Author and law professor Tim Wu says much of the "free" content on the Web comes at a price to users, who are subjected to ads that are targeted specifically at them and increasingly hard to ignore.

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Submitted on October 17th 2016 by gladsdotter with 3 comments

Google introduces fact checking feature intended to help people see whether news is actually true. Internet search giant Google has introduced a new fact-checking feature in its new section to allow readers to determine whether or not a story is true. “In the seven years since we started labeling types of articles in Google News (e.g., In-Depth, Opinion, Wikipedia), we’ve heard that many readers enjoy having easy access to a diverse range of content types,” the company said in an announcement.

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Submitted on October 15th 2016 by TNY with 1 comments

IT WAS JUST after sundown when a man knocked on Steve Talley’s door in south Denver. The man claimed to have hit Talley’s silver Jeep Cherokee and asked him to assess the damage. So Talley, wearing boxers and a tank top, went outside to take a look. Seconds later, he was knocked to the pavement outside his house. Flash bang grenades detonated, temporarily blinding and deafening him. Three men dressed in black jackets, goggles, and helmets repeatedly hit him with batons and the butts of their guns.

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Submitted on October 14th 2016 by capoti with 2 comments and with 1 Related Links:

1. FBI Facial Recognition Expert Helps Denver PD Arrest Wrong Man Twice For The Same Crime Added by kxh on October 18th 2016.

When they crash, self-driving Mercedes will be programmed to save the driver, and not the person or people they hit. That's the design decision behind the Mercedes Benz's future Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous cars, according to the company's manager of driverless car safety, Christoph von Hugo. Instead of worrying about troublesome details like ethics, Mercedes will just program its cars to save the driver and the car's occupants, in every situation.

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Submitted on October 15th 2016 by geoleo with 5 comments and with 1 Related Links:

1. There is a blind spot in AI research. By Kate Crawford, Ryan Calo Added by AdelleChattre on October 15th 2016.

Hurricanes like Matthew have laid bare the dirty secret of the National Weather Service: its technologies and methods are woefully behind the times.

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Submitted on October 18th 2016 by gladsdotter with 1 comments

On Thursday the Rocky Mountain Institute — an energy-focused think tank known for its boldness in predicting technological change — released a truly sweeping report on the future of vehicles. And if it’s right — something that, to be sure, can be questioned — then we would be on the verge of an energy and technology transformation to rival the sudden decline of the coal industry.

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Submitted on October 13th 2016 by rawlings with 1 comments

Microsoft finally issued a patch that released Windows 10 PCs from reboot hell. So why is ungrateful me just bracing for the next awful thing to happen?

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Submitted on October 12th 2016 by sjvn with 2 comments

The Megyn Kelly incident was supposed to be an anomaly. An unfortunate one-off. A bit of (very public, embarrassing) bad luck. But in the six weeks since Facebook revamped its Trending system — and a hoax about the Fox News Channel star subsequently trended — the site has repeatedly promoted “news” stories that are actually works of fiction. As part of a larger audit of Facebook’s Trending topics, the Intersect logged every news story that trended across four accounts during the workdays from Aug. 31 to Sept. 22.

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Submitted on October 14th 2016 by junglman with 1 comments

It is well understood that elections are increasingly influenced by information technology. Thanks to the Hillary Clinton email scandal and recent fight between Apple and the FBI, the DNC hacks, this election has seen terms like “server,” “encryption,” and “cyber attack” entered debate more than any previous campaign season. Hacks of the DNC and Clinton campaign have shown that technology is no longer a forgotten policy issue, but an active influencer in American politics.

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Submitted on October 13th 2016 by ppp

The DeepMind artificial intelligence (AI) being developed by Google's parent company, Alphabet, can now intelligently build on what's already inside its memory, the system's programmers have announced. Their new hybrid system – called a Differential Neural Computer (DNC) – pairs a neural network with the vast data storage of conventional computers, and the AI is smart enough to navigate and learn from this external data bank.

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Submitted on October 17th 2016 by geoleo

Robin Hanson wants to do scholarship differently. Is there a place for him in academe?

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Submitted on October 18th 2016 by gladsdotter with 1 comments and with 1 Related Links:

1. Why you should read Wealth of Nations, it's not what you think, and the "invisible hand" is a disinformation campaign Added by AdelleChattre on October 18th 2016.

Scientists have set a new world record for plasma pressure - the 'key ingredient' for producing energy from nuclear fusion - which means this clean and sustainable energy source is closer to our grasp than ever before.

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Submitted on October 16th 2016 by kxh

The race to build the world's largest solar power plant is heating up. California-based energy company SolarReserve announced plans for a massive concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Nevada that claims to be the largest of its kind once built.

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Submitted on October 13th 2016 by Pfennig88

The life of a lefty is riddled with inconveniences and obstacles.

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Submitted on October 13th 2016 by Appaloosa with 4 comments

Anxiety about artificial intelligence presents a challenge for the new generation of AI technologies & the data centers that will power them.

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Submitted on October 14th 2016 by drunkenninja

The Wall Street Journal's earlier report about an expected record-setting 2016 in regards to chinese investment in the United States was right. Newegg Inc., one of the most popular online tech-related retailers, is now reportedly owned by chinese company Hangzhao Liaison Interactive Information Technology Co., Ltd. (Liaison Interactive). After September's reports of a significant investment from the Chinese company on Newegg, which would allow the California-based company to "accelerate the pursuit of the company's strategic initiatives" and into high-growth markets such as eSports...

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Submitted on October 15th 2016 by cone

Fraudsters are getting cleverer and more aggressive—but the government is cracking down.

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Submitted on October 18th 2016 by gladsdotter

The Department of Transportation did not mince any words: Starting mid-Saturday, the Samsung Galaxy Note7 will be "considered a forbidden hazardous material under the Federal Hazardous Material Regulations." That means the smartphone will join the same category as flammable aerosols, fireworks, lighter fluid and light-anywhere matches: not allowed aboard a plane, whether it's in your pocket, a carry-on bag or a checked suitcase.

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Submitted on October 16th 2016 by Apolatia with 1 comments and with 1 Related Links:

1. It is now a federal crime to bring a Galaxy Note 7 onto an airplane Added by drunkenninja on October 16th 2016.

The main problem with cars in the city is that they spend 95 percent of their time parked on a valuable piece of land. Carsharing changes that ratio, which gives cities the opportunity to reclaim the parking lot. Sometimes the future arrives humbly in our everyday life, until one day we realize its implications. Carsharing is like that—I was ignoring it until I noticed car2go popping around Berlin:

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Submitted on October 19th 2016 by geoleo

Finding love in the postromantic, postmarital age. By Judith Shulevitz.

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Submitted on October 16th 2016 by AdelleChattre