Category: Technology

Most analysts and economists agree, robots are slowly replacing humans in many jobs. They weld and paint car bodies, sort merchandise in warehouses, explore underground pipes and inspect suspicious packages. Yet we still do not see robots as domestic help, except for robotic vacuum cleaners. Robotics experts say there is another barrier that robots need to cross in order to work alongside humans. VOA's George Putic reports. ...

The White House on Thursday blamed Russia for the devastating "NotPetya" cyber attack last year, joining the British government in condemning Moscow for unleashing a virus that crippled parts of Ukraine's infrastructure and damaged computers in countries across the globe. The attack in June of 2017 "spread worldwide, causing billions of dollars in damage across Europe, Asia and the Americas," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. "It was part of the Kremlin's ongoing effort to destabilize Ukraine and demonstrates ever more clearly Russia's involvement in the ongoing conflict," Sanders added. "This was also a reckless and indiscriminate cyber attack that will be met with international consequences." The U.S. government is "reviewing a range of options," a senior White House official said when asked about the consequences…

The European Commission says social media giants Facebook and Twitter have only partially responded to its demands to bring their practices into line with EU consumer law.   The Commission asked the two companies a year ago to change their terms of service following complaints from people targeted by fraud or scams on social media websites.   The EU's executive arm said Thursday that the firms only partly addressed “issues about their liability and about how users are informed of possible content removal or contract termination.”   It said changes proposed by Google+ appear to be in line with demands.   Europe's consumer affairs commissioner, Vera Jourova, said “it is unacceptable that this is still not complete and it is taking so much time.” She called for those flouting consumer…

Until recently, Javier, a 60-year-old line cook, couldn’t afford a smartphone. Now, thanks to a Silicon Valley company, Javier has a Galaxy S8, one of Samsung’s high-end smartphones. Javier said he relies on it for everything. Once a month, he walks into a mobile phone store near San Francisco and makes a cash payment. If he didn’t, the phone would be remotely locked. No YouTube, no Skype calls, no Facebook. He has never missed a payment.   WATCH: Pay-As-You-Go Smartphone Gives the Poor Access to Better Technology Smartphones out of many people’s reach Around the world, people rely more and more on their smartphones for connecting to the internet, and yet for many, the device is still cost prohibitive. For the roughly 1 in 10 American consumers without financial identities…

In the U.S. and around the world, many poor people don't have access to smartphones. But a Silicon Valley company is offering phones to customers in the U.S. and Mexico who pay in installments. If they don't pay, the phone is turned off remotely. VOA's Michelle Quinn reports. ...

Ride-hailing giant Uber's full-year net loss widened to $4.5 billion in 2017 as the company endured a tumultuous year that included multiple scandals, a lawsuit alleging the theft of trade secrets and the replacement of its CEO. The results also showed that Uber cut its fourth-quarter net loss by 25 percent from the third quarter as new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi moves to make the company profitable ahead of a planned initial public stock offering sometime next year. The full-year loss grew from $2.8 billion in 2016, a year with results skewed by a gain from the sale of Uber's unprofitable business in China. Uber also said its U.S. ride-hailing market share fell from 82 percent at the start of last year to 70 percent in the fourth quarter. Uber said…

Even though the U.S. Postal Service delivers about 46 percent of the world's total mail, competition is getting tougher every day. The post office is turning to technology to stay current. VOA's Elizabeth Lee shows how the USPS is using virtual and augmented realities, along with email, to attract business. ...

Leaders of U.S. national security and law enforcement agencies said Tuesday the U.S. private sector has been helpful in efforts to keep the country safe. While the leaders did not name companies, industry sectors or what specific help has been provided, they did discuss the challenges of monitoring social media. The comments may reflect a shift in what law enforcement has seen as the technology industry's adversarial approach when it comes to fighting crimes and addressing national security issues. The most notable example of this tension was support by tech industry groups for Apple's battle with law enforcement over breaking the encryption of an iPhone used by the man who killed 14 people in the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. 'Forward-leaning engagement' At a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing…

A new service that sends virtual images of the day's mail to inboxes, before snail mail arrives in actual mailboxes, is now a reality in the United States.   "Informed Delivery" is the latest way the United States Postal Service (USPS) is trying to stay competitive.   “Informed Delivery is a way for you to receive an email every single day of all the digital images of all your mail," explained David Rupert, media relations specialist at USPS.  Rupert said his digital images arrive around 9 a.m. each day. Though the USPS delivers about 46 percent of the world’s total mail, it is battling email, text messages, online advertising, television and other delivery services for consumers' attention and business.   "In a digital world, more and more people are having…

In the dense tropical rainforests of the Minkebe national park in northern Gabon, conservationists are hoping a new weapon can help them win a war against elephant poaching. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. ...

