
Dialog Enterprise, the corporate ICT solutions arm of Dialog Axiata PLC, in collaboration with Dell Technologies and Pinnacle Distribution Lanka, has unveiled an advanced AI-driven Video Surveillance and Analytics as a Service (VSaaS) solution. The launch was attended by key industry professionals from various sectors, marking a significant leap forward in transforming physical security operations across Sri Lanka. The ‘Sight Beyond Sight’ event highlighted the integration of Dialog’s AI-powered Video Surveillance and Analytics solution, powered by Dell Technologies’ reliable infrastructure. This collaboration brings together Dialog’s ICT expertise and Dell’s robust infrastructure, creating a secure and intelligent ecosystem for businesses to enhance physical security operations and streamline efficiency. The AI-driven solution offers businesses real-time threat intelligence and proactive security management, setting a new standard for the industry. A key highlight of the event was the live Proof of Concept (POC), where attendees had the unique opportunity to experience first-hand the power of AI-driven video analytics in real time. Presenters demonstrated how the solution effectively detects threats and accelerates investigations, revolutionising how businesses approach security management. The live demonstration showcased how AI can automate workflows, optimise resources, and enhance return on investment (ROI) on video surveillance, empowering businesses to enhance operational efficiency while strengthening security. “Dialog Enterprise is committed to empowering businesses with innovative solutions that redefine the future of security. Our collaboration with Dell Technologies enhances the capabilities of our video surveillance and analytics systems, offering businesses a proactive approach to managing security,” said Dialog Enterprise Group Chief Officer Navin Pieris. “The event was a landmark moment for the industry. The integration of AI-powered video surveillance and video analytics opens new doors for businesses to revolutionise their security infrastructure. We are proud to be part of this journey with Dialog and Dell Technologies,” said Pinnacle Distribution Lanka Managing Director Saman Perera. As businesses face increasingly complex physical security challenges, the collaboration between Dialog Enterprise and Dell Technologies is paving the way for a comprehensive, scalable solution. This AI-powered video surveillance solution ensures real-time threat detection and enhanced operational efficiency, helping businesses stay ahead in the rapidly evolving security landscape. The event demonstrated the future of security, offering businesses in Sri Lanka a glimpse into the potential of intelligent, AI-powered video surveillance and analytics. Dialog Enterprise continues to lead the charge in digital transformation, driving innovation in physical security and looks forward to further advancements that will help shape the future of security.Nvidia ( NVDA ) is assuaging Wall Street’s concerns about any potential slowdowns in the production of its next-generation Blackwell chip, telling investors during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday that it’s on pace to exceed its previous revenue estimates for the current quarter. “Blackwell production is in full steam,” CEO Jensen Huang said during the call. “I think we're in great shape with respect to the Blackwell ramp at this point.” Prior to the earnings call, The Information reported on Nov. 17 that Nvidia was contending with overheating issues related to its Blackwell-based servers leading suppliers to adjust the design of the racks that house the servers. Nvidia responded at the time saying that design iterations are normal and expected. The report followed a separate Blackwell design issue that Nvidia addressed over the summer, which gave Wall Street pause about whether the chip would land on customers' doorsteps on time. Now Nvidia is saying that the chips aren’t just shipping, they’re in the hands of all of the company’s major partners as well. In Q3, Nvidia reported that cloud service providers, companies like Microsoft ( MSFT ), Amazon ( AMZN ), and Google ( GOOG , GOOGL ), made up 50% of the chipmaker’s data center revenue . Ensuring they’re getting Blackwell chips sooner than later is paramount for Nvidia’s continued growth. And the company appears to be doing just that. Read more: Nvidia nearly triples in value over 11 months: Is it time to invest? “With any product ramp, there's always a great deal of complexity, and Blackwell is no different,” Dan Flax, senior research analyst and managing director at Neuberger Berman, told Yahoo Finance. “And I think what's notable is that Nvidia and its partners are executing well. I think supply will improve over the next couple of months as they really scale Blackwell.” But there’s one problem that continues to bedevil Nvidia: supply constraints. The sheer number of companies jockeying for position to grab the AI behemoth’s chips makes it difficult to meet demand. “It is the case that demand exceeds supply,” Huang told analysts. “And that’s expected as we’re in the beginning of this generative AI revolution.” For some perspective, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors during the company’s most recent earnings call that the social media giant is training its Llama 4 AI models on a server cluster made up of more than 100,000 Nvidia H100 chips . The H100 is Nvidia’s prior-generation Hopper AI accelerator. With Blackwell promising far better performance than Hopper, it only makes sense that massive AI companies like Meta ( META ) are angling to get as many of those chips as possible. As Blackwell production continues to ramp, though, the company should be able to ensure its most important customers get the chips they need. “Nvidia's supply chain and all the data center power capacity is increasing at a very rapid pace,” New Street Research technology infrastructure analyst Antoine Chkaiban told Yahoo Finance in a video interview. “And so here the conclusion is that there is no bottleneck preventing Nvidia from ... meeting consensus expectations next year.” In its Wednesday earnings announcement, Nvidia reported better-than-anticipated results on the top and bottom lines, beating Wall Street’s estimates and modestly topping the outlook for its current quarter. Revenue jumped 94% year over year, while Data Center sales climbed 112%. Despite that, shares fell in early trading Thursday. This isn’t the first time the market has turned on Nvidia after it posted huge revenue growth. Investors pulled back after the company’s last earnings report as well before rallying behind the stock in the following weeks and making Nvidia the largest publicly traded company in the world ahead of Apple earlier this month. Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley . For the latest earnings reports and analysis, earnings whispers and expectations, and company earnings news, click here Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Fin ance.
