₦airaland Forum

Facebook to expand use of its AI to spot 'suicidal intent' in users

Facebook is expanding its suicidal intent detection software to other countries
It scans Facebook posts for phrases that could be signals of a potential suicide
If the software detects a potential suicide, it alerts a team of Facebook workers
The system suggests resources to the user or to friends such as a telephone help line, and Facebook workers sometimes call authorities to intervene
Facebook will expand its pattern recognition software to other countries after successful tests in the U.S. to detect users with suicidal intent, the world's largest social media network said on Monday.

Facebook began testing the software in the United States in March, when the company started scanning the text of Facebook posts and comments for phrases that could be signals of an impending suicide.

Facebook has not disclosed many technical details of the program, but the company said its software searches for certain phrases that could be clues, such as the questions 'Are you ok?' and 'Can I help?'
If the software detects a potential suicide, it alerts a team of Facebook workers who specialize in handling such reports.

The system suggests resources to the user or to friends of the person such as a telephone help line.

Facebook workers sometimes call local authorities to intervene.

Guy Rosen, Facebook's vice president for product management, said the company was beginning to roll out the software outside the United States because the tests have been successful.

During the past month, he said, first responders checked on people more than 100 times after Facebook software detected suicidal intent.

Facebook said it tries to have specialist employees available at any hour to call authorities in local languages.

'Speed really matters. We have to get help to people in real time,' Rosen said.

Last year, when Facebook launched live video broadcasting, videos proliferated of violent acts including suicides and murders, presenting a threat to the company's image.

In May Facebook said it would hire 3,000 more people to monitor videos and other content.

Rosen did not name the countries where Facebook was deploying the software, but he said it would eventually be used worldwide except in the European Union due to sensitivities, which he declined to discuss.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5121835/Facebook-expand-artificial-intelligence-help-prevent-suicide.html

Thank God sey i de use matches sticks, my car keys, and my cock feather[color=#006600][/color]

Cotton buds should not be used to clean ears, health officials say.

Inserting a bud could damage the ear canal and eardrum and push wax further down, according to the health watchdog.

The draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) also says that ear syringing, in which a large metal syringe is used to pump water manually into the ear to clear out wax, is potentially harmful and should no longer be used
Its committee agreed that buds may be a ‘hazard’ that can cause infections or push wax further into the ear canal.

The guideline says the ear canal is ‘self-cleaning’, with excess wax falling out on its own, and that the entrance to the ears can be cleaned with a damp flannel.

Rather than manual syringing, which can cause trauma, Nice recommends ‘ear irrigation’, in which an electronic machine pumps water safely into the ear at a controlled pressure to remove problem wax.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5123189/Dont-clean-ears-cotton-buds-say-experts.html

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday that higher electricity tariff was inevitable. He urged Nigerians to brace for a new regime.

He spoke at the Sixth Presidential Business Forum held at the old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The forum, which focused on agriculture and its value chains, had the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbe; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah; officials of government agencies and stakeholders in the agriculture sector in attendance.

Prof Osinbajo said there is no question at all about the tariff increase, adding however, that government was not going to implement it now but was working towards cleaning the electricity value chain.

According to him, the N700 billion Payment Assurance Guarantee (PAG) set aside by government was payment to ensure uninterrupted payment for gas and liquidity in the power sector.

Osinbajo said the PAG was to fund a smooth transition “from where we are to a much more market-determined policy for electricity”.

The vice president said government was working with the World Bank on this initiative.

He also disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that a committee be set up to explore the use of government’s intervention funds in agriculture.

“I’m chairing a committee to look at how to not only use intervention funds but how to monitor the use of intervention funds,” Osinbajo said.

He explained that the idea was to ensure that intervention funds go to the right persons.

Stressing that the government would not bring down interest rate overnight, he said: “The way out is by some kind of intervention and that’s what the President has asked that we do.”

Osinbajo said government was refining the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and other intervention funds for agriculture with a view to making them more effective in assisting farmers.

The issue of smuggling of agricultural produce into Nigeria, he said, is an existential threat to the country’s agric sector.

He said there were about three ship loads of about 120, 000 metric tons of rice coming from Thailand bound for one of the neighbouring countries.

“It is very clear that the rice is meant for Nigeria because they don’t consume parboiled rice; they consume the white broken rice. Our neighbours do excellent business with allowing rice to come into Nigeria.” he said.

He said a similar thing happened last Christmas when Nigeria blocked about 500,000 metric tons of rice coming into Nigeria from one of its neighbours.

He said Nigeria would go to these countries in friendly and polite manner to ensure that the practice stops.

Osinbajo also identified the low duty paid in some of the neighbouring countries as one of the factors that encouraged the smuggling of rice and other agric produce through them into Nigeria.

Among other issues which the vice president spoke on at the forum included the gridlock at the Apapa and Tincan ports in Lagos as well as land ownership, titling and clearing.



Giving an overview of the progress made in agric, Chief Ogbeh said Nigeria’s import of rice has dropped by about 95 per cent from 644, 131 metric tons in September 2015 to 20,000 tons in September 2017.

According to him, there are 12.2million farmers growing rice in Nigeria, mainly in states such as Kebbi, Jigawa, Kano, Ebonyin and Nassarawa.

“We should be almost certain to meet our needs in local rice production,” he said.

Enelamah gave an update on the Export Incentive Grant; and the Chief Executive Officer of the WACOT Rice Mill in Kebbi State, Rahul Savara.

