Technology news this week:
Industry Leaders to Discuss Innovation in Banking at DigiBAP2023:
The rapidly evolving technology landscape is having a profound effect on the banking industry as conventional banks are under pressure to compete against digital banks and fintech. The 4th Digital Banking and Payments Summit and Expo – DigiBAP2023 – will bring together industry leaders including Presidents and CEO, Chief Technology and Digital Officers, representatives from the State Bank of Pakistan, and international and Pakistani experts from banking, digital payments, fintech, and allied service providers to discuss issues related to the present and future of the industry.
Wikipedia Unblocked in Pakistan After 3 Days:
Wikipedia services have been restored in Pakistan on the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with the website now once again accessible in Pakistan. Earlier in the day, based on the recommendation of a ministerial committee, the premier had directed to immediately restore Wikipedia in Pakistan. Wikipedia is a free, crowdsourced, editable online encyclopedia often used as a starting point by millions across the world for basic information.
PTCL Group’s Largest E-Sports Gaming Competition ‘GameKey Arena’ Semifinals are Live Now:
GameKey Arena – the largest E-Sports gaming tournament under the PTCL Group umbrella – has entered the thrilling semifinal stage where PUBG MOBILE squads will be battling it out to secure their places in the Grand Finale of the inaugural edition. The first semifinal will be played today where 20 squads from Group A will demonstrate their unrivaled flair for tactical planning, combat strategy, lightning reflexes, emotional intelligence, and truest camaraderie.
Light and Premium: Infinix INBook X2 Series Now Available Across Pakistan:
Infinix, one of Pakistan’s top-selling smartphone brands, has introduced yet another series of lightweight laptops i.e. INBook X2 series, starting at Rs. 135,999. Weighing only 1.28 kgs, the two variants – INBook X2 i5 and INBook X2 i7 – along with Infinix ZERO Book, carry a full metal body finished to perfection. Available in outlets nationwide, Infinix INBook X2 series is easy to carry around and also available in most on-trend color options including grey, blue, and silver. Infinix INBook X2 series is one of the lightest and sleekest laptops available in the market. It is yet easy to carry around due to its lightweight and portable size, and the full metal finish also serves as a style statement.
‘Mobile Tower Companies Play a Crucial Role in the Digitization of Pakistan’:
ProPakistani sat down with Talat Qamar, edotco Towers Director Operations, to discuss how the company is working to connect the unconnected in Pakistan and the TowerCo industry in general while also touching upon edotco’s 5G readiness. Our meeting with Mr. Talat Qamar provided us with a valuable chance to gain insights into the digital landscape in Pakistan and edotco’s contributions towards it. Let’s hear from him about the company’s latest developments. Since edotco came into being in 2012, the company has positioned itself as a market leader with over 54,000 telecommunications towers across Asia. Today, we are the 6th largest Tower Company (TowerCo) in the world and one of the largest operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure which connects over 535 million mobile users across nine Asian countries.
Benchmatrix and Covalent Launch AML As A Service:
Covalent today announced that it has entered into a collaborative arrangement with Benchmatrix to offer AML As A Service to Digital Banks and EMI with the first customer already operationalized. Benchmatrix as the industry leader in the AML platform space was a natural choice for Covalent to collaborate on offering that same platform on a SAAS model. “We were looking for a partner to enable a SAAS offering for one of our strategic customers and we luckily got connected to Covalent’s agile and ever-ready operations team, we look forward to many more successful projects together,” said Taimur Kaleem, CEO, BenchMatrix, Pakistan. “Benchmatrix has established its footprint not only in Pakistan but globally as well. With this joint venture, we look forward to assisting Digital Banks, EMIs, FIs, NBFIs and DFIs in their ongoing efforts towards AML/CFT Compliance through our seamless cloud-ready AML suite,” said Irfan Fazli, Founder and Group CEO, BenchMatrix.
FC Barcelona’s Official Spotify Playlists Will Help You Get Hyped for Matchday:
At the end of 2022, Spotify celebrated an amazing year with FC Barcelona by revealing the artists and tracks that the players streamed the most. Now, the latest exciting moment in the partnership between Spotify and FC Barcelona is here: Spotify is bringing Barça onto the platform for the first time, creating a direct link between players, artists, and fans. Starting today, listeners can stream matchday playlists from both the men’s and women’s teams that showcase the music selections that motivate and inspire the players to perform on game day.
PayPal to Fire Over 2,000 Employees Soon:
PayPal announced on Tuesday that it plans to reduce its workforce by 7%, approximately 2,000 full-time employees, due to the current challenging economic conditions. The cuts will be made over a period of weeks, with some departments being impacted more than others. No additional details were provided. PayPal is the parent company of Venmo, Xoom, Honey, and other brands.
