One of the strongest use cases for today’s generative AI models is using them to write hundreds of lines of code in a matter of minutes. However, hackers are reportedly misusing these tools to generate malicious code, according to new research published on Tuesday, September 24.

Security researchers at HP found that hackers launched a malicious campaign targeting French speakers. As part of the campaign, the bad actors sought to access and record victims’ screens and keystrokes by infecting their devices with malware known as AsyncRAT.

BIG SHIFT

A CHALLENGE

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence startup behind ChatGPT, is reportedly discussing a significant restructuring that would grant Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman a 7% equity stake in the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

This move marks a major shift for the company, as it pivots from its original nonprofit roots towards a for-profit model.

The company, founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research organization with the mission of developing AI that is safe and beneficial to society, is now considering transitioning into a public benefit corporation.

This type of entity aims to balance profitability with a broader commitment to societal good, the sources said. The restructuring discussions remain ongoing, and no specific timeline has been set for the change.

In a statement, OpenAI reaffirmed its commitment to developing AI for the benefit of all, stating that “the nonprofit is core to our mission and will continue to exist.” The spokesperson declined to comment further on Altman’s potential stake or the restructuring timeline.

This shift comes at a time of significant internal change at OpenAI. Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer and a influential figure in its development, announced her departure this week.

The company has also seen leadership transitions, with co-founder Greg Brockman currently on leave.

What to know 

OpenAI’s move to restructure and grant Altman equity ownership shows the company’s ambition to attract more investment as it continues to scale. Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, OpenAI has become a key player in the global AI race, attracting major funding from Microsoft and drawing interest from investors like Thrive Capital and Apple. The company’s valuation has soared, from $14 billion in 2021 to a potential $150 billion, as discussions over a new convertible debt round are underway.

The restructuring will likely allow OpenAI to raise more capital by removing current caps on returns for investors. This would make the company more competitive as it continues to develop advanced AI systems and position itself at the forefront of artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Despite the leadership changes and restructuring plans, OpenAI remains focused on its broader mission of advancing AI safety and ensuring that its technologies have a positive impact on society. However, as the company continues to navigate the balance between innovation, safety, and profitability, these changes signal a new phase in its evolution from nonprofit research lab to a major player in the for-profit tech landscape.

More insight  

Sam Altman, the 39-year-old CEO of OpenAI, is a serial venture investor and one of the leading figures in the tech industry today. According to Forbes, Altman has an estimated net worth of $1 billion.

Altman became a partner at the renowned startup accelerator Y Combinator around that time and eventually served as its president from 2014 to 2019. Under his leadership, Y Combinator nurtured several successful companies, making it a cornerstone of Silicon Valley’s startup ecosystem. In 2019, Altman left Y Combinator to become the CEO of OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence company currently valued at approximately $80 billion.

His wealth largely stems from his investments in other high-profile ventures, including stakes in companies like Stripe, Reddit, and nuclear fusion startup Helion. In addition to his ranking among the world’s billionaires, Altman was featured in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” in Venture Capital in 2015.

[Nairametrics]

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Nigeria has undergone several adjustments regarding the monthly allowance (also referred to as “allawee”) given to corps members over the years.

Naija News understands that the Federal Government just yesterday approved an increase in the monthly allowance of corps members in the NYSC from ₦33,000 to ₦77,000.

This was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by the Acting Director of Information and Public Relations of the NYSC, Caroline Embu.

The allowance at different times has been increased due to the level of inflation in the country and in line with minimum wage increases.

Here’s a detailed overview of how the NYSC allowance has changed:

1. Initial Allowance: When the NYSC was established in 1973, the monthly allowance for corps members was relatively modest. Initially, it was set at a mere ₦120 (approximately $0.30) per month, which was intended to cover basic living expenses during the one-year mandatory service.

2. Increment Over the Years: As inflation and the cost of living increased, the allowance was periodically reviewed. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, the NYSC allowance had increased to around ₦4,000 (approximately $10.50) monthly.

3. 2009 Adjustment: In 2009, the then-Minister of Youth Development, Bolaji Abdullahi, announced a significant increment, raising the monthly allowance to ₦7,500 (about $19).

This adjustment was part of a broader effort to improve the welfare of corps members and address the rising costs associated with living expenses.

4. 2016 Increase: Following discussions about the economic hardships faced by corps members, the allowance was raised again in 2016 to ₦19,800 (approximately $51). This increase was well-received, as it aimed to provide better financial support during the challenging period of national service.

