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Cambodia on Wednesday said that an order by Prime Minister Hun Manet for government bodies to crackdown on criminal cybercrime operations being run in the country had resulted in the arrest of more than 1,000 suspects so far this week.Hun Manet issued the order authorising state action for “maintaining and protecting security, public order, and social safety.”“The government has observed that online scams are currently causing threats and insecurity in the world and the region. In Cambodia, foreign criminal groups have also infiltrated to engage in online scams,” Hun Manet’s statement, dated Tuesday, said.The United Nations and other agencies estimate that cyberscams, most of them originating from Southeast Asia, earn international criminal gangs billions of dollars annually.More than 1,000 suspects were arrested in raids in at least five provinces between Monday and Wednesday, according to statements from Information Minister Neth Pheaktra and police.Those detained included more than 200 Vietnamese, 27 Chinese, and 75 suspects from Taiwan and 85 Cambodians in the capital Phnom Penh and the southern city of Sihanoukville. Police also seized equipment, including computers and hundreds of mobile phones.At least 270 Indonesians, including 45 women, were arrested Wednesday in Poipet, a town on the border with Thailand notorious for cyberscam and gambling operations, the minister said. Elsewhere, police in the northeastern province of Kratie arrested 312 people, including nationals of Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam, while 27 people from Vietnam, China and Myanmar were arrested in the western province of Pursat.Amnesty International last month published the findings of an 18-month investigation into cybercrime in Cambodia, which the human rights group said “point towards state complicity in abuses carried out by Chinese criminal gangs.”“The Cambodian government is deliberately ignoring a litany of human rights abuses including slavery, human trafficking, child labor and torture being carried out by criminal gangs on a vast scale in more than 50 scamming compounds located across the country,” it said.Human trafficking is closely associated with cyberscam operations, as workers are often recruited under false pretences and then held captive.“Deceived, trafficked and enslaved, the survivors of these scamming compounds describe being trapped in a living nightmare enlisted in criminal enterprises that are operating with the apparent consent of the Cambodian government,” Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard said.Cambodia’s latest crackdown comes in the midst of a bitter feud with neighboring Thailand, which began with a brief armed skirmish in late May over border territory claimed by both nations and has now led to border closures and nearly daily exchanges of nationalistic insults. Friendly former leaders of both countries have become estranged and there have been hot debates over which nation’s cultural heritage has influenced the other.Measures initiated by the Thai side, including cutting off cross-border electricity supplies and closing crossing points, have particularly heightened tensions, with Cambodia claiming they were churlish actions of spite to retaliate for its intention to pursue its territorial claims. Thailand said its original intention was to combat long-existing cyberscam operations in Poipet.Associated Press writer Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this report. Sopheng Cheang, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
A new set of AI tools is coming to Slack, designed to help users quickly find and utilize information from their chatsand even from data stored in connected business apps. “It serves as the hub, or your work operating system, to be able to get work done, to make things more productive,” says Slack CEO Denise Dresser. On July 17, Slack announced the general availability of an enterprise search feature. Users on Enterprise+ plans will now be able to search information from integrated apps like Google Drive, Box, Microsoft Teams, and corporate parent Salesforces systems directly from within the Slack search box. “Slack is a very natural place to look for things and to initiate that search, because a lot of what prompts people to go look for something is something that happens in Slackeither a notification or a question from somebody in a message, or something you see in a channel that you don’t quite understand, says Rob Seaman, Slack’s chief product officer. [Image: Courtesy of Slack] Even within those conversations, users will soon be able to ask AI for help understanding specific messages, such as defining corporate terminology and acronyms or putting messages into the context of a broader discussion. AI will also highlight action items for individual users, helping those with limited time to focus on top priorities. A language translation feature has also entered general availability for Business+ and higher-tier plans, enabling multilingual teams to ask AI to translate messages into their preferred languages. Users with Pro and higher-level plans can use AI to generate meeting notes from Slack Huddle conversations. Soon, Slacks AI will even be able to create user profiles, offering insights into team members roles and recent contributionsespecially useful in large organizations. [Image: Courtesy of Slack] “We do a lot here to make sure it feels right and doesn’t feel creepy,” Seaman says. “We have it be positive. We have it only access what’s available publicly.” Slack Canvas, the platforms tool for creating shared documents and collaborative notebooks, will also benefit from AI. The assistant will leverage Slacks conversational data to help with tasks like drafting onboarding documents or turning brainstorming sessions into project briefs. These updates are part of Slacks broader effort to help users cut through the information overload of modern office life, and to solidify the companys position as the go-to hub for finding information and AI-powered assistance. Dresser says Slack has a head start, given how many people already know and enjoy using it to connect and collaborate. “The more that people love being there, and they can find what they need to do their job, the more they’re going to want to stay in Slack,” Dresser says. For many teams, Slack already acts as a central repository of vital information, containing records of key conversations and company updateseven before integrating external data sources. As Dresser points out, the Slack name was originally said to stand for searchable log of all conversation and knowledge, and AI may increasingly help users take action based on that information, or quickly grasp what’s already been discussed. [Image: Courtesy of Slack] “You search for information, you’re able to very quickly then take action right in the flow of work on that information so you don’t have to go somewhere else,” Dresser says. Slacks business customers also trust its security and privacy models. Many already integrate Slack with other apps, including to enable communication with AI bots and agents. Even as new AI features roll out, Slack emphasizes that it wont use customer data to train new AI models, and that its systems will only access information a user already has permission to see. Slack, which began introducing AI features about 18 months ago, also ensures that AI responses include citations, such as links to relevant chats. This transparency could give Slack an edge over other AI tools that lack easy access to internal knowledge. As Dresser says, We really do think between being trained on your Slack corpus and seeing the citations, it’s been a huge benefit.”
