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JD Vance gears up to talk economic priorities during trips to Italy, India

FOX News

Tech expert Kurt'CyberGuy' Knutsson joins'Fox & Friends' to discuss the future of AI development in the United States. Vice President JD Vance is poised to kick off a trip to Italy and India on Friday – marking his third international trip with the Trump administration. Vance and the second family are poised to meet with and "discuss shared economic and geopolitical priorities with leaders in each country," according to a statement from Vance's office. When in Rome, Vance is scheduled to meet with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. He will meet with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi while visiting New Delhi, Jaipur and Agra.


The Download: generative AI therapy, and the future of 23andMe's genetic data

MIT Technology Review

June 2022 Across the world, video cameras have become an accepted feature of urban life. Many cities in China now have dense networks of them, and London and New Delhi aren't far behind. Now France is playing catch-up. Concerns have been raised throughout the country. But the surveillance rollout has met special resistance in Marseille, France's second-biggest city. It's unsurprising, perhaps, that activists are fighting back against the cameras, highlighting the surveillance system's overreach and underperformance.


Why is X suing the Indian government as Musk woos Modi?

Al Jazeera

When Elon Musk met Narendra Modi in Washington DC in February, the SpaceX and Tesla chief presented India's prime minister with a gift and introduced him to his family. Modi described the meeting as "very good". Modi was in the United States to see President Donald Trump. In Modi's meeting with Musk, the two talked about collaborating in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), space exploration, innovation and sustainable development, according to India's Ministry of External Affairs. But almost a month later, Musk's social media platform X has filed a lawsuit against the Indian government, alleging that New Delhi is unlawfully censoring content online. The lawsuit comes as Musk edges closer to launching both Starlink and Tesla in India.


Luxury brands are betting big on India, and so are counterfeiters

Al Jazeera

New Delhi/Kolkata, India – A pair of black Dandy Pik Pik loafers covered in sharp, uneven spikes and shiny studs was part of the evidence before Judge Pratibha M Singh in an intellectual-property lawsuit brought by French luxury shoe brand Christian Louboutin against an Indian shoe manufacturer in a Delhi high court last year. Louboutin's lawyers had already regaled the court with anecdotes about the iconic status of their shoes. The signature stilettos, with their luxuriant red soles, had starred in movies like The Devil Wears Prada and Sex and The City, and were registered as a trademark in India and other countries, they said. Riding on the brand's reputation, the lawyers were now trying to make the point that spiked shoes, too, were unique to Christian Louboutin, and the defendant, Shutiq – The Shoe Boutique, was manufacturing and selling their designs in India illegally. Incriminating evidence presented to Judge Singh included testimony from ChatGPT, saying that Christian Louboutin is known for spiked men's shoes. Then there were photographs of Shutiq's 26 spiked and bedazzled shoes next to Louboutin originals, including Dandy Pik Pik.


Comprehensive Monitoring of Air Pollution Hotspots Using Sparse Sensor Networks

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Urban air pollution hotspots pose significant health risks, yet their detection and analysis remain limited by the sparsity of public sensor networks. This paper addresses this challenge by combining predictive modeling and mechanistic approaches to comprehensively monitor pollution hotspots. We enhanced New Delhi's existing sensor network with 28 low-cost sensors, collecting PM2.5 data over 30 months from May 1, 2018, to Nov 1, 2020. Applying established definitions of hotspots to this data, we found the existence of additional 189 hidden hotspots apart from confirming 660 hotspots detected by the public network. Using predictive techniques like Space-Time Kriging, we identified hidden hotspots with 95% precision and 88% recall with 50% sensor failure rate, and with 98% precision and 95% recall with 50% missing sensors. The projected results of our predictive models were further compiled into policy recommendations for public authorities. Additionally, we developed a Gaussian Plume Dispersion Model to understand the mechanistic underpinnings of hotspot formation, incorporating an emissions inventory derived from local sources. Our mechanistic model is able to explain 65% of observed transient hotspots. Our findings underscore the importance of integrating data-driven predictive models with physics-based mechanistic models for scalable and robust air pollution management in resource-constrained settings.


