Month: September 2019
Meet Laura, the Skoda in-car digital assistant
Czech car company Skoda is premiering a new Digital Assistant which goes by the name of Laura (why is it always women who are used as voice assistants?) Part of the Amundsen infotainment system, it is available for the new Kamiq as well as the compact Scala. Skoda claims the introduction of the new Digital…
7 year olds have seen porn online, BBFC survey reveals
Children as young as seven and eight have stumbled across porn online, according to a survey by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). More than half of children barely in their teens said that they had stumbled across pornography, with the majority saying it was unintentional. Fifty one per cent of those aged 11…
Brainwave technology helping bartenders ‘read’ customers’ minds
Brainwave technology is being used to help indecisive cocktail fans pick the drink that best suits their palate. The futuristic sensory experiment, which involves attaching electrical sensors to the head of the consumer, was showcased at this week’s world bartending championships in Scotland. Guests at the World Class competition in Glasgow were invited to take…
China now a ‘global disinformation superpower’, say researchers
China has become a major player in global social media manipulation campaigns, researchers say, amid an overall increase in the number of countries sharing misinformation online. According to the Oxford Internet Institute, organised social media manipulation has more than doubled since 2017, with 70 countries using computational propaganda to manipulate public opinion. The report says…
Amazon announces Alexa-enabled Echo Frames glasses
Amazon has made its Alexa virtual assistant wearable and wireless for the first time, unveiling its first pair of Alexa-powered earphones – Echo Buds – and a pair of Alexa-enabled glasses, known as Echo Frames. The frames, which also include built-in directional speakers so users can have emails, text messages and other information read to…
Amazon products coming to UK – including Echo Buds, Echo Studio
Amazon has announced a number of new Echo smart speaker and Alexa-enabled devices as the company continues to expand the ways in which users can interact with the virtual assistant. Here is a closer look at all the new devices which are coming to the UK. Echo Buds (Amazon) The first Alexa product to be…
Multinational crew lifts off for International Space Station
A multinational crew made up of an American, a Russian and the first space traveller from the United Arab Emirates blasted off successfully on Wednesday for a mission on the International Space Station. A Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off as scheduled from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and entered a designated orbit en route to…
Tim Peake: People will land on Mars within 50 years
Within 50 years a human will have been to Mars, astronaut Tim Peake believes. But the European Space Agency astronaut is not convinced the feat will be achieved in the next two decades. Speaking at the UK Space Conference in Newport, Major Peake said he thought it was unlikely life would be found on the…
Google creates deepfake videos to tackle misinformation
Google has created thousands of manipulated deepfake videos as it gears up to tackle the next level of misinformation online. Deepfakes commonly use artificial intelligence software to combine and superimpose existing images and videos of a person to make it look like they have said or done something they have not. While there have been…
Gamers jump into new Mario Kart Tour smartphone game
Gamers are able to play a version of classic racing title Mario Kart on their smartphones for the first time. Mario Kart Tour was launched on Wednesday on iOS and Android, meaning Nintendo fans can now access the game on their mobiles and tablets. #MarioKartTour is here! Race around the world across a variety of…