ByteDance has terminated the services of an intern for interference with an AI model project, which reportedly caused tens of millions dollars' worth of damages, a claim denied by the Chinese owner of massively popular video-sharing platform TikTok.

The firing took place in August, according to a clarification issued by ByteDance after Chinese mainland social media was abuzz with how massive a dent the intern's actions had made on the company's finances.&nbsp;

In a statement posted on its news aggregation platform Toutiao on Saturday (Oct 19), ByteDance described as 'inaccurate' the reports of any significant damage or revenue losses for the company arising from the intern's actions.

The intern in question was part of ByteDance advertising tech department's commercialisation wing.

Watch: Will ByteDance to divest TikTok Or Face Ban?

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Reportedly dissatisfied with resource allocations, the intern disrupted AI model training involving over 8,000 GPUs or Graphics&nbsp;Processing Units.

ByteDance, which in addition to TikTok is developing several AI applications, said the company's official commercial projects and AI operations were not disrupted.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tiktok-fights-back-bytedance-appeals-to-overturn-unconstitutional-potential-ban-in-us-733665">TikTok fights back: ByteDance appeals against potential ban in US, calls it 'unconstitutional'</a> 
 
It said industry associations and the university of the intern were informed about the misconduct. The intern studied in Beihang University and Peking University, according to a report in South China Morning Post.

Countering claims in social media, ByteDance said the intern did not have experience with its AI lab.

The company's clarifications came even an audio recording claiming to be from the intern surfaced on the global code depository site GitHub.&nbsp;

The audio from the handle 'JusticeFighter110' posted on October 18 claimed the intern inserted malicious code into the AI project. But another repository on GitHub said the audio was fabricated.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/tiktok-cuts-hundreds-of-jobs-as-bytedance-shifts-focus-to-ai-content-moderation-767010">TikTok cuts hundreds of jobs as ByteDance shifts focus to AI content moderation</a>

According to the SCMP report,&nbsp;the intern had previosly worked at SenseTime and the Oxford University before starting&nbsp;at ByteDance in 2021.

Figting in generative AI world against big players like OpenAI, ByteDance's AI lab is bringing out several features and applications driven by artificial intellicence.&nbsp;

Its Doubao AI model reached 47 monthly active users in September as opposed to Baidu’s Ernie Bot or Wenxiaoyan which had 12 mn and Moonshot AI’s Kimi, which had had 7 mn users.

(With inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

ByteDance has terminated the services of an intern for interference with an AI model project, which reportedly caused tens of millions dollars' worth of damages, a claim denied by the Chinese owner of massively popular video-sharing platform TikTok.

ByteDance has terminated the services of an intern for interference with an AI model project, which reportedly caused tens of millions dollars' worth of damages, a claim denied by the Chinese owner of massively popular video-sharing platform TikTok. The firing took place in August, according to a clarification issued by ByteDance after Chinese mainland social media was abuzz with how massive a dent the intern's actions had made on the company's finances. In a statement posted on its news aggregation platform Toutiao on Saturday (Oct 19), ByteDance described as 'inaccurate' the reports of any significant damage or revenue losses for the company arising from the intern's actions. The intern in question was part of ByteDance advertising tech department's commercialisation wing. Watch: Will ByteDance to divest TikTok Or Face Ban? × Reportedly dissatisfied with resource allocations, the intern disrupted AI model training involving over 8,000 GPUs or Graphics Processing Units. ByteDance, which in addition to TikTok is developing several AI applications, said the company's official commercial projects and AI operations were not disrupted. TikTok fights back: ByteDance appeals against potential ban in US, calls it 'unconstitutional' It said industry associations and the university of the intern were informed about the misconduct. The intern studied in Beihang University and Peking University, according to a report in South China Morning Post. Countering claims in social media, ByteDance said the intern did not have experience with its AI lab. The company's clarifications came even an audio recording claiming to be from the intern surfaced on the global code depository site GitHub. The audio from the handle 'JusticeFighter110' posted on October 18 claimed the intern inserted malicious code into the AI project. But another repository on GitHub said the audio was fabricated. TikTok cuts hundreds of jobs as ByteDance shifts focus to AI content moderation According to the SCMP report, the intern had previosly worked at SenseTime and the Oxford University before starting at ByteDance in 2021. Figting in generative AI world against big players like OpenAI, ByteDance's AI lab is bringing out several features and applications driven by artificial intellicence. Its Doubao AI model reached 47 monthly active users in September as opposed to Baidu’s Ernie Bot or Wenxiaoyan which had 12 mn and Moonshot AI’s Kimi, which had had 7 mn users. (With inputs from agencies)

