Heatwave: Italy's major cities on red heat alert
Parts of Sardinia and Sicily will be the hottest in Europe with highs of 46C or 47C.
1970-01-01 08:00
Hong Kong's security appointee signals resolve for tight control
By James Pomfret and Greg Torode HONG KONG China's appointment of a top intelligence official to run Hong
1970-01-01 08:00
Tottenham to sign Ashley Phillips; Edmond Tapsoba & Micky van de Ven negotiations near conclusion
Tottenham are set to sign Ashley Phillips from Blackburn, while they are continuing talks for Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba and Wolfsburg's Micky van de Ven.
1970-01-01 08:00
US needs 'Kissinger-style wisdom' in its China policies - Wang Yi
BEIJING (Reuters) -The United States needs "Kissinger-style diplomatic wisdom" in its policies towards China, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi told
1970-01-01 08:00
Talk of AI dangers has ‘run ahead of the technology’, says Nick Clegg
Talk of artificial intelligence (AI) models posing a threat to humanity has “run ahead of the technology”, according to Sir Nick Clegg. The former Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister said concerns around “open-source” models, which are made freely available and can be modified by the public, were exaggerated, and the technology could offer solutions to problems such as hate speech. It comes after Facebook’s parent company Meta said on Tuesday that it was opening access to its new large language model, Llama 2, which will be free for research and commercial use. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, a chatbot that can provide detailed prose responses and engage in human-like conversations, have become widely used in the public domain in the last year. The models that we’re open-sourcing are far, far, far short of that. In fact, in many ways they’re quite stupid Sir Nick Clegg Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday, Sir Nick, president of global affairs at Meta, said: “My view is that the hype has somewhat run ahead of the technology. “I think a lot of the existential warnings relate to models that don’t currently exist, so-called super-intelligent, super-powerful AI models – the vision where AI develops an autonomy and agency on its own, where it can think for itself and reproduce itself. “The models that we’re open-sourcing are far, far, far short of that. In fact, in many ways they’re quite stupid.” Sir Nick said a claim by Dame Wendy Hall, co-chair of the Government’s AI Review, that Meta’s model could not be regulated and was akin to “giving people a template to build a nuclear bomb” was “complete hyperbole”, adding: “It’s not as if we’re at a T-junction where firms can choose to open source or not. Models are being open-sourced all the time already.” He said Meta had 350 people “stress-testing” its models over several months to check for potential issues, and that Llama 2 was safer than any other large language models currently available on the internet. Meta has previously faced questions around security and trust, with the company fined 1.2 billion euros (£1 billion) in May over the transfer of data from European users to US servers. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
1970-01-01 08:00
IMF Warns Pakistan May Have to Restructure Debt If Goals Not Met
The International Monetary Fund said Pakistan’s external debt has swelled to $100 billion, warning the nation could well
1970-01-01 08:00
Pita Limjaroenrat: Thai reformist leader suspended from parliament
The leader of the progressive Move Forward party has seen his already slim hopes of becoming PM dashed.
1970-01-01 08:00
21 of the best Barbenheimer memes, reactions and mashups
The internet going crazy for two films about kids’ dolls and weapons of mass destruction couldn’t have been on many people’s bingo cards. But with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer set to come out on the same day, 21 July, you’d be challenged to name a more iconic duo. The hype around the movies could hardly have been more different. Barbie is, well, Barbie; it’s pink, pretty and plastic. Oppenheimer is the atom bomb: fire and brimstone, the destroyer of worlds. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Social media doesn’t see it that way, though. As cinemas gear up to show the movies back-to-back – and film-goers argue over which one to watch first – the meme factory has been working on overdrive. Here are some of the best Twitter has to offer: It recently emerged that the Barbie dream house had mysteriously appeared in Malibu. It comes complete with a pool, huge balconies and that signature pink finish. Oh, and you can stay there on Airbnb soon. Unfortunately, Oppenheimer fans had an idea for how they could counter the excellent work done by Barbie’s marketing team with a slightly more destructive piece of marketing of their own. They wouldn’t... Would they? People are already planning their entire days around the dual event. Are you Oppenheimer first, then Barbie? (Otherwise known as Oppenbarbie.) Or are you doing it the other, incorrect way? Because if you’re seeing Barbie in the morning followed by a chaser of atomic doom in the evening (Barbenheimer, apparently), you’re doing it all wrong, apparently. Which camp (or state) do you fall into? These two iconic houses in Santa Monica almost nail the difference in tone between the two films without even knowing it: Yes, of course, there is merch. And even the stars of the films themselves have joined in the fun: Instagram has even made a trailer. The good news is, whichever you go for – Barbenheimer or Oppenbarbie – there's one thing everyone can agree on... Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Consolidation in wealth management industry to accelerate, Citi survey finds
By Xie Yu HONG KONG Consolidation within the global wealth management sector will speed up while managers continue
1970-01-01 08:00
Ukraine war: Crimea depot blasts force villagers to flee
More than 2,000 people are evacuated in an incident that closes a key highway in occupied Crimea.
1970-01-01 08:00
US Says Soldier Fled to North Korea After Facing Expulsion
North Korea detained a US soldier who intentionally crossed the border from South Korea in an apparent effort
1970-01-01 08:00
Analysis-China's bad first half gets investors hopeful and interested
By Jason Xue and Tom Westbrook China's disappointing first half has the economy ripe for some help, and
1970-01-01 08:00
