Business

As AI booms, EU lawmakers wrangle over new rules to protect citizens

Rapid technological advances such as the ChatGPT generative artificial intelligence (AI) app are complicating efforts by European Union lawmakers to agree on landmark AI laws, sources with direct knowledge of the matter have told Reuters.

The European Commission proposed the draft rules nearly two years ago in a bid to protect citizens from the dangers of the emerging technology, which has experienced a boom in investment and consumer popularity in recent months.

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The draft needs to be thrashed out between EU countries and EU lawmakers, called a trilogue, before the rules can become law.
Several lawmakers had expected to reach a consensus on the 108-page bill last month in a meeting in Strasbourg, France, and proceed to a trilogue in the next few months.
But a five-hour meeting on Feb 13 resulted in no resolution and lawmakers are at loggerheads over various facets of the Act, according to three sources familiar with the discussions.
While the industry expects an agreement by the end of the year, there are concerns that the complexity and the lack of progress could delay the legislation to next year, and European elections could see MEPs with an entirely different set of priorities take office.
“The pace at which new systems are being released makes regulation a real challenge,” said Daniel Leufer, a senior policy analyst at rights group Access Now. “It’s a fast-moving target, but there are measures that remain relevant despite the speed of development: transparency, quality control, and measures to assert their fundamental rights.”

Brisk developments

Lawmakers are working through the more than 3,000 tabled amendments, covering everything from the creation of a new AI office to the scope of the Act’s rules.
“Negotiations are quite complex because there are many different committees involved,” said Brando Benifei, an Italian MEP and one of the two lawmakers leading negotiations on the bloc’s much-anticipated AI Act. “The discussions can be quite long. You have to talk to some 20 MEPs every time.”
Legislators have sought to strike a balance between encouraging innovation while protecting citizens’ fundamental rights.
This led to different AI tools being classified according to their perceived risk level: from minimal through to limited, high, and unacceptable. High-risk tools won’t be banned, but will require companies to be highly transparent in their operations.
But these debates have left little room for addressing aggressively expanding generative AI technologies like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion that have swept across the globe, courting both user fascination and controversy.
By February, ChatGPT, made by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, set a record for the fastest growing user base of any consumer application app in history.
Almost all of the big tech players have stakes in the sector, includ-ing Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta.

Big tech, big problems

The EU discussions have raised concerns for companies — from small startups to Big Tech — on how regulations mightaffect their business and whether they would be at a competitivedisadvantage against rivals from other continents.
Behind the scenes, Big Tech companies, who have invested billions of dollars in the new technology, have lobbied hard to keep their innovations outside the ambit of the high-risk clarification that would mean more compliance, more costs and more accountability around their products, sources said.
A recent survey by industry body applied AI showed that 51 per-cent of the respondents expect a slowdown of AI development activi-ties as a result of the AI Act.
To address tools like ChatGPT, which have seemingly endless applications, lawmakers introduced yet another category,“General Purpose AI Systems” (GPAIS), to describe tools that can be adapted to perform a number of functions. It remains unclear if all GPAIS will be deemed high-risk.
Representatives from tech companies have pushed back against such moves, insisting their own in-house guidelines are robust enough to ensure the technology is deployed safely, and even suggesting the Act should have an opt-in clause, under which firms can decide for themselves whether the regulations apply.

Double-edged sword?

Google-owned AI firm DeepMind, which is currently testing its own AI chatbot Sparrow, told Reuters the regulation of multi-purpose systems was complex.
“We believe the creation of a governance framework around GPAIS needs to be an inclusive process, which means all affected communities and civil society should be involved,” said Alexandra Belias, the firm’s head of international public policy.
She added: “The question here is: how do we make sure the risk-management framework we create today will still be adequate tomorrow?”
Daniel Ek, chief executive of audio streaming platform Spotify –- which recently launched its own “AI DJ,” capable of curating personalized playlists –- told Reuters the technology was “a double-edged sword.”
“There’s lots of things that we have to take into account,” he said. “Our team is working very actively with regulators, trying to make sure that this technology benefits as many as possible and is as safe as possible.”
MEPs say the Act will be subject to regular reviews, allowing for updates as and when new issues with AI emerge.
But, with European elections on the horizon in 2024, they are un-der pressure to deliver something substantial the first time around.
“Discussions must not be rushed, and compromises must not be made just so the file can be closed before the end of the year,” said Leufer. “People’s rights are at stake.”

Business

Almarai signs multiple agreements to localize jobs through training and recruitment programs

Almarai signed a cooperation memorandum with the Food Industries Polytechnic, the
Transport General Authority, and the Saudi Logistics Academy to localize jobs in the
food and beverages sector through training and rehabilitation programs ending in
employment. This came within the first international conference on the labor market,
organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development on 13 – 14
December 2023 at the King Abdulaziz Convention Center in Riyadh.

‘These agreements are part of Almarai’s corporate program for the social responsibility
to achieve localization in the food industry sector, which is one of the top priorities of the
comprehensive strategic plans in Almarai, especially since the company is one of the
largest working environments in the kingdom, with more than 9,000 Saudi employees,
including more than 900 Saudi female employees.”Fahad Aldrees, Chief Human
Resources Officer of Almarai, said.

