Posts

Google drops out of bidding for $10 billion Pentagon data deal

-
Google drops out of bidding for $10 billion Pentagon data deal Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Monday it was no longer vying for a $10 billion cloud computing contract with the U.S. Defense Department, in part because the company’s new ethical guidelines do not align with the project, without elaborating. Google said in a statement “we couldn’t be assured that [the JEDI deal] would align with our AI Principles and second, we determined that there were portions of the contract that were out of scope with our current government certifications.” The principles bar use of Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) software in weapons as well as services that violate international norms for surveillance and human rights. Google was provisionally certified in March to handle U.S. government data with “moderate” security, but Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp have higher clearances. Amazon was widely viewed among Pentagon officials and technology vendors as the front-runner for the contract, known
Post a Comment
Read more

WhatsApp builds system to comply with India's payments data storage norms

-
WhatsApp builds system to comply with India's payments data storage norms MUMBAI::: Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp said on Tuesday it has built a system that stores payments-related data locally in India, in a bid to comply with a central bank directive that all such data should, within six months, be stored only in the country. WhatsApp rolled out a test of its payment system in India, its biggest market by users, earlier this year. “In response to India’s payments data circular, we’ve built a system that stores payments-related data locally in India,” WhatsApp said in an emailed statement. The Reserve Bank in April said all payments data should be stored only in India for “unfettered supervisory access”, a decision that has led to intense lobbying by global firms that worry it would cost them millions of dollars. written by DH
Post a Comment
Read more

How Climate Change Is Creating A New Breed Of Hurricane

-
Image
How Climate Change Is Creating A New Breed Of Hurricane Climate change is warming our oceans, and that thermal energy is fueling stronger hurricanes. A Category 3 hurricane is currently barrelling across the Pacific toward the Hawaiian islands. The storm, known as hurricane Lane, is expected to batter the Hawaiian islands with 120 mile-per-hour winds and enough rain to trigger flash floods and landslides. In both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, hurricanes are becoming more intense as a result of climate change. Hurricanes are fueled by warm water, which is becoming more widespread as greenhouse gasses continue to trap heat in the atmosphere. Both hurricane strength and average sea surface temperature have increased significantly over the last century. Although hurricanes can be influenced by wind, humidity and other factors, the majority of scientists agree that warming oceans are the primary cause of the rise in hurricane strength. Hurricanes form when evaporating sea water transf
1 comment
Read more

The Science Behind Where Police Should Place Their Body Cameras

-
Image
The Science Behind Where Police Should Place Their Body Cameras As law enforcement increasingly uses body-worn cameras, researchers are studying the roles of camera design and perspective. (Inside Science) -- Joel Suss, an Australian psychologist, had just arrived at Wichita State University in 2015, at a time when the U.S. media was becoming increasingly focused on police shootings. An expert in applying what's known as human factors to law enforcement, Suss studies how officers respond physically and psychologically to different environments, such as how well an officer fires a gun while under stress. He wanted to make contacts inside the local police department, so he signed up for the citizen police academy. While enrolled, he heard about some research being done internally by the Wichita Police Department. Captain Brian White had mounted body-worn cameras on different parts of a police officer and recorded shooting drills. They wanted to figure out the best camera positio
Post a Comment
Read more

At 'America First Energy Conference', solar power is dumb, climate change is fake

-
At 'America First Energy Conference', solar power is dumb, climate change is fake These are among the messages that flowed from the America First Energy Conference in New Orleans this week, hosted by some of the country’s most vocal climate change doubters - and attended by a handful of Trump administration officials. The second annual conference, organized by the conservative thinktank the Heartland Institute, pulled together speakers from JunkScience, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, and the Center For Industrial Progress, along with officials from the U.S. Department of Interior and the White House for panels that included: “Carbon Taxes, Cap & Trade, and Other Bad Ideas,” “Fiduciary Malpractice: The Sustainable Investment Movement,” and “Why CO2 Emissions Are Not Creating A Climate Crisis.” The day-long conference reflected the political rise of global warming skeptics in Donald Trump’s America that is occurring despite mounting scientific
Post a Comment
Read more

Exclusive: U.S. Army forms plan to test 40,000 homes for lead following Reuters report

-
Exclusive: U.S. Army forms plan to test 40,000 homes for lead following Reuters report The inspection program, if implemented, would begin quickly and prioritize thousands of Army post homes occupied by small children, who are most vulnerable to lead exposure. Ingesting the heavy metal can stunt brain development and cause lifelong health impacts. The lead inspections would cost up to $386 million and target pre-1978 homes to identify deteriorating lead-based paint and leaded dust, water or soil, according to the military documents. A draft Army Execution Order says the program’s mission is to mitigate all identified lead hazards in Army post homes in the United States. In homes where dangers are detected, the Army would offer soldiers’ families “temporary or permanent relocation” to housing safe from lead hazards, it says. The Army's mobilization comes after Reuters published an investigation on August 16 describing lead paint poisoning hazards in privatized mi
Post a Comment
Read more