Technology category, Page 11
Meta makes end-to-end encryption a default on Facebook Messenger
NEW YORK — Meta is rolling out end-to-end encryption for calls and messages across its Facebook and Messenger platforms, the company announced Thursday. Such encryption means that no one other than the sender and the recipient — not even Meta — can decipher people’s messages. Encrypted chats, first introduced as...
Google ups the stakes in AI race with Gemini, a technology trained to behave more like humans
Google took its next leap in artificial intelligence Wednesday with the launch of project Gemini, an AI model trained to behave in human-like ways that’s likely to intensify the debate about the technology’s potential promise and perils. The rollout will unfold in phases, with less sophisticated versions of Gemini called...
AI’s future could be ‘open-source’ or closed; tech giants divided as they lobby regulators
Tech leaders have been vocal proponents of the need to regulate artificial intelligence, but they’re also lobbying hard to make sure the new rules work in their favor. That’s not to say they all want the same thing. Facebook parent Meta and IBM on Tuesday launched a new group called...
Whistleblower allegation: Harvard muzzled disinfo team after $500 million Zuckerberg donation
A prominent disinformation scholar who left Harvard University in August has accused the school of muzzling her speech and stifling — then dismantling — her research team as it launched a deep dive in late 2021 into a trove of Facebook files she considers the most important documents in internet...
Elon Musk uses expletive to tell audience he doesn’t care about advertisers that fled X over hate speech
NEW YORK — Billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that advertisers who have halted spending on his social media platform X in response to antisemitic and other hateful material are engaging in “blackmail” and, using a profanity, essentially told them to go away. “Don’t advertise,” Musk said. He appeared to specifically...
Canada says Google will pay $74 million annually to Canadian news industry under new online law
TORONTO — Canada’s government said Wednesday it reached a deal with Google for the company to contribute $100 million Canadian dollars annually to the country’s news industry to comply with a new Canadian law requiring tech companies to pay publishers for their content. The agreement removes a threat by Google...
Google will start deleting ‘inactive’ accounts in December. Here’s what you need to know
NEW YORK — Have a Google account you haven’t used in a while? If you want to keep it from disappearing, you should sign in before the end of the week. Under Google’s updated inactive-account policy, which the tech giant announced back in May, accounts that haven’t been used in...
Law enforcement warns of potential security risks with Apple’s new NameDrop feature
Police departments across the country are warning Apple users about potential privacy concerns after a new iOS update. The update includes a new feature called NameDrop. Apple on its website touts NameDrop as a way to “quickly share contact information with a nearby iPhone or Apple Watch.” Apple said its...
Largest crypto exchange Binance fined $4 billion, CEO pleads guilty to not stopping money laundering
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government dealt a massive blow to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, which agreed to pay a roughly $4 billion settlement Tuesday as its founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a felony related to his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform. Zhao...
Musk’s X sues liberal advocacy group Media Matters over its report on ads next to hate groups’ posts
Elon Musk’s social media company X filed a lawsuit against liberal advocacy group Media Matters for America on Monday, saying it manufactured a report to show advertisers’ posts alongside neo-Nazi and white nationalist posts in order to “drive advertisers from the platform and destroy X Corp.” Media Matters, a Washington,...
‘Not science fiction:’ Robotics Network’s Discovery Day showcases tech in Pittsburgh
The humanoid robot waved at the crowd, folded its arms toward its chest, and bowed in greeting. Then it stepped sideways to show some motor skills. It’s a prototype of Agility Robotics’ bipedal robot, Digit, which is meant to work in warehouses alongside humans to handle the more tedious and...
Amazon will allow U.S. customers to buy cars on its site from local car dealers starting next year
NEW YORK — Want to buy a car on Amazon? Well, now you might get your chance. The e-commerce giant will launch vehicle sales in the U.S. next year and allow local car dealers to sell directly to customers on its site. In a joint announcement with car manufacturer Hyundai...
Astrobotic expansion could spur creation of ‘space district’ in Pittsburgh, officials say
Pittsburgh’s leading space company said Tuesday it plans to move some of its operations into a $20 million office building on the North Side and more than double its workforce. Astrobotic, a Manchester-based company that builds equipment to send to the moon, said it has bought a five-story building on...
