Day: August 9, 2021

Oppo’s latest under-screen camera may finally be capable of good photos – I hate the notch!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Until recently, there was only one smartphone on the market equipped with an under-screen camera: last year’s ZTE Axon 20 5G. Other players such as Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi had also been testing this futuristic tech, but given the subpar image quality back then, it’s no wonder that phone makers largely stuck with punch-hole cameras Read more about Oppo’s latest under-screen camera may finally be capable of good photos – I hate the notch![…]

WhatsApp head says Apple’s child safety update is a ‘surveillance system’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

One day after Apple confirmed plans for new software that will allow it to detect images of child abuse on users’ iCloud photos, Facebook’s head of WhatsApp says he is “concerned” by the plans. In a thread on Twitter, Will Cathcart called it an “Apple built and operated surveillance system that could very easily be Read more about WhatsApp head says Apple’s child safety update is a ‘surveillance system’[…]

Hundreds of AI tools have been built to catch covid. None of them helped.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The AI community, in particular, rushed to develop software that many believed would allow hospitals to diagnose or triage patients faster, bringing much-needed support to the front lines—in theory. In the end, many hundreds of predictive tools were developed. None of them made a real difference, and some were potentially harmful. That’s the damning Read more about Hundreds of AI tools have been built to catch covid. None of them helped.[…]

Pfizer Hikes Price of Covid-19 Vaccine by 25% in Europe

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Pfizer is raising the price of its covid-19 vaccine in Europe by over 25% under a newly negotiated contract with the European Union, according to a report from the Financial Times. Competitor Moderna is also hiking the price of its vaccine in Europe by roughly 10%. Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine is already expected to generate the Read more about Pfizer Hikes Price of Covid-19 Vaccine by 25% in Europe[…]

Hackers leak full EA data after failed extortion attempt

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The hackers who breached Electronic Arts last month have released the entire cache of stolen data after failing to extort the company and later sell the stolen files to a third-party buyer. The data, dumped on an underground cybercrime forum on Monday, July 26, is now being widely distributed on torrent sites. According to a Read more about Hackers leak full EA data after failed extortion attempt[…]

How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy institutes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A recent scientific paper proposed that, like Big Tobacco in the Seventies, Big Tech thrives on creating uncertainty around the impacts of its products and business model. One of the ways it does this is by cultivating pockets of friendly academics who can be relied on to echo Big Tech talking points, giving them added Read more about How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy institutes[…]

Major U.K. science funder to require grantees to make papers immediately free to all

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will expand on existing rules covering all research papers produced from its £8 billion in annual funding. About three-quarters of papers recently published from U.K. universities are open access, and UKRI’s current policy gives scholars two routes to comply: Pay journals for “gold” open access, which makes a paper Read more about Major U.K. science funder to require grantees to make papers immediately free to all[…]

Chinese regulators go after price gauging in car chip industry

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Chinese antitrust watchdog, State Administration of Market Supervision (SAMR), announced Tuesday it has started investigating price gouging in the automotive chip market. The regulatory body promised to strengthen supervision and punish illegal acts such as hoarding, price hikes and collusive price increases. SAMR singled out distributors as the object of its ire. In the early Read more about Chinese regulators go after price gauging in car chip industry[…]

Hey, AI software developers, you are taking Unicode into account, right … right?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The issue is that ambiguity or discrepancies can be introduced if the machine-learning software ignores certain invisible Unicode characters. What’s seen on screen or printed out, for instance, won’t match up with what the neural network saw and made a decision on. It may be possible abuse this lack of Unicode awareness for nefarious Read more about Hey, AI software developers, you are taking Unicode into account, right … right?[…]