WOLF to produce more than 10,000 Arabic live shows in metaverse

WOLF to produce more than 10,000 Arabic live shows in metaverse
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Updated 14 October 2022

WOLF to produce more than 10,000 Arabic live shows in metaverse

WOLF to produce more than 10,000 Arabic live shows in metaverse
  • Talent development program WOLFStars will nurture 1,000 creators

DUBAI: WOLF, which describes itself as “the world’s online festival,” is set to produce more than 10,000 live performances in the metaverse this month.

The company, which specializes in metaverse experiences, launched its talent development program WOLFStars this August following a pilot phase that saw 250 Arabic-speaking emerging creators join the program to create regular shows in the app.

Since then, 1,000 creators have registered and performed in the metaverse, and more than 500 users are creating regular podcast-style talk shows in Arabic, according to the company.

As part of the WOLFStars program, some creators have been able to earn up to $130 a show, generating $1,750 a month for themselves.

“We have been blown away by the success of our WOLFStars program, as we have welcomed over 1,000 content creators to WOLF, who will produce over 10,000 shows in October, viewed by our highly engaged audiences,” said Gary Knight, CEO of WOLF.

WOLF has collaborated with Arab personalities including Aseel Hameem, Fay Al-Sharqawi, Nedaa Sharara, Danyah Shafei, and Lebanese pop superstar Yara, he added.

“It is our ability to combine Arab talents with an engaged online audience to create the first digital festival experience where users have complete creative control that sets WOLF apart,” Knight said.

The WOLF app is currently available for free on iOS and Android devices. The company plans to launch its virtual reality app on Oculus and other VR headsets’ app stores soon.


Former Google X CBO urges for more high-quality Arabic content to train AI

Former Google X CBO urges for more high-quality Arabic content to train AI
Updated 17 sec ago

Former Google X CBO urges for more high-quality Arabic content to train AI

Former Google X CBO urges for more high-quality Arabic content to train AI
  • Mo Gawdat expressed concerns about scarcity of rich online content and AI ability to provide valuable insights into the Arab world

LONDON: Artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT should be trained with more high-quality Arabic content, Egyptian writer and entrepreneur Mo Gawdat said.

Speaking during the International Congress for Arabic Publishing and Creative Industries event in Abu Dhabi, Gawdat expressed concern about the scarcity of rich Arabic discourse online.

The author of “Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy” and former chief business officer of Google X, the company’s experimental arm, argued that without deeper Arabic content, AI applications may struggle to provide valuable insights into the Arab world.

“A lot of megabytes of Arabic language online are very empty,” Gawdat explained. “The initial versions of AI will reflect whatever it is that we put out there.”

Even though he believes that future AI iterations will become smart enough to discern between “real information and fluff,” he said the lack of quality content should be tackled as soon as possible.

Gawdat called on Arabic content creators, publishers, and educational institutions to produce more insightful material for AI tools to analyze.

“The problem we are facing is that we are creating an impression that knowledge of the Arab world is shallow, in comparison to the incredible wisdom that is really coming from the region,” he said.

“We need to create content with depth and with more intellectual value.”

Gawdat added that as future AI systems increasingly rely on authoritative sources, educational institutions should make more Arabic research accessible online.

“With AI utilizing the Arabic content that we put in, it is our responsibility to put the right kind of content out there,” he emphasized.

“This will ultimately determine the quality of Arabic artificial intelligence-driven content.”

Gawdat compared this responsibility to parenting, describing the process as being aware of how children learn to interact with the world.

He also urged researchers and content creators to reconsider their strategies, as the ChatGPT-led revolution in information access and content creation has the potential to threaten human authors.

However, Gawdat also recognized the opportunities that AI brings.

“As an author, I have learned to no longer define myself as someone who is supposed to write words on paper,” he said.

“My job definition now is to provide interesting human perspectives and inspiration regarding certain topics.

“Through whatever knowledge is available to me and in whatever form, I am trying to find a way to connect with other humans and communicate what I believe needs to be communicated.”