You've seen apps and toys that promise to teach your child to code. Now enter the robots. At the CES electronics show in January, coding robots came out in force. One convention hall area was packed with everything from chip-embedded, alphabet-like coding blocks to turtle-like tanks that draw on command. Of course, no one can really say how well these coding bots teach kids, or even whether learning to code is the essential life skill that so many in the tech industry claim. After all, by the time today's elementary-school kids are entering the workforce, computers may well be programming themselves. But experts like Jeff Gray, a computer science professor at the University of Alabama and an adviser to the nonprofit coding education group Code.org, say kids can derive other…

Plastic foam, plywood and some other plastic parts could make the difference between life and death. These are the materials that make up a delivery drone created by DASH Systems. The California company also describes its lightweight aircraft as an unmanned aerial vehicle or glider. It can be used to deliver up to 20 kilograms of food, medicine or other essential supplies to people in need in areas that traditional shipping and delivery companies cannot reach. And because it's made of low-cost materials, it's disposable, so there is no worry about getting it back. "Many times, we found that during times of crisis or humanitarian need, it's very, very difficult to get supplies into remote regions," said Joel Ifill, chief executive officer and co-founder of DASH Systems. "Couple that with reduced or…

It has been called a delivery drone, an unmanned aerial vehicle or even a glider. It can be used to deliver essential supplies to areas traditional shipping and delivery companies cannot go to. Elizabeth Lee has details from Los Angeles. ...

Billionaire CEO Elon Musk is off to a big 2018. He's chief executive of both SpaceX and Tesla. His space-travel company launched off the planet and into orbit a roadster from his electric car company. It was the latest milestone for an executive who looks to revolutionize space travel and technology. Arash Arabasadi reports. ...

Astronomers say a new instrument, now being tested on one of the telescopes in Chile's Atacama desert, will greatly enhance their ability to search for earthlike planets. VOA's George Putic has more. ...

Ride-sharing giant Uber and the self-driving car company Waymo have agreed to settle their legal battle over allegedly stolen trade secrets. The surprise agreement Friday came as lawyers for the companies prepared to wrap up the first week of the case’s jury trial in San Francisco, California. As part of the agreement, Uber will pay $245 million worth of its own shares to Waymo. Waymo sued Uber last year, saying that one of its former engineers who later became the head of Uber’s self-driving car project took with him thousands of confidential documents. After the lawsuit was filed, Uber fired the employee and fell behind on its plans to roll out self-driving cars in its ride-sharing service. Waymo, a company hatched from Google, says the settlement also includes an agreement…

Engineers at Russia's top nuclear research facility have been detained after they attempted to mine bitcoin on its computers, Russian news agencies reported Friday. Several employees at the Russian Federal Nuclear Center in the city of Sarov have been detained after making "an attempt to use the work computing facilities for personal ends, including for so-called mining," a spokeswoman for the center, Tatiana Zalesskaya, told Interfax news agency. "Their activities were stopped in time," she added. "The bungling miners have been detained by the competent authorities. As far as I know, a criminal case has been opened regarding them," she added, without saying how many were detained. The center is overseen by Rosatom, the Russian nuclear agency, and works on developing nuclear weapons. Such attempts "at our enterprises will be…

Twitter says it had first quarterly profit in history and returned to revenue growth in the fourth quarter.   Its stock increased in pre-market trading Thursday.   Though the results beat Wall Street's cautious expectations, they don't solve the company's broader problems.   It's been dealing with abuse, fake accounts and attempts by Russian agents to spread misinformation. The troubles have been compounded by stagnant user growth.   And with a prominent executive leaving shortly, and the CEO splitting its time with another company, Twitter's now facing questions about just who is minding the store.   Twitter has said it's dealing with the problems. The company has introduced a slew of new measures to weed out abusive accounts. Still, critics say the company is playing whack-a-mole with its problems, with…

