James Farrell
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Volvo’s self-driving car technology meets formidable foe in Australia’s kangaroo
The Volvo Car Group’s animal detection system in its self-driving car can handle most animals, but the hopping around of Australia’s most famous marsupial is giving the system fits. Volvo said the technology, the “Large Animal Detection system,” had no problems with other animals such as deer or caribou. But after testing in Australia, Volvo ...
Apologies echo around Silicon Valley as women entrepreneurs call out sexual harassment
The sound of the word “sorry” keeps ringing through Silicon Valley following even more allegations of sexual misconduct brought against venture capitalists. Perhaps that’s a sign of progress in the old and young boys club that runs tech’s epicenter. Yet to many, the apologies, such as one from Dave McClure of 500 Startups entitled “I’m a ...
Instagram sets artificial intelligence loose on toxic speech and spam
Facebook Inc.-owned Instagram unveiled on Thursday its new method to weed out toxic content and spam: an artificial intelligence system called DeepText. The improved content filter goes a step further than the tools Instagram had previously used to block certain content. Before, users could either turn on a filter that would block content containing pre-selected words ...
Canadian court orders Google to block some global search results, sparking censorship worries
Canada’s Supreme Court Wednesday upheld a ruling against Google Inc. ordering the tech giant to de-list entire domains and websites from its search index, raising the hackles of free-speech advocates. The case, Google v. Equustek, goes back to 2011 when British Columbia-based Equustek Solutions filed a complaint with the Supreme Court of British Columbia. It ...
Uber wants to help the aged with new ‘request a ride’ feature
You can now have an Uber take you to your destination without having to own a smartphone, or requiring necessarily even knowing what the Uber app is. Uber Technologies Inc. today announced that in an effort to help “loved ones,” with a focus on the aged, it will now allow users to request a ride ...
Google expected to be hit with record antitrust fine
Google Inc.’s parent company Alphabet Inc. could be looking at a record fine from the European Union following a probe into the company allegedly promoting its shopping services above smaller competitors, according to a report published by Bloomberg. The fine is set to be bigger than the $1.2 billion that Intel Corp. was hit with ...
With yet another sexual harassment scandal, tech finally confronts its dirty little secret
A string of sexual harassment allegations late last week led to venture capitalist Justin Caldbeck first taking a leave of absence and then, over the weekend, resigning outright. On the back of what just happened at Uber Technologies Inc., it’s a sign that the tech industry may at long last be waking up to the ...
Trump asks tech leaders to ‘dream big,’ execs ask him to cut regulations
President Donald Trump met with tech executives again on Thursday as part of Tech Week at the White House, this time to discuss drone regulations and 5G communications infrastructure. Following Tuesday’s meeting with execs, which was centered around the government’s technological infrastructure, Thursday’s meeting on “American Leadership in Emerging Technology” was focused more on what the government ...
Trump administration stalls and may scrap U.S. ‘startup’ visa for entrepreneurs
Foreign entrepreneurs hoping to work in the U.S. on a “startup visa” have had their hopes dashed after an anonymous source inside the government said the already approved visa rule might not come to fruition after all. According to an article published by the San Francisco Chronicle and another in the Wall Street Journal on ...
Uber embarks on six-month plan to make things right, starting with tipping option
The sudden departure late Tuesday night of Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Travis Kalanick makes anything else happening at the embattled ride-hailing giant look pale in comparison. But earlier Tuesday, in an effort to regain the public’s confidence after a long period of turmoil, Uber said it has embarked on a “180 Days of Change” mission ...