Category: Technology

When you are watching a television show and see someone get their heart shocked back into a rhythm, you will see their entire body rise up in the air. That's what happens when a defibrillator is used, because the shock is that powerful. As VOA's Carol Pearson reports, scientists are now working on better, more effective, and less-shocking ways to get a heart to start beating once again. ...

Social media giant Facebook faced new investigations Tuesday in both Britain and the United States about the vast troves of information compiled by the company about their users and how that data has been deployed to influence elections by Cambridge Analytica, a British voter profiling business. British information commissioner Elizabeth Denham said she is seeking a warrant to search Cambridge Analytica's London headquarters to see whether Facebook did enough to protect users' personal information about themselves and their friends.  Weekend reports said Cambridge Analytica had improperly used information about more than 50 million Facebook users, including $6 million in work to influence Americans to vote for real estate mogul Donald Trump in his successful 2016 run for the U.S. presidency. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is…

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. ...

France added more kindling to a growing commercial dispute between Europe and the United States, announcing Wednesday it would sue American tech giants Google and Apple over allegedly abusive business practices. After peanut butter, cranberries and bourbon, Google and Apple are the latest American icons in Europe's crosshairs. Speaking to French radio Wednesday, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire accused the two U.S. companies of unilaterally imposing prices and other terms on French startups. Google and Apple may be powerful, Le Maire said, but they should not be able to treat French startups and developers the way they currently do. France has taken legal action against the companies before. But this latest dispute comes amid a potential trade war, as Washington prepares to slap tariffs against steel and aluminum imports.…

Only one of 118 gender discrimination complaints made by women at Microsoft was found to have merit, according to unsealed court documents. The Seattle Times reports the records made public Monday illustrate the scope of complaints from female employees in technical jobs in the U.S. between 2010 and 2016. And according to the court documents, Microsoft's internal investigations determined only one of those complaints was "founded." The documents were released as part of an ongoing lawsuit by three current or former Microsoft employees alleging gender discrimination. The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status for the case, claiming more than 8,600 women collectively lost out on $238 million in pay and 500 promotions because of discrimination in the company's performance review process. Microsoft's case is one of several against giant companies in…

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei says it will continue to invest in the United States despite recent setbacks in its efforts to boost sales there. Xu Qingsong, also known as Jim Xu, Huawei's head of sales and marketing, told reporters in Shenzhen he was "confident" Huawei smartphone sales would triple this year in the U.S. from last year. News reports in January said Huawei appeared to be on the verge of cracking the lucrative American market when it signed a deal with AT&T, but the agreement fell through under U.S. government pressure. In the past, Huawei officials have rejected U.S. security complaints as politically motivated or possibly an attempt by competitors to keep it out of the market. "I don't know why they're so nervous," Xu said Tuesday, referring to the…

YouTube will begin displaying text from Wikipedia articles and other websites alongside some videos in a couple of weeks as the unit of Alphabet Inc's Google attempts to combat hoaxes and conspiracy theories on the service, its chief executive said on Tuesday. Susan Wojcicki, speaking on stage at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas, displayed a mock-up of the new feature, which are called information cues. YouTube intends to present an alternative viewpoint to videos questioning science or describing conspiracies about events such as the U.S. moon landing. She said information cues would first roll out to topics for which there are a significant number of YouTube videos. “People can still watch the videos but then they actually have access to additional information, can click off and go…

Alphabet’s Google said on Tuesday that it will launch a network of free Wi-Fi hotspots across Mexico, part of the search giant’s effort to improve connectivity in emerging markets and put its products in the hands of more users. Google Station, an ad-supported network of Wi-Fi hotspots in high-traffic locations, is launching in Mexico with 56 hotspots and others planned, the company said. Mexico will be Google Station’s third market following India and Indonesia, and the first in Latin America. Mexico has made great strides in connectivity since a 2013-14 telecom reform intended to loosen the grip of billionaire Carlos Slim’s America Movil, which has long dominated the market. From 2013 to 2016, the number of people accessing the Internet in Mexico rose by 20 million, according to a report…

Scientists are always on the lookout for affordable and efficient methods for capturing carbon dioxide, responsible for global warming and the rising acidity of seawater. A new procedure, developed at the University of York in Britain, promises to extract large amounts of CO2 from seawater and store it safely, and recycle millions of tons of aluminum waste at the same time. VOA’s George Putic has more. ...

U.N. human rights experts investigating a possible genocide in Myanmar said Monday that Facebook had played a role in spreading hate speech there. Facebook had no immediate comment on the criticism Monday, although in the past the company has said that it was working to remove hate speech in Myanmar and kick off people who shared such content consistently. More than 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state into Bangladesh since insurgent attacks sparked a security crackdown last August. Many have provided harrowing testimonies of executions and rapes by Myanmar security forces. The U.N. human rights chief said last week he strongly suspected acts of genocide had taken place. Myanmar's national security adviser demanded "clear evidence." Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, told…

The inventor of the worldwide web, Tim Berners-Lee, called on Monday for powerful internet platforms and social media companies to be regulated to prevent the internet from being "weaponized at scale." The British computer scientist, in an open letter published on the 29th anniversary of the creation of the web, said a "new set of gatekeepers" was now dominant, controlling the spread of ideas and opinions. "The fact that power is concentrated among so few companies has made it possible to weaponize the web at scale," he wrote. "In recent years, we've seen conspiracy theories trend on social media platforms, fake Twitter and Facebook accounts stoke social tensions, external actors interfere in elections and criminals steal troves of personal data." The intervention by the 62-year-old MIT professor comes as some…

What originally started as a music festival in the 1980s has evolved into an event that is much bigger and harder to define. Imagine networking and partying for more than a week. That is what is happening in Austin, Texas. Musicians, film promoters and tech companies from around the world are gathering for the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and festival. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details from Austin. ...

Space scientists say the satellites and other spacecraft orbiting the Earth, including the International Space Station, are in increasing danger of collision with pieces of junk. Engineers are working hard to solve the problem of removing the trash that threatens functioning satellites worth millions of dollars. VOA’s George Putic reports. ...

French President Emmanuel Macron pledged over $850 million for solar projects in emerging economies, as both India and France called for affordable solar technology for emerging nations at the first conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) held in New Delhi.   The alliance was co-founded by both countries two years ago on the sidelines of the Paris climate summit to boost the use of solar power, countering the impact of climate change.   Dozens of country leaders, including many from Africa, attended the meeting in the Indian capital and emphasized the need for access to solar technology and concessional financing to address massive energy shortages in many of their sun-drenched nations.   Promising more loans and donations for solar projects by 2022, Macron stressed the need to remove obstacles…

A quick and reliable way of detecting carbon monoxide gas in the bloodstream could act as an early warning system for doctors trying to diagnose diseases. Faith Lapidus reports. ...

Technology increasingly relies on rechargeable batteries as a source of energy. Today's batteries are better and last longer, but when their capacity drops under a certain level they have to be replaced. Some experts say that, even with a half of their capacity, batteries can be used for less critical purposes. VOA's George Putic has more. ...