This is Beirut - technology

As Border Threats Evolve, Israel Turns to New Technologies

Seth J. Frantzman , 21/01 15:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Even though Israel may have militarily weakened Hamas and Hezbollah, it must still contend with increasingly complex and non-traditional security threats along every front, underscoring that today’s borders and battlefields are interconnected in ways that were once unimaginable. On January 7, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced that it ...

Roblox Game Platform Launches Age Checks for Chat

This is Beirut, 2025-11-19 09:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Roblox Technology Gaming Face recognition

Gaming giant Roblox Corp. says it will roll out compulsory facial recognition or ID checks from next month for players wanting to access its chat features. It aims to stop under-nines from chatting without parental consent and to curb conversations between adults and minors online by placing users into six age bands ranging from under-nines to ...

Cloudflare Resolves Outage That Disrupted Parts of the Internet

This is Beirut, 2025-11-18 18:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Cloudflare Technology Cloud

Services from Cloudflare, a software company that supports thousands of websites, including X, Spotify, and OpenAI, on Tuesday reported a crash in one of its software systems, according to a report in the New York Times. Cloudflare, which provides tools to secure and manage internet traffic for websites, reported earlier in the day that it was ...

Online Search a Battleground for AI Titans

This is Beirut, 2025-10-23 09:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

AI Technology Google OpenAI Atlas

Tech firms battling for supremacy in artificial intelligence are out to transform how people search the web, challenging the dominance of the Chrome browser at the heart of Google's empire. Chatbots that started out as AI-powered assistants have gradually merged with web browsers and can independently scour the internet for detailed answers to ...

Prague: Where Light Becomes Art

This is Beirut, 2025-10-17 15:55 - Reading : less than a minute

Prague Unesco Art Technology

Seventeen installations transform Prague’s streets into a living gallery. Light, movement and creativity breathe new life into its UNESCO-listed heart.

Spotify Leads Industry Effort to Label AI Involvement in Music Creation

This is Beirut, 2025-09-25 17:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Music Spotify Technology AI Culture

Spotify on Thursday unveiled several measures to encourage artists and publishers to be more transparent about their use of artificial intelligence, as well as to limit certain abuses. The Swedish platform is recommending that musicians and producers comply with a new standard developed by the Digital Data Exchange (DDEX), a consortium of leading ...

China's Alibaba Teams Up with Nvidia on AI Robot Tech

This is Beirut, 2025-09-24 14:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

AI Nvidia Alibaba Technology

Alibaba announced on Wednesday a "milestone collaboration" in AI tech with US chip giant Nvidia that the Chinese company said will accelerate its development of humanoid robots. The news came as Alibaba's shares soared more than nine percent in Hong Kong after chief executive Eddie Wu unveiled plans to further ramp up spending on artificial ...

Trump's $100,000 Fee for H-1B visas, a Tech Industry Favorite, Concerns India

This is Beirut, 2025-09-20 15:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

India United States Technology Foreign Labor

India's leading trade body said on Saturday it was concerned by a new annual $100,000 fee that US President Donald Trump ordered for H-1B skilled worker visas, an addition that could have major repercussions for the tech industry, where such permits are widespread. The new measure, which will likely face legal challenges, was announced in ...

AI May Boost Global Trade Value by Nearly 40%: WTO

This is Beirut, 2025-09-17 15:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

AI WTO Technology Economy

Artificial intelligence could boost the value of global trade by almost 40 percent by 2040 thanks to cost reductions and productivity gains, the World Trade Organization said Wednesday. In its latest annual World Trade Report, the WTO identified AI as one of the few bright spots as the global trading system has been upended by the United States ...

Trump Threatens Tariffs on Countries Seen Targeting US Tech Firms

This is Beirut, 2025-08-26 09:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA European Union United Kingdom Technology

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened further tariffs and export restrictions against countries that he says are targeting US tech firms. "Digital Taxes, Digital Services Legislation, and Digital Markets Regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. His ...

YouTube Turns to AI to Guess Users' Age and Protect Minors

This is Beirut, 2025-08-15 10:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Internet Technology Children AI USA Culture

YouTube has started testing an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to identify the age of its users in the United States, in an effort to better protect minors from content and online habits considered inappropriate for them. "This technology will allow us to infer a user’s age and use that signal independently of the date of birth listed on the ...

Cabinet Session Wednesday on Energy, Technology, and Beirut Port Recovery

This is Beirut, 2025-08-12 14:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Cabinet WorldBank Energy Technology Beirut

The Cabinet will convene on Wednesday at the Grand Serail to debate a set of high-impact national issues, with a major focus on securing international financing and advancing critical infrastructure projects. At the forefront is a $250 million loan agreement with the World Bank to fund the Renewable Energy and Power System Enhancement Project. ...