Latest news with #AQ
Business Wire
10 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Ant Group Launches AI Healthcare App AQ Amid Push into Healthcare Sector
BUSINESS WIRE)--Ant Group today launched its AI healthcare app, AQ, to accelerate the company's entry into the healthcare sector. The app helps users manage their daily healthcare needs with over 100 AI-powered services, including doctor recommendations, medical report analysis, and personalized medical advice. It also connects users to digital services from over 5,000 hospitals and nearly 1 million doctors across China. By around 2035, over 400 million people, or more than 30% of China's population, will be aged 60 or older, according to projections from China's National Health Commission. This demographic shift is expected to significantly increase healthcare demand in the country. 'Ant Group hopes that through AQ, it can provide everyone with a trusted healthcare manager, advancing inclusive healthcare and bringing every Chinese citizen one step closer to a healthier life,' said Cyril Han, CEO of Ant Group. The AQ app is powered by Ant Group's Healthcare Large Model, which draws on over a decade of expertise in the healthcare sector. Since 2014, when Ant Group launched its first online hospital appointment-making service on the flagship Alipay digital platform, the company has been supporting the digital and intelligent transformation of China's healthcare industry. The Healthcare Large Model, equipped with advanced medical reasoning and multimodal interaction capabilities, has consistently ranked in first place in the HealthBench and MedBench evaluations. Furthermore, it leverages Ant Group's leading privacy and security technologies to ensure a safe and reliable experience. Through this model, Ant Group is empowering medical institutions and doctors to offer more efficient, accessible, and personalized services to users with AI-enabled solutions. Empowering Medical Institutions with Secure and Efficient AI Integration Healthcare Large Model Integration In March 2025, Ant Group collaborated with IT industry leaders to integrate its advanced healthcare large model into various types of All-in-One Large Model Machine for Healthcare. This solution allows hospitals to deploy AI models on-premises, ensuring efficient and secure use of AI to optimize daily operations and improve patient services. AI Assistant for Hospital Services Ant Group is also helping hospitals develop user-facing applications. Angel, an AI agent developed in collaboration with public medical institutions in China's Zhejiang Province, has served over 1,000 medical facilities, handling more than 50 million user interactions. AI Medical Insurance Assistant Additionally, Ant Group has supported local basic medical insurance institutions across China in developing Yibaoer, an AI agent designed to assist users with medical insurance-related inquiries. AI-Assisted Diagnosis and Patient Education: Extending Doctor Capabilities Beyond Time and Place Constraints AI Doctor Assistant In January 2025, Ant Group completed the acquisition of Haodf, a leading healthcare platform specializing in online doctor consultations. Together, the two sides launched the AI Doctor Assistant, which supports doctors with AI-assisted diagnosis, medical record management, and patient education. AI Doctor Agents Ant Group is also collaborating with nearly 200 prominent doctors in China to develop AI Doctor Agents that provide patients with credible, authoritative healthcare advice and medical guidance. This initiative not only empowers individuals to maintain better health but also supports those with limited access to medical resources, ensuring timely, expert care when it's needed most. Through these ongoing initiatives, Ant Group is contributing to the more efficient use of limited medical resources, with the aim of supporting greater medical inclusion. About Alipay As the world becomes increasingly digital, Alipay has evolved from a trusted e-wallet into an all-in-one digital platform for daily services, connecting more than one billion consumers to over 80 million merchants across China. Alipay offers users a secure, seamless mobile payment experience and integrates over 10,000 services across sectors like travel, healthcare, tourism, and entertainment. With digital tools like Alipay Tap!, mini-programs, lifestyle accounts, Alipay enables merchants, institutions, and independent software vendors (ISVs) to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, Alipay is developing a new AI-driven open platform by integrating AI agents to deliver smarter, more personalized services to its users as well as facilitating the digital transformation of the service sector. About Ant Group Ant Group is a global digital technology provider and the operator of Alipay, a leading internet services platform in China, connecting over one billion users to more than 10,000 types of consumer services from partners. Through innovative products and solutions powered by AI, blockchain and other technologies, Ant Group supports partners across industries to thrive through digital transformation in an ecosystem for inclusive and sustainable development. For more information, visit
CNBC
14 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
China's fintech giant Ant doubles down on health care with new AI app — and it wants it to go global