Participations from the private sector at the meeting also raised questions and made observations on issues such as access to credit, quality control, protection of local farmers, land, among others.

http://thenationonlineng.net/osinbajo-electricity-tariff-hike-inevitable/

•Monuments to go for budget funding

THE Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), the National Arts Theatre and some selected power plants under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) are part of the key national assets the Federal Government has concluded plans to sell, House of Representatives’ members were told yesterday.

The purpose of the proposed sale is to generate sufficient revenue to finance the country’s annual budgets for the next three years (2018-2020).

Director General of Budget Office Ben Akabueze, who told the House of Representatives Joint Committees on 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)/ Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) about the plan, noted that the Federal Government’s non-core assets from the mines and steel sector like houses and estates are part of items slated for sale.

According to Akabueze, items for the 2018 budget would be financed from the revenue garnered from sales of the key government assets as well as national parks.

He said proceeds from the privatisation of the assets would be used to finance the budget deficit of N2.005 trillion, much of which will be financed through domestic and foreign borrowings, adding that the aspect had been factored into the 2018 budget.

The country, he said, was generating too little revenue, hence it was expedient to borrow.

The Director General of Budget Office added that the reverse would be the case, if actually the assets were generating revenues.

“We are generating too little revenue, hence we are borrowing. If we generate enough, borrowing ratio will drop,” he said.

However, chairman of the joint committee, Babaginda Aliu, frowned at the absence of five Federal Government agencies he described as critical to the 2018 budget consideration and passage, which were invited to the session.

He noted that notwithstanding the late submission of the MTEF/ Fiscal Strategy Paper, the committee was committed to streamline its activities to pass the document and ensure the budget is passed in record time.

The Minister of State for Budget and Planning, Hajia Zaniab Ahmed, representative of the Governor of Central Bank, Adelabu R.A. and Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) Dr. Tunde Fowler made presentations during the session.

Also present were the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance Alhaji Mohammed Isa Dutse, who represented the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; and the Comptroller-General of Customs Col Hameed Ali was represented by Deputy Comptroller General of Customs in charge of T&T, Alu S.R.
http://thenationonlineng.net/fed-govt-offers-tbs-national-arts-theatre-others-sale/

'It's even better than getting into Cambridge!': Law undergraduate shares her delight at winning the university's Best Bum competition

A law undergraduate has been crowned the winner of Cambridge University's annual 'best bum' award.

The student - identified only as 'Vita' - spoke proudly about her 'considerable a** and thighs' as she stripped off to showcase her perfectly pert derriere.

Her saucy winning shot, which shows her leaning naked against an oak tree at Homerton College, won nearly a quarter of the vote among readers of The Tab student newspaper after being shortlisted in the top 10.
Vita is proud to have won as a woman with a voluptuous figure, and even joked that she's more proud of her photos than getting into Cambridge.

She said: 'I don't have the most athletic figure and I have quite a considerable a*** and thighs. It says a lot about how far the world has come in body acceptance.

'I have worked hard to accept my body. I wanted to prove that to myself by doing something I wouldn't usually do.

'I didn't even expect the photo would be in the top 10 - let alone be the winner.
She took victory by a one per cent margin over second place 'Virginia', who polled 23.08 per cent with a similar pose in a tree.

Now Vita's curvaceous derriere has become a star on campus with friends commending her for her boldness.

She said: 'Everyone who has seen my photos has been so positive. I have seen comments online saying that I'm fat but I'm going to ignore the trolls.

'I know there are comments saying that Cambridge students are 'snowflakes' and not working but I think it's sad and narrow-minded to call us that!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5118559/Curvy-Cambridge-University-wins-best-bum-award-2017.html

Celebrating poor
Enjoying underdevelopment
Becoming bold in the face of suffering

Did UN consult with Lai Mohammed before issuing this report

Atiku is a political prostitute........his de-camping has no political significance.

Her grandfather Justice Oputa was ecumenically sane but he produced a weird son called Charles aka Charlie Boy. Since then the family thrives on incredulous weirdness....

DSS / EFCC drama has overtaken Maina issue ........

Another poor engineering project to be delivered by an indigenous firm.....

Padding in progress........it's not a rush business

I will prefer he follows the footsteps of his predecessor...........one of the few royal thrones that earns my respect.

That's leadership..........no shifting of blame or blame culture.

Disfigured to be configured.............

I will advise the new government shouldn't bother to probe the man. Let him go to the grave in peace.
Grace should get back to the other room. This is when he needs her most......

How did he end the speech? Couldn't get to the end.....

You lived well.....a man of intellect and peace is gone. RIP

You lived well.....a man of intellect and peace gone. RIP

This is a true testimony, open and verifiable. The devil has lost a soul and is weeping......thumbs-up sister

Happy birthday to a man of peace......a man of simplicity and humility. Long life to a man of good nature.

This is not incidental but accidental position caught in camera for news. The baby boy is still in diaper

I thought more than one wife is allowed........women who don't want to be faithful to their religion.

Abegie ...........nothing go happen

As a matter of urgency, not only Imolites, but Ndigbo must organize a psychiatry test for Okorocha to ascertain his mental state.

Already deceived.....not a single rotten tomato was thrown

Not new.....only she chose to make hers public

Just the beginning......bad influence......many feeling same but lack courage to express......world spinning out of control

Is an established fact sir.

Corruption: The fighter and the fought are corrupt. Corruption is coded in our DNA and flows as blood......

Gang beard is about promotion of ISIS, Boko Haram and the likes.
You have the right to your beard.