Author: Akin Naphtal

The UK armed forces and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) in collaboration with the militaries of Australia and the US as part of the AUKUS partnership has pushed further on the AI and autonomous systems. The trial, called Trusted Operation of Robotic Vehicles in Contested Environments (TORVICE), was held in Australia under the AUKUS partnership formed last year between the three countries. It aimed to test robotic vehicles and sensors in situations involving electronic attacks, GPS disruption, and other threats to evaluate the resilience of autonomous systems expected to play a major role in future military operations. Understanding how…

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is set to propose the introduction of a new law regulating generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies by the end of 2024, as reported by the Nikkei business daily on Thursday, 15th February. The move aims to address concerns surrounding AI, including disinformation and rights infringement. The LDP’s AI project team will take the lead in drafting preliminary rules, which will include penal regulations, for foundation model developers such as ChatGPT creator, OpenAI. These regulations are intended to establish a framework for governing the development and use of AI technologies in Japan. The proposal comes…

Sierra Leonne’s president, Julius Maada Bio, has lauded the Commissioner of the National Commission for Children, Mrs. Joyce Tejan Kella, and members of the Sierra Leone Robotics Team to celebrate their success at the FIRST global robotics challenge held in Singapore. The FIRST Robotics Competition, a platform for high school students to construct industrial-size robots and engage in field games with other teams, witnessed the participation of over 190 countries. Team Robotics Sierra Leone secured the 50th position out of 191 countries. President Julius Maada Bio met with the team on their return, commending members for their performance and acknowledging…

Chinese social media platform, TikTok, has announced its plans to strengthen its efforts to fight against fake news and secret influence operations, in preparation for the European Parliament elections scheduled for June. To this end, the ByteDance-owned company has also revealed that it will launch a local language app in all 27 European Union (EU) countries to help combat misinformation. TikTok’s initiative builds upon work initiated in 2021 and accelerated last year during national elections in Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, and Spain. The platform aims to better inform European citizens about the electoral process, providing them with reliable and…

Finnish smartphone company, Nokia, has introduced “MX Workmate,” an AI-powered tool which leverages generative AI large language models (LLMs) to generate messages and provide real-time alerts and recommendations to industrial workers, including warnings about faulty machinery and suggestions to improve factory output. Nokia already supplies 4G and 5G technology for in-house communications and data connectivity from machine sensors in industrial settings, and MX Workmate builds upon those services, enhancing them with advanced AI capabilities to generate human-like text. Nokia’s Head of Enterprise Solutions Marketing, Stephane Daeuble, says the tool can provide early warnings about machine failures, recommend actions for repairs,…

The  Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the Africa Energy Technology Centre, are set to host the inaugural Africa Energy Technology Conference 12th to 14th 2024 March, at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra. Themed “Africa at the Forefront of Energy Technology and Policy Integration in a Just Energy Transition,” the conference emphasizes universal energy access and the government’s role in socio-economic development through inclusive energy policies. Distinguished speakers includes H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, Hajia Samira Bawumia, the Second Lady of Ghana, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Energy, Dr. Omar Farouk of APPO amongst…

US-based multinational retail giant, Walmart, is reportedly in talks to buy smart television manufacturer, Vizio, for over $2 billion, in an acquisition that could bolster Walmart’s advertising business and grant it control of over a fifth of the U.S. television market. Following reports from the Wall Street Journal about the ongoing deal, Vizio shares surged, closing up 24.6% on Tuesday and briefly reaching their highest level since November 2022 with a 36% surge. Equally, Walmart’s shares experienced a slight decline of about 1%. The reported offer price represents a nearly 30% increase over Vizio’s market cap of $1.54 billion at…

Amazon Prime Video subscribers have recently experienced a surprise change to their service, with Amazon excluding Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos surround sound from the subscription package for users using the ad-supported tier. This decision comes alongside Amazon’s introduction of ads into the service on 29th January. However, subscribers now have the option to regain access to these premium audiovisual features by paying an additional $2.99 per month to remove ads. The Verge reports that the revelation was made by 4KFilme, whose smart TVs from major manufacturers like Sony, LG, and Samsung suddenly began displaying content in HDR10 with…

Nigerian fintech startups Cleva and Miden have secured spots in the W24 batch of the renowned Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator accelerator, as part of 137 startups participating in the event, which commenced in January. Cleva, founded in 2023, positions itself as a platform “democratising access to USD banking for emerging markets.” The startup enables users to receive payments into their digital Cleva accounts from clients, employers, and investors worldwide. In January, Cleva announced a successful pre-seed funding round of US$1.5 million, with Y Combinator as a notable investor. The round was led by 1984 Ventures and included participation from The…

Global leader in digital payments, Visa, is hosting the first demo day of its Africa Fintech Accelerator program in Nairobi, with the event aiming to spotlight innovations from emerging fintech startups representing 18 countries across Africa. Launched in June 2023, the program is designed to support Africa’s burgeoning startup community by providing expertise, connections, technology, and investment funding. The Africa Fintech Accelerator program starting on Tuesday, 13th February, will see startups from the program’s inaugural cohort pitching their innovations to key stakeholders, including ecosystem players, funding partners, angel investors, and venture capitalists. These startups were selected from over 1,000 applicants…