James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
A software bot is coming for your job. What will you do now?
One of the overriding concerns about technology today is that artificial intelligence and robots will soon take many of our jobs away. Even technology leaders are stoking those fears. Only a few weeks ago, Tesla Motors Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk talked about the end of the workforce as we know it, alluding that a Marxian ...
With deal done, Microsoft wants LinkedIn to empower the public
Microsoft Corp. has finally closed the deal on its LinkedIn Corp. acquisition, using the occasion to announce lofty intentions to empower a disaffected public. Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said he was excited and enthusiastic about the $26 billion deal finally coming together after a series of regulatory clearances, and in a blog post he outlined ...
Is Donald Trump the best thing ever to happen to Twitter?
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s use of Twitter Inc.’s service has prompted some changes on the platform and responses from the site itself this week. Most recently, Trump’s diplomatic acumen came into question regarding tweets relating to China and Taiwan. Trump’s phone call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and subsequent tweets about the call caused ripples ...
Microsoft, Facebook, Google and Facebook join to battle extremist content
Tech giants Facebook Inc., Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Twitter Inc. have pledged to get tough on terrorism in a new effort to cull extremist content from their networks. The idea is that the four companies will create a shared database of “unique digital footprints” that will be known as “hashes.” Hashes refer to content ...
Report: Visa quotas from Brexit could harm UK’s tech dominance in Europe
The U.K. risks losing its position as the leader of tech in the region if visa quotas for skilled tech staff are not met as a result of the Brexit plan, according to analysis from Balderton Capital, a venture capital investor in Europe. According to the report, the U.K. is still the most desirable destination ...
Reddit CEO admits meddling with critical posts, heightening online speech issues
Reddit cofounder and Chief Executive Steve Huffman has admitted meddling with user comments, inflaming recent controversies concerning the user-generated news link site. “I abused my power to give the bullies a hard time,” Steve Huffman told the Washington Post. In light of the recent furor over what has been perceived as the promulgation of “fake news” ...
More skilled tech workers moving over the pond with UK’s special tech visas
Since the Brexit referendum this year, the U.K. has seen a sharp rise in applications for special tech visas, especially from U.S. citizens. According to The Telegraph, the visa, created to entice skilled tech workers over to the UK, was aimed at non-European Union workers in the tech industry. The government organization Tech City UK ...
Report: Facebook developing censorship tool for Chinese market
It’s no secret that Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has been trying in earnest to woo China into allowing the social network to set up shop in the Communist-run country. Zuckerberg’s efforts have included controversial trips to China in which the young CEO has run through Tiananmen Square under a cloud of the country’s notorious ...
Peter Thiel seeking Silicon Valley ‘brain trust’ to guide Trump on tech issues
Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel has been approaching other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs in an attempt to form a “brain trust” to help President-elect Donald Trump. Although Thiel, a member of the Trump transition team, declined to comment to the Washington Post when approached, The Post reports that Thiel has struggled to find members for the ...
A programmer regrets creating code designed to deceive teen girls
“Boiler room” workers at investment firms quickly realize that their position as “financial consultants” actually can mean that they’re “thieves.” Now, a software programmer has found himself in the same situation. A story published last week shows how one programmer ended up working for pretty much the antithesis of his own ethics. Canadian programmer Bill Sourour had ...