Month: October 2019
Apple resumes human reviews of Siri audio with iPhone update
Apple is resuming the use of humans to review Siri audio commands and dictation with the latest iPhone software update. In August, the company suspended the practice and apologised for the way it used people, rather than just machines, to review the audio. While common in the tech industry, the practice undermined Apple’s attempts to…
Semi-autonomous cars ‘less likely’ to get blame for crashes
The public is more likely to blame accidents involving semi-autonomous cars on the driver rather than the technology, new research claims. According to the study, in an accident where a human driver and artificial intelligence have dual control, the public is more inclined to blame the person. The research team behind the study warned the…
Tim Berners-Lee warns internet’s power for good ‘under threat’
World Wide Web founder Tim Berners-Lee has warned that the internet’s power for good is being “subverted” by those spreading hatred and threatening democracy, as the technology marked its 50th birthday. Tim Berners-Lee urged governments, campaign groups and individuals to back a new plan from his foundation to make the internet safe, fair and accessible…
Apple iOS 13.2 update brings gender-neutral emoji
Emoji featuring gender-neutral characters and people with disabilities are among those that have been released to Apple devices users as part of its latest software. Users will also now be able to select the ethnicity of each character in the “holding hands” emoji, while a drop of blood designed to represent menstruation has also been…
Apple unveils new noise-cancelling AirPods Pro
Apple has announced a new version of its AirPod earphones, the AirPods Pro, which will include noise-cancelling technology for the first time. The £249 AirPods Pro will be the Apple-made earphones to include noise-cancelling, which uses built-in microphones to filter out background noise when being used. The technology giant confirmed the earphones would be available…
Inside Amazon’s Peterborough warehouse – report
The PA news agency sent its City reporter, Henry Saker-Clark, to Amazon’s Peterborough warehouse on one of the company’s public tours. This is what he saw: Amazon has faced years of criticism for seemingly putting profits over pay, despite being run by one of the richest men in the world. So the last thing I…
Amazon accused of ‘wasting millions’ on major transparency campaign
Amazon has been accused of “wasting millions” on a major advertising campaign calling for customers to visit its warehouses. In recent weeks, the retail giant has launched a series of TV, print and online promotional pushes inviting customers to “take a look” at the company’s operations following years of negative coverage over warehouse conditions. But…
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone invests in AI project
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has spoken about his decision to invest in artificial intelligence as part of a project which aims to create “a new type of media”. Mr Stone was joined by AI Foundation co-founder and chief executive Lars Buttler at the One Young World conference to introduce the concept of “personal media”. The…
Facebook begins public testing of dedicated News tab
Facebook has started testing its news tab with selected users as the social network seeks to push people towards quality journalism. The service will only be available to a subset in the US initially, as a separate section on the platform partly curated by journalists. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg first set out his ambition for…
UK’s mobile networks working together to tackle mobile ‘not spots’
The UK’s big four mobile operators have agreed to work together on a shared 4G rural network plan that aims to bring connectivity to 'mobile not spots' - areas of the country with poor mobile coverage. EE, O2, Three and Vodafone will collectively fund £530 million towards a network of new and existing phone masts…