All posts tagged: tech

Tech workers should shine a light on the industry’s secretive work with the military

Tech workers should shine a light on the industry’s secretive work with the military

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] No one can make that choice for you. But I can say with confidence born of experience that such choices can be more easily made if workers know what exactly the companies they work for are doing with militaries at home and abroad. And I also know this: those same companies themselves will never reveal this information unless they are forced to do so—or someone does it for them.  For those who doubt that workers can make a difference in how trillion-dollar companies pursue their interests, I’m here to remind you that we’ve done it before. In 2017, I played a part in the successful #CancelMaven campaign that got Google to end its participation in Project Maven, a contract with the US Department of Defense to equip US military drones with artificial intelligence. I helped bring to light information that I saw as critically important and within the bounds of what anyone who worked for Google, or used its services, had a right to know. The information I released—about how Google had signed a …

PR executive at Chinese tech firm Baidu apologizes for comments seen as glorifying overwork

PR executive at Chinese tech firm Baidu apologizes for comments seen as glorifying overwork

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] HONG KONG — A top public relations executive from Chinese technology firm Baidu apologized Thursday after she made comments in a series of videos that critics said glorified a culture of overwork. Baidu’s head of communications, Qu Jing, drew a public outcry in China after she implied in the videos that she was not concerned about her employees as she was “not their mom” and said she only cared about results. She also said that the relationship between her and her subordinates was purely an “employer-employee relationship.” The backlash was swift, with many on social media platforms such as Weibo criticizing Qu as lacking empathy. Qu posted an apology Thursday on her private WeChat account, where she “sincerely apologized to all netizens” and clarified that she had not sought Baidu’s permission before posting the videos. Qu said that her short videos did not represent Baidu’s stance. Baidu operates China’s dominant search engine as well as the Ernie bot, an artificial intelligence service similar to ChatGPT. “Many of the criticisms are very pertinent, I am …

TechSpark’s Ben Shorrock on growing Bristol’s tech ecosystem

TechSpark’s Ben Shorrock on growing Bristol’s tech ecosystem

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Mr Rolls had Mr Royce, Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak – even Elton John had Bernie Taupin (I class them as a business just as much). OK, so whoever helped Sir James Dyson and Sir Richard Branson build their businesses didn’t become as famous, but I bet neither of them did it alone. Starting a business isn’t just about the moolah (though of course money talks), it’s about collaboration and engaging with people who’ve been there and got skin in the game – and drawing from their experience. Across the UK there’s lots of business support (although young companies always say it’s not enough), and in the Southwest, there’s TechSpark. TechSpark is a not-for-profit support network for technology companies across Bristol and Bath. It supports ambitious entrepreneurs through around 200 event a year, including at school level, an investment arm helping young companies raising equity investment alongside other activities and collaborations. Bristol and Bath have long been recognised as hubs of technology and creativity, and investors from all over the country are increasingly spending …

Tech panel: early stage South East tech companies to watch

Tech panel: early stage South East tech companies to watch

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] How do you spot the next emerging company in technology? It is a topic which sparks much debate amongst The Business Magazine team however, like most tough questions, it pays to speak to those in the know. People who work with technology companies on a daily basis be it through funding, mentoring or advising them professionally on how to overcome the obstacle that is impeding the next stage of their growth. Every two months we will ask three tech experts from around the South East for their four tech companies to watch. The criteria is fairly loose however they should have a turnover of less than £1m a year and be breaking into new markets or using technology in an innovative way. Our two experts in this edition are Alex Tatham of Westcoast and Matthew Lea of Herrington Carmichael Alex Tatham, Executive Director and IT Channel Advocate at Westcoast As the lynchpin of the UK IT channel and the UK’s largest IT wholesaler, Westcoast have a great view of technologies and companies that are …

Hong Kong is targeting Western Big Tech companies in its new ban of a popular protest song

Hong Kong is targeting Western Big Tech companies in its new ban of a popular protest song

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] The key difference between this action and previous attempts to remove content is that this is a civil injunction, unlike a criminal prosecution—meaning it is, at least legally speaking, closer to a copyright takedown request. In turn, a platform could arguably be less likely to take a reputational hit as long as it removes the content upon request.  Kwong believes this will indeed make platforms more likely to cooperate and there have already been pretty clear signs to that effect. In one hearing in December, the government was asked by the court to consult online platforms for the feasibility of the injunction. The final judgment this week says that while the platforms “have not taken part in these proceedings, they have indicated that they are ready to accede to the Government’s request if there is a court order.” “The actual targets in this case, mainly the tech giants, may have less hesitation to comply with a civil court order than a national security order because if it’s the latter, they may also face backfire …

Huawei’s New ‘Made-In-China’ Smartphone Sources More Chips Locally Amid US Tech War 

Huawei’s New ‘Made-In-China’ Smartphone Sources More Chips Locally Amid US Tech War 

