Ireland’s data protection watchdog has launched an investigation into Google’s collection of personal data for the purpose of online advertising. From a report: “A statutory inquiry pursuant to section 110 of the Data Protection Act 2018 has been commenced in respect of Google Ireland Limited’s processing of personal data in the context of its online Ad Exchange,” the Data Protection Commission…
Tag: search
Three exocomets discovered around the star Beta Pictoris
Just about a year after the launch of the NASA mission TESS, the first three comets orbiting the nearby star Beta Pictoris outside our solar system were discovered with data from the space telescope. The main goal of TESS is to search for exoplanets—planets orbiting other stars. The recognition of signals from much smaller exocomets compared to planets requires the analysis…
Comcast Is Reportedly Developing a Device That Would Track Your Bathroom Habits
Comcast is reportedly working on a device designed to closely monitor a user’s health. “The device will monitor people’s basic health metrics using ambient sensors, with a focus on whether someone is making frequent trips to the bathroom or spending more time than usual in bed,” reports CNBC. “Comcast is also building tools for detecting falls, which are common and potentially…
The Underground Network of Microbes That Connects Trees Mapped For First Time
For the first time, scientists have mapped the millions of species of fungi and bacteria that swap nutrients between soil and the roots of trees, using a database of more than 28,000 tree species living in more than 70 countries. This interconnected web of organisms throughout the woods is being dubbed the “wood wide web.” Science Magazine reports: Before scientists could…
Advanced civilizations could be communicating with neutrino beams
In 1960, famed theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson made a radical proposal. In a paper titled “Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation,” he suggested that advanced extra-terrestrial intelligences (ETIs) could be found by looking for signs of artificial structures so large that they encompass entire star systems (also known as megastructures). Since then, many scientists have come up with their…
How some planets can survive their stars’ deaths
A new “survival guide for exoplanets” outlines how different kinds of planets fare when their host star dies. It suggests the smallest rocky worlds are the most likely to escape annihilation. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/small-rocky-planets-most-likely-to-survive-star-death…
Lush underwater forests … in the Arctic
Did you know that there are hidden underwater forests of large brown seaweeds (kelps) in the Arctic? As temperatures warm, the forests are expanding. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/underwater-kelp-seaweed-forests-arctic…
Google Images + Facial Recognition Find Thief Who Looked Like Woody Harrelson
“The New York Police Department used a photo of Woody Harrelson in its facial recognition program in an attempt to identify a beer thief who looked like the actor,” reports the Associated Press:
Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy and Technology highlighted the April 2017 episode in “Garbage In, Garbage Out,” a report on what it says are flawed practices in law enforcement’s…
Wolfram Alpha Search Engine Turns 10: Remains Independent, Private, and Free of External Advertising
For more than three decades, Stephen Wolfram, a 59-year-old scientist, software designer and entrepreneur, has built software that has attracted an avid following among mathematicians and scientists. His Mathematica program for symbolic mathematical computation and its programming language, Wolfram Language, are favorites of the intelligentsia of the quant world in universities and corporations. Wolfram Alpha, one of his creations, is a…
Nail It, Then Scale It: Doubling Down on Data to Achieve Platform Success
By Alexandra Urban Nail It At its core, every technology company should be leveraging data to improve its services and help users reach their goals. At Coursera, we’re doubling down on the importance of data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to propel our partners and platform towards the future of higher education. A crucial piece […]
The post Nail It, Then Scale…