What to expect from Google on Oct. 15: Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, a faster Google Assistant, a more affordable Pixelbook, new Pixel Buds, and additional devices — Pixel 4, a new Pixelbook, new Nest devices, and more — Google's annual fall hardware showcase is happening on Tuesday, October 15th, and we expect it to be a big one.
Study: Xuexi Qiangguo, a propaganda app developed by China's Communist Party, enables authorities to retrieve messages, photos, contacts, and even record audio — BEIJING — The Chinese Communist Party appears to have “superuser” access to all the data on more than 100 million cellphones …
During an event at the United Nations Delegates Dining Room in New York City, IBM unveiled the winners to its annual Call for Code Global Challenge. The competition, which is targeted at computing solutions for global problems, crowned five winners, ranging from first responders to health care info.
Prometeo took the top price for its Watson-based AI solution targeted at firefighters. The team, which is lead by a 33-year firefighting veteran, has developed a tool designed to monitor health and safety in the industry, both long term and in real-time. The Spanish startup developed a smartphone-sized device that straps onto the wearer’s arm to gauge things like temperature, smoke and humidity.
“If the color signal is green, the health of the firefighter is okay,” cofounder Salomé Valero explains on IBM’s site. “But if the color signal is yellow or red, the command center must do something. They must take immediate action in order to rescue or remove the firefighter from the fire.”
The team is working to roll out the device for testing in Spain, but is currently seeking funding for the project. The $200,000 prize from IBM ought to help out a bit.
The second place price went to India/China/US-based Sparrow, which has developed a platform for addressing physical and psychological health during natural disasters. U.C.L.A. team, Rove scored third place with a similar concept.
Call for Code is a five year program that aims to hand out $30 million for teams addressing widespread societal issues.
Tencent-owned Riot says its broadcasters shouldn't discuss politics and religion on air; Epic, in which Tencent has a 40% stake, says political speech is OK — Epic Games is cool with political speech though — On Friday, Riot Games said that League of Legends broadcasters should “refrain” …
Google bans payday loan apps with an APR of 36% or higher from the Play Store, with praise from an African-American advocacy group that pressed it for the ban — Google said it made the change ‘to protect people from deceptive and exploitative personal loan terms’
California passes law, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, to block police from using facial recognition tech in body cams; OR and NH have passed similar laws — SACRAMENTO — Civil liberties advocates are declaring victory after California became the latest state to block police from using facial recognition technology in body cameras.
Elizabeth Warren targets Facebook's ad policy of exempting ads by politicians from third-party fact-checking by running a Facebook ad with a clear falsehood — Zuckerberg says legal battles during a Warren presidency would ‘suck’ — (CNN)A fresh series of Facebook ads this week …
New York Times : Sources: the US State Department ordered embassies to push back against foreign influence campaigns, as officials worry ...
