1 / 10Photograph: Amy Lombard Sarcos Guardian XO It looks like the exosuit from *Edge of Tomorrow*, but this exoskeleton from Sarcos is not science fiction. A human operator can just pop inside and suddenly lift 200 pounds without breaking a sweat—no really, you’ll barely feel anything, even the machine’s weight. It’s easy to operate, doesn’t…
DetailsThe social video app TikTok has been branded a potential security threat for its ties to China—the app is owned by the Beijing-based company ByteDance—but like any piece of software it also has the potential for more immediate security concerns. Recently patched vulnerabilities in the app could have allowed an attacker to take over TikTok…
DetailsAs TikTok ballooned in size and cultural influence over the past few years, the social video platform remained noticeably dinky compared to its Silicon Valley competitors in one area: its Community Guidelines. Whereas Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have developed lengthy policies covering hundreds of circumstances, TikTok provided a short list of bullet points addressing only…
DetailsWait—did Facebook just address a problem before it became a colossal nightmare?That’s one way of looking at the company’s new policy on deepfake videos. In a blog post published Monday, Monika Bickert, Facebook’s vice president of global policy management, announced that deepfakes will be joining nudity, hate speech, and graphic violence on the list of…
DetailsSo far, development of the electric vertical-lift aircraft that will enable our dreams of future urban air taxis has largely been the purview of small aviation startups. The “bigs,” Boeing and Airbus, have acquired or partnered with smaller firms, while automakers – who bring expertise in mass-production if not flying – have mainly stayed on…
DetailsRing, the home security company Amazon bought in 2018, has been criticized by more than 30 civil rights organizations for arranging secretive deals with hundreds of police departments across the country. In a letter sent in September, US senator Edward Markey (D–Massachussets), said the partnerships “could easily create a surveillance network that places dangerous burdens…
DetailsIt’s the first “official” day of CES, when glitzy keynotes are replaced with grungy, sweaty crowds shuffling from booth to booth set up on the hideous carpets of the Las Vegas show floor. I love it. I intentionally kept my calendar as open as possible so I could go experience the full spectrum of what’s…
DetailsIvanka Trump took the stage at CES on Tuesday to muted reception. Forty minutes later, she left to robust applause. No surprise, maybe, given the uncontroversial theme: The US needs to prepare workers for the future. At a technology-focused show, that’s not exactly a hard sell. But a closer look at the Trump administration’s attitude…
DetailsForget about the good ol’ passive-aggressive refrigerator note: Google Assistant will soon let you leave digital “household notes” directly on your Android-enabled Smart Display devices. The AI-powered app is also getting a few other nifty features like schedules for your smart devices, and the ability to read out long-form content. But first, notes. Long story…
Details“We were working 100-hour weeks,” Rockstar Games cofounder Dan Houser said ahead of the 2018 release of Red Dead Redemption 2. As fans prepared to play the long-anticipated action Western game, Rockstar employees were still reeling from “crunch”—the industry’s widespread practice of working excruciating, sometimes mandatory, overtime hours ahead of a game’s launch.In just the…
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