水務署主辦的「知慳識水」嘉年華於十二月五日至十五日在灣仔HarbourChill海濱休閒站舉行，主題為「不缺水的未來由你開始」。 活動內容豐富，包括大型佈置、節水工作坊、互動遊戲、「滴惜仔」見面會等。嘉年華旨在透過一系列有趣好玩的活動，加強市民節約用水的意識，共同為創造不缺水的未來而努力。 LinkedIn Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp The post 水務署的「知慳識水」嘉年華在灣仔海濱舉行 appeared first on VeriMedia. source

Two new Google generative AI models, Veo and Imagen 3, are now available on the cloud hosting service Vertex AI. Veo generates videos, and Imagen 3 creates photos. Google proposes these models could be used in marketing, e-commerce, and more. Veo builds video from text or image prompts After companies like OpenAI experimented with video generation to mixed success earlier this year, infrastructure and processing power have caught up and made video generation more practical. Just this week, Amazon introduced a video-generation model called Amazon Nova Reels on AWS. Veo creates videos from text or image prompts and can add elements to existing videos. Google addressed common challenges in video-generation AI, such as maintaining continuity and avoiding unnatural-looking movement. This effort followed OpenAI’s February Sora demonstration, which highlighted issues such as bizarre movements, including surreal examples featuring wolves. Veo can generate images over a minute long at 1080p resolution, and longer videos can include multiple scenes generated from sequential prompts. Veo can replicate different art styles, as shown by this video, generated entirely by the model. Image: Google DeepMind Veo is available now in private preview. To get started, account holders can contact their organization’s Google Cloud account representative. More Google news & tips Imagen 3 creates photorealistic or animated-looking images Imagen 3, released in Vertex AI in a private preview in June, will be generally available “starting next week.” Imagen 3 can create realistic or stylized images from text prompts. Google said the detail, lighting, and artifact reduction have improved over Imagen’s previous generation. For marketing, Google highlighted that organizations can incorporate their own “brand, style, logo, subject or product features” into AI-generated images. That customer data is not fed back into the model to train newer iterations of Imagen. A company can insert its own product images into Imagen 3’s AI-generated content. Image: Google Cloud Google has offered a guide to working with Imagen 3 for developers. For security, Imagen 3 comes with digital watermarking, content filters, and data governance safeguards. SEE: These video production templates for Google Sheets and more could make your workflow run more smoothly. Companies offer more generative AI options, explore ROI sources Google Cloud has sold Veo and Imagen 3 on Vertex AI to various high-profile clients, who have praised the tools for rapid iteration of content using generative AI. However, generative AI giants and their customers sometimes struggle with how to derive value from the tools. Meanwhile, Google claimed that 74% of organizations with generative AI investments see ROI. However, the reception to AI-generated content hasn’t been universally positive: Coca-Cola’s November AI-generated video ad created controversy, with some consumers reacting negatively to what they perceived as a lack of creativity or authenticity. source

By Andrew Karpan ( December 4, 2024, 8:34 PM EST) — The Federal Circuit on Wednesday rubber-stamped a ruling out of Delaware federal court that cleared Intel of allegations that the chipmaker infringed patents by a University of Maryland professor who purportedly developed an important idea in the world of “parallel computing” in 2006…. Law360 is on it, so you are, too. A Law360 subscription puts you at the center of fast-moving legal issues, trends and developments so you can act with speed and confidence. Over 200 articles are published daily across more than 60 topics, industries, practice areas and jurisdictions. A Law360 subscription includes features such as Daily newsletters Expert analysis Mobile app Advanced search Judge information Real-time alerts 450K+ searchable archived articles And more! Experience Law360 today with a free 7-day trial. source

