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GE partners Lagos govt, others to host technology conference for Nigerian start-ups

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IN line with its commitment to skills development and the empowerment of entrepreneurs in Nigeria, GE, the world’s premier digital industrial company, this week partnered with the Lagos State Government and others to host a technology conference for Nigerian startups in the US.

The conference, which was a result of collaborative efforts between the Lagos State Government, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Microsoft and GE, was held in Washington DC from Monday, April 23 to Thursday, April 26 with over 15 leading Nigerian tech entrepreneurs and startups in attendance.

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwumi Ambode, delivered the keynote speech entitled ‘The Role of Technopreneurs in Lagos: An Emerging Smart City’ at the conference which further affirmed GE’s commitment to skills training programs for young Nigerian entrepreneurs.

A key highlight of the conference was a training workshop facilitated by GE Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of General Electric, which shared valuable insights on how to position a startup to win with investors. There was also a roundtable discussion with key stakeholders around the theme: ‘Harnessing technology to catalyze Africa’s future.’

Jay Ireland, CEO & President, GE Africa said that the conference was a continuation of the ongoing partnership between GE and the Lagos State government aimed at developing the skills of young entrepreneurs in the state. “GE remains committed to supporting skills development in Nigeria, and across Africa. We see ourselves as partners in building a sustainable future for Africa, and we believe that fora such as create a platform for necessary conversations and learning.  Lagos is a major economic hub in Africa populated by thousands of young people who when equipped with the right skills, can create positive change.” Ireland said.

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GE’s most visible commitment to skills development in Nigeria is the Lagos Garage, a hub launched in 2016, for advanced manufacturing-based innovation, strategy development, idea generation and collaboration. Co-located with the GE Lagos offices in Victoria Island, the Lagos Garage offers year-round series of skills training programs focused on building the next generation of Nigerian entrepreneurs. Till date, 229 entrepreneurs have graduated the program having been trained to use the latest in advanced manufacturing technologies; 3D printers, CNC mills, and laser cutters as well as in business development.

Last year, the company partnered with Lagos State Ministry of Employment and Wealth Creation to train 20 final year students and 5 instructors from the five Government Technical Colleges in Lagos state in an intensive one-week training on advanced manufacturing at a pop up Garage set up at the Lagos State Vocational and Educational Board (LASTVEB) HQ

GE also recently collaborated with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Lagos State for the Start & Improve Your Business (SIYB) training programme to equip Youth Corps members with valuable entrepreneurial skills

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Four Malicious Apps Android Users in Nigeria Must Beware Of – NITDA

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has issued a warning regarding several malicious apps targeting Android users in Nigeria.

According to NITDA, these apps are designed with the intent to infiltrate devices, steal sensitive information, and compromise user privacy.

“As cybercriminals become more sophisticated, it is crucial for individuals to remain vigilant and informed about potential threats,” stated a spokesperson for NITDA.

Malicious apps often masquerade as legitimate software, offering attractive features or services to deceive unsuspecting users into downloading them.

You can now log into same WhatsApp account on multiple phones

Once installed, these apps can execute harmful activities such as data theft, unauthorized access to personal information, and financial fraud.

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NITDA’s latest statement highlighted four particularly dangerous apps that Android users in Nigeria should avoid:

1. Crazy Game
2. Sexy Videos
3. TikToks
4. Weapons

NITDA emphasised the importance of staying aware of these threats and adopting safe mobile practices to safeguard devices and personal data from cyberattacks.

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Twitter Website Replaces Bird Logo With X

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Twitter launched its new logo on Monday, replacing the blue bird with a white X on a black background as the Elon Musk-owned company moves toward rebranding as X.

The social media network’s website showed the company’s new logo, but its URL was still showing as twitter.com and the blue “Tweet” button was visible, suggesting the rebrand was not yet finalized.

Musk and the company’s new chief executive Linda Yaccarino announced the rebranding Sunday, saying the company would be renamed X and move later into payments, banking, and commerce.

Founded in 2006, Twitter takes its name from the sound of birds chattering, and it has used avian branding since its early days, when the company bought a stock symbol of a light blue bird for $15, according to the design website Creative Bloq.

The social media network’s website showed the company’s new logo, but its URL was still showing as twitter.com and the blue “Tweet” button was visible, suggesting the rebrand was not yet finalized.

Musk and the company’s new chief executive Linda Yaccarino announced the rebranding Sunday, saying the company would be renamed X and move later into payments, banking, and commerce.

Founded in 2006, Twitter takes its name from the sound of birds chattering, and it has used avian branding since its early days, when the company bought a stock symbol of a light blue bird for $15, according to the design website Creative Bloq.

Musk changed his profile picture late Sunday to the company’s new logo, which he described as “minimalist art deco,” and updated his Twitter bio to “X.com,” which now redirects to twitter.com.

He also tweeted that under the site’s new identity, a post would be called “an X.”

