A conference app, also known as an event app or meeting app, is a mobile app developed to help attendees and meeting planners manage their conference experience. It typically includes conference proceedings and venue information, allowing users to create personalized schedules and engage with other users. A conference app can be a native app or web-based. In recent years, conference apps have gained in popularity as a sustainable solution for event management by reducing paper produced by printed materials. Advanced features often include real-time notifications for updates or changes, integration with virtual meeting platforms for hybrid or fully online events, and analytics tools for organizers to measure attendance and engagement. Additionally, some apps support sponsorship and exhibitor features, enabling businesses to showcase their products or services directly within the app.
WiPay
WiPay is a Caribbean-based payment technology company that specializes in electronic payments for businesses. WiPay was founded in 2016 by Aldwyn Wayne Jr., a Trinidadian businessman and graduate of Georgia Tech Institute. In September 2019, WiPay partnered with MasterCard. As a result, WiPay became the only licensed Payment Facilitator (PAYFAC) on both the MasterCard and Visa networks in the region.
Fuzzy number
A fuzzy number is a generalization of a regular real number in the sense that it does not refer to one single value but rather to a connected set of possible values, where each possible value has its own weight between 0 and 1. This weight is called the membership function. A fuzzy number is thus a special case of a convex, normalized fuzzy set of the real line. Just like fuzzy logic is an extension of Boolean logic (which uses absolute truth and falsehood only, and nothing in between), fuzzy numbers are an extension of real numbers. Calculations with fuzzy numbers allow the incorporation of uncertainty on parameters, properties, geometry, initial conditions, etc. The arithmetic calculations on fuzzy numbers are implemented using fuzzy arithmetic operations, which can be done by two different approaches: (1) interval arithmetic approach; and (2) the extension principle approach. A fuzzy number is equal to a fuzzy interval. The degree of fuzziness is determined by the a-cut which is also called the fuzzy spread.
SmartAction
SmartAction Company LLC is a U.S.-based software company that develops artificial intelligence–driven virtual agents for customer service applications, including voice-based interactive voice response (IVR) systems, chat, and SMS. The company was founded in 2009 by inventor and entrepreneur Peter Voss and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. == History == In 2001, Peter Voss founded Adaptive AI, Inc., a research and development company focused on artificial intelligence concepts. In 2009, Voss founded SmartAction Company, LLC to commercialize customer-service automation software derived from this work. The company’s initial products focused on automating inbound and outbound calls for contact center environments. In November 2022, Kyle Johnson was appointed chief executive officer, succeeding Gary Davis, who had served as CEO since 2020. In 2024, SmartAction was acquired by Capacity, an AI-powered customer support automation company based in St. Louis, Missouri. == Technology == SmartAction develops cloud-based voice automation software that integrates speech recognition and natural language processing to support automated customer interactions in contact center environments. The platform supports automated handling of common customer service tasks and is designed to integrate with enterprise systems.
India AI Impact Summit 2026
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 (also abbreviated as the AI Impact Summit) was an international summit on artificial intelligence held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, India, from 16 to 21 February 2026. It is the fourth in a series of global AI summits following the Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit in 2023, the AI Seoul Summit in 2024, and the AI Action Summit in Paris in 2025. Organised under the IndiaAI Mission by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, it is the first summit in the series to be hosted by a Global South nation. This series of AI summits will continue with the AI Summit in Geneva to be hosted by Switzerland in 2027. The summit was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 February 2026. The opening ceremony was also addressed by French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. The summit was attended by over 20 heads of state and a delegation of global technology leaders including Sundar Pichai (Google), Sam Altman (OpenAI), and Demis Hassabis (DeepMind). The event faced criticism for organisational issues, misrepresentation of non-Indian products as Indian, and a perceived focus on trade fair activities over substantive governance. == Background == The AI Impact Summit was an international summit on artificial intelligence (AI) held in New Delhi from 16 to 20 February 2026. It followed the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025, the AI Seoul Summit in 2024 and the Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit in 2023. According to Crowell & Moring, the changing summit titles seemed to reflect a broader shift in focus away from AI safety and governance toward practical impact, implementation, and measurable outcomes. Ahead of the summit, an international panel of experts published the second International AI Safety Report. The summit was structured around three foundational pillars, termed "Sutras": People, Planet, and Progress. Seven thematic working groups were established to deliver outcomes across these pillars, covering AI for economic growth and social good; democratising AI resources; inclusion for social empowerment; safe