Technology | The Guardian

Life before Google Maps | Stanley Kubrick’s best films | Regional dialect | Crossword | WB YeatsCharlotte Church, on getting lost in London, asks: “What did we do before Google Maps?” (I ditched my iPhone and it changed my life, G2, 8 April). We had an A to Z in our pocket, or we asked a police officer. Given the latter are now thin on the ground or bristling with weapons, an A to Z is the safest bet. A paper one obviously, not the app.

Critics say online harms white paper could lead to North Korean-style censorshipCritics of the government’s flagship internet regulation policy are warning it could lead to a North Korean-style censorship regime, where regulators decide which websites Britons are allowed to visit, because of how broad the proposals are.The mooted legislation, launched on Monday in the online harms white paper, covers any website that “allows users to share or discover user-generated content, or interact with each other online”, a definition which potentially covers vast areas of the internet. Continue reading...

Decision comes after employees called for the removal of a rightwing thinktank leader from the councilGoogle is ending a new artificial intelligence ethics council just one week after launching it, following protests from employees over the appointment of a rightwing thinktank leader.The rapid downfall of the Advanced Technology External Advisory Council (ATEAC), which was dedicated to “the responsible development of AI”, came after more than 2,000 Google workers signed a petition criticizing the company’s selection of an anti-LGBT advocate. Continue reading...

Material discovered on Amazon cloud servers in latest example of Facebook letting third parties extract user dataMore than 540m Facebook records were left exposed on public internet servers, cybersecurity researchers said on Wednesday, in just the latest security black eye for the company.Researchers for the firm UpGuard discovered two separate sets of Facebook user data on public Amazon cloud servers, the company detailed in a blogpost. Continue reading...

The risk that humanity faces comes not from malevolent machines but from incompetent programmers, writes Martyn ThomasThe long read (28 March) on the threat from artificial intelligence misses the point. In a paper written in 1951, Alan Turing demolished all the arguments against AI one day surpassing human intelligence, but there is no sign that that “singularity” is on the horizon. The imminent threat is that we’ve built a digital society on software foundations that are too vulnerable to failures and cyber-attacks, as a recent report from the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre oversight board powerfully illustrated. The risk that humanity faces comes not from malevolent machines but from incompetent programmers who leave their customers vulnerable to cyber-attacks and other failures.If we survive long enough to see truly intelligent machines, then there is no known barrier to them developing consciousness. But how could we tell?

Google issues new ‘minimum standards’ for temps after more than 900 employees sign letter criticizing abrupt firingMore than 900 Google workers have signed a letter objecting to the tech giant’s treatment of temporary contractors, in what organizers are calling a “historical coalition” between Google’s full-time employees (FTEs) and temps, vendors and contractors (TVCs).In March, Google abruptly shortened the contracts of 34 temp workers on the “personality” team for Google Assistant – the Alexa-like digital assistant that reads you the weather, manages your calendar, sends a text message, or calls you an Uber through your phone or smart speaker. Continue reading...

Jordan Erica Webber is joined by the product manager for the Guardian Voice Lab about a new type of technology it has built. It’s called the Guardian BriefingThe team at Guardian Voice Labs is experimenting with generating an audio news summary by blending human and synthetic voices. It’s designed for Google Assistant and based on existing Guardian journalism and curation.The idea is to capitalise on the text-to-speech technology on the Assistant platform, and create a new way for people to digest the news of the day. Continue reading...

‘Checkout on Instagram’ is new e-commerce service available to US customersFacebook is moving into retail, as the company partners with more than 20 brands to allow Instagram users to buy clothes, accessories and makeup on the social network without leaving the app.“Checkout on Instagram” is a step up from previous shopping features on the service, which ultimately pushed buyers to a brand’s web page to complete transactions. Users were then required to enter payment and shipping details, and often sign up for new user accounts, prompting many to bail on the transaction before completing it. Continue reading...

Bluetooth earbuds have longer battery life, hands-free Siri and new wireless charging caseApple has launched a new version of its hugely popular wireless earbuds, the AirPods, with long-anticipated wireless charging and longer battery life.The second-generation AirPods look identical to the previous version, complete with a white stalk that looks like a set of earphones with the cables cut off. But now the earbuds last longer when used for phone calls between charges and support hands-free access to Apple’s Siri voice assistant. Continue reading...

