Following in the footsteps of fellow tech giants such as Facebook and LinkedIn, Google now has ambitious plans to help the Chinese government in its draconian censorship efforts, the Intercept has reported this week. The company hopes "to launch a censored version of its search engine in China that will blacklist websites and search terms … Continue reading Google plans censored search engine for China
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YouTube, the widely-used video uploading site owned by Google, which is in turn owned by Alphabet, whose former chairman and current board member Eric Schmidt is a key adviser to the Pentagon, has announced that -- in a Cass Sunsteinesque effort to combat the perceived threat posed by "conspiracy theories" -- it will begin showing … Continue reading YouTube to add ‘conspiracy theory’ disclaimers from Wikipedia
In 2016, after giving the matter "thoughtful consideration," tech executive Eric Schmidt told the public they should "stop freaking out" about potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence. Schmidt recently announced his resignation from the chairmanship of Google's parent company Alphabet, though he's apparently continuing in roles not only as an Alphabet board member, but heading the … Continue reading Google involvement in drone A.I. project revealed
It seems somewhat unlikely that Washington will muster the willpower to regulate "big tech" in any meaningful way any time soon, even as the industry becomes the focus of growing criticism in the United States. Yet increasingly, the American companies that dominate the digital world are finding themselves the target of foreign critics and regulators. … Continue reading U.S. tech giants come under increasing scrutiny abroad
As controversy continues over investigations into Russian online disinformation programs, the business models of tech companies, and social media companies in particular, have become the target of a growing chorus of criticism. Last week, lawyers for Facebook, Google and Twitter testified on Capitol Hill about Russian purchases of political ads and manipulation of their platforms. … Continue reading Social media business models under fire
It's no surprise that tech companies such as Google and GoDaddy came under pressure to drop clients such as the neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer following extremist violence in Charlottesville earlier this month. But given the ongoing controversies over internet censorship not only in the United States but around the world, it is also understandable … Continue reading Tech companies, governments cracking down on free speech online
Silicon Valley behemoth Google was hit with a record €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion) fine Tuesday from the European Union for improperly promoting its own services in search results, and ordered to change its practices within 90 days or face further penalties. "We respectfully disagree with the conclusions announced today," Google's general counsel reportedly said, adding … Continue reading Despite Google record fine, ‘super-monopolies’ unlikely to change much
Last week's cyberattack on computers in multiple countries via ransomware known as "WannaCry" has made numerous headlines and sparked much discussion and criticism. One side of the story of this major security breach to receive less attention, however, is the light it shines on the cozy relationship between major tech companies and the National Security … Continue reading WCry ransomware attack exposes murky NSA-corporate ties yet again
Last week at an Air Force Association event, William Roper, head of the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office, shared some of his thoughts on artificial intelligence, and the role he envisions for it in the next major war. Except that the outbreak of this hypothetical future conflict "shouldn’t look like war at all," as Defense … Continue reading DoD officials deny ‘general AI’ plans they admire tech companies for working on
The development of artificial intelligence involves huge inherent risks, as anyone who has seen a few science fiction movies could probably tell you. Despite understanding this, however, tech tycoons are recklessly pushing to develop dystopian brain-implanted cyborg technologies as they see a chance to profit -- and that the potential for things to go wrong, … Continue reading Tech industry players push for ‘brain-computer interface’
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