5. 2022 Increase: In 2022, the NYSC allowance saw another increment to ₦33,000 (around $86). This change was made amid ongoing economic challenges and was part of efforts to enhance the welfare of corps members in light of rising costs.

6. Latest Increase:The federal government, on the 25th of September, 2024 approved an increase in the monthly allowance of corps members in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) from ₦33,000 to ₦77,000.

[NaijaNews]

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has urged President Tinubu to convene an emergency meeting to address Nigeria’s current economic hardship.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has urged President Bola Tinubu to call an emergency meeting of his economic team and come up with strategies to urgently address the current biting hardship in the country.

Kalu, who is representing Abia North Senatorial District, made the appeal on Tuesday while addressing questions from journalists, who ambushed him at the federal parliament.

The former governor of Abia State attributed the cause of the current hardship to removal of fuel subsidy but was quick to explain that it was the best way to go.

He suggested that the federal government should come up with economic plans that would make life bearable for the poor masses.

“Even in my village, everywhere I go, companies, everybody, there is hardship, but I appeal to the federal government, the president to know how he can bring succor quickly to the people of Nigeria.

“He has to do something not yesterday, but today. He must do something like yesterday because the condition of the Nigerian people is not too good.

“I believe that no president in the world elected by people would want his people to suffer. I’m not in the economic team, I have not seen the president or anyone to ask but this is what (return of subsidy) has caused.

“The president has to sit with his economic team to discuss, but the decisions he has taken is what no president in the 60 years of the republic, no president has been able to take that decision.

“The hardship is true, people are suffering. We have hundreds of thousands of workers, we have about 10,000 workers in our group that we run.”

[Leadership]

Many civil servants at the federal, state and local government areas now go to work twice or three times a week to cut down the cost of transportation, Daily Trust’s findings have revealed. 

Cost of living has risen in the last one year due to several economic policies of the government, especially the removal of fuel subsidy. 

However, in order to save costs in the face of stagnant salaries, many civil servants have resorted to self- help. 

Daily Trust reports that Lagos, Ogun and Osun governments, respectively, approved two-day work-from-home policy for junior civil servants, while those on senior cadre were given a day. 

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu introduced the policy in February and extended it by three months on September 4. 

He directed that workers on grade levels 01 to 14 were allowed to work from home for two days a week, while those on grade levels 15 to 17 were allowed to work from home for one day a week. Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, adopted that Lagos template on September 11. 

Osun’s Governor Ademola Adeleke followed suit on Tuesday in a circular from the Office of the Head of Service. 

“By this circular, therefore, and until another directive is given, the working day schedules for public servants in the state have been approved as follows: 

“Public servants on GL.01 to GL.10 – three days a week; public servants on GL.12 to GL.17 – four days a week,” a statement from the government reads. 

A Labour leader in Lagos, Comrade Yusuf Bello described the work-from-home directive as an admittance of the failure of policy. 

According to him, “If the policy of the government is working and it is working for the welfare of the people, they wouldn’t move in that direction. 

“To pronounce that kind of policy suggests that the government itself understands that its policy is not working. Because when workers are supposed to work for five days or six days as the case may be but they are only able to work for two days, something is lost not just to the workplace but the economy in terms of the informal workers who trade around offices, who live on people who come to work. So there is a multiplier effect on the economy that is lost.

“What I would rather add is for the government to rethink its policies in a manner that those policies would address the welfare of the workers and the people generally, not to look for quick fix temporary solutions. We need an enduring long term solution that would address the challenges of the economy and the welfare needs of the people”, he said.

Other govs silent 

Daily Trust reports that other governors have been silent on the work-from-home policy but civil servants in those states have resorted to ‘self-help’ to cut down cost of transportation.

 Borno 

Speaking to Daily Trust in Maiduguri, Mallam Baka, who works with the state government, lamented that life has been unbearable due to the high cost of living. 

“My take home is N87,000; I have been working for 14 years now, but things are very difficult for us as workers. We have family and aged parents who depend on us for everything, including feeding, which is increasingly becoming difficult,” he said. 

Babagana Mohammed, an assistant director said his salary is a little above N100,000. 

“In the last one year, the prices of food items have quadrupled; unfortunately, our salary has not increased,” he said. 

Reacting, the Chairman of Borno State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Yusuf Inuwa, explained that the workers enjoy transportation N50 per drop, which significantly reduces their expenses. 

