Wednesday, June 22, 2022

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Amazon employees in Maryland say they were fired for organizing workers

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 06:23 AM PDT

Amazon is once again facing allegations of firing union organizers. The Washington Postreports employee group Amazonians United has filed National Labor Relations Board charges accusing Amazon of illegally firing two workers at a Maryland warehouse for labor organizing. The staff at the DMD9 delivery outpost in Upper Marlboro allegedly lost their jobs for both collecting petition signatures and promoting a large-scale walkout protest in March.

The petitions, created in August and December of 2021, pushed for improved working conditions that included healthier food, less restrictive bathroom breaks and pay raises that had been granted at other facilities. The August petition led to some changes, but Amazon's refusal to budge on the December petition prompted the March walkouts. One of the fired employees, Jackie Davis, said she was fired weeks later without a clear or justified reason.

Company spokeswoman Kelly Nantel denied any wrongdoing in a statement to The Post. Amazon fired Davis for "time theft" and not being at the facility after clocking in, the representative claimed. Nantel also maintained that worker support for a movement "doesn't factor" into terminating employment, and that the staffers simply didn't meet "basic expectations."

The charges come in the wake of numerous accusations of anti-union activity on Amazon's part. The NLRB found that Amazon illegally fired a New York union organizer last fall, while two workers at a Staten Island warehouse claimed they were fired for helping to organize the first successful Amazon union election. The tech pioneer has also been accused of intimidation tactics that include threats of lower pay, labeling labor organizers as "thugs" and multiple attempts at interfering with union votes. In 2021, Amazon spent $4.3 million on consultants known for thwarting unionization campaigns.

Whatever the reasons for these latest firings, it may be difficult for Amazon to avoid pressure to change. Amazonians United has secured some improvements by replacing conventional union strategies with grassroots relationship building and pressing for smaller material gains. This won't necessarily lead to more successful unionization efforts, but it won't be surprising if there are more reforms.

Slack adds video and multi-person screen sharing to huddles

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 06:00 AM PDT

Slack is bringing more features to huddles, which debuted as an ad hoc voice call option last June. While huddles will start as audio-only chats by default, you'll be able to switch on video as well. Video huddles can be opened in a separate window and you'll have the option to blur your background.

The revamped huddles will support multi-person screen sharing. Several people will be able to share their screens at the same time, which could make it easier to work on documents and presentations together. You can also draw on shared screens and use a live cursor feature as a visual aid while you're discussing something specific.

Slack huddles
Slack

Everything you share in the huddle (other than your voice and webcam feed) will be saved in the direct message thread or channel where it was started. That includes things like links and notes. Slack says these will be searchable. Folks who do not take part in a huddle will be able to catch up using these live messaging threads or keep an eye on the conversation as it's happening. Users can pin these threads to a channel or direct message. You can give the huddle a name too, so it's easier to find.

Since this is Slack, you'll of course be able to use emoji reactions in video huddles. There are new animated effects, such as confetti and clapping hands. With stickers, users can show everyone that, for instance, they want to speak next or they're going AFK for a minute. If you add a sticker, it will stay on the screen until you remove it.

Slack huddles
Slack

Slack, which will continue to support live transcriptions in huddles, is taking a leaf out of Discord's playbook with the addition of video and screen sharing. It hopes to turn huddles into more of a virtual coworking space with these tools, where you and your colleagues can collaborate on the fly (akin to having a quick chat in a physical office). The features are coming to the app soon.

Meanwhile, the company says GovSlack, a version of the service designed for secure government use, will be available in July. Slack says it meets key government security standards, affords users access to their own encryption keys and allows folks to connect to other agencies that use GovSlack via Slack Connect. The company announced GovSlack in September.

Fitbit's Sleep Profile feature offers upgraded tracking for Premium subscribers

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 06:00 AM PDT

Fitbit is delving further into sleep tracking with a new feature for Premium subscribers. Sleep Profile will examine 10 metrics, including new ones like time before sound sleep, disrupted sleep and bedtime consistency. Fitbit aims to provide a more in-depth look at a person's sleeping habits over time via monthly reports.

Users will receive advice on how to fall within the ideal range for each metric, based on their body type. The goal is to help people improve their sleep and overall health. Fitbit notes the feature isn't intended for medical use.