TikTok owner ByteDance's AI project was disrupted massively by an intern. And then, this happened

Over 60% of Chinese population has contracted Covid since the start of the pandemic. As per a report published by a local researcher, 900 million Chinese have contracted the virus since 2020. The research has been published by a team at the Peking University.

China Covid infections spike: Chinese publication reports over 64% population infected

A Chinese laboratory has been developing a drug it believes has the power to bring the coronavirus pandemic to a halt.

The outbreak first emerged in China late last year before spreading across the world, prompting an international race to find treatments and vaccines.

A drug being tested by scientists at China's prestigious Peking University could not only shorten the recovery time for those infected, but even offer short-term immunity from the virus, researchers say.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/presymptomatic-covid-19-patients-can-contaminate-surroundings-study-299576" hreflang="en">Presymptomatic COVID-19 patients can contaminate surroundings: Study</a>

Sunney Xie, director of the university's Beijing advanced innovation center for genomics, said that the drug has been successful at the animal testing stage.

"When we injected neutralising antibodies into infected mice, after five days the viral load was reduced by a factor of 2,500," said Xie.

"That means this potential drug has a&nbsp;therapeutic effect.'' he added.

It&nbsp;uses neutralising antibodies, produced by the human immune system to prevent the virus infecting cells, which Xie's team isolated from the blood of 60 recovered patients.&nbsp;

A study on the team's research, published Sunday in the scientific journal cell, suggests that using the antibodies provides a potential "cure" for the disease and shortens recovery time.

Xie said his team had been working "day and night" searching for the antibody.

"Our expertise is single-cell genomics rather than immunology or virology. When we realised that the single-cell genomic approach can effectively find the neutralising antibody we were thrilled."

<a href="http://13.235.153.162/videos/china-develops-a-drug-to-fight-pandemic-covid-19-299652">Also watch |&nbsp;China develops a drug to fight pandemic COVID-19</a>

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He added that the drug should be ready for use later this year and in time for any potential winter outbreak of the virus, which has infected 4.8 million people around the world and killed more than 315,000.

"Planning for the clinical trial is underway," said xie, adding it will be carried out in Australia and other countries since cases have dwindled in China, offering fewer human guinea pigs for testing.

China already has five potential coronavirus vaccines at the human trial stage, a health official said last week.

A Chinese laboratory has been developing a drug it believes has the power to bring the coronavirus pandemic to a halt. The outbreak first emerged in China late last year before spreading across the world, prompting an international race to find treatments and vaccines.

A Chinese laboratory has been developing a drug it believes has the power to bring the coronavirus pandemic to a halt. The outbreak first emerged in China late last year before spreading across the world, prompting an international race to find treatments and vaccines. A drug being tested by scientists at China's prestigious Peking University could not only shorten the recovery time for those infected, but even offer short-term immunity from the virus, researchers say. Also read: Presymptomatic COVID-19 patients can contaminate surroundings: Study Sunney Xie, director of the university's Beijing advanced innovation center for genomics, said that the drug has been successful at the animal testing stage. "When we injected neutralising antibodies into infected mice, after five days the viral load was reduced by a factor of 2,500," said Xie. "That means this potential drug has a therapeutic effect.'' he added. It uses neutralising antibodies, produced by the human immune system to prevent the virus infecting cells, which Xie's team isolated from the blood of 60 recovered patients. A study on the team's research, published Sunday in the scientific journal cell, suggests that using the antibodies provides a potential "cure" for the disease and shortens recovery time. Xie said his team had been working "day and night" searching for the antibody. "Our expertise is single-cell genomics rather than immunology or virology. When we realised that the single-cell genomic approach can effectively find the neutralising antibody we were thrilled." Also watch | China develops a drug to fight pandemic COVID-19 × He added that the drug should be ready for use later this year and in time for any potential winter outbreak of the virus, which has infected 4.8 million people around the world and killed more than 315,000. "Planning for the clinical trial is underway," said xie, adding it will be carried out in Australia and other countries since cases have dwindled in China, offering fewer human guinea pigs for testing. China already has five potential coronavirus vaccines at the human trial stage, a health official said last week.

