A Chinese app download has exploded over the past 24 hours. The app — developed by Momo, has become an overnight sensation after it began circulating. Hashtags related to the app quickly became some of the hottest on microblogging sites. One Chinese tweep tweeted that he downloaded it and created himself as Leonardo diCaprio: The…
There have been many organizations recently that have taken upon themselves the task of writing principles for ethically aligned artificial intelligence design. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers [IEEE] is the most recent, forming a working group on Empathic Technologies, whose members include engineers and organizations as well as academics, policy-makers, and individuals interested…
Humans help train artificial intelligence, so someone may be listening to what you tell Siri, Google Assistant or Alexa. Here’s what to do if you have a problem with that. This article entitled Hi, Alexa. How Do I Stop You From Listening In On Me? by Brian X. Chen, makes suggestions on how to stop…
Marking the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Conference.
Instead of regular attempts at securing one’s own computer, which still leaves it open to privacy problems since it is still dependent on ISPs, many open source developers have been thinking of ways to help. Two new technologies have come up to help in cases of internet shutdowns, which we are seeing more of every…
I’d blush if I could: closing gender divides in digital skills through education is the name of a new much-touted UNESCO report published in May 2019. It was written in collaboration with the EQUALS Skills Coalition, a partnership of governments and organizations dedicated to promoting gender balance in the technology sector by championing equality of…
Netblocks, a nonprofit organization that monitors the internet in real time, is reporting an Internet cut across Ethiopia today, Saturday June 22nd, 2019, amid reports of coup attempt targeting Amhara regional state government. Nationwide connectivity currently now at 10% with capital and most states offline. The incident is ongoing. Netblocks says that it is as…
In case you haven’t heard, last week, the New York Times reported that the US had attacked the Russian power grid as a ‘warning’. This week, Russia issued a counter warning of cyberwar. The New York Times had reported that the US Cyber Command, the arm of the Pentagon that runs the military’s offensive and…