and trusted AI; human capital; science; and resilience, innovation, and efficiency. == Programme == The summit ran over five days, later extended to six following overwhelming public response. Originally scheduled to conclude on 20 February, the event was extended to 21 February with expanded evening hours for the exhibition. === India AI Impact Expo === The India AI Impact Expo, inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on 16 February, featured over 300 exhibitors from 30 countries across more than 10 thematic pavilions. Pavilions were organised across thematic zones aligned with the summit's three pillars, showcasing AI applications in healthcare, agriculture, education, and sustainable industry. === Leaders' Plenary and CEO Roundtable === The Leaders' Plenary on 19 February brought together heads of state, ministers, and representatives from multilateral institutions to outline national and global priorities on AI governance, infrastructure, and international cooperation. A CEO Roundtable, held the same evening, convened senior executives from global technology and industry firms with government leaders to discuss investment, research collaboration, and deployment of AI systems. === Research Symposium === A Research Symposium on AI and its Impact was held on 18 February, with the IIIT Hyderabad as knowledge partner. Discussions covered sovereign AI infrastructure, global adoption challenges, research breakthroughs, and policy priorities. == Participants == The summit drew delegations from over 100 countries, including more than 20 heads of state and 60 ministers. Notable attendees from the technology industry included Sundar Pichai (Google), Sam Altman (OpenAI), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Demis Hassabis (Google DeepMind), and Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries). Representatives from multilateral institutions included Sangbu Kim of the World Bank. == Announcements and outcomes == === Indian AI models === Several Indian AI models and products were unveiled during the summit. Sarvam AI, an Indian AI laboratory, launched a new generation of large language models, including 30-billion and 105-billion parameter models using a mixture of experts architecture, as well as text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and vision models. Sarvam also introduced the Kaze smartglasses, described as the company's first hardware product, which Prime Minister Modi tested at the expo. The government-backed BharatGen Param2 model, a 17-billion parameter model supporting 22 Indian languages with multimodal capabilities, was also launched at the summit. === Infrastructure commitments === Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw outlined India's "whole-of-nation" AI strategy, describing plans to build a "frugal, sovereign and scalable" AI ecosystem. The government announced plans to add more than 20,000 GPUs to India's existing base of 38,000 under the IndiaAI Compute Portal. Microsoft announced at the summit that it was on track to invest US$50 billion by the end of the decade to bring AI to lower-income countries. Goa reaffirmed its commitment to artificial intelligence at the India AI Impact Summit 2026. === Guinness World Record === During the summit, India set a Guinness World Record for the most pledges received for an AI responsibility campaign in 24 hours, with 250,946 valid pledges collected between 16 and 17 February 2026. The campaign, conducted in partnership with Intel India as part of the IndiaAI Mission, exceeded its initial target of 5,000 pledges. == Controversies and criticisms == === Galgotias University incident === On 18 February, Galgotias University faced widespread criticism after a representative presented a robot dog at the university's exhibition pavilion as an indigenous development. Social media users identified the robot as the Unitree Go2, a commercially available product manufactured by Chinese company Unitree Robotics. IT Secretary S. Krishnan stated that the government did not want exhibitors to showcase items that were not their own, and the university was directed to vacate its stall. Galgotias University issued an apology, stating that the representative had been "ill-informed" and was not authorised to speak to the press. The incident drew political reactions, with the Indian National Congress using it to criticise the government. The controversy was amplified after Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier shared a video clip of the robot on social media, which was subsequently deleted. === Organisational issues === On day 1 of the Summit, Dhananjay Yadav, a Bengaluru-based entrepreneur had alleged that his product was stolen in the Summit. He called it as a pain for the people in an X post. He further wrote, "Think about this: We paid for flights, accommodation, logistics and even the booth. Only to see our wearables disappear inside a high-security zone". Later, the stolen devices were recovered by The Delhi Police. Bloomberg reported that delegates were left stranded without food or water during a security lockdown ahead of the Prime Minister's visit on 19 February. The summit venue was closed to the public on 19 February for the Prime Minister's visit, leading to criticism from attendees who had registered for that day. === Protests by the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) === On 20 February, some members of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) carried out protests inside the venue with slogans such as "PM is compromised" and the criticism of the recent trade deal between India and the US. 4 of these members were sent to police custody by the court on 22 February. While Bharatiya Janta Party condemned these protests, with its spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla saying, "From being anti-BJP, you have gone to being anti-national? If you have a