Technology

At a time when simply sharing space with a fellow human being can be a dangerous activity, many governments, airports, and hospitals are discovering the non-contagious delights of robots, which can be deployed to clean surfaces and deliver goods without fear. Their latest deployment comes from Singapore, where municipal authorities are using Boston Dynamics’ four-legged Spot robot to remind park visitors to keep a safe distance from one another. Starting today, a Spot unit will patrol the city’s Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park as part of a two-week trial, broadcasting prerecorded messages “to remind park visitors to observe safe distancing measures.” Singapore authorities say the robot won’t be used to identify individuals The robot is fitted with cameras that will be used to estimate the number of...

Last year, three of the top five bestselling phones worldwide were Samsung phones, according to Counterpoint Research, holding the number three, four, and five spots after the iPhone XR and 11. If you live in the US, when you think of Samsung, you probably think of the Galaxy S or Note — but the Samsung phones that sold so well were midrange Galaxy A-series phones. Samsung is making a big push to sell more of these phones in the US with the $399 Galaxy A51. That price puts it in direct competition with the iPhone SE, but there are plenty of other Android phones that come in under $500. What makes the A51 different is Samsung’s marketing budget and partnerships. It is available unlocked on Amazon and Samsung’s website, which is significant for a midrange Samsung device, and it’s also on AT&...

Last month, after Apple and Google announced some changes to their forthcoming attempt to track the spread of COVID-19, I noted the surprising degree to which tech giants are setting the terms of the pandemic response. They own the hardware, they own the software, and national governments who would use it to find new cases of COVID-19 have to do it on the companies’ terms. This week, that process began to accelerate. But first, a bit of background. The Apple-Google collaboration will ask you to opt in to a system that causes your phone to emit Bluetooth signals to other phones around you. When you are in close proximity to another person for an extended period of time — more than five minutes, typically — both of your phones record the interaction. When a person tests positive for COVID-19...

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is still rising, even though people are driving and flying less during the COVID-19 pandemic. CO2 reached an all-time daily high on May 3rd, hitting levels that haven’t been seen in the more than 60 years since records began. The annual average is also expected to rise, according to an analysis published today by scientists at the national meteorological service for the UK and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They found that the overall amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is still climbing steadily, and that the dramatic changes from the pandemic barely slowed it down. Yesterday, the highest ever greenhouse gas concentration in history was observed at Mauna Loa Observatory: 418.12 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere. Improved national ...

The organizers of Tokyo Game Show have announced that this year’s event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TGS 2020 was due to take place from September 24th to 27th at the Makuhari Messe convention center just outside Tokyo, but there are now plans to hold an online event instead. This is the first time that TGS has ever been canceled since it started in 1996, but the news won’t come as a surprise to anyone. Virtually every in-person gaming event this year has been scratched from the calendar, including E3 and Gamescom, the biggest shows in the US and Europe respectively. TGS 2020 would likely have gained more attention than in the average year because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Se...

New York’s attorney general and Zoom have reached an agreement over the videoconferencing company’s security practices. Attorney General Letitia James offered an update today on a letter she sent in late March, raising concerns after reports of offensive “Zoombombing” as well as other privacy and security issues on the platform. The update outlines steps Zoom is taking to improve its service and praises the company for its handling of criticism. The agreement includes Zoom naming a head of security to run an operation that’s “reasonably designed” to keep user information secure and confidential. Zoom will also employ “reasonable encryption and security protocols,” provide channels for complaints, and explicitly ban “hatred against others based on race, religion, ethnicity, national origin,...

Much of the cast of Community will reunite for a virtual table read to support COVID-19 relief, according to Variety. The table read and a fan Q&A will be live streamed on the Community YouTube channel on May 18th at 5PM ET. Actors Donald Glover, Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong, as well as Community creator Dan Harmon, will all participate in the table read, reports Variety. They will be doing a read of the episode “Cooperative Polygraphy” from the show’s fifth season. The live stream will raise money for José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen and Frontline Foods. It’s the latest special to help raise money for COVID-19 relief. NBC aired a half-hour scripted special of Parks and Recreation on April 30th for Feeding America’...

Controversial facial recognition provider Clearview AI says it will no longer sell its app to private companies and non-law enforcement entities, according to a legal filing first reported on Thursday by BuzzFeed News. It will also be terminating all contracts, regardless of whether the contracts are for law enforcement purposes or not, in the state of Illinois. The document, filed in Illinois court as part of lawsuit over the company’s potential violations of a state privacy law, lays out Clearview’s decision as a voluntary action, and the company will now “avoid transacting with non-governmental customers anywhere.” Earlier this year, BuzzFeed reported on a leaked client list that indicates Clearview’s technology has been used by thousands of organizations, including companies like Bank ...

A National Treasure TV series for Disney Plus is now in development, producer Jerry Bruckheimer told Collider in an interview today. Bruckheimer also reiterated that a new National Treasure film was in the works, though that was first reported in January. Bruckheimer was light on details for the Disney Plus show, but he did say that “it’s the same concept but a young cast.” It’s unclear if Nicolas Cage will be reprising his role as Benjamin Franklin Gates in the Disney Plus series in some capacity. The new theatrical movie would have the same cast as the first two movies, Bruckheimer said. Both the series in the film seem are early in development Both the National Treasure Disney Plus show and the third film also seem to be in early stages of development, based on Bruckheimer’s comments. “...

Google’s Read Along Android app, which helps teach reading skills to elementary school students, is now available in early access in 180 countries, the company announced today. Read Along uses Google’s text-to-speech and speech recognition technology to provide feedback as kids work through the app’s reading prompts and games. The app supports nine languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Hindi. Read Along first launched as an app called Bolo in India in March 2019. Kids are guided through Read Along with the help of an “in-app reading buddy” named Diya. “She gives [kids] positive and reinforcing feedback along the way, just as a parent or teacher would,” according to Google. “Children can also tap Diya at any time for help pronouncing a word or a sentence.” Here are a few sc...

Even a favorite stay-at-home activity like watching TV can get lonely sometimes, especially if you’re used to hanging out with your friends and watching together. And although you can stream and text, FaceTime, or share your screen on Zoom, sometimes that just doesn’t cut it. If you’re looking for a way to make your social-distancing series binge more, well, social, there are browser extensions that let you host watch parties digitally. Here are four apps you can use to host movie nights with friends online, along with step-by-step instructions on how to start watching. To use these apps, you will need your own subscription for each service, and everyone watching will have to be signed onto their own account. These extensions work on top of your existing subscription to sync the videos wit...

Waymo is planning to resume testing its autonomous vehicles in Arizona on May 11th, nearly two months after pausing its robotaxi service as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But some of the company’s backup drivers are worried that Waymo may be rushing back into service too quickly. In a blog post, the company said it was taking a “tiered approach” to returning its vehicles to the road. Waymo says it has redesigned its vehicle depots in Arizona to conform with social distancing guidelines, including limiting the number of people that will be allowed inside at any given time. Employees will receive personal protective gear, like face masks and gloves. And the facilities and the company’s fleet of autonomous vehicles will be cleaned multiple times a day. In addition, employees will receive ...