ESPN Bet, a rebranded sports gambling app from Penn Entertainment, is almost here
NEW YORK — ESPN Bet, a rebranded sports-gambling app owned by Penn Entertainment, is set to launch Tuesday. Penn signed a $1.5 billion deal with ESPN for rights to the sports media giant’s name in August. Under the agreement, Penn will operate ESPN Bet while ESPN promotes the app across...
YouTube creators will soon have to disclose use of gen AI in videos or risk suspension
YouTube is rolling out new rules for AI content, including a requirement that creators reveal whether they’ve used generative artificial intelligence to make realistic-looking videos. In a blog post Tuesday outlining a number of AI-related policy updates, YouTube said creators that don’t disclose whether they’ve used AI tools to make...
To help 2024 voters, Meta says it will begin labeling political ads that use AI-generated imagery
WASHINGTON — Facebook and Instagram will require political ads running on their platforms to disclose if they were created using artificial intelligence, their parent company announced on Wednesday. Under the new policy by Meta, labels acknowledging the use of AI will appear on users’ screens when they click on ads....
Nextdoor lays off 25% of its full-time staff as neighborhood social network works to cut costs
NEW YORK — Nextdoor is laying off 25% of its full-time staff as the neighborhood-focused social network company cuts costs with its losses widening. The job eliminations are part of a larger cost reduction plan that aims to slash Nextdoor’s current personnel expenses by up to $60 million annually, the...
Fortnite maker accuses Google of bullying and bribing to block competition to its Android app store
SAN FRANCISCO — Google on Monday confronted the second major U.S. antitrust trial in two months to cast the internet powerhouse as a brazen bully that uses its immense wealth and people’s dependence on one of its main products to stifle competition at consumers’ expense. The trial that opened in...
Don’t put that rhinestone emblem on your car’s steering wheel, U.S. regulators say
NEW YORK — U.S. regulators are warning drivers to steer clear of aftermarket decals used to embellish a car’s logo on the center of its steering wheel. Such metal or plastic emblems — which are typically adorned with rhinestones or other decorations and attached to the steering wheel with an...
Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial exposed crypto fraud but Congress has not been eager to regulate the industry
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The conviction of former cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried for stealing at least $10 billion from customers and investors is the latest black mark for the cryptocurrency industry, but in Washington, there seems to be little to no interest in pushing through regulation. When cryptocurrencies collapsed and...
Biden set to sign executive order to address AI safeguards
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday will sign a sweeping executive order to guide the development of artificial intelligence — requiring industry to develop safety and security standards, introducing new consumer protections and giving federal agencies an extensive to-do list to oversee the rapidly progressing technology. The order reflects...
Cruise, GM’s robotaxi service, suspends all driverless operations nationwide
NEW YORK — Cruise, the autonomous vehicle unit owned by General Motors, is suspending driverless operations nationwide days after regulators in California found that its driverless cars posed a danger to public safety. The California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the license for Cruise, which recently began transporting passengers throughout...
AI-generated child sexual abuse images could flood the internet. A watchdog is calling for action
NEW YORK — The already-alarming proliferation of child sexual abuse images on the internet could become much worse if something is not done to put controls on artificial intelligence tools that generate deepfake photos, a watchdog agency warned on Tuesday. In a written report, the U.K.-based Internet Watch Foundation urges...
Nokia plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs after sales, profits plunge in weak market
HELSINKI — Telecom gear maker Nokia said Thursday that it is planning to cut up to 14,000 jobs worldwide, or 16% of its workforce, as part of a push to reduce costs following a plunge in third-quarter sales and profit. The Finnish wireless and fixed-network equipment provider said the planned...
Amazon will start testing drones that will drop prescriptions on your doorstep
Amazon will soon make prescription drugs fall from the sky when the e-commerce giant becomes the latest company to test drone deliveries for medications. The company said Wednesday that customers in College Station, Texas, can now get prescriptions delivered by a drone within an hour of placing their order. The...
