Tag: Tencent

Tencent Cloud Launches Deepfake Generator

by Blockchain News

Deepfake Generator, a New Service Offered by Tencent Cloud, Gives Users the Ability to Generate Fake Videos of Other People

A new digital person production platform has been introduced by Tencent Cloud, the cloud services provider of the Chinese tech giant Tencent. This platform makes use of deepfake technology in order to generate fake films of humans. Users are able to make convincing films using the platform, which is powered by Tencent’s in-house artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The movies can be generated using a three-minute video clip and 100 words of audio content.

Scammers are using deepfake videos an increasing amount to imitate renowned personalities in order to deceive investors. These films have gotten more popular. Even Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has fallen victim to deepfakes, prompting him to issue a warning about the growing number of impersonators who use his picture to promote cryptocurrency schemes.

According to Jiemian, a local media site, the deepfake generator on Tencent Cloud can analyze and train itself on three-minute films and 100 speech samples, generating a convincing deepfake video within twenty-four hours. The price of the service is about equivalent to $145 or 1,000 yuan. According to a report from a major media site known as The Register, Tencent has purportedly acknowledged the breakthrough and underlined the fact that the service is capable of developing deepfakes in both Chinese and English.

The development of digital people may be done in one of five different forms, including 3D realistic, 3D semi-realistic, 3D cartoon, and 2D real person and cartoon respectively. Tencent plans to leverage the service in order to offer live-streamed infomercials aimed at the Chinese audience. In addition, the company sees a number of additional possible uses for the service, such as representing attorneys, physicians, and other professions.

Tencent isn’t the only Chinese tech company working on their own version of generative AI tools to compete with market leader ChatGPT. Huawei and Baidu are also working on their own versions of these tools. Concerns have been raised, however, concerning the ethical implications of deepfake technology and its ability to be exploited for fraudulent or harmful reasons. This is because of the technology’s potential for abuse. As a consequence of this, it is essential for businesses such as Tencent to make certain that their deepfake generating platform is used in an ethical manner and with the right precautions taken.

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Chinese Tech Giants Pull the Plug on NFTs to Wade Off Regulatory Crackdown

by Blockchain News

Known for the government’s broad-based crackdown on tech companies, China’s native tech companies, including WeChat from Tencent and WhaleTalk from Ant Group, have started changing their receptiveness towards Non-Fungible Token (NFT) platforms or startups making use of their services.

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As reported by local news channels, WeChat has started suspending the accounts of NFT outfits because they violated its policies on illegal trading. Two of the most prominent outfits that have suffered this fate include the much-hyped NFT platform Xihu No.1 and Dongyiyuandian, both of whom said their accounts and apps have been pulled down.

On the part of WhaleTalk, the laid down user agreements are currently being revised. As garnered, the move from both platforms is notably in a bid to wade off any scrutiny from authorities. The trading of cryptocurrencies has been proven to be almost as popular as those of cryptocurrencies that were banned last year.

China’s stance toward the digital currencies ecosystem is clear. These tech firms are doing all they can to align with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) policies that mandated all financial service providers operating within its shores, not to help facilitate transactions involving digital assets.

While no Chinese authorities have come out to voice out reservations concerning the growing NFT world, there is a high probability that the authorities will turn to this alternative many have used to gain exposure to what is considered an unsafe ecosystem where money laundering activities can easily be perpetrated. 

At this time, every stakeholder approaches the Chinese NFT marketplace with caution. Some of these big tech firms, such as Tencent and Alibaba have been filing for patents and trademarks relating to the NFT space and the country registered more than 10,000 blockchain startups back in 2020. Should the appropriate authorities regulate the NFT and the digital collectible world, these tech startups will be among the first and biggest beneficiaries.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Chinese Tech Giants Pulls the Plug on NFTs to Wade Off Regulatory Crackdown

by Blockchain News

Known for the government’s broad-based crackdown on tech companies, China’s native tech companies, including WeChat from Tencent and WhaleTalk from Ant Group, have started changing their receptiveness towards Non-Fungible Token (NFT) platforms or startups making use of their services.

TECH2.jpg

As reported by local news channels, WeChat has started suspending the accounts of NFT outfits because they violated its policies on illegal trading. Two of the most prominent outfits that have suffered this fate include the much-hyped NFT platform Xihu No.1 and Dongyiyuandian, both of whom said their accounts and apps have been pulled down.

On the part of WhaleTalk, the laid down user agreements are currently being revised. As garnered, the move from both platforms is notably in a bid to wade off any scrutiny from authorities. The trading of cryptocurrencies has been proven to be almost as popular as those of cryptocurrencies that were banned last year.

