James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
As soon as April, truly autonomous cars without a human driver will be wheeling around California, thanks to regulations approved today by the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Companies operating driverless cars will be able to apply for permits on April 2. …
Arianna Huffington: Here’s how we can use tech more wisely
When social networks such as Facebook and Twitter first caught on, they seemed like little more than harmless dalliances, and smartphones such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone looked like a handy convenience for reaching internet services and information anywhere. No more. As these …
It’s true, says new report: AI will go ‘Black Mirror’ if we’re not careful
We are at the precipice of an artificial intelligence revolution, in which the technologies we create may be used for the good, the bad and the ugly, according to a new report. The 100-page report is called “The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: …
Battling spam and propaganda, Twitter cracks down on bots and mass tweets
In the wake of intense criticism about spam and political propaganda on its platform, Twitter Inc. today imposed new limits on automated posts and multiple posts coming from one account. “To be clear,” Twitter said in a blog post, “Twitter prohibits any …
After Florida school shooting, Russian bots used Twitter to talk gun control, conspiracy video topped YouTube
Shortly after news broke about the high school massacre in Parkland, Florida, Twitter Inc. bots suspected of being of Russian origin took up the divisive debate of gun control in the U.S., according to experts. Two companies that track disinformation found that …
Boring Co. gets green light to do some Hyperloop digging in Washington DC
Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk’s Boring Co. has been issued a permit from Washington D.C.’s Department of Transportation to start digging in the city. This doesn’t, however, mean that a Hyperloop tunnel will be getting very far. The permit, issued in …
UK and US put the blame on Russia for last year’s NotPetya cyberattacks
The U.K. and U.S. governments are united in blaming Russia for last year’s NotPetya cyberattacks that caused havoc around the world. British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said Wednesday that such attacks were “undermining democracy.” The attacks were first aimed at the Ukraine, but …
CIA, FBI and NSA all say Huawei phones could be Chinese spying devices
The heads of the CIA, FBI and NSA are advising Americans not to use phones made by Chinese firm Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. because they could be used for espionage. According to a report Wednesday by CNBC, six intelligence chiefs from the agencies …
UK government says its AI can spot online extremist propaganda with 94% accuracy
The British Home Office unveiled a new technology Tuesday that it said can detect extremist content on any online platform with a high degree of accuracy. Tests have shown this new tool can automatically detect 94 percent of Daesh [an acronym for …
Report: How Rupert Murdoch put pressure on Facebook to change its news publishing strategy
Media titan and News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch was never very happy as he watched Facebook Inc.’s rise as the place to go to find news, according to a report Monday in Wired. According to the report, Murdoch (pictured) saw Facebook as a …