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E-Business

Managing Road Safety with Technology

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(L-r): CFA, Founder, www.CFAtech.ng & Co-producer/Presenter, Tech Trends on Channels Television with Hyginus Omeje, FRSC Corps Commander in Lagos State
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Technology has been helping us to ease the way we do things as it evolves over the years. With many cars currently plying Nigerian roads, safety on our roads becomes a key issue. Technology is also not taking a back seat in this regards.

I recently had a discussion with Hyginus Omeje, FRSC Corps Commander in Lagos State, on how technology is being used to manage road safety.

In the first instance, Hyginus is of the opinion that no man can survive today without the use of technology in one form or the other, hence, it is important in every day living.

When asked to state some ways in which the FRSC is using technology today to make its services better, Hyginus stated that technology is enabling prompt response to crash victims.

This is because the FRSC now has a toll-free number 122, that people can call to make a report of an accident so that prompt response and attention can be given to the victims. The call, he further stated, lands at the FRSC Abuja call centre where the caller is asked some basic questions by the operator, such as the location of the accident, the type of vehicles involved, etc.

Once the location is known, the operator then contacts the command, patrol vehicle and ambulance nearest to the location of the accident so that they can respond promptly within 10 to 15 minutes.

This is made possible for him because the FRSC patrol vehicles and ambulances are fitted with trackers, hence, the operator can view their locations on screen. This, according to him, is technology at work.

The process of the renewal of drivers licence by the FRSC is also  technologically-driven, according to Hyginus. He stated that you can start and complete the process of renewing your drivers licence online in the comfort of your home. As a fresh applicant, however, you need to visit the training school before you are issued with a driving licence, he further stressed.

Hyginus said technology, however, is also involved in the process of registering with the driving school, starting with the driving school portal, http://frsc-dssp.com/ where the applicant’s details are imputed and an electronically-generated certificate of competence is issued after completing the training. The applicant then takes the certificate to the FRSC office where the licencing process is completed.

He stated that the applicant can then move to the drivers licence portal, https://www.nigeriadriverslicence.org/ and fill the fields, pay online if so desired, print the form, authenticate the payment at the licencing office or Internal Revenue, as the case may be. Thereafter, the applicant moves to the FRSC capture centre where his biometric data is taken and issued with a temporary drivers licence, valid for 60 days after which the original drivers licence is ready for issue.

Hyginus said that another area in which technology is assisting is in the area of verifying the authenticity of a drivers licence, driving school certificate, vehicle plate number, etc. He stated that, to verify your vehicle’s plate number, for instance, all you need to do is to type “verify plate number” leave a space, then, type “the vehicle number” and then, send to 33324. If the vehicle plate number is in the National Vehicle Registry, it will come up.

Vehicle plate numbers are, however, not allowed to be registered online for security reasons, Hyginus explained. One must be present at the Vehicle Registration Office to get that done. According to him, people should strive to register their vehicles by themselves instead of going through third parties as there are some personal questions which are required to be answered but which third parties may not know about.

“FRSC has portals for all its services”, Hyginus concluded.

 

 


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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Schmidt, Ex Google Chief Says AI Risky in Terrorist Hands

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Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO
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Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO has expressed concerns about the extreme risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI) falling into the hands of terrorists or rogue states.

Schmidt, Ex Google Chief Says AI Risky in Terrorist Hands

Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO

He warned that nations such as North Korea, Iran, and Russia could adopt AI technologies to develop weapons capable of causing significant harm, including biological weapons.

Schmidt urged governments to oversee private tech companies, emphasising, “The real fears I have are not the ones most people discuss about AI, I talk about extreme risk.”

“I’m always worried about an ‘Osama Bin Laden’ scenario, where truly evil individuals take control of some aspect of modern life to harm innocent people,” he added.

With private companies driving AI advancements, he stressed the need for careful government monitoring and regulation. “It’s really important that governments understand what we’re doing and keep their eye on us,” he said.

