Researchers at Omni Calculator have created the Alien Civilization Calculator, a unique combination of two different methods of trying to determine how many advanced alien civilizations may exist in our galaxy. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/alien-civilization-calculator-extraterrestrial-intelligence-seti…
Tag: criticism
Facebook, Twitter, Google Face Free-Speech Test in Hong Kong
U.S. technology titans face a looming test of their free-speech credentials in Hong Kong as China’s new national-security law for the city demands local authorities take measures to supervise and regulate its uncensored internet. From a report: Facebook and its Instagram service, Twitter and YouTube, a unit of Alphabet’s Google, operate freely in the city even as they have been shut…
Facebook Says 5,000 App Developers Got User Data After Cutoff Date
Social media giant Facebook disclosed on Wednesday a new user privacy incident. The company said that it continued sharing user data with approximately 5,000 developers even after their application’s access expired. From a report: The incident is related to a security control that Facebook added to its systems following the Cambridge Analytica scandal of early 2018. Responding to criticism that it…
Can Stadiums Replace Fans With Cardboard Cutouts and Avatars?
A new article on The Hustle tries to explain why sports stadiums are suddenly full of fans made out of cardboard:
Back in March, a German filmmaker and soccer aficionado named Ingo Müller was sitting at home, complaining to his wife about not being able to attend the matches of his favorite club team, Borussia Mönchengladbach. “She said, ‘If you’re really pissed…
Facebook Moderators Join Criticism of Zuckerberg Over Trump Stance
Pressure from Facebook staff is continuing to mount on Mark Zuckerberg over his policies towards posts by Donald Trump, with moderators joining those criticizing their boss for his stance. From a report: The moderators penned an open letter to their colleagues in support of virtual walkouts that have broken out at the company, after Zuckerberg refused to take down posts by…
Zuckerberg Defends Hands-Off Approach To Trump’s Posts
In a call with Facebook employees, who have protested the inaction on Mr. Trump’s messages, Mr. Zuckerberg said his decision was “pretty thorough.” From a report: Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, on Tuesday stood firmly behind his decision to not do anything about President Trump’s inflammatory posts on the social network, saying that he had made a “tough decision” but that…
Google Says It Will Not Build Custom AI for Oil and Gas Extraction
After a year of weathering criticism from tech workers, politicians, and activists over its oil industry contracts, Google has stated that it will not create new custom A.I. or machine learning algorithms that would help the oil and gas industry enhance its ability to extract fossil fuels. From a report: “We will not … build custom A.I./ML algorithms to facilitate upstream…
Tesla Files Lawsuit Demanding Reopening of Plant As Musk Faces Criticism
Because a California county is preventing Tesla from reopening its plant, “The County’s position left us no choice but to take legal action,” Tesla announced Saturday. Reuters reports:
Tesla filed a lawsuit against the county in San Francisco federal court on Saturday, calling the continued restrictions a “power-grab” by the county since California’s governor had said on Thursday that manufacturers in the…
Belkin Criticized For Its Upcoming Bricking of NetCams
A Forbes contributor notes that Belkin abruptly announced the end-of-life for its Wemo NetCams, which will discontinued on May 29 2020. But that’s just the beginning… Unlike many other end-of-life announcements which simply render products ineligible for support or upgrades, Belkin is literally pulling the plug on its Cloud service, rendering its NetCam range of home security cameras as useless beige…
Samsung Heir Apologizes For Corruption and Union-Busting Scandals
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: The de facto head of Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, apologized on Wednesday for the corruption and union-busting scandals that have bedeviled his conglomerate, declaring that he will be the last of his family members to lead the South Korean corporate empire. During a nationally televised news conference, Mr. Lee, 51, said…