James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
‘It’s un-American!’ Tech industry slams Donald Trump’s immigration ban
If many tech leaders were less than pleased when Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, his executive order Friday temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States and keeping out all refugees from Syria has cemented their opposition. That’s understandable from strictly a business point of view, since many major tech ...
It turns out those ‘smart’ baby wearables could be a dumb idea
Over the last few years, more parents have been hooking their infants up to smart devices to monitor their precious ones’ vital signs. Now, a group of medical professionals says they could instead pose a danger. A study just released by the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that some of the devices sold to ...
Facebook makes changes to trending topics to reduce fake news
In an effort to address the problem of fake news that some believe swayed the U.S. presidential election, Facebook Inc. has made some major changes to its Trending Topics section. Today Facebook announced that in the U.S., at least, trending news now will be based on stories that have appeared in a number of publications, ...
First Jeopardy, then Go, and now AI is beating professional poker players
Artificial intelligence has wiped the floor with humans in games such as checkers, chess, Jeopardy! and, in perhaps its finest hour so far, beating flesh, blood and brain cells at the ancient Chinese board game of Go. But strategy games such as those cannot be compared to poker, a game that while asking players to employ logical ...
Trump appoints new FCC chairman, signaling the likely end of net neutrality
President Donald Trump’s decision to make Ajit Pai the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has provoked fears that the end of net neutrality is nigh. There has been some speculation that Trump is no fan of an open Internet and could be the catalyst in overturning what has so far been trenchant support within the ...
Samsung explains why its Note 7 phones exploded – and why it won’t happen again
Following a four-month investigation, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced at a press conference on Sunday the cause of the Galaxy Note 7 overheating and explosions that led to a very costly recall. After looking at possible hardware and software issues and testing 200,000 phones, Samsung, along with three independent industry organizations, came to the conclusion that ...
Slack cleans up conversations with long-awaited threaded messaging
One of the most sought-after features for customers of Slack Technologies Inc.’s team messaging app was something to simplify public conversations by bundling messages with related replies. Slack today debuted its solution: threaded messaging, a feature well-known to email, Twitter and Facebook users that allows anyone to follow up on a conversation topic within a channel ...
IBM CEO Ginni Rometty lays out guidelines for ethical AI development
With great power comes great responsibility: That was the gist of a set of principles for artificial intelligence development laid forth by IBM Corp. Chief Executive Ginni Rometty on Tuesday. Rometty (pictured) has made AI, or what IBM calls cognitive computing, the centerpiece of the tech giant’s attempt to recharge its growth. In a panel discussion at ...
Could this be Microsoft’s long-awaited Surface Phone?
Time and again in recent years, rumors have, ahem, surfaced regarding Microsoft Corp. merging at least the designs in its embattled phone division and its successful Surface line of two-in-one personal computer-tablet hybrid devices. The potential outcome: a Surface phone. As Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer Chris Capossela put it, the device would be a “breakthrough” product, the ...
Facebook will crack down on fake news in Germany ahead of election
Facebook Inc. said Sunday that it will filter fake news stories in Germany in coming weeks, following reports that some politicians in Germany are worried about the influence alleged disinformation might have on the upcoming elections. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (above), who is running for a fourth term, has been the most prominent voice regarding ...