None
Dialog Enterprise and Dell Technologies unveil next-gen AI-driven video surveillance solutionAfter institutions for people with disabilities close, graves are at risk of being forgotten
Conversational artificial intelligence tools may soon "covertly influence" users' decision making in a new commercial frontier called the "intention economy", University of Cambridge researchers warned in a paper published Monday. The research argues the potentially "lucrative yet troubling" marketplace emerging for "digital signals of intent" could, in the near future, influence everything from buying movie tickets to voting for political candidates. Our increasing familiarity with chatbots, digital tutors and other so-called "anthropomorphic" AI agents is helping enable this new array of "persuasive technologies", it added. It will see AI combine knowledge of our online habits with a growing ability to know the user and anticipate his or her desires and build "new levels of trust and understanding", the paper's two co-authors noted. Left unchecked, that could allow for "social manipulation on an industrial scale", the pair, from Cambridge's Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence , argued in the paper published in the Harvard Data Science Review. It characterises how this emergent sector dubbed the "intention economy" will profile users' attention and communicative styles and connect them to patterns of behaviour and choices they make. "AI tools are already being developed to elicit, infer, collect, record, understand, forecast, and ultimately manipulate and commodify human plans and purposes," co-author Yaqub Chaudhary said. The new AI will rely on so-called Large Language Models or LLMs to target a user's cadence, politics, vocabulary, age, gender, online history, and even preferences for flattery and ingratiation, according to the research. That would be linked with other emerging AI tech that bids to achieve a given aim, such as selling a cinema trip, or steer conversations towards particular platforms, advertisers, businesses and even political organisations. Co-author Jonnie Penn warned: "Unless regulated, the intention economy will treat your motivations as the new currency." "It will be a gold rush for those who target, steer, and sell human intentions," he added. "We should start to consider the likely impact such a marketplace would have on human aspirations, including free and fair elections, a free press, and fair market competition, before we become victims of its unintended consequences." Penn noted that public awareness of the issue is "the key to ensuring we don't go down the wrong path". jj/gil Nvidia Meta Apple This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.Jessica Hamilton, a clinical psychologist at University of Kansas Health System, said people concerned about bitter political arguments during Thanksgiving gatherings could opt out of those conversations. She said holiday dinner hosts could set boundaries for guests to forbid quarrels about the November election. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from KU Health System YouTube channel) TOPEKA — Personal political agendas, social-media inflamed partisanship and tough-to-swallow outcomes in the 2024 election are likely to simmer as families with divergent perspectives gather around dinner tables for annual Thanksgiving meals. Instead of settling whether it was acceptable to substitute lasagna for turkey as the main course, folks were likely to argue about attributes and shortcomings of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Rather than consider whether the menu should include fried apples, braised collard greens, macaroni and cheese or roasted broccoli, relatives could slide into debate on the potential of tariffs igniting inflation. In lieu of conversation about whether pecan pie should be displaced by English toffee for dessert, diners might bicker about implications of Republicans simultaneously controlling the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Clinical psychologists Greg Nawalanic and Jessica Hamilton, of the University of Kansas Health System, said supper-time strife could be reduced by taking a healthy approach to political differences. They recommended families and friends strive to set boundaries, be courteous, actively listen to others, express curiosity and focus on the big picture of a holiday associated with counting blessings. “If you are on the winning side, then that’s great for you. Have those feelings. Celebrate it. Maybe keep it inside of you. Talk to like-minded people about that,” Nawalanic said. “But when you have friends or family who were opposing, try to be gracious about it. Remember, they were just as invested as you were ... but now are very disappointed.” He said that during the two weeks after the Nov. 5 election about 90% of his counseling sessions were tied to ballot-box results. Hamilton said some of her patients were suffering anticipatory anxiety because they understood their personal political ideas didn’t align with others in the family. Some clients, she said, were experiencing political grief because a majority of voters didn’t see national, state or local candidates in the same way or took a contrary position on taxation, gambling or abortion questions. She said the desire of people to stand up for personal values made it difficult to accept the political opinions of rivals. One option on Thanksgiving was to not participate in political dialogue at the dinner table, she said. Those who do ought to take a deep breath before commenting to avoid escalating a rhetorical quarrel, she said. “If you want to engage, I would say engage in a way that is true to the kind of person that you want to be,” Hamilton said. “Are you wanting to be ‘right’ as far as politics go? Or, do you want to be understanding and recognize that there is a difference