To use Sleep Profile, you'll need to wear a compatible Fitbit to bed for at least 14 nights in a calendar month. Fitbit says you'll receive a more accurate evaluation the more nights you wear it. Among the other metrics the feature tracks include sleep duration, REM sleep and restfulness. 

Fitbit's sleep profile feature
Fitbit

The metrics will be shown on a monthly aggregate view for the first time, Fitbit says. Sleep Profile will compare a user's trends to what's typical for their age and gender to help them find areas for improvement. Fitbit says it will use animal characters to help users interpret their sleep data. Your animal may change from month to month, but Fitbit says there's no "ideal" creature to aim for.

The company, which says it has analyzed 22 billion hours of sleep data since 2009, notes that the feature will be available on Fitbit Sense, Versa 3, Versa 2, Charge 5, Luxe and Inspire 2 devices at the outset. Users will get their first report as soon as the week of July 4th, with subsequent profiles appearing on the first day of each month.

Other smartwatch makers are looking to improve sleep tracking. Apple's watchOS9 will introduce a sleep stage feature that tracks REM, core and deep sleep stages over time.

Twitter makes it easy for Shopify merchants to highlight their products

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 06:00 AM PDT

Twitter has teamed up with Shopify to give merchants in the US an easy way to use the social network to grow their business. Merchants can now add a Twitter sales channel app to their Shopify admin dashboard to access a manager where they can see the social network's shopping tools and features. That sales channel automatically and regularly syncs with Shopify merchants' catalogs, so users won't have to worry about updating product information on multiple platforms. 

That will make it easier for merchants to showcase their products through Twitter's Shop Spotlight, which is a dedicated space at the top of a profile that can display up to five items. Visitors to a merchant's account will be able to scroll through those carousel of products to purchase them without having to leave Twitter. Merchants can also choose to highlight a bigger collection of goods through Twitter's in-app shops, which can list up to 50 handpicked items. Both features used to be on beta testing, but they're now available to all merchants in the US. Those who want to see what the Shopify integration looks like on Twitter may want to check out Trixie Cosmetics, which is one of the first users to take advantage of Twitter sales channel app on Shopify. 

Amir Kabbara, Director of Product at Shopify, said:

"Reaching potential customers where they are is critical to the success of Shopify merchants. Twitter is where conversations happen, and the connection between conversations and commerce is vital. Our partnership with Twitter, and the launch of the Twitter sales channel, will let merchants seamlessly bring commerce to the conversations they're already having on the platform." – Amir Kabbara, Director of Product at Shopify."

In addition to its team-up with Twitter, Shopify has announced other new features and products at its first semi-annual showcase called Editions. One of its upcoming offerings is the ability to accept customer payments right from an iPhone using Shopify's Point of Sale. The company has built PoS hardware merchants can attach to their iPhone, and merchants in the US will even have access to the new Tap to Pay on iPhone feature. 

MacBook Pro 13-inch review (M2, 2022): Pro in name only

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 06:00 AM PDT

Say hello to Apple's most baffling laptop, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 chip. It was already a confusing computer when we reviewed the M1 model in 2020 and it was out-shined by the fan-less MacBook Air. But now that there's a new MacBook Air with a bigger screen and a more modern design, the 13-inch Pro seems a bit like a relic from another era. It's from a time when Apple had to build machines around Intel's hotter and less efficient chips, instead of taking full advantage of its own hardware.

To be fair, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is still a very nice computer, and the M2 chip gives it a decent performance boost. But it's also something I can't really recommend, not when the new Air offers so much more, and the 14-inch MacBook Pro has a far better screen, plus ports professionals actually need. Apple claims the 13-inch MacBook Pro continues to be one of its most popular models, and that's not too surprising since it's the cheapest "Pro" notebook in its lineup. Still, it's 2022, and this MacBook Pro design has been around for years. Popularity is no excuse for being lazy.

Now, I suppose it makes sense that Apple would coast a bit. The MacBook Pro's unibody aluminum case still outshines the vast majority of PCs on the market. And, given the many design and supply chain constraints we're facing amid the ongoing pandemic and chip crunch, it was probably smarter for Apple to focus on the new Air, as well as the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros. It's just a shame that those priorities left the 13-inch model with the same chunky-bezeled display and anemic port selection we've seen for years.

