Saudi SDAIA Showcases Latest Speech Recognition Solutions 

Saudi SDAIA Showcases Latest Speech Recognition Solutions 
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Saudi SDAIA Showcases Latest Speech Recognition Solutions 

Saudi SDAIA Showcases Latest Speech Recognition Solutions 

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) is participating in the 2024 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing underway in Greece.

Major technology companies and artificial intelligence (AI) experts are attending the conference, which runs from August 31 to September 5.

During the conference, SDAIA tackled code-switching within sentences (CS), a common phenomenon in spoken languages that presents a significant challenge for Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems.

This is particularly relevant for those studying comparative linguistic phenomena, given the rarity of suitable data and the complexities of Arabic dialects.

The presentation focused on leveraging advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs) to enhance CS-ASR systems by generating text data that includes code-switching between Arabic and English.

The International Conference on Speech Processing Technologies is one of the leading global events in acoustic technologies. SDAIA is a pioneer in this field with its Voice system, developed by Saudi expertise.

The system allows speech-to-text conversion in Modern Standard Arabic and various Arabic dialects. It can be used for automating meeting transcriptions, developing chatbots, and building interactive voice systems.

SDAIA’s contribution to the conference includes sponsoring a workshop -- SyNDATA4GENAI 2024 -- in collaboration with SCAI, organized by several experts.

SDAIA is keen to participate in such major events to highlight the importance of advanced technologies and the progress achieved by Saudi Arabia in this field.



Apple Launches New iPad Mini with AI Features

A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Apple Launches New iPad Mini with AI Features

A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Apple on Tuesday launched its new generation of the iPad mini packed with AI features including writing tools and an improved Siri assistant, as the iPhone maker races to boost its devices with artificial-intelligence capabilities.

The new iPad mini is powered by Apple's A17 Pro chip, which is used in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models. With a six-core central processing unit, the A17 Pro would boost CPU performance by 30% compared to the current generation iPad minis and is central to running Apple Intelligence, Apple's AI software.

Apple said it would roll out the first set of AI features in the US version of the English language this month through a software update with iPadOS 18.1.

The features will be available for iPads with A17 Pro or M1 chips and later generations, Apple said, adding it will roll out additional features including image-generation tools, Genmoji and ChatGPT-powered capabilities over the next several months.

Apple in September unveiled its long-awaited, AI-boosted iPhone 16 lineup, but with the AI features still in test mode, the company failed to excite some investors while early sales data raised some questions around demand.

Still, research firm Canalys on Monday said the iPhone 16 would help Apple's sales in the fourth quarter and drive momentum into the first half of 2025, after Apple reached a record high third-quarter shipments.

The iPad mini, starting at $499, is available for pre-orders starting on Tuesday and will begin arriving to customers and Apple store locations next week, Apple said.