His remarks followed a two-day AI summit in Paris, where the UK and the U.S. declined to sign a communiqué outlining the future direction of AI. The declaration on “inclusive and sustainable artificial intelligence for people and the planet” was endorsed by 57 countries, including India, China, the Vatican, the EU, and the African Union Commission.

The UK justified its decision, stating that the agreement lacked “practical clarity” on global AI governance and national security concerns.

Schmidt supports U.S. export controls restricting the sale of advanced AI microchips to certain countries, aiming to slow adversaries’ progress in AI research.

He also highlights the importance of international collaboration on AI safety, suggesting that cooperation with nations like China is essential to addressing global AI challenges.

 

 


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OpenAI CEO Rejects $97.4Bn Takeover Bid from Elon Musk

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Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-owner OpenAI
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Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-owner OpenAI, has firmly declared the company “not for sale” following a $97.4bn (£78.4bn) takeover bid from a consortium led by Elon Musk.

OpenAI CEO Rejects $97.4Bn Takeover Bid from Elon Musk

Elon Musk

Speaking at the AI Action Summit in Paris, Altman emphasised OpenAI’s mission to develop AGI (artificial general intelligence) for the benefit of humanity.

Marc Toberoff, attorney for Elon Musk, confirmed the bid submission on Monday.

In response, Altman humorously offered to buy Twitter for $9.74 billion on Musk’s platform.

Unlike many tech giants, OpenAI is not publicly traded but operates through a complex partnership between non-profit and for-profit entities.

Musk aims to return OpenAI to its non-profit roots, despite owning a rival firm, xAI.

Christie Pitts, a tech investor, expressed scepticism about Musk’s intentions, noting his competitive interests.

Altman echoed this sentiment, suggesting Musk’s move disregards OpenAI’s mission.

Altman, who holds no stock in OpenAI, advocates transforming the organisation into a fully for-profit company to raise more funds for AI research.

Although the board has the final say, the $97.4bn offer falls short of OpenAI’s previous $157bn valuation and rumoured $300bn in future funding talks.

Toberoff stated the consortium might increase their bid. Meanwhile, OpenAI is collaborating with Oracle, a Japanese investment firm, and an Emirati sovereign wealth fund on “The Stargate Project,” a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative announced by President Donald Trump.

 

 

 

 


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Adobe Launches AI Video Tool to Compete with OpenAI

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Adobe yesterday released the first public version of an artificial intelligence tool that can generate video clips and revealed how much it will charge, but said it will not set pricing for major users such as studios until later this year.

The Firefly Video Model, as Adobe is calling the service, will compete against Sora, a model developed by ChatGPT creator OpenAI, and startup Runway, both of which currently offer video-generation services. Facebook owner Meta Platforms has also developed a video-generation AI model but has not given a timeline for when it will be released.

Adobe’s model differs from its rivals because it is geared toward generating clips that will fit into how film and television studios use Premiere Pro, its flagship video editing software.

To that end, many of the features that Adobe is emphasizing revolve around feeding existing shots into the video model and asking it to generate clips that fix or expand on shots that were taken on a real production set but that did not come out quite right.

Adobe said the service will generate five-second clips at 1080p resolution. While that is shorter than the clips of up to 20 seconds generated by OpenAI’s service, Adobe executives said the majority of individual clips in most productions are only three seconds.

Adobe said a user can generate 20 clips per month for $9.99 and 70 clips for $29.99. That compares with 50 videos for $20 per month with OpenAI’s plan at lower resolution and a $200 OpenAI plan that can handle longer, higher resolution videos.

Adobe is also working on a “Premium” pricing plan for studios and other high-volume video users and will release those pricing details later this year. Alexandru Costin, Adobe’s vice president of generative AI, said the company is working to generate 4K video and will remain focused on quality rather than longer clips.

“We actually think that great motion, great structure, great definition scheme, making the actual clip look like it was film, is more important than making a longer clip that’s unusable,” Costin told Reuters.

 


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