Modi's BJP 'shaken' by stronger opposition, says congress leader

The Japan Times

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ruling party leaders have been rattled by India's newly emboldened opposition, which now plans to use its expanded presence in parliament to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party on multiple fronts, a senior opposition leader said. Shashi Tharoor, a senior member of the Indian National Congress and 15-year veteran of the lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, said BJP leaders appeared "shaken" by a fiery parliamentary speech this week by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. He said the speech signals the presence of a more forceful opposition in India for the first time since Modi took power a decade ago. "They're not used to it. They have to get used to it," Tharoor said of the BJP during an interview in New Delhi on Wednesday.


US pushes India to reverse laptop trade policy, says they will 'think twice' about future business

FOX News

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. India reversed a laptop licensing policy after behind-the-scenes lobbying by U.S. officials, who however remain concerned about New Delhi's compliance with WTO obligations and new rules it may issue, according to U.S. trade officials and government emails seen by Reuters. In August, India imposed rules requiring firms like Apple, Dell and HP to obtain licences for all shipments of imported laptops, tablets, personal computers and servers, raising fears that the process could slow down sales. But New Delhi rolled back the policy within weeks, saying it will only monitor the imports and decide on next steps a year later.


In India an algorithm declares them dead; they have to prove they're alive

Al Jazeera

This story was produced with support from the Pulitzer Center's AI Accountability Network. Rohtak and New Delhi, India: Dhuli Chand was 102 years old on September 8, 2022, when he led a wedding procession in Rohtak, a district town in the north Indian state of Haryana. As is customary in north Indian weddings, he sat on a chariot in his wedding finery, wearing garlands of Indian rupee notes, while a band played celebratory music and family members and villagers accompanied him. But instead of a bride, Chand was on his way to meet government officials. Chand resorted to the antic to prove to officials that he was not only alive but also lively.


How an algorithm denied food to thousands of poor in India's Telangana

Al Jazeera

This story was produced with support from the Pulitzer Center's AI Accountability Network. Hyderabad and New Delhi, India – Bismillah Bee can't conceive of owning a car. The 67-year-old widow and 12 members of her family live in a cramped three-room house in an urban slum in Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Telangana. Since her rickshaw puller husband's death two years ago of mouth cancer, Bee makes a living by peeling garlic for a local business. But an algorithmic system, which the Telangana government deploys to digitally profile its more than 30 million residents, tagged Bee's husband as a car owner in 2021, when he was still alive.


No Transfers Required: Integrating Last Mile with Public Transit Using Opti-Mile

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Public transit is a popular mode of transit due to its affordability, despite the inconveniences due to the necessity of transfers required to reach most areas. For example, in the bus and metro network of New Delhi, only 30% of stops can be directly accessed from any starting point, thus requiring transfers for most commutes. Additionally, last-mile services like rickshaws, tuk-tuks or shuttles are commonly used as feeders to the nearest public transit access points, which further adds to the complexity and inefficiency of a journey. Ultimately, users often face a tradeoff between coverage and transfers to reach their destination, regardless of the mode of transit or the use of last-mile services. To address the problem of limited accessibility and inefficiency due to transfers in public transit systems, we propose ``opti-mile," a novel trip planning approach that combines last-mile services with public transit such that no transfers are required. Opti-mile allows users to customise trip parameters such as maximum walking distance, and acceptable fare range. We analyse the transit network of New Delhi, evaluating the efficiency, feasibility and advantages of opti-mile for optimal multi-modal trips between randomly selected source-destination pairs. We demonstrate that opti-mile trips lead to a 10% reduction in distance travelled for 18% increase in price compared to traditional shortest paths. We also show that opti-mile trips provide better coverage of the city than public transit, without a significant fare increase.