News

US lets autonomous vehicle bypass human-driver safety rules

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — For the first time, the U.S. government’s highway safety agency has approved a company’s request to deploy a self-driving vehicle that doesn’t need to meet the same federal safety standards for cars and trucks driven by humans. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration granted temporary approval […]

Uber loses $1.1B investing in food delivery, driverless cars

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Uber is still losing money as it expands its food delivery business and develops technology for driverless cars. But revenue for its rides business nearly tripled in the final three months of last year as the company picked up more passengers around the world. That […]

Facebook, YouTube: Firm must stop scraping faces from sites

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Facebook joined YouTube, Twitter and payment service Venmo on Wednesday in demanding that a facial recognition company stop harvesting user images to identify the people in them, which the startup does as part of its work with police. Facebook said it has demanded New York-based Clearview AI stop accessing […]

Twitter to label altered media, remove if it may cause harm

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Twitter will begin to label and in some cases remove doctored or manipulated photos, audio and videos that are designed to mislead people. The company said Tuesday that the new rules prohibit sharing synthetic or manipulated material that’s likely to cause harm. Material that is […]

Disney Plus hits nearly 29M subscribers in 3 months

By TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Disney said its Disney Plus streaming service reached nearly 29 million paid subscribers in less than three months, an impressive start for what the company has positioned as its future as more people drop cable subscriptions. But as expected, starting up a new service comes […]

Google 4Q revenue grew, but not enough for Wall Street

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google’s revenue grew, but Wall Street wanted more. Parent company Alphabet‘s stock fell more than 4% after financial results came out Monday, even as profits rose 19% and beat expectations for the last three months of the year. Helped by lower taxes, Alphabet said Monday […]

WHO working with Google to combat virus misinformation

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization is working with Google to ensure that people get facts from WHO first when they search for information about the new virus that recently emerged in China. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the opening of WHO’s executive board meeting on Monday that social […]

In fight to survive, US dairy farmers look for any tech edge

By IVAN MORENO Associated Press PICKETT, Wis. (AP) — At Rosendale Dairy, each of the 9,000 cows has a microchip implanted in an ear that workers can scan with smartphones for up-to-the-minute information on how the animal is doing — everything from their nutrition to their health history to their productivity. Feed is calibrated to […]

Facebook fights spread of misinformation about virus online

By DAVID KLEPPER The Associated Press Facebook says it’s working to limit the spread of misinformation and potentially harmful content about the coronavirus as bogus claims about the ongoing outbreak circulate online. Kang-Xing Jin, Facebook’s head of health, announced that the social media platform will begin removing posts that include false claims or conspiracy theories […]

Twitter, Pinterest crack down on voter misinformation

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press Twitter and Pinterest are taking new steps to root out voting misinformation designed to suppress participation in the November elections. Twitter unveiled a new tool Wednesday that will make it easier for users in the U.S. to report tweets containing misleading information about registering to vote or casting a ballot. […]