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] With draconian export controls and blacklisting by Washington elites, Chinese tech giant Huawei is still operating and, in fact, producing new high-tech smartphones with components increasingly sourced from domestic suppliers.  A new teardown analysis by tech repair company iFixit and consultancy TechSearch International, first reported by Reuters, shows Huawei’s Pura 70 Pro has a NAND memory chip sourced domestically from the Chinese telecom equipment maker’s in-house chip unit, HiSilicon.  iFixit and TechSearch found the Pura 70 handset was operating on a Huawei-made advanced processing chipset called the Kirin 9010. They said the new chip is likely an “improved version” of the advanced chip used by Huawei’s Mate 60 series, which was launched last year to compete with Apple’s iPhone 15 lineup.  “While we cannot provide an exact percentage, we’d say the domestic component usage is high, and definitely higher than in the Mate 60,” Shahram Mokhtari, iFixit’s lead teardown technician, said.  Mokhtari continued, “This is about self-sufficiency, all of this, everything you see when you open up a smartphone and see whatever are made by Chinese manufacturers, this is all about self-sufficiency,” Mokhtari said. The central theme is that a worsening tech war between Beijing …

Why are people outraged about Apple’s new iPad ad? | Science & Tech News

Why are people outraged about Apple’s new iPad ad? | Science & Tech News

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Apple’s ad for its latest iPad Pro has sparked outrage, with Hugh Grant saying it represents the “destruction of the human experience”. The ad promoting the thinnest ever iPad features creative tools including cameras, books, paint cans and musical instruments being crushed in an industrial press. Once an arcade game machine, old-model TV, record player, metronome and array of other symbols of creativity have been reduced to smithereens between two slabs of metal, the top of the machine is raised to reveal the new iPad. All of this is set to the tune of Sonny & Cher’s 1972 single All I Ever Need Is You. “Meet the new iPad Pro… Just imagine all the things it’ll be used to create,” Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote on X, along with the ad video. X This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or …

Apple’s New iPad Ad Is a Neat Metaphor for the End of the World

Apple’s New iPad Ad Is a Neat Metaphor for the End of the World

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] The other day I was having a quiet outdoor drink with a friend, chatting about work. I mentioned, with a dramatic sigh, that I had to transcribe an interview that I’d done recently—an onerous but necessary task. A woman sitting next to us took that as a cue to stop her passive eavesdropping and chime in. “I’m sorry, did you say ‘transcribe’?” she asked. “Can’t you just, y’know, feed that into ChatGPT?” I balked a little and replied, in a manner meant to be principled but which was more likely haughty, that I didn’t use things like that. I added that I thought such things were bad for the world. She shrugged, raised her eyebrows, and that was that. I spent the rest of the evening regretting my tone—if not the sentiment behind it. This morning I was writing something for work and, for whatever reason, found myself taking particular umbrage with the syntax suggestions made by the Google Docs AI. The machine kept wanting a simpler and, I deemed, worse version of what …

Russo Brothers’ AGBO launches innovation department for tech creativity

Russo Brothers’ AGBO launches innovation department for tech creativity

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Join gaming leaders live this May 20-21 in Los Angeles to examine the strategies needed to adapt and excel in an ever evolving landscape, featuring insights from leading voices and thought leaders in the industry. Register here. AGBO, the media company founded by the Russo Brothers, has launched its Innovation Department to propel tech-enabled creativity. This strategic move aims to expand AGBO’s storytelling capacity by integrating cutting-edge technology into its creative processes, blurring the lines between physical and virtual production. I would expect no less from the makers of The Avengers films. Led by the recently appointed chief innovation officer, Jake Aust, the AGBO Innovation department will focus on developing proprietary creative tools for storytellers, fostering production innovation, and enhancing cost efficiency across diverse platforms. I’m guessing that means AI, but we’ll find out. The newly established department will be organized into three verticals: production technology, immersive technology, and creative. Aust, who brings over 20 years of experience as a producer on acclaimed titles such as The Office, Community, and Cherry, will spearhead this …

AstraZeneca starts worldwide withdrawal of COVID vaccine | Science & Tech News

AstraZeneca starts worldwide withdrawal of COVID vaccine | Science & Tech News

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] AstraZeneca has begun the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID vaccine – ending an era in which it saved millions of lives while being dogged by controversy. The jab, developed at Oxford University, was once hailed as “the vaccine for the world” because it could be stored in fridges rather than the ultra-cold freezer temperatures originally required for alternative mRNA shots, making it more suitable for developing countries. But AstraZeneca (AZ) said demand for the jab had tailed off as more up-to-date vaccines target newer variants of the virus. It no longer manufactures nor supplies the vaccine. The voluntary withdrawal has started in the EU, with the European Medicines Agency announcing that the vaccine is no longer authorised for use. In a statement, AZ said: “According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over three billion doses were supplied globally. “Our efforts have been recognised by governments around the world and are widely regarded as being a critical component of ending the global pandemic. “We …