IBM has teamed up with WWF-Germany to develop an AI-driven solution aimed at safeguarding African forest elephants, a species facing severe threats from poaching and habitat loss. This new technology will use AI to accurately identify individual elephants from camera trap photos, enhancing conservation efforts and allowing for more precise tracking of these endangered animals.
The partnership will combine IBM’s technological expertise with WWF’s conservation knowledge to create an AI-powered tool that could revolutionise how elephants are monitored. By focusing on image recognition, the technology aims to identify elephants by their unique physical features, such as heads and tusks, much like human fingerprints.
Additionally, the collaboration will employ IBM Environmental Intelligence to monitor and analyse biomass and vegetation in elephant habitats. The data will be crucial in predicting elephant movements and assessing the ecosystem services provided by these animals, such as carbon sequestration. Such insights could also pave the way for sustainable finance investments by quantifying the carbon services offered by elephants.
IBM emphasised the broader potential of this initiative, highlighting its role in supporting nature restoration and contributing to global climate change efforts. By integrating advanced technology with conservation strategies, the partnership seeks to make a lasting positive impact on both the environment and sustainable development.
President Nicolás Maduro has imposed a 10-day block on access to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in Venezuela, accusing its owner, Elon Musk, of using the platform to promote hatred following the country’s disputed presidential election. Reports from Caracas indicated that by Thursday night, posts on X were no longer loading on several major telephone services, including the state-owned Movilnet.
Maduro, in a speech after a pro-government march, claimed that Musk violated the platform’s own rules and incited hatred. He also accused X of being used by his political opponents to create unrest in Venezuela. As part of his response, Maduro signed a resolution from the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) to remove X from circulation in the country for ten days. However, he did not elaborate on the process involved.
The tension between Maduro and Musk escalated after the disputed 28 July presidential election, where Venezuelan electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner. However, opposition candidate Edmundo González claimed victory, citing records from 80% of the electronic voting machines. Musk criticised Maduro on X, calling him a dictator and accusing him of electoral fraud. Since the election, Maduro has expressed a desire to regulate social media in Venezuela, alleging that platforms like X are being used to threaten his supporters and create anxiety across the country.
The Finnish tech magnate has teamed up with Swisscom to deploy a drones network across Switzerland aimed at enhancing emergency response and infrastructure inspections. The partnership will see the Finnish telecom company providing 300 unmanned aerial vehicles, operated by Swisscom through a drones-as-a-service (DaaS) network, allowing public safety agencies and other clients to use drones on demand without the need to purchase or operate them.
Swiss public safety organisations, including police and fire services, will be able to request drone flights from Swisscom Broadcast, using the technology to gather crucial data during emergencies. The network will also facilitate the remote inspection of infrastructure such as power lines, solar panels, and oil and gas facilities, reducing the need to send personnel into potentially hazardous situations, according to Thomas Eder, Nokia’s head of embedded wireless.
As drones increasingly find applications beyond military use, including in delivery services and agriculture, there remain concerns about privacy, noise, and safety. Nokia and Swisscom have pledged to work closely with aviation and spectrum regulators to ensure compliance with data protection laws, including the establishment of no-fly zones over sensitive areas like beaches and swimming pools.
Nokia’s venture into drone technology comes as the company continues to innovate, recently introducing immersive technology for phone calls and agreeing to sell its submarine networks to the French state for $374 million. The global industrial drone market is currently valued at between $32 billion and $35 billion, reflecting the growing importance of such technologies in various sectors.
A prolonged recovery from a global cyber outage has been attributed to Delta Air Lines by Microsoft, following over 6,000 cancelled flights. The issue began with a software update by CrowdStrike, which caused system problems for various Microsoft customers. While other airlines recovered quickly, Delta continued to face disruptions.
Delta has defended its IT investments, citing billions spent since 2016 on both capital and operating costs. Despite this, flight disruptions affected hundreds of thousands of travellers, costing the airline an estimated $500 million. An investigation by the US Transportation Department is now underway, and Delta has hired litigator David Boies to seek damages from CrowdStrike and Microsoft.
Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian criticised Microsoft and CrowdStrike for failing to provide exceptional service, calling Microsoft’s platform “fragile.” Microsoft responded, labelling Delta’s comments as false and damaging. The tech giant insisted it had offered assistance to Delta, which was declined.
CrowdStrike also denied responsibility for the disruptions, with its CEO personally offering onsite help to Delta without receiving a reply. Microsoft has vowed to defend itself vigorously if a lawsuit is filed, and tensions between the airline and tech companies remain high.
A US appeals court has temporarily blocked the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) attempt to reinstate net neutrality rules. The court’s decision comes after broadband providers launched a legal challenge against the regulations, which were originally adopted in 2015 and then rescinded under President Trump. Oral arguments are scheduled for late October or early November.
