Officials in Iran are reportedly looking to use artificial intelligence to issue fatwas to speed up the process of Islamic law rulings. Clerics in the city of Qom – Iran’s main hub of Islamic learning – are mulling over the use of AI assistants to help them with religious seminaries, the Financial Times reported. “Robots can’t replace senior clerics, but they can be a trusted assistant that can help them issue a fatwa faster,” Mohammad Ghotbi, who heads a state-linked tech group in Qom, told FT. Iran is home to over 200,000 Shia clergy, of whom nearly half are based in Qom. These officials have been the country’s leading force in protecting its religious values amid growing clashes between tradition and modernity as AI use sees growing interest across the world. Iran particularly sees a growing need to modernise following last year’s nationwide uprising triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police after her arrest for allegedly violating the regime’s mandatory Islamic dress code. Violence launched by the regime against the protest movement also sparked condemnation from international rights groups, including the UN. “It pains me to see what is happening in the country – images of children killed, of women being beaten in the streets,” Volker Turk, UN high commissioner for human rights, said last year. “The old methods and the fortress mentality of those who wield power simply don’t work. In fact, they only aggravate the situation. We are now in a full-fledged human rights crisis,” Mr Turk said. Now, the regime’s clerical establishment seems to view technology – especially the use of AI – as an attempt to modernise. While still in infancy, the move to trial the use of AI to issue fatwas is underway in cities like Qom, whose first AI conference was held in 2020, according to FT. The head of the city’s seminary reportedly shared his views on how AI could advance Islamic studies of senior clergy and speed up their communication with the public. Interest shown by the clerics also appears to be in line with the views of the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said in June that he wants the country to be “at least among the top-10 countries in the world in terms of artificial intelligence”. Read More Iran will keep taking hostages – because no one is willing to stand up to them ChatGPT now has power to ‘see, hear, and speak’ Can a chatbot preach a good sermon? Hundreds attend experimental Lutheran church service to find out Spotify clarifies position on whether it will ban AI-powered music ChatGPT now has power to ‘see, hear, and speak’ ChatGPT can now generate images and create illustrated books

After it was discovered that the OceanGate submersible imploded during its expedition to the Titanic, some have wondered why the Titanic did not reach the same fate when it sank. Last Thursday (June 22), the U.S. Coast Guard had announced that the OceanGate submersible which contained five people, had suffered a "catastrophic implosion" that killed all onboard. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Since learning about the news, some have asked why the sub imploded but the Titanic didn't as it sank. One user took to Twitter to ask the question that was on many minds: Many quickly replied to help explain why the Titanic didn't implode, the answer being that because the Titanic wasn't pressurised, the lack of pressure differential means that the sinking would not result in an implosion. Writing for Northeastern Global News, Arun Bansil, professor of physics, explained that "when a submersible is deep in the ocean it experiences the force on its surface due to water pressure. When this force becomes large than the hull can withstand, the vessel implodes violently." Many also took the opportunity to inform that some parts of the Titanic actually did implode. The stern (the rear) of the ship imploded roughly 60 metres (200 feet) below the surface of the water. Lots of air was trapped in the back of the ship, so when the external pressure got high enough, it imploded. Whereas the air had been released from the front of the ship, which caused the pressure to be equal on the outside and inside, therefore no implosion occurred. As one user explained: Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

CARY, N.C. & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 31, 2023--

UPDATE: Jun. 22, 2023, 12:30 p.m. EDT This story has been updated with the latest

The researcher who invented the term 'cisgender' has hit back at "cowardly" Elon Musk for calling the term a slur. 'Cis' or 'cisgender' was coined by now-retired researcher Dana Defosse. They are used to describe someone whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth. It is not offensive or intended to be used as an insult. Defosse first used the term in a 1994 internet forum, before being added to the Oxford English Dictionary much later in 2015. In an essay for HuffPost, Defosse explained how she invented the term: "I knew that in chemistry, molecules with atoms grouped on the same side are labelled with the Latin prefix ‘cis–,’ while molecules with atoms grouped on opposite sides are referred to as ‘trans–.’ So, cisgender. It seemed like a no-brainer," she wrote. On Wednesday (21 June), Musk responded to a user who claimed to have been harassed by trans rights activists. Twitter user James Esses said he "rejected" the terms after receiving "a slew of messages from trans activists calling me ‘cissy’ and telling me that I am ‘cis’ ‘whether or not I like it.’" In response, Musk tweeted: "Repeated, targeted harassment against any account will cause the harassing accounts to receive, at minimum, temporary suspensions. The words “cis” or “cisgender” are considered slurs on this platform." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The tech mogul's response left many social media users baffled, with Defosse saying it came as no surprise after his "ghastly history of attacking trans people." “The post on Twitter has degenerated into a sort of free-for-all for antisemitic and racist tropes, so it sort of fits in with the direction that platform is going," Defosse said. "The fact is, whether or not somebody identifies as cisgender doesn’t negate the fact that cisgender identity is a valid construct. It exists, and it has meaning in how we operate in the world." The retired researcher went on to call his censorship attempt "cowardly". "Banning use of a word that’s part of our daily vocabulary around the world, that appears in the Oxford English Dictionary, it’s a cowardly and futile attempt to censor an idea which is, in my opinion, way bigger and more enduring than anything Musk could hope to offer," she added. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 2023--