BEIJING — Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group is doubling down on health care with a new smartphone app, based on artificial intelligence technology that the company says could be rolled out overseas. It's the latest sign of how China-developed AI is quickly building consumer applications. Ant, operator of the popular Alipay mobile payments app, has focused much of its AI development efforts on health care based on large language models from DeepSeek, Alibaba and Ant. In a telling sign of global aspirations, the new health-care app launched on Thursday has a straightforward English name — AQ — which stands for "answer your question," said Zhang Junjie, general manager of health-care business at Alipay. Users can consult AI avatars of real-life medical specialists before getting priority access for a diagnostic appointment or hospital care if the situation is serious enough, he said. AQ can tap more than 5,000 hospitals and nearly 1 million doctors in China, according to Ant. While Ant's focus is on the mainland China market for now, the new app or its tech could be licensed out to a third party, Zhang said, without specifying a time frame. He said many foreigners in China have already used a pilot version of the app, and that Ant plans to release versions of the app in other languages. Chinese companies from startups to more established companies such as Tencent and Ping An Insurance have long sought to capitalize on the integration of internet and software with health care. In the last several months, U.S.-based tech giants such as Microsoft and have also announced progress on AI-powered health-care tools. In China, a large data pool and nationwide emphasis on digitalization have helped provide a foundation for AI-powered health-care functions, according to a report last month from the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. It pointed out that China's national health insurance system covers more than 95% of the country's 1.4 billion people, while about 70% of hospitals have digital record-keeping systems. Alipay is one of the two major mobile payments apps in mainland China. In addition to payments, the app can be used to pay the water bill, hail a taxi or order groceries from Alibaba's supermarket chain. The payments app has also branched into health care over the last decade, with features such as allowing users to digitally make an appointment at one of China's notoriously crowded public hospitals, instead of having to wait in line for a ticket. Those Alipay health-care services have already reached nearly 80 million users in China, Zhang said. The standalone AQ app incorporates those features, along with AI-powered functions such as doctor recommendations, medical report analysis and personalized medical advice. Alipay has expanded to users outside China, as has its mobile payments rival WeChat.
Hindustan Times
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Yemen's al-Qaida branch leader threatens Trump, Musk and others
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The leader of al-Qaida's Yemen branch has threatened both U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip in his first video message since taking over the group last year. The half-hour video message by Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki, which spread online early Saturday via supporters of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, also included calls for lone-wolf militants to assassinate leaders in Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf Arab states over the war, which has decimated Gaza. The video of al-Awlaki's speech showed images of Trump and Musk, as well as U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of State Pete Hegseth. It also included images of logos of Musk's businesses, including the electric carmaker Tesla. 'There are no red lines after what happened and is happening to our people in Gaza," al-Awlaki said. "Reciprocity is legitimate.' Though believed to be weakened in recent years due to infighting and suspected U.S. drone strikes killing its leaders, the group known by the acronym AQ had been considered the most dangerous branch of al-Qaida still operating after the 2011 killing by U.S. Navy SEALs of founder Osama bin Laden, who masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In 2022, a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan killed bin Laden's successor, Ayman al-Zawahri, who also helped plot 9/11. The Sept. 11 attacks then began decades of war by the U.S. in Afghanistan and Iraq, and fomented the rise of the Islamic State group. Al-Awlaki already has a $6 million U.S. bounty on his head, as Washington says al-Awlaki 'has publicly called for attacks against the United States and its allies.' He replaced AQ leader Khalid al-Batarfi, whose death was announced by the group in 2024. AQ seizing onto the Israel-Hamas war follows the efforts of Yemen's Houthi rebels to do the same. The Iranian-backed group has launched missile attacks on Israel and targeted commercial vessels moving through the Red Sea corridor, as well as American warships. The U.S. Navy has described their campaign against the Houthis as the most intense combat it has faced since World War II. The Trump administration also launched its own intense campaign of strikes on the Houthis, which only ended before the president's recent trip to the Middle East. The Houthis' international profile rose as the group remains mired in Yemen's long-stalemated war. Al-Awlaki may be betting on the same for his group, which U.N. experts have estimated has between 3,000 and 4,000 active fighters and passive members. The group raises money by robbing banks and money exchange shops, as well as smuggling weapons, counterfeiting currencies and ransom operations, according to the U.N. The Shiite Zaydi Houthis have previously denied working with AQ, a Sunni extremist group. However, AQ targeting of the Houthis has dropped in recent years, while the militants keep attacking Saudi-led coalition forces who have battled the Houthis. 'As the Houthis gain popularity as leaders of the 'Arab and Muslim world's resistance' against Israel, al-Awlaki seeks to challenge their dominance by presenting himself as equally concerned about the situation in Gaza,' said Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert of the Basha Report risk advisory firm. 'For a national security and foreign policy community increasingly disengaged from Yemen, this video is a clear reminder: Yemen still matters.'