And no, the Touch Bar doesn't help the situation at all. Just when we thought we'd rid ourselves of Apple's second screen misfire, it's back to torture us again with disappearing function keys and constantly shifting app shortcuts. It's almost as if Apple had some leftover Touch Bar stock it just had to unload, and we're paying the price. Developers aren't doing much more to take advantage of it, so in several years it'll just be a useless appendage, like the last protohuman with a tail.

MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022)
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Now that I've gotten my frustrations out, we can talk about what's good: Apple's new M2 chip. It offers 8 CPU cores and up to 10 GPU cores, which Apple claims will deliver 18 percent faster multithreaded performance, and up to 35 percent faster graphics speeds. The real upgrade for Pros, though, is that it now supports up to 24GB of RAM (instead of being limited to 16GB), and also has double the memory bandwidth. Together with support for ProRes encoding and decoding, the M2 should make the MacBook Pro a far better option for video editors who don't want to make the leap to the pricier 14-inch model.

Our review unit, which featured the M2 chip (10 GPU cores) with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, was noticeably faster in just about every benchmark. It scored almost 9,000 points in Geekbench 5's multi-core test, whereas the M1 MacBook Pro was closer to 7,000 points. The M2 chip also blew away the M1 in Geekbench's Compute benchmark, as well as Cinebench R23, where it scored 1,300 points higher than the M1 machine. The performance bump isn't enough to dump the M1 MacBook Pro if you've already bought one, but it's still nice to see Apple make some decent gains with its sequel chip.

None

Geekbench 5 CPU

Geekbench 5 Compute

Cinebench R23

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch, (Apple M2, 2022)

1,938/8,984

27,304

1,583/8,719

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (Apple M1 Pro)

1,767/11,777

38,359

1,515/12,118

Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (Apple M1 Max, 2021)

1,783/12,693

60,167

1,524/12,281

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Apple M1, 2020)

1,696/7,174

18,556

1,492/7,467

Dell XPS 15 (Intel i7-12700H, RTX 3050 Ti, 2022)

1,680/11,412

60,205

1,724/13,100

Here's the thing: we haven't benchmarked the new MacBook Air yet, and based on my experience with the last model, I expect it to score about the same as the MacBook Pro. Once again, Apple's big selling point for this computer is that it has a fan and more elaborate cooling system, allowing it to handle sustained workloads like video encoding or 3D rendering. The MacBook Air is still fan-less, so it will likely throttle performance significantly as it gets warmer.

MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022)

So sure, if you're a professional, the MacBook Pro is still a better bet. But if you need a computer for serious work, one that'll deliver far better performance today and last you a lot longer, it may make more sense to save up and invest in the 14-inch MacBook Pro. I realize for many consumers, that's not an easy choice to make. The 13-inch model starts at $1,299, while the cheapest 14-inch offering is $1,999.

But move beyond their base specs (the 13-inch starts with an anemic 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage), and the cost difference is less stark. Bumping both systems up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage raises the prices to $1,899 and $2,199, respectively. At that point, you might as well spend $300 more for the vastly more powerful 14-inch MacBook Pro with the better display.

MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022)
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

After all, every other "Pro" Apple device has a ProMotion screen, which delivers high refresh rates for silky smooth scrolling. Why should the 13-inch MacBook Pro be left out? Its Retina Display still looks fine, but my eyes have been spoiled by Apple's modern screens. Omitting ProMotion is even more glaring now that Microsoft squeezed fast refresh rates into the Surface Laptop Studio. And we've seen plenty of gaming laptops, like the ASUS Zephyrus G14 and Acer Predator Triton 500 SE, that can easily double as productivity machines with fast screens.

MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022)
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Those computers also have far more ports that professionals would actually use. I was disappointed to see Apple reduce the 13-inch MacBook Pro to 2 USB-C ports back in 2020. Today, it just doesn't make sense for a "Pro" product. You'll lose one port whenever you're charging, and basically demands that you invest in a USB-C mini-hub. Anyone working with photos or video will need one of those accessories anyway, since there's no SD-card reader. (At this point, I'm grateful Apple is still including a headphone jack.)

There are elements of the 13-inch MacBook Pro I still like. Apple's build quality remains impressive, the keyboard and trackpad are fantastic, and the MacBook's speakers sound good enough to fill a small room. The battery life is also solid, lasting more than 17 hours in our benchmark. If you didn't know what you were missing from the other MacBooks on the market, then I'm sure you'd be happy with the M2 MacBook Pro.

MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022)
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Personally, though, I just want better for potential MacBook buyers. Why should they be stuck with the chunkiest screen bezels in Apple's laptop lineup? Why don't they deserve a high refresh rate screen? Shouldn't Apple devote more attention to one of its best-selling machines? The 13-inch MacBook Pro is fine, like I said. But it should have been so much more.

IKEA's latest AR app can erase your furniture to showcase its own

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 06:00 AM PDT

IKEA already lets you preview furniture in your home via AR, but its latest AI-powered iOS app offers a big leap in capability. Called IKEA Kreativ, it can scan your rooms using LiDAR and build a complete 3D replica of them, then let you delete your existing furniture. From there, you can try out new IKEA couches, tables, etc. and get a much better idea of how they'll look in your home. 

The scanning is done via something IKEA calls the Kreativ Scene Scanner, which uses LiDAR if it's available on your iPhone. It also works on iPhones or iPads without LiDAR, though having it allows the app to "pull in additional spatial detail," IKEA told Engadget.  

IKEA's new AR app can scan your home and erase your current furniture
IKEA

To use it on the web or a mobile device without LiDAR, you simply have to input a series of photographs of a room. Those are then "automatically processed and assembled into a wide-angle, interactive replica of the space, with accurate dimensions and perspective," IKEA said in a press release. From there, you can erase existing furniture and position new IKEA pieces, quickly try alternatives and fully design the room. All of our ideas can be saved for later or shared with others. Naturally, the app also lets you add preferred pieces to your shopping cart. 

If you're looking for further inspiration, IKEA also unveiled 50 new 3D showrooms. Those let you browse the IKEA catalogue virtually and try out products in 3D settings, "quickly swapping, moving, rotating, stacking and hanging IKEA products," the company said. 

The app is the latest high-tech move by IKEA, which has launched a raft of connected speakers, smart home hubs, connected lights, charging pads and more over the last few years. On top of that, IKEA joined a new group created by Microsoft, Meta and others to create metaverse standards — so, you might be able to at least find furniture in virtual reality. 

Nothing's transparent Phone 1 won't be coming to North America

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 05:56 AM PDT

Nothing's debut Phone 1 smartphone won't be coming to the US, the company confirmed to PCMag. "While we'd love to bring Phone 1 to the entire community around the world, we're focusing on home markets, including the UK and Europe," the company said in a statement. However, it added that "a limited number of our private community investors" could get one in the US through a closed beta program. 

Nothing showed off the device for the first time last week on Twitter following a tease by founder Carl Pei. The most noticeable feature is a transparent back, revealing a wireless charging coil and a mysterious pattern that lights up. The company has also promised "an open and diverse product ecosystem" and the pure Android Nothing OS. 

The company further explained that "it takes a lot to launch a smartphone... from ensuring the handset is supported by the country's cellular technologies to carrier partnerships and local regulation, and as we're still a young brand we need to be strategic about it." Even folks in the closed beta program are likely to have issues with coverage and a lack of support of features like voice over LTE, according to PCMag. A similar disclosure was given by Nothing when the first 100 phones went up for bid on StockX.

Still, Nothing does have North American ambitions. "We have big plans to launch a US supported smartphone in the future," the company wrote. The Nothing Phone 1 is set to debut in London on July 12th — you can catch it via a livestream if you RSVP in advance. 

The Morning After: Cryptocurrency may be more centralized than you thought

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 04:12 AM PDT

One of the boons of cryptocurrency is meant to be that no particular company, central bank or government has control. Er, right?

That might not be true. Researchers for a report commissioned by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) found there can be "unintended centralities" in these supposed decentralized systems.

Cryptocurrency power is concentrated among people or organizations with a large chunk of the pie. Almost like any other capitalist system? Gasp.

"Unintended centralities" was the term used, defined as circumstances where an entity has sway over a so-called decentralized system. This could give them the opportunity to tamper with records of ownership. The report also notes three ISPs handle 60 percent of all bitcoin traffic.

The report said 21 percent of nodes are running an old, vulnerable version of the core bitcoin client. Attackers could target these nodes and take over the majority of a blockchain network. Theoretically, at least. But there have been plenty of cryptocurrency attacks in the last few years. Nothing wrong with some skepticism.

Real-life examples already exist: Read CNBC's report on lending platform Solend. It's had issues with one major account holder wielding influence over the entire platform.

