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The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
ChatGPT helps prepare this mayor's talking points. Now he wants a thousand city workers using AI
Before the mayor of San Jose, California, arrives at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new business, his aides ask ChatGPT to help draft some talking points. "Elected officials do a tremendous amount of public speaking,' said Mayor Matt Mahan, whose recent itinerary has taken him from new restaurant and semiconductor startup openings to a festival of lowriding car culture. Other politicians might be skittish admitting a chatbot co-wrote their speech or that it helped draft a US$5.6bil (RM23.7bil) budget for the new fiscal year, but Mahan is trying to lead by example, pushing a growing number of the nearly 7,000 government workers running Silicon Valley's biggest city to embrace artificial intelligence technology. Mahan said adopting AI tools will eliminate drudge work and help the city better serve its roughly 1 million residents. He's hardly the only public or private sector executive directing an AI-or-bust strategy, though in some cases, workers have found that the costly technology can add hassles or mistakes. "The idea is to try things, be really transparent, look for problems, flag them, share them across different government agencies, and then work with vendors and internal teams to problem solve,' Mahan said in an interview. "It's always bumpy with new technologies.' By next year, the city intends to have 1,000, or about 15%, of its workers trained to use AI tools for a variety of tasks, including pothole complaint response, bus routing and using vehicle-tracking surveillance cameras to solve crimes. One of San Jose's early adopters was Andrea Arjona Amador, who leads electric mobility programs at the city's transportation department. She has already used ChatGPT to secure a US$12mil (RM50.9mil) grant for electric vehicle chargers. Arjona Amador set up a customised "AI agent' to review the correspondence she was receiving about various grant proposals and asked it to help organise the incoming information, including due dates. Then, she had it help draft the 20-page document. So far, San Jose has spent more than US$35,000 (RM148,592) to purchase 89 ChatGPT licenses – at US$400 (RM1,698) per account – for city workers to use. "The way it used to work, before I started using this, we spent a lot of evenings and weekends trying to get grants to the finish line,' she said. The Trump administration later rescinded the funding, so she pitched a similar proposal to a regional funder not tied to the federal government. Arjona Amador, who learned Spanish and French before she learned English, also created another customized chatbot to edit the tone and language of her professional writings. With close relationships to some of the tech industry's biggest players, including San Francisco-based OpenAI and Mountain View-based Google, the mayors of the Bay Area's biggest cities are helping to promote the type of AI adoption that the tech industry is striving for, while also promising guidelines and standards to avoid the technology's harms. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a plan Monday to give nearly 30,000 city workers, including nurses and social workers, access to Microsoft's Copilot chatbot, which is based on the same technology that powers ChatGPT. San Francisco's plan says it comes with "robust privacy and bias safeguards, and clear guidelines to ensure technology enhances - not replaces - human judgment.' San Jose has similar guidelines and hasn't yet reported any major mishaps with its pilot projects. Such problems have attracted attention elsewhere because of the technology's propensity to spew false information, known as hallucinations. ChatGPT's digital fingerprints were found on an error-filled document published in May by US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" commission. In Fresno, California, a school official was forced to resign after saying she was too trusting of an AI chatbot that fabricated information in a document. While some government agencies have been secretive about when they turn to chatbots for help, Mahan is open about his ChatGPT-written background memos that he turns to when making speeches. "Historically, that would have taken hours of phone calls and reading, and you just never would have been able to get those insights," he said. "You can knock out these tasks at a similar or better level of quality in a lot less time.' He added, however, that "you still need a human being in the loop. You can't just kind of press a couple of buttons and trust the output. You still have to do some independent verification. You have to have logic and common sense and ask questions.' Earlier this year, when OpenAI introduced a new pilot product called Operator, it promised a new kind of tool that went beyond a chatbot's capabilities. Instead of just analyzing documents and producing passages of text, it could also access a computer system and schedule calendars or perform tasks on a person's behalf. Developing and selling such "AI agents" is now a key focus for the tech industry. More than an hour's drive east of Silicon Valley, where the Bay Area merges into Central Valley farm country, Jamil Niazi, director of information technology at the city of Stockton, had big visions for what he could do with such an agent. Perhaps the parks and recreation department could let an AI agent help residents book a public park or swimming pool for a birthday party. Or residents could find out how crowded the pool was before packing their swim clothes. Six months later, however, after completing a proof-of-concept phase, the city didn't buy a full license for the technology due to the cost. The market research group Gartner recently predicted that over 40% of "agentic AI' projects will be cancelled before the end of 2027, "due to escalating costs, unclear business value or inadequate risk controls.' San Jose's mayor remains bullish about the potential for these AI tools to help workers "in the bowels of bureaucracy' to rapidly speed up their digital paperwork. "There's just an amazing amount of bureaucracy that large organisations have to have,' Mahan said. "Whether it's finance, accounting, HR or grant writing, those are the kinds of roles where we think our employees can be 20 (to) 50% more productive – quickly.' – AP ——— The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that allows OpenAI access to part of AP's text archives.
