An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: Magma was developed by Facebook to help telecom operators deploy mobile networks quickly and easily. The project, which Facebook open-sourced in 2019, does this by providing a software-centric distributed mobile packet core and tools for automating network management. This containerized network function integrates with the existing back end of a mobile network and…
Tag: northeastern university
‘Terms of Service’ Agreements Are Unbalanced, Need Reforming, Urges New York Times
“The same legalese that can ban Donald Trump from Twitter can bar users from joining class-action lawsuits,” warns the official Editorial Board of the New York Times, urging “It’s time to fix the fine print.” [Alternate URL here] [M]ost people have no idea what is signed away when they click “agree” to binding terms of service contracts — again and again…
How the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Fought the Pandemic
In a long article titled “Gates versus the Pandemic,” Fast Company looks at the many mitigation efforts launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. – It’s one of the largest funders of the World Health Organization. – It’s partnered with the governments of Norway and India, the World Economic Forum, and the research-charity Wellcome Trust to launch an important group…
Will China Export Its Surveillance Technology?
Business Insider ran a disturbing opinion column by their senior finance correspondent: The detention camps where the Chinese government has interned more than 1 million Muslim Uighurs serves a dual purpose. It not only oppresses what the Chinese government considers a troublesome minority on its western frontier but also serves as a lab for the development of surveillance technology by Chinese…
Do AI Deserve the Same Rights as Animals?
The digital magazine Aeon published a thought-provoking proposal this spring from a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside and an assistant professor of philosophy at Boston’s Northeastern University: Universities across the world are conducting major research on artificial intelligence (AI), as are organizations such as the Allen Institute, and tech companies including Google and Facebook. A likely result…
Trippy T-Shirt Makes You Invisible To AI
In modern cities, we’re constantly surveilled through CCTV cameras in both public and private spaces, and by companies trying to sell us shit based on everything we do. We are always being watched. But what if a simple T-shirt could make you invisible to commercial AIs trying to spot humans? Motherboard reports: A team of researchers from Northeastern University, IBM, and…
Smart TVs Are Data-Collecting Machines, New Study Shows
A new study from Princeton University shows internet-connected TVs, which allow people to stream Netflix and Hulu, are loaded with data-hungry trackers. “If you use a device such as Roku and Amazon Fire TV, there are numerous companies that can build up a fairly comprehensive picture of what you’re watching,” Arvind Narayanan, associate professor of computer science at Princeton, wrote in…
Smart TVs, Smart-Home Devices Found To Be Leaking Sensitive User Data, Researchers Find
Smart-home devices, such as televisions and streaming boxes, are collecting reams of data — including sensitive information such as device locations — that is then being sent to third parties like advertisers and major tech companies, researchers said Tuesday. From a report: As the findings show, even as privacy concerns have become a part of the discussion around consumer technology, new…
The Plan To Use Fitbit Data To Stop Mass Shootings Is One of the Scariest Proposals Yet
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Last week, the Washington Post reported that the White House had been briefed on a plan to create an agency called HARPA, a healthcare counterpart to the Pentagon’s research and development arm DARPA. Among other initiatives, this new agency would reportedly collect volunteer data from a suite of smart devices, including Apple Watches,…