Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, former Director General of the Smart Dubai Office (UAE), gave examples AI traffic lights now save every driver in Dubai 20 minutes a day, and traffic jams have been reduced by 15%. In general, the UAE is paying a lot of attention to the development of artificial intelligence: in 2017, the country became the first in the world to introduce the position of Minister of AI.

AI Journey, an international conference on artificial intelligence and machine learning, has hosted the main panel discussion, AI for Humans: Helping People. Uniting Countries, featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin and moderated by Sberbank CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board Herman Gref.

Vladimir Putin noted that Russia has become an important platform for discussing advanced technologies, and Sber and the National AI Alliance play a crucial role in this. In the past year alone, artificial intelligence has changed the face of entire industries, including the creative industry.

Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, an expert on global digital transformation and smart cities and former Director General of the Smart Dubai Office (UAE), gave examples of practical smart city solutions. AI traffic lights now save every driver in Dubai 20 minutes a day, and traffic jams have been reduced by 15%. In general, the UAE is paying a lot of attention to the development of artificial intelligence: in 2017, the country became the first in the world to introduce the position of Minister of AI. 

This year Sber’s large language model GigaChat will, for the first time ever, process the questions of Russian citizens for the direct line with Vladimir Putin, which will be held on December 19, giving a full objective picture of what questions Russians are concerned about. These technologies will help create unique tools for feedback from citizens.

As Herman Gref noted, the analysis of the questions submitted for the call-in session showed that citizens are mostly concerned about urban development, public administration, education, social services, and healthcare. Artificial intelligence is able to provide effective solutions, which were shared by Russian and foreign experts who participated in the panel discussion.

Dr. Song Haitao, President of the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (SAIRI) and Director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s (UNIDO) International Centre of Excellence for Development of AI in Industry and Manufacturing, described how AI is improving the Chinese government’s operations by automating data management, providing decision support, and optimizing resource allocation and budgets. AI is being used across a wide range of sectors in the Chinese economy and is attracting investors. In Shanghai alone, AI startups have attracted more than four billion yuan in investment.

Artificial intelligence also speeds up social welfare payments and benefits and improves the quality of such services, said Herman Gref. This is already being done in Lipetsk Region, and Olga Beloglazova, deputy governor of the region, spoke about it during the conference. More than 100 relief measures are available in Lipetsk Region. The adoption of an intelligent management system in this region has enabled process automation and reduced the time of service provision by half, while reducing the number of errors by a factor of ten. Accordingly, labor productivity has quadrupled. Soon, the region is set to reduce the time to distribute welfare by another half.

According to Herman Gref, artificial intelligence can accelerate scientific discoveries in medicine to an extent that progress in the next decade may be similar to progress made over the last 100 years. It is AI that can make medical services better and more accessible, and find new ways of providing medical care.

To unite efforts in driving AI worldwide, AI Journey 2024 has announced the establishment of the International AI Alliance Network with 18 participating associations from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Iran, China, Cuba, Morocco, Russia, Serbia, Tunisia, Chile, Ethiopia, and South Africa. This move should take stakeholders to the next level of cooperation, Herman Gref emphasized, to make AI efforts open and transparent so that artificial intelligence would be proper and balanced to meet the needs and state of society.

WhatsApp has introduced an innovative new feature: voice message transcripts. This addition allows users to convert voice messages into text, making it easier to keep up with conversations no matter where you are or what you’re doing.

The feature is rolling out globally over the next few weeks, initially supporting a few select languages, with plans to expand language options in the coming months. In a blog post, WhatsApp highlighted the personal touch of voice messages, stating, “There’s something special about hearing your loved one’s voice even when you’re far away.” However, the company acknowledged that there are times when listening isn’t feasible, such as being in a noisy environment or receiving a lengthy message that’s difficult to hear.For those moments, WhatsApp now offers voice message transcripts.

These transcripts are generated directly on your device, ensuring that no one else — not even WhatsApp — can access your messages.To activate this feature, go to Settings > Chats > Voice Message Transcripts, where you can toggle transcriptions on or off and select your preferred language. Transcribing a message is simple: long-press the voice message and tap “Transcribe.”WhatsApp expressed enthusiasm about enhancing this experience further, promising to make it even more intuitive and user-friendly.

This update follows the introduction of the Message Drafts feature, which addresses a common issue: forgetting to send unfinished messages. WhatsApp now marks incomplete messages with a clear “Draft” label and moves the chat to the top of your list, ensuring you can quickly find and complete them without searching through multiple conversations.With these updates, WhatsApp continues to innovate and make communication more seamless and efficient for its users worldwide.

Joby Aviation, Inc., a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today announced it has taken the first step towards becoming a certified air taxi operator in the United Arab Emirates.

During the International Civil Aviation Organization’s inaugural Advanced Air Mobility Summit, taking place in Montreal, Canada this week, JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, met with His Excellency Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), and presented Joby’s Letter of Intent to initiate Joby’s Air Operator Certificate application.

In February 2024, Joby signed a definitive agreement with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) to launch air taxi services in the Emirate of Dubai, positioning the city as a world leader in the next generation of fast, clean and quiet air mobility.

In April 2024, Joby expanded its partnership with the UAE through a multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Municipalities and Transport – Abu Dhabi (DMT), the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED) and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), paving the way for Joby to establish and scale air taxi services in Abu Dhabi and beyond.

Bevirt commented: “There is incredible momentum behind the adoption of clean flight across the UAE, and we’re excited to be working with a wide range of partners, including the GCAA, to lay the groundwork for one of the world’s first electric air taxi networks, delivering fast, clean and quiet journeys using our revolutionary aircraft.”

H.E Saif Al Suwaidi said: “The Letter of Intent for the operator certificate application from Joby Aviation marks a significant milestone in the UAE’s journey towards becoming a global leader in EVTOL operations. Our readiness to support these advanced technologies underscores our commitment to fostering advanced air mobility solutions that will be part of the future of transportation in the UAE and beyond. We are excited to work closely with Joby Aviation to ensure the highest standards of safety and efficiency as we advance towards the realization of commercial EVTOL operations in our skies.”

Issued by the GCAA, the Air Operator Certificate is required to operate commercial air transport in the UAE. Joby will follow a five-stage application process that will see the Company develop a full complement of air taxi operating manuals, undergo inspections of its UAE-based facilities, and complete GCAA observation of pilot and aircraft mechanic training as well as flight operations.
Joby completed a similar process to receive its U.S. Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration in May 2022 and has operated traditional aircraft in the U.S. for more than two years, refining aspects of the Company’s intended air taxi operations while using its proprietary ElevateOS software system.

Joby’s electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour, with a journey from Dubai International Airport to Palm Jumeirah, which typically takes 45 minutes by car, expected to take just 10 minutes.