James Farrell
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Russia targeted all 50 states, according to Senate Intelligence Committee Report
Election systems in 50 states were targeted by Russian government-backed hackers, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. The report, which was heavily redacted, states that interference began as early as 2014 and went on until 2017, although it adds that there is no proof that votes were changed or ...
After backlash, DoorDash will change controversial tipping policy
Delivery app DoorDash Inc. said Tuesday night that it will change its tipping policy following a torrent of criticism. The company came under fire recently for its payment policy. When customers tipped drivers, the drivers weren’t exactly getting the tips. Instead, DoorDash paid a guaranteed amount and if the tip was generous, it went to the ...
FTC reportedly to accuse Facebook of misleading use of phone numbers and facial recognition
The Federal Trade Commission will reportedly accuse Facebook Inc. Wednesday of not informing its customers of how it used their phone numbers and how it employed its facial recognition technology. According to The Washington Post, the complaint will allege that Facebook deceived its users, first by allowing advertisers to take advantage of a two-factor authentication ...
Passengers livid after Uber charges them 100X more than advertised fare
Some passengers riding with Uber Technologies Inc. got the shock of their lives this week when their fare cost them more than $1,000 for just a short ride. People took to Twitter this week stating that they’d been charged more than 100 times more than the fare should have been. “This happened to me tonight,” ...
Elon Musk says Neuralink is almost ready to start reading human minds
Elon Musk revealed Tuesday evening that his company Neuralink and its brain-machine interface technology is almost ready for human testing. Since the company was founded in 2017, it has been hypersecretive about what its ambitions are. On Tuesday at an event in San Francisco, Musk made it clear that what the company hopes to achieve ...
Google employee involved with walkout protest leaves the company
A Google LLC employee involved with last year’s walkout has left the company, Bloomberg reported today. The person in question, Meredith Whittaker, was heavily involved in the protest in which Google employees all over the globe took to the streets over the treatment of female employees and the way Google handed sexual misconduct cases. Whittaker had also ...
Kyndi raises $20 million for its ‘explainable AI’ platform
Silicon Valley-based artificial intelligence startup Kyndi Inc. announced today that it has closed a $20 million funding round. In a blog post, the company said it will use the Series B round to expand its team, in particular the sales and engineering teams. The round was led by Intel Capital, with UL Ventures and PivotNorth Capital, previous ...
Instagram strikes back at bullying with novel new anti-abuse features
Facebook Inc.-owned Instagram announced Thursday some new anti-bullying features the company hopes will drastically reduce abuse on the platform. In a blog post, the company said it has invested heavily over the years in artificial intelligence that can sometimes spot abuse after it happens. It hasn’t always been enough, though, and Instagram has found itself ...
British Airways looking at record $230M fine over last year’s data breach
The Information Commissioner’s Office today announced that British Airways could be fined £183.39 million ($230 million) for a data breach that occurred last year. At the time it was said the hack involved “malicious software on a customer support product hosted by an external supplier.” An investigation ensued, with the company waiting to see what ...
Appeals court rules Amazon liable for defective products from outside vendors
A federal court in Philadelphia ruled Wednesday that Amazon.com Inc. can be held liable for defective products that have been sold by outside vendors. Such a ruling could have profound consequences for Amazon, given that a huge part of its business is other companies selling products through its Marketplace. They can use Amazon’s warehouses for storage, ...