James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
The sexbot revolution is on its way, with a murky underside
Humans are about to become much more intimate with inanimate but increasingly capable sex toys. That’s according to a new report published by the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, which charts out a world that will soon go well beyond lifeless vinyl blow-up dolls. The report, “Our Sexual Future with Robots,” details how companies have taken ...
As Tesla factory is labeled a ‘predator zone,’ tech industry scrambles to solve its man problem
A slew of scandals highlighting some of Silicon Valley’s less admirable traits such as its seemingly pervasive “bro culture” has opened a can of worms that for a long time needed opening. Now venture capitalists and others in the Valley are looking for ways to get rid of those creepy creatures altogether. Yet even amid the ...
Mark Pincus and Reid Hoffman launch ‘WTF’ platform to reshape the Democratic party
Two Silicon Valley billionaires, Mark Pincus and Reid Hoffman, have created an online “People’s Lobby” called Win the Future, or WTF, to help rejuvenate the Democrat party Although some view the move as a vanity project, Pincus, co-founder of Zynga Inc., and Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn Corp., said they want to breathe life back into what ...
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 ...
