Google and Facebook will be put under a competition microscope to make sure they're not abusing their power to unfairly dominate Australia's advertising market. Privacy laws will also be reviewed to make sure personal data is protected online, as the competition watchdog takes Google to court for deliberately misleading customers about data it was collecting. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says social media bosses will be asked to develop a voluntary code of conduct to address bargaining power between media companies and advertisers. But if the talks aren't successful by November, he'll impose a mandatory code. Google and Facebook will be monitored by an Australian consumer watchdog to make sure they aren't abusing their advertising power 'We have already acted and demanded their attention when it comes to terrorist content, and we have led the world in that. I can assure you that that has got their attention,' Mr Morrison told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday. 'Our preference is for … [Read more...] about Australia announces privacy haul overhaul as it takes social media giants Facebook and Google to task on advertising
Google says sorry over racist Google Maps White House search results
Google has apologised after searches which include the racist slur “nigger” were shown to find the White House in Google Maps. Searches for “nigger house”, in a global view of the world, and for “nigger king”, when focused on in the Washington DC greater area, return with the home of the US president Barack Obama as either the primary search result or one of three. “Some inappropriate results are surfacing in Google Maps that should not be, and we apologise for any offence this may have caused. Our teams are working to fix this issue quickly,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. It has not explained why the results are occurring. At the time of writing, the racist search results had not been fixed, having been reported by the Washington Post on Tuesday. It is not the first time a Google search-based product has appeared to be racist. In 2010, the company’s search auto-complete system suggested racist queries after simply … [Read more...] about Google says sorry over racist Google Maps White House search results
Google’s self-driving car project buys British AI firm Latent Logic
Waymo, Google’s self-driving car division, has acquired the Oxford artificial intelligence company Latent Logic for an undisclosed amount, giving Waymo its first presence in the UK. Latent Logic, a spinout company from the University of Oxford, specialises in “imitation learning”, teaching machines how to act by showing them examples of humans doing the same actions. It was founded in 2017 by the academics Shimon Whiteson and João Messias. Waymo hopes the company’s expertise can be put to use teaching AI drivers how to deal with complex behaviour such as a car cutting off another at a roundabout, a pedestrian emerging from a parked car, or a cyclist skidding in rain. “The team’s expertise in reinforcement learning and imitation learning can help further accelerate Waymo’s progress in areas from simulation to behaviour prediction and planning,” the company said in a statement. The Alphabet subsidiary is also intending to use its new … [Read more...] about Google’s self-driving car project buys British AI firm Latent Logic
Google Glass ceases production ‘in present form’
Google is to stop producing its wearable technology Google Glass in its present form, but is still committed to the idea of smart glasses, the company has said. The technology, which delivers news, messages and calls directly to a user’s field of view, has been on sale in the UK since June, and in the US since 2013. In a statement posted to its Google+ account, the company said the Glass team would move out of the “Google X” incubator labs and become a separate division under current manager Ivy Ross. She will answer to Tony Fadell – the chief executive of Nest Labs, the home automation company Google bought for more than $3bn (£2bn) last January - but will have autonomy to run the project, Google confirmed. The company said that the Glass Explorer programme, which closes on 19 January, was “a kind of ‘open beta’ to hear what people had to say.” “As we look to the road ahead, we realise that we’ve outgrown the lab and so … [Read more...] about Google Glass ceases production ‘in present form’
Am I a perfectionist? You asked Google – here’s the answer
If you’re asking this question, you’re probably also wondering if perfectionism can ever be a good thing. Perfectionists are those who strive for flawlessness, for a perfect creation, outcome or performance. They set excessively high standards. They’re harshly critical in their evaluations both of themselves and of others, and they’re highly concerned about the way others evaluate them and their work. They find compromise challenging – either something is done to their own high and exacting prescription or it’s regarded as a total failure. They find it difficult to delegate, even if that means neglecting their health, relationships and wellbeing in pursuit of a “perfect” outcome. They also find it difficult to forget about a past mistake or a situation in which they feel they failed – and as a result, they’re often plagued by feelings of guilt and regret. Perfectionism has long been considered an important personality trait. … [Read more...] about Am I a perfectionist? You asked Google – here’s the answer