Websites linked to Iran’s presidency hacked with images of exile group’s leaders

Websites linked to Iran’s presidency hacked with images of exile group’s leaders
Updated 29 May 2023

Websites linked to Iran’s presidency hacked with images of exile group’s leaders

Websites linked to Iran’s presidency hacked with images of exile group’s leaders
  • Iran has been targeted by a series of embarrassing hacks amid the rising tensions over its rapidly advancing nuclear program

DUBAI: A series of websites linked to Iran’s presidency bore the images of two leaders of an exiled opposition group Monday, with others showing the pictures of Islamic Republic’s supreme leader and president crossed out.
An Internet account describing itself as a group of hackers claimed responsibility for allegedly taking down websites. The account GhyamSarnegouni, whose name in Farsi means “Rise to Overthrow,” previously claimed hacking websites associated with Iran’s Foreign Ministry earlier this month.
Iranian state media and officials did not immediately acknowledge the apparent hack. However, Associated Press journalists accessing the sites found them defaced with images of Massoud Rajavi, the long-missing leader of the Iranian exile group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, and his wife Maryam, who is now the public face of the group.
One site bore the slogan: “Death to Khamenei Raisi- Hail to Rajavi.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi both were targeted similarly in the previously claimed hacked in May.
Iran has been targeted by a series of embarrassing hacks amid the rising tensions over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. That’s included the signal of Iranian state television being targeted, gasoline pumps that provide subsidized fuel being targeted in a cyberattack and government surveillance camera imagery being released, including from a notorious prison.
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, known by the acronym MEK, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The MEK had angrily condemned a prisoner swap Belgium conducted with Iran on Friday to free an aid worker that saw an Iranian diplomat convicted of being behind a bomb plot targeting the group released.
The MEK began as a Marxist group opposing the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It claimed and was suspected in a series of attacks against US officials in Iran in the 1970s, something the group now denies.
It supported the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but soon had a falling out with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and turned against the cleric. It carried out a series of assassinations and bombings targeting the young Islamic Republic.
The MEK later fled into Iraq and backed dictator Saddam Hussein during his bloody eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s. That saw many oppose the group in Iran. Although largely based in Albania, the group claims to operate a network inside Iran.


Google Doodle celebrates the late Saudi novelist Abdelrahman Munif

Google Doodle celebrates the late Saudi novelist Abdelrahman Munif
Updated 29 May 2023

Google Doodle celebrates the late Saudi novelist Abdelrahman Munif

Google Doodle celebrates the late Saudi novelist Abdelrahman Munif
  • Since childhood, Munif developed an interest in writing and believed “the mission of literature is to increase awareness”

DUBAI: Google Doodle on Monday celebrated what would have been the 90th birthday of Saudi novelist, journalist and cultural critic Abdelrahman Munif. 

Munif was born on May 29, 1933 in Amman, Jordan. In 1952, he moved to Iraq to study law at the University of Baghdad.

Years later he graduated from Cairo University in Egypt before earning his PhD in petroleum economics at the University of Belgrade in 1961.  

Munif had a career in the oil industry as an economist in Iraq, and later for the Oil Ministry in Syria and OPEC. 

Since childhood, Munif developed an interest in writing and believed “the mission of literature is to increase awareness”.

While living in Baghdad, he worked as an editor at the monthly periodical Al-Naft wa Al-Tanmiyya (Oil and Development). 

He published short stories and eventually his first book during his time as an editor. 

His first novel, Al Ashjar wa-ightiyal Marzuq (Trees and the Assasination of Marzooq) was published in 1973. 

His best known work is the quintet, Mudan al-Milh (Cities of Salt) which describes the Arab world during the oil era.

Other notable works by Munif included Al-Nihayat (Endings), Sharq al-Mutawassit (East of the Mediterranean) and historical novel trilogy Ard Al-Sawad (Land of Darkness).

In 1989, Munif was awarded the Al-Owaist Cultural Award for his distinction in writing and the Award of Cairo Gathering for Arab Creativity in Novel Writing in 1998. 

“Thank you for your contributions to Arab literature and your analysis of sociopolitical issues,” read Google’s description of the novelist.  

The doodle was seen across the Middle East on Monday.


