Fabricius was made available on the Google Arts and Culture app on July 15, which coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Google Arts and Culture
Fabricius was made available on the Google Arts and Culture app on July 15, which coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Google Arts and Culture
Fabricius was made available on the Google Arts and Culture app on July 15, which coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Google Arts and Culture
Fabricius was made available on the Google Arts and Culture app on July 15, which coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Google Arts and Culture

Fabricius: this new Google AI tool helps you decode and write in hieroglyphs


Razmig Bedirian
  • English
  • Arabic

Google has created a new tool that can decode Egyptian hieroglyphs in English and Arabic, and launched it on the anniversary of the Rosetta Stone's discovery.

The Fabricius tool will be useful for experts who want to translate hieroglyphics more efficiently, and also  for everyday users who want to learn more about the Ancient Egyptian writing system. You can even use it to send messages to your friends in hieroglyphs.

Fabricius – developed by the Australian Centre for Egyptology at the Macquarie University in Australia, Psycle Interactive, and Ubisoft – was made available on the Google Arts and Culture app on Wednesday, July 15, which coincides with the 221st anniversary of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone.

The tool offers three different ways of discovering and interacting with hieroglyphs: Learn, Play, and Work. Google Arts and Culture
The tool offers three different ways of discovering and interacting with hieroglyphs: Learn, Play, and Work. Google Arts and Culture

“Fabricius began with an experimental idea: could today’s tech be used to help decode languages?” Chance Coughenour, head of preservation at Google Arts and Culture, said during an online unveiling of the app.

After two years of development, that answer is yes – but it's not quite as straightforward as your typical translation app.

“It is a step forward in the process,” Coughenour said. “Fabricius doesn’t do automatic translation, but rather it is a tool that helps experts translate the hieroglyphs more efficiently.”

This means that Fabricius won't work as quickly as say, Google Translate, which works on modern-day languages.

Before the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799, there was no making sense of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Google Arts and Culture
Before the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799, there was no making sense of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Google Arts and Culture

Instead, experts who use some of the tool's more sophisticated features will have to specifically sequence and process images of the hieroglyphs before the tool translates them. It's a process that can take roughly an hour, depending on the complexity of the hieroglyphs.

Before the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799, scholars were not able to read Ancient Egyptian inscriptions and literature.

The Stone – a tablet of granodiorite that was part of a larger slab – held an official decree about King Ptolemy V inscribed in three scripts: hieroglyphs, Ancient Greek and Demotic (the native Egyptian script used for everyday purposes). The inscriptions on the Stone were the first time experts had access to a translation of the hieroglyphs, and its discovery was monumental in helping unravel the mysteries of the Egyptian writing system.

Fabricius will be useful for experts who want to translate the contents of hieroglyphics more efficiently. Google Arts and Culture
Fabricius will be useful for experts who want to translate the contents of hieroglyphics more efficiently. Google Arts and Culture

And now, 221 years on, you don't need to slave over the Stone's translations to indulge your inner Egyptologist.

Fabricius, which can be accessed from the Google Arts and Culture app, offers three functions to discover and interact with hieroglyphs: Learn, Play, and Work.

If you’re an academic and looking to use the tool for work, you'll probably be most interested in the Work function, which is only available on the desktop version of the app.

The easiest way to understand hieroglyphs is to imagine that they are the ancient Egyptian equivalent of emojis. Google Arts and Culture
The easiest way to understand hieroglyphs is to imagine that they are the ancient Egyptian equivalent of emojis. Google Arts and Culture

This is where experts will be able to process images of hieroglyphs, before sequencing and identifying them.

For amateurs, the Learn feature helps you take your first step into the world of hieroglyphs. This is where you'll learn the basics of reading the ancient writing system.

But it’s most likely the Play function that most of us are going to spend our time on. This feature takes whatever sentence you type and translates it into hieroglyphs. It isn't meant to be an accurate translation, but rather a fun way of interacting with the ancient script and sending coded messages to friends.

Before long, you may find yourself using the tool to decode the hieroglyphs found in Egyptian tombs. Google Arts and Culture
Before long, you may find yourself using the tool to decode the hieroglyphs found in Egyptian tombs. Google Arts and Culture

“The easiest way to understand hieroglyphs is to imagine that they are the ancient Egyptian equivalent of emojis,” Fabricius advises. So what better way to test the Play feature than by feeding the tool some modern-day emojis? I start by uploading a grinning smiley. The tool gives me a symbol of a man in a skull cap and a triangular beard, looking more impatient than joyful.

A despondent emoji gives me a hieroglyph of a man laying on his side, a cane raised to his forehead.

I then give sentences a try and type: "I need coffee."

The tool renders a set of eight hieroglyphs, including one of a cane and another of bird with a hooked beak. But the word “coffee” is greyed out. There is no hieroglyph for it, which isn’t surprising considering that coffee was discovered at least five centuries after hieroglyphs were last used.

If you're looking for a fun, novel way to text your friends, you can kill a lot of time using Fabricius. But where the app excels is in its professional use; the Work function should make it much easier for experts to efficiently decode the ancient script. It's machine-learning feature will ensure the tool only becomes more accurate and quicker with time, saving experts hours of cross-referencing and comparing myriad scripts.

However, even the tool's playful features are designed to spark interest in the ancient script. Before long, who knows, you might find yourself trying to decode the hieroglyphs found in Egyptian tombs.

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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

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Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

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Jetour T1 specs

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
War and the virus
A new relationship with the old country

Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates

The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.

ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.

ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.

DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.

Signed

Geoffrey Arthur  Sheikh Zayed

While you're here
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

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Rating: 3.5/5 stars

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Who are the Sacklers?

The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.

Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. 

It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.

Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".

The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.

Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

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Cinco in numbers

Dh3.7 million

The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown

46

The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.

1,000

The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]

50

How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday

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The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

1.1 million

The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile

Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
​​​​​​​Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

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