Latest news with #BradSmith
The Star
12 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Notre Dame in Paris to be mapped digitally by Microsoft
A woman snaps a photo on her smartphone as visitors queue outside Paris's newly restored Notre-Dame Cathedral last December. Photo: Reuters Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is to be digitally mapped by US tech giant Microsoft, with every detail of its Gothic sculptures captured. The project is expected to take at least a year and cost several million dollars, Microsoft President Brad Smith told magazine Le Point on Monday. The Parisian landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral reopened in December after a devastating 2019 fire and years of restoration. Photo: Reuters Following the example of previous digitalisation projects, such as St Peter's Basilica in Rome, the cathedral will be captured using high-precision technology to ensure it is digitally preserved for future generations. The Parisian landmark reopened its doors in December after a devastating fire in April 2019 and years of renovation work. Smith, who is in the French capital, also announced that around 1,500 historical stage set models from the Paris Opera are to be digitised in collaboration with the French Ministry of Culture. - dpa
Time of India
15 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Microsoft looks to boost AI performance in European languages
US tech behemoth Microsoft is investing millions of dollars to funnel more European-language data into AI development, company president Brad Smith told AFP Monday. With today's leading AI models mostly trained on material in English, "the survival of these languages and the health of these cultures is quite literally at stake" without a course correction, Smith said in an interview. AI models are "less capable when it is in a language that has insufficient data," he added -- which could push more users to switch to English even when it is not their native language. Microsoft will from September set up research units in the eastern French city Strasbourg to "help expand the availability of multilingual data for AI development" in at least 10 of the European Union's 24 languages, including Estonian and Greek. The work will include digitising books and recording hundreds of hours of audio. "This isn't about creating data for Microsoft to own. It is about creating data for the public to be able to use," Smith said, adding that the information would be shared on an open-source basis. The US-based company has in recent months striven to position itself as especially compatible with a gathering political push for European technological sovereignty. Leaders in the bloc have grown increasingly nervous at their dependency on US tech firms and infrastructure since Donald Trump's reelection to the White House. In June, Microsoft said it was stepping up cooperation with European governments on cybersecurity and announced new " data sovereignty " measures for its data centers on the continent. Smith said that Monday's announcement was just the latest evidence of the company's commitment to Europe. Most leading AI firms are American or Chinese, although Europe has some standouts like France's Mistral or Franco-American platform Hugging Face. Away from Microsoft, some European initiatives such as TildeLM are pushing to develop local-language AI models. The Windows and Office developer also said Monday that it was working on a digital recreation of Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral that it plans to gift to the French state, as well as digitising items from the country's BNF national library and Decorative Arts Museum.
Zawya
18 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Explaining the ‘Intelligence Grid': G42's vision for AI as a global, inclusive super-utility
G42's Supercharged event brought together more than 2,400 global leaders in Abu Dhabi, including Sam Altman. But one phrase dominated the day. What is the Intelligence Grid, and why is everyone talking about it? Abu Dhabi, UAE – Earlier this month, G42, the leading Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and advanced technology group, concluded its flagship event, Supercharged. With record-breaking scale and ambition, the summit brought together over 2,400+ employees, partners, and global leaders for a day of boundary-pushing dialogue and collaboration, including Microsoft President Brad Smith, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and senior UAE leaders. One phrase echoed throughout the day, on stage, in sessions, and across conversations, the 'Intelligence Grid.' But what is it? WHAT IS THE INTELLIGENCE GRID? Like electricity, the Intelligence Grid is G42's vision of AI as a real-world utility, an always-on, intelligent infrastructure woven into the fabric of everyday life, according to a G42 spokesperson. Rather than being a singular product or platform, it represents a connected system of technologies designed to deliver knowledge, capabilities, and support across every sector, on demand. It is built to be accessible, sovereign, and scalable, with the goal of enabling governments, industries, and communities to use AI to enhance decision-making, optimize systems, and power sustainable growth. In simpler terms, the Intelligence Grid is G42's vision of an invisible layer of intelligence. Not limited to a screen or a prompt, this layer will seamlessly be woven into the world around us. It merges the physical and digital world, delivering AI-powered knowledge and support in real time. This could mean hospitals that anticipate patient needs, traffic systems that adapt on the fly, emergency services that respond faster using satellite data, or government services that feel effortless. WHAT'S THE IMPACT OF THE GRID? Economically, this shift is poised to be transformative. AI is projected to contribute up to 14% of the UAE's GDP by 2030, equivalent to approximately $100 billion. This growth stems from AI's ability to enhance productivity, streamline operations, and foster innovation across sectors. Rather than replacing jobs, the Grid aims to augment human capabilities, enabling workers to focus on more strategic and creative tasks, thereby driving inclusive economic growth and positioning the UAE as a global leader in AI integration, the spokesperson explained. Speaking about his vision, Peng Xiao, Group Chief Executive Officer at G42, added, 'Electricity was invented more than 140 years