China’s stance toward the digital currencies ecosystem is clear. These tech firms are doing all they can to align with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) policies that mandated all financial service providers operating within its shores, not to help facilitate transactions involving digital assets.

While no Chinese authorities have come out to voice out reservations concerning the growing NFT world, there is a high probability that the authorities will turn to this alternative many have used to gain exposure to what is considered an unsafe ecosystem where money laundering activities can easily be perpetrated. 

At this time, every stakeholder approaches the Chinese NFT marketplace with caution. Some of these big tech firms, such as Tencent and Alibaba have been filing for patents and trademarks relating to the NFT space and the country registered more than 10,000 blockchain startups back in 2020. Should the appropriate authorities regulate the NFT and the digital collectible world, these tech startups will be among the first and biggest beneficiaries.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Chinese Tech Giants Cautiously Invest in the Metaverse

by Blockchain News

The metaverse is arguably one of the biggest trends and buzzwords in the world of tech today, and Chinese technological giants are not sitting on the sidelines to watch the actions unfold.

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As reported by CNBC, Chinese mega unicorns are certainly investing in the metaverse, despite many firms are taking a cautious approach, given Beijing’s current crackdown on tech companies.

American tech companies, notably Meta Platforms Inc, Google, and GameStop Corporation, have publicly opened up and defined their plans to dive into the metaverse. While Chinese funds are currently being used to explore this developing trend in tech, the way of discovering how to integrate the metaverse truly remains a major hurdle that most Chinese firms are exploring to cross.

“Metaverse is the future of [the] social network. All China’s tech giants have to embrace it to find new ways to engage the youngest generation of internet users, which is critical at the time when their business models on smartphones and mobile internet are matured,” Winston Ma, managing partner at CloudTree Ventures, told CNBC. 

Amongst the Chinese firms that seem to have the metaverse integration figured out, including Tencent, the largest gaming company globally. The report referenced Tencent’s CEO, Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, who said the metaverse would be an opportunity to add growth to existing industries such as gaming. Ma is also giving credits to the positions that the company as one that has “a lot of the technology and know-how building blocks” to explore and develop the metaverse.

The metaverse world is not completely developed yet, and there seem to be no indications of the directions it will take in the next decade. However, based on projections, the metaverse in China could be worth about $8 trillion shortly, and companies already offering Virtual Reality, Gaming, and Social Media, including Alibaba, and ByteDance, amongst others, will certainly not want to be left behind.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Chinese Tech Giants Cautiously Invest in the Metaverse

by Blockchain News

The metaverse is arguably one of the biggest trends and buzzwords in the world of tech today, and Chinese technological giants are not sitting on the sidelines to watch the actions unfold.

Webp.net-resizeimage - 2022-02-15T122828.682.jpg

As reported by CNBC, Chinese mega unicorns are indeed investing in the metaverse, despite many are taking a cautious approach considering Beijing’s current crackdown on tech companies.

American tech companies, notably Meta Platforms Inc, Google, and GameStop Corporation, have publicly opened up and defined their plans to dive into the metaverse. While Chinese funds are currently being used to explore this developing trend in tech, the way of discovering how to integrate the metaverse truly remains a major hurdle that most Chinese firms are exploring to cross.

“Metaverse is the future of [the] social network. All China’s tech giants have to embrace it to find new ways to engage the youngest generation of internet users, which is critical at the time when their business models on smartphones and mobile internet are matured,” Winston Ma, managing partner at CloudTree Ventures, told CNBC. 

Amongst the Chinese firms that seem to have the metaverse integration figured out, including Tencent, the largest gaming company globally. The report referenced Tencent’s CEO, Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, who said the metaverse would be an opportunity to add growth to existing industries such as gaming. Ma is also giving credits to the positions that the company as one that has “a lot of the technology and know-how building blocks” to explore and develop the metaverse.

The metaverse world is not completely developed yet, and there seem to be no indications of the directions it will take in the next decade. However, based on projections, the metaverse in China could be worth about $8 trillion shortly, and companies already offering Virtual Reality, Gaming, and Social Media, including Alibaba, and ByteDance, amongst others, will certainly not want to be left behind.

Image source: Shutterstock

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UN approves NFT standards initiative led by Tencent

by Cointelegraph

Chinese entertainment conglomerate Tencent has been approved by the United Nations to lead a project exploring the creation of a standard technical and security framework for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) .

The project, dubbed a “technical framework for DLT-based digital collection services” will be the world’s first U.N.-approved standards initiative for NFTs, according to state-owned local media.

The U.N. agency for information and communication technologies, The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approved the project, which is expected to complete an initial draft by the end of 2022, according to a report from the South China Morning Post.

Currently, any recommendations advised by the ITU only become mandatory and enforceable when nations adopt them as law.

