Indian-Origin Entrepreneur's UK Start-Up Set To Combat Fake News
LONDON: An Indian-origin entrepreneur's UK-based start-up that uses a machine-learning algorithm to sift fact from fiction is set to combat fake news around the world, including plans for a project specifically targeted at India.
Lyric Jain, a Cambridge University engineering student originally from Mysore, set up Logically last year and has since developed the West Yorkshire-based start-up into a machine-learning platform to filter real from fiction.
The platform, which is currently going through technology trials with partners and advisors, will have its full public launch in September for the UK and the US, and hit India by October.
The aim is for the service to work as a news aggregator as well as an indicator of factual accuracy.
"The Logically platform gathers the biggest news stories from over 70,000 domains and determines the credibility of the claims across each article. It does this by using a machine learning algorithm that is designed to detect logical fallacy, political bias, and incorrect statistics," the 21-year-old techie explains.
"By illuminating the quality of information across these articles, Logically provides users with a transparent and insightful view that allows them to determine how trustworthy the news they read really is," he said.
With a growing number of cases of fake news being exchanged over the WhatsApp messaging service in India, his start-up is exploring ways for artificial intelligence (AI) to accurately assess the validity of information faster than any human can.
India has over 200 million WhatsApp users and with the system being encrypted, it becomes extremely difficult for law enforcement to intervene and stop fake stories from spreading.
"Because of the highly emotive nature of these stories, people are quick to react. This means the time it takes to disprove compelling fake news stories is often too long to prevent action being taken," Mr Jain said.
"We are still exploring options such as an instant verification chatbot on WhatsApp and will announce our plans by the end of the year," he said.
Logically has a board of advisers made up of alumni from both Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US and Cambridge University in the UK and has raised 1 million pound in funding. It employs 38 people across the UK, India and the US and is planning to almost double that figure.
Mr Jain believes there is an urgent need for greater education around the issue of fake news and misinformation being spread, largely via online networks.
"The technology we are developing will equip people with the tools they need in order to navigate a complex and confusing information landscape better than before, but governments still need to do a better job educating people on the real dangers of interacting with misinformation," he said.
His platform, which combines AI and human intelligence as well as complex analytics, is planned as a first-of-its-kind "intelligent news feed" that he believes may prove to be the future of journalism.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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Actor Esha Gupta returns to India after being stuck in UAE, says it was a ‘tough’ situation
Mumbai (PTI): Actor Esha Gupta on Tuesday said she has safely returned to India after being stranded in the United Arab Emirates amid escalating tension due to the Israel-US attack on Iran.
“Back home. Thank you all for your prayers and wishes. It was very tough to be in the situation we all faced. Truly God’s blessing to be safe,” Gupta said in a statement posted on Instagram.
Tensions in the middle east have escalated following a coordinated offensive launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28. Iran responded by firing drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations across the Gulf, and also at the global business hub of Dubai.
The actor, best known for “Jannat 2”, “Rustom” and “Total Dhamaal”, also recounted the tense atmosphere at the Abu Dhabi airport.
“It started when I was at the airport on the 28th (Saturday). By 1 p.m., the airport was closed, chaos all around as none of us knew what had happened. Then the news started coming of the missile attack, and no one knew what the next minute held for us. Strangers consoled each other, all calling their families back home,” Gupta said.
The actor lauded the “strength” and the “composure” of the Abu Dhabi International Airport staff and added that ground security and airport personnel acted immediately to maintain order.
“I hadn’t checked in myself by then, so I took a turn and left for my hotel in Abu Dhabi,” she said, adding that passengers were provided accommodations at available hotels and highlighting the dedication of hotel staff during such a tense situation.
She further said the hotel management answered all their questions patiently to the best of their ability and that there was no shortage of any service.
“The lobby was full of people, including us, scared due to the security alert, but there was no chaos. The hotel security kept reassuring everyone. Not once did we see the people, all scared internally, create stress; we were all in this together,” Gupta said and even thanked the airline staff for their assistance.
“All this shows just the backbone of a country and its strength; they took action when needed, no blaming anyone, just strong decisions. Thank you to everyone who helped and is helping people of the world get back home. Your country is truly special,” she said.
Gupta concluded her post by thanking everyone who helped ensure her safe return.
“Thank you for our government for providing its citizens with reassurance and working towards getting us all back. Thank you to UAE government in working in solidarity with every country for the citizens of the world,” she said.
Actor Sonal Chauhan also updated her fans and admirers that she is heading back home after being stranded in Dubai.
The actor shared the update through her Instagram Stories with a few videos showing her travelling in a car on her way to the airport, with the song ‘Coming Home’ by Skylar Grey playing in the backdrop.