problem with the BJP, then protest at the BJP office, Jantar Mantar, or outside the PM's office. But the people of the country and their alliance partners condemn them for their attempt to defame India in front of the entire world at the AI Summit." Congress leader Harish Rawat defended the protests, saying "it's also a fact that AI might become a tool in the hands of a few individuals… It's the opposition's job to warn against that… It's not the first time such international events have been opposed. I know how the BJP protested during the Commonwealth Games… To say that such opposition has happened for the first time is not correct. The BJP has been doing this while in the opposition." These protestors were granted bail by the Delhi high court on 2 March. == Reception and analysis == Bloomberg News reported that Prime Minister Modi used the summit to assert India's global AI ambitions following a challenging year in foreign policy. TechPolicy.Press published several critical analyses of the summit. One article argued that the summit's structure granted "multinational corporations parity with sovereign governments
Touch 'n Go eWallet
Touch 'n Go eWallet is a Malaysian digital wallet and online payment platform, established in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July 2017 as a joint venture between Touch 'n Go and Ant Financial. It allows users to make payments at over 280,000 merchant touch points via QR code, as well as perform peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers. Since then, the e-wallet further diversified for users to pay for tolls via RFID or PayDirect, street parking and various online payment spanning e-hailing, car-sharing apps or taxis, various overhead bills; top-up for mobile prepaid or in-game currencies; purchases on e-commerce websites; food delivery; renewing motor insurance and other insurance/takaful plans; and even movie, bus, trains or airline tickets. == Background == Prior to the launch of the e-wallet service, Touch 'n Go provided stored-value physical all-in-one contactless card (namely Touch 'n Go cards or "TnG cards") that users can use to pay for toll fares, public transportation and parking lots as well as purchases in some retail stores. In 1999, Touch 'n Go also markets SmartTag devices that allow road users to pass through certain toll booths without the need to unwind the car window. The high entry cost of the device (around RM 100 each) also meant that only few can enjoy the seamless experience. In 2009, Touch 'n Go partnered with Maxis to launch FastTap, a new mobile payment service that utilised Near-Field Communication (NFC). Maxis customers can make payments by placing the phone near the card readers (that also supports physical bank cards and Touch ’N Go cards). However, the venture featured only one phone model, Nokia 6212, which greatly limited the public reach. In July 2012, Touch 'n Go announced another collaboration with CIMB and Maxis to create similar NFC-based online transaction service that runs on compatible smartphones. Touch 'n Go Wallet was launched in February 2017 as an QR code-based e-wallet application, to compete with Samsung Pay that utilizes NFC modules. In the controlled pilot test in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, the correspondents can experience basic functionalities (prepaid mobile service reload, bills payment, movie tickets and flight tickets purchase, transfer of money with another user, and payments at participating stores and restaurants). While the deployed version of the app was generally well-received, the existing process to transfer the balance to the physical TnG card stored value from the app garnered unanimous backlash. Test groups felt that the need to head to a self-service terminal named "Pick Up Device" in person within 24 hours for completion, along with the failure to do so (the balance would be credited back to the wallet after 24 hours), was not divulged clearly and also defeated the purpose of convenience, not to mention there were only 2 such terminals. The feature was eventually suspended. On 15 November 2017, Touch 'n Go was granted permission by the Central Bank of Malaysia to form a joint venture with Ant Financial, a Chinese-based financial company that operates Alipay. The partnership allowed the local e-wallet to learn from and build upon the operational model pioneered by Alipay. In June 2018, it was reported that Touch 'n Go was pilot testing the uses of the Touch 'n Go eWallet in Rapid Transit, as the ticketing system was enabled on the Kelana Jaya line in the Klang Valley. Pilot testing only applied to stations in Kelana Jaya, KL Gateway–Universiti, Kerinchi, KL Sentral, Dang Wangi, KLCC, and Ampang Park. The test was reported to be successful in February 2020 and was planned to be fully deployed on the LRT and MRT. Due to unforeseen circumstances, this feature did not come into fruition, the app merely adds in-app purchase of monthly concession cards called "My50". In August 2018, Touch 'n Go announced that selected drivers may experience first-hand a new RFID-based payment (later rebranded as "myRFID") that serves to replace SmartTag devices on closed toll roads with during pilot testing phase commencing on 3 September 2018. On 2 November 2018, participation in the ongoing pilot programme was expanded, allowing more drivers to sign up ahead of the public rollout of the RFID system. During the same period, Touch 'n Go has discontinued the sales of SmartTAG devices in favor of the RFID-based payment system. Initially, the installation of the RFID chip onto the car could only be done by Touch 'n Go staff at the RFID fitment centers, at no cost. As the pilot testing concluded on 15 February 2020, a self-installation kit are being offered to the public on Lazada and Shopee. Support for taxi-hailing mobile apps was added in November 2018 when Touch 'n Go partnered with EzCab