China deletes 1.4 million social media posts in crack down on ‘self-media’ accounts

China deletes 1.4 million social media posts in crack down on ‘self-media’ accounts
Updated 27 May 2023

China deletes 1.4 million social media posts in crack down on ‘self-media’ accounts

China deletes 1.4 million social media posts in crack down on ‘self-media’ accounts
  • About 67,000 social media accounts closed and hundreds of thousands of posts between March 10 and May 22 deleted
  • Beijing frequently arrests citizens and censors accounts for publishing or sharing factual information considered sensitive or critical

BEIJING: China’s cyberspace regulator said 1.4 million social media posts have been deleted following a two-month probe into alleged misinformation, illegal profiteering, and impersonation of state officials, among other “pronounced problems.”
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement on Friday it had closed 67,000 social media accounts and deleted hundreds of thousands of posts between March 10 and May 22 as part of a broader “rectification” campaign.
Since 2021, China has targeted billions of social media accounts in a bid to “clean” its cyberspace and make it easier for authorities to control.
The latest crackdown targeted accounts on popular Chinese social media apps including WeChat, Douyin, and Weibo that fall under the category of “self media,” a term that broadly refers to accounts that publish news and information but are not government-run or state-approved.
Beijing frequently arrests citizens and censors accounts for publishing or sharing factual information considered sensitive or critical of the Communist Party, the government or the military, especially when such information goes viral.
Of the 67,000 accounts that were permanently closed, almost 8,000 were taken down for “spreading fake news, rumors, and harmful information,” according to CAC.
Around 930,000 other accounts received less severe punishments, from being removed of all followers to the suspension or cancelation of profit-making privileges.
In a separate campaign, the regulator recently closed over 100,000 accounts that allegedly misrepresented news anchors and media agencies to counter the rise of online fake news coverage aided by AI technologies.
The CAC on Friday said its latest campaign had targeted almost 13,000 counterfeit military accounts, with names such as “Chinese Red Army Command,” “Chinese Anti-terrorist Force” and “Strategic Missile Force.”
Some 25,000 other accounts were targeted for impersonating public institutions, such as disease and prevention control centers and state-run research institutes.
Almost 187,000 were punished for impersonating news media businesses, while over 430,000 allegedly offered professional advice or educational services without having relevant professional qualifications.
Around 45,000 accounts were closed for “hyping hot issues, clout-chasing and illegal monetization.”
The regulator said it had “actively coordinated with public security, market supervision and other departments, to deliver a heavy blow and rectify illegal ‘self-media’.”
“At the same time, (we) also call on the majority of netizens to actively participate in monitoring and reporting (illegal ‘self-media’), provide clues ... and jointly maintain a clean cyberspace,” it added.


Starzplay and NMPRO unveil original film ‘Big Lie’ at red-carpet premiere event

Starzplay and NMPRO unveil original film ‘Big Lie’ at red-carpet premiere event
Updated 26 May 2023

Starzplay and NMPRO unveil original film ‘Big Lie’ at red-carpet premiere event

Starzplay and NMPRO unveil original film ‘Big Lie’ at red-carpet premiere event
  • The movie explores the dark side of social media, particularly the influential and dangerous role it can play in people’s lives
  • “Big Lie” will be released on Starzplay soon, said Tony Saab, senior vice president of content and strategic partnerships at the platform

DUBAI: Streaming platform Starzplay unveiled its original film “Big Lie” at a premiere event hosted in collaboration with Middle Eastern production company NMPRO at the Grand Cinemas ABC Verdun in Beirut, Lebanon.
The movie explores the dark side of social media, particularly the influential and dangerous role it can play in people’s lives.
The film is the result of a “long-term partnership built on shared values, a unified vision, and a mutual commitment to delivering exceptional content” between the two companies, said Nadim Mehanna, producer and director of “Big Lie” and founder of NMPRO.
“Big Lie” will be released on Starzplay soon, said Tony Saab, senior vice president of content and strategic partnerships at the platform.
He added: “As part of our commitment to delivering surprises every month, our content acquisition and production strategy focuses on frequently releasing Starzplay originals in collaboration with esteemed production houses across the region.”
The premiere was attended by stars such as Heba Nour, Sandy Farah, Fouad Yammine, Yaaqoub Chahine, Laura Khabbaz, and Sharbel Zyadeh, as well as executives from Starzplay and NMPRO.