Telecom
Zoho Integrates ChatGPT with Zia to Strengthen Generative AI Capabilities
Zoho Corporation, a leading global technology company, on Thursday announced execution plans and ongoing investment in AI, beginning with the launch of 13 generative AI Zoho application extensions and integrations, powered by ChatGPT.
Zoho’s developing AI strategy includes platform expansion and its innovation roadmap with a focus on delivering superior customer experience and value while ensuring the highest level of customer privacy and security. Over a decade, Zoho has been executing and implementing AI (Zia) across its product portfolio, developing in-house technology that runs on the company’s private cloud.
“The fusion of ChatGPT’s generative AI with our homegrown AI features will provide users with a more intuitive, efficient, and secure experience, reflecting Zoho’s deep R&D-first culture,” said Kehinde Ogundare Country Manager, Zoho Nigeria.
“As a technology partner, Zoho’s customers continue to rely on us for keeping them ahead of the curve while retaining core tenets like privacy, which they have come to respect. We will continue to deliver on this promise without compromise”, added Ogundare.
The following are the three core tenets of Zoho’s AI strategy:
● Customer Experience: Zoho’s AI solutions deliver the context, intelligence, and efficiency necessary to produce exemplary experience. Zia is woven into the fabric of each step, be it enhancing customer records, producing documents, providing insights into processes or proactively forecasting, and preparing for user issues that might arise.
● Customer Privacy: Zoho builds its AI in-house, resulting in optimal privacy protection that effortlessly unifies with users’ greater technology ecosystems. Tools powered by Zoho’s AI extensions deliver intelligence without compromising customer data or sending information to an unverified third party.
● Customer Value: Zoho delivers multifaceted value in the form of customer productivity, ease of use, cost, relevant KPIs, and making AI widely available to a broad set of people.
AI Roadmap and Vision
In the short term, Zoho will facilitate Zia’s integration with third-party intelligence, bringing the newest technology into the company’s broad portfolio of business solutions. As Zoho progresses, the company intends to take generative AI technology in-house, ensuring its 90 million global users benefit from intelligent experiences as well as Zoho’s leading value and privacy standards. In addition, Zoho is currently developing proprietary Learning Language Models (LLMs) capable of conversing, summarising, paraphrasing, and adapting to new tasks with zero-shot learning techniques, empowering seamless AI-driven communication and knowledge discovery .
Generative AI in Zoho Applications
Available in its marketplace, Zoho’s new generative AI extensions, powered by ChatGPT, complement the broad portfolio of AI technology Zoho already supports. This new technology has been contextually integrated into Zoho’s applications and can be leveraged right away by users:
Zoho CRM with Generative AI can extract important information from customer records, predict deal outcomes, create custom emails and templates, and check for grammatical errors.
Zoho Analytics with Generative AI allows users to import public datasets, blend them with business data, and create SQL queries from natural language.
Zoho Desk with Generative AI can summarise tickets, analyse customer tone, generate replies from a knowledge base, and track down solutions.
Zoho Writer with Generative AI can suggest headlines, fix punctuation and shorten content, and integrate answers to user questions.
Zoho Mail with Generative AI can create multiple versions of emails, highlight action items, and generate email summaries.
Zoho Cliq with Generative AI can paraphrase messages, transform threads into outlines, and shorten responses.
Zoho Social with Generative AI can produce engaging content, suggest relevant supporting media, and optimise posts.
Zoho Assist with Generative AI can generate shareable summaries and enhance customer service.
Zoho LandingPage with Generative AI can create complete product-specific landing pages with forms, personalisation, SEO optimisation, and migration capabilities.
Zoho SalesIQ with Generative AI can transcribe conversations, tag transcripts, review messages, and utilise ChatGPT Block in Zobot.
Zoho Notebook with Generative AI can organise notes with automatic tagging and summarising, turn them into checklists, and provide grammar and spelling suggestions with Zoho Blue Pencil.
Zoho DataPrep with Generative AI can find external datasets and suggest relevant formulas.
