Last minute geek

1. Tesla promises ‘one million robo-taxis’ in 2020
(English/engadget)

Two days ahead of its first-quarter earnings disclosure, the company had an event to explain its autonomous technology to investors. The talks were probably denser than the average shareholder was expecting ...

2. AI generates non-stop stream of death metal
(English/engadget)

There's a limit to the volume of death metal humans can reproduce -- their fingers and vocal chords can only handle so much. Thanks to technology, however, you'll never have to go short. CJ ...

3. CIA claims Huawei is funded by Chinese state security
(English/engadget)

The US has rattled its saber more than once trying to deter countries from using Huawei technology, but it hasn't publicly disclosed much of what it's worried about. You might have a better ...

4. Hitting the Books: How calculus is helping unravel DNA's secrets
(English/engadget)

... books on science and technology we can find and... Read all  ...

5. Halifax! I'm speaking at Atlseccon on April 24 (then Toronto, Ottawa, Berlin and Houston!)
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... make it! From there, I'm headed to Toronto, where I'm giving a keynote called The Internet Isn’t What We Fight FOR, It’s What We Fight WITH on April 29th at the FITC Technology and Creativity Conference. Then ...

6. The Antitrust Case Against Facebook: a turning point in the debate over Big Tech and monopoly
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... ever falling afoul of orthodox antitrust law. Now, Dina Srinivasan, a self-described technology entrepreneur and advertising executive who trained Yale Law School has done it again, with a magesterial, ...

7. Effective July 15, British porn consumers will be required entrust their sexual tastes to private companies' badly secured databases
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... movie censor board -- will decide which sites will need to use "age verification" technology. Read the rest Read all  ...

8. I bought the second installment in Neal Shusterman's Scythe series before I finished the first book
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... The Thunderhead is an AI that has only our best intentions at heart! Amazon Cloud Services Rejoice! Quantum computing or some advancements in cloud technology have allowed for the elimination of human ...

9. BrainCorp brings its autonomous robot tech to your local supermarket
(English/engadget)

We often frame new automation technology as a grave and immediate threat to the jobs and livelihoods of the humans whose tasks the machines take over. Tell that to the custodians at Sea-Tac airport who ...

10. Ford CEO: we "overestimated" self-driving cars
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... he believed in the technology's potential. "When we bring this thing to market, it's going to be really powerful," Hackett added. Ford CEO says the company 'overestimated' self-driving cars [Amrita ...

11. Illinois almost passed a bill that banned devices that record you without your consent -- and then Big Tech stepped in
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... up to $50,000. But after technology trade associations, led by the Internet Association objected, claimed that the state’s definition of a “digital device” was too broad, and that the Act would lead to ...

12. 70s fonts back in fashion
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... of advancing technology, Jen says: As phone and TV screens have improved, designers don’t have to worry as much about pixelation when working with curves. But nostalgia is a powerful factor, too. Elizabeth ...

13. "How to take a picture of a black hole," a 2017 TED talk by grad student Katie Bouman who then helped make it happen
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... because of lots of different people from many backgrounds." In September, Bouman will start her teaching career as an assistant professor at the California Institute of Technology. Read the rest  ...

14. Kate McKinnon to star as Elizabeth Holmes in limited series for Hulu
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... business, technology and economics correspondent, and producers Taylor Dunn and Victoria Thompson. Jennifer Lawrence will play Holmes in a movie based on John Carreyrou's bestseller Bad Blood, expected ...

15. Once again, Facebook blames an algorithm instead of taking responsibility
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... Fishman’s answer “triggered something inside me.” “‘You mean we have all this technology and we can’t pick up gore?’” Cleaver said he told Fishman. “‘How many heads must explode before they pick it up? ...

16. Chicago is demanding that children on bail wear private-sector ankle-cuffs with mics that can record them without their consent
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... children indefinitely. The system illustrates the shitty technology adoption curve neatly: when we have a terrible idea for technology, we first inflict it on people who don't get to complain, until the ...

17. Learn a second language fast and fluently with this app
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... phrases quickly through short, easily digestible lessons while Mondly fine-tunes your pronunciation through the latest speech recognition technology. You'll also get essential tools like a verb conjugator, ...

18. EFF is hiring an international policy director!
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... law and intermediary liability issues. The role combines strategy, management, coalition building, and policy analysis. This role will be key in helping to guide EFF's future engagement around technology ...

19. Inboard's electric scooters will only be available for shared fleets
(English/engadget)

Last fall, electric skateboard startup Inboard Technology announced plans for its first electric scooter. Dubbed the Glider, consumers could pre-order the device with a $349 deposit placed toward the $1,299 ...

20. This week in tech history: Apple releases the first iPad
(English/engadget)

At Engadget, we spend every day looking at how technology will shape the future. But it's also important to look back at how far we've come. That's what This Week in Tech History does. Join ...

21. Googler uprising leads to shut down of AI ethics committee that included the president of the Heritage Foundation
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

This week, thousands of googlers and many others (including me) signed an open letter objecting to the inclusion of Heritage Foundation president Kay Coles James on the company's Advanced Technology External ...

22. The New York Times's chilling multimedia package on China's use of "smart city" tech to create an open-air prison
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... known, but less-well-understood are the systems of oppressive technology that are being deployed outside of these prison camps: mandatory mobile malware that spies on every step you take, used in combination ...

23. EU believes BMW, Daimler and VW colluded over clean emissions tech
(English/engadget)

The European Commission believes BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen worked together to delay clean emissions technology. Last fall, the EU Commission launched a formal investigation to determine if the automakers ...

24. Google dissolves newly formed AI ethics board
(English/engadget)

Google's Advanced Technology External Advisory Council was supposed to oversee its work on artificial intelligence and ensure it doesn't cross any lines. Now, the council wouldn't be able ...

25. MIT suspends its research partnerships with Huawei and ZTE
(English/engadget)

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is putting its funding and research ties with Huawei and ZTE on hold due to US investigations against the Chinese companies. The university will also add extra ...