This is Beirut

Gulf Surge in Registrations for Lebanon AI Conference 2025

This is Beirut, 29/05 10:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

AI Lebanon Conference Gulf Innovation Technology

Lebanon's 2025 Artificial Intelligence Conference is witnessing an unprecedented wave of interest from Gulf countries, with organizers announcing on Wednesday a sharp rise in registration requests from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other GCC nations. This surge of Gulf engagement comes as Lebanon resumes high-level diplomatic and cultural ...

AI Personal Shoppers Hunt Down Bargain Buys

This is Beirut, 29/05 09:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Internet giants are diving deeper into e-commerce with digital aides that know shoppers' likes, let them virtually try clothes on, hunt for deals and even place orders. The rise of virtual personal shoppers springs from generative artificial intelligence (AI) being put to work in "agents" specializing in specific tasks and given ...

Ads Pressured to Evolve as AI Changes Google Search

This is Beirut, 22/05 10:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Google Artificial Intelligence AI

As Google races to lead in artificial intelligence, it faces the challenge of making sure the technology doesn't slow its profit-pumping advertising engine. The internet giant is dabbling with ads in its new AI Mode for online search, a strategic move to fend off competition from ChatGPT while adapting its advertising business for an AI ...

When AI Learns Without Us: Absolute Zero Reasoner, the Machine That Thinks on Its Own

By Moncef Ait-Kaci, 17/05 18:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

AI Artificial Intelligence Absolute Zero Reasoner China

What if an artificial intelligence no longer needed us to learn? No more relying on our data, our corrections, our examples? That’s the bold challenge taken on by a group of Chinese researchers with the development of Absolute Zero Reasoner (AZR). This system does not rely on any human database. It learns in complete autonomy, generating its ...

Inner Workings of AI an Enigma - Even to its Creators

This is Beirut, 13/05 11:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA AI

Even the greatest human minds building generative artificial intelligence that is poised to change the world admit they do not comprehend how digital minds think. "People outside the field are often surprised and alarmed to learn that we do not understand how our own AI creations work," Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei wrote in an essay posted ...

ChatGPT Adds Shopping Help, Intensifying Google Rivalry

This is Beirut, 29/04 18:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

US Internet AI CHATGPT Technology

OpenAI announced Monday that ChatGPT is now helping users find products online, enhancing its challenge to Google amid regulatory pressure on the search giant's market dominance. The new shopping capability further blurs the line between AI chatbots and search engines, signaling OpenAI's ambition to compete with Google in a market the ...

Xi Says China Must 'Overcome' AI Chip Challenges.

This is Beirut, 28/04 12:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

China AI Technology Xi Jinping US Trade

President Xi Jinping said China must "overcome" the challenges of developing core AI technologies including high-end chips, state media reported Saturday, as Beijing seeks to become a world leader in the rapidly developing industry. China aims to dominate the artificial intelligence sector, a goal complicated by the trade standoff with Washington ...

AI-Generated Starter Packs and Ghibli Art Go Viral

This is Beirut, 20/04 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

AI Ghibli Art

There's no escaping them on social media—those plastic blister-packed figurine-style images complete with quirky accessories, known as “starter packs.” A playful trend, yes, but one that stirs deeper questions about copyright, environmental impact, and data privacy. One image shows a long-haired doll next to a tiny dog and an embroidery ...

When AI Meets Therapy: The Promise and Pitfalls of Digital Healing

David Sahyoun, 16/04 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Therapy Artificial Intelligence AI Culture

AI (artificial intelligence) is a computer system designed to replicate human thought and behavior. It can reason, process information, and search for answers across vast pools of relevant content available online. A chatbot, by contrast, is a conversational tool designed to simulate human interaction. It runs on pre-scripted responses, ...

AI: Just Beginning to Revolutionize the NBA Game

This is Beirut, 14/04 14:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

NBA Basket-ball AI Sport

It's not a scene out of the future, but a reality on the hard courts of today. Using artificial intelligence, a top basketball team found the right defensive strategy that made the difference to win the NBA championship. Data specialist Rajiv Maheswaran declines to name the outfit that leveraged AI analysis to victory, saying in a corporate ...

AI surge to double data centre electricity demand by 2030

This is Beirut, 10/04 13:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Energy Electricity Climate AI

Electricity consumption by data centres will more than double by 2030, driven by artificial intelligence applications that will create new challenges for energy security and CO2 emission goals, the IEA said Thursday. At the same time, AI can unlock opportunities to produce and consume electricity more efficiently, the International Energy Agency ...

Facing US Competition, EU Proposes Easing AI, Data Regulations

This is Beirut, 09/04 17:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

EU USA China AI

The EU said Wednesday it is considering streamlining artificial intelligence and data rules as part of a broader push to help European businesses keep up with US and Chinese rivals. The European Union long heralded its legal arsenal on tech as an example for the world, but the tone has shifted since the return of US President Donald Trump. Just ...