Apple has finally updated the Mac Pro, its most powerful computer. It is the first time the computer has received an update since 2019, when the most recent generation was revealed. Since then, it has been so neglected that some fans feared that it would be discontinued. But at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, it announced that it would be updating the computer with Apple Silicon, its own chips. The new computer is up to three times faster than the previous version, Apple said. The new computer starts at $6,999. It is available to order now and will start arriving from next week. :: Follow The Independent’s live coverage of Apple’s event here Read More Apple just added loads of new features to your iPhone Apple is about to hold one of its biggest ever launches. Follow everything live here Apple reveals big version of its smallest laptop

Scientists have invented a brain implant that allows wearers to communicate using thoughts alone. The speech prosthetic – developed by neuroscientists, neurosurgeons and engineers at Duke University in the US – is able to translate brain signals into words. The researchers claim it is faster and less cumbersome than other brain computer interface and mind reading technologies, and could transform the lives of people suffering from neurological disorders. “There are many patients who suffer from debilitating motor disorders, like ALS or locked-in syndrome, that can impair their ability to speak,” said Gregory Cogan, a professor of neurology at Duke University’s School of Medicine. “But the current tools available to allow them to communicate are generally very slow and cumbersome.” The team was able to pack 256 specially designed microscopic brain sensors onto a postage stamp-sized piece of medical-grade plastic, which was tested on patients undergoing brain surgery for unrelated conditions like having a tumour removed. Participants were asked to listen to a series of nonsensical words like ‘kug’ and ‘vip’ and then speak them aloud. With just 90 seconds of spoken data, an AI algorithm was then used to decode the neural activity into words. The researchers now plan to develop the technology to improve its speed and make it wireless, and have received a $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue. “You’d be able to move around, and you wouldn’t have to be tied to an electrical outlet, which is really exciting,” Professor Cogan said. Duke Institute for Brain Sciences faculty member Jonathan Viventi added: “We’re at the point where it’s still much slower than natural speech, but you can see the trajectory where you might be able to get there.” The research was detailed in a study, titled ‘High-resolution neural recordings improve the accuracy of speech decoding’, published in the journal Nature Communications. Read More ChatGPT goes offline Urgent warning for Gmail users as millions of accounts set to be deleted Political ads on Instagram and Facebook can be deepfakes, Meta says

In March 2022, the world decided it was time to address the growing scourge of plastic pollution. About

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone Season 1 starts on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, at 12 p.m. ET with the launch of Urzikstan, Meat, and Greece.

Ageing could soon be a thing of the past, following the latest development in chemical therapy and anti-ageing research. The research focuses on anti-ageing genes and adds to a previous study which won a Nobel Prize, focusing on small cell cultures. A team from Harvard Medical School is leading the study into genes called Yamanaka factors. The research focuses on turning cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which effectively turns the cell young again. If the research targeted cells in this fashion, it could ultimately reverse the physical impacts of ageing. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter There’s a great deal to consider when it comes to treatment like this, as the effect of ageing is a natural way the human body protects against harmful mutations like cancer. However, the new research published in the journal Aging claims that the process doesn’t create cells that are prone to cancer. The results showed that six chemical mixes were found that showed scientist could make cells biologically “younger” in the space of just seven days. After previous research conducted on mice, the team behind the study is looking to thake the study to human trials by 2024. David A. Sinclair is Professor in the Department of Genetics and lead scientist on the project. He released a statement saying: “Until recently, the best we could do was slow aging. New discoveries suggest we can now reverse it.” He added: “This process has previously required gene therapy, limiting its widespread use.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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