Artificial intelligence can now identify a bird just by looking at a photo
A new A.I. tool can identify up to 200 different species of birds just by looking at one photo. The technology comes from a team from Duke University that used over 11,000 photos of 200 bird species to teach a machine to differentiate them. The goal is to use the tech to classify areas in medical images
Facebook’s fact-checkers think the platform’s political ads should be vetted
One of Facebook’s content moderators plans to ask the social network to change its policies on political ads to allow for them to be fact-checked. The fact-checking organization Lead Stories will urge Facebook in a meeting next week to start fact-checking political ads by a nonpartisan panel.
ACLU sues government organizations over facial-recognition software
The ACLU is taking action against facial-recognition software by suing the DOJ, the DEA, and the FBI. The ACLU recently filed a complaint against the three federal organizations over their failure to release requested records and policies on facial-recognition software use.
Black market THC vape pods have killed dozens. Why are people still buying them?
At least 34 people have died from a vaping-related lung illness that has plagued the country in recent months, and health officials finally have a culprit: Black-market THC vapes. Experts say people are still buying THC electronic cigarette pods on the black market because they’re cheaper and easier to find.
Spooky NASA posters highlight the mysterious world of exoplanets
NASA’s newly released posters have a vintage horror movie look just in time for Halloween, and highlight exoplanets in a series called Galaxy of Horrors. The colorful posters are meant to be informative about different exoplanets that have been discovered outside of our galaxy and are free to download.
EA goes against the grain, brings its games back to Steam
You’ll soon be able to play your favorite EA games on Steam, including the new Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. EA games will launch on Steam in the spring. Steam users will now be able to access tons of EA Access subscription perks, such as discounts on games, in-game items, expansions, and more.
Tesla launches car insurance for its customers, promising 30% cheaper rates
Elon Musk's Tesla is getting into the insurance business: the company just launched Tesla Insurance to customers in California. The company said on Wednesday that they would offer rates that are between 20% and 30% lower than other insurance companies. Tesla said it would expand the program to other states in the future
Twitter’s #CashAppFriday hashtag is filled with scammers
What was meant to be a trending Twitter hashtag is turning out to be a scammers paradise. The #CashAppFriday hashtag asks users to tweet to their official account their “cashtag” or username, to choose a random person to deposit money to through the app. As it turns out, it’s proven to be easy for scammers to copy.
Twitter removes more than half of abusive tweets automatically
Twitter now removes half of tweets containing abusive content automatically without relying on content moderators or users reporting them. The social media platform’s 2019 third quarter report revealed that tweets that were removed due to abusive content were done so through improvements in machine learning.
REI will once again be closed on Black Friday, but it’s going one step further
REI is once again opting out of the biggest shopping day of the year and is instead encouraging its customers to opt outside on Black Friday by participating in a day of action. The store’s new slogan this year, Opt to Act, encourages its 18 million members to sign up for various cleanup events.
Watch Live: Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress about Facebook Libra
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the House Financial Services Committee about Facebook's cryptocurrency, Libra. Here's how to watch live throughout his entire testimony, which begins at 7 a.m. PT on Wednesday, October 23.
Here’s how Mark Zuckerberg plans to defend Facebook Libra in front of Congress
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will argue before Congress on Wednesday that the social network's cryptocurrency, known as Libra, is essential to expanding banking access around the globe, according to a written version of his testimony released Tuesday.
Almost every state joins in on antitrust investigation into Facebook
Almost every state has joined New York in an antitrust investigation into Facebook. In total, 47 attorneys general are looking into whether the social media giant stifled competition in a way that impacted user data and ad prices. Attorneys general from both parties are part of the effort.
New bill would make it easier for you to get off Facebook once and for all
A new bipartisan bill aims to make it easier for you to transfer your social media data to other social media platforms, so you might finally be able to get off of Facebook. Called the Access Act, the bill applies to online platforms with products or services that have over 100 million monthly active users.