PTCL Yet to File Pre-Merger Application with CCP for Acquiring Telenor Pakistan:
The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has not received any application/intimation of pre-merger clearance from the PTCL Group for acquiring Telenor Pakistan’s operations and management. Top CCP officials told ProPakistani that the Competition Act 2010 (the Act) and the Competition (Merger Control) Regulations lay down that pre-merger clearances have to be filed as soon as an agreement in principle for the merger takes place, or a non-binding letter of intent to proceed with the merger is signed.
Spotify Becomes The First Streaming Service to Cross 200 Million Users:
Spotify released its Q4 2022 financial report, with a mix of positive and negative news. On the positive side, the company exceeded expectations and reached 205 million paying subscribers, making it the first streaming service to surpass 200 million. Its monthly active users (MAU) increased to 489 million, which includes both paying subscribers and those using the ad-supported tier. In comparison, Spotify had 195 million premium tier subscribers and 456 million MAU at the end of Q3 2021.
Samsung’s Profits Declined Significantly in Q4 2022:
Samsung released its Q4 2022 and full-year financial results, reporting a record-breaking annual revenue of $244 billion, an 8% increase from 2021. However, the operating profit was $3.5 billion, a 15% decrease from the previous year. During Q4, weak demand due to the global economic slowdown resulted in declining sales across nearly all divisions of the Korean company.
Can Enterprises Survive without Tech Adoption?:
In today’s fast-paced business world, companies of all sizes face intense competition and pressure to adapt to new technologies in order to stay relevant and grow. This is especially true in the field of enterprise technology, where new improvements are always being made and quickly become the new standard.
Ignite and VU Distribute Stipends to DigiSkills Freelancers of Southern Balochistan:
A ceremony was recently conducted at the Faculty of Law, University of Turbat for the distribution of stipends among the successful trainees of the Ignite-funded DigitalSkills Training & Support Program for Southern Balochistan under the patronage of the Ministry of IT & Telecommunications. The chief guest for the ceremony was Sadiq Iftikhar, Minister of State for IT & Telecom. Other dignitaries included Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch, Ex-Chief Minister of Balochistan, and Lala Rasheed Dashti, Advisor to the Chief Minister Baluchistan, who graced the ceremony as guests of honor.
Xiaomi’s Electric Car Gets Leaked in Latest Photos:
China may soon see Xiaomi’s first electric vehicle (EV), the MS11. The tech giant has shown multiple images of its EV, which has seemingly made significant progress. A Weibo user posted a few clear images that show a sporty sedan called MS11. The EV is a four-door sedan that has a smooth body devoid of any sharp edges. Xiaomi MS11 images show the front and rear bumpers that match those on the earlier test unit photos. Although, the tech company has responded to the viral images stating they are from a discarded prototype.
PTA Warns Against Illegal Internet Providers:
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has taken serious note of providing illegal internet services by unlicensed third parties, which is harming the business of licensees. Official documents available with ProPakistani revealed that these unlicensed parties try to produce various agreements with licensees to cover up the illegal business. In order to eradicate this deep-rooted mushroom growth of the illegal provision of internet services, PTA has chalked out guidelines for FLL and CVAS licensees for providing internet services through agreements.
OnePlus 11R Official Teaser Confirms More Details:
OnePlus 11R’s official teaser was released today, showcasing some details with the full reveal set for Feb 7 along with other products. It is going to be a rebranded OnePlus Ace 2, which is launching in China very soon. The 11R has a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, similar to the 10T, and a step down from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the regular OnePlus 11. It has a vapor chamber cooling system similar to the 10T, which is 64% larger than the 10 Pro.
Stanford University Creates ChatGPT Killer:
The AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT, has gained widespread popularity among internet users who seek answers to diverse queries and tasks within seconds. However, this trend has caused serious concerns among educators who are worried about students submitting papers written by ChatGPT. In response, researchers at Stanford University have created a tool called DetectGPT to help teachers identify content generated by ChatGPT and other similar large language models (LLMs).
Google launches ChatGPT rival called Bard:
Google is launching an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered chatbot called Bard to rival ChatGPT. Bard will be used by a group of testers before being rolled out to the public in the coming weeks, the firm said. Bard is built on Google’s existing large language model Lamda, which one engineer described as being so human-like in its responses that he believed it was sentient. The tech giant also announced new AI tools for its current search engine. AI chatbots are designed to answer questions and find information. ChatGPT is the best-known example. They use what’s on the internet as an enormous database of knowledge although there are concerns that this can also include offensive material and disinformation.
A wave of tool theft spurs hi-tech security systems:
It was his van alarm that woke him up. At 2:30 in the morning. As carpenter Derek (not his real name), who lives in the Midlands, raced downstairs and out to his front garden, he heard the thieves making their getaway into the night. Derek has had his tools stolen more than a dozen times in his career, he says. Once, criminals struck in broad daylight while he was unloading his van at a job. “They actually told me that if I was to call the police on them, they would come back and kill my family,” he recalls.
Digital pound likely this decade, Treasury says:
A state-backed digital pound is likely to be launched later this decade, according to the Treasury and the Bank of England. Both institutions want to ensure the public has access to safe money that is easy to use in the digital age. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the central-bank digital currency (CBDC) could be a new “trusted and accessible” way to pay. But it will not be built until at least 2025. “We want to investigate what is possible first, whilst always making sure we protect financial stability,” Mr Hunt said. The Treasury and the Bank of England will formally start a consultation for the digital currency, on Tuesday.
Facebook’s parent firm Meta can be sued by ex-moderator, judge rules:
A worker who alleges reviewing graphic social media posts harmed his mental health can sue Facebook owner Meta, a Kenyan labour court says. Daniel Motaung claims he was paid about $2.20 (£1.80) per hour to review posts including beheadings and child abuse. He is also suing his then employer Sama, which Meta had contracted to review posts. Meta argued that the court had no jurisdiction because the company is not based in Kenya, Reuters reported. But the court disagreed and found that Meta and Sama were “proper parties” to the case.
‘Google killer’ ChatGPT sparks AI chatbot race:
It has been two months since the public launch of AI chatbot ChatGPT by the firm OpenAI – and it did not take long for people to start noticing what a game-changer this really is. Whether you have asked it to write you a song in the style of your favourite musician, sneaked in a homework question (500 words on the end of World War Two? no problem), tasked it to write copy for your company website, write a speech or even churn out specific program code, ChatGPT has proved that it can deliver – and in a convincing way. There has been acres of reporting about its potential threat to a wide range of jobs, and indeed to our entire model of education if students can get their coursework done and university applications written instantly via ChatGPT or its rivals.
Tech lay-offs: Dell to cut workforce:
Dell is to lay off about 6,650 workers because of the decline in demand for personal computers. The job cuts are expected to affect about 5% of its global workforce. The company faced tough market conditions with an uncertain future and its previous cost-cutting measures were no longer enough, co-chief operating officer Jeff Clarke wrote in a memo. Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, announced similar lay-offs in 2020, after the pandemic hit. The latest department reorganisations and job cuts were an opportunity to drive efficiency, a company representative said.
‘Investing in the artist makes me feel more involved in the song’:
You might not have heard of an electronic music artist called Alan Walker, but he has a significant fanbase. On YouTube the video of one of his songs, Faded, has been played 3.5 billon times, and he has 42.9 million subscribers on the platform. It is a similar picture on Spotify, where the Anglo-Norwegian music producer and DJ has numerous songs that have been listened to hundreds of millions of times.
Gwynedd: Robot sailboat invention to get sea weather data:
A self-sailing robot boat that can predict the weather has been built by a pair of 23-year-old inventors. Anahita Laverack and her business partner Ciaran Dowds, who live together on a boat in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, raised £100,000 to fund the project. They hope it will change the game in our understanding of the relationship between the sea and weather. The money raised means they can build a total of 10 craft to capture data from the waves. Ms Laverack said: “The ocean has a huge impact on our weather systems, yet we don’t have enough information about what’s happening.”
Luxury rehab centres now offer therapy for ‘crypto addiction’:
There was a time when Don was pouring up to $200,000 (£164,700) every week into cryptocurrency trades. He slept fitfully and would be up in the wee hours to monitor prices and his portfolio balance. “I’d break into a sweat before going on long-haul flights, as I would not be able to access the internet,” he said. Don works in a company that processes central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions. He did not want to use his real name and wishes to remain anonymous because he fears his comments could spark a backlash from investors. He says he went on a “downward spiral” in the middle of 2022 – and that’s when he decided to seek help. The solution came in the form of a four-week stay at The Balance, a sprawling rehabilitation centre with dozens of staff on the Spanish island of Majorca.
Elon Musk found not guilty of fraud over Tesla tweet:
Tesla’s Elon Musk has been cleared of wrongdoing for a tweet in which he said he had “funding secured” to take the electric carmaker back into private ownership. Shareholders argued he misled them with his posts in August 2018, and they had lost billions of dollars because of them. The proposed $72bn (£60bn) buyout never materialised. If found liable, Musk could have been ordered to pay out billions in damages. It took the nine jurors less than two hours to reach their verdict on the class-action lawsuit on Friday afternoon.