James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
FTC is investigating privacy policies at top internet service providers
The Federal Trade Commission Tuesday said it’s beginning an investigation into how some of the U.S.’s top internet service providers handle customer data. In a press release published Tuesday, the FTC said that it will look into how such companies “collect, retain, use, and disclose information about consumers and their devices.” Those companies include AT&T ...
McDonalds acquires Israeli AI company Dynamic Yield
McDonald’s Corp. has made its largest acquisition in two decades, buying artificial intelligence company Dynamic Yield Ltd. In a blog post Monday, the fast-food giant announced it’s buying the Israel-based firm, which specializes in personalization and decision logic. The company didn’t reveal the size of the purchase, according to sources familiar with the company, it’s ...
Following New Zealand terror attack, Facebook admits it has a problem
Facebook Inc. said it’s reviewing its livestreaming policy after the terrorist attack at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 50 people dead was streamed on Facebook itself. The social media giant has said the attacker’s livestream was not taken down fast enough, adding that its artificial intelligence systems failed to flag the video ...
New York City to get self-driving bus shuttle
An autonomous vehicle will soon start serving people on the streets on New York City, but it won’t be going very far. Boston-based Optimus Ride plans to deploy its self-driving shuttles sometime in the second quarter of 2019, but you’ll only find them at Brooklyn Navy Yard. This 300-acre industrial complex is home to around 400 ...
Facebook settles with ACLU over discriminatory ads
Facebook Inc. said Tuesday it has settled with the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations to the tune of $5 million after being accused of discriminatory practices related to ad placements. A number of articles were published over the last two years relating to how Facebook enabled advertisers to exclude certain minorities from various ...
Facebook loses two of its top executives
Two of Facebook Inc.’s top executives will soon be leaving the building, news that comes just a week after Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg revealed the company will be focusing on more privacy-protective services. Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, who has been with Facebook since 2005, will be leaving along with WhatsApp head Chris Daniels. Daniels ...
Facebook is now under criminal investigation for data-sharing deals
A criminal investigation is underway into Facebook Inc.’s data deals with some of world’s leading tech companies, according to a report published in The New York Times today. According to that report, a grand jury in New York has been looking into how companies made deals with Facebook to acquire information relating to contact information ...
Microsoft’s Seeing AI app now lets users explore photographs by touch
Microsoft Corp. said today it has taken another step toward making the days a little easier to navigate for visually impaired people by introducing some new features for its Seeing AI app. Prior to the updates, the app focused mainly on using the camera of a smartphone to identify objects and text. Using artificial intelligence ...
Facebook takes down, later restores Warren’s ads calling for company breakup
Facebook Inc. might have shot itself in the foot after taking down ads made by Senator Elizabeth Warren that were run Friday. According to Politico, which first published the story, Facebook had removed several ads made by Warren’s presidential campaign that called for the breakup of big tech companies, including Facebook. Warren said if she filled ...
Under fire, Facebook finally cracks down on anti-vaccination content
Following weeks of censure in the media and from the public concerning Facebook Inc. allowing anti-vaccine content to flood the platform, the company now says enough is enough. In a blog post today, Facebook said it’s working on a number of ways to prevent vaccine misinformation from appearing in people’s news feeds. At the same time, Facebook ...