algorithms: ai, ar, vr, crypto

Apple’s $64 billion-a-year App Store isn’t catching the most egregious scams

Apr 22, 2021 | , ,

Recently, I reached out to the most profitable company in the world to ask a series of basic questions. I wanted to understand: how is a single man making the entire Apple App Store review team look silly? Particularly now that Apple’s in the fight of its life, both in the courts and in Congress, to prove its App Store is a well-run system that keeps users safe instead of a monopoly that needs to be broken up.

Source: Apple’s $64 billion-a-year App Store isn’t catching the most egregious scams

Google Earth’s 3D Timelapse Is Its Most Important New Feature in Years

Apr 17, 2021 | ,

Google Earth is already a powerful tool for observing our planet, but today it’s getting a major upgrade with the introduction of a new 3D time-lapse feature. Described by Google Earth director Rebecca Moore as the biggest update to Google Earth since 2017, Timelapse in Google Earth combines more than 24 million satellite photos, two petabytes of data, and 2 million hours of CPU processing time to create a 4.4-terapixel interactive view showing how the Earth has changed from 1984 to 2020.

Source: Google Earth’s 3D Timelapse Is Its Most Important New Feature in Years

100 Million More IoT Devices Are Exposed—and They Won’t Be the Last

Apr 14, 2021 | , ,

Over the last few years, researchers have found a shocking number of vulnerabilities in seemingly basic code that underpins how devices communicate with the internet. Now a new set of nine such vulnerabilities are exposing an estimated 100 million devices worldwide, including an array of internet-of-things products and IT management servers.

Source: 100 Million More IoT Devices Are Exposed—and They Won’t Be the Last

For Creators, Everything Is for Sale

Apr 13, 2021 | , ,

A rash of new start-ups are making it easier for digital creators to monetize every aspect of their life — down to what they eat, who they hang out with and who they respond to on TikTok. Tens of millions of people around the globe consider themselves creators, and the creator economy represents the “fastest-growing type of small business,” according to a 2020 report by the venture capital firm SignalFire. But as the market gets more and more competitive — and the platforms and their algorithms remain unreliable — creators are devising new, hyper-specific revenue streams.

Source:  For Creators, Everything is for Sale

How Blockchain Can Simplify Partnerships

Apr 11, 2021 | ,

Collaborations that require information sharing and mutual trust between companies, suppliers, and clients can be tough, particularly in the remote era. But blockchain’s distributed ledger — and its use of smart contracts — can simplify the process, creating a common, reliable record of transactions and avoiding costly disputes. In doing so, blockchain changes how deals are made: Partner selection is made simpler, as establishing trust is less important; agreement formation is more important, because protocols are hard to alter once put in place; and execution is made easier, because outcomes can be automated. Blockchain isn’t a magic bullet — it works much better in some situations than others — but it can fundamentally change how collaborations work

Source: How Blockchain Can Simplify Partnerships

An artificial intelligence algorithm has created “new” Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana songs

Apr 7, 2021 | , ,

We’ve heard AI-generated songs mimic the work of AC/DC, Metallica and more. Now artificial intelligence software has generated “new” Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana tracks, along with other artists and bands with members who died at the age of 27, to help raise awareness for the importance of mental health support amongst musicians and members of the music industry.

Source: An artificial intelligence algorithm has created “new” Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana songs

Android sends 20x more data to Google than iOS sends to Apple, study says

Mar 31, 2021 | ,

 Whether you have an iPhone or an Android device, it’s continuously sending data including your location, phone number, and local network details to Apple or Google. Now, a researcher has provided a side-by-side comparison that suggests that, while both iOS and Android collect handset data around the clock—even when devices are idle, just out of the box, or after users have opted out—the Google mobile OS collects about 20 times as much data as its Apple competitor.

Source: Android sends 20x more data to Google than iOS sends to Apple, study says

OpenAI’s text-generating system GPT-3 is now spewing out 4.5 billion words a day

Mar 30, 2021 | ,

One of the biggest trends in machine learning right now is text generation. AI systems learn by absorbing billions of words scraped from the internet and generate text in response to a variety of prompts. It sounds simple, but these machines can be put to a wide array of tasks — from creating fiction, to writing bad code, to letting you chat with historical figures.

Source: OpenAI’s text-generating system GPT-3 is now spewing out 4.5 billion words a day

Robinhood app makes Wall Street feel like a game to win – instead of a place where you can lose your life savings in a New York minute

Mar 25, 2021 | , ,

Wall Street has long been likened to a casino . Robinhood, an investment app that just filed plans for an initial public offering , makes the comparison more apt than ever . That’s because the power of the casino is the way it makes people feel like gambling their money away is a game.

Source: Robinhood app makes Wall Street feel like a game to win – instead of a place where you can lose your life savings in a New York minute