An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Uber is destroying thousands of electric bikes and scooters, after selling its Jump business to Lime. Videos of its red bikes being crushed at a recycling centre were shared on social media, angering cycling advocates. Uber said it had decided to destroy thousands of its older-model vehicles due to maintenance, liability and…
Tag: unprecedented
Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Protections For Social Media Platforms
President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday designed to limit the legal protections that shield social media companies from liability for the content users post on their platforms. Axios reports: “Currently, social media giants like Twitter received unprecedented viability shield based on the theory that they are a neutral platform, which they are not,” Trump said in the Oval Office….
Global carbon emissions dropped an unprecedented 17% during the coronavirus lockdown — and it changes nothing
Scientists estimate that global daily carbon dioxide emissions dropped by as much 17% during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. Source: https://www.livescience.com/carbone-dioxide-reduction-coronavirus-lockdown.html
Is Now The Time to Make a Deal With Our Robot Overlords?
“If certain businesses — say, the next generation of meat plants — can’t reopen safely and profitably with humans, they can and should do so with robots,” argued a recent Bloomberg column titled “Let’s make a deal with our robot overlords.” [Alternate source] The column posits that right now some jobs “just aren’t good enough to protect.”
Until now, among the biggest…
Covid-19 Could Normalize Surveillance – or Provide a Moment for Reasserting Rights
“Will we look back at 2020 as the moment privacy finally evaporated?” asks CNN’s international security editor:
Privacy International called Covid-19’s impact on privacy “unprecedented.” “9/11 ushered covert and overt surveillance regimes, many of which were unlawful,” said Edin Omanovic, the campaign group’s advocacy director. The surveillance industry “understands that this is an opportunity comparable to 9/11 in terms of legitimizing and…
A Quick-Start Guide to Teaching from Home by Andrew Ng
A guide for educators to transition from teaching in the classroom to teaching online with minimal planning and effort. Recent events have accelerated digital transformation in higher education, requiring educators to quickly shift from teaching live in classrooms to teaching online in their living rooms in the span of weeks. Redesigning an in-person class into […]
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‘Zombie’ fires are burning the Arctic after smouldering under snow
Unprecedented Arctic fires from last summer appear to have smouldered in the underground peat of the tundra through winter and reignited this month as snow melted Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2243591-zombie-fires-are-burning-the-arctic-after-smouldering-under-snow/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Technology, international bonds, and inspiration: Why astronomy matters in times of crisis
In an international emergency like the present one, you might expect the science of the stars to be the last thing on people’s minds. The problems facing both individuals and governments are infinitely more pressing than events in the depths of space. People are suffering unprecedented hardships. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-05-technology-international-bonds-astronomy-crisis.html…
As the climate shifts, a border moves
Italy’s northern border with Switzerland depends on the natural, morphological boundaries of glaciers’ frontiers. But in recent years, glaciers have been melting at increased rates due to climate change. This has caused the border to shift noticeably. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/climate-warming-glacier-italian-swiss-austrian-border-moves…
Yale’s Dr. Laurie Santos on Well-Being During COVID-19
We’re living in an unprecedented time as COVID-19 impacts lives everywhere. As we navigate and adjust, how can we manage the many emotions we’re feeling? Get expert insights from Dr. Laurie Santos, a Yale psychology professor, on how we can all prioritize our mental well-being during this challenging time, including: Reducing tension in a relationship […]
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