Page 2 - Internet Technologies

Pak faces internet disruption as sea-cables damaged at several points

Less than 10 per cent of internet traffic originates from the east, and Pakistani users have complained about difficulty accessing the internet, especially at night

Internet outage hits several countries in Africa as undersea cables fail

A dozen countries across Africa suffered a major internet outage on Thursday as multiple undersea telecommunication cables reported failures, network operators and internet watch groups said. The MTN Group, one of Africa's largest network providers, said the ongoing disruptions were a result of failures in multiple major undersea cables. Our operations are actively working to reroute traffic through alternative network paths, the South African company said in a statement. Network disruptions caused by cable damage have occurred in Africa in recent years. However, today's disruption points to something larger (and) this is amongst the most severe, said Isik Mater, director of research at NetBlocks, a group that documents internet disruptions around the world. NetBlocks said data transmission and measurement shows a major disruption to international transits, likely at or near the subsea network cable landing points. The cause of the failure was not immediately clear. There were fea

Govt's AI advisory only for large platforms, not for startups: MeitY

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the advisory was aimed at preventing untested AI platforms from deploying on the Indian internet

AI firms face growing list of lawsuits as new tools spark fresh questions

The lawsuit filed Thursday adds to a growing list of legal complaints against the ChatGPT maker in recent months

US shows concern over Sri Lanka's controversial internet regulation law

The United States expressed concerns over Sri Lanka's online regulation bill on Thursday, a day after it passed overwhelmingly in Parliament over protests by the media, opposition and rights activists. The Online Safety bill allows the government to set up a commission with a wide range of powers, including ordering people and internet service providers to remove online posts deemed prohibited statements. It can also legally pursue people who publish such posts. Julie Chung, the US ambassador in Sri Lanka, said the United States has concerns about the potential impact of the legislation and urged Sri Lanka to prioritise transparency and ensure any legislation does not stifle the voices of its people . In addition to jeopardizing democratic values, vague and overly restrictive legislation can hinder investment and the development of a digital economy, undermining the economic growth that Sri Lanka needs, Chung said in a statement posted on her X account. Critics say the law is an ..

Atsuya Technologies wins Genesis Innovator at National Startup Awards 2023

Chennai-based deep tech startup has been recognised for pioneering solutions in IoT and AI

Sachin Tendulkar reacts on his viral deepfake video endorsing mobile app

Sachin Tendulkar is not the first celebrity to have fallen victim to deepfake AI. In November, a deepfake video of actress Rashmika Mandana also surfaced online, raising concerns about privacy rights

Deepfake issue: Govt will keep an eye on platforms' approach, says MoS IT

Terming the menace of deepfakes and misinformation as "a very problematic issue" for the Indian democracy, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said the government will "keep an eye" on the remedial measures taken by the platforms on the advisories. The minister also promised that inaction on their part may prompt amendment to the IT Rules that will be more "prescriptive". In an interview with PTI, Chandrasekhar, who is Minister of State for IT and Electronics, counted the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) legislation, setting up of grievances appellate panels and tighter accountability enforced on digital platforms for user safety as being among the big achievements for 2023. Chandrasekhar, however, said that the Digital India Act (that will supersede the 22-year-old Information Technology Act) despite undergoing extensive pre-consultations "ran out of time" and termed it "an unfinished agenda". "...The Digital India Act which we put a lot of effort into...spent almost a

Govt's advisory to social media portals on IT rules over deepfake concerns

The government has issued an advisory to all platforms to comply with IT rules amid growing concerns around deepfakes and misinformation powered by AI, according to an official release. The advisory mandates that intermediaries (digital and social media platforms) communicate prohibited content specified under IT Rules clearly and precisely to users. "The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has issued an advisory to all intermediaries, ensuring compliance with the existing IT rules," it said. The directive specifically targets growing concerns around misinformation powered by AI-Deepfakes. This advisory is the culmination of discussions held by Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar with intermediaries. "The content not permitted under the IT Rules, in particular those listed under Rule 3(1)(b) must be clearly communicated to the users in clear and precise language including through its terms of service and user agreements and the same must be express

MCA planning new portal to streamline IBC cases, boost transparency

The IBBI would also be able to keep track of the happenings in the NCLT through this portal

Top porn sites must verify ages to protect kids under EU's new digital law

Three of the world's biggest porn websites face new requirements in the European Union that include verifying the ages of users, the 27-nation bloc said Wednesday, expanding the reach of its digital law designed to keep people safe on the internet. Pornhub, XVideos and Stripchat have now been classed as very large online platforms subject to more stringent controls under the Digital Services Act because they have more than 45 million users each, according to the European Commission, the EU's executive branch. The three companies did not respond immediately to requests for comment. They are the first porn sites to be targeted by the sweeping Digital Services Act, which imposes tough obligations to keep users safe from illegal content and dodgy products. Violations are punishable by fines of up to 6% of global revenue or even a ban on operating in the EU. Some 19 online platforms and search engines have already been identified for stricter scrutiny under the DSA, including TikTok, ...

