In August, presidential candidate and senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) proposed spending $85 billion to expand high-speed internet access in rural America and other underserved communities. Senator and rival presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) thinks that’s not enough. Friday, he offered his own $150 billion broadband plan that goes far beyond connecting rural communities to the… Continue reading Bernie Sanders Says Internet Service Should be a Human Right
Author: Wired Magazine
Larry, Sergey, and the Mixed Legacy of Google-Turned-Alphabet
On August 10, 2015, Google CEO Larry Page shocked the business world by announcing he was restructuring the company he cofounded into a holding company called Alphabet. Page would head the new entity, and Google itself would be one of a number of companies under Alphabet’s control—like Google X, Google Fiber, Google Ventures, and Nest—each… Continue reading Larry, Sergey, and the Mixed Legacy of Google-Turned-Alphabet
A SpaceX Beer Supply Run, Sketchy Baby Yoda Merch, and More News
Sellers are faking and rocket boosters are shaking, but first: a cartoon about when keto goes wrong. Here’s the news you need to know, in two minutes or less. Want to receive this two-minute roundup as an email every weekday? Sign up here! Today’s News SpaceX will bring the science of fire, mice, and beer… Continue reading A SpaceX Beer Supply Run, Sketchy Baby Yoda Merch, and More News
The RCS Texting Protocol Is Way Too Easy to Hack
Ask practically any phone carrier, and they’ll tell you that the future of smartphone features from texting to video calls is a protocol called Rich Communication Services. Think of RCS as the successor to SMS, an answer to iMessage that can also handle phone and video calls. Last month, Google announced it would begin rolling… Continue reading The RCS Texting Protocol Is Way Too Easy to Hack
Larry Page and Sergey Brin Hand Over Alphabet’s Reins
It’s officially the end of an era at Google. As the company faces a series of antitrust investigations and mounting employee unrest, its two cofounders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, announced on Tuesday they were stepping down from their leadership roles at the company. Page had been CEO of Google parent organization Alphabet, while Brin… Continue reading Larry Page and Sergey Brin Hand Over Alphabet’s Reins
Blockchain Developer Gets Busted After Talk in North Korea
The prominent hacker and Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith was arrested by the US government Friday after he spoke at an April conference on blockchain technologies in North Korea. The US government considers his presentation to be a transfer of technology—and therefore a violation of US sanctions. But Griffith’s defenders, including Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, describe… Continue reading Blockchain Developer Gets Busted After Talk in North Korea
A Physics Analysis of Tesla’s Shattered Cybertruck Windows
I don’t know what to think about Elon Musk anymore. I mean the SpaceX stuff is awesome, and the Tesla car has been pretty cool. But now we have the Tesla pickup truck, unveiled on Thursday. (Simone Giertz did it first!) The Tesla Cybertruck looks odd—one person likened it to a futuristic doorstop—but that’s fine… Continue reading A Physics Analysis of Tesla’s Shattered Cybertruck Windows
Researchers Want Guardrails to Help Prevent Bias in AI
Artificial intelligence has given us algorithms capable of recognizing faces, diagnosing disease, and, of course, crushing computer games. But even the smartest algorithms can sometimes behave in unexpected and unwanted ways, for example picking up gender bias from the text or images they are fed. A new framework for building AI programs suggests a way… Continue reading Researchers Want Guardrails to Help Prevent Bias in AI
Feds Pin Uber Crash on Human Operator, Call for Better Rules
The Uber self-driving car crash that killed a pedestrian in March 2018 was the fault of the vehicle’s operator, who wasn’t paying attention at the time and was likely looking at her cell phone, the National Transportation Safety Board has determined. But the safety watchdog didn’t end the blame game there. At a board meeting… Continue reading Feds Pin Uber Crash on Human Operator, Call for Better Rules
How Ford Created the Mach-E, Its Fully Electric Mustang SUV
The Ford Mustang Mach-E—a fully electric SUV “inspired by” the famed two-seat coupe—debuted in Los Angeles Sunday night, kicking off what’s sure to be years of enthusiast debate about whether the high-riding four-door merits the name “Mustang,” in form or function. The character and performance won’t come to light until the car arrives next year.… Continue reading How Ford Created the Mach-E, Its Fully Electric Mustang SUV