US company IBM has launched a new generative artificial intelligence platform that it says will help companies to use the most advanced capabilities of the technology in an easy and secure manner.
The platform, Watsonx, will help businesses manage with their own AI-supported data and use it at scale in a “more trustworthy and open environment, to drive business success”, New York-based IBM said during its annual Think conference.
It will also provide organisations with a toolkit to support the governance of AI and ensure data is always secure and complies with regulatory and ethical requirements, IBM said.
Watsonx, which will be made available in July, is an evolution of IBM Watson, a computer programme that can respond to questions asked in natural language, and is named after IBM founder Thomas Watson.
“There is a lot of interest in [generative AI] but people are unsure about what to do and how to do it,” said Rob Thomas, chief commercial officer of IBM.
“What I hear over and over again is they want something that's trusted, scaleable and adaptable, and they want to avoid any of the pitfalls that could come with rolling out AI before a company's really ready.”
AI in business is not new, but it has significantly gained momentum with the advent of generative AI. The technology — made popular by the OpenAI's ChatGPT — can produce various kinds of data, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, 3D objects and videos.
While it takes cues from existing data, it is also capable of generating new and unexpected output, according to GenerativeAI.net.
The rise of ChatGPT has started a race with Google's Bard, drawn interest from Twitter chief executive Elon Musk and prompted Apple to work on improving its digital assistant Siri.
Investors poured in more than $4.2 billion into generative AI start-ups in 2021 and 2022 through 215 deals after interest surged in 2019, recent data from CB Insights showed.
About 99 per cent of companies have reported that they have been able to cut their costs by using virtual agent technology, according to an IBM study.
“There is something unique happening right now in AI. We see the world taking large language models [and] how it is being adapted by businesses that are looking beyond consumer use cases for how to improve their business, decrease costs and increase their revenue,” Mr Thomas said.
Large language models are trained on amounts of text data for natural language processing tasks. They support the processing and generation of natural language text for diverse tasks.
“This is the notion that we can train models based on unlabelled data and focus on use cases that are highly relevant in business,” Mr Thomas said.
People want [AI] that's trusted, scaleable and adaptable, and they want to avoid any of the pitfalls that could come with rolling out AI before a company's really ready
Rob Thomas,
chief commercial officer of IBM
Watsonx was also developed with data governance in focus, in an era where regulators have become stricter with the way companies handle user data to protect their privacy.
“We have participated with governments around the world when they launch efforts to try to better understand the technology,” said Dario Gil, a senior vice president and director of research at IBM.
The rapidly advancing development of foundation models is also making AI for business “more powerful than ever”, said Arvind Krishna, chairman and chief executive of IBM.
“Foundation models make deploying AI significantly more scaleable, affordable and efficient … so that clients can be more than just users — they can become AI-advantaged.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
The specs
Engine: 3.6 V6
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Power: 295bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: Dh155,000
On sale: now
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Virtuzone GCC Sixes
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
Groups
A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
Company%20Profile
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Bib%20Gourmand%20restaurants
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WEST ASIA RUGBY 2017/18 SEASON ROLL OF HONOUR
Western Clubs Champions League
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons
Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
It
Director: Andres Muschietti
Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor
Three stars
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
