This is Beirut

Khaled Hamadeh: Intelligence, AI, Infiltration… Israel’s New Arsenal Against Iran

Yara Germany, 13/06 16:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Israel Iran AI Warfare Intelligence Khaled Hamadeh

On Thursday night, Israel launched an unprecedented wave of attacks targeting multiple military and nuclear sites across Iran, including key locations in Tehran and the strategic Natanz facility. Several high-ranking military and scientific figures were killed in the strikes. The scale and accuracy of the operation underscore the pivotal role ...

Apple Plays it Safe on AI Despite Wall Street Pressure

This is Beirut, 10/06 09:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Apple AI WWDC

Apple on Monday remained on its cautious path to embracing generative AI even as rivals race ahead with the technology and Wall Street expresses doubts over its strategy. The pressure was on Apple not to disappoint at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) a year after the iPhone juggernaut made a promise it failed to keep -- to ...

When AI Defies Orders… and Won’t Shut Down

Bélinda Ibrahim, 09/06 17:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Artficial Intelligence AI OpenAI Anthropic Defiance

In a recent study reported by the Wall Street Journal, OpenAI’s experimental AI model O3 altered its own script to prevent automatic shutdown within a simulated environment. Even more troubling, when explicitly commanded to shut down, the AI refused to comply in 79% of cases. This controlled test aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of safeguards ...

Saudis Use AI, Drones and Thousands of Cameras to Keep Hajj Pilgrims Safe

This is Beirut, 05/06 12:15 - Reading : less than a minute

Hajj Mecca Islam AI Cameras Drones

In Mecca, a large-scale technological system operates around the clock during the Hajj. With more than 15,000 smart cameras, drones, and AI-powered software, authorities monitor crowd movements and coordinate the transport of 1.6 million pilgrims in real time using over 23,000 buses. The goal is to prevent incidents, avoid human bottlenecks, and ...

Ministries Partner to Revolutionize Lebanon's Tourism Through AI

This is Beirut, 04/06 11:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

lebanon tourism technology AI Innovation Partnership

In a strategic move to modernize Lebanon’s tourism sector, Minister of State for Technology Affairs and Artificial Intelligence Dr. Kamal Shehadeh and Minister of Tourism Laura Lahoud signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), launching a digital partnership that integrates artificial intelligence (AI) and smart technologies into tourism. This ...

Gulf Surge in Registrations for Lebanon AI Conference 2025

This is Beirut, 29/05 10:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

AI Lebanon Conference Gulf Innovation Technology

Lebanon's 2025 Artificial Intelligence Conference is witnessing an unprecedented wave of interest from Gulf countries, with organizers announcing on Wednesday a sharp rise in registration requests from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other GCC nations. This surge of Gulf engagement comes as Lebanon resumes high-level diplomatic and cultural ...

AI Personal Shoppers Hunt Down Bargain Buys

This is Beirut, 29/05 09:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Internet giants are diving deeper into e-commerce with digital aides that know shoppers' likes, let them virtually try clothes on, hunt for deals and even place orders. The rise of virtual personal shoppers springs from generative artificial intelligence (AI) being put to work in "agents" specializing in specific tasks and given ...

Ads Pressured to Evolve as AI Changes Google Search

This is Beirut, 22/05 10:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Google Artificial Intelligence AI

As Google races to lead in artificial intelligence, it faces the challenge of making sure the technology doesn't slow its profit-pumping advertising engine. The internet giant is dabbling with ads in its new AI Mode for online search, a strategic move to fend off competition from ChatGPT while adapting its advertising business for an AI ...

When AI Learns Without Us: Absolute Zero Reasoner, the Machine That Thinks on Its Own

By Moncef Ait-Kaci, 17/05 18:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

AI Artificial Intelligence Absolute Zero Reasoner China

What if an artificial intelligence no longer needed us to learn? No more relying on our data, our corrections, our examples? That’s the bold challenge taken on by a group of Chinese researchers with the development of Absolute Zero Reasoner (AZR). This system does not rely on any human database. It learns in complete autonomy, generating its ...

Inner Workings of AI an Enigma - Even to its Creators

This is Beirut, 13/05 11:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA AI

Even the greatest human minds building generative artificial intelligence that is poised to change the world admit they do not comprehend how digital minds think. "People outside the field are often surprised and alarmed to learn that we do not understand how our own AI creations work," Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei wrote in an essay posted ...

ChatGPT Adds Shopping Help, Intensifying Google Rivalry

This is Beirut, 29/04 18:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

US Internet AI CHATGPT Technology

OpenAI announced Monday that ChatGPT is now helping users find products online, enhancing its challenge to Google amid regulatory pressure on the search giant's market dominance. The new shopping capability further blurs the line between AI chatbots and search engines, signaling OpenAI's ambition to compete with Google in a market the ...

Xi Says China Must 'Overcome' AI Chip Challenges.

This is Beirut, 28/04 12:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

China AI Technology Xi Jinping US Trade

President Xi Jinping said China must "overcome" the challenges of developing core AI technologies including high-end chips, state media reported Saturday, as Beijing seeks to become a world leader in the rapidly developing industry. China aims to dominate the artificial intelligence sector, a goal complicated by the trade standoff with Washington ...