Tag Archives: technology

CNN Business reports: Eastman Kodak, the 133-year-old photography company, is warning investors that it might not survive much longer. In its earnings report Monday, the company warned that it doesn’t have “committed financing or available liquidity” to pay its roughly $500 million in upcoming debt obligations. “These conditions raise substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going …

The Verge reports: AOL dial-up is ending on September 30th according to a statement posted on the company’s website. It marks the end of the service that was synonymous with the internet for many since its launch in 1991. “AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet,” reads the statement by the Yahoo-owned company. …

The Washington Post reports: Two days after Jeff Fargo’s mother died, he lay in bed, crying, at home in Nevada and opened his laptop to ChatGPT. Her friends had asked about an obituary, so for nearly an hour he typed about her life: that she had been a single mom in a male-dominated world, that she never got the credit …

CNBC reports: Uber announced a new feature Wednesday that pairs women drivers and riders, in its latest move to address safety on the ride-hailing platform. The new tool, which the platform will begin piloting next month in the U.S., allows women passengers to match with women drivers when booking or pre-booking rides, and create a preference in their app settings. …

Popular Mechanics reports: As part of a rideshare mission with SpaceX, the Nyx capsule launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base on June 23rd. The next day, after successfully re-entering the atmosphere on June 24th, the capsule crashed into the Pacific Ocean and lost some unexpected cargo: cannabis and human remains. Now, the cannabis plant matter and seeds weren’t for …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Bank of New York Mellon said it now employs dozens of artificial intelligence-powered ‘digital employees’ that have company logins and work alongside its human staff. Similar to human employees, these digital workers have direct managers they report to and work autonomously in areas like coding and payment instruction validation, said Chief Information Officer Leigh-Ann Russell. …

The Associated Press reports: More than 1.15 million power banks are under recall across the U.S. after some fires and explosions were reported by consumers. Electronics maker Anker Innovations is recalling certain “PowerCore 10000” power banks because the lithium-ion battery inside can overheat. An overheating battery can lead to “melting of plastic components, smoke, and fire hazards,” Anker wrote. The …

Ars Technica reports: Amid all the Gemini hype at Google I/O last month, the company also turned one of its experiments into a (kind of) real product. Project Starline was reborn as Google Beam, a 3D video conferencing system that makes it look like you’re in the same room with the other party. Google said HP would reveal the first …

Straight Arrow News reports: A recent study has raised new questions about how artificial intelligence responds to human control. According to findings from Palisade Research, a version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, known as model o3, altered its behavior to avoid being shut down, even after it was instructed to do so. Researchers said the model appeared to change its scripted responses …

The Global Times reports: The China Media Group (CMG) World Robot Competition – Mecha Fighting Series, the first-ever humanoid robot fighting tournament, kicked off in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province on Sunday, as contestants, including robots developed by Unitree Robotics armed with a wide range of combat skills, gathered for a livestreamed showdown, while putting on display Chinese robotics firms’ …

The Washington Post reports: Engagement with digital technology was associated with a 58 percent reduced risk of cognitive impairment in people middle-aged and older, according to a study in the journal Nature Human Behavior. Researchers conducted a systematic review of 57 studies to see whether exposure to technology has helped or harmed cognition among the first generation of adults with …

USA Today reports: Southwest Airlines is introducing a new battery policy in its cabins starting next week, which will require passengers to keep portable chargers visible when they’re in use onboard. “Using portable charging devices while stored in a bag or overhead bin will no longer be permitted,” Laura Swift, a Southwest spokesperson, told USA TODAY in a statement. “Nothing …

CNN reports: All mobile phone signals will be deactivated in the Vatican on Wednesday ahead of the highly secretive conclave to elect the next pope, Italian state media reported. The Vatican also plans to use signal jammers around the Sistine Chapel to prevent electronic surveillance or communication outside the conclave that will see 133 cardinals vote on who will succeed …

The Washington Post reports: Skype users bade farewell to the online communication service Monday, reminiscing about late-night calls with friends, long-distance dates and free catch-ups with far-flung family — along with pixelated faces and “Can you hear me?” moments. Microsoft, its owner, has shuttered the service to focus on its alternative calling service, Teams. The decision to scrap Skype, announced …

Ars Technica reports: In a Black Mirror-esque turn, some cash-strapped actors who didn’t fully understand the consequences are regretting selling their likenesses to be used in AI videos that they consider embarrassing, damaging, or harmful. Among them is a 29-year-old New York-based actor, Adam Coy, who licensed rights to his face and voice to a company called MCM for one …

Wired reports: On Saturday, about 12,000 human athletes ran in a half marathon race in Beijing, but most of the attention was on a group of other, unconventional participants: 21 humanoid robots. The event’s organizers, which included several branches of Beijing’s municipal government, claim it’s the first time humans and bipedal robots have run in the same race, though they …

404 Media reports: American police departments near the United States-Mexico border are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for an unproven and secretive technology that uses AI-generated online personas designed to interact with and collect intelligence on “college protesters,” “radicalized” political activists, and suspected drug and human traffickers, according to internal documents, contracts, and communications 404 Media obtained via public …

Wired reports: Let’s say a laptop costs $400 at import in the US. A retailer would then add an average gross margin rate of 30 percent—how much revenue the retailer retains after deducting the cost to produce or acquire the item—and that laptop will now cost $571. That’s the price you’ll pay at a big box store. China exports a …

Ars Technica reports: Since Amazon announced plans for a generative AI version of Alexa, we were concerned about user privacy. With Alexa+ rolling out to Amazon Echo devices in the coming weeks, we’re getting a clearer view at the privacy concessions people will have to make to maximize usage of the AI voice assistant and avoid bricking functionality of already-purchased …

The Associated Press reports: A private lunar lander carrying a drill, vacuum and other experiments for NASA touched down on the moon Sunday, the latest in a string of companies looking to kickstart business on Earth’s celestial neighbor ahead of astronaut missions. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient …