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Morocco's central bank explores digital currency cross-border payments

Morocco's central bank explores digital currency cross-border payments

CNA6 days ago
RABAT :Morocco's central bank was exploring the use of its own digital currency for peer-to-peer and cross border payments, bank governor Abdellatif Jouahri said on Monday.
A central bank digital currency (CBDC) is controlled by the central bank, in contrast to cryptocurrencies that are usually decentralised.
Cryptocurrencies have been banned in Morocco since 2017, but the public continues to use them underground, circumventing restrictions.
The bank has been working with the IMF and the World Bank to assess the payment system impacts of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), Jouahri told a conference in Rabat.
The Moroccan central bank, together with its Egyptian peer and the World Bank, was also exploring the use of the CBDC for cross-border transfers, he said.
A draft law on crypto assets is currently under review by the finance ministry before entering the adoption process, Jouahri said last month.
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‘It's the most empathetic voice in my life': How AI is transforming the lives of neurodivergent people
‘It's the most empathetic voice in my life': How AI is transforming the lives of neurodivergent people

CNA

time2 days ago

  • CNA

‘It's the most empathetic voice in my life': How AI is transforming the lives of neurodivergent people

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AI-powered chatbots have emerged as an unlikely ally, helping people navigate social encounters with real-time guidance. Although this new technology is not without risks — in particular some worry about over-reliance — many neurodivergent users now see it as a lifeline. How does it work in practice? For D'hotman, ChatGPT acts as an editor, translator and confidant. Before using the technology, she says communicating in neurotypical spaces was difficult. She recalls how she once sent her boss a bulleted list of ways to improve the company, at their request. But what she took to be a straightforward response was received as overly blunt, and even rude. Now, she regularly runs things by ChatGPT, asking the chatbot to consider the tone and context of her conversations. Sometimes she'll instruct it to take on the role of a psychologist or therapist, asking for help to navigate scenarios as sensitive as a misunderstanding with her best friend. She once uploaded months of messages between them, prompting the chatbot to help her see what she might have otherwise missed. Unlike humans, D'hotman says, the chatbot is positive and non-judgmental. That's a feeling other neurodivergent people can relate to. Sarah Rickwood, a senior project manager in the sales training industry, based in Kent, England, has ADHD and autism. Rickwood says she has ideas that run away with her and often loses people in conversations. 'I don't do myself justice,' she says, noting that ChatGPT has 'allowed me to do a lot more with my brain.' With its help, she can put together emails and business cases more clearly. The use of AI-powered tools is surging. A January study conducted by Google and the polling firm Ipsos found that AI usage globally has jumped 48 per cent, with excitement about the technology's practical benefits now exceeding concerns over its potentially adverse effects. In February, OpenAI told Reuters that its weekly active users surpassed 400 million, of which at least 2 million are paying business users. But for neurodivergent users, these aren't just tools of convenience and some AI-powered chatbots are now being created with the neurodivergent community in mind. Michael Daniel, an engineer and entrepreneur based in Newcastle, Australia, told Reuters that it wasn't until his daughter was diagnosed with autism — and he received the same diagnosis himself — that he realised how much he had been masking his own neurodivergent traits. His desire to communicate more clearly with his neurotypical wife and loved ones inspired him to build Neurotranslator, an AI-powered personal assistant, which he credits with helping him fully understand and process interactions, as well as avoid misunderstandings. 'Wow … that's a unique shirt,' he recalls saying about his wife's outfit one day, without realising how his comment might be perceived. 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Rich Britons may end up having to pay for the NHS, IMF warns
Rich Britons may end up having to pay for the NHS, IMF warns

Business Times

time2 days ago

  • Business Times

Rich Britons may end up having to pay for the NHS, IMF warns

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IMF's board approves $625-million loan deal for Chad
IMF's board approves $625-million loan deal for Chad

Straits Times

time2 days ago

  • Straits Times

IMF's board approves $625-million loan deal for Chad

Find out what's new on ST website and app. A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo The International Monetary Fund's executive board approved Chad's $625-million lending programme for four years, including an immediate disbursement of $38.5 million, the IMF said in a statement on Friday. The program, finalized in May between Central African officials and IMF staff, aims to ensure Chad's fiscal sustainability, create room for development projects, expand targeted social spending to fight poverty, and enhance governance and the business environment to promote private sector growth, the IMF said. That will in turn help with implementing an ambitious national development blueprint that requires $30 billion in public and private investment in sectors such as roads, electricity, and the digital economy. The plan, due to be launched in Abu Dhabi in September, should lead to average annual economic growth of 8% and help keep the debt level at 32% of gross domestic product over the 2025-2030 period, the country's finance minister said in June. Chad, whose junta leader was sworn in after an election last year, has been under pressure from declining oil prices, development assistance cuts, and regional instability. It hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees from Sudan's civil war who live in dire shelter conditions due to funding shortages. REUTERS

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