Technology

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

Scientific American reports: Running low on fuel, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has begun the final — and most daring — phase of its epic mission to Saturn. After using a final flyby of the moon Titan on Friday to boost its speed, Cassini was flung by the moon’s gravity to a trajectory that sent it diving through the 1,200-mile (1,930 kilometers) …

The jokes are too easy. The New York Daily News reports: Urine for a big surprise, President Trump. The commander-in-chief, in a surreal Earth-to-space call from the Oval Office Monday to congratulate astronaut Peggy Whitson on surpassing a record 534 days in space, received a flood of knowledge on life in zero gravity — including how pee gets repurposed. “Water …

Feh. It only flies over water. The New York Times reports: On a recent afternoon, an aerospace engineer working for a small Silicon Valley company called Kitty Hawk piloted a flying car above a scenic lake about 100 miles north of San Francisco. Kitty Hawk’s flying car, if you insisted on calling it a “car,” looked like something Luke Skywalker …

Gay dads and their kids rush to get their day started in the new Google Home ad titled Carpool released yesterday. Android Central explains the update behind the ad: From the beginning Google Home wasn’t going to make much sense if it was tied to a single account, and now several months after launch we have proper multi-user support for …

CNBC reports: Burger King is launching full-fledged marketing blitz based on triggering voice-activated Google devices, in what could become a grim precedent for TV and radio ads talking directly to voice-activated gadgets like smartphones and Amazon’s Echo speakers. The fast-food company’s new TV ad features a person looking directly into the camera and saying “OK Google, what is the Whopper …

The BBC reports: A UK-based team of researchers has created a graphene-based sieve capable of removing salt from seawater. The sought-after development could aid the millions of people without ready access to clean drinking water. The promising graphene oxide sieve could be highly efficient at filtering salts, and will now be tested against existing desalination membranes. It has previously been …

Business Insider reports: When Verizon merges Yahoo with AOL after its acquisition of Yahoo closes, the newly created division will get a new name. And that new name is “Oath,” sources tell Business Insider. In a deal that was first announced last July, Verizon will acquire Yahoo’s core internet business for about $4.83 billion in cash. Yahoo will then be …

“This is an outrage!” – Wingnut sites, probably. CNET reports: A Connecticut student gets to share her vision of the future with the world, with a little help from Google. Sarah Harrison, a 10th grader from Bunnell High School in Connecticut, won the annual Doodle 4 Google competition with her drawing showing peace and diversity among people from all walks …

The Associated Press reports: Connecticut lawmakers are considering whether the state should become the first in the country to allow police to use drones outfitted with deadly weapons. The proposal was immediately met with concern by civil rights and liberties advocates. The state legislature’s Judiciary Committee approved the bill Wednesday and sent it to the House of Representatives. It would …

Via CBS News: Yes, there’s nothing like reaching out and touching someone from a phone booth. They used to be everywhere, but they are now rare coin-operated curiosities. Mo Rocca looks into the history of the once-ubiquitous phone booth, and of the wi-fi kiosks that are now replacing them in New York City.

Newsweek reports: The CIA allegedly developed tools to infect Apple Macs and iPhones in order to spy on them, according to documents released by WikiLeaks on Thursday. The Dark Matter leaks are the second tranche of the whistleblowing organization’s Vault 7 cache of classified documents, which WikiLeaks claims to have obtained from a former CIA contract worker. Projects undertaken by …

The New York Times reports: Republican senators moved Thursday to dismantle landmark internet privacy protections for consumers in the first decisive strike against telecommunications and technology regulations created during the Obama administration, and a harbinger of further deregulation. The measure passed in a 50-to-48 vote largely along party lines. The House is expected to mirror the Senate’s action next week, …