Chris Urmson helped pioneer self-driving car technology at Google before founding Aurora (which sells self-driving car software to automakers, and this week announced a new partnership with Chrysler and a new round of investment by Hyundai). In a new interview, Urmson “says he expects that in about five to 10 years, Americans will start seeing robots cruising down the road in…
Tag: federal
News Industry Argues Google and Facebook ‘Rob Journalism of Its Revenue’, Seek Government Help
This week USA Today’s former editor-in-chief argued that “Tech overlords Google and Facebook have used monopoly to rob journalism of its revenue,” in an op-ed shared by schwit1: Over the past decade, the news business has endured a bloodbath, with tens of thousands of journalists losing their jobs amid mass layoffs. The irony is, more people than ever are consuming news……
One Dead After Fecal Transplant Gone Wrong, FDA Warns
fahrbot-bot shares a report from Ars Technica: One patient has died and another became seriously ill after fecal transplants inadvertently seeded their innards with a multi-drug resistant bacterial infection, the Food and Drug Administration warned Thursday. The cases highlight the grave risks of what some consider a relatively safe procedure. They also call attention to the mucky issues of federal oversight…
Spy Used AI-Generated Face To Connect With Targets
Raphael Satter, writing for AP: Katie Jones sure seemed plugged into Washington’s political scene. The 30-something redhead boasted a job at a top think tank and a who’s-who network of pundits and experts, from the centrist Brookings Institution to the right-wing Heritage Foundation. She was connected to a deputy assistant secretary of state, a senior aide to a senator and the…
Has the ball lightning mystery been solved?
What is ball lightning? Scientists have been trying to figure that out for hundreds of years, and now it seems they may finally be close to solving one of Earth’s most intriguing natural mysteries. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/ball-lightning-lightning-atmosphere-earth-optik…
LG’s 5G Phones in Doubt as Chip Deal With Qualcomm Set To Expire
Sales of LG’s new 5G smartphone looked uncertain this week after the firm said it was unable to narrow differences with Qualcomm to renew a chip license deal that is due to expire this month. From a report: In a U.S. court filing late on Tuesday, the South Korean firm opposed Qualcomm’s efforts to put a sweeping U.S. antitrust decision against…
Facebook Collected Device Data On 187,000 Users Using Banned Snooping
Facebook obtained personal and sensitive device data on about 187,000 users of its now-defunct Research app, which Apple banned earlier this year after the app violated its rules. TechCrunch reports: The social media giant said in a letter to Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s office — which TechCrunch obtained — that it collected data on 31,000 users in the U.S., including 4,300 teenagers….
America’s Renewable Energy Capacity Is Now Greater Than Coal
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: The renewable energy sector had slightly more installed capacity than coal in April, according to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report. That means U.S. power plants can produce more energy from clean sources than coal for the first time in history, according to the SUN DAY Campaign, a nonprofit research group supporting sustainable…
Facebook Worries Emails Could Show Zuckerberg Knew of Questionable Privacy Practices
Facebook uncovered emails that appear to show Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s connection to potentially problematic privacy practices at the company, WSJ reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: Within the company, the unearthing of the emails in the process of responding to a continuing federal privacy investigation has raised concerns that they would be harmful to Facebook…
Supreme Court To Consider Racial Discrimination Case Against Comcast
The Supreme Court will consider whether a black television producer can pursue racial discrimination claims against Comcast for declining to carry his programming channels on its cable system (Warning: source paywalled; alternative source). The Wall Street Journal reports: The Comcast case stems from the cable operator’s decision not to carry Pets.TV, Recipes.TV and other channels from Entertainment Studios Networks Inc. The…