Has Google got its head in the cloud, or can its sheer size help it succeed where many have failed in building a hardware-free future for gamers?Google’s announcement of game-streaming service Stadia may not have been a huge industry revelation; Google has made no secret of its ambitions to enter the video game market, and it was somewhat given away by public trials last September. Instead, it was the things that weren’t revealed at Tuesday’s Game Developers Conference keynote that took many by surprise. Ahead of the event, a long list of big-name reveals had been rumoured – but none materialised, except Bethesda’s Doom: Eternal, which was not shown actually running on Stadia. And of course everyone was on tenterhooks to find out how much it was all going to cost, information that was also absent.“There’s just so much that I didn’t learn today that I really wanted to,” says Gizmodo’s Alex Cranz. “And that makes me nervous about it.” Continue reading...

US congressman’s action against the company and its users has led to what is known as the ‘Streisand effect’The US congressman Devin Nunes sent the Twitterverse spiraling into hilarity late on Monday with his lawsuit listing the purported crimes of Twitter users “Devin Nunes’ Mom” and “Devin Nunes’ Cow”.In the lawsuit against Twitter and a handful of users, the California Republican claims to be the victim of vicious internet trolls, as well as the victim of selective censorship by the social media company. He is alleging that by “shadow-banning” his account, Twitter allowed for the selective amplification of “defamers” such as “Devin Nunes’ Mom” and “Devin Nunes’ Cow”. Continue reading...

Updated models bring small tablet back into line with the iPhone XS and iPad ProApple has updated its long-in-the-tooth but popular smallest tablet, the iPad Mini, and the larger iPad Air.Both models have been brought up to parity with the iPhone XS and the iPad Pro with Apple’s A12 Bionic processor, which is up to three times faster than that in previous versions, which have chips dating back to 2014. Continue reading...

Some worry the ‘wellness’ movement and its focus on personal responsibility let the tech industry off the hookAt 9.30am on a Wednesday morning, I received a notification telling me I’d already picked up my phone 30 times that day. “11 left until you go over your goal of 41 pickups,” my screen read. “Put your phone down until 9.52am! Enjoy your time living in the moment.”These updates were sent via Moment, an app that tracks my screen time. Continue reading...

Jordan Erica Webber teams up with Nicola Davis to look at the gender data gap in both big tech and science, and the dangerous repercussions for women in a world built for menLast Friday was International Women’s Day, so Chips with Everything has teamed up with the Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast. Together, they examine the gender data gap and the dangerous repercussions of a world built for men.Jordan speaks to Caroline Criado-Perez, the author of Invisible Women, about how women are underrepresented in the tech industry, in both the hiring process and the general design of its products. From VR headsets that make women experience motion sickness to health apps that once forgot to add period trackers, Caroline breaks down the gender data gap in big tech. Continue reading...

Yoshan Koshy’s piece on a twisty, topical collection of tweets was highly commended in this year’s Observer/Anthony Burgess prize

More female startup founders are blowing up conventional ideas that having a newborn and building a startup don’t mixIn late January, Amy Nelson, the founder of the Riveter co-working network, posted an ultrasound on Twitter. “That’s my baby girl,” she wrote. “She arrives in June … #proudmama.”Though baby announcements aren’t uncommon on social media, for startup world, this tweet was surprising. Female startup founders have historically shied away from going public with their pregnancies. Investors – the lifeblood of startup funding – have frequently hesitated to bet on companies whose founder might soon be juggling a newborn. Continue reading...

Also unveiled in Barcelona: Microsoft’s Hololens 2 and phones with folding screensThe annual mobile technology jamboree in Barcelona has revealed the latest exciting developments that will feature in phones, tablets and watches over the next 12 months. From folding handsets and ultra-sophisticated cameras to brick-like smartphones with a very long battery life – here are eight of the most notable products from Mobile World Congress 2019 this week. Continue reading...

Barbican, London

Elon Musk says move means electric vehicle manufacturer can sell Model 3 for $35,000Tesla is closing most of its stores in a cost-cutting measure, so it can lower the starting price of its Model 3 to $35,000 (£26,400).Elon Musk, the billionaire chief executive of the electric car and technology company, said a shift to selling online only was essential to make it financially viable to lower the current starting price of $42,900. Continue reading...