He added that N2 billion loans given to workers were part of the palliatives of the state government to reduce hardships faced by workers in the state. 

“The state government rolled out metro transit, so we paid N50 instead of N200 for the transportation in Maiduguri. This has helped a lot as workers and the disbursement of N2 billion loans to workers equally assisted our members,” he said.

 Kano 

A senior civil servant said in spite of the rising cost, some servants do report to work except on Fridays. 

“You know, in Kano, there is no work free day, unlike in other states. 

 “I live at Yakasai Quarters in the ancient city and I trek to this place every work day and my salary is nothing to write home about. 

“While I was leaving for the office today (yesterday), my wife asked for money to buy charcoal but I did n’t have any,” Yakasai said.

However, the chairman of the state chapter of the NLC, Kabiru Ado said civil servants do not even want to talk about rising cost of transportation because it agitates their minds. 

“The federal government is yet to begin payment of the N70,000 minimum wage signed into law, and we have not seen the template. The Kano State government has set up a committee on the minimum wage implementation. The committee has submitted its report. 

“Hopefully, when negotiations are completed, the payment could begin and that may bring succour to workers, but I can tell you the situation is critically difficult,” he said.

Abuja 

In Abuja, the nation’s capital, our correspondent reports that federal civil servants across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have made a series of arrangements to cushion the effects of rising costs of transportation, occasioned by fuel price hike. 

 Some workers at the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) and Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), in separate interviews with Daily Trust, said they have devised various “arrangee” models in their various offices. 

One of the workers said that the arrangements depend on the offices or departments where one works, and also on the directors or other supervisors they are working with. 

“For me, I go to work (office) two times. I know other workers who come to the office twice or three times a week. 

“I also know of some others that their directors or superiors asked them to stay at home or work from home, but should be available when they are called,” he said. 

Another civil servant said it was unfair for workers to come to office, especially the junior ones, even when the new minimum wage has not been implemented. 

While the leadership of the labour unions were not available for comment, an executive of one of the chapels in Abuja, told Daily Trust that there have been some meetings where labour leaders defended workers who were reported to be skipping office due to high cost of transportation. 

Some workers who spoke with Daily Trust at the FCTA’s Secretariat in Area 11, Garki, Abuja, said that since the upward adjustment of the petrol price, transporters have jacked up fares.

One of the workers, who gave her name as Mrs. Mary John, said they made an arrangement among themselves. 

She said: “In our department, what we do is to divide ourselves into two sets; one set will come Mondays and Tuesdays while the other go Wednesdays and Thursdays every week. 

“This is necessary because, for instance, I stay in Bwari and will have to spend N3,400 every day on transportation aside from food. So, how can I cope with that amount five times in a week when my salary is less than N100,000?” she asked.

Benue 

Some of the civil servants, who spoke on condition of anonymity to our correspondent in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, said it was practically impossible for them to go to the office five times a week.

“I go to the office only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in a week. We have the arrangement in my office and our boss supports us since we can’t afford daily transportation to be at work”, one of them said. 

Another respondent, a senior civil servant, decried the hardship, saying he had long parked his car at home.

“I occupy a sensitive position in one of the ministries, so I try to be at work daily but without my car,” he said.

Zamfara 

A civil servant working with Zamfara State House of Assembly, who preferred anonymity, said he could not afford going to office five days in a week because of the economic hardship. 

“I am lucky, the director gave me the go ahead to report to my duty post three days in a week. At least, I will save the transport fares for the remaining two days to do something else,” he said.

A director in one of the ministries, who said he should be addressed with the name of his hometown, Dansadau, confirmed that many civil servants go to office twice a week. 

“There is no way we can sanction them, honestly. We simply pretend that we are not aware. Even the permanent secretaries also pretend that they are not aware. This is because, what justification do you have to punish them?” he asked.

Rivers 

Some respondents who spoke with our reporter said that they select the days they go to work.

“In every situation one has to devise a means of survival,” said James Abo. 

“With the biting economic hardship ravaging the country, some of us have devised a means of surviving the high cost of transportation,” he said. 

Alice Daniel, who works in one of the ministries, said, “it’s not possible for one to go to work on a daily basis.”

 Kwara 

Speaking on the issue, a civil servant in the state who gave his name as Mr. ‘B’, said their response to the situation varies. 

“It depends on how you look at it. For the core civil servants, we have some that now go to work three times a week. It’s only senior management staff of those in public service that may not have options”, he said.