He added that the agreements signed to train and qualify young people are part of the
integrated initiatives and training and rehabilitation programs for national human
resources in Almarai. He pointed out that the company provided about half a million
employee training hours during 2022, raising its retention rate to 90% during 2022.

It is worth mentioning that Almarai is the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy
company, and the largest food and beverage producer and distributor in the Middle
East. Almarai was ranked among LinkedIn’s top 15 Saudi companies for professional
career development for 2022.

Business

SEBA Bank rebrands to AMINA Bank and continues to write its success story

a fully licensed Swiss crypto bank, announced today its new brand identity: AMINA Bank AG. The group operates
globally from its regulated hubs in Zug, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, offering its clients traditional and crypto banking services.
SEBA Bank made history in 2019 by becoming one of the first FINMA-regulated institutions to provide crypto banking services. This rebrand marks a new chapter for the company, which has proudly been in operation for more than four years. AMINA Bank is inspired by the same trailblazing ambition to lead the way for its clients and to write its own future as a Swiss-
regulated crypto bank offering services to its traditional and crypto savvy clients around the globe. The name ‘AMINA’ stems from the term ‘transAMINAtion’, meaning transference of one compound to another. AMINA is a brand driven by perpetual change, bringing together the various ‘compounds’ of traditional, digital, and crypto banking to unlock new potential and
growth for our clients. This vision of change represents the transformation of our clients’ financial future. Franz Bergmueller, CEO of AMINA, said: “We are delighted to introduce the world to our new brand identity. While we say goodbye to the SEBA name, we remain forever proud of the achievements made by the group under the former brand. “Our brand signifies a new era in the company’s growth and strategy; we are a key player in crypto banking and are here to define the future of finance. With our client-focused approach, our years of traversing traditional and crypto finance, we offer a platform for investors to build
wealth safely and under the highest regulatory standards.” “We are grateful to be encouraged by our supportive and committed investors who have been very helpful, supporting the growth of the company. We thank our employees in all the regions
for their dedication and client focus. As we look forward to 2024, our ambition is to accelerate the growth of our strategic hubs in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, and to continue our global expansion, building on all the successes we have laid down over the past years.” Current clients of AMINA Bank (formerly SEBA Bank) will be unaffected by the rebrand other than encountering the new name; all operations will be business as usual across the board. The branch office based in Abu Dhabi and the subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Singapore will subsequently apply for a name change to align with the head office in Zug.

Business

Uptime Appoints Mustapha Louni Chief Business Officer

Uptime Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Mustapha Louni to the position of Chief Business Officer, a role specifically created to drive strategic leadership and client success. In this new role, Mr. Louni will assume responsibility for the global Uptime sales and marketing organizations and drive overall business value for all Uptime clients. He will retain his existing responsibilities overseeing operations in the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. In this elevated capacity, Mr. Louni is poised to play a pivotal role in driving Uptime’s next phase of global expansion through strategic initiatives to enhance market awareness of the dramatically expanding global service lines and delivery capabilities of Uptime that uniquely support the global data center industry in its pursuit of ever higher performance through elevated availability, resiliency, sustainability, and cyber-security of digital infrastructure. Louni’s appointment renews and expands Uptime

Institute 39;s 30-year commitment to advancing excellence in the data center sector on a global scale. “Today we are experiencing the next phase of the one-time, planetary transformation from analog to digital. This unprecedented, once-in-a-generation growth in data center demand is primarily driven by continuing cloud adoption, the new promise of AI, and the demonstrable fact
that hybrid digital infrastructure is here to stay for the foreseeable future,” said Martin McCarthy, CEO, Uptime Institute. “These complex and nuanced market demands require a visionary talent like Mustapha Louni. He is someone who cannot only deftly manage specific aspects of the business but also remain ahead of accelerating changes and trends. He continues to earn client
trust and respect by timely delivery on demanding commitments while he also inspires and energizes colleagues and clients alike. I am delighted to announce Mr. Louni’s new position and know that he will continue to expand the impact that he has already brought to Uptime since his arrival.” In 2014, Mr. Louni joined the Uptime organization in the United Arab Emirates, leveraging his extensive experience from roles at Panduit and Schneider Electric in Paris and Dubai. As the company’s first commercial resource in the Middle East and Africa region, Mr. Louni played a pivotal role in expanding Uptime’s presence. Within a year, he successfully established what became and remains Uptime’s fastest growing regional office. Under his leadership, Uptime has
extended his impressive trajectory of growth in MEA to the Asia-Pacific regions, augmenting the Uptime workforce with dedicated team members spanning more than a dozen countries across these regions. A new Uptime office has been inaugurated in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) this year, further fortifying the company’s ability to meet its commitment to sustained
growth and excellence and serve clients in critical, accelerating markets for digital infrastructure.

Uptime Institute began development of its proprietary and now globally recognized Tier Standards and its Tier Certifications 30 years ago to ensure that the mission critical computing needs of all organizations could be met with confidence and understood by executive management. Since that time, Uptime Tier Certification as well as other Uptime offerings including assessments and awards in digital infrastructure for ensuring business performance in areas of management and operations, risk and resilience, sustainability, and more recently cyber- security have gained global adoption. Uptime’s expanding success is based on delivering a
unique business service that is based upon unparalleled engineering excellence and technical mastery, while remaining vendor independent and technology agnostic.