ago, yet today, millions of people across the Global South still live without reliable access to it. As we now build the infrastructure through projects like Stargate UAE and the 5GW UAE-U.S. AI Campus to distribute intelligence, we cannot afford to repeat that mistake. The Intelligence Grid must be designed from the outset to be inclusive, equitable, and universally accessible, so that the benefits of AI reach every corner of the world, not just the privileged few.' HOW IT WORKS: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE INTELLIGENCE GRID At the heart of the Intelligence Grid is a portfolio of G42 companies, each delivering critical building blocks, the spokesperson said. Khazna Data Centers provides the high-performance infrastructure required to house and scale AI workloads. Core42 enables sovereign cloud and compute capabilities that ensure compliance and data protection across jurisdictions. Inception develops advanced AI models that serve as the thinking layer of the Grid, from large language models to specialized AI applications. CPX delivers an integrated security architecture to ensure operational continuity and growth. Presight transforms raw data into intelligence using advanced analytics and generative AI tools tailored to specific industries. Space42 adds a global layer of visibility and control through satellite communications and geospatial insights. Analog deploys sensor-driven technologies and edge computing infrastructure to connect physical and digital environments. AstraTech brings disruptive innovation to the everyday consumer. Together, these companies, supported by global partnerships with Microsoft, OpenAI, NVIDIA, Cerebras, and others, create the operational fabric of the Intelligence Grid. Their work is reinforced by G42's investments in research and responsible AI development, including initiatives with MBZUAI and new Responsible AI Centers launched in collaboration with Microsoft. DESIGNED FOR SOVEREIGNTY, BUILT FOR SCALE The Intelligence Grid reflects G42's commitment to data sovereignty and ethical governance. As AI increasingly intersects with national policy, economic competitiveness, and global collaboration, the need for trusted, compliant, and sovereign infrastructure has never been greater. By combining technological capability with strategic foresight, G42 is working to ensure that the benefits of AI are widely accessible, responsibly deployed, and embedded in the systems that shape our world. At G42, the Intelligence Grid is not a distant vision; it is already powering real-world transformation across healthcare, energy, government, and beyond. 'The Intelligence Grid is already making a tangible difference in people's lives. From sequencing over 800,000 genome samples to advance precision healthcare, to reducing emissions through smart mobility, to deploying AI for disaster response across the region, we are seeing the real-world impact of this infrastructure every day. It's streamlining financial oversight, accelerating energy innovation, and breaking down language barriers for billions. This is what it means to operationalize intelligence at scale, and why we believe its benefits must be as far-reaching and inclusive as possible,' Peng Xiao concluded. About G42 G42 is a technology holding group and a global leader in creating visionary artificial intelligence for a better tomorrow. Born in Abu Dhabi and operating worldwide, G42 champions AI as a powerful force for good across industries. From molecular biology to space exploration and everything in between, G42 realizes exponential possibilities today. Media contact TrailRunner International; G42@
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Notre Dame in Paris to be mapped digitally by Microsoft
DPA Paris Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is to be digitally mapped by US tech giant Microsoft, with every detail of its Gothic sculptures captured. The project is expected to take at least a year and cost several million dollars, Microsoft President Brad Smith told magazine Le Point on Monday. Following the example of previous digitalization projects, such as St Peter's Basilica in Rome, the cathedral will be captured using high-precision technology to ensure it is digitally preserved for future generations. The Parisian landmark reopened its doors in December after a devastating fire in April 2019 and years of renovation work. Smith, who is in the French capital, also announced that around 1,500 historical stage set models from the Paris Opera are to be digitized in collaboration with the French Ministry of Culture.
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Microsoft builds digital twin of Notre-Dame
Microsoft is teaming up with the French government to create a digital replica of Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral, France's most visited monument, the US tech company's president, Brad Smith, said on Monday. As per Reuters, the 862-year-old Gothic masterpiece was reopened last December after a five-year restoration following a devastating fire in 2019 that destroyed its spire and roof. A digital replica will serve as a record of the building's architectural details, Microsoft said. It will also provide a virtual experience for visitors and those unable to visit. The cathedral became a symbol of Paris and France after Victor Hugo used it as a setting for his 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Quasimodo, the main character, has been portrayed in Hollywood films, an animated Disney adaptation and in musicals. Last year, Microsoft worked with Iconem, a French company that specialises in digitalisation of heritage sites, on a digital replica of St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. "One of the things we learned from the work at St Peter's is how a digital twin can help support the ongoing maintenance of a building. Because you capture a digital record of every centimetre and what is there and what it's supposed to look like," Smith told Reuters. "The ability to create a digital twin right now I think will provide an enormously valuable digital record that I believe people are going to be using 100 years from now," he said. Since 2019, Microsoft has digitally preserved heritage sites and events including Ancient Olympia in Greece, Mont Saint-Michel in France and the 80th Anniversary of the Allied Beach Landings in Normandy. The Notre-Dame project marks its latest step in blending technology with cultural memory.
