“France is integrating new AI tools into security cameras in the Paris metro system to check whether passengers are wearing face masks,” reports the Verge:
The software, which has already been deployed elsewhere in the country, began a three-month trial in the central Chatelet-Les Halles station of Paris this week, reports Bloomberg. [Alternate source] French startup DatakaLab, which created the program, says…
Tag: mandatory
Why You Shouldn’t Wear a COVID-19 Mask That Has a Valve
In some states and major cities, it’s now mandatory to wear a mask in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19. That mask could be anything from a handkerchief to a designer cotton mask to a full-blown N95 respirator, so long as you have something between your mouth and nose and the world around you. But in California’s Bay Area, there’s…
Should the Government Subsidize Online Jobs and Classes — and Streaming Services?
Two lead economists for the World Bank called for an updated online version of a legendary government program from America’s Great Depression during the 1930s — public works programs — as a companion to widespread calls for quarantining:
What is missing in such mandatory “stick” approaches is the more active use of “carrot” incentives that could both encourage self-isolation and help prepare…
Instacart Plans To Hire 250,000 More Shoppers
Instacart hired 300,000 workers in recent weeks to meet surging demand for grocery deliveries spurred by the pandemic. Now, the startup is seeking to hire another 250,000 workers over the next two months. CNN reports: The on-demand grocery delivery company said Thursday that it is seeking to hire the additional “full-service shoppers,” who are treated as independent contractors, in areas with…
Australia Will Force Google and Facebook to Pay for News Content
“Social media giants Facebook and Google will be forced to pay Australian media companies for sharing their content or face sanctions under a landmark decision…” reports the New Zealand Herald: The move comes as the media industry reels from tumbling advertising revenue, already in decline before the Covid 19 coronavirus outbreak collapsed the market. Australia will become the first government to…
Tech’s Early Work-From-Home Mandates Helped California, Washington Flatten Curve
gollum123 shares a report from CNBC: On March 19, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide shelter-in-place order to stem the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee followed four days later. While they were moving aggressively relative to the rest of the country, the top employers in their states were weeks ahead of them. Twitter was the…
Verily Told Senators That it Has Run More Than 7,000 Tests For COVID-19 and Plans To Keep the Mandatory Google Sign-in
Verily, the Alphabet life sciences division that launched its COVID-19 screening and testing program last month, is still under scrutiny from lawmakers over how it is collecting users’ data, as well as its plans to expand its test sites outside of California. From a report: At the end of March, five US senators wrote to Verily asking, among several other things,…
What It’s Like To Attend a Conference — in Person — in the Age of Covid-19?
What happens when no one shows up for a tech conference? Fast Company’s technology editor harrymcc writes:
From Apple to Microsoft to Google, major tech companies have responded to the coronavirus crisis by either canceling their 2020 conference or making them purely virtual. But one well-established event — Vancouver’s CanSecWest — went ahead earlier this month, with streaming as an option but…
Moscow To Launch Mandatory Surveillance App To Track Residents In Coronavirus Lockdown
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: City authorities in Moscow are rolling out new digital “social monitoring” tools targeting the public, after what officials say were constant violations of the city’s quarantine imposed this week to fight the spread of the new coronavirus. Under restrictions in place since Monday, most of the city’s 12 million residents must remain indoors,…
FCC Mandates Robocall-fighting Tech Be in Use By End of June 2021
The Federal Communications Commission voted Tuesday to finalize rules requiring phone companies to use the Shaken/Stir protocol to automatically block calls to fight illegal robocalls. The new rules mandate the use of the technology by all voice providers by the end of June of 2021. From a report: The rules come after Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law…