New drug can halt pandemic 'without vaccine', claim scientists

Chinese universities have started cancelling entrance exams for international students, claiming that&nbsp;the move is a response to Wuhan coronavirus fears.

Peking University, Renmin University of China, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have scratched exam requirements for foreigners according to media reports. 
 
A notice on&nbsp;Peking University's&nbsp;website stated ''to protect the health of the majority of candidates during the coronavirus pandemic ... the University has taken the decision to cancel the written examinations for international students applying [for undergraduate programs in 2020].

The school will instead conduct remote interviews for students who meet their qualifications, according to Chinese news agencies.

However, experts claim that the change will make it easier for overseas students to gain admission into these institutions and could be linked to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) continued propaganda efforts abroad.

The decision is likely in response to recent closures of Confucius Institutes over growing concerns that China's influence is negatively affecting freedom of speech on campuses around the world. 
 
According to Chinese education specialist Shi Dajun, a Peking University graduate, ''now that the Confucius Institutes are running into obstacles, we are seeing them take a new direction.''

''The goal is to have foreign students studying in China take the CCP’s message back to their own countries to help spread Beijing’s narrative,'' Shi said. 
 
A retired professor from Lanzhou University surnamed Cai said&nbsp;that attracting overseas students to China is part of a long-running strategy for the CCP, which uses education as a form of soft power.

Students who study in China under its Belt and Road Initiative enjoy generous stipends for living expenses and no tuition fees in addition to free accommodations. The idea is to train the next generation of pro-China people and to develop friendly ties with their countries.

Chinese universities have started cancelling entrance exams for international students, claiming that the move is a response to Wuhan coronavirus fears. Peking University, Renmin University of China, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have scratched exam requirements for foreigners according to media reports.

Chinese universities have started cancelling entrance exams for international students, claiming that the move is a response to Wuhan coronavirus fears. Peking University, Renmin University of China, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have scratched exam requirements for foreigners according to media reports. A notice on Peking University's website stated ''to protect the health of the majority of candidates during the coronavirus pandemic ... the University has taken the decision to cancel the written examinations for international students applying [for undergraduate programs in 2020]. The school will instead conduct remote interviews for students who meet their qualifications, according to Chinese news agencies. However, experts claim that the change will make it easier for overseas students to gain admission into these institutions and could be linked to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) continued propaganda efforts abroad. The decision is likely in response to recent closures of Confucius Institutes over growing concerns that China's influence is negatively affecting freedom of speech on campuses around the world. According to Chinese education specialist Shi Dajun, a Peking University graduate, ''now that the Confucius Institutes are running into obstacles, we are seeing them take a new direction.'' ''The goal is to have foreign students studying in China take the CCP’s message back to their own countries to help spread Beijing’s narrative,'' Shi said. A retired professor from Lanzhou University surnamed Cai said that attracting overseas students to China is part of a long-running strategy for the CCP, which uses education as a form of soft power. Students who study in China under its Belt and Road Initiative enjoy generous stipends for living expenses and no tuition fees in addition to free accommodations. The idea is to train the next generation of pro-China people and to develop friendly ties with their countries.

Chinese universities cancelling entrance exams for foreign students