In April, the FCC voted along party lines to reassume regulatory oversight of broadband internet. This decision was aimed at reinstating open internet rules, a key priority for President Biden. The court ruled that the FCC had not met the high bar required for such significant regulations, suggesting the need for clear congressional authorisation.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel expressed disappointment over the setback but vowed to continue fighting for net neutrality. The rules aim to ensure internet service providers treat all data and users equally, preventing them from blocking or slowing down access to certain websites or engaging in paid prioritisation.
Net neutrality remains a contentious issue, with arguments about its necessity and impact on innovation and network investment. Despite the recent court ruling, the debate over the future of net neutrality and regulatory oversight of broadband internet continues.
The Isle of Man, a self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland, has launched a programme to upskill its residents on the use of AI. By tapping on the ‘enhanced productivity’ of the workers, the government intends to improve its GDP by 10%. Chief executive of Digital Isle of Man, Lyle Wraxell, explained how the program and a public roadshow accompanying it will help ensure that people ‘keep up with the rapidly evolving technology’.
The initiative, ‘Activate AI,’ will unfold in three stages: the first will focus on education, the second will enable the island to establish a global positioning, and the final stage will be acceleration. A new platform will launch by the end of August, providing 200 hours of complimentary training for businesses and individuals.
The programme’s applied AI service will help companies pair up with experienced firms to explore AI-driven solutions for their business challenges. Given that this facility will be provided free of cost, board member Jason Bissell highlighted how this approach will enable the creation of a partner ecosystem, allowing local businesses to experiment and understand the technology’s potential value.
On Thursday, Microsoft confirmed that users in New Zealand are experiencing difficulties accessing its services, including Exchange Online. Although the extent of the disruption remains unclear, Microsoft has taken steps to mitigate the issue by rerouting traffic to alternate infrastructure, which has led to some improvement in service availability.
The company is actively investigating to determine the underlying cause of the network problem. The incident follows closely on the heels of a significant tech outage caused by faulty code in CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity software, which affected numerous companies using the Microsoft Windows operating system less than two weeks ago.
As Microsoft works to resolve the current issues, users are advised to stay updated on the situation. The company’s efforts highlight the ongoing challenges of maintaining reliable service amidst increasing technological complexities and interdependencies.
Ericsson and Turkcell have embarked on a strategic partnership to enhance mobile backhaul capacity, which is essential for advancing 5G and upcoming 6G technologies. The collaboration centres around the successful trial of a W-Band solution, which significantly expands the available spectrum by incorporating frequencies beyond the conventional E-band. This enhancement doubles the high-performance backhaul spectrum, enabling transport capacities of up to 100 Gbps.
The deployment of the W-Band (92 – 114.5 GHz) marks a significant technological milestone in the realm of millimetre Wave (mmWave) bands. This addresses the increasing demand for high-speed data transmission and positions Turkcell to deliver superior services, optimise costs, and create new business growth opportunities.
Additionally, the W-Band solution contributes to improved energy efficiency and a reduced carbon footprint, aligning with broader sustainability goals. As part of their long-standing partnership, Ericsson will provide the necessary equipment, conduct test demonstrations, and evaluate the performance of this innovative solution. This collaboration underscores both companies’ commitment to pioneering technologies that meet evolving business and technical requirements, ultimately enhancing the customer experience in an increasingly data-driven world.
Alphabet’s Google has revealed two innovative AI systems, AlphaProof and AlphaGeometry 2, which demonstrate significant advancements in solving complex mathematical problems. These systems tackled abstract math more effectively than previous AI models, showcasing enhanced reasoning capabilities.
DeepMind, Google’s AI unit, reported that these models managed to solve four out of six questions at the 2024 International Math Olympiad. AlphaProof, which integrates the Gemini language model with the AlphaZero system, solved three problems, including the most challenging one, while AlphaGeometry 2 solved another.
These achievements mark the best performance by an AI system in the competition to date, with some problems solved in minutes and others taking up to three days. Meanwhile, Microsoft-backed OpenAI is developing a similar project known as ‘Strawberry,’ raising concerns among its staff about its potential impact on humanity.
The US cybersecurity company has successfully restored 97% of its Windows sensors following a global outage caused by a faulty software update. The issue, which began nearly a week ago, affected 8.5 million devices running Microsoft’s Windows operating system, leading to significant disruptions in services, including flights, healthcare, and banking.
The outage was triggered by a fault in CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform sensor, a security agent designed to protect devices from threats. The fault caused computers to crash and display the notorious blue screen of death. In response, CrowdStrike deployed a fix and mobilized all resources to support customers, enhancing recovery efforts with automatic recovery techniques.
The recovery comes amidst scrutiny over the cybersecurity firm’s quality control measures. Despite the challenges, CrowdStrike’s swift response has helped mitigate further impact and restore critical services globally.
