Category: News

  • UN approves its first treaty targeting cybercrime

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    United Nations — U.N. member states on Thursday approved a treaty targeting cybercrime, the body’s first such text, despite fierce opposition from human rights activists who have warned of potential surveillance dangers. After three years of negotiations and a final two-week session in New York, members approved the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime by consensus, and…

  • Musk’s X sues advertisers over alleged ‘massive advertiser boycott’

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    wichita falls, texas — Elon Musk’s social media platform X has sued a group of advertisers, alleging that a “massive advertiser boycott” deprived the company of billions of dollars in revenue and violated antitrust laws. The company formerly known as Twitter filed the lawsuit Tuesday in a federal court in Texas against the World Federation of…

  • Secretaries of state urge Elon Musk to fix AI chatbot spreading election misinformation on X

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    Chicago — Five secretaries of state are urging Elon Musk to fix an AI chatbot on the social media platform X, saying in a letter sent Monday that it has spread election misinformation. The top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington told Musk that X’s AI chatbot, Grok, produced false information about…

  • Google loses massive antitrust case over its search dominance

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    Washington — A judge on Monday ruled that Google’s ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation in a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world’s best-known companies. The highly anticipated decision issued by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta comes nearly a…

  • US expected to propose barring Chinese software in autonomous vehicles

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    WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commerce Department is expected to propose barring Chinese software in autonomous and connected vehicles in the coming weeks, according to sources briefed on the matter. The Biden administration plans to issue a proposed rule that would bar Chinese software in vehicles in the United States with Level 3 automation and above, which…

  • Drones warn New Yorkers about storm dangers

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    NEW YORK — Gone is the bullhorn. Instead, New York City emergency management officials have turned high-tech, using drones to warn residents about potential threatening weather. With a buzzing sound in the background, a drone equipped with a loudspeaker flies over homes warning people who live in basement or ground-floor apartments about impending heavy rains. “Be…

  • Robots cut strawberries at exact ripeness

    Robots cut strawberries at exact ripeness

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    Nearly all the strawberries grown in the United States come from California, where agro robots are helping harvest berries at just the right time. VOA’s Genia Dulot reports from Southern California in this week’s episode of LogOn. (Camera: Genia Dulot )

  • LogOn: Artists fight AI theft by ‘poisoning’ their digital images

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    Artificial intelligence image generators can mimic artists’ styles, threatening their livelihood. In this edition of LogOn, Matt Dibble looks at how artists are fighting back, using tools designed to disrupt AI systems. 

  • LogOn: Latest battery innovation? Bricks made of clay

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    A California startup says it can help de-carbonize industrial manufacturing by using batteries made of clay. Instead of storing electricity, these clay batteries store heat. Matt Dibble has more in this week’s episode of LogOn

  • LogOn: Methane-measuring satellite could help slow global warming

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    Methane leaking from fossil fuel production is among the top contributors to climate change. Now a leading environmental scientist is hoping to provide more accurate and consistent findings of methane emissions with the launch of a technologically advanced satellite. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more, in this week’s episode of LogOn. (Produced by: Adam Greenbaum)