James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Tech giants slam Trump’s exit from Paris climate accord
President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement has met with widespread dismay from the biggest names in technology. The agreement has been ratified by 147 countries, yet Trump stated that signing it would result in the loss of millions of jobs for Americans and the sum of $3 ...
Uber posts lower first-quarter loss of $708M as head of finance departs
Uber Technologies Inc. has lost yet another of its top executives, the company announced on the back of revealing its first quarter losses. The ride-hailing giant told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that its total first quarter losses amounted to the princely sum of $708 million, down from a loss of $991 million in the ...
Intimidated Uber employees hire own lawyers as sexual harassment probe raises tensions
Working at Uber Technologies Inc. could be quite an intense experience at the moment, as staff are routinely pulled out of the office and grilled by lawyers over the now well-publicized sexual harassment allegations, as well as other alleged wrongdoings. Not surprisingly, this has compelled some staffers to hire their own attorneys. That’s according to an ...
Tech CEOs oppose Texas ‘bathroom bill’ in ongoing support of transgender rights
Many of the biggest names in tech industry raised concerns over the weekend regarding a Texas bill that would require transgender people to use the bathroom allocated for their official sex stated on their birth certificates, regardless of which gender they currently identify with. A letter sent to Texas Governor Greg Abbott asking him not to ...
Google’s AlphaGo AI has been retired so its creators can focus on bigger challenges
Google Inc.’s artificial intelligence Go player, AlphaGo, last week beat Ke Jie, a Chinese 19-year-old considered to be the world’s best Go player. Now, at the top of its game, AlphaGo is retiring. Google announced over the weekend that mastering this highly complex 3,000-year-old game was a great achievement, but now it’s time for the same ...
Lyft tries to drive past embattled Uber with the launch of its own luxury car service
Lyft Inc. is launching its own luxury car services, Lyft Lux and Lux SUV, which will roll out in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, New York and Chicago. The service follows similar Lyft initiatives to give people a wider variety of cars. In 2014 the ride-hailing company launched the premium SUV service Lyft Plus, ...
With Trending Topics redesign, Facebook redoubles efforts to provide more diverse news
Facebook Inc. is redesigning its Trending Topics section so that users will receive a more diverse range of publications, the social media giant announced on Wednesday. Facebook came under considerable criticism last year when it was accused of curating trending news with a liberal bias, further embedding users in social media echo chambers or filter ...
Uber will pay up to $45 million to reverse its underpayment of New York drivers
Uber Technologies Inc. drivers in New York City will be getting their holiday bonuses early this year in the sum of about $900 each, a consequence of the ride-hailing giant underpaying them for two and a half years. Reports revealed today that Uber had been shortchanging drivers in New York after taking more commission than it ...
Leaked ‘Facebook Files’ show how a social media giant struggles to moderate content
A report released on Sunday by The Guardian reveals a lot of detail about how Facebook Inc. tries to keep graphic content off its platform, and not surprisingly it’s a Herculean task. What the investigation unearthed in a series of reports regarding Facebook’s moderation protocols is likely to become a matter of debate and consternation. For ...
FCC moves one step closer to undoing net neutrality rules
The Obama administration’s rules intended to ensure net neutrality are on their way out after the Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to begin implementing Chairman Ajit Pai’s plans to scrap the regulations. The FCC voted 2-1 to start a formal process to proceed with Pai’s changes and dismantle regulations put in place two years ago to ensure ...