Facebook says it has hotline for whistleblowers after report paints picture of contractors’ working conditionsFacebook has said it remains committed to ensuring that the contractors who moderate its sites are treated fairly and with respect by their employers, after a report revealed the traumatic experiences of many of the low-paid workers who keep violence, hate speech and sexual imagery off its platforms.The vast majority of the more than 15,000 people who work as Facebook moderators are employed by third-party contractors, and their working conditions are often far from the stereotype of a perk-filled Silicon Valley job. Continue reading...

Judge says magistrate who awarded Uber’s 15-month permit was not biasedUber has survived a high court challenge to its licence to operate in London, after judges rejected claims of bias brought by a group of black cab drivers.In a crowdfunded legal bid, drivers had argued that Uber’s 15-month permit was decided by a magistrate with conflicts of interest, making her ruling “tainted by actual or apparent bias”. Continue reading...

Bezos, who holds Amazon stock valued at about $137bn, contributed a total of $2bn in 2018Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man and one frequently tagged a cheapskate when it comes to giving away money, has emerged as a leading philanthropist.Related: Jeff Bezos: the Amazon billionaire and Trump bete noire Continue reading...

Zombie warfare, diligent police work and time-traveling teens … here are the gaming counterparts to Netflix’s interactive specialCharlie Brooker’s Black Mirror special Bandersnatch is Netflix’s first dive into interactive storytelling. Its success will inevitably pave the way for more ambitious creators, would-be auteurs and flagrant imitators who, just like Bandersnatch’s protagonist Stefan, are eager to explore what can happen when the outcome of their stories is decided by the viewer.Of course, video games have been playing with the power of narrative decision-making since the 1980s. There’s now a huge catalogue of interactive stories spanning genres from anime-romance to horror, crime thriller to supernatural chiller. Here are five of the best. Continue reading...

Jordan Erica Webber reports on the people who work behind the scenes to elevate an individual to the role of true Instagram influencerThese days, the influencer industry is so big that you can’t just spend a lot of time on Instagram and hope to gain enough of a following to be acknowledged as a true influencer.Most people need help. This week, Jordan chats to the Instagram Husband, Jordan Joseph Ramirez, influencer manager Leona McCaul and filmmaker Mun Yi Cheng, about just a few of the people who work behind the scenes to help make an influencer.

The Stromer ST3 pedal electric cycle is a phenomenal ride – between screaming exhilaration and abject terrorStromer ST3 electric bike

Jeremy Wright visits Facebook HQ following founder’s refusal to face Commons committee

Carmaker says it’s working with international cybersecurity experts to get its systems up and runningToyota Australia has been the victim of an attempted cyber attack, but believes no employee or customer data was taken.The carmaker said it had no details about the origin of the attack and the threat was being managed by its IT department. Continue reading...

Initiative by not-for-profit Fight for the Future offers employees of Silicon Valley firms a way to organize and leak informationSilicon Valley activists have launched a whistleblower campaign to help workers organize against “unethical tech”, including ads on social media platforms targeting the employees of those companies.Fight for the Future, a not-for-profit digital advocacy group, unveiled an initiative Tuesday to provide support for tech employees seeking to blow the whistle on their companies’ harmful products and practices. A new website, SpeakOut.Tech, encourages workers to safely leak information and organize their colleagues and includes a video ad that the group is promoting by using the micro-targeting ad features of Facebook and Google. Continue reading...

Beyond WhatsApp and Facebook, there are many other platforms used by children and teens that may be open to abuseSince 14-year-old Molly Russell killed herself in 2017, the apps and services our teenagers and children use – and their safety – have become a key concern for parents. Last week, the digital minister, Margot James, stated that “the tragic death of Molly Russell is the latest consequence of a social media world that behaves as if it is above the law”. James went on to announce plans to introduce a legally binding code and duty of care towards young users for social media companies.Britain’s children are not just using the likes of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Pinterest and Snapchat on a daily basis. There is a wealth of apps targeted at teens and children that have their own ecosystems and controversies. Continue reading...

While Ocado is trying to turn the grocery sector on its head, other industries also find themselves the target of disruptorsNetflix has helped change the way we watch television and film, further weakening our reliance on traditional TV schedules and providing a cheaper alternative to a cinema trip. Continue reading...