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E-Commerce
How much is a brand name worth if it’s well known, but only because of its failures? For the botched music festival Fyre Festival, it’s nearly a quarter of a million dollars. The Fyre Festival brand sold for $245,300 on eBay Tuesday after 42 bidders made 175 bids. The sale includes rights to all trademarks, intellectual property, and social media assets associated with Fyre Fest, according to the listing. Although Fyre Fest founder Billy McFarland didn’t think the sale price was high enough (“This sucks, its so low,” he said on a livestream), it proved that even without actually ever putting on a successful music festival, there was some value in the rights to his trademarks and IP. McFarland congratulated the buyer in a Notes App statement posted to Instagram and said he would “begin the process to finalize the sale.” As splintering media has made attention harder to capture and scrambled traditional publicity and marketing plans, some have turned to purchasing discounted brand names in hopes of buying themselves a shortcut. Fyre Fest might be a punchline, but since people already know what it is, it’s also a starting point that a new owner can use as a launch pad. [Screenshot: eBay] “Someone paid $245k, so that establishes its value,” David Reibstein, a William Stewart Woodside professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania, tells Fast Company in an email. One thing Fyre Fest has going for it is “its level of awareness, despite its baggage, and that cannot be overlooked,” he says. Enron, the energy company that went bankrupt in 2001, was bought by the organizers of “Birds Aren’t Real” to sell a parody product, and in March, an AI company bought Napster for $207 million and used the brand to launch a platform with “AI companions.” McFarland didn’t say who the Fyre Fest buyer is, but he did say, “it’s funny.” Whatever the new owner intends to do with it, they’ll get extra attention at least for the name. Since Fyre Fest is more meme than a brand, “its value isnt in social media followers or brand equity,” says Emily Day, a strategist at Mother LA, but cultural shorthand. McFarland said in a letter he put the brand up for sale as part of an attempt to make things right and pay back investors. Rather than go forward with a planned Fyre Festival 2, he said selling the brand for parts was the best way to accomplish that. His brand’s nearly quarter-of-a-million-dollar purchase price, though, isn’t enough to pay off all the $26 million he scammed investors of. Fyre Fest ticket holders also won $7,220 each in a 2021 class-action settlement. “Fyre is one of the most powerful attention engines in the world,” he wrote, citing the documentaries and headlines the festival inspired. Fyre Fest was no good as a festival. As a meme, though, it was great.
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E-Commerce
Roblox, the popular online gaming and social platform among kids and teens, is introducing new chat features for users ages 13 and up, allowing them to connect more directly with trusted real-life friends. Previously, Roblox categorized all connections equally. Now, the platform is adding a new classification called “trusted connections,” intended for users who know each other outside of Roblox. Verified users 13 and oldertypically through a new video-based age estimation system developed with identity verification company Personawill be able to engage in what the company refers to as unfiltered chat sessions with these trusted contacts. While these voice and text conversations will still be monitored for harmful behavior, they will not support video or photo sharing. “This makes Roblox the only major platform that will require age verification, like facial age estimation, in order to use private voice or unfiltered chat,” says Ryan Ebanks, principal product manager for social products at Roblox. Age verification is becoming more common across digital platforms. Reddit, for example, recently implemented Persona-powered age verification for users accessing adult content in the UK. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for adult online content. Roblox users can also verify their age by using an official ID, and the company plans to allow parents to verify their children’s ages in the future. These efforts are part of Robloxs broader initiative to maintain its appeal among youth and parents while ensuring the platform remains safeespecially in light of high-profile incidents involving predatory behavior and inappropriate and violent content. Despite controversies, Roblox continues to thrive: As of May, its first-quarter revenue rose 29% year over year, to $1.035 billion, and daily active users climbed 26%, to 97.8 million. Allowing unfiltered chats with trusted connections may enhance safety, Ebanks suggests, by discouraging teens from taking conversations to external platforms with weaker safeguards. Roblox will also provide teens with additional guidance on blocking and reporting unwanted interactions. Users younger than 18 can only add adults as trusted connections if they can confirm a real-life relationshipcurrently by syncing phone contacts or scanning a QR code in person, with safeguards to ensure proper usage. Parents who link their Roblox accounts to their teens will gain more visibility into their childrens activity. Theyll be able to see their kids connections, including which are trusted; track time spent on the platform; monitor top games played; and configure notifications for financial transactions. “We know that parents are extremely busy, and so we’ve designed these to really be quick at-a-glance insights that parents can hopefully fit into their busy schedules,” says Dina Lamdany, senior product manager at Roblox. Teens over 13 will also be able to view their own screen time, set daily limits, activate do-not-disturb periods, and better manage who can see their online status. “We’ve heard directly from teens that they’re really nervous about being too visible online,” Lamdany says. She adds that some developers are even looking forward to logging in without appearing visible to others. These new features reflect Robloxs broader effort to address challenges common to online platforms, such as managing screen time and reducing unwanted communicationwhile also dealing with the unique responsibilities of serving a young user base. In recent years, Roblox has introduced content tailored to older users, including edgier experiences for those 17 and older, while continuing to invest in educational and safety-focused content for younger players. “Our goal is that Roblox matures with youthat you can start playing and learning when you’re 7, and you can stay on the platform until you’re in your 70sbut that the experience you have on Roblox will really adapt and be customized to meet you where you are,” Lamdany says.
