Some $26 billion is spent on herbicides each year. These chemicals are often indiscriminately sprayed over entire fields of crops that have been genetically modified to resist the chemical onslaught. And it’s agrochemical giants like Bayer, DowDuPont, and Syngenta that usually create both the genetically modified seeds and the chemicals that are sprayed on them. The… Read more »
Monthly Archives: May 2018
How to make sure your Amazon Echo doesn’t send secret recordings
It was Alexa’s equivalent of a pocket dial. A woman in Portland, Oregon, claimed her Amazon Echo smart-speaker secretly recorded a private conversation, then sent the audio file to an acquaintance. She told her story to a local news outlet and it spread, stoking fears about always listening devices invading privacy. Amazon confirmed the incident and claimed it was… Read more »
Tomorrow’s cities: Google’s Toronto city built ‘from the internet up’
Sidewalk Labs promises to transform the disused waterfront area into a bustling mini metropolis, one built “from the internet up”, although there is no timetable for when the city will actually be built. Dan Doctoroff, the company’s head and former deputy mayor of New York, told the BBC the project was “about creating healthier, safer,… Read more »
YouTube stars’ fury over algorithm tests
Some of YouTube’s most popular stars have criticised the website for “experimenting” with how their videos are delivered to their fans. Unannounced, YouTube started testing an algorithm that changed the order videos appeared in users’ subscription feeds. The experiment came to light when some users complained on social media. One YouTube star said it was… Read more »
Can this robotic fish fool real fish into revealing their secrets?
SoFi isn’t like other fish, but they don’t seem to notice. Pale and plump with a tail that swishes side-to-side, the one-eyed robotic fish was built by scientists at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). It is designed to swim naturally alongside other fish in open water and spy on them without raising… Read more »
The first holographic smartphone will be released later this year
AT&T and Verizon announced this week they will start selling a holographic smartphone later this year. The Red Hydrogen One smartphone is the first phone from video equipment company Red. The Android phone’s killer feature is a “holographic display” that projects 3D images that can be viewed without special glasses. You will be able to… Read more »
Civil Rights Group Criticizes Amazon Over Facial Recognition
Amazon.com Inc. drew the ire of the American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday over a facial-recognition system offered to law-enforcement agencies that the advocacy group says can be used to violate civil rights. In marketing materials obtained by the group, Amazon Web Services said its Rekognition system uses artificial intelligence to quickly identify people in photos and videos,… Read more »
Behind Seattle’s Amazon Tax: Seething Tensions, Livid Neighbors, and Rising Rents
It was, as the local public radio station said, the day “Seattle Nice” died. On May 2, the residents of Seattle were hit with a one-two punch. For months, the city council had been debating a new tax on large employers to raise $75 million for new affordable housing and services for the homeless, whose… Read more »
I tried to get a date using augmented reality
“I open the app on my phone and scan the camera across the busy London street. Like in Pokémon Go, I’m looking at the scene in front of me through my phone, and bubbles are popping up in real-time. But these aren’t Pikachu or Poké Balls – they’re single, attractive strangers who are using the… Read more »
An AI System for Accomplishing Real-World Tasks Over the Phone
Google recently announced Google Duplex, a new technology for conducting natural conversations to carry out “real world” tasks over the phone. The technology is directed towards completing specific tasks, such as scheduling certain types of appointments. For such tasks, the system makes the conversational experience as natural as possible, allowing people to speak normally, like… Read more »
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