Interest is growing in the activities of a tabloid increasingly entwined with TrumpIt has all the ingredients to make a classic National Enquirer tale: the world’s richest man, salacious leaked text messages, a feud between a press baron and the US president, pictures of a penis, private investigators, the Mueller inquiry, large sums of money, claims of foreign government involvement, accusations of dirty tricks, and an attempt to exert control over a prominent figure using compromising material.But this time the Enquirer itself is the focus of the story. The boss of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, published an extraordinary public statement on Thursday, accusing the celebrity-driven tabloid of “extortion and blackmail”. The billionaire said the paper, which had already exposed his affair with a TV presenter, had threatened to publish more compromising material unless he publicly declared that its coverage was not “politically motivated or influenced by political forces”. Continue reading...

Crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe have shown just how generous people can be towards complete strangers. Jordan Erica Webber looks at why humans are so willing to trust people they don’t know online.Online crowdfunding first started around the turn of the millennium, and big crowdfunding websites such as IndieGoGo, Kickstarter and GoFundMe launched around the end of the last decade. Artists and musicians have used these platforms to gather funds for books, albums and other projects. Other people have raised money for medical treatments, education, memorials and political campaigns.This week Jordan Erica Webber chats to the CEO of GoFundMe, Rob Solomon, and to Emma Houlston, who started a campaign to raise money for cancer treatment.

Trump’s vitriol toward Amazon CEO and long ties to National Enquirer collided last month, when tabloid ran story on Bezos’s affairThe remarkable blogpost from Jeff Bezos – Amazon CEO, world’s richest man and owner of the Washington Post – accusing the National Enquirer’s parent company of blackmail adds another bizarre strand to the tangled web tying together Donald Trump, the media and the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.Bezos has long been a hate figure for Trump because of his ownership of the Washington Post. Although Bezos does not take an active role in the paper’s management, Trump has repeatedly tweeted about the “Amazon Washington Post”. Continue reading...

As Facebook tries to address its role in spreading hate speech, human rights experts criticize fresh ban of ethnic armed groups

‘Driven by a set of ideals and some clever code, you built a money machine that has accumulated remarkable influence’Dear Mr Zuckerberg:

Parent company of Google earned $39.27bn in last quarter of 2018, with revenues 22% higher compared to previous yearAlphabet, the parent company of the internet search giant Google, earned $39.27bn in the last three months of 2018, but its share price sank as its costs rose.Related: Google board tried to cover up sexual misconduct, shareholders allege Continue reading...

The Facebook accounts had garnered about 2 million followers and researchers say they amplified anti-west viewsFacebook and Twitter both announced on Thursday they had taken down hundreds of accounts believed to have been part of coordinated influence operations from Iran, Russia and Venezuela.Related: Apple cracks down on Facebook after it paid teens for access to their data Continue reading...

Deal that relied on taxpayer subsidies was hailed by Trump but firm now says most jobs will be in R&D and not manufacturingFoxconn is reconsidering plans to make advanced liquid crystal display panels at a $10bn Wisconsin campus, and said it intends to hire mostly engineers and researchers rather than the manufacturing workforce the project originally promised.Related: Trump pushes back against US spy chiefs over North Korea and Isis Continue reading...

Cybersecurity expert sees ‘nightmare scenario’ for company as app allows third parties to eavesdropIt was a tin-foil hatted conspiracy theorist’s wildest prognostication come true: the trusty and beloved iPhones that accompany users to work, to bed and even to the toilet suddenly transformed into an all-purpose spying device, transmitting audio and video to anyone with your phone number or email.“This is the nightmare scenario,” said Marcus Carey, a cybersecurity expert and author of Tribe of Hackers. “It does incite privacy fears because this is the same scenario that most people fear from the US government and other regimes.” Continue reading...

Soccer stars and clubs are investing millions in esports, as virtual football grows as a spectator sport – and Uefa is launching a virtual Champions League.As the fifth Russian goal struck the Saudi net in the opening game of last summer’s World Cup, the dreams of Saudi Arabian football supporters were crushed before the competition had really started. A few months later, though, fans were glued to screens once again, witnessing a Saudi player do the unthinkable and lift the trophy. This time they were watching a YouTube stream, and their star player was a gamer named “MSdossary”.Beating 20 million other players of Fifa 18, Electronic Arts’ wildly popular officially licensed football video game, Mossad “MSDossary” Aldossary was crowned the Fifa eWorld Cup champion, winning $250,000 (around £190,000) for his efforts. He has become the player to watch, an armchair Mbappé – and as football stars from Arsenal’s Mesut Özil to Dutch veteran Ruud Gullit begin investing in esports, he is drawing a lot of attention. Continue reading...