GoDaddy is down, with 2,000 reporting issues with accessing websites
Websites that are hosted on GoDaddy have been experiencing problems on Thursday, October 17, according to Down Detector. An outage map shows that affected outage areas are all over the U.S., especially big cities. At approximately 11 a.m. PT, there were more than 2,000 reports of issues with GoDaddy sites.
Bop it, twist it, pull it, grip it: MIT robot hand can pick up objects with ease
Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have figured out a way to make a robot grasp an object quicker and more efficiently. It can take a robot tens of minutes to plan out the possibilities of the sequence, but with a new algorithm, it takes less than a second.
Hurricanes stir up ‘stormquakes’ at the bottom of the sea, scientists discover
The phenomenon of a hurricane and an earthquake happening at the same time now has a name: Stormquake. Scientists discovered this natural disaster combo in a new study. The study says that during a stormquake, a hurricane causes the seafloor to rumble like a 3.5-magnitude earthquake.
SpaceX could launch NASA astronauts on the Crew Dragon in 2020
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine made a visit to the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, on Thursday to get a firsthand look at the progress on the Crew Dragon rocket and provide updates on the important partnership between the space agency and the company.
Get your popcorn ready. Zuckerberg is set to testify before Congress again
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be back in Washington D.C. to testify before Congress once again, this time for the platform’s Libra cryptocurrency. Zuckerberg will be testifying in a hearing on October 23 titled 'An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors.'
This vending machine sells pixels, not Pepsis, to help digital artists
Artist Danner Milliken wants to create a digital art vending machine that marries technology and art into one device that not only serves as a product, but as an art exhibition in and of itself. Once it’s created, people will be able to walk up and purchase contemporary digital art in the form of USBs.
Controversial image site 8chan is back online for now and has a new name: 8kun
8chan is back online, but this time, under a new name. 8kun has taken over as the controversial image board’s new name. After being down since August 5 due to the El Paso mass shooter’s involvement with the site, 8chan’s Twitter account tweeted a video promoting the site’s new name and logo.
Snapchat is down again. Here’s the latest on the outage
It’s not just you: Snapchat is currently down for users worldwide, particularly those in parts of Europe and the U.S. Users are having trouble receiving and sending snaps, as well as experiencing issues with the app loading. At least 7,100 people have reported problems so far.
Uber Pet allows furry passengers to ride with you for an extra fee
Whether you’re taking your four-legged friend to the vet or the dog park, they can now ride along with you with Uber’s new Uber Pet feature. Riders can select the Uber Pet option within the app to find pet-friendly drivers that are willing to accommodate furry friends of all kinds -- for an added fee.
Civil rights groups pen letter opposing Amazon Ring police partnerships
More than 30 different civil rights groups are calling on Amazon to stop its partnerships involving local police departments and its Amazon Ring smart doorbell. Fight for Future penned a letter to elected officials about a variety of concerns over the tech giant's Ring partnerships with police.
Interstellar comet contains cyanide, similar to comets from our solar system
Since 2I/Borisov will be the closest interstellar object to pass us, scientists have been able to study it better, and have found a thin cloud around the comet which indicates cyanogen gas. The presence of cyanide does not pose a threat, since Earth will not come close to passing through the comet’s tail.
Nobel Prize awarded to physicists who changed our understanding of the cosmos
Three scientists were just awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for work in what the universe is made of and discovering the first exoplanet. Canadian scientist James Peebles and Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz are splitting the $906,705 Nobel Prize money for their separate discoveries.
The NYPD is sending undercover cops to Joker screenings for its opening weekend
The NYPD will be increasing police presence at movie theaters showing director Todd Phillips' new Joker movie, including undercover officers at screenings. An NYPD spokesperson said there are no specific or credible threats, but the police presence is a precaution when the movie comes out on Friday.
We now have scientific proof that quitting Facebook makes you less depressed
There’s now scientific proof of what we already knew: Quitting Facebook is beneficial for your health. A study looked at two groups of Texas A&M student participants in 2017. The students who stayed off of Facebook for a week consumed less news and also reported greater overall well-being.
