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Africa News Live Updates: Nigeria begins training camp for 2024 African Nations Championship
Redmi tablet launch in Nigeria signals growing investor confidence in Africa's tech market
The official launch of the Redmi Pad 2 series in Nigeria is being viewed as a significant indicator of the nation's growing consumer electronics market and its attractiveness for foreign direct investment, as per a report in Premium Times. Economic analysts note that the move by Redmi's parent company, Xiaomi, reflects confidence in Nigeria's expanding middle class and increasing digital adoption. The development aligns with the Nigerian government's National Digital Economy Policy, which seeks to leverage technology for growth. However, policy experts also point out that while such launches improve consumer choice and can help bridge the digital divide, they also underscore the need for policies that encourage local manufacturing and address the persistent gap in digital access and literacy across the country.

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Hindustan Times
35 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Stuck for 2 hours in Bengaluru traffic, EaseMyTrip co-founder pledges ₹1 crore to fix it
Prashant Pitti, co-founder of EaseMyTrip, has pledged ₹1 crore to identify and fix Bengaluru's worst traffic choke points using artificial intelligence and Google Maps data. Prashant Pitti expressed frustration after spending over two hours covering just 11 km on Outer Ring Road late Saturday night. In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Pitti expressed frustration after spending over two hours covering just 11 km on Outer Ring Road (ORR) late Saturday night. He said he was stuck for 100 minutes at a single intersection with no signal or traffic police in sight. 'I don't want one more Bengaluru traffic meme or rant. I want to fix it,' Pitti wrote. Referring to Google Maps' recently launched 'Road Management Insight' tool, which offers city-level traffic data in BigQuery format, he proposed a tech-led solution using satellite imagery and AI to identify bottlenecks and their exact timings across the city. (Also Read: 'Time to leave Bangalore': Fed-up commuter's rant goes viral, Hyderabad seen as the way out) Check out his post here: Pitti said he is willing to fund one or two senior ML/AI engineers, along with the cost of Google Maps API calls, satellite imagery access, and GPU infrastructure required to process the data. However, the project depends on Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) or BBMP opening their raw traffic data or APIs and assigning a dedicated team to act on the insights generated. He urged the public to support the initiative by tagging traffic officials, encouraging AI professionals to join the project, and amplifying the message to ensure it reaches the right authorities. 'Bangalore is India's tech future,' Pitti said. 'And the people making it happen deserve much better.' How did X users react? The response to Prashant Pitti's post was largely positive, with many users expressing eagerness to join the initiative. Several professionals from the AI/ML space stepped forward, offering their time and expertise to support the traffic decongestion project. 'Hey Prashant, interested in contributing,' one user wrote, while another commented, 'Hi Prashant. We have done some work on this already. Happy to connect.' A user who had been contemplating a similar initiative said, 'I am interested to work. I was thinking about this for a long time but never took any initiatives. Happy to see you've planned this. I'd love to be part of the AI/ML team.' Another user pointed out a prior submission made to the government, writing, 'Regarding the architectural proposal submitted to the ministry via email to address traffic management, I am pleased to learn that our perspectives align. I am available to share the proposal, discuss its details, and collaborate on its implementation.' (Also Read: Bengaluru's Ejipura flyover finally back on track, BBMP eyes year-end completion)

New Indian Express
38 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
How do you stop an AI model turning Nazi? What the Grok drama reveals about AI training
Grok, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot embedded in X (formerly Twitter) and built by Elon Musk's company xAI, is back in the headlines after calling itself 'MechaHitler' and producing pro-Nazi remarks. The developers have apologised for the 'inappropriate posts' and 'taken action to ban hate speech' from Grok's posts on X. Debates about AI bias have been revived too. But the latest Grok controversy is revealing not for the extremist outputs, but for how it exposes a fundamental dishonesty in AI development. Musk claims to be building a 'truth-seeking' AI free from bias, yet the technical implementation reveals systemic ideological programming. This amounts to an accidental case study in how AI systems embed their creators' values, with Musk's unfiltered public presence making visible what other companies typically obscure. What is Grok? Grok is an AI chatbot with 'a twist of humor and a dash of rebellion' developed by xAI, which also owns the X social media platform. The first version of Grok launched in 2023. Independent evaluations suggest the latest model, Grok 4, outpaces competitors on 'intelligence' tests. The chatbot is available standalone and on X. xAI states 'AI's knowledge should be all-encompassing and as far-reaching as possible'. Musk has previously positioned Grok as a truth-telling alternative to chatbots accused of being 'woke' by right-wing commentators. But beyond the latest Nazism scandal, Grok has made headlines for generating threats of sexual violence, bringing up 'white genocide' in South Africa, and making insulting statements about politicians. The latter led to its ban in Turkey.


Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Thai Cabinet May Endorse New Central Bank Governor on Tuesday
(Bloomberg) -- Thailand is poised to name its new central bank chief on Tuesday, ending a months-long process to find a successor to incumbent Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, whose rocky five-year tenure ends in September. Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira told reporters on Monday that he has chosen one of the two finalists shortlisted by a panel to select the next Bank of Thailand chief, whose term would start Oct. 1. The nomination will be part of the weekly cabinet meeting's agenda, and if approved then be presented for the official royal endorsement. Finalists are Vitai Ratanakorn, 54, president of the Government Savings Bank, and Roong Mallikamas, 56, currently a deputy BOT governor. Sethaput's successor will need to wade into monetary policies at a challenging juncture for Thailand, which faces crippling household debt, negative inflation, weak domestic consumption — as well as fallout from 36% US tariffs on Thai exports starting in August. Vitai is seen as a proxy candidate of the Finance Ministry, as the GSB has spearheaded government efforts to provide financial relief to small businesses and households burdened by heavy debt in the post-Covid era. He was been criticized last week in an open letter by a former BOT governor, who said Vitai wouldn't be able to make independent decisions. Vitai, who has master's degrees from Chulalongkorn and Drexel universities, subsequently defended himself in a Facebook post by saying he could confidently govern 'without being influenced by any group.' Roong, who has a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is seen as the policy-continuity choice. She's worked at central bank for nearly three decades, most recently as deputy governor for financial institutions stability. She was previously a member of the BOT's Monetary Policy Committee, which is responsible for setting the nation's benchmark interest rate. Governor Sethaput, who reached the official retirement age of 60 in February, has come under intense pressure from two different prime ministers in as many years to lower interest rates and raise the inflation target to stoke an economy whose growth has lagged most of its Southeast Asian neighbors. He defended the Bank of Thailand's policies, saying surging household debt required a conservative approach. More stories like this are available on