Cognizant, a professional services firm, is to stop moderating “objectionable” content on behalf of Facebook and other internet firms. It follows an investigation by The Verge into working conditions and the mental health of employees working at an Arizona moderation centre on behalf of the social network. Cognizant also has workers in India, Europe and Latin America…. Read more »
Monthly Archives: October 2019
What is 5G?
Source: CNBC Date: October 31st, 2019 Link to 5 minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DG3pMcNNlw Discussion Why is 5G so important? If 5G is already available, how long do you think it will take you to upgrade your smartphone and/or laptop to take advantage of this new technology? Why does it often take companies a long time to… Read more »
The fight to keep the internet free and open to everyone
In 2013, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg released a 10-page white paper outlining his new vision, titled “Is Connectivity a Human Right?”. It contained “a rough proposal for how we can connect the next five billion people”, with help from a consortium of tech companies christened Internet.org. Not only did Zuckerberg’s plan include broadening access to existing telecommunications networks,… Read more »
Amazon profits hit by rising shipping costs
Amazon delivered another quarter of sales growth above 20%, but a spike in shipping costs cut the firm’s bottom line. Shares dropped sharply in after-hours trade after the e-commerce giant said profits fell by about 25% to $2.1bn in the three months to 30 September. The firm said it spent nearly $10bn (£7.78bn) on shipping… Read more »
Researchers found evidence of Twitter troll activity in the last week of the Canadian federal election
Some of the most active #TrudeauMustGo accounts had profiles linking them with Trump and the American right Source: CBC News Date: October 25th, 2019 Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/twitter-trolls-maga-trump-2019-election-1.5334038 Discussion How did the research deduce that a tweet was a “twitter troll”? If researchers can figure out that someone is a “twitter troll”, why can’t Twitter figure this… Read more »
Could deepfakes weaken democracy?
Videos can now be faked to make people say things they never actually said. Could this weaken democracy…and can you spot ALL the deep fake interviews in this film? Source: The Economist Date: October 25th, 2019 Link to 5 minute 49 second video: https://youtu.be/_m2dRDQEC1A Discussion How might it be possible to spot a Deep Fake?… Read more »
Google claims ‘quantum supremacy’ for computer
Google says an advanced computer has achieved “quantum supremacy” for the first time, surpassing the performance of conventional devices. The technology giant’s Sycamore quantum processor was able to perform a specific task in 200 seconds that would take the world’s best supercomputer 10,000 years to complete. Source: BBC Technology News Date: October 25th, 2019 Link:… Read more »
Drones, apps and smart lockers: The technology transforming healthcare in Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa has, on average, the worst healthcare in the world, according to the World Bank. It accounts for nearly a quarter of all disability and death caused by disease worldwide, yet has only 1% of global health expenditure and 3% of the world’s health workers.Infrastructure is poor, making access to even the most basic medical… Read more »
And ‘Lo!’ – How the internet was born
Source: BBC Business Date: October 17th, 2019 Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49842681 Discussion “Adam Smith, the father of economics, would have been proud of the way Clark was taking advantage of specialisation and the division of labour – perhaps his defining idea. The existing mainframes would keep on doing what they already did well. The new minicomputers would… Read more »
Canada is bad at thinking big. Here’s how we can change that
As our economy becomes increasingly global, competitive, and innovation-based, it follows that knowledge, expertise and 21st century skills will be what Canadians – and Canada – need to achieve the kind of career success and economic prosperity we want. And it was the knowledge and skills I gained at university that have been such important… Read more »
Recent Comments