Year: 2018

The Facebook backlash is intensifying. Congressional leaders, regulators in the United States and Europe and state officials are putting pressure on Facebook to answer questions about fresh allegations over how the social networking giant was manipulated in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.   The Senate Commerce Committee has sent questions to the company about how a data consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, allegedly used 50 million Facebook users’ data to aid political campaigns.  British and U.S. lawmakers called for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify.  The company is reportedly holding an employee meeting Tuesday to answer questions.   Among the tough questions the company faces is why it did not inform the affected users about the issue.  On Monday, the firm’s stock dropped nearly seven percent, losing $36…

A fatal pedestrian crash involving a self-driving Uber SUV in a Phoenix suburb could have far-reaching consequences for the new technology as automakers and other companies race to be the first with cars that operate on their own. The crash Sunday night in Tempe was the first death involving a full autonomous test vehicle. The Volvo was in self-driving mode with a human backup driver at the wheel when it struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg as she was walking a bicycle outside the lines of a crosswalk in Tempe, police said.   Uber immediately suspended all road-testing of such autos in the Phoenix area, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto. The ride-sharing company has been testing self-driving vehicles for months as it competes with other technology companies and automakers like Ford and…

A self-driving car has hit and killed a woman in the southwestern United States in what is believed to be the first fatal pedestrian crash involving the new technology. Police said Monday a self-driving sport utility vehicle owned by the ride sharing company Uber struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who was walking outside of a crosswalk in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. She later died in a hospital from her injuries. Uber said it had suspended its autonomous vehicle program across the United States and Canada following the accident.   Police say the vehicle was in autonomous mode, but had an operator behind the wheel, when the accident took place.   Testing of self-driving cars by various companies has been going on for months in the Phoenix area, as well as…

German band Joasihno strikes a chord in a unique way as it takes its show on the road. Currently touring in Canada, the two-man band works in concert with a "robotic" element that can play several instruments at the same time. "Actually we call it psychedelic robot orchestra," said Cico Beck, one of the creators of the band. "It’s a combination of acoustic instruments but also very trashy robot instruments," he added. Once hooked up to wires and set up, instruments that include a xylophone, drum and cymbal play on their own. Another contraption, a horizontal, self-revolving wooden stick, stands atop a microphone stand. The stick contains long strings tied on each end with a wooden ping pong-sized-ball attached. As the stick rotates, the balls hit a block on the…

German band Joasihno strikes a chord in a unique way as it takes its show on the road. Currently touring in Canada, the two-man band works in concert with a "robotic" element that can play several instruments at the same time. "Actually we call it psychedelic robot orchestra," said Cico Beck, one of the creators of the band. "It’s a combination of acoustic instruments but also very trashy robot instruments," he added. Once hooked up to wires and set up, instruments that include a xylophone, drum and cymbal play on their own. Another contraption, a horizontal, self-revolving wooden stick, stands atop a microphone stand. The stick contains long strings tied on each end with a wooden ping pong-sized-ball attached. As the stick rotates, the balls hit a block on the…

The annual music festival and tech conference, South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas just ended. The event brings together tech startups and musicians from around the globe to network and showcase their work. The types of music played at the festival are as diverse as the musicians there. One band from Germany called Joasihno performed at the festival. The group  includes two guys and robots as band members. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details. ...

Lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic criticized Facebook and its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, after reports surfaced that another company, Cambridge Analytica, improperly harvested information from 50 million Facebook users. A British lawmaker accused Facebook on Sunday of misleading officials by downplaying the risk of users' data being shared without their consent. Conservative legislator Damian Collins, who heads the British Parliament's media committee, said he would ask Zuckerberg or another Facebook executive to appear before his panel, which is investigating disinformation and "fake news." Collins said Facebook has "consistently understated" the risk of data leaks and gave misleading answers to the committee. "Someone has to take responsibility for this," he said. "It's time for Mark Zuckerberg to stop hiding behind his Facebook page." Collins also accused the head of…

At this week's three-day Energy Innovation Summit, organized annually by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency, or ARPA-e for short, experts, entrepreneurs, investors and government officials shared ideas, research results and experiences about challenges facing the generation, transformation, distribution and storage of all forms of energy. VOA's George Putic gives an overview. ...

Facebook Inc. on Friday said it was suspending political data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, which worked for President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, after finding data privacy policies had been violated. Facebook said in a statement that it suspended Cambridge Analytica and its parent group Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL) after receiving reports that they did not delete information about Facebook users that had been inappropriately shared. Cambridge Analytica was not immediately available for comment. Facebook did not mention the Trump campaign or any political campaigns in its statement, attributed to company Deputy General Counsel Paul Grewal. “We will take legal action if necessary to hold them responsible and accountable for any unlawful behavior,” Facebook said, adding that it was continuing to investigate the claims. Cruz, Trump campaigns Cambridge Analytica worked…

Fingerprints can unlock doors, phones and more, but are consumers ready to pay with them? Visa thinks so. More companies are exploring biometrics, the analysis of unique biological traits to verify identity, but how secure is the technology? Tina Trinh reports from New York ...

A one-page job application filled out by Steve Jobs more than four decades ago that reflected the Apple founder's technology aspirations sold for $174,000 at a U.S. auction, more than three times its presale estimate. An Internet entrepreneur from England was the winning bidder, Boston-based auction house RR Auction said on Friday, but the buyer wished to remain anonymous. The application dated 1973, complete with spelling and punctuation errors, had been expected to fetch about $50,000. The sale price reached on Thursday was $174,757, the auction house said. The form lists his name as "Steven jobs" and address as "reed college," the Portland, Oregon, college he attended briefly. Next to "Phone:" he wrote "none." Under a section titled “Special Abilities,” Jobs wrote “tech or design engineer. digital.—f rom Bay near…

South by Southwest is a pop-up marketplace of ideas. Held in Austin, Texas, it combines music and film festivals with a tech conference. Its nine days of events draw people from around the world, including Africa, as Tigist Geme of VOA's Horn of Africa Service reports. ...

Tossing swimmers and boaters a lifeline when they get into trouble on the water takes on a new meaning when that lifeline is attached to a robot. Faith Lapidus explains. ...