It’ll lead to low productivity – Analyst 

An economic analyst, Prof. Adebayo Adams, said the policy, though a good idea, can only work in the public service, saying it cannot work in the private sector. 

“It is going to cause a lot of low productivity. As it is now, a lot of companies would still leave the country. The implication is that more workers would go and in the private sector, the policy of the government asking workers to spend some days at home would not work. 

“There is no way you can work for only three days and you think you would have good results,” he said.

[DailyTrust]

Manchester United legend, Paul Scholes has backed Liverpool to challenge for the Premier League title this season.

Scholes said the Reds have six good forwards that can help them in their title race this term.

Recall that Liverpool finished in the third position on the Premier League table last season.

During a recent interaction on The Overlap Fan Debate, Scholes said:

“I think Liverpool might have something to say about the title race this year.

“When I look at their forward players, I think they have five or six good players.”

He added, “Seeing Liverpool first-hand, what a squad of players, I see very little weaknesses.

“The only one we thought about was possibly [a weakness] if Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate got injured in the centre-half position.”

[DailyPost]

The Chairman and the Convener of National Peace Committee (NPC), General Abdulsalami Abubakar and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, have said a national stakeholders’ meeting will hold today in Abuja to discuss how to tackle the multifaceted challenges facing the country.

In a statement yesterday, the committee’s leaders said last year’s general election was marked by a renewed sense of optimism and desire for change among Nigerians.

They said the optimism was demonstrated in the number of people who registered for the elections – 93,469,008 million, compared to just 57,938,945 million registered voters in 1999.

“Nigerians believed that the 2023 elections would usher in an administration that would swiftly address the nation’s lingering socio-economic challenges.

“The preparations for the elections heightened the hopes for positive socio-economic and political change. However, the outcome of the keenly contested presidential elections amplified the regional and ethnic cleavages that have underpinned our journey of nationhood,” the statement read.

It added that the well-intentioned policy of the government to improve the lives and well-being of Nigerians is yet to meet the expectations of the citizens while the economic strain is being felt by all and sundry.

“This dire situation has fuelled frustration and discontent, culminating in the recent nationwide protests on hunger.

“The demands made during the protests reflect the deep-seated challenges facing the country and the urgent need for responsive and effective governance.

“In response to this and in line with its mandate to mediate and intervene in electoral and non-electoral matters that impact on the peace and stability of Nigeria, the NPC has decided to convene a one-day town hall meeting with critical stakeholders to discuss frankly and explore the pathways to support the government in addressing and overcoming the current socio-political and economic situation facing the country,” the statement said.

The committee said the meeting will hold today at the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) Conference Centre in Abuja.

It said: “This meeting will provide a platform for constructive dialogue and collaboration, where the concerns and aspirations of the people can be discussed, and the outcomes are presented to the government.

“It is a crucial step towards bridging the gap between the government and its citizens, ensuring that their voices are heard, and their legitimate concerns addressed.”

[TheNation]

While one can hardly tell for a fact the first Nigerian to describe their electoral loss as “a rape on democracy,” it is not strange that the expression has become a go-to metaphor for Nigerian politicians who need to process the reality that hits them at the polling stations. It is consistent with the character of our politics that people will frequently trot out the phrase, and news reporters will mindlessly reproduce it as headlines. Neither side pauses to ask why—of all possible word choices in the dictionary to capture a violation of democratic norms—they had to keep using that term.

Following the Edo governorship election on Saturday, Adamawa governor Ahmadu Fintiri described the long list of crimes (nothing new, just the usual vote-buying, overcounting and undercounting of votes, and voter intimidation) allegedly committed by the APC as a “rape of democracy.” Hours after he put out a statement, the Ondo state PDP also issued a statement where their Media and Publicity Special Adviser also described the series of untoward development that arose from the election as “another rape of democracy.”

They are not the first to reach for that word to describe an election whose outcome has been unfavorable for them. After the PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar lost his presidential election contest last year, he issued a statement decrying the contest saying, “The manipulation and fraud that attended this election was unprecedented in the history of our nation. It was, indeed, a rape of democracy.” He was not alone in capturing that election in the language of sexual violation. When the National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure would condemn the outcome of the same election, he too had to say it was a “rape of Nigeria’s democracy.” And just to prove to you that Abure is a man who seriously loves the metaphor, he also noted the police disruption of the peaceful rally by Labor Party members in Ebonyi State in 2022 was “a rape of democracy.”

