James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
The UK’s digital bank Monzo is coming to the US
The U.K.’s so-called “bank of the future,” Monzo, is launching stateside, the company announced Thursday. The bank has gained popularity in the U.K. over a short period of time. Since it launched in 2015, its customer base has grown to 2.2 million people. Unlike traditional banks, there are no brick-and-mortar outlets, so all the banking is ...
Ford to test next-generation autonomous cars in Detroit
Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday that its next-generation self-driving cars will soon be rolling around the streets of Detroit and its Corktown neighborhood. Argo AI, Ford’s autonomous vehicle arm, said in a press release that Detroit will only see the new third-generation Ford Fusion Hybrid. Older models have already been tested in Pittsburgh, Palo Alto, ...
Deep fake video of Mark Zuckerberg used as warning sign of things to come
A faked video of Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg talking like a technological tyrant will not be taken down, according to a report first published by Vice Tuesday. The very realistic video that appeared on Instagram has the Facebook boss saying things in line with the criticism that has been showered on him from ...
Facebook AI researchers have cloned Bill Gates’ voice with uncanny accuracy
Researchers at Facebook Inc. have managed to clone Microsoft Corp. Bill Gates’ voice so well you won’t be able to tell it’s machine-generated speech. Sean Vasquez and Mike Lewis at Facebook AI Research said Monday they’ve been working on trying to mimic human speech for some time, something that’s clearly difficult given that even the ...
Microsoft pulls massive facial recognition database from internet
Microsoft Corp. this week discreetly pulled a facial recognition database from the internet, according to a report published Thursday. Built back in 2016, the database known as MS Celeb at one point contained 10 million images featuring about 100,000 people, said to be the largest database of its kind. It was only supposed to contain ...
YouTube begins massive crackdown on dubious and hateful content
Google LLC-owned YouTube announced Wednesday that a purge will take place that could see many thousands of channels removed from the site. The company said in a blog post that it’s in the process of removing content that violates its policies faster, while making sure borderline content doesn’t spread far and authoritative content gets seen more. ...
Tech giants sign letter condemning UK agency’s plan to spy on encrypted messages
Microsoft Corp., Google LLC, Facebook Inc.-owned WhatsApp and Apple Inc. have signed a letter condemning a U.K. government agency’s proposal to spy on its citizens. The letter, which has 47 signatories including tech firms, security experts and civil society groups, is highly critical of the Government Communications Headquarters or GCHQ proposal to enable eavesdropping on encrypted chats. ...
Twitter delves into how to deal with white nationalists
Twitter Inc. is stepping into the delicate problem of what to do about white nationalism on its site. The problem is, do you ban a white supremacist who can manipulate a sentence in ways that don’t really make him look hateful of others. Do some of them have good points regarding certain topics, and should ...
Facebook and Twitter remove accounts linked to Iranian disinformation campaign
Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. said Tuesday that they have removed a number of accounts linked to an ongoing Iran-backed campaign to disseminate misleading content in the U.S. and other countries. In a blog post, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, said 51 Facebook accounts had been removed, as well as 36 Pages, seven ...
Within Google you can now order food without using other apps
Starting today, you don’t even have to leave Google search, Maps or Assistant to order something to eat. Google LLC has made this possible by forming partnerships with delivery companies such as DoorDash, Postmates and ChowNow. But you no longer need to download their apps or visit websites. It’s simple enough: When you are in ...