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Twitter transfers India head Manish Maheshwari to US

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NEW DELHI: Twitter has transferred to the US its India head Manish Maheshwari, against whom an FIR was registered in Uttar Pradesh in connection with a probe related to a video of an alleged hate crime.
While the company did not specify any reason for the change, it said Maheshwari will move to the US as Senior Director (Revenue Strategy and Operations) and focus on new markets in the latest role.
Twitter Vice President Japan and Asia Pacific Yu Sasamoto shared the development in a tweet.
“Thank you to @manishm for your leadership of our Indian business over the past 2+ years. Congrats on your new US-based role in charge of revenue strategy and operations for new markets worldwide. Excited to see you lead this important growth opportunity for Twitter,” he said.
When contacted, Twitter confirmed the development and said Maheshwari is “moving into a new role based in San Francisco as Senior Director, Revenue Strategy and Operations focused on New Market Entry”.
The company did not disclose details around the succession plan after Maheshwari moves to the US.
Before joining Twitter, Maheshwari was the CEO of Network18 Digital. He has also worked with organisations including Flipkart, P&G, among others.
Notably, in May, Twitter had expressed concern about employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression. The company had been sent a notice by Delhi Police’s Special Cell in connection with the probe into a complaint about an alleged ‘COVID toolkit’. Two police teams had also descended on the microblogging site’s offices in Lado Sarai in Delhi and in Gurugram.
Twitter has been drawing severe criticism over the past many months for various actions it has taken on tweets and accounts of high-profile users as well as delay in compliance with the IT rules that came into effect in May this year.
The latest in this was the temporary suspension of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s account after he shared pictures of the family of a nine-year-old victim of alleged rape and murder in Delhi.
Twitter, on its part, had said it followed due process as Gandhi’s tweet on the family of the victim was against its rules and the law.
In June, an FIR was registered against Maheshwari and some others in connection with a probe related to a video of an alleged hate crime that went viral on social media.
In July, the Karnataka High Court had quashed the notice issued to Maheshwari by the UP police, seeking his personal appearance as part of the probe.
Maheshwari was also named in police complaints related to showing an incorrect map of India.
The US-based company – which has an estimated 1.75 crore users in India – had also courted controversy over the new social media rules, and the Indian government had confronted Twitter over deliberate defiance and failure to comply with the IT rules, despite repeated reminders.

On August 10, the Centre had told the Delhi High Court that Twitter was “prima facie” in compliance with the new IT rules by appointing a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), Resident Grievance Officer (RGO) and Nodal Contact Person on permanent basis.

Source: Press Trust of India

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After OLED, its Google TV; Panasonic expands its TV Portfolio in India

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NEW DELHI: Panasonic Life Solutions India – a diversified technology company, today announced the launch of its new range of Google TVs. This follows the successful launch of OLEDs recently. The company plans to introduce a total of 23 new models of television powered by the Google TV platform.

The latest range of Google TVs, featuring 4K HDR and Smart capabilities are designed to provide an immersive and unparalleled viewing experience to consumers. Panasonic’s new range of TVs are available in different display size options (including 32’, 43’, 55’, 65’, and 75’ inches) and ranges between Rs 19,990 to Rs 3,19,990. These will be available at Panasonic stores, dealer networks and key e-commerce platforms.

Commenting during the launch, Fumiyasu Fujimori, Managing Director, Panasonic Marketing India, Panasonic Life Solutions India, said, “As a leading consumer technology company, we are excited to introduce our new range of Google TVs to the Indian market. Our TVs are designed to deliver exceptional picture quality and immersive sound, providing customers with an unparalleled viewing experience. The addition of Google TV to our robust TV portfolio reinforces our commitment to providing the latest technology, and innovation to the customers.”

Fujimori san added, “With an intuitive interface, preference prompts, one can control their TV and search for content using voice commands with Google Assistant. The platform also allows users to customize their home screen with their favourite OTT apps and channels and make their own watchlist, enabling them to add shows and movies from their TV, mobile app or Google Web by simply clicking the watchlist icon. Moreover, the platform offers an easy-to-browse streaming experience across all apps, displaying everything the user stream on one screen. In addition, the TVs come with built-in Chromecast, allowing users to cast content from their phone or tablet directly to their TV.”

Panasonic’s Google TV series is designed to provide customers with the ultimate entertainment experience by enhancing the four key elements of television – Display, Sound, Connectivity, and Design.