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E-Commerce
Bill Gates recently sounded the alarm: with massive cuts to foreign aid, global child mortality is set to risefor the first time in decades. Since the Trump era, more than 80% of USAID contracts have been slashed, and the shortfall is being felt across the worlds most vulnerable communities. As a result, there is an urgent need to address how global issues are tackled, making the private philanthropic sector more important than ever. Its tempting to assume that philanthropy should simply step in and focus on filling the gap. But that in my view would be a mistake, and a missed opportunity. Philanthropy, at its best, isnt built to replace government-scale aid. Its real potential lies in its agency to take a longer term view and absorb risk needed to tackle the seemingly intractable issues we face. And in this moment of global disruption, thats needed more than ever. There is a real danger that the primary focus of philanthropic funding pivots towards being a backstop for foreign aid. My fear is that this new role detracts from the real power of philanthropy, which lies in its ability to tackle systemic issues by funding the radical innovation needed to deliver more equitable futures. A moment for philanthropy to embrace breakthroughs Philanthropy is at a crossroads. Traditional models of giving are no longer sufficient to address the complex global challenges we face and the uncertain times we live in. At the same time, too few philanthropists understand their potential in helping tackle them. Let me be clear: I am not criticizing philanthropys storied history. Philanthropists should be proud to be part of a tradition that has had many successes since the Industrial Revolution. Private donors have helped to fund important social advancesfrom the near-eradication of polio to womens liberation and equal marriage. Now, as we face rising uncertainty, is the moment for philanthropy to step up and embrace its true superpower: the ability to embrace risk to make breakthroughs. The ability to commit beyond just signing checks. A commitment that also requires time, perseverance, and expertise. A time for a new mindset In 1962, President John F. Kennedy called upon his fellow countrymen to put a man on the moon by the end of that decade. As I look at the challenges we face globally, the solutions look just as far away from our reach as the moon did to Kennedy. Today, I do not believe that voters and taxpayers would be as accepting of such a bold and audacious goal. At the same time many global corporations, some with more capital than nation states, recognize their potential to contribute to tackling the worlds greatest challenges. They are stepping up, making huge risky investments in potentially profitable, transformative ideas. But their obligation to deliver shareholder returns leaves little room to deliver the high-risk, transformative work where its desperately needed. We need to change our thinking about who delivers that change and how its done. Systems change philanthropy can play that role, but only if philanthropists with the passion, resilience, and risk appetite are encouraged to use their capital for transformative impact. It is this superpower that will enable philanthropy to privatize and absorb the cost of failures, but also socialize its success for the good of all. A partnership, not a substitution Philanthropy has the power to change the tide and create the conditions for larger institutions to act. They dont replace those institutions; they inspire, enable, and de-risk their intervention; it is philanthropists strategic collaboration with partners, experts, and convening institutions that can ensure targeted and effective action. My work has focused on tackling the issue of uncorrected poor vision, which affects 2.2 billion people globallya mission that has been at the heart of my philanthropy for the last two decades. For the first decade, my focus was on delivering universal vision correction to the nation of Rwanda. While we achieved our goal, after a long-term effort by a team that included a funder, many partners, and all kinds of experts, correcting poor vision remained a low-priority health issue on the global agenda. This resulted in transforming one countrys healthcare system. But change cant happen one country at a time. Without institutional support, I quickly realized that philanthropy would not make enough of a dent in solving the global poor vision challenge. It misses the point of what each does best. Its about the legitimacy, scale, and convening power that governments possess. When a government or international organization commits to a cause, it signals to the world that this issue matters at the highest levels of policy and diplomacy. Our global vision campaign, Clearly, was born out of this realization. And it was the inflection point achieved by lobbying the UN to shift its thinking, from vision correction being a low priority health silo issue to being recognized as a high-priority development issue, that led to a resolution committing every country to “eyecare for all” by 2030. By taking the risk to reframe vision correction, it created the evidence base and political momentum that governments needed to act. This is the model for philanthropys future: creating breakthroughs that make government intervention more effective. Philanthropy cannot be a stopgapbut it can kick-start a revolution to address the worlds biggest challenges. �
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E-Commerce
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