In case those examples are not enough, I have more to share to prove that Nigerian male politicians are stuck on rape. From Femi Gbajabiamila’s reporting the blockade of the National Assembly as a “rape of democracy” in 2018, to Osun SDP state Chairman, Dr Dele Ekunola calling the Supreme Court judgment that validated Biodun Oyebanji’s electoral victory as a “rape of democracy” 2023, to National Vice Chairman of the PDP, Eddy Olafeso, rejecting the election that Kayode Fayemi won as “a rape of democracy” 2018, to the Niger PDP officials screaming that the police’s teargassing of Ekiti governor Ayodele Fayose was “a rape on democracy” in 2018, to Fayose himself describing the Appeal Court’s ruling affirming Ali Modu Sheriff as the PDP Chairman as a “rape on democracy” 2017, the rape metaphor has become a cliché in Nigerian politics. And that is the problem. Rape is not supposed to be a platitude.

Someone might say that their use of the word is just a metaphor, yes, but rape should not be reduced to a mere analogy. Rape is a brutal crime and ought not to be turned into an everyday speak, an impotent word that Nigerian men with varying degrees of political influence cheaply pull out whenever they need to sensationalize their painful electoral experiences. By turning rape into a commonplace metaphor, they not only end up desensitizing sexual assault, but they also trivialize the impact on those who have experienced it.

The word, as metaphors are supposed to function, should conjure images of a criminal assault, but I am certain that was not what happened when you heard “rape on democracy” back-to-back on Sunday after the Edo election. It meant nothing because the word itself has been violated to death by politicians who have seized on it to account for their losses. I can bet most of those who heard politicians use the term a “rape of democracy” after a series of bad electoral outings had no visceral reaction to the word either when they heard or read it. The term has lost much of its force, no thanks to those who overuse it.

In a culture where sexual violence is not always taken seriously, where the judicial mechanisms to address the crime are barely available, these men contribute to the public desensitization of what should be a serious matter. They have probably never thought of it, but by bringing up the “rape of democracy” each time an electoral outcome does not go your way, you are turning what is essentially a matter of vile violation of another’s autonomy into an act of titillation. No matter how pained they might be that they lost an election, either because they were robbed through sheer brute force or were just not as popular as they imagined, what happened to them (and which they consciously project on “democracy”) was not a “rape.”

One also cannot entirely overlook the problematic aspect of this banalization of rape: the people glibly mouthing “rape” in all the instances I have listed are men. It makes me wonder if this is the way they think about rape. Is there some perverse underlying fantasy at play somewhere in their subconscious each time these men bring up the word to describe their experience at the polls or in the hands of some abusive authority? There is a part of me that also wonders if this subtle feminization of democracy, their seeing it as a passive and therefore violable thing, reflects a deeper psychological malaise. One cannot just assume that this is merely an issue of people speaking without reflecting on their language choices.

All of which brings me to another issue: these instances of men yelling “rape!” to characterise their bad outings during election seasons have virtually nothing to do with the culture of democracy itself. They only know that democracy and its norms are being violated when confronted with unfavorable electoral outcomes, as if democracy begins and ends with mere elections. The only time you hear complaints about a violation of democracy is when things do not go their way during an election they had wished to win, and they need to express their disappointment. If they cared so much about democracy, where do they put their voices outside elections? What are their contributions toward deepening the habit of democracy in our society? The only thing that animates them is an election. That is when they suddenly realise that democracy is being threatened and then drag out the bad metaphors to complain.

Look at Gbajabiamila, who is currently the president’s chief of staff. This was a man in whose name a journalist was recently arrested, illegally detained, and tortured for days. What was his offense? He ruffled Gbajabiamila’s small feathers with his professional report. Yet, when you saw the same Gbajabiamila talking about the “rape of democracy” some years ago, it would have been forgivable if you imagined his concerns were sincere. As soon as he got enough power, he showed he was no better.

Gbajabiamila reminds me of the clowns unleashed in the wake of last year’s election and were all over the place, yelling “fascism!” because some people online criticized the election outcome. One court jester even wrote an article comparing the Obi-dients to Mussolini. Meanwhile, before their very eyes, journalists have been detained, protesters harassed, and the security agencies—from the police to the EFCC and DSS—are going crazy. You do not hear them anymore, why? The anti-fascists are witnessing real abuse of power play out in the numbing violation of democratic norms, human rights abuse, and institutional corruption, but they are suspiciously quiet. If they care so much about democracy, should this not be their time to shine? So, why are they silent?