AI isn't going away, the metaverse is still showing signs of life, and cybersecurity concerns remain abundant.
Just when you thought it was safe to enter 2024 on a clean technology slate, similar themes and a cast of technology characters are re-emerging from the previous year. Yet, not everything is the same. There are some early hints of what to expect, and some clues from tech products that offer a glimpse at how our lives and businesses will change in the weeks and months ahead.
Will deepfake videos cause a cacophony of problems? Will Apple's vision of spatial computing have us all wearing headsets? Will AI concerns finally become reality?
Host Cody Combs looks at where things stand on all these topics and more.
Interviews include analysis from Renee McGowan, Marsh McLennan’s chief executive for India, Middle East & Africa, and Robert Wahl, associate professor of computer science Concordia University in Wisconsin.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
FROM THE ASHES
Director: Khalid Fahad
Starring: Shaima Al Tayeb, Wafa Muhamad, Hamss Bandar
Rating: 3/5
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 666hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm at 2,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
On sale: Q1 2023
Price: from Dh1.15 million (estimate)
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