Govt in process of shaping regulations on Artificial Intelligence: Official

The government has commenced the process of preparing regulations for Artificial Intelligence (AI) to foster development, protection, and innovation in this emerging technology in India, a top government official said on Tuesday. Additionally, the government is considering a second version of the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) that would focus on ancillary development for the semiconductor supply ecosystem. The government was working on the preparation of the regulations on AI and it was also evaluating global inputs, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) S. Krishnan said on the sidelines of an international conference organised by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), in Kolkata. He also indicated that discussions are underway regarding whether a separate act is needed or if regulations can be incorporated into existing acts. "The government is already engaged in ..

US, China agencies race to shield secrets from quantum computers: Report

Machines vastly more powerful than today's fastest supercomputers would be capable of cracking the codes that protect virtually all modern communication, a Canadian cyber security firm has warned

Gen AI can add up to $1.5 trillion to India's GDP over next 7 years: Report

Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) has the potential to add a cumulative USD 1.2-1.5 trillion to India's Gross Domestic Product over the next seven years, according to a report by EY India. The report, titled 'The AIdea of India: Generative AI's potential to accelerate India's digital transformation', provided insights into the industry's preparedness and challenges in embracing Gen AI. Generative AI can potentially add a cumulative USD 1.2-1.5 trillion to India's GDP by FY2029-30, as per the report. "The report forecasts that by fully capitalising Gen AI technology and its applications across sectors, India can potentially add USD 359-438 billion in FY2029-30 alone, reflecting a 5.9 per cent to 7.2 per cent increase over and above baseline GDP," it said. Nearly 69 per cent of the overall impact is expected to be derived from sectors such as business services (including IT, legal, consulting, outsourcing, rental of machinery and equipment, and others), financial services,

Google plans to phase out use of third-party cookies for users in 2024

The search giant is set to roll out the feature, called Tracking Protection, on Jan. 4 to 1% of Chrome users globally, that will restrict cross-site tracking by default

Panic, hype: 2023, the year we played with artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence went mainstream in 2023 it was a long time coming yet has a long way to go for the technology to match people's science fiction fantasies of human-like machines. Catalysing a year of AI fanfare was ChatGPT. The chatbot gave the world a glimpse of recent advances in computer science even if not everyone figured out quite how it works or what to do with it. I would call this an inflection moment, pioneering AI scientist Fei-Fei Li said. 2023 is, in history, hopefully going to be remembered for the profound changes of the technology as well as the public awakening. It also shows how messy this technology is. It was a year for people to figure out what this is, how to use it, what's the impact all the good, the bad and the ugly," she said. PANIC OVER AI The first AI panic of 2023 set in soon after New Year's Day when classrooms reopened and schools from Seattle to Paris started blocking ChatGPT. Teenagers were already asking the chatbot released in late 2022

Hackers stole about $1.7 billion this year from crypto projects: Report

Infrastructure attacks - such as private-key theft that gives hackers access to a crypto project's servers to steal funds or manipulate trades - contributed to nearly 60% of the total stolen this year

Indian internet has an over-the-top question to settle

Proposal to regulate services offered directly via the internet may hurt net neutrality

Thousands of fake Facebook accounts created to polarise US election: Meta

Someone in China created thousands of fake social media accounts designed to appear to be from Americans and used them to spread polarizing political content in an apparent effort to divide the US ahead of next year's elections, Meta said Thursday. The network of nearly 4,800 fake accounts was attempting to build an audience when it was identified and eliminated by the tech company, which owns Facebook and Instagram. The accounts sported fake photos, names and locations as a way to appear like everyday American Facebook users weighing in on political issues. Instead of spreading fake content as other networks have done, the accounts were used to reshare posts from X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that were created by politicians, news outlets and others. The interconnected accounts pulled content from both liberal and conservative sources, an indication that its goal was not to support one side or the other but to exaggerate partisan divisions and further inflame ...

OpenAI unlikely to offer board seat to Microsoft, other investors: Report

Microsoft, which has invested more than $10 billion in OpenAI, is one of the biggest backers of OpenAI that operates ChatGPT, its viral generative AI chatbot