Technology

Jeff Bezos On Brink Of Becoming World’s Richest Man

The Guardian reports: Just a few dollars more on the Amazon share price and the world will have a new richest man. Jeff Bezos, the company’s founder, is on the brink of overtaking Bill Gates to become the wealthiest person on the planet. Bezos, 53, has been having a very good year. His net worth has risen by almost $20bn …

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Today In Creepy Robots [VIDEO]

Phys.org reports: It was a spooky sight: two lifelike disembodied robot torsos discussing the pros and cons of humans in front of a nervously tittering audience in Hong Kong Wednesday. Artificial intelligence is the dominant theme at this year’s sprawling RISE tech conference at the city’s harbourfront convention centre, but the live robot exchange took the AI debate to another …

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WEDNESDAY: Tech Giants To Join Online “Day Of Action” Over Proposed Changes To Net Neutrality Rules

The Hill reports: Tech companies and activists will be mobilizing supporters of the net neutrality rules on Wednesday for an online “day of action.” Many websites that have signed up for the demonstration will show their support for net neutrality by displaying “alerts,” warning the public about how the internet could change if the rules are rolled back. The protest …

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BRITAIN: Google Funds Robot Journalism Launch

The Guardian reports: Robots will help a national news agency to create up to 30,000 local news stories a month, with the help of human journalists and funded by a Google grant. The Press Association has won a €706,000 (£621,000) grant to run a news service with computers writing localised news stories. The national news agency, which supplies copy to …

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Russia Suspected Of Hacking US Power Grid

The New York Times reports: Since May, hackers have been penetrating the computer networks of companies that operate nuclear power stations and other energy facilities, as well as manufacturing plants in the United States and other countries. Among the companies targeted was the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, which runs a nuclear power plant near Burlington, Kan., according to security …

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Volvo To Phase Out Gas-Only Engines

The BBC reports: Carmaker Volvo has said all new models will have an electric motor from 2019. The Chinese-owned firm, best known for its emphasis on driver safety, has become the first traditional carmaker to signal the end of the internal combustion engine. It plans to launch five fully electric models between 2019 and 2021 and a range of hybrid …

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NEW YORK CITY: Grindr Seeks Dismissal Of Lawsuit After Imposter Sends Over 1000 Men To Man’s Home

The Associated Press reports: A gay dating app wants a judge to dismiss the claims of a New York man who says he’s been accosted at home and work by over 1,000 sex-hungry men after an ex-boyfriend posted fake profiles soliciting men interested in exploring violent fantasies. Grindr asked a Manhattan federal court judge Wednesday to toss out Matthew Herrick’s …

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Facebook’s Status Update: We’ve Hit Two Billion Users (We’re Also Deleting 66K Hate Speech Posts Weekly)

USA Today reports: It’s the biggest status update ever from Mark Zuckerberg: Two billion people — more than a quarter of the world’s population — hang out on Facebook at least once a month. The milestone that Zuckerberg announced Tuesday is all the more remarkable because no other Internet company has ever reached it. If Facebook were a country, it …

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Major Ransomware Attack Hits Firms Worldwide

The BBC reports: Companies across the globe are reporting that they have been struck by a major ransomware cyber-attack. British advertising agency WPP is among those to say its IT systems have been disrupted as a consequence. Ukrainian firms, including the state power company and Kiev’s main airport were among the first to report issues. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant …

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EU Hits Google With Record $2.7B Antitrust Fine

Reuters reports: EU antitrust regulators hit Alphabet unit Google with a record 2.42-billion-euro ($2.7 billion) fine on Tuesday, taking a tough line in the first of three investigations into the company’s dominance in searches and smartphones. It is the biggest fine the EU has ever imposed on a single company in an antitrust case, exceeding a 1.06-billion-euro sanction handed down …

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Uber Finally Adds Tipping Option To Their App

The Verge reports: Do you tip your Uber driver? Uber has always prided itself on being a cashless experience, arguing since its inception that driver tips are only optional — and maybe even unnecessary. Even as its main rival Lyft bragged about the millions of dollars its drivers were collecting in tips, Uber stood steadfast against a growing number of …

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Amazon Patent Intercepts In-Store Online Shopping

Business Insider reports: Amazon has been granted a patent designed to stop you from visiting a shop to buy something, but then looking for a cheaper version online while you’re there. The patent, which we first saw via The Verge, would essentially try and intercept you if you made a price comparison search using the shop’s WiFi. It outlines a …

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Facebook Outlines Counter-Terrorism Strategies

Facebook this afternoon published a blog post outlining their artificial intelligence strategies in combating terrorists who use the site to spread propaganda, recruit, and share tactics. An excerpt: We want to find terrorist content immediately, before people in our community have seen it. Already, the majority of accounts we remove for terrorism we find ourselves. But we know we can …

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SpaceX Founder Elon Musk Quits Trump’s Economic Advisory Council Over Climate Accord Withdrawal

Buzzfeed reports: Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk is stepping down from several Trump administration advisory councils after the president announced on Thursday that the US will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Musk, who sits on Trump’s economic advisory council as well as a manufacturing group, threatened to quit on Wednesday, amid news reports that the president would …

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Feds Using Anti-Terror Tech To Hunt Undocumented

The Detroit News reports: Federal investigators are using a cellphone snooping device designed for counter-terrorism to hunt undocumented immigrants amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, according to federal court records obtained by The Detroit News. An unsealed federal search warrant affidavit obtained by The News is the first public acknowledgment that agents are using secret devices that masquerade as a …

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Young Brit Shuts Down Global “Ransomware” Attack

The New York Daily News reports: Shutting down the global cyberattack that infected nearly 100 nations came down to a twenty-something British computer geek vacationing at home. The security researcher says he shut down the fast-spreading ransomware program by purchasing a domain name for $10.69 — and accidentally activating its kill switch. In a lengthy Saturday web posting, the 22-year-old …

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“Ransomware” Attack Hits Computers Worldwide

CNET reports: A global ransomware attack is holding more than 60,000 computers hostage. Banks, telephone companies and hospitals have all been ensnared in the worldwide hack, with the malware locking down computers while demanding a hefty sum for freedom. The attack has hit thousands of computers across China, Russia, Spain, Italy and Vietnam, but the UK hospitals have attracted the …

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Facebook Live Fallout: Zuckerberg Announces 3000 New Staffers To Monitor Posts For Crimes And Suicides

Posted this morning by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen people hurting themselves and others on Facebook — either live or in video posted later. It’s heartbreaking, and I’ve been reflecting on how we can do better for our community. If we’re going to build a safe community, we need to respond quickly. We’re working …

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China And European Space Agency Hold Talks On Collaborating To Establish Inhabited “Moon Village”

The Associated Press reports: Representatives of China and the European Space Agency are discussing potential collaboration on a human outpost on the moon and other possible joint endeavors, according to a spokesman for the European agency and Chinese media reports. The secretary general for China’s space agency, Tian Yulong, first disclosed the talks about the envisioned lunar base in Chinese …

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FCC Unveils Plan To Rollback Net Neutrality [VIDEO]

The New York Times reports: The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday outlined a sweeping plan to loosen the government’s oversight of high-speed internet providers, a rebuke of a landmark policy approved two years ago to ensure that all online content is treated the same by the companies that deliver broadband service to Americans. The chairman, Ajit Pai, …

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