs, talent development, and a collaborative alliance ecosystem, Deloitte established its generative AI practice in India in June. The practice will assist clients in comprehending the dangers, limitations and ethical problems related to generative AI, during the creation, implementation, and commercialization of AI solutions.
The Indian government is gearing up to bolster startups venturing into artificial intelligence (AI) model training by establishing a substantial Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) cluster as part of the India AI program, according to Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s announcement on September 22.
This GPU cluster will consist of a network of computers, each equipped with GPUs, primarily designed to facilitate the training of neural networks for image and video processing.
Minister Chandrasekhar highlighted the government’s commitment to support both startups and foreign companies aiming to foster domestic intellectual property in AI-focused chip design. This initiative falls under the design-linked incentive scheme, with an allocated budget of Rs 1,100-1,200 crore.
Chandrasekhar emphasized the importance of AI in practical applications, focusing on sectors such as healthcare, governance, and education. The government aims to create specialized AI-integrated circuits tailored to these fields.
In conjunction with this announcement, he mentioned the groundbreaking of a semiconductor packaging and assembly plant by Micron in Gujarat’s Sanand. This $2.75 billion investment demonstrates India’s growing significance in the global electronics value chain and sets a precedent for other chip companies and investors.
The project will receive substantial support, with 50 percent fiscal backing from the central government and additional incentives representing 20 percent of the total project cost from the state of Gujarat. Construction of the assembly and test facility is scheduled to commence in 2023, with Phase 1 becoming operational in late 2024.
In a LinkedIn post accompanied by a captivating video, Sanjeev Sharma, the Founder and CEO of Swaayatt Robots, has unveiled remarkable progress in the realm of autonomous driving. The video presentation showcased Swaayatt Robots’ autonomous vehicle navigating through challenging off-road terrain, confronting both static and dynamic obstacles with an astonishingly low margin of error.
The company utilized very sparse stochastic HD maps for stochastic projection of boundary information in the presented demonstration. One of the most noteworthy aspects of this demonstration was the vehicle’s ability to negotiate bi-directional traffic on a single-lane off-road path, thanks to novel motion planning and decision-making frameworks.
According to the CEO, this remarkable achievement demonstrates the company’s commitment to creating cutting-edge technology for autonomous vehicles. The Indian-based company, Swaayatt Robots, is renowned for its pioneering work in the field of robotics and autonomous vehicles, pushing the boundaries of what’s achievable in this dynamic industry.
According to the post, the company plans to further enhance this capability by incorporating multi-agent intent analysis and bi-directional negotiation policies developed through deep unsupervised learning and reinforcement learning techniques. As the company takes its initial steps towards this grand vision, they will soon execute a similar high-speed demo in a single-lane on-road environment.
Moreover, Swaayatt Robots is actively working on eliminating the reliance on high-definition maps for autonomous driving in off-road conditions. They aim to have their autonomous vehicles build cost-maps and understand environmental boundaries using GPS nodes as waypoints, driven by unsupervised deep learning.
In a growing legal battle, more authors have joined the fray by suing OpenAI for copyright infringement. They are aligning with fellow writers in their pursuit of legal action against generative AI companies, which have been utilizing their literary works to train AI models.
The Authors Guild, along with 17 prominent authors such as Jonathan Franzen, John Grisham, George R.R. Martin, and Jodi Picoult, recently filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs are seeking to have their filing designated as a class action.
The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI engaged in the wholesale copying of the plaintiffs’ works without obtaining proper permission or providing compensation. OpenAI then incorporated these copyrighted materials into their extensive language models.
The complaint emphasizes the significance of the authors’ creative endeavors as their source of livelihood. It contends that OpenAI’s Language Models pose a direct threat to fiction writers’ income, as these LLMs enable the automatic and cost-free generation of text that would otherwise require payment to writers for their creation.
Moreover, the authors express concern that OpenAI’s LLMs may give rise to derivative works that imitate, condense, summarize, or rephrase their books, potentially impacting their market and income. The lawsuit also criticizes OpenAI for its choice to utilize copyrighted material without compensating authors, arguing that the company could have employed works in the public domain as an alternative.
This lawsuit is the most recent in a series of legal actions taken by renowned authors against OpenAI, alleging copyright infringement. Recently, Michael Chabon, the author of “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” and others pursued legal action against the company for using their books to train GPT. Similarly, Paul Tremblay and Mona Awad lodged their complaint in June.
Renowned Indian actor Anil Kapoor has achieved a significant legal victory in a New Delhi court regarding the unauthorized use of his likeness through artificial intelligence technology. Kapoor stressed that this legal action isn’t just for his benefit but also for the future protection of his personality and its potential benefits for his family.
Kapoor, acclaimed for his roles in numerous Bollywood hits and the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, secured an interim order against 16 defendants. The court has ruled that these parties are “restrained from in any manner utilizing Anil Kapoor’s name likeness, image, voice, or any other aspect of his persona to create any merchandise, ringtones, either for monetary gain or otherwise.”
Expressing his views on the decision, Kapoor emphasized the progressive nature of the ruling, stating, “I think the decision is very progressive and great not only for me but for other actors also, because of the way AI technology is evolving every day.”
The actor took legal action in response to the widespread use of distorted videos, gifs, and emojis bearing his likeness. He also sought protection for his catchphrase, “jhakaas,” which he coined in the 1985 film “Yudh” and roughly translates to “awesome.”
This legal development occurs amid a broader debate between US writers, actors unions, and studio representatives. A central issue in this debate is the use of AI to generate profits from an actor’s image indefinitely, without their consent or appropriate compensation.
Kapoor expressed solidarity with actors in the US who are currently on strike for their rights. He hopes that his victory will be seen as positive news for their cause, emphasizing that every actor, regardless of their popularity, deserves protection.
In a landmark move, Cisco Systems announced its acquisition of cybersecurity powerhouse Splunk for a staggering $28 billion, marking the largest technology deal of the year. This strategic acquisition is set to bolster Cisco’s software business and harness the growing wave of artificial intelligence.
The purchase comes as Cisco seeks to diversify its revenue streams and reduce dependency on its extensive networking equipment division, which has grappled with supply chain disruptions and a post-pandemic drop in demand. Chuck Robbins, Cisco’s CEO, emphasized the importance of this merger, stating that it unites two industry leaders in security and observability, domains critical to customers in an era marked by ever-evolving threats.
Splunk is renowned for its data observability capabilities, aiding companies in monitoring cybersecurity risks and other vulnerabilities. The company utilizes a subscription-based pricing model. While discussions between the two firms have occurred in the past, this time, the deal appears to be moving forward.
Cisco’s offer of $157 in cash per Splunk share, reflecting a 31% premium over the stock’s last closing price, has garnered attention. Splunk’s shares traded above $145.04, below the offer price, partly due to concerns about regulatory scrutiny, while Cisco’s shares dipped by 4%.
This acquisition will amplify revenue growth and boost gross margins for Cisco in the fiscal year following the deal’s closure. Splunk, which counts industry giants such as Coca-Cola and Intel among its 15,000+ customers, experienced a surge in revenue growth last year but faced a slowdown in 2023 due to rising interest rates and persistent inflation.
