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P1 billion just went into an AI that sees the flood coming.

The budget department put P1 billion into Project NOAH's AI flood forecasting, Amazon raised device prices by as much as 60% on the AI-driven memory shortage, and Maya cut account verification time by 84% by wiring in the National ID.

01Top Story

P1 billion for an AI that sees floods first

The budget department released P1 billion to UP to expand Project NOAH, which uses AI, laser ground mapping and live hazard data to work out which areas flood before the water arrives.

why it matters
The point is a warning that reaches your barangay before the water does, instead of a rescue after it.
Read at Newsbytes.PH
02Your Money

AI ate the memory. Amazon raised prices 60%

Over the weekend Amazon raised prices on Fire TVs, Kindles and Echos, with the Echo Dot jumping from $49.99 to $79.99, and blamed the memory and storage shortage the AI build-out created.

why it matters
Apple has hiked too and the shortage is expected to run into 2027, so anything with memory inside it gets pricier.
Read at TechCrunch
03Philippines

Your National ID now opens a Maya account

Maya plugged the government's National ID eVerify service into its account checks, so eligible users type their ID number and take a video selfie instead of photographing a physical card, cutting onboarding time by 84%.

why it matters
The central bank has proposed requiring this of every institution it supervises, so the same flow is coming to other apps.
Read at Newsbytes.PH
04Ukraine

A drone picked its own target

The New York Times reported that a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia was flown by a drone with nobody on the controls, guided from start to finish by AI running on a small off-the-shelf computer, and that three civilians were killed.

why it matters
Researchers had put a machine choosing its own target years away. It is not years away.
Read at The New York Times
05Privacy

The AI helper that wants your whole phone

Instinct, a much-hyped assistant still in private testing, hooks into your email, messages, calendar, screen, audio and location, and its terms claim a perpetual and irrevocable licence over your files plus the right to sign agreements in your name.

why it matters
Read the terms before you hand an app your whole phone. This one asks for more than most banks do.
Read at TechCrunch

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