and Public Cab, allowing users to make payments via QR code. This was later expanded to support MULA on 7 January 2020, and later MyCar on 4 April 2020. Touch 'n Go eWallet was also the first eWallet to convert Kuala Lumpur's most famous Ramadan bazaar in Kampong Bahru into "Kampong Kashless", a venue that can accept cashless QR payments. It welcomed more than 250,000 Malaysians including local celebrities and government officials. On 1 October 2019, some e-commerce websites owned by the Alibaba Group (TMall and Taobao) began to support Touch 'n Go eWallet payments, Lazada joined the list on 29 October 2019. Touch 'n Go eWallet was one of the three e-wallet services in Malaysia (the other being Boost and GrabPay) that was eligible for its users to receive an RM 30 credit in conjunction of E-Tunai Rakyat program under the Budget 2020 plan, that further normalizes adoption of cashless and mobile payment among Malaysians. Unlike Boost and GrabPay, whose P2P transfers were completely disabled until users have exhausted the RM 30 first, Touch 'n Go eWallet did not impose such measures. in 2020, Touch 'n Go eWallet joined DuitNow, an electronic transaction ecosystem in Malaysia which allows the funds from Touch 'n Go eWallet to be transferred to other competing services and vice versa, by implementing a standard DuitNow QR code deisgn. Japan become the first country outside Malaysia to support Touch 'n Go eWallet payment via Alipay Connect. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the enforcement of the movement control order, use of eWallets (including Touch 'n Go eWallet) increased tremendously among citizens due to its contactless nature of the payment and increased take-out orders at home; which in turn helped small and medium-sized enterprises to thrive. Touch 'n Go eWallet launched its loyalty programme – The Goal Hunter – in October 2020 where on monthly basis, users collect stamps by paying with the app in exchange for rewards that include lucky draws and other vouchers. == Services == Touch 'n Go eWallet app is available for download on both Google Play and Apple Appstore. It utilizes QR code technology for local in-store payments. The Touch 'n Go eWallet app also diversifies payment types, including but not limited to Utility bills Purchase of motor insurance policy Pay Later facility Prepaid reload and Postpaid payment to telecommunications companies loan repayments for courts, MBSJ payments, zakat and PTPTN payment for car parking P2P transfer airline ticket bookings; movie tickets from TGV Cinemas RFID refuelling at Shell stations (defunct after Shell launched its own payment app in 2024) User can reload the eWallet credit by setting up auto-reload, purchasing reload pins from convenience stores (such as 7-Eleven, KK Super Mart, MyNews, Family Mart etc.), reloading by FPX and credit/debit card. The PayDirect feature allows users to link their physical Touch 'n Go cards into the eWallet, where the toll fare can be debited from the eWallet balance when flashing the card near the sensor. In the circumstance of insufficient balance in the app, the toll fare will be deducted from the physical card's balance instead. This also conveniently allows users to view the card's remaining balance. Touch 'n Go eWallet is the first and only eWallet to offer a money-back guarantee when an unauthorised transaction is made on the user’s eWallet account, subject to Terms & Conditions. Payment via QR code scanning, including Touch 'n Go eWallet, becomes a norm in most of the shops/restaurants across Malaysia, including roadside hawkers/stall owners and automatic vending machines. The merchants usually display their owner's individual QR or Business account that they can apply for in-app. The popularity attributes to the low merchant onboarding cost (Unlike NFC payment and debit/credit card that requires purchase or rental of a payment terminal device at a yearly fee.) The app is also one of the few ewallet that supports bidirectional liquidity (alongside MAE developed by Maybank), where funds can be transferred two-way with bank accounts. This is not possible with the other major ewallets (GrabPay, Boost, ShopeePay etc.) where the money that is reloaded to the wallet cannot be transferred to another bank account, unless through manual req
Science Fiction Thinking Machines
Science Fiction Thinking Machines: Robots, Androids, Computers is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by American anthologist Groff Conklin. It was first published in hardcover by Vanguard Press in May 1954. An abridged paperback edition titled, Selections from Science Fiction Thinking Machines was later published by Bantam Books in August 1955 and was reprinted in September 1964. The book consists of twenty-two novelettes and short stories by various science fiction authors, together with an introduction and bibliography by the editor. The stories were previously published from 1899-1954, in various science fiction and other magazines. == Contents == Note: stories also appearing in the abridged edition annotated A. "Introduction" (Groff Conklin) "Automata: I" (S. Fowler Wright) "Moxon's Master" (Ambrose Bierce) "Robbie" (Isaac Asimov) A "The Scarab" (Raymond Z. Gallun) "The Mechanical Bride" (Fritz Leiber) "Virtuoso" (Herbert Goldstone) A "Automata: II" (S. Fowler Wright) "Boomerang" (Eric Frank Russell) A "The Jester" (William Tenn) A "R. U. R." (Karel Čapek) "Skirmish" (Clifford D. Simak) A "Soldier Boy" (Michael Shaara) "Automata: III" (S. Fowler Wright) "Men Are Different" (Alan Bloch) A "Letter to Ellen" (Chan Davis) A "Sculptors of Life" (Wallace West) "The Golden Egg" (Theodore Sturgeon) A "Dead End" (Wallace Macfarlane) A "Answer" (Hal Clement) "Sam Hall" (Poul Anderson) A "Dumb Waiter" (Walter M. Miller Jr.) A "Problem for Emmy" (Robert Sherman Townes) A "Selected List of Tales About Robots, Androids, and Computers" (Groff Conklin)