US labor department accuses company of rampant exclusion of black and Hispanic people in hiring and higher pay for white men

As we grow wiser to marketing, advertisers are finding new ways and places to plug productsWe’ve weaned ourselves off banner advertisements, with a fifth of us using ad blockers in our internet browsers, according to research firm eMarketer. So-called “native advertising” online, where advertising is presented in a similar way to editorial, has failed to take off. A US study last year from Stanford University found native advertising is no better at getting us to buy than standard online ads.“Consumers are very good at filtering out messages,” explains Lisa Du-Lieu, a senior lecturer in marketing at Huddersfield University. “If you don’t get their attention within the first couple of seconds, it just bounces off them.” Continue reading...

US said to be in advanced stages of inquiry over alleged Huawei theft of trade secretsChina has accused the US of trying to suppress its tech companies, as US prosecutors reportedly investigate allegations that Huawei stole trade secrets from US businesses.Adding to pressure on the Chinese telecoms firm, US lawmakers have proposed a ban on selling US chips or components to the company. Continue reading...

Video games and drag offer potent opportunities to play with identity. Four artists explore personas, avatars and cosplay, taking down trolls on Twitch and the power of Princess Peach

Polish national is also being held, risking further tension between China and the westPoland has arrested a Chinese employee of Huawei and a Polish national involved in cyber-business on allegations of spying, Polish state media has reported, deepening the controversy over western criticism of the Chinese telecoms company.However, a spokesman for the Polish security services told Reuters the allegations related to individual actions, and were not linked directly to Huawei. Continue reading...

Technical solutions focused on privacy or bias will get us nowhere, says Miranda HallStephen Cave is right to highlight the ethical issues with artificial intelligence (To save us from a Kafkaesque future, we must democratise AI, 4 January) but we should be wary of focusing on “diversity and inclusion”. He argues that including the voices of more women or black people will ensure a more ethical (and efficient) future for AI. But as software developer and activist Nabil Hassein points out: “The liberation of oppressed people can never be achieved by inclusion in systems controlled by a capitalist elite which benefits from the perpetuation of oppressions.” Let’s not kid ourselves that having female or black CEOs at Facebook would stop its abuses of power.To democratise AI, we need to take back control of digital infrastructures and build alternatives that serve collective interests. Refugee women in Hamburg and cab drivers in Texas are running cooperative platforms for finding work. Cities such as Barcelona are building identity management systems that give citizens control of their data. Tech and gig economy workers are unionising to demand better rights and hold their bosses politically accountable. These strategies recognise that AI systems relate to wider agendas such as privatisation and deregulation. To alter them we need political change, not just technical fixes focussed on privacy or bias. Continue reading...

App stores, Facebook, smartphone photography, even USB cables – they are all facing disruption this yearAt the beginning of 2019, as at the start of 2018, Margrethe Vestager remains the most powerful woman in tech. The EU competition commissioner has the world’s biggest companies walking on tiptoe, afraid of her habit of enforcing competition law where the US authorities have refused to do so. Continue reading...

Firm used Dutch shell company in move known as ‘double Irish, Dutch sandwich’ that cuts its foreign tax billGoogle moved €19.9bn ($22.7bn) through a Dutch shell company to Bermuda in 2017, as part of an arrangement that allows it to reduce its foreign tax bill, according to documents filed at the Dutch chamber of commerce.The amount channelled through Google Netherlands Holdings BV was about €4bn more than in 2016, the documents, filed on 21 December, showed. Continue reading...

Devices could be deployed in underground pipe networks, reducing need for roadworksThe UK government is investing millions in the development of micro-robots designed to work in underground pipe networks and dangerous sites such as decommissioned nuclear facilities.The ambition is for the robots, developed in British universities, to mark the end of disruptive and expensive roadworks by carrying out repairs without the need to dig up the roads. Continue reading...

Five of the best aids for athletes, from sophisticated monitors and tracking apps to shoes that promise to boost your performanceWhether it be a training plan from an app such as TrainAsOne or Zombies, Run!, or comparing results with fellow runners via a platform such as Runkeeper or Strava, technology has helped lots of runners off the start line, coached their performance and led them to become obsessed with their digital trails. Most start off tracking their runs with their smartphone strapped to their arm, but other devices can capture metrics beyond just pace and distance. Continue reading...