and be respectful?” She suggested individuals direct conversations toward poignant or humorous family stories and histories rather than squabble about political events capable of driving people apart. Hamilton said it would be acceptable for a Thanksgiving host to set ground rules in advance that precluded back-and-forth friction on political topics. Adults and children might be well-served by looking at election results through the lens of good sportsmanship, she said. “We teach our kids this,” she said. “Why aren’t we displaying that as adults? How can we be good sports and appreciate one another?” Nawalanic said the environment of some Thanksgiving gatherings could be compared to a visit to a dentist. It might not be pleasant, he said, but the agony was of limited duration. He said individuals consumed political news in different ways with some remaining glued to social media and others taking passive interest until Election Day. He said social media amplified discord during the 2024 elections. In the end, he said, technology played a larger role in this election because messaging left little room to calmly consider the range of candidates and issues. “We have to understand that when we go into these conversations there’s been an echo chamber that is so reinforced and impregnable,” Nawalanic said. “If you try to talk or communicate at your dinner table the way you’re doing it online — if you’re one of those little snipers who wants to nail you — let’s not do that.” He advised people to resist the temptation to sever family relationships based on results of November’s voting. Perhaps it would be best to explore more substantive reasons for contemplating closure of those doors, he said. “If you’re considering ending a relationship because of politics, it’s probably less about the politics and more about personality attributes in the way they’ve gone about it,” Nawalanic said. Nawalanic said it could be useful to snack before arriving for the big Thanksgiving meal, because hunger could trigger what he referred to episodes of “hanger” when controversial topics were broached. He said consumption of alcoholic beverages ought to be minimized at dinners where discord could arise because “wine is not adaptive coping.” He said it was important to remember this year’s snapshot of people around the dinner table was certain to change by next year. “Do you want to look back on this Thanksgiving and think, ‘It was such a nice, lovely family time together and a great meal,'” Nawalanic said. “Or, do you want to remember, ‘I burned her with that comment. When I said that, she felt it.'”
SoftBank commits $100bn investment in the US, aims to create jobs
By Tony Leys | KFF Health News GLENWOOD, Iowa — Hundreds of people who were separated from society because they had disabilities are buried in a nondescript field at the former state institution here. Disability rights advocates hope Iowa will honor them by preventing the kind of neglect that has plagued similar cemeteries at other shuttered facilities around the U.S. The southwest Iowa institution, called the Glenwood Resource Center, was closed this summer in the wake of allegations of poor care . The last of its living residents were moved elsewhere in June. But the remains of about 1,300 people will stay where they were buried on the grounds. The graveyard, which dates to the 1800s, covers several acres of sloping ground near the campus’s brick buildings. A 6-foot-tall, weathered-concrete cross stands on the hillside, providing the most visible clue to the field’s purpose. On a recent afternoon, dried grass clippings obscured row after row of small stone grave markers set flat in the ground. Most of the stones are engraved with only a first initial, a last name, and a number. “If somebody who’s never been to Glenwood drove by, they wouldn’t even know there was a cemetery there,” said Brady Werger, a former resident of the facility. During more than a century of operation, the institution housed thousands of people with intellectual disabilities. Its population declined as society turned away from the practice of sequestering people with disabilities and mental illness in large facilities for decades at a time. The cemetery is filled with residents who died and weren’t returned to their hometowns for burial with their families. State and local leaders are working out arrangements to maintain the cemetery and the rest of the 380-acre campus. Local officials, who are expected to take control of the grounds next June, say they’ll need extensive state support for upkeep and redevelopment, especially with the town of about 5,000 people reeling from the loss of jobs at the institution. Hundreds of such places were constructed throughout the U.S. starting in the 1800s. Some, like the one in Glenwood, served people with disabilities, such as those caused by autism or seizure disorders. Others housed people with mental illness. Most of the facilities were built in rural areas, which were seen as providing a wholesome environment. States began shrinking or closing these institutions more than 50 years ago. The shifts were a response to complaints about people being removed from their communities and subjected to inhumane conditions, including the use of isolation and restraints. In the past decade, Iowa has closed two of its four mental hospitals and one of its two state institutions for people with intellectual disabilities. After closures in some other states, institutions’ cemeteries were abandoned and became overgrown with weeds and brush. The neglect drew protests and sparked efforts to respectfully memorialize people who lived and died at the facilities. “At some level, the restoration of institutions’ cemeteries is about the restoration of humanity,” said Pat Deegan, a Massachusetts mental health advocate who works on the issue nationally . Deegan, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager, sees the neglected graveyards as symbolic of how people with disabilities or mental illness can feel as if their individual identities are buried beneath the labels of their conditions. Deegan, 70, helped lead efforts to rehabilitate a pair of overgrown cemeteries at the Danvers State Hospital near Boston, which housed people with mental illness before it closed in 1992. More than 700 former residents were buried there, with many graves originally marked only with a number. The Massachusetts hospital’s grounds were redeveloped into a condominium complex. The rehabilitated cemeteries now have individual gravestones and a large historical marker, explaining what the facility was and who lived there. The sign notes that some past methods of caring for psychiatric patients seem “barbarous” by today’s standards, but the text portrays the staff as well-meaning. It says the institution “attempted to alleviate the problems of many of its members with care and empathy that, although not always successful, was nobly attempted.” Deegan has helped other groups across the country organize renovations of similar cemeteries. She urges communities to include former residents of the facilities in their efforts. Iowa’s Glenwood Resource Center started as a home for orphans of Civil War soldiers. It grew into a large institution for people with disabilities, many of whom lived there for decades. Its population peaked at more than 1,900 in the 1950s, then dwindled to about 150 before state officials decided to close it. Werger, 32, said some criticisms of the institution were valid, but he remains grateful for the support the staff gave him until he was stable enough to move into community housing in 2018. “They helped change my life incredibly,” he said. He thinks the state should have fixed problems at the facility instead of shutting it. He said he hopes officials preserve historical parts of the campus, including stately brick buildings and the cemetery. He wishes the graves had more extensive headstones, with information about the residents buried there. He would also like to see signs installed explaining the place’s history. Two former employees of the Glenwood facility recently raised concerns that some of the graves may be mismarked . But officials with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, which ran the institution, said they have extensive, accurate records and recently placed stones on three graves that were unmarked. Department leaders declined to be interviewed about the cemetery’s future. Spokesperson Alex Murphy wrote in an email that while no decisions have been made about the campus, the agency “remains committed to ensuring the cemetery is protected and treated with dignity and respect for those who have been laid to rest there.” Glenwood civic leaders have formed a nonprofit corporation that is negotiating with the state over development plans for the former institution. “We’re trying to make the best of a tough situation,” said Larry Winum, a local banker who serves on the new organization’s board. Tentative plans include tearing down some of the existing buildings and creating up to 900 houses and apartments. Winum said redevelopment should include some kind of memorial sign about the institution and the people buried in the cemetery. “It will be important to us that those folks be remembered,” he said. Activists in other states said properly honoring such places takes sustained commitment and money. Jennifer Walton helped lead efforts in the 1990s to properly mark graves and improve cemetery upkeep at state institutions in Minnesota . Some of the cemeteries are deteriorating again, she said. Activists plan to ask Minnesota legislators to designate permanent funding to maintain them and to place explanatory markers at the sites. “I think it’s important, because it’s a way to demonstrate that these spaces represent human beings who at the time were very much hidden away,” Walton said. “No human being should be pushed aside and ignored.” Related Articles Health | A stroke changed a teacher’s life. How a new electrical device is helping her move Health | Washington power has shifted. Here’s how the ACA may shift, too Health | CDC chief urges focus on health threats as agency confronts political changes Health | New rule allows HIV-positive organ transplants Health | Biden proposes Medicare and Medicaid cover costly weight-loss drugs for millions of obese Americans On a recent day, just one of the Glenwood graves had flowers on it. Retired managers of the institution said few people visit the cemetery, but amateur genealogists sometimes show up after learning that a long-forgotten ancestor was institutionalized at Glenwood and buried there. Former grounds supervisor Max Cupp said burials had become relatively rare over the years, with more families arranging to have deceased residents’ remains transported to their hometown cemeteries. One of the last people buried in the Glenwood cemetery was Kenneth Rummells, who died in 2022 at age 71 after living many years at the institution and then at a nearby group home overseen by the state. His guardian was Kenny Jacobsen, a retired employee of the facility who had known him for decades. Rummells couldn’t speak, but he could communicate by grunting, Jacobsen said. He enjoyed sitting outside. “He was kind of quiet, kind of a touch-me-not guy.” Jacobsen helped arrange for a gravestone that is more detailed than most others in the cemetery. The marker includes Rummells’ full name, the dates of his birth and death, a drawing of a porch swing, and the inscription “Forever swinging in the breeze.” Jacobsen hopes officials figure out how to maintain the cemetery. He would like to see a permanent sign erected, explaining who is buried there and how they came to live in Glenwood. “They were people too,” he said.