Month: November 2018

Companies could help refugees rebuild their lives by paying them to boost artificial intelligence (AI) using their phones and giving them digital skills, a tech nonprofit said Thursday. REFUNITE has developed an app, LevelApp, which is being piloted in Uganda to allow people who have…

Facebook says it is getting better at proactively removing hate speech and changing the incentives that result in the most sensational and provocative content becoming the most popular on the site. The company has done so, it says, by ramping up its operations so that…

Super-realistic face masks made by a tiny company in rural Japan are in demand from the domestic tech and entertainment industries and from countries as far away as Saudi Arabia. The 300,000-yen ($2,650) masks, made of resin and plastic by five employees at REAL-f Co.,…

Office workers often complain that the building is either too hot or too cold. Now, engineers and architects are working on creating "sentient buildings" that can cater to the personal needs and well being of each employee in the hopes of increasing productivity. VOA'S Elizabeth…

China’s state-run Xinhua News has debuted what it called the world’s first artificial intelligence (AI) anchor. But the novelty has generated more dislikes than likes online among Chinese netizens, with many calling the new virtual host “a news-reading device without a soul.” Analysts say the…

Democratic U.S. Representative David Cicilline, expected to become the next chairman of House Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel, said on Wednesday that Facebook cannot be trusted to regulate itself and Congress should take action. Cicilline, citing a report in the New York Times on Facebook's efforts…

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday launched the agency's first high-band 5G spectrum auction as it works to clear space for next-generation faster networks.  Bidding began Wednesday on spectrum in the 28 GHz band and will be followed by bidding for spectrum in the 24 GHz band. The FCC…

The online sale of sex slaves is going strong despite new U.S. laws to clamp down on the crime, data analysts said Wednesday, urging a wider use of technology to fight human trafficking. In April, the United States passed legislation aimed at making it easier…

Robots with rigid metal frames are being used to help the paralyzed walk and have applications that could one day grant military fighters extra power on the battlefield. The problem is that they're uncomfortable and heavy. But researchers at Harvard University are working on lighter,…

Nigeria's Main One Cable took responsibility Tuesday for a glitch that temporarily caused some Google global traffic to be misrouted through China, saying it accidentally caused the problem during a network  upgrade.  The issue surfaced Monday afternoon as internet monitoring firms ThousandEyes and BGPmon said some traffic to Alphabet's Google had been routed…

NATO is developing new high-tech tools, such as the ability to 3-D-print parts for weapons and deliver them by drone, as it scrambles to retain a competitive edge over Russia, China and other would-be battlefield adversaries.  Gen. Andre Lanata, who took over as head of the…

If you're really lucky and live in the U.S. cities of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles or Sacramento, you now have access to a 5G network. If you live anywhere else, just be patient... a 5G mobile network is coming your way, and it's already arriving…

German states have drafted a list of demands aimed at tightening a law that requires social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to remove hate speech from their sites, the Handelblatt newspaper reported Monday. Justice ministers from the states will submit their proposed revisions to…