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No more free X: Elon Musk plans paywall to block millions of fake accounts

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Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday hinted that users of social media platform X, formerly Twitter, may be charged a monthly fee, stating that a payment system is the only way to combat bots.

“We’re moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the system,” Musk said, in a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He said that his solution to combat bots and fake accounts on social media is to charge for verification, though it remains unclear whether this was an off-the-cuff comment or a signal of firmer plans.

The social media giant X’s new owner, who took over last year, is incentivising users to pay for X Premium, offering paid subscribers more features like longer posts and increased visibility.

However, users can currently still use X for free.

Although Musk insists that getting people to pay for the service is aimed at tackling bots, there seems to be a clear financial interest for the company to charge users, according to BBC.

“A bot costs a fraction of a penny” to make he said. “But if somebody even has to pay a few dollars or something, some minor amount, the effective cost to bots is very high”.

The world’s richest person is exploring cheaper options for users of X Premium, which currently costs $8 (£6.50) per month in the US, depending on the subscriber’s country.

“We’re actually going to come up with a lower tier pricing. So we just want it to be just a small amount of money,” he said.

“This is a longer discussion, but in my view, this is actually the only defence against vast armies of bots,” Musk added.

However, there is a chance that placing X behind a paywall may result in a drastic loss of a significant portion of its users.

It may even affect the company’s primary source of income at the moment, advertising revenue, causing a consequent decline.

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China and Pakistan Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Launch AI-Powered Agricultural Equipment

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Through Chinese expertise, the arrangement, which was made possible by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), intends to increase Pakistan’s agricultural output.

The Punjab government and China’s “AI Force Tech” company have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to introduce advanced agricultural machinery during Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s visit to China.

Through the use of advanced robotic technology, the MoU seeks to transform Pakistan’s agricultural industry, guarantee economic growth, and boost farmers’ wealth with China’s assistance.

Through the partnership, Pakistan would also have the chance to absorb knowledge about China’s sophisticated farming methods.

In the meantime, plans have been revealed by the Federal Minister of Planning to send 1,000 agricultural experts to China to study contemporary farming methods.

A Chinese business and the Punjab government previously inked an agreement to introduce cutting-edge cancer treatment technologies to Punjab.

Maryam Nawaz signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hygea Medical Technologies while she was in China in order to introduce cutting-edge cancer treatment equipment and techniques to Punjab.

This equipment will make it feasible to treat cancer without the need for chemotherapy or surgery.

Following a meeting with Hygea Medical Technologies President Dr. Luo Fuliang, Maryam Nawaz said the organization has promised expert assistance for the establishment of the Nawaz Sharif Cancer Hospital.

She went on to say that the hospital will work with China to treat cancer patients utilizing the newest equipment and techniques following the agreement.

Maryam Nawaz and a high-level delegation are present. From December 8 to December 15, the chief minister will go to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou.

CM Maryam Nawaz is expected to attend a number of conferences, events, and meetings with the goal of enhancing bilateral relations and looking into potential joint ventures in the areas of infrastructure development, technology, agriculture, and governance.

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ChatGPT by OpenAI experiences a significant outage!

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Users were unable to use ChatGPT, the well-known AI chatbot, due to a major outage that occurred today.

The problem was initially noticed by users on outage-tracking websites and social media channels. The company that created ChatGPT, OpenAI, has acknowledged the outage and is attempting to fix it.

There is currently an outage affecting us. We have located the problem and are in the process of implementing a solution.

“We’re currently experiencing an outage,” the business wrote in a statement on X, the platform that was originally known as Twitter. We have located the problem and are in the process of implementing a solution. We apologise and will keep you informed.

ChatGPT Outage

Users are unable to access the chatbot and are presented with error messages suggesting that the service is offline; however, the precise cause of the outage is still unknown. Many users have been affected by this disruption, including researchers, students, enterprises, and individuals who depend on ChatGPT for a variety of purposes.

OpenAI has not yet given a projected timeline for the complete restoration of the service. It is recommended that users keep up with the most recent information via OpenAI’s official channels.

Earlier, late Friday night, thousands of users from all around the world, including Pakistan, experienced interruptions on Meta platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

Nearly 1,000 customers in Pakistan reported problems with Meta services at approximately 11 p.m., according to Downdetector.com, a real-time platform outage tracker. In the meantime, 2,259 complaints have been filed against WhatsApp since 10:52 p.m. In the same period, Instagram, which is also owned by Meta, received more than 1,200 reports of outages.

On the competing platform X, several Facebook and Instagram users reported running into issues with messages like “something went wrong.” In a succinct Facebook comment, Meta acknowledged the problem and said, “We’re working on getting this fixed as soon as we can.”

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How to avoid falling victim to scammers on WhatsApp groups

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Smartphone users occasionally find themselves in a difficult situation when they are part of multiple WhatsApp groups.

To his annoyance, a user is typically added to dozens of WhatsApp groups for friends, family, and the office. This is because his phone rings every other second from the constant barrage of forwarded messages.

But these days, scammers are busy in WhatsApp groups, coming up with novel ways to con people.

After joining a WhatsApp group, a man lost INR 16 lakh to scammers, according to a startling disclosure.

Reports from the Indian media state that the event took place in Mangaluru and that the victim was deceived into joining a WhatsApp group by an unidentified individual.

The victim clicked on a dubious link and was duped into downloading a malicious program after being seduced with promises of large rewards in share market investing.

Hoping for large rewards, the victim transferred INR 16.9 lakh to the scammer’s bank account.

The victim discovered he had been duped, however, when he attempted to withdraw the money and was unable.

A clear reminder of the dangers of believing unidentified links and promises made online is provided by this instance.

Advice for Guarding Against These Scams:

Be cautious of unknown links and apps.
Avoid unverified investments with promises of high returns.
Research before downloading apps.
Enable two-factor authentication for added security.

Report suspicious activities to the platform or local police.

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