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The chief executive of AI data mining company Palantir spent more than 10 minutes sparring with a protester over the company's technology being used in the Israel-Gaza war.
Alex Karp was attending a technology policy forum when he was interrupted by a protester.
“You’re getting wealthy off of killing Palestinians with your AI and technology. You’re killing my family in Palestine! What kind of person are you?” the demonstrator repeatedly yelled.
“Do you want to hear my answer?” Mr Karp responded, to which the demonstrator said, “Sure go ahead.”
Several laughs from the audience can be heard in the video, before the protester again responded.
“It's not funny, you're killing Palestinians. Your AI technology kills Palestinians,” she shouted, before Mr Karp quickly responded.
“Mostly terrorists that’s true.”
Last week's exchange lasted about 10 minutes and ultimately the protester was removed from the event, although another protester briefly shouted as well.
Mr Karp briefly acknowledged the sheer scale of death and tragedy in Palestine, but then segued the discussion into the defence of his company.
“The obvious solution to war is to have the West have strongest and most precise deadly weapons possible so we can minimise unnecessary deaths, and the best way you minimise those deaths is that you’re so strong that nobody attacks you,” he continued after the protester had been escorted.
“She believes I’m evil, and I believe she’s an unwitting product of an evil force, Hamas. She’s unwittingly part of their strategy. She’s a product,” he continued.
The Hill and the Valley Forum, where the argument ensued in Washington, describes itself as “private bipartisan community of lawmakers and innovators committed to harnessing the power of technology.”
Among those speaking at the forum were Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark, and OpenAI chief product officer Kevin Weil, among others.
Mr Karp briefly addressed the criticisms leveled against his company with regard to defence contracts in a letter to Palantir shareholders issued shortly after the company announced its quarterly earning where he went as far as to quote former US President Richard Nixon.
"Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win, unless you hate them. And then, you destroy yourself," he wrote.
"We note only that our commitment to building software for the US military, to those whom we have asked to step into harm’s way, remains steadfast, when such a commitment is fashionable and convenient and when it is not.
In recent months, other recent technology exhibitions and conferences have been interrupted by protesters expressing dismay towards a technology executive working with the military.
Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft's head of artificial intelligence, was interrupted in April by multiple protesters who criticised the company for having contracts with the Israeli military.
Videos posted on social media showed Mr Suleyman's speech coming to a halt as a woman in the audience shouts that he is a war profiteer.
“Stop using AI for genocide, Mustafa. Stop using AI for genocide in our region … 50,000 people have died. You have blood on your hands,” said the protester at the event on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington state.
“All of Microsoft has blood on its hands. How dare you all celebrate when Microsoft is killing children? Shame on you all.”
That demonstrator, along with several others, were Microsoft employees and were later fired for interrupting the company's event.
In recent weeks some technology firms have been more overt about defending their various military contracts.
Last week, Scale AI’s co-founder and chief executive Alexandr Wang told the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington that his company had a “moral imperative” to pursue work with the US military.
“We’re at the brink of this incredibly powerful new technology, and the applications for national security are obvious,” Mr Wang said during a discussion at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. “It’s going to be imperative for the US to stay ahead.”
Israel's punishing campaign in Gaza – which followed the 2023 attacks by Hamas-led fighters that resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the capture of 240 hostages – has killed more than 52,567 Palestinians in Gaza and injured about 118,610.
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
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Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
T10 Cricket League
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
December 14- 17
6pm, Opening ceremony, followed by:
Bengal Tigers v Kerala Kings
Maratha Arabians v Pakhtoons
Tickets available online at q-tickets.com/t10
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The five pillars of Islam
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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
MATCH INFO
Champions League last 16, first leg
Tottenham v RB Leipzig, Wednesday, midnight (UAE)
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
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FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
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A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981
Profession: Driver
Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)
Favourite drink: chai karak
Favourite place in Dubai: The neighbourhood of Khawaneej. “When I see the old houses over there, near the date palms, I can be reminded of my old times. If I don’t go down I cannot recall my old times.”
