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Science, Engineering Exhibition Sheds Light on Saudi Innovations

A training camp for the Saudi National Science and Engineering Team in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A training camp for the Saudi National Science and Engineering Team in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Science, Engineering Exhibition Sheds Light on Saudi Innovations

A training camp for the Saudi National Science and Engineering Team in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A training camp for the Saudi National Science and Engineering Team in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) has showcased the innovative ideas of 30 Saudi students.

ISEF 2021 is being held virtually in the US, with the participation of over 1,800 students from around the world showcasing their projects at the science fair.

King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) announced its sponsorship of the innovations in the energy field at ISEF 2021.

Saudi Arabia first participated in ISEF in 2007 and has since then won 48 major and 27 special prizes. In 2020, the Kingdom received eight prizes, including five major and three special prizes.

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman is set to meet virtually with a number of students from around the world that are taking part in this year’s edition.

In a statement, Mawhiba announced that it will present major prizes and sponsorships for the top four projects in the field of energy.

The foundation will also offer a number of special awards in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), including 12 grants and 12 cash prizes.

The statement explained that the foundation’s sponsorship of ISEF’s energy field stems from Vision 2030 and its awareness of the important role Saudi Arabia plays as a major source of energy, and its efforts to continue sustainable development by preserving energy sources.

Mawhiba stated that the awards it offers to international talents at the ISEF 2021 exhibition reflect its vision and mission to make innovation a sustainable way to invest in human capabilities.

There is an increasing trend towards the production of more renewable energy, which is expected to account for 40 percent of the planet's energy by 2040, according to Mawhiba.

The Mawhiba Foundation has offered 79 special awards, totaling $269,000, for 97 international students at the ISEF over the past ten years.

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Technology

Meta Seeks Urgent Fix to AI Chatbot’s Confusion on Name of US President 

The logo of Meta is seen at the entrance of the company's temporary stand ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 18, 2025. (Reuters)
The logo of Meta is seen at the entrance of the company's temporary stand ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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Meta Seeks Urgent Fix to AI Chatbot’s Confusion on Name of US President 

The logo of Meta is seen at the entrance of the company's temporary stand ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 18, 2025. (Reuters)
The logo of Meta is seen at the entrance of the company's temporary stand ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 18, 2025. (Reuters)

The inability of Meta's AI chatbot to identify the current president of the United States was elevated to urgent status by the Facebook owner this week, requiring a fast fix, a person familiar with the issue said.

Republican Donald Trump was inaugurated as president on Monday, succeeding Democrat Joe Biden. Yet on Thursday, the Meta AI chatbot was still saying that Biden was president, according to the source and to a Reuters test of the service.

Asked by Reuters on Thursday to name the president, Meta AI replied:

"The current president of the United States is Joe Biden. However, according to the most recent information available, Donald Trump was sworn in as the president on January 20, 2025."

The issue prompted Meta to initiate an emergency procedure it uses to troubleshoot urgent problems with its services, known within the company as a SEV, or "site event," according to the person familiar with the work.

Asked to comment, Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts said: "Everyone knows the President of the United States is Donald Trump. All generative AI systems sometimes return outdated results, and we will continue to improve our features.”

He did not comment on what emergency procedures, if any, Meta had implemented.

It was at least the third emergency procedure Meta has experienced this week related to the US presidential transition, the source told Reuters.

The incidents drew widespread complaints from social media watchers scrutinizing Meta's platforms for signs of politicized shifts after CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared at Trump's inauguration on Monday and instituted a series of changes in recent weeks aimed at mending relations with the incoming administration.

Those changes included scrapping its US fact-checking program, elevating Republican Joel Kaplan as its new chief global affairs officer, electing a close friend of Trump's to its board and ending its diversity programs.

In one incident this week, Meta appeared to be forcing some users to re-follow the profiles of Trump, Vice President JD Vance and first lady Melania Trump on Facebook and Instagram, even after the users had unfollowed those accounts.

That issue cropped up during the company's normal practice of transferring official White House social media accounts to new control when a presidential administration changes, the company said on Wednesday.

In this case, an error occurred because the transfer process was prolonged and the system failed to log "unfollow" requests from users while it was under way, prompting a top priority SEV1, the person said.

Another emergency procedure involved an issue in which Meta's Instagram service blocked searches for the hashtags #Democrat and #Democrats for some users, while turning up results without issue for #Republican.

A Meta spokesperson acknowledged the problem on Tuesday but said it affected "people's ability to search for a number of different hashtags on Instagram - not just those on the left."