Zoho Meeting with Generative AI allows users to index session transcripts and generate effective keynotes.
Availability and Pricing
Zia is available by default in Zoho’s applications, while ChatGPT-powered integrations are available in Zoho’s Marketplace. Customers choosing to enable generative AI capabilities within Zoho’s applications may do so using their existing OpenAI account API key. Based on the number of APIs used, customers will be billed directly by OpenAI. Zoho will maintain a steady rhythm announcing new generative AI extensions and integrations to its portfolio.
Telecom
Group Advocates for Digital Rights at 2024 Internet Governance Forum
Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a leading pan-African organisation dedicated to advancing digital rights and inclusion in the Global South, has made significant contributions to the just-concluded 2024 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
PIN’s participation in the prestigious global event underscores the organisation’s commitment to fostering inclusive digital policies and ensuring that Africa’s voices are central in global discussions about the future of the internet.
During the week-long forum, PIN team members played key roles in numerous sessions, emphasising the importance of a digital rights perspective in the development of emerging technologies, advocating for a more inclusive digital future, and addressing the specific challenges the African continent faces in terms of digital access and inclusion.
PIN Executive Director, ‘Gbenga Sesan, spoke at high-profile sessions, including the Leadership Panel on ‘The Internet We Want’, which outlined the vision for a global internet that is accessible, secure, and inclusive.
At the Africa Youth IGF Parley, ‘Gbenga provided a platform for young Africans to address pressing issues such as internet restrictions, the digital divide, and digital rights violations.
Adeboye Adegoke, Senior Manager for Grants and Programmes Strategy at Paradigm Initiative, contributed to Open Forum #12, advocating for policies that ensure a rights-respecting and inclusive digital future. His discussions highlighted the importance of policies that place human rights at the core of technological advancements.
Ihueze Nwobilor, Senior Programmes Officer, spoke at the session, ‘A Rights-Respecting Approach to Emerging Tech Development,’ where he called for the prioritisation of human rights in the development and deployment of emerging technologies across Africa and beyond.
The organisation’s Senior Manager for Partnerships and Engagements, Thobekile Matimbe, shared valuable insights during the ‘Better Products and Policies Through Stakeholder Engagement’ session.
She emphasized the role of the private sector in engaging with local communities to ensure that digital products and policies are inclusive and meet the needs of vulnerable groups across Africa.
Bridgette Ndlovu, PIN Partnerships and Engagements Officer, moderated a session on ‘Implementation of the USF in 26 African Countries,’ where she and other speakers, including ‘Gbenga Sesan, discussed the crucial role of Universal Service Funds (USF) in advancing digital inclusion, particularly in underserved and rural areas.
PIN’s participation at IGF 2024 has been an important moment for advocating digital rights in Africa. “Paradigm Initiative’s participation was a powerful reminder that Africa’s digital future must be shaped by inclusive, rights-respecting policies.
“Our participation at the IGF is a continuous demonstration of the need for all stakeholders to collaborate in building a more inclusive and accessible internet for everyone, especially those in under-served communities,” PIN Executive Director, ‘Gbenga Sesan stated.
Telecom
From Niche App to Global Giant: TikTok’s Controversial Journey
TikTok’s rise from a niche video-sharing app to a global social media giant has sparked controversies worldwide, with concerns over its links to China and its influence on users and politics.
In Albania, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced Saturday that TikTok would be banned for at least a year starting in 2025.
The decision follows a tragic incident in Tirana where a 14-year-old was killed and another injured in a fight stemming from an online confrontation. Rama described TikTok as the “thug of the neighborhood.”
In Romania, the European Union is investigating whether TikTok played a role in far-right candidate Calin Georgescu’s unexpected first-round presidential election victory.
The probe focuses on alleged Russian interference and claims of “preferential treatment” by TikTok. This marks the platform’s third EU investigation, potentially risking fines of up to six percent of its global revenue.
TikTok stated it has implemented “robust actions” to combat election misinformation, while Russia denies meddling.