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More AWS announced more updates for Bedrock aimed to spot hallucinations and build smaller models faster as enterprises want more customization and accuracy from models.  AWS announced during re:Invent 2024 Amazon Bedrock Model Distillation and Automated Reasoning Checks on preview for enterprise customers interested in training smaller models and catching hallucinations. Amazon Bedrock Model Distillation will let users use a larger AI model to train a smaller model and offer enterprises access to a model they feel would work best with their workload.  Larger models, such as Llama 3.1 405B, have more knowledge but are slow and unwieldy. A smaller model responds faster but most often has limited knowledge. AWS said Bedrock Model Distillation would make the process of transferring a bigger model’s knowledge to a smaller one without sacrificing response time.  Users can select the heavier-weight model they want and find a small model within the same family, like Llama or Claude, which have a range of model sizes in the same family, and write out sample prompts. Bedrock will generate responses and fine-tune the smaller model and continue to make more sample data to finish distilling the larger model’s knowledge.  Right now, model distillation works with Anthropic, Amazon and Meta models. Bedrock Model Distillation is currently on preview.  Why enterprises are interested in model distillation For enterprises that want a faster response model — such as one that can quickly answer customer questions — there must be a balance between knowing a lot and responding quickly. While they can choose to use a smaller version of a large model, AWS is banking that more enterprises want more customization in the kinds of models — both the larger and smaller ones — that they want to use.  AWS, which does offer a choice of models in Bedrock’s model garden, hopes enterprises will want to choose any model family and train a smaller model for their needs.  Many organizations, mostly model providers, use model distillation to train smaller models. However, AWS said the process usually entails a lot of machine learning expertise and manual fine-tuning. Model providers such as Meta have used model distillation to bring a broader knowledge base to a smaller model. Nvidia leveraged distillation and pruning techniques to make Llama 3.1-Minitron 4B, a small language model it said performs better than similar-sized models. Model distillation is not new for Amazon, which has been working on model distillation methods since 2020.  Catching factual errors faster Hallucinations remain an issue for AI models, even though enterprises have created workarounds like fine-tuning and limiting what models will respond to. However, even the most fine-tuned model that only performs retrieval augmented generation (RAG) tasks with a data set can still make mistakes.  AWS solution is Automated Reasoning checks on Bedrock, which uses mathematical validation to prove that a response is correct.  “Automated Reasoning checks is the first and only generative AI safeguard that helps prevent factual errors due to hallucinations using logically accurate and verifiable reasoning,” AWS said. “By increasing the trust that customers can place in model responses, Automated Reasoning checks opens generative AI up to new use cases where accuracy is paramount.”  Customers can access Automated Reasoning checks from Amazon Bedrock Guardrails, the product that brings responsible AI and fine-tuning to models. Researchers and developers often use automated reasoning to deal with precise answers for complex issues with math.  Users have to upload their data and Bedrock will develop the rules for the model to follow and guide customers to ensure the model is tuned to them. Once it’s checked, Automated Reasoning checks on Bedrock will verify the responses from the model. If it returns something incorrectly, Bedrock will suggest a new answer. AWS CEO Matt Garman said during his keynote that automated checks ensure an enterprise’s data remains its differentiator, with their AI models reflecting that accurately.  source

I recently had the opportunity to write a research report with Vicki Brown to tackle questions that we often get from clients: What is the difference between a buyer’s journey map and a revenue waterfall, and do they work together? The Buyer’s Journey Map Buyer’s journey maps are developed to represent the buyer’s view of the purchasing process. They help us understand what information buyers seek, when they need it, and where they go to find it. With that information, B2B marketers can build better go-to-market strategies and engagement plans. The B2B Revenue Waterfall™ On the contrary, the B2B Revenue Waterfall focuses on internal processes, tracking targeted opportunities as they move through the waterfall stages. The goal is for an organization to measure the flow of demand, inform demand program planning to increase the volume of opportunities, and improve the velocity of existing opportunities. Trying to conflate the two is dangerous and hinders the purpose of each framework. It also harms both buyers and sellers, because the waterfall stage for the group may not always equal where every buyer is in their journey. Do They Work Together? The answer: sometimes. Insights from both Forrester’s B2B Buyer’s Journey Map Framework and the B2B Revenue Waterfall can inform how to improve the other, but they are ultimately designed to do two different things. How does your organization plan (external view) and manage (internal view) demand generation programs in a way that serves both the buyer’s needs and the organization’s need to measure progress and manage resources? Forrester clients: Let’s chat more via a Forrester guidance session. Forrester clients also can access our report here. source

