James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
EU will launch an AI lie detector at various borders to spot unwanted travelers
The European Union is about to employ border control guards with a difference: They aren’t human. Soon people passing through the borders of Hungary, Latvia and Greece may be faced with the usual “Do you have anything to declare” question and the judge of the answer will be a lie-detection system powered by artificial intelligence. ...
DoJ indicts Chinese hackers for hacking US and European aerospace companies
The U.S. Department of Justice today charged 10 Chinese spies for hacking aerospace companies in the U.S. and Europe for a number of years. The indictment, dated Oct. 25, states that six hackers, two Chinese intelligence operatives and two insiders were involved in a conspiracy lasting from 2010 to 2015 to steal information related to ...
After torrent of criticism for allowing hate speech, social network Gab goes offline
The social network Gab, used by the man accused of killing 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday, is now offline. The site, which has about 800,000 users, prided itself for embracing “free speech and expression.” It has also been criticized for offering a soapbox to disseminators of hate speech. An account belonging to the ...
Google fired 48 people over sexual harassment, some allegedly with golden handshakes
Google LLC said today it has fired 48 people since 2016 over sexual harassment allegations, and that included 13 senior managers at the company. The news followed an expose in the New York Times Thursday, which alleged that the man behind Android, Andy Rubin (pictured), was let go in 2014 over allegations of sexual misconduct. ...
Chinese and Russian spies are listening into Donald Trump’s phone conversations, says US intelligence
President Donald Trump still uses his three iPhones — two official, one personal — on a regular basis to call friends, business partners and acquaintances, despite warnings from U.S. intelligence that Chinese and Russian agents may be privy to the president’s conversations. Trump has been told numerous times that he should use the White House landline, ...
Thalmic Labs introduces custom-made smart glasses for everyday life
Canadian startup Thalmic Labs, now called North, is hoping to do what other companies have failed to do: Get people to start wearing smart glasses. The Amazon.com Inc.-backed startup has said that its glasses, called “Focals,” are as much about style and experience as they are about the technology that drives them. As North co-founder ...
After meditating on his behavior, Linus Torvalds returns to Linux
Linux creator Linus Torvalds has returned after taking a break to think about his sometimes intemperate behavior. In September, Torvalds decided to take a sabbatical following years of criticism regarding his public outbursts and his poor treatment of developers. It’s alleged that at one point he even advocated “physical intimidation and violence.” “I need to change ...
Twitter employee reportedly acted as Saudi Arabian spy
Trolls worked for the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his advisors to discredit slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi (pictured) and other critics of the government on Twitter, according to a New York Times report Saturday. But most interesting, it seems they also had a man on the inside. According to the report, a “troll farm” consisting on ...
Ahead of elections, Facebook opens up a ‘war room’ to fight fake news
Facebook Inc. gave reporters a tour of its “war room” Wednesday, explaining its latest efforts to tackle election interference. “As our teams have gotten smarter, so have the adversaries seeking to misuse our services,” Samidh Chakrabarti, Facebook’s director of product management and civic engagement, wrote in a post Thursday. With the Brazil and U.S. elections drawing ...
Google’s Chinese search engine now seems to be a certainty
The controversial search engine that Google LLC has been developing in China might soon become a reality, despite objections from inside the company and from some critics. Speaking on Monday at the WIRED 25 Summit, Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai (pictured) seemed unfazed regarding criticism the company has faced for once pulling out of China ...