— Mat Smith

 

The biggest stories you might have missed

Proteus is Amazon's first fully autonomous warehouse robot

Amazon has also introduced a new robotic arm at its fulfillment centers.

TMA
Amazon

It's an imposing name for Amazon's first autonomous warehouse robot, but it still looks like an industrial Roomba. Proteus can move around Amazon's facilities on its own while carrying carts full of packages. The company said the robot uses an "advanced safety, perception and navigation technology," so it can do its work without getting in the way of human employees.

Continue reading.

Microsoft will phase out facial recognition AI that could detect emotions

The move comes as Microsoft pushes for more responsible uses of AI.

Microsoft will "retire" facial recognition technology it said could infer emotions as well as characteristics like age, gender and hair. The AI raised privacy questions, Microsoft said, and offering a framework created the potential for discrimination and other abuses. There was also no clear consensus on the definition of emotions.

Continue reading.

New Philips Hue smart lights include its first portable rechargeable smart lamp

Signify has also launched a new sunrise effect for Philips Hue lights.

TMA
Philips

Signify (the company responsible for Hue lighting) has introduced a bunch of new Philips Hue smart lighting products, including its first portable rechargeable lamp designed for both indoors and outdoors. The Philips Hue Go portable table lamp has a silicone grip so you can take it with you wherever you go. It can last for up to 48 hours on a single charge. The lamp will be available by the end of summer for $160 in the US and £130 in the UK. The company has new sunrise lighting effects, brighter downlights and even a new floor lamp. For all your smart lighting desires, read on.

Continue reading.

The best smart displays you can buy

Plus our advice on how to choose one.

TMA
Engadget

Smart displays are the second-wave devices born out of the success of the Amazon Echo, Google Home and other smart speakers. Adding visual and tactile components to what were once devices you could only bark orders at makes them more functional and intriguing. Amazon and Google dominate the space, and we've just updated our guide to buying a smart display, and we have opinions!

Continue reading.

NASA finally succeeds with its Artemis 1 wet launch test

It has fully fueled the Space Launch System for the first time.

NASA encountered a couple of issues while conducting the Artemis 1 wet dress rehearsal, but it still checked off a major milestone by the end of the test. The agency was able to fully fuel all the Space Launch System's propellant tanks for the first time and proceed to terminal launch countdown. Wet dress rehearsals are tests that simulate a rocket launch without the rocket actually lifting off.

Continue reading.

Meta, Microsoft, Epic Games and others join forces to develop metaverse standards

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 03:45 AM PDT

A group of companies, including some of the biggest names in tech and the internet, have banded together to develop interoperability standards needed to achieve an open metaverse. The organization is called Metaverse Standards Forum, and its founding members include Meta, Microsoft, Huawei, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Epic Games, Unity and Adobe. As Reuters notes, one company that's conspicuously missing from the list is Apple. Multiple reports have come come out these past few years that Apple is releasing its own virtual or augmented reality headset, and it's expected to become a major player in the metaverse when the device becomes available.

Yet another big name that's missing from the list is Google, which is also reportedly working on an AR headset codenamed Project Iris. Niantic, the developer of Pokémon Go, and Roblox aren't in the list of members, as well. That said, membership is free and open to any organization, so more companies could join later on. As with any standard, one for the metaverse would only be considered a success if companies, especially the biggest players in the industry, adopt them. "Multiple industry leaders have stated that the potential of the metaverse will be best realized if it is built on a foundation of open standards," the forum wrote in its press release.

The group also said that it will focus on "pragmatic, action-based projects." Those include conducting hackathons and working on open-source tools designed to accelerate the testing and adoption of metaverse standards. And while companies can join anytime, members are expected to start forum meetings this July. 

PCI Express 7 will be eight times faster than PCI Express 5

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 02:01 AM PDT

The PCI-SIG committee has unveiled the latest PCI Express 7.0 standard with blazing speeds, even as we still wait for two-generation-older PCIe 5 devices to arrive in quantity. Set to launch in 2025 and probably hit shelves around 2027, PCIe 7 will offer up to 512 GB/s of throughput, 8 times that of the latest PCI Express 5.0 speeds.

The 512GB/s bi-directional speeds will be available on x16 connections, but will be considerably reduced in the real world due to encoding overhead and header efficiency. Still, it's double the PCI 6.0 standard that's supposed to arrive by the end of the year. PCI-SIG (which is currently holding its annual developers conference) said that it's ahead of its goal of doubling PCI Express speeds every three years. 