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White House meets Microsoft, Google CEOs on AI dangers

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The White House is hosting CEOs of top artificial intelligence companies, including Alphabet Inc’s Google and Microsoft, on Thursday to discuss risks and safeguards as the technology catches the attention of governments and lawmakers globally. Generative artificial intelligence has become a buzzword this year, with apps such as ChatGPT capturing the public’s fancy, sparking a rush among companies to launch similar products they believe will change the nature of work.

Millions of users have begun testing such tools, which supporters say can make medical diagnoses, write screenplays, create legal briefs and debug software, leading to growing concern about how the technology could lead to privacy violations, skew employment decisions, and power scams and misinformation campaigns. President Joe Biden has also used ChatGPT, a White House official told Reuters. “He’s been extensively briefed on ChatGPT and (has) experimented with it,” said the official, who asked that they not be named.

Thursday’s two-hour meeting which began at 11:45 am ET (1545 GMT), will include Google’s Sundar Pichai, Microsoft Corp’s Satya Nadella, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and administration officials including Biden’s Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Director of the National Economic Council Lael Brainard and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “We aim to have a frank discussion about the risks we see in current and near-term AI development,” said a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Our North Star here is this idea that if we’re going to seize these benefits, we have to start by managing the risks.”

Ahead of the meeting, OpenAI’s Altman told reporters the White House wants to “get it right.” “It’s good to try to get ahead of this,” he said when asked if the White House was moving quickly enough on AI regulation. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge, but it’s one I’m sure we can handle.”

The administration also announced a $140 million investment from the National Science Foundation to launch seven new AI research institutes and said the White House’s Office of Management and Budget would release policy guidance on the use of AI by the federal government. Leading AI developers, including Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face, NVIDIA Corp, OpenAI, and Stability AI, will participate in a public evaluation of their AI systems.

Shortly after Biden announced his reelection bid, the Republican National Committee produced a video featuring a dystopian future during a second Biden term, which was built entirely with AI imagery. Such political ads are expected to become more common as AI technology proliferates.

United States regulators have fallen short of the tough approach European governments have taken on tech regulation and in crafting strong rules on deepfakes and misinformation. “We don’t see this as a race,” the senior official said, adding that the administration is working closely with the U.S.-EU Trade & Technology Council on the issue.

In February, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate bias in their AI use. The Biden administration has also released an AI Bill of Rights and a risk management framework. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division also said they would use their legal authorities to fight AI-related harm. Tech giants have vowed many times to combat propaganda around elections, fake news about the COVID-19 vaccines, pornography and child exploitation, and hateful messaging targeting ethnic groups.

But they have been unsuccessful, research and news events show. Just about one in five fake news articles in English on six major social media platforms were tagged as misleading or removed, a recent study by activist NGO Avaaz found.

Source: Reuters

 

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Airtel announces its largest ever 5G roll-out in 125 cities

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NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India’s telecommunications services provider, today announced the launch of its ultra-fast 5G services in 125 cities. Airtel 5G Plus service is now available to customers in over 265 cities in the country.

Airtel 5G Plus has three compelling advantages for customers. First, it runs on a technology that has the widest acceptance in the world with the most developed ecosystem. This ensures that all 5G smartphones in India seamlessly work on the Airtel network. Second, the company promises to deliver the best experience – between 20 to 30 times higher speeds than today coupled with brilliant voice experience and super-fast call connect. Finally, Airtel 5G Plus network will also be kinder to the environment with its special power reduction solution. Powered by the reliable Airtel network infrastructure, Airtel 5G Plus will provide superfast access to High-Definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos et all.

Commenting on the launch, Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel said, “5G has revolutionized the world of internet, ushering new era of connectivity and communications that will prove to be a game-changer for the country. At Airtel, we remain committed to delivering the highest quality of network and service to our customers as we roll-out 125 more cities today. Airtel was the first in the country to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today’s mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus. Our 5G rollout is on track to cover all towns and key rural areas by March 2024.”

Airtel 5G Plus service availability will continue to rapidly expand – including service in all towns and villages in the country soon – as the company is working towards offering nationwide coverage. Airtel is now offering its 5G services in every major city from the upper northern city of Jammu to the southern tip of Kanyakumari.

In the last one year, Airtel has demonstrated the power of 5G with a host of powerful use cases that will change the way customers lead their lives and do business. From India’s first live 5G network in Hyderabad to India’s first private 5G network at the BOSCH facility in Bengaluru to partnering with Mahindra & Mahindra to make its Chakan manufacturing facility, India’s first 5G enabled auto manufacturing unit, Airtel has been at the forefront of 5G innovation.

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