CTV News
28-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Sexualized image isn't ‘intimate' if it's already been shared publicly, B.C. tribunal finds
A woman seeking compensation for the non-consensual sharing of intimate images has had her case dismissed by a B.C tribunal which found she had no 'reasonable expectation of privacy.' The woman, referred to as 'AQ' was seeking $5,000 in damages, which is the limit available through the Civil Resolution Tribunal. The respondent, referred to as 'BV,' did not deny sharing the image of AQ in a blog post. No details about the image in question are provided, but tribunal vice-chair Eric Regehr found it 'clearly' met some of the criteria of an intimate image, as outlined in the province's Intimate Images Protection Act. Namely, he said it showed 'AQ engaging in a sexual act, nude or nearly nude, or exposing her genitals, anal region, or breasts.' But the legislation's definition of an intimate image is two-fold, Regehr's decision noted. The second part of the test is whether someone 'had a reasonable expectation of privacy at the time the images were recorded, and also when they were shared.' The case was complicated by the fact that AQ had shared the image herself on a 'major social networking site,' according to Regehr. 'AQ said this post was inadvertent, but I did not accept that evidence. I found that the post was intentional,' the decision said. Finding AQ had published the image, the tribunal had to weigh whether there was a reasonable expectation of privacy in the case. AQ argued the harmful impact of the image's sharing ought to be considered and that 'she is the subject of often vicious online harassment from multiple people, including BV, who frequently use the image as part of offensive posts,' according to the decision. Regehr acknowledged that one of the purposes of the legislation is 'to promote individual autonomy over their intimate images with a view to reducing harm.' But he also found an image does not meet the legal threshold of being 'intimate' if there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. 'I find that a reasonable person understands that by posting something broadly on the internet, such as in a publicly viewable social media post, they have functionally lost all control over it. They have offered it for the entire world to see,' he wrote. 'This is an action inconsistent with reasonably expecting privacy in the image in the future. I find that by posting an image in a public online place, an individual forfeits any reasonable expectation of privacy over that image. It does not matter how graphic the image is, how much they later regret posting it, or how upsetting it is to see it resurface.' AQ's complaint was dismissed on those grounds. The tribunal also considered an allegation about a second explicit image, but found no evidence it was shared by BV. A counterclaim from BV, alleging AQ shared a nude photo of them on social media, was also dismissed, with the tribunal finding insufficient evidence that AQ was the one behind the anonymous social media account that shared it. The province introduced the IIPA in 2023, the Civil Resolution Tribunal the jurisdiction to address these types of claims to provide an alternative to the more difficult, lengthy and potentially costly options of trying to pursue redress through criminal or civil court.
Sky News
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Conservatives call for Labour's Lucy Powell to resign over grooming gang remarks
The Conservatives are calling for Lucy Powell to resign after the Labour MP's exchange with a commentator about grooming gangs. The comment was made by Ms Powell, the leader of the House of Commons, after Conservative political commentator Tim Montgomerie started to ask a question on BBC Radio 4's Any Questions. "I don't know if you saw the documentary on Channel 4 about rape gangs," he started, in relation to the recent programme Groomed: A National Scandal, which centred around five girls who were sexually abused by rape gangs. Ms Powell, who is MP for Manchester Central, responded: "Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Yeah, OK, let's get that dog whistle out." Sir Keir Starmer and the government have been under sustained pressure from political opponents over the handling of historical sex abuse cases in the UK. ConservativeHome founder Mr Montgomerie, who will be appearing on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, continued: "There is a real issue where… There were so many people in local government, in the authorities, who, for good reason, were worried about upsetting community tensions, that those girls went undefended." The conversation moved on, but politicians criticised Ms Powell's comment, with some calling for her to resign. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said in a statement: "This shocking outburst from a Labour cabinet minister belittles the thousands of girls and women who were raped by grooming gangs over decades. "We have consistently called for a national enquiry in parliament, which has been blocked by Labour ministers who don't seem to know or care about the disgusting crimes which have been perpetrated. "Anyone who has seen the shocking Channel 4 documentary will know that it is clearer than ever that this is not a 'dog whistle'. "To dismiss thousands of victims who were raped and the cover up that followed is sickening. She should resign." Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: "Labour's Lucy Powell thinks it's a 'dog whistle' to demand arrests and accountability for the rape gangs. What a disgusting betrayal of the victims. They are part of the cover-up." Ousted Reform MP Rupert Lowe, now an independent, shared a letter he wrote to Ms Powell demanding she apologise, calling her comments "deeply, deeply offensive". On X on Saturday night, Ms Powell said: "In the heat of a discussion on AQ, I would like to clarify that I regard issues of child exploitation and grooming with the utmost seriousness. I'm sorry if this was unclear. "I was challenging the political point scoring around it, not the issue itself. As a constituency MP I've dealt with horrendous cases. This Gvt is acting to get to the truth, and deliver justice." Sky News has contacted the office for the Leader of the House of Commons for comment. The long-running row over grooming cases has continued after Labour promised five local inquiries into grooming gangs in January. Tech billionaire Elon Musk had accused Sir Keir of being "complicit" in the failure of authorities to protect victims and prosecute abusers while the PM was director of public prosecutions from 2008-2013.