In the United States, TikTok faces mounting pressure after the government passed a law in April requiring ByteDance, its Chinese parent company, to divest from the platform by January 2025.
The U.S. claims TikTok allows China access to American user data, a claim TikTok denies. ByteDance admitted its employees had accessed U.S. user data but insisted it does not share information with Chinese authorities.
TikTok could face a nationwide ban if ByteDance fails to comply, threatening its 170 million U.S. users.
Australia recently enacted a landmark law banning under-16s from accessing social media, including TikTok, with hefty fines of up to AU$50 million for noncompliance.
TikTok expressed disappointment, warning the law could push young users to less regulated parts of the internet.
In Europe, TikTok was forced to remove an engagement feature in its TikTok Lite version after EU regulators raised concerns about its addictive nature.
The feature rewarded users aged 18 and older with points redeemable for goods based on time spent on the app.
TikTok also faces criticism for its role in spreading hazardous challenges, some of which have reportedly led to child deaths, such as the blackout challenge.
Disinformation remains a significant issue, with a study by NewsGuard revealing that one-fifth of videos on topical subjects like the Russia-Ukraine war contained misleading or false information.
Despite these controversies, TikTok remains a dominant force in social media, attracting creators and influencers worldwide.
Its powerful algorithm and innovative features have secured its place at the forefront of digital engagement.
However, the platform continues to grapple with mounting scrutiny over its practices and societal impact.
TikTok’s meteoric rise has reshaped the social media landscape, cementing its status as a global powerhouse with over 1.04 billion monthly active users worldwide as of 2024.
This milestone, achieved in less than a decade, underscores TikTok’s unparalleled growth trajectory compared to platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which took significantly longer to reach similar heights.
In the United States alone, 170 million people actively use the app, contributing to its $16 billion U.S. revenue in 2023.
Globally, TikTok engages over a quarter of social media users and nearly one-fifth of internet users monthly, with U.S. adults spending an average of nearly an hour daily on the platform.
Its popularity is further evidenced by 137 million downloads in the first quarter of 2024.
Since its 2018 launch, TikTok has grown from 55 million users to over a billion, fueled by its dynamic algorithm and appeal across diverse demographics.
Telecom
NCC Holds Virtual Forum on A2P Licensing Framework
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has hosted a virtual stakeholders’ forum to discuss the draft Application-to-Person (A2P) licensing framework.
The event, held on December 20, aimed to address challenges in the international A2P messaging space in Nigeria, including consumer protection, fraud prevention and industry fairness.
Dr. Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman (EVC)/ceo, Nigerian Communications Commission who was represented by Mrs. Chizua Whyte, Ag. Head, Legal and Regulatory Services of NCC, said A2P messaging plays a vital role in today’s digital world.
“A2P messaging drives efficiency, enhances communication and supports socio-economic development.
“It has become the go-to platform for businesses to send notifications, whether transactional, promotional or service-related, directly to consumers,” Whyte said.
She emphasized the importance of effective regulation, stressing that the NCC’s strategic focus is centered on three key stakeholders: the government, consumers and the industry.
Whyte noted that the proposed framework seeks to foster innovation, ensure fair and transparent operations and protect consumers.
“The NCC firmly believes that effective regulation stems from inclusivity and collaboration.
“This forum is an opportunity for all of us – operators, aggregators, businesses, service providers and consumers – to engage in meaningful discussions,” she said.
The commission presented the various feedbacks received as inputs into the A2P Licensing Framework and gave NCC’s responses to each of the observations and recommendations made by the licensees.
Mrs. Truddy Tony-Awusaku, Assistant Director at the Licensing and Authorisation Department of the NCC, presented an overview of the framework for international A2P messaging in Nigeria.
The NCC assured stakeholders that it would continue to engage internal and external stakeholders ahead of the final draft of the A2P Messaging Services Licensing Framework.
The commission invited stakeholders to provide feedback and recommendations to refine the framework and create a sustainable A2P messaging ecosystem.
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