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Update: On November 6, 2024, social media remains restricted but mobile connections have been restored for the time being.

People in Mozambique are increasingly resorting to VPN services to bypass ongoing online restrictions in the wake of deadly protests contesting the election results.

Authorities first disrupted mobile internet connections on October 25, as protests erupted across the country the day before. WhatsApp, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram all went dark a few days after that, on October 31, making using a VPN necessary to keep using these platforms.

Proton VPN confirmed a 127,830% spike during the day to TechRadar. "Usage continues to rise quickly as internet access remains intermittent," David Peterson, General Manager at Proton VPN, told me. Other data suggests a VPN demand increase of 2,072% so far.

These numbers aren't anything but surprising considering that TikTok, Telegram, and YouTube also joined the list of blocked platforms on November 4 – internet watchdog NetBlocks reported. As the tweet below shows, while mobile connections are back from a third day of curfew-style internet blackouts, social media platforms remain restricted as I write.

⚠️ Update: Traffic data show #Mozambique has emerged from a third day of curfew-style mobile internet blackouts. However, social media platforms remain restricted as authorities continue to impose measures to curtail protests over disputed election results pic.twitter.com/PoEM1slgwPNovember 6, 2024

This is the first time that the East African country has restricted the internet since 2015, when Surfshark began tracking these incidents worldwide – the VPN provider told me. Yet, this is far from the first instance that a government resorted to a social media or internet blackout during political turmoil.

Only last week, another East African country, Mauritius enforced a social media shutdown ahead of general elections. The ban has now been lifted, despite being expected to stay in place until November 11, 2024.

As per Surfshark data, protests are one of the leading causes of social media disruptions, with Facebook alone being disrupted almost 40 times since 2015 for this reason.

Proton recorded VPN usage spikes in at least 14 countries since January alone, with most of these incidents linked to internet restrictions enforced amid social unrest. These include Bangladesh in July, Kenya at the end of June, New Caledonia in May, and Senegal in February.

"At times of political crisis, the answer is never to shut down the internet, or to block social media," said Peterson. "It is an affront to people’s fundamental rights to freedom of information and freedom of communications, at a time when communication and impartial information are more important than ever."

Why are people turning to VPNs to bypass online restrictions?

You might have heard of virtual private network (VPN) solutions as a way to be more private when browsing the web. You and your friends have probably tried to use a streaming VPN to access foreign catalogs, too, no matter where you are in the world. Likewise, a VPN can help you bypass other geo-restrictions like those in place on social media platforms in Mozambique right now.

This is because, while encrypting your internet connections to prevent third-party snooping, a VPN also spoofs your real IP address location to trick your internet service provider (ISP) into thinking you're browsing from a totally different country within a couple of clicks.

Data suggests a VPN demand increase of 2,072% so far

Therefore, if you are currently in Mozambique, all you need to do to keep using all the major social media apps is connect to a VPN server located in a country where these platforms are still available.

As mentioned earlier, many people in the country have already turned to these apps to bypass restrictions. "Thirteen of the top fifteen apps in Mozambique’s Apple App Store are VPN apps, and the top nine apps on Mozambique’s Google Play Store are all VPNs," Peterson from Proton VPN can confirm.

It's worth noting a VPN doesn't work during times of total online blackout as you'll still need an internet connection to use this tool. In this instance, you should try to access the web via a fixed internet line instead as authorities are only targeting mobile connections at the time of writing.

I strongly suggest checking our guide to the best free VPN apps to download the most secure freebie out there. Free services like the Tor Browser can also help you to workaround internet censorship.

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Back in May 2024, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) carried out a study which revealed businesses wanted to use AI for innovation and revenue growth, but were not sure how to do it.

Now, TCS has teamed up with Nvidia to help accelerate AI adoption across a range of industries by using the latter's infrastructure to build customized AI solutions for sectors including manufacturing, automotive, finance, and retail based on large language models.

I spoke with Anupam Singhal, President of Manufacturing at TCS, about how these AI tools work, how they can benefit businesses, and how to mitigate the risks of using AI (if any) in these industries.

When you think of language models, the topic of manufacturing or automotive industries doesn't jump straight to the front of the mind. Can you tell me more about the link between language models and how they can help manufacturing and a range of other industries?

Whilst language models might initially seem more suited for textual tasks and we do often corelate B2C use cases to them, they also possess significant potential to revolutionise industries like manufacturing and automotive in B2B and B2B2C cases.

We are already seeing this potential come to life through our Future Ready Manufacturing solutions. Here, we are transforming repair and service cycles and predictive maintenance too. We use language models to analyse historical data and identify patterns which can help indicate potential equipment failures, reducing downtime and optimising maintenance schedules. What's more, using Generative AI and SLM’s (Specialised language Models) we can transform the daily activity of a Repair and Service Technicians to improve the time taken in the repair/service cycle.

Language models are also transforming supply chain resilience. By analysing supply chain data these models can optimise inventory levels, improve logistics, and mitigate supply chain disruptions.

