Search results for "us government"

Google affiliate scraps plan for Toronto smart-city project

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Google abandoned its smart-city development in Toronto on Thursday after more than two years of controversy over privacy concerns and amid economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic. A unit of Google’s parent company Alphabet had been proposing to turn a rundown part of Toronto’s waterfront into a […]

The rise of conversational AI

Facebook has released a new chatbot named Blender, which the company claims is designed to handle conversation on any topic and also to show empathy when interacting with humans. The name ‘Blender’ has been aptly used to define its capabilities of merging several conversational skills at once. The chatbot is developed from what Facebook calls […]

Tech facts you need to know this week

Facebook announced the first 20 members of its oversight board, which will decide what controversial content is permitted on both Facebook and Instagram. The board will make rulings over what content will be allowed on the social network. Tesla is apparently preparing to restart operations at its factory in California which could be a possible violation […]

Here come COVID-19 tracing apps - and privacy trade-offs

By MATT O’BRIEN and CHRISTINA LARSON Associated Press As governments around the world consider how to monitor new coronavirus outbreaks while reopening their societies, many are starting to bet on smartphone apps to help stanch the pandemic. But their decisions on which technologies to use — and how far those allow authorities to peer into […]

How Covid-19 is driving demand in clean energy technologies

Cities around the world are usually enveloped in pollution however, not right now. One of the few silver linings of the current Covid-19 pandemic especially for city dwellers worldwide, has been the improvement in the environment. Carbon emissions are set to decline by almost 8%, with a rising demand for renewable energy. According to the […]

The potential of gigabit broadband

Gigabit speed broadband has the potential to add a possible $50 billion to the British economy over the course of the next 5 years. Despite the UK making steady progress over the last 5 years in its attempt to deliver full-fibre connectivity to homes around the country, it still falls behind other European leaders. Accessing […]

Broadening 5G deployment

According to experts, the incredible speed of this technology and data delivery should bring vital changes across industries and to almost all economic sectors, unleashing a significant IOT ecosystem and enabling applications including advanced real-time communication, remote surgery, cloud-assisted autonomous vehicles, to name but a few. 5G has been highly anticipated as it represents a […]

What can MNOs do right now?

As the world is taken over by the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of industries are attempting to understand how they will cope through the course of the crisis. For Mobile Network Operators (MNO’s), it is a chance to serve their communities and develop trust and goodwill. While the term social distancing has and undoubtedly become […]

Google's growth slows as pandemic infests advertising market

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Google reported its weakest revenue growth in nearly five years as the pandemic-driven recession began to shrivel its advertising sales in the first quarter. The January-March earnings for Google parent Alphabet offer a first look at how the digital ad market has fared amid widespread […]

The right kind of contact tracing

Contact tracing via smartphone is an innovative and powerful way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 however, it should not be done at the cost of individual human rights. This dilemma seems to be in the middle of all attempts to use mobile technology for epidemiological good around the world. Fortunately, there is a growing […]