In his first speech on Tuesday, the new head of the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre warned that the country’s cyber risks are “widely underestimated.” Richard Horne, who took the position in October, says that hostile activity has “increased in frequency, sophistication and intensity,” largely from foreign actors in Russia and China. He highlighted the ransomware attacks on the British Library and pathology company Synnovis, which disrupted the NHS, illustrating a dependence on technology for knowledge access and health. “Actors are increasingly using our technology dependence against us, seeking to cause maximum disruption and destruction,” he said in the speech. SEE: 1.1 Million UK NHS Employee Records Exposed NCSC annual report saw a rise in cyber incidents in 2024 Horne’s words come on the heels of the NCSC’s Annual Review 2024, which reveals that its Incident Management team handled 430 incidents this year compared to 371 in 2023. Of these, 347 involved some form of data theft, while 20 involved ransomware. The report singles out ransomware as the most pervasive threat to U.K. businesses, especially in academia, manufacturing, IT, legal, charities, and construction. According to the NCSC, the pervasion of generative AI has been found to increase the risk of ransomware by providing “capability uplift” to attackers. Amateur attackers can use it to craft social engineering materials, analyse exfiltrated data, code, and reconnaissance, essentially lowering the barrier to entry. The NCSC’s Annual Review described 12 of the 430 incidents as “at the top end of the scale and more severe in nature,” a threefold increase over the year prior. Must-read security coverage The country is not taking cyber resilience seriously enough, Horne says “What has struck me more forcefully than anything else since taking the helm at the NCSC is the clearly widening gap between the exposure and threat we face, and the defences that are in place to protect us,” he said. “And what is equally clear to me is that we all need to increase the pace we are working at to keep ahead of our adversaries.” Indeed, research from this year has found that 87% of U.K. businesses are unprepared for cyber attacks, 99% faced one in the last year, and only 54% of U.K. IT professionals are confident in their ability to recover their company’s data after an attack. Horne added that the guidance and frameworks drawn up by the NCSC are not widely used. Ultimately, businesses need to change their perspective on cyber security from a “necessary evil” or “compliance function” to “an integral part of achieving their purpose.” State-led threats are closing in on the U.K., according to the NCSC State-led threats form a key part of both Horne’s speech and the Annual Review, as there is “no room for complacency” regarding their volume and severity. Russia This year, the NCSC and other international cyber authorities, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, warned about pro-Russia hacktivist attacks targeting operational technology such as smart water meters, dam monitoring systems, smart grids, and sensors for precision agriculture. Multiple instances of Russian intelligence services mandating attacks and espionage against NATO allies were also exposed. “Russian threat actors almost certainly intensified their cyber operations against Ukraine and its allies in support of their military campaign and wider geopolitical objectives,” the Annual Review reads. “Through its activities in Ukraine, Russia is inspiring non-state threat actors to carry out cyber attacks against western CNI.” China Horne calls China “a highly sophisticated cyber actor, with increasing ambition to project its influence beyond its borders.” This year it was revealed that Chinese state-sponsored attackers have compromised critical national infrastructure in the U.S. and targeted U.K. MPs and Electoral Commission. SEE: Volt Typhoon Hackers Exploit Zero-Day Vulnerability in Versa Director Servers Used by MSPs, ISPs The Review states that Iran “is developing its cyber capabilities” and “willing to target the UK to fulfill its disruptive and destructive objectives” after attacking organisations in the U.S. North Korea and Iran The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea also remains a prolific cyber threat actor, targeting cryptocurrency and defence organisations to raise funds and collect military intelligence. The NCSC believes that U.K. firms are also at risk from North Korean IT workers disguising themselves as freelancers to generate further revenue, according to the Review. Critical infrastructure is most at risk “The defence and resilience of critical infrastructure, supply chains, the public sector and our wider economy must improve” to protect against these nation-state threats, Horne said. Ian Birdsey, partner and cyber specialist at law firm Clyde & Co, told TechRepublic in an email: “The UK has increasingly become a target for hostile nations due to the redrawing of geopolitical battle lines and the rise in global conflicts in recent years. In turn, threat actors based in those territories are increasingly launching more severe and sophisticated cyberattacks on UK organisations, particularly within critical national infrastructure and its supply chain. “As these systems become more digitalised and interconnected, the pace of these threats continues to escalate. Cyberwarfare has become an ever-present feature and routine dynamic of traditional warfare.” source