“The international standard aims to specify the technical architecture, technical flows, functional requirements, and security requirements for blockchain-based digital collectibles,” wrote Tencent in a statement released on Tuesday.

“It could help drive a consensus and common understanding around the world on the formation of a technical framework for digital collection services.”

Meanwhile, the Chinese government is in the process of developing its own state-backed Blockchain Services Network (BSN).

This will help the Chinese Government to support the deployment of NFT projects unrelated to cryptocurrency, which it banned once again in Sep 2021.

Tencent will collaborate with a number of other companies on the initiative, including Alibaba affiliate Ant Group, The Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and Zhejiang Lab.

Related: China aims to separate NFTs from crypto via new blockchain infrastructure

In China NFTs are often referred to as “digital collectibles” in order to avoid criticism from the anti-crypto media and government. For this reason, Chinese NFT-creators tend to avoid public or decentralized blockchains such as Ethereum or Solana, opting to create their collectibles on permissioned blockchains.

Despite the country’s apprehension for crypto, it’s clearly very keen on exploring potential use cases for blockchain technology.

At the end of last month, China announced the commencement of a national plan to expedite blockchain development and innovation across key areas including manufacturing, energy, government data sharing and services, law enforcement, taxation, criminal trials, inspection and cross-border finance.

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Tencent to Offer Metaverse Business Support in Japan before Feb

by Blockchain News

Reportedly, Chinese tech-giant Tencent will provide support services for the virtual space “Metaverse” business to Japanese companies as soon as before February, according to Japan’s Nikkei media report on Monday.

Tencent said it would provide services through its Japanese subsidiary, offering comprehensive support from the construction of virtual spaces, the production of avatars to content distribution.

As a Shenzhen-based game development giant, Tencent has accumulated virtual space through games, built a “Digital Twin” that reproduces the real world in the virtual space, and created a “Digital Human” that can vividly present a human image. Technology.

These technologies are the key to differentiating from other metaverse competitors such as Meta (previously known as Facebook) in the world-building process of the metaverse.

In addition to this, these technologies can also utilize autonomous cloud services for content distribution.

Gaming, social networking, and VR devices are the three core elements of the universe. On January 10, it was reported that Tencent plans to acquire Black Shark Technology, a gaming mobile phone company, and the focus will be shifted from gaming mobile phones to VR devices. Black Shark provides VR hardware access, and Tencent delivers content.

If the acquisition of Black Shark Technology succeeds, it will join the Tencent Group Platform, and Content Business Group (PCG) led by Ren Yuxin.

Furthermore, Tencent recently registered trademarks such as “King Metaverse”, “Tianyuan Universe”, and “QQ Metaverse”.

Tencent Holdings Ltd is a global multinational conglomerate holding company founded in 1998 based in China, specializing in various internet-related services and products, artificial intelligence and technology globally. The firm has been preparing to explore the metaverse field long before.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings has partnered with blockchain firm ShareRing to deploy a blockchain-powered digital document and identity management solution to stimulate the travel sector, which has been among the hardest hit by in November 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Chinese Communist Party warn of NFT hype bubble

by Cointelegraph

According to local sources, the Chinese government has released a series of statements denouncing the value of the non-fungible token, or NFT, market, despite two of the nation’s major tech firms pursuing the technology.

The story was first released locally by the Securities Times — a news publication service acting as a spokesperson for the official Chinese Communist Party outlet People’s Daily — and reported by the South Morning China Post.

The remarks claimed that “it is common sense that there is a huge bubble in NFT transactions”, and that most NFT buyers solely focus on the value of the assets when acquiring with a financial motive, rather than appreciating the visual qualities of the piece.

Staff reporter for the SMCP, Wang Junhui writes:

“Once market enthusiasm wanes and the hype cools, the value of these many strange NFTs will greatly decrease.”

This echoed the rhetoric of a June publication from People’s Daily in which they stated that the NFT market “can be hyped up, leading to chaos, while decentralisation may lead to security concerns”.

Earlier this year, the Chinese government delivered a crushing blow to crypto mining operations in a deliberate attempt to oust unfavored activity from its borders. 

The country’s major tech players Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding have progressed with NFT-focused research and development initiatives, however, and now actively participate in the space.

Last month, Tencent launched it’s NFT trading platform Huanhe with a view to integrate NFT assets onto its music streaming platform, QQ Music.

Likewise, Alibaba’s fintech partner, Ant Group, recently listed two NFT images for sale within its wallet application Alipay.

Despite this, Chinese NFT advocates still remain restricted in their trading activities. For example, only the nation’s official currency Renminbi can be used for transactions. In addition, NFT’s cannot be resold once purchased as this would constitute a breach of the nation’s financial laws.