Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Foxconn Replaces 60,000 Factory Workers with Robots
May 25th, 2016Via: BBC: Apple and Samsung supplier Foxconn has reportedly replaced 60,000 factory workers with robots. One factory has “reduced employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000 thanks to the introduction of robots”, a government official told the South China Morning Post. Xu Yulian, head of publicity for the Kunshan region, added: “More companies are likely to […]
Magic 8-Ball Future Crime Predictor Influencing Decisions About Prison Sentences
May 24th, 2016Via: ProPublica: Scores like this — known as risk assessments — are increasingly common in courtrooms across the nation. They are used to inform decisions about who can be set free at every stage of the criminal justice system, from assigning bond amounts — as is the case in Fort Lauderdale — to even more […]
Robot Ranchers Monitor Animals on Giant Australian Farms
May 24th, 2016Via: New Scientist: A two-year trial, which starts next month, will train a “farmbot” to herd livestock, keep an eye on their health, and check they have enough pasture to graze on. Sick and injured animals will be identified using thermal and vision sensors that detect changes in body temperature and walking gait, says Salah […]
How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds – from a Magician and Google’s Design Ethicist
May 20th, 2016Via: Medium: Western Culture is built around ideals of individual choice and freedom. Millions of us fiercely defend our right to make “free” choices, while we ignore how we’re manipulated upstream by limited menus we didn’t choose. This is exactly what magicians do. They give people the illusion of free choice while architecting the menu […]
A Third of Cash Is Owned by 5 U.S. Companies
May 20th, 2016Via: USA Today: The rising cash holdings of U.S. corporations is increasingly in the hands of a few U.S. companies, with just five tech firms having grabbed a third of it. And nearly three-quarters of cash held by non-financial U.S. companies is stashed overseas, outside the long arm of Uncle Sam. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), […]
Portugal Runs on Wind, Solar and Hydro-Generated Electricity Alone for Four Days
May 19th, 2016Via: Guardian: Portugal kept its lights on with renewable energy alone for four consecutive days last week in a clean energy milestone revealed by data analysis of national energy network figures. Electricity consumption in the country was fully covered by solar, wind and hydro power in an extraordinary 107-hour run that lasted from 6.45am on […]
Lockheed Martin Wants Orbital Laboratory for Mars
May 18th, 2016Via: Popular Science: Before our species set foot on the moon, we orbited it first. The same will probably be true for Mars, and on Wednesday, Lockheed Martin plans to unveil its vision for a spacecraft that could make it happen. The “Mars Base Camp,” as the company is calling it, would set up a […]
FindFace
May 18th, 2016Via: Guardian: If the founders of a new face recognition app get their way, anonymity in public could soon be a thing of the past. FindFace, launched two months ago and currently taking Russia by storm, allows users to photograph people in a crowd and work out their identities, with 70% reliability. It works by […]
Visitor Logs Show Google’s Unrivaled White House Access
May 18th, 2016Via: watchdog.org: A project examining White House visitor logs shows the Obama administration has extended an open door to Google. Johanna Shelton, Google’s director of public policy — in effect, the company’s top lobbyist — has visited White House officials 128 times since President Barack Obama took office in 2009. To put that in perspective, […]
Google, Apple, Tesla Veterans: Startup Developing Self-Driving Truck Kits
May 17th, 2016Via: The Verge: Former employees of Google, Apple, Tesla, Cruise Automation, and others — 40 people in total — have formed a new San Francisco-based company called Otto with the goal of turning commercial trucks into self-driving freight haulers. Prominent staffers include former Google Maps lead Lior Ron and Anthony Levandowski of Google’s self-driving car […]