PCI Express 7.0 will launch in 2025 with 512GB/s speeds
PCI-SIG

All this speed depends on device and chip makers, though. Intel's 12th-gen Alder Lake chips released in January 2022 do support PCIe 5.0, but AMD's Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 desktop chips with PCIe 5.0 support won't arrive until this fall. The first PCIe 5.0 SSDs for consumers have only just arrived with read speeds up to 13GB/s. 

Other key features include improved power efficiency, low latency and backwards compatibility with previous generations. However, PCIe 7.0 will require shorter traces to achieve those speeds, so motherboards could be more expensive as they'll likely require extra components and thicker PCBs. 

On the plus side, even x1 PCIe 7.0 lanes will be as fast as PCIe 4.0 x16 speeds (32 GB/s), so storage and other devices could be smaller and hog fewer resources. Put another way, you could have four NVME SSD drive slots with each using just 1 PCIe lane, and all of them would be twice as fast as a PCIe5 x4 NVMe slot.

Proteus is Amazon's first fully autonomous warehouse robot

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 12:44 AM PDT

In a post looking back over the past 10 years since it purchased robotics company Kiva, Amazon has revealed its new machines, including its first fully autonomous warehouse robot. It's called Proteus, and it was designed to be able to move around Amazon's facilities on its own while carrying carts fulls of packages. The company said the robot uses an "advanced safety, perception and navigation technology" it developed to be able to do its work without hindering human employees.

In the video Amazon posted, you can see Proteus moving under the carts and transporting them to other locations. It emits a green beam ahead of it while it moves, and it stops if a human worker steps in front of the beam. 

Amazon's aim is to automate the handling of its package carts so as to reduce the need for human workers to manually move them around its facilities. In fact, the e-commerce giant stressed that its robots were designed to create a safer workplace for people. "From the early days of the Kiva acquisition, our vision was never tied to a binary decision of people or technology. Instead, it was about people and technology working safely and harmoniously together to deliver for our customers," it wrote. 

Another new robot called Cardinal was also designed with the idea of reducing risk of employee injuries in mind. Cardinal is a robotic arm that picks up packages, reads their labels and then places them in the appropriate cart for the next stage of the shipping process. Artificial intelligence and computer vision enable it to sort packages correctly. Amazon is currently testing a prototype that's able to lift boxes up to 50 pounds and expects to deploy the robotic arm to fulfillment centers by next year.

Finally, the company has also revealed that it's working on an AI technology that can automatically scan packages. Currently, workers have to scan barcodes on packages using hand scanners — this technology will eliminate the need to do that. With this scanning capability in place, human workers don't even need to pause while sorting packages: The system can quickly recognize a package the passes its camera. Amazon explained that its camera runs at 120 frames per second and is powered by computer vision and machine learning technology.

The e-commerce giant has introduced several robots over the years, and it has always emphasized that their purpose is to improve safety at its warehouses. As The Verge notes, the company said it's not looking to replace human workers even though an internal report that recently leaked revealed that the company expects to "deplete the available labor supply in the US network by 2024." An Amazon robotics lead told Forbes that "replacing people with machines is just a fallacy" that could end with a company going out of business. 

Google News redesign puts a greater emphasis on local stories

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 09:01 PM PDT

Google News turned 20 this year, and it's getting a major redesign that reflects changing priorities in journalism. The newly launched News desktop revamp now prioritizes catching up on important stories. In addition to top stories and personalized picks, there's a particular focus on local news. That section is finally at the top of the page, and you can add multiple locations in case one city's coverage isn't enough.

The company is also bolstering its fact checking. Google News now shows the original claim next to a headline, along with fact checks (from independent sources) that show whether the claim holds up. You aren't locked into the topics Google chooses, either. Click a "customize" button in Your Topics (pictured below) and you can add, delete or reshuffle subjects to match your tastes.

Google News topics customization (2022)
Google

The reworked site also marks Google News' official return to Spain. Google dropped the local offering in December 2014 ahead of a law that would have required paying publishers to use their content, including headlines. A newspaper coalition pushed for Google to restore News, however, and Google announced plans for a revival last November following a Royal Decree that let Google negotiate licenses with individual publishers (in sync with the EU's European Copyright Directive) instead of having to pay all of them.

