Geek News

It's not only humans and animals that can hold biases against outsiders. Psychology and computer science researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cardiff University have discovered that artificial intelligence robots can develop prejudices by learning from each other. AI often has a complex relationship with racism and sexism , and we've seen previous instances of AI exhibiting such prejudice, as a pair of Microsoft chatbots did over the last couple of years . However, this study showed that AI is capable of forming prejudices all by itself. The researchers wrote that "groups of autonomous machines could demonstrate prejudice by simply identifying, copying and learning this behaviour from one another." The academics set up a simulated game where each AI bot chooses to donate to another within its own group or another group...

The franchise hype leading up to the theatrical release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom earlier in the summer included a slew of AR and VR games. Unsurprisingly, there's another on the way to celebrate the film's home release on September 18th through the Facebook and Messenger mobile apps: An in-store display featuring the film's Indoraptor antagonist, and an insert slipped into physical copies that boots up an interactive baby version of the b eloved Velociraptor, Blue. Okay, they're definitely just gimmicks to draw folks out to retail locations and/or buy physical versions of the film, but it's almost certainly something that won't be included if you stream the movie in the future. More to the point, it shows how easily companies can fold these experiences (really, advertisements) into their marketing ploys -- and how Facebook's...

All efforts to save @RealAlexJones and @InfoWars from themselves have failed, and you can blame Jack Dorsey for that. Whether or not he intervened in applying a seven-day suspension for rulebreaking tweets (the company denies it) he's successfully undermined the values Twitter claims to hold high. A month ago, when YouTube and Facebook took action against the accounts, Dorsey said : "We're going to hold Jones to the same standard we hold to every account, not taking one-off actions to make us feel good in the short term, and adding fuel to new conspiracy theories." So how'd that work out? Twitter claims justification for the ban comes from tweets and videos posted yesterday targeting CNN reporter Oliver Darcy. Unfortunately, we won't ignore the fact that this action occurred within 24 hours of its CEO being personally exposed to Jones' ou...

A company called Mira showed off its fertility monitor at CES earlier this year with the promise that it's much more accurate than the other digital trackers out there. Now, the technology is finally available for purchase worldwide. Mira's Fertility Starter kit comes with an AI-powered egg-shaped analyzer and 10 disposable test wands. Unlike the trackers that only tell you if you're ovulating or not, Mira tells you the quantity of Luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine, which means you can use it to determine your peak fertility days. You only have to pee on a wand and stick it into the monitor to get your results. That's definitely useful if you're trying to conceive -- the bad news is that the kits are pricey and will cost you much more than some of the other higher-end options available today. One will set you back $199, almost double the origi...

Voting machines that do not provide a paper trail or cannot be independently audited should immediately be removed, concludes a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. via Dark Reading: https://ift.tt/2M6elH9 If New feed item from http://www.darkreading.com/rss/all.xml , then send Unsubscribe from these notifications or sign in to manage your Email Applets.

Environment The storm illustrates why forecasting is so difficult. Hurricane Florence could come close to the United States next week—but for now, its path is highly uncertain. via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2wP5W5u"

Walmart must be enthused with Tesla's vision for electric trucking, since it's quadrupling the size of its Semi order . The retailer is buying 30 additional Semis on top of the 10 it purchased back in November 2017, with the latest batch destined for Canada. The first 20 will bolster Walmart's core fleet in Missisauga, while the rest will support a future fulfillment center in Surrey, BC that will rely solel y on EVs. It's part of a larger strategy that will see Walmart's Canadian branch rely exclusively on "alternative power" for its fleet by 2028. The Semi's 500-mile range is apparently well-suited to Walmart's usage habits, which revolve around one-day round trips. In other words, it wouldn't work so well for multi-day or multi-point trips where there wouldn't be many opportunities to recharge. This isn't t...

Fender has added bass lessons to its Fender Play platform, providing users with bite-sized exercises, a number of instructors to learn from and a slew of skills to master. Those working on developing their bass-playing abilities will have access to a concept glossary, can work from multiple camera angles including close-up finger placement shots and over-the-shoulder views, track their progress and choose which style they prefer -- like funk, rock, R&B, blues or pop. Fender Play also has options for those who want to learn the bass in context, offering songs with corresponding guitar lessons and instruction on how to lock in with the rhythm section. It includes hundreds of lessons organized in five levels, and skills include counting rhythm, slap bass, slides, walking bass, moveable patterns, playing with a pick, arpeggios and building basslines. "Bass is...

Google has confirmed that its upcoming hardware event will take place October 9th in New York City at 11AM Eastern Time. The company is likely to reveal the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones, though plenty of leaks have given us a good idea of what Google has in store for its flagship Android handset this time around. They suggest that the display will have a deep notch, and the phone will probably have Qi wireless charging and an all-glass design. Other leaks suggested that the Pixel 3 will have a 5.5-inch screen, with a 2160x1080 resolution and a 2:1 aspect ratio. Despite rumors that have floated around over the last several months, you shouldn't expect to see Google's own smartwatch, as the company has confirmed that it has no plans to release one this year. For what it's worth, Google sent out invites to its upcoming event less than a week before App...

New research sheds light on the biggest threats to strike ICS systems in the first half of 2018, and what's in store for the rest of this year. via Dark Reading: https://ift.tt/2CrqLtz If New feed item from http://www.darkreading.com/rss/all.xml , then send Unsubscribe from these notifications or sign in to manage your Email Applets.

Google has sent out invites for an October 9th event that will almost certainly be the official announcement of the thoroughly leaked Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones . There's not much to go by from the invite in terms of clues — just a simple "I The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are the third generation of the Google-branded Pixel line that was first introduced in 2016. In the past few weeks, hardware units of both devices have made their way into the world, giving us a very good idea of what to expect from the... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2M76VTY If New feed item from http://www.theverge.com/tech/rss/index.xml , t ...