Technology

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a formal complaint against Detroit police over what it says is the first known example of a wrongful arrest caused by faulty facial recognition technology. Robert Julian-Borchak Williams, an African American man, was arrested after a facial recognition system falsely matched his photo with security footage of a shoplifter. The New York Times reports that the ACLU is calling for the dismissal of Williams’ case and for his information to be removed from Detroit’s criminal databases, and prosecutors have since agreed to delete his data. Facial recognition technology has been criticized for years, with researchers showing it to be biased against members of different races and ethnicities. But its use by law enforcement has grown even more con...

Rocket startup Relativity Space is expanding its launch sites from one to two, with a new agreement to fly its future rocket out of Vandenberg Air Force Base in Southern California. The deal means Relativity, which already has a lease for a launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, will be able to fly from either the East or West Coast of the United States when its rocket is ready. Based out of Los Angeles, Relativity Space is an ambitious rocket startup aimed at creating the first fully 3D-printed rocket. The company, started by engineers from SpaceX and Blue Origin, is currently developing its first rocket called the Terran 1. The goal is for every part of Terran 1 — including its engines, fuselage, and propellant tanks — to be 3D-printed in order to minimize the amount of workforce needed...

The latest pokémon adventure is a real-time, team-based strategy game called Pokémon Unite. The game is being developed by Tencent’s TiMi Studios, the same studio behind massive free-to-play online games like Honor of Kings and Call of Duty: Mobile. The game looks a lot like MOBAs, particularly League of Legends, with teams of five battling against each other and leveling up over the course of a match while completing objectives. The multi-lane map is even reminiscent of existing team strategy games. It’ll be a free-to-start game on both the Nintendo Switch and mobile, with crossplay for multiplayer. Today’s news caps off a busy period for the Pokémon franchise. Last week saw the release of the first major expansion for Pokémon Sword and Shield, along with the announcements of New Pokémon ...

After an abrupt takeover of the Open Technology Fund (OTF) last week, pressure is mounting against Michael Pack, the newly appointed CEO of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). A longtime ally of Steve Bannon, critics say the new appointee is adding a partisan slant to the agency, which also oversees Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. In a letter sent on Wednesday, nine members of Congress pushed Pack on his abrupt replacement of the leadership and board of OTF, a pivotal internet freedom nonprofit put in place under President Obama. Led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), the letter is also signed by Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), among others. “OTF-funded technologies and projects have also delivered enormous benefits to U.S. national security and ...

Nvidia is releasing a new driver update today that will support Microsoft’s DirectX 12 Ultimate and the latest GPU scheduling feature of the Windows 10 May 2020 Update. Nvidia’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support means its latest RTX cards support Microsoft’s latest set of gaming and multimedia APIs, which promise to better unify the feature set and capabilities of Windows gaming with the Xbox platform. A key component for DirectX 12 Ultimate is ray tracing, which Nvidia has long supported on its RTX line of cards. This new driver support should make it easier for game developers to optimize games for the upcoming Xbox Series X and the latest Nvidia cards. It’s an important part of any next-gen games that will arrive later this year and beyond. Windows 10’s new graphics setting. In the meantime, ...

General Motors’ OnStar is branching out beyond the car. The automaker is launching a new smartphone app called Guardian for customers who want to access OnStar’s remote assistance service capabilities when they aren’t physically inside their car. Previously, OnStar’s operators were only accessible to subscribers of the service by pressing a button on the rearview mirror or infotainment screen of their GM vehicle. Now, with the new app, OnStar customers can connect to an operator where ever they have their phone, either in the car, at home, or out walking. And for a limited time, they have the option of extending those services to up to seven family and friends of their choosing. “We’ve got over 20 years of experience dealing with public safety, and we’ve been looking at ways that we can ex...

At first glance, narrowing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — one of the internet’s foundational laws — seems like a rare bipartisan issue in Washington. President Donald Trump and his presumptive challenger Joe Biden both want to scale back or repeal the law. The Justice Department just proposed its own changes. And a long list of lawmakers have sponsored reform bills, including the EARN IT Act, which is expected to be marked up this week in Congress. But building a consensus to change Section 230 will be harder than it looks. The law’s critics have vastly different and sometimes incompatible ideas about how the law should work. Republicans and Democrats alike have called for sites to bear more legal liability if users post illegal content. For many Republicans, though, that’...

Full-length movies are coming to Fortnite’s new party royale island. Today, Epic Games announced that it will air three different Christopher Nolan movies in the island’s theater on June 26th. The available movies include Inception, Batman Begins, and The Prestige, though what you’ll actually be able to watch will depend on region. (Inception will be broadcast in North America, but you can check out the full schedule here.) This isn’t the first collaboration between Epic and Nolan; last month, the director revealed the latest trailer for his upcoming film, Tenet, inside of the game. Get ready for Movie Nite at Party Royale This Friday, June 26, grab some popcorn and catch one of three full-length Christopher Nolan feature films depending on your region! Check out showtimes and what’s playi...

You can catch up on all of the Witcher games on PC, and snag a preorder copy of Cyberpunk 2077 for $88 altogether at GOG.com. This special bundle is called the Ultimate RED collection, as it’s a slate of developer CD Projekt Red’s titles. If you were planning to preorder its upcoming Cyberpunk 2077, this is a good way to keep yourself busy until it launches in November. Just to note, these games are DRM-free and don’t require Steam or any other game platform to run. Here’s what the bundle includes: Cyberpunk 2077 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Game of the Year Edition The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings – Enhanced Edition The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales The Witcher Adventure Game If you need a lot of power and ports at your desk to keep your tech charged...

Twitter has continued its policy of labeling — but not removing — rule-breaking tweets from President Donald Trump. The company restricted a Trump post promising “serious force” against a potential Washington, DC equivalent to Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone. “We’ve placed a public interest notice on this Tweet for violating our policy against abusive behavior, specifically, the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group,” writes Twitter’s safety team. The warning is posted above the tweet and appears if users try to retweet it. Following Twitter’s usual policy for world leaders whose tweets serve a “public interest,” however, it won’t be deleted. There will never be an “Autonomous Zone” in Washington, D.C., as long as I’m your President. If they try they will ...

Apple is adding a new feature as part of its newly announced iOS 14 that will extend the lifespan of your AirPods. Apple says the operating system will reduce how quickly your AirPods’ batteries age by learning when you typically charge them and predicting when to stop charging them automatically. Instead of charging to 100 percent right away, the AirPods will stop charging at 80 percent, then resume later, so they don’t sit at 100 percent over an extended period of time. Arguably, the AirPods needed such a feature more than phones or laptops Most modern devices, including Apple products, use a lithium-ion battery, and experts agree that you shouldn’t always keep them 100 percent charged; you can extend a lithium-ion battery’s life by minimizing topping off. This isn’t a new idea: many mod...

After browsing for a new movie or TV show to watch on Netflix, people may throw something on before deciding 10 minutes in they’re just not that interested. Netflix’s new “remove from row” feature is designed to make it easier for people to remove those titles from their currently watching offerings. The goal is to give people more control over what appears on their Netflix homepage. The “continue watching” row is one of the most prominent, appearing at the top of the homepage. This makes it easy to jump back into a TV show that someone might be making their way through, or pick right back up where they left off with The Irishman (if you’re like me and it took a few sittings to watch). The annoying thing, however, is that if someone is no longer interested in watching a movie or a TV show,...