The Sun
7 days ago
- The Sun
Malaysian woman working in Singapore steals over RM180k from workplace, spends majority on online gambling
PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian woman working as a cashier at a mini-mart in Singapore was recently charged in court for stealing over RM180,000 from her workplace over a period of six months. According to Mothership, the 37-year-old woman, identified as Kon Chin Sia, had spent most of the stolen money – amounting to S$56,797 (approximately RM187,592) – on online gambling. The offences were committed between April and October 2024. Investigations revealed that the mini-mart manager had started to notice a consistent decline in sales, which he initially attributed to poor business. However, he later observed that sales revenue dropped by S$600 (RM1,981) to S$700 (RM2,312) specifically during Kon's shifts. Feeling suspicious, the manager reviewed the shop's CCTV footage from 30 September to 27 October 2024, and observed that when customers paid in cash, Kon would stash some of the money into a nearby drawer after handing them their change. Kon would then void the transactions to cover her tracks. When confronted by the manager, Kon immediately confessed, admitting that she had been stealing money since April 2024. She explained that she would take S$500 (RM1,651) to S$600 per shift, and deposit the money into her personal bank account. Despite her confession, the manager gave her an opportunity to repay the stolen amount — but she failed to do so. In December 2024, the manager filed a police report against her. Kon was subsequently dismissed from her position. She was charged with criminal breach of trust and was sentenced to 17 months in prison on Monday (July 14).
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Strategy (MSTR) Acquires $1B Bitcoin on Iran-Israel Conflict
Strategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) is one of the 13 best software stocks to buy now. On June 16, the company confirmed the addition of $1 billion worth of Bitcoin into its portfolio. The company acquired 10,100 bitcoin during the week ending June 15, as the Israel-Iran conflict continues to pressure the markets. The purchase came on Bitcoin dropping from $110,000 to a low of $103,639 on June 12. Strategy leveraged the pullback to purchase the flagship cryptocurrency as Israel continues to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, sending shockwaves in the equity markets. The purchase also came as Strategy's third bitcoin-backed preferred stock started trading on the NASDAQ on June 11. Following the purchase, Strategy's total holding now stands at 592,100 BTC, acquired for about $41.8 billion at an average price of $70.666 per coin. Strategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) provides cloud-native, AI-powered enterprise analytics software. It is also the world's first and largest Bitcoin Treasury Company, holding Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset. The company leverages its software expertise and Bitcoin strategy to explore innovation in business intelligence and applications. While we acknowledge the potential of MSTR as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 12 Best Healthcare Stocks to Buy Now and 10 Stocks Analysts Are Upgrading Today. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
TimesLIVE
05-06-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Safa has an opening for a technical director
TL homepage teaser until 11am on June 6; TL > ST > Business until same time on June 11. The South African Football Association (Safa), SA's football governing body and a member of the world football governing body Fifa, is committed to the creation of a nonracial, nonsexist and nondiscriminatory world football arena and subscribes to 'fair play'. Safa , an equal opportunities employer that takes pride in its human resources, has an opening for a: Technical director Reports to: CEO Employment term: Four-year fixed-term contract Location: SAFA House, Nasrec, Johannesburg Remuneration: R729,592 to R839,031 (total cost to company) Job Purpose: The technical director is required to define and lead the National Technical Programme under the authority of Safa and in compliance with the association's aims, objectives and values. Minimum requirements and experience: Hold a minimum of CAF A License. Degree or diploma. Minimum of three years' experience working with youth and also at the highest level. Minimum of three years' experience as coach, technical director or sport manager. Other requirements and experience: Valid driver's licence. Wide knowledge of football in SA and expertise in football education. Former player experience would be an added advantage. Experience as a coach/instructor (coach educator). Credibility and recognition among the South African football fraternity. Experience in managing staff to ensure co-operation, work allocation and discipline. Responsibilities and accountabilities: Leading and being involved in the long-term development plan and strategies. Develop and implement a clear and thorough technical development plan with a technical chart aimed at continually promoting and improving the game of football in SA at all levels, from grassroots to elite football, including youth football, women's football, futsal, and coaching. Advise Safa on all matters related to the effective development of football in SA and be accountable for the development of a strategy and policy for the performance of football programmes. Maintain a close and harmonious working relationship with the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa), Confederation of African Football (Caf), Fifa and other major stakeholders, including the government of SA. Define and