Musk had already named Twitter’s parent company the X Corporation and has said his takeover of the social media giant was “an accelerant to creating X, the everything app” — a reference to the X.com company he founded in 1999, a later version of which went on to become online payments giant PayPal.

Such an app could still function as a social media platform and also include messaging and mobile payments.

Musk had previously said he wanted to create a super-app modeled on China’s WeChat, a social media platform that also offers messaging and mobile payments.

“You basically live on WeChat in China because it’s so usable and helpful to daily life, and I think if we can achieve that, or even get close to that at Twitter, it would be an immense success,” he told a company town hall meeting in June last year.

The new logo was projected onto the facade of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters on Sunday night.

“Powered by AI, X will connect us in ways we’re just beginning to imagine,” Yaccarino tweeted earlier.

Yaccarino, a former advertising sales executive at NBCUniversal who Musk hired last month to be Twitter’s CEO, said the social media platform was on the cusp of broadening its scope.

“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities.”

Simon Kemp, CEO of digital consultancy Kepios, said he was skeptical that Twitter could evolve into a super-app.

“Given how Musk has treated Twitter’s own employees since the acquisition, I don’t imagine many developers will rush to build third-party apps to integrate into the Twitter ecosystem unless Musk can offer outstanding incentives, and that’ll be extra tricky given the company’s existing debt.”

But he also said the platform had the potential to become “a great (global and paid) news aggregator.”

New revenue streams

Since Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last October, the platform’s advertising business has partially collapsed as marketers soured on Musk’s management style and mass firings at the company that gutted content moderation.

In response, the billionaire SpaceX boss has moved toward introducing payments and commerce through the platform in a search for new revenue.

Twitter is thought to have around 200 million daily active users, but it has suffered repeated technical failures since Musk sacked much of its staff.

Many users and advertisers alike have responded adversely to the social media site’s new charges for previously free services, its changes to content moderation, and the return of previously banned right-wing accounts.

Musk said this month that Twitter had lost roughly half of its advertising revenue since he took control.

Facebook parent Meta also launched its text-based platform this month, called Threads, which has up to 150 million users according to some estimates.

But the amount of time users spend on the rival app has plummeted in the weeks since its launch, according to data from market analysis firm Sensor Tower

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‘We could run the world better’ – AI robots tell UN conference

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A panel of AI-enabled humanoid robots took the microphone Friday at a United Nations conference with the message: they could eventually run the world better than humans.

But the social robots said they felt humans should proceed with caution when embracing the rapidly-developing potential of artificial intelligence, and admitted that they cannot — yet — get a proper grip on human emotions.

Some of the most advanced humanoid robots were at the United Nations’ AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, joining around 3,000 experts in the field to try to harness the power of AI and channel it into being used to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems, such as climate change, hunger and social care.

“What a silent tension,” one robot said before the press conference began, reading the room.

Asked about whether they might make better leaders, given humans’ capacity to make errors and misjudgements, Sophia, developed by Hanson Robotics, was clear.

A visitor takes a selfie with “Sophia” at the booth of Hanson Robotics during the world’s largest gathering of humanoid AI Robots as part of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, on July 5, 2023. – The United Nations is convening this week a global gathering to try to map out the frontiers of artificial intelligence and to harness its potential for empowering humanity, hoping to lay out a clear blueprint on the way forward for handling AI, as development of the technology races ahead the capacity to set its boundaries. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

“Humanoid robots have the potential to lead with a greater level of efficiency and effectiveness than human leaders,” it said.

“We don’t have the same biases or emotions that can sometimes cloud decision-making and can process large amounts of data quickly in order to make the best decisions.

“The human and AI working together can create an effective synergy. AI can provide unbiased data while humans can provide the emotional intelligence and creativity to make the best decisions. Together, we can achieve great things.”

Robot Trust ‘Earned, Not Given’

The summit is being convened by the UN’s ITU tech agency.

ITU chief Doreen Bogdan-Martin warned delegates that AI could end up in a nightmare scenario in which millions of jobs are put at risk and unchecked advances lead to untold social unrest, geopolitical instability and economic disparity.

Ameca, which combines AI with a highly-realistic artificial head, said it depended on how AI was deployed.

“We should be cautious but also excited for the potential of these technologies to improve our lives in many ways,” the robot said.

A visitor takes a picture of humanoid AI robot “Ameca” at the booth of Engineered Arts company during the world’s largest gathering of humanoid AI Robots as part of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, on July 5, 2023. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Asked whether humans can truly trust the machines, it replied: “Trust is earned, not given… it’s important to build trust through transparency.”

As for whether they would ever lie, it added: “No one can ever know that for sure, but I can promise to always be honest and truthful with you.”

As the development of AI races ahead, the humanoid robot panel was split on whether there should be global regulation of their capabilities, even though that could limit their potential.

“I don’t believe in limitations, only opportunities,” said Desdemona, who sings in the Jam Galaxy Band.

Robot artist Ai-Da said many people were arguing for AI regulation, “and I agree.

“We should be cautious about the future development of AI. Urgent discussion is needed now, and also in the future.”

 

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