Month: March 2021

‘It’s an arms race’: the tech teams trying to outpace paedophiles online

As platforms pivot towards greater encryption, analysts are rushing to finesse child abuse prevention technology “Predators are often early adopters of technology,” says Sarah Smith, chief technology officer at the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a UK child abuse hotline. “It’s an arms race, we have to be constantly horizon-scanning.” Smith and her team, based in …

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Nearly four in 10 university students addicted to smartphones, study finds

Research finds students who showed signs of addiction were also highly likely to suffer from poor sleep Almost four in 10 university students are addicted to their smartphones, and their habit plays havoc with their sleep, research has found. A study of 1,043 students aged 18-30 at King’s College London found that 406 (38.9%) displayed …

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Zoom sees revenues soar 326% year-over-year as office life remains on hold

Company announces revenues of $2.6bn with little sign of slowing, but vaccines could change picture A year of working from home may have driven many of us to the brink but it’s been great news for Zoom, the video conferencing business. On Monday, the company announced its revenues had soared 326% year-over-year to $2.6bn and …

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On TikTok, liberal teens put makeup on to look rightwing (and vice versa)

Teenagers on TikTok are giving themselves makeovers based on their Republican or Democratic alter egos If you’re on TikTok, you’ll know Gen Z can tell if you’re a millennial from a side part and skinny jeans. Now, a new TikTok trend suggests teenagers on the app know someone’s political standing from the way they use …

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Twitter targets Covid vaccine misinformation with labels and ‘strike’ system

Company expands efforts against coronavirus falsehoods amid fears over spread of anti-vax material online Twitter is expanding its use of warning labels on tweets that contain misleading details about coronavirus vaccines. Related: CDC chief warns of ‘potential fourth surge’ and urges US to keep Covid rules Continue reading… Company expands efforts against coronavirus falsehoods amid …

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Biden gives tentative support to Amazon workers in union push

President does not mention retail giant by name but sends backing to ‘workers in Alabama’ currently voting on unionization Joe Biden has offered tentative support to Amazon warehouse workers in the middle of a closely fought vote to unionize. If successful, the union would be the first for US warehouse workers of the online shopping …

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Deep Nostalgia: ‘creepy’ new service uses AI to animate old family photos

Service from MyHeritage uses technique called deep learning to automatically animate faces Deep Nostalgia, a new service from the genealogy site MyHeritage that animates old family photos, has gone viral on social media, in another example of how AI-based image manipulation is becoming increasingly mainstream. Launched in late February, the service uses an AI technique …

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On the scene, like a sex-obsessed machine: when a robot writes a play

In a drama written by artificial intelligence, the computer’s imagination touches on themes of love and loneliness – but is mostly obsessed with sex Kazuo Ishiguro, whose new novel Klara and the Sun is about artificial intelligence, has said he is worried about a time when an AI programme is able to write fiction “that …

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