TCS finetunes LLMs based on industry expertise. What goes into this process and what safeguards are in place to ensure that the model does not provide sub optimal suggestions for industry challenges

Finetuning LLMs for industry-specific applications is a meticulous process. Firstly, using our industry expertise and customers’ ecosystem, we curate a high-quality dataset specific to the industry, ensuring it covers a wide range of scenarios and edge cases. We then leverage pre-trained and out-of-the-box language models as a foundation, and fine-tune these based on the industry-specific data sets.

Our engineers then play a crucial role in monitoring the model’s performance, providing feedback and making necessary adjustments. By feeding in intuitive adjustments and tacit knowledge this uplifts the accuracy of the model. Once this insight has been gathered and fed into the model, we then implement strict ethical guidelines to ensure that the model generates fair and unbiased outputs. Appropriate guardrails are defined with TCS’s agent-based monitoring approach to ensure the responses are continuously monitored.

Our recently launched TCS Manufacturing AI for industrials suite, built on NVIDIA’s tech stack, is the perfect example of a fine-tuned LLM/SLM for this sector.

Are these solutions a real match for humans? Are these tools designed to be used more for replacement or assistance?

Whilst our technology is advanced, we see it as a means to a destination, not a destination itself. Its core purpose is to transform the daily lives of citizens. Our solutions are designed to assist humans, not replace them. Whilst AI can handle routine tasks, analyse vast amounts of data, and identify patterns that may be otherwise missed, human judgment, creativity, and critical thinking remain essential for making complex decisions and providing strategic direction.

Our goal is to create a synergistic relationship where AI complements human capabilities, enabling us to achieve greater efficiency and innovation. For example, we helped a large building materials firm put a quote in the market 1.5x faster by using generative AI to provide critical insights on the right configuration and automating the draft quote creation. This bolstered the productivity of those working – rather than replacing them.

In my experience, LLMs tend to produce output that mimics the training data. Can we expect real innovation from these tools and to receive insights that could not have been made by human experts?

While it's true that LLMs can produce outputs that mimic training data and, in some cases, data generation can be synthetic, LLMs are also able to generate novel insights and creative solutions for a variety of different industry problems. By analysing vast amounts of data and identifying underlying patterns, these models can uncover hidden opportunities and innovative approaches that may not be apparent to human experts.

For example, TCS is currently building a solution called Mobility AI, part of our TCS Mobility Suite. One use case of this solution is deciphering a parking sign in microsecond intervals and recommending the next best action. These insights enable decisions that humans cannot make at that micro-moment in the journey of the driver, highlighting how GenAI can transform this experience in the future of Mobility.

However, it's important to note that AI is a tool, and its effectiveness depends on how it's used. Human guidance and oversight are crucial to ensure that AI is used responsibly and ethically.

Do we run the risk of losing human expertise if we rely more heavily on AI?

Far from diminishing human expertise, AI can enhance it. By automating routine tasks, AI frees up human workers to focus on higher-value activities that require creativity, problem-solving, and empathy. Moreover, AI can provide valuable insights and support, enabling humans to make more informed decisions. The key is to embrace AI as a tool that empowers humans, rather than a threat. By working together, humans and AI can achieve remarkable things.

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• A rare bee species has been found on Meta’s proposed datacenter site
• Meta wants to continue maintaining net zero GHG emissions
• Regulatory hurdles may also have contributed to the project’s cancellation

Meta’s efforts to build a new nuclear-powered AI datacenter have come to an end after scientists found a rare species of bee on the proposed site.

According to report by the Financial Times., the problem reportedly came to light when company CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the pollinators were present on the site during an all-hands meeting.

Because the area must now be protected, building regulations have prevented the social media giant from getting access to the land, let alone its moral obligations not to displace the rare species.

Bees, Mark?

Besides the discovery of the important species, the Financial Times report cites two unnamed sources who believe further regulatory hurdles also contributed to the decision to terminate the plan. Specific details surrounding the location of the site have not been revealed.

However, the bad news (or good news if you look at it from an environmental perspective) comes as Meta looks to seriously expand its infrastructure to keep up with the demand for AI tools. The California company expects to rack up $38 billion in capital expenses in 2024. AI and datacenter projects are likely to make up a large portion of that sum.

By using nuclear energy, the proposed datacenter would have helped Meta reduce its carbon footprint. Although nuclear can be controversial, it’s a carbon-free energy resource that’s being explored by the likes of Microsoft and Amazon as part of a global effort to tackle the high energy demands of AI datacenters.

Although there’s always room for improvement, Meta proudly proclaimed in its 2024 Sustainability Report that it has maintained net zero greenhouse gas emissions since 2020, thanks in part to its 11,700MW portfolio of renewable energy.

The report adds: “Meta designs and operates some of the most sustainable data centers in the industry… We approach data center sustainability from the ground up—from design and construction to operations by prioritizing energy efficiency, renewable energy, water stewardship and responsibly managing the end of life of our equipment.”

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