Rawalpindi: An army officer was martyred and three terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Zhob district, the military’s media wing said on Tuesday. Security officials seized weapons, ammunition and explosives from them.

According to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted an IBO in the district’s general area of Sambaza and “effectively engaged” the terrorists, adding that three were subsequently “sent to hell”.

“During the intense exchange of fire, leading his troops from the front, Major Babar Khan, 33, resident of District Mianwali, having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced martyrdom,” the ISPR said.

It added that a sanitisation operation was being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists present in the area.

“Security forces of Pakistan, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts of sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan, and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the ISPR concluded.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (Reuters):  Google parent Alphabet, opens new tab on Tuesday showed how it is building on artificial intelligence across its businesses, including a beefed-up Gemini chatbot and improvements to its prized search engine as it races to compete with AI rivals.

The flurry of announcements underscores Google's efforts to refresh its products since Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O), opens new tab OpenAI’s 2022 launch of ChatGPT dazzled the public, threatening the incumbent's Among Google’s latest salvos was an addition to its family of Gemini 1.5 AI models known as Flash that is faster and cheaper to run; a prototype called Project Astra, which can talk to users about anything captured on their smartphone camera in real time; and search results categorized under AI-generated headlines.

"This is a moment of growth and opportunity," Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai told reporters, when asked if the AI updates could risk Google’s profitable business.

The product presentation at Google's annual I/O developer event in Mountain View, California, followed a shorter showcase by rival OpenAI on Monday. OpenAI demonstrated how ChatGPT could voice answers with human-like intonation to any written or visual prompt. The startup's CEO, Sam Altman, wrote that OpenAI had delivered software that "feels like AI from the movies."

Google’s news at times covered similar ground, underscoring the fierce competition between the two AI developers.

Germany based neuro robotics building a bot – dubbed 4NE-1 – to do things like take out the garbage. Boss David Reger swears the droids don't plan on anything more for anyone.

For instance, Alphabet’s AI unit, Google DeepMind, has worked to build technology that can carry out day-to-day tasks for consumers. Early results have manifested in Project Astra, a tool that can use a smartphone camera and draw conclusions about the world around it.

In a demo video shown during Google I/O, a user deployed it to identify a speaker and locate glasses they had left in another part of the room. The company also teased how it could pair Project Astra with what it calls Gemini Live, a potentially more natural-sounding voice and text aide than its Google Assistant of the past.

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, said of the work behind Project Astra: "We wanted to build a universal AI agent that can be truly helpful in everyday life."

Another area in which Google showed how it is facing off against competitors was video generation. The company teased Veo, an AI model that can spin up 1080p-resolution videos lasting longer than a minute, available to approved creators on a preview basis, filmmaker Donald Glover among them. OpenAI has promoted film-conjuring software of its own among Hollywood executives, enthralling and worrying the creative industry.

Google also announced improvements to its Gemini Pro 1.5 model that is capable of making sense of a massive amount of data. On Tuesday, it said it was doubling that amount, to 2 million tokens, meaning the AI potentially could answer questions when given thousands of pages of text or more than an hour of video to ingest.

The Pro model - starting with prompt sizes of up to 1 million tokens, or pieces of data - will also be available to subscribers to Google’s Gemini Advanced service.

Alphabet shares were up 1% at $172.59 on Tuesday afternoon.long reign over online search and AI.

Lahore: Second Day of the Journalist Safety Training of Trainers (TOT) Workshop at Forman Christian College University (FCCU) continued with a comprehensive agenda to enhance participants' practical skills and address challenges in implementing safety projects within their communities.

Running from May 13th to May 16th, 2024, the workshop, "News Safety: A Holistic Approach to Journalist Safety," is organized by FCCU in collaboration with the Journalism and Media International Centre (JMIC), OsloMet University.

The day's sessions commenced focusing on training methods as the main difference between teaching and learning. Participants engaged in creating a bank of training methods, sharing their experiences, and exploring the learning cycle. Practical exercises, including role-play and ice-breaking techniques, allowed attendees to actively participate and apply their newfound knowledge in creating safety exercises.

One of the highlights of the day was a session titled "Behind the Mask: Identity Challenges in the World of Deepfakes and AI," led by Ms. Asma Basharat, Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at FCCU. The session delved into the complexities of identity preservation amidst technological advancements, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding journalists' identities in the digital age.

Following a brief break, participants delved into discussions on challenges encountered while implementing safety training and projects within their schools or local communities. Topics ranged from psychosocial safety and trauma management challenges to physical and digital obstacles. Exercises were conducted to facilitate the creation of mitigation strategies and action plans.

The day concluded with a closing ceremony graced by Dr. Altaf Ullah Khan, Dean of Humanities at FCCU, who emphasized the integrity of journalist safety in the era of prevalent social media. Dr. Firasat Jabeen, Head of the Department of Mass Communication at FCCU, expressed her gratitude for the continued collaboration between FCCU and Oslo Metropolitan University for five years, underscoring the importance of such partnerships in fostering excellence in journalism education.

The event culminated with a certificate distribution ceremony, marking the successful completion of Day 2 of the workshop.