Technology and Computing
In 2020, John Mills’ house in Sonoma County, California was in the path of the Walbridge Fire. After evacuating, he began scouring the internet for all the updates he could find about the blaze, only to find himself refreshing the same outdated maps and watching the same soundbites on the news over and over. The lack of information fueled his anxiety over the situation, Mills says, and became a turning point for the way he understood what it means to…
This article was originally featured on Undark. WITHIN DAYS of Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine, several social media companies took steps to reduce the circulation of Russian state-backed media and anti-Ukrainian propaganda. Meta (formerly Facebook), for example, said it took down about 40 accounts, part of a larger network that had already spread across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Telegram, and Russian social media. The accounts used fake personas, replete with profile pictures likely generated with artificial intelligence, posing as news editors, engineers, and scientists in Kyiv.…
Today Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced that it is partnering with NVIDIA to build a supercomputer to power their artificial intelligence research. They call the new machine the RCS, which stands for the AI Research SuperCluster. The supercomputer will be completed later this year, and the company said in a press release that they expect it to “be the fastest [AI supercomputer] in the world once fully built out in mid-2022.” Meta said that the supercomputer can help their researchers…
In a stay-at-home world, a self-contained display-and-webcam combo device made specifically for sending and receiving video calls—videophones, if you will—feels like both an extravagance and a necessity. On the one hand, you probably already have a computer with a webcam lying around for work and/or school. Your phone probably has similar capabilities. On the other, you don’t want to sit in your workspace all day, and using a phone isn’t great for long, leisurely conversations with friends and family. Suddenly,…
There’s a lot to catch up on during this year’s Thanksgiving meal, and it’s not all related to the pandemic, either. Despite global computer chip shortages and shipping issues, the US has made progress on a few other pressing tech issues. Changes to Facebook and some of its more concerning practices, increased governmental funding for services like cybersecurity and transportation, and better accessibility to electronics repairs on the consumer side are a few of the major tech happenings to be…
In the novel-turned-movie Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, the protagonist escapes to an online realm aptly called OASIS. Instrumental to the OASIS experience is his haptic (relating to sense of touch) bodysuit, which enables him to move through and interact with the virtual world with his body. He can even activate tactile sensations to feel every gut punch, or a kiss from a badass online girl. While no such technology is commercially available yet, the platform Meta, formerly known…
Facebook has found itself facing the ire or many users and even the federal government with a potentially record-breaking FTC fine coming for the social network over privacy violations. Facebook also found itself accused of using the viral Facebook 10-year challenge to feed its AI, something it denies. A new report is making the rounds that Facebook is working on something new to woo younger crowds that flock to the web just for laughs. A new meme service called LOL is reportedly in the…
Memes are a big part of the web, especially on social media, and they serve different purposes. Humor is the primary reason memes exist, obviously, but they can also be used to make political statements and to share satirical thoughts. Could they also be used to harvest user data, though? That is a question that has been raised in response to the 10-year profile picture challenge that has gone viral on Facebook. You have probably seen this one already—the ‘challenge’ is…
Social media provides a lot of value to the world, but a new study suggests that we should start taking it in smaller doses – ideally no more than 30 minutes per day. The experimental study was conducted by Melissa G. Hunt and others at the University of Pennsylvania, and indications so far show that modest use of social media can directly improve our mental well-being. With the help of 143 participants, two groups were created. The first group was limited to…
Following in Apple’s and Google’s footsteps, Facebook is launching a new set of so-called “digital health” tools built into its own platforms. The new features will be available on both the primary Facebook app, as well as on Instagram, which the social media company owns. They are just starting to see a general roll out as of Wednesday via an app update. That suite of digital health tools include reports on how much time is spent in an app, a…
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is pulling the plug on his Facebook account amid a growing controversy over the social media giant’s privacy and personal data policies. In an email interview with USA Today, Wozniak said he’s leaving Facebook for a few reasons. For one, Wozniak is joining an increasing number of people concerned about tech firms and their “carelessness” in handling user data. But the former Apple engineer also brought up another point: Facebook’s business model. Like other tech companies that offer free…
Mark Zuckerberg almost sounded embarrassed about it. On Wednesday night, after weeks of Facebook taking a thrashing from the press, politicians and the stock market, it turned out the Cambridge Analytica scandal had not been that bad after all. “Despite facing important challenges, our community and business are off to a strong start in 2018,” was Mr Zuckerberg’s understated analysis of Facebook’s record first-quarter results. “A strong start” is one way of putting it. Facebook reported a 63pc increase in profits to…