The International Rescue Committee has announced Project Core — a $1 million job training program for refugees in Germany. The IRC is collaborating with computer giant Intel to to equip at least 1,000 migrants with “critical skills in information and communications technology and other in-demand sectors of the German economy.” “It is exciting and encouraging to see that opportunities are being extended to refugees living in the country,” IRC President David Miliband said.  He thanked Intel for its cooperation and commitment. “The work we will do together epitomizes the power of partnerships to develop the right solutions and create meaningful impact,” Miliband said. The IRC says more than 1.5 million refugees have arrived in Germany since 2015, seeking asylum from war, terrorism, poverty, and little hope their lives will get…

The International Rescue Committee on Wednesday announced the creation of Project Core, a $1 million job training program for refugees in Germany. The IRC said it would collaborate with computer giant Intel to equip at least 1,000 migrants with "critical skills in information and communications technology and other in-demand sectors of the German economy." "It is exciting and encouraging to see that opportunities are being extended to refugees living in the country," IRC President David Miliband said.  He thanked Intel for its cooperation and commitment. "The work we will do together epitomizes the power of partnerships to develop the right solutions and create meaningful impact," he said. The IRC said more than 1.5 million refugees had arrived in Germany since 2015, seeking asylum from war, terrorism and poverty, and having little hope their…

A social media monitoring tool used by the Boston Police Department to identify potential threats swept up the posts of people using the hashtag #MuslimLivesMatter and a lawmaker's Facebook update about racial inequality, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. The ACLU says in a report based on documents obtained through a public records request that the police department's use of Geofeedia to mine the internet appears to have had little benefit to public safety while unfairly focusing on groups such as Muslims. Boston police say the ACLU's conclusions are misguided and that the program helped police successfully monitor events that could lead to demonstrations or crowds and threaten security. "Our main focus in all of this is public safety, not targeting speech,…

Just days after the announcement that the 4,400 year old tomb of a high-ranking priestess had been found in Egypt, comes word of an even older discovery in the country, from about 100 million years ago. Faith Lapidus tells us about the new species of dinosaur found in the western Egyptian desert. ...

A second patient has been treated in a historic gene editing study in California, and no major side effects or safety issues have emerged from the first man's treatment nearly three months ago, doctors said Tuesday. Gene editing is a more precise way to do gene therapy, and it aims to permanently change someone's DNA to try to cure a disease. In November, Brian Madeux, 44, became the first person to have gene editing inside the body for a metabolic disease called Hunter syndrome that's caused by a bad gene. Through an IV, he received many copies of a corrective gene and a genetic tool to put it in a precise spot in his DNA. "He's doing well and we were approved to go ahead with the second patient, who also…

What does the not-so-distant future look like when an increasing number of robots enters the workforce? What types of jobs will they do and would you be replaced by a robot? VOA’s Elizabeth Lee spoke to experts in the field of robotics at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year for the answer. ...

Imagine putting on a pair of glasses and immediately being able to record 360-degree video, hands free, regardless of what you are doing. It will soon be possible with glasses made by Orbi. “We’re making the first 360-degree video recording eyewear,” said Adil Suranchin, chief of operations at Orbi, a company headquartered in Berkeley, California, with its software team in Russia and with hardware developed in Taiwan, Japan, China and Canada. Pair of glasses, four lenses The glasses have a built-in camera with four lenses, two in front and two in the back. The result is 4K resolution immersive video. The glasses allow video to be recorded from the user’s perspective. “You put them on, press the button, and you can say goodbye to all the mounts and rigs and…

Digital currencies such as bitcoin demand increased oversight and may require a new federal regulatory framework, the top U.S. markets regulators will tell lawmakers at a hotly anticipated congressional hearing on Tuesday. Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, will provide testimony to the Senate Banking Committee amid growing concerns globally over the risks virtual currencies pose to investors and the financial system. Giancarlo and Clayton will say current state-by-state licensing rules for cryptocurrency exchanges may need to be reviewed in favor of a rationalized federal framework, according to prepared testimony published on Monday. Reporting by Michelle Price. ...

Five years ago, Israeli investor Jon Medved started OurCrowd, a business that lets people buy into some of the newest and most innovative tech startups in the world. Some of the most innovative new products were on display at the recent investor summit. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. Faith Lapidus narrates. ...

Statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency show automobiles are responsible for at least 50 percent of emissions of harmful and planet-warming gases. But because cars are not going away, one enterprising British company is working to fix the problem where it starts. VOA's Kevin Enochs reports. ...