Just two weeks since raising $125mn in funding, British scaleup Tokamak Energy has secured backing from the US and UK to upgrade its ST40 fusion energy plant. The US Department of Energy (DOE), the UK’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and Tokamak Energy will jointly sponsor a $52mn upgrade to the fusion facility in Oxfordshire.  “Fusion has the potential to be a clean and sustainable energy source, transforming how we power our country, and countries around the world,” said Kerry McCarthy, Minister for Climate at DESNZ.  “This strategic partnership is therefore crucial to develop this new and exciting technology, and bring it into use quicker,” he said. What day is today? It’s CYBER MONDAY! TNW Conference is offering an exclusive 30% discount on their startup and scaleup programs this week only. This is the best deal you’ll get before prices change in January. The ST40 is a spherical tokamak, a circular-shaped fusion reactor that uses giant magnets to confine superhot plasma and create the conditions needed to fuse atoms. In 2022, the ST40 became the first privately owned fusion reactor to reach 100 million °C — six times as hot as the core of our closest star. The machine is under constant development as Tokamak Energy races to build something commercially viable.  This latest upgrade includes coating the inside of the ST40 with lithium. Research suggests the element can help the walls of fusion reactors better withstand extreme temperatures. But the new project is not just a fusion reactor makeover. “It represents a huge leverage opportunity for advancing fusion science and technology as a whole,” said the DOE’s Dr Geraldine Richmond.  Under the agreement, researchers at universities and national laboratories in both countries will also be able to benefit from the research carried out at the ST40 tokamak. The project is slated to commence next year. The $52mn in funding will be divided equally among all three partners.  Tokamak Energy has already raised $335mn in pursuit of fusion power, making it Europe’s most well-funded private fusion energy venture.  Spun out from the UK’s Atomic Energy Authority in 2009, the company is pursing a type of tokamak that is more compact than traditional doughnut-shaped reactors like the ITER fusion plant under construction in France. According to the company, this shape allows better confinement of the super-hot plasma where fusion occurs, making the reactor smaller, cheaper, and easier to build.    Last year, Tokamak announced plans to build a second prototype spherical tokamak — the ST80-HTS — by 2026 “to demonstrate the full potential of high-temperature superconducting magnets.”  The next step is to build its first grid-connected fusion power plant, which it hopes to pull off somewhere in the 2030s. Its grand vision is for fleets of modular reactors each with a power output of 500MW — enough to power approximately 85,000 homes.  source

The world must reshape its technology infrastructure to ensure artificial intelligence makes good on its potential as a transformative moment in digital innovation. New technologies, such as generative AI, need huge amounts of processing power that will put electricity grids under tremendous stress and raise sustainability questions. But pioneering technologists are working on a potential game changer that goes some way to address these issues: photonics. John Gallant, CIO.com’s Enterprise Consulting Director and Vito Mabrucco, NTT Corp. Chief Marketing Officer, recently engaged in an extensive discussion on exactly how photonics technology could help meet the power demands of AI. Mabrucco first explained that AI will put exponentially higher demands on networks to move large data sets. He said: “We know the current infrastructure that we have can’t possibly support all of the new innovations that are going to result from the very wide and broad and deep implementation of AI.” The demands of AI call for an entirely new approach – a paradigm shift that replaces electronics-based computing and networking with photonics-enabled computing and networking. Photonics addresses a variety of issues and concerns: first, because photonics uses less energy than electronics, it can reduce the amount of power needed to do the same amount of work. This is vitally important because there are legitimate concerns that AI will outpace the capacity of the power grid. Photonics technology also delivers exponentially higher bandwidth rates with lower latency. This enables use cases such as near real-time disaster recovery over photonics-based links in industries like banking and finance, vehicle-to-vehicle communication in an autonomous vehicle scenario, and real-time edge-to-data center connections for robotics applications in factories, or at remote sites in mining or oil and gas industries. How does it work? Mabrucco explained that NTT is working to take fiber-optic technology, which has been used for decades to transmit data over long distances (think undersea cables) and shrink it down for deployment inside computers and networking gear, even down to the chip level. He also says that photonics can “change the paradigm of computing” by enabling a disaggregation of the traditional computing stack. With photonics-based interconnects, organizations will be able to create efficient pools of processing units for specific use cases, such as large language model (LLM) data processing in one location, data storage in another location, and a high-speed link between the two.   NTT takes leadership role NTT is taking a leadership role on a variety of fronts, Mabrucco said. NTT created, alongside Sony and Intel, the IOWN Global Forum. Over 150 leading organizations are involved in it, with the aim of achieving early and successful uses cases that can then be scaled. Mabrucco also encouraged CIOs to get involved in the IOWN Global Forum. NTT has its own internal set of principles that guide its approach to AI. NTT believes that AI should respect human rights and diversity; that it be fair, unbiased and transparent; that it protects personal data; that it be secure; and that it will not only create new business opportunities, but also benefit people and the planet. Speaking of NTT’s AI Charter, Mabrucco said NTT was looking to take a leadership role in AI governance and ethics. It’s clear that the technology firms must understand how this technology will impact if it is to deliver on the promise of a secure and trustworthy AI. View the entire discussion here: source