Doctors Fear Google Skin Check App Will Lead to ‘Tsunami of Overdiagnosis’
By: Guardian May 20, 2021 Google’s entry into health diagnostics has alarmed health experts who fear a new artificial intelligence tool to identify skin conditions could lead to overdiagnosis, or rare and complex skin conditions being missed. At a technology conference in the US on Tuesday, Google revealed there are almost 10bn Google […]
Elon Musk Says Tesla Will No Longer Accept Bitcoin Due to Fossil Fuel Use
By: The Guardian May 13, 2021 Tesla has suspended customers’ use of bitcoin to purchase its vehicles, Elon Musk said on Wednesday, citing concerns about the use of fossil fuel for bitcoin mining. Bitcoin, the world’s biggest digital currency, fell almost 17% after the tweet to its lowest point since the beginning of March. It […]
How Apple’s AirTag Turns us Into Unwitting Spies in a Vast Surveillance Network
By: The Guardian May 17, 2020 Apple has launched the latest version of its operating system, iOS 14.5, which features the much-anticipated app tracking transparency function, bolstering the tech giant’s privacy credentials. But iOS 14.5 also introduced support for the new Apple AirTag, which risks doing the opposite. For the uninitiated, an AirTag […]
Amazon’s Ring is the Largest Civilian Surveillance Network the US Has Ever Seen
By: The Guardian May 18, 2021 In a 2020 letter to management, Max Eliaser, an Amazon software engineer, said Ring is “simply not compatible with a free society”. We should take his claim seriously. Ring video doorbells, Amazon’s signature home security product, pose a serious threat to a free and democratic society. Not only […]
Gig Economy Couriers Should be Eligible For a Pension, Says UK Regulator
By: Guardian May 17, 2021 The head of the UK’s pension regulator has called on gig economy companies to recognise the employment rights of those who work for them and set up workplace pensions. Charles Counsell, the chief executive of the Pensions Regulator, said the government-backed body was already working closely with Uber […]
Censorship, Surveillance and Profits: A Hard Bargain for Apple in China
By: New York Times May 17, 2021 GUIYANG, China — On the outskirts of this city in a poor, mountainous province in southwestern China, men in hard hats recently put the finishing touches on a white building a quarter-mile long with few windows and a tall surrounding wall. There was little sign of its […]
UK Government Lays Out Plans to Protect Users Online
By: BBC May 12, 2021 Social media firms will have to remove harmful content quickly or potentially face multi-billion-pound fines under new legislation. The government’s Online Safety Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech, comes with a promise of protecting debate. It is “especially” geared at keeping children safe and says “democratically important” content should […]
Army of Fake Fans Boosts China’s Messaging on Twitter
By: AP News May 12, 2021 BRUSSELS (AP) — China’s ruling Communist Party has opened a new front in its long, ambitious war to shape global public opinion: Western social media. Liu Xiaoming, who recently stepped down as China’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, is one of the party’s most successful foot soldiers […]
Low-Skill Workers Aren’t a Problem to Be Fixed
By: The Atlantic April 23, 2021 Recently, I was mesmerized by a prep cook. At a strip-mall Korean restaurant, I caught a glimpse of the kitchen and stood dumbfounded for a few minutes, watching a guy slicing garnishes, expending half the energy I would if I were doing the same at home and at […]