direct the National Technical Programme and football philosophy. Recruit staff members in their departments. Ensure that the technical department is appropriately staffed with suitably qualified individuals who are capable of implementing the agreed programmes, thereby ensuring the growth and success of football at all levels. To be responsible for all administrative activities relating to coaching. To direct and supervise the duties of subordinate staff and to provide development feedback to them. Develop football programmes for youth in schools and football academies. Promote and implement youth competitions for boys and girls. Promote and expand general football activities at all levels from grassroots to elite, boys/girls/men/women. Introduce, define and supervise coach licensing programmes. Create/develop D License to A License for coaches in the country — aligned to Caf Convention. Organise and define refresher coaching courses and tailored seminars for licensed coaches and licensed referees. Maintain database of all coaching licence holders. Maintain database of all referee licence holders. Responsible for the recruitment and education of coaches, referees and instructors. Develop a blueprint/master plan for football techniques and coaching approach in SA together with the national coaches. Produce teaching material for coach education activities. Involvement in club competition rules (foreign players, young players, and so on). Develop guidelines and regulations for talent scouting and identification system programmes. Hold regular meetings and maintain contact with club coaches. Co-ordinate and supervise youth and women's national team programmes and activities. Organise assessment workshops after any international competitions and produce a report on the findings, learning and proposed improvements. Organise seminars on a specific topic and set up a documentation centre and audiovisual services. To develop and maintain contacts with the confederation's coach education department to co-ordinate, implement, monitor and provide feedback on all matters on coach education. Conduct an annual due diligence study regarding the status quo by making onsite visits to assess the structure, level of activity, and licensed coaches, as well as coach education programmes, including the quantity and quality of coaches and coach instructors, throughout the country. And, to provide recommendations and development proposals based on the findings. Do an annual due diligence study regarding the status quo by making onsite visits to assess the structure, level of activity of licensed referees, referees' education programmes, including the quantity and quality of referees and referee instructors, throughout the country. And to provide recommendations and development proposals based on the findings. Job specification competencies and knowledge: Ability to plan, implement, and follow up projects and programmes. Willingness to work irregular hours and travel extensively. Previous experience of working in a multi-stakeholder sports environment and be comfortable managing the differing tensions that may prevail. Good organisational, management and analytical skills and be an independent thinker. Presentation skills. Ability to manage and supervise projects. Ability to plan and prioritise, take the initiative and work under pressure and a tight deadline. Ability to network, relate to, and influence a wide variety of stakeholders. An international outlook — with multicultural familiarisation and sensitivity. Ability to listen, advise, and guide using football experience. Commitment to continuous personal and organisational improvement. Applications: Closing date: June 13 2025 Note:
The Star
29-05-2025
- The Star
Police cripple two drug syndicates, seize drugs worth RM7.121mil in Gombak
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have crippled two drug syndicates in separate raids in Gombak, following the arrest of a local man and woman, as well as a foreign man, with drug seizures amounting to RM7,121,015.20, recently. Gombak OCPD Asst Comm Noor Ariffin Mohamad Nasir said the Narcotics Crime Investigation Division of the Gombak district police headquarters (IPD) seized 212 plastic packets, believed to contain syabu (methamphetamine), weighing 222.331kg, from a sedan which had been left at a storage facility, at 9.30pm on May 14. He said that further investigation led to the arrest of a 25-year-old local man, who works as a used car salesman. The man has been remanded for 12 days, until Friday (May 30). "The drugs seized in the first case are valued at RM7,114,592, and are believed to have been intended for distribution in the Klang Valley. "Action was also taken under the Dangerous Drugs (Forfeiture of Property) Act 1988, with the seizure of a gold chain, worth RM11,348.86," he said, in a press conference at the Gombak IPD on Thursday (May 29). In the second case, Noor Ariffin said that police arrested a 34-year-old foreign man, believed to be a private college student, and a 47-year-old local woman, believed to be working as an insurance executive for a private company, in a car at around 6am last Tuesday (May 27). He added that the two suspects, believed to be a couple, have been remanded for seven days, until June 3. "A search of the vehicle uncovered two packets containing compressed dried leaves, believed to be cannabis, weighing 2.072kg, which is estimated to be worth RM6,423.20. "The drug seized in this case is believed to have been intended for distribution in the Gombak area. Also seized was RM500 in cash," he said. He said all three suspects have no prior criminal record, and they also tested negative for drugs. The case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. – Bernama