The updated site helps support the Google News Initiative, a long-running campaign to support newsrooms amid concerns the internet is eroding access to quality journalism. Accordingly, Google has started taking applications for a Global News Equity Fund that helps back news for minorities and underrepresented groups. They have until July 21st to apply for money. The tech firm is also handing out its first round of funding ($1 million) for a Data-Driven Reporting Project that assists communities with data-heavy investigations.

It's too early to say if the redesign will prove a success. It does give local news much higher priority than in the past, though (you previously had to scroll past multiple sections just to see it). And simply speaking, the new layout is overdue — the cleaner, more modern look is easier to digest. In theory, this could get more people to use Google's hub instead of visiting specific media outlets or relying on dedicated apps like Apple News.

Former Tesla contractor rejects $15 million payout in racial abuse lawsuit

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 05:48 PM PDT

Last year Owen Diaz, a former contracted elevator operator at Tesla's Fremont assembly plant, successfully sued the automaker for creating a hostile, racially abusive work environment, and was awarded $137 million by the jury. That award was winnowed down to just $15 million by a judge who gave Diaz two weeks to accept or reject the new amount. As reported by Bloomberg, lawyers for Diaz have taken the latter option.

"In rejecting the court's excessive reduction by asking for a new trial, Mr. Diaz is again asking a jury of his peers to evaluate what Tesla did to him and to provide just compensation for the torrent of racist slurs that was directed at him," wrote Diaz's lawyers in a statement to NBC News.

The lawsuit, which was originally filed in 2017, described a work environment where Black workers were regularly subjected to racial slurs and other abuse, with at least one supervisor allegedly telling Diaz to "go back to Africa" — issues which he also claims the company was negligent in addressing. Tesla has pushed back against some of Diaz's claims, arguing that it took timely action to stop the harassment, as well as claiming these racial slurs were "used in a "friendly" manner and usually by African-American colleagues." It also argued that it was not liable for how Diaz was treated given his status as a contractor.

Last year a jury awarded Diaz a total of $6.9 million of compensatory damages and $130 million of punitive damages, which likely would have amounted to one of the largest payouts in a corporate racial discrimination lawsuit. US District Judge William Orrick, in an opinion filed in April, rejected Tesla's claims that it was not liable for a contract employee, but also slashed the award amount, calling it "excessive." He reduced the amount of compensatory damages to $1.5 million and punitive damages to $13.5 million. Since Diaz's lawyers have now rejected the award, the case will proceed to a new trial.

The automaker is also facing another lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing on the behalf of more than 4,000 former and current Black Tesla employees. According to three former Tesla workers interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, Black workers at the Fremont facility were segregated, given the most difficult tasks and subject to more discipline than other workers.

Twitter revives its developer conference after a seven-year hiatus

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 02:50 PM PDT

After a seven-year hiatus, Twitter is once again hosting an in-person developer conference. The company is bringing back Chirp, which will take place in San Francisco on November 16th. Chirp was the name of Twitter's first-ever developer conference back in 2010, though the event was canceled in subsequent years. The last time the company hosted a live developer conference was Twitter Flight in 2015.

Since then, Twitter has had a somewhat rocky relationship with developers. The company made a series of API changes in 2018 that were deeply unpopular and poorly communicated. Makers of third-party Twitter clients were particularly affected, and they accused the company of "breaking" their apps.

More recently, Twitter has tried to (once again) improve its relationship with developers. The company launched an all-new version of its API in 2020, and has also introduced new tools to make it easier for researchers to study the platform. It's also tested out new developer-friendly features like recommending some third-party services in its own app.

It's not clear exactly what will be on the agenda at Chirp. The company says in a blog post that there will be a "keynote, technical sessions, [and] opportunities to meet the Twitter Developer Platform team to get your questions answered and connect with other developers in our global community." The keynote will also be streamed live on Twitter for those not attending in person.

It's also notable that Twitter is going ahead with the conference despite uncertainty about the company's future as Elon Musk works to take over the company. Company executives have noted that they are very much in the dark when it comes to Musk's plans for Twitter, and current CEO Parag Agrawal may not remain in his position for long after the deal closes (whenever that may happen). On the other hand, Twitter's developer tools could be an important source of revenue for the company — something Musk has also made a top priority.

Arizona wildfire may spare Kitt Peak National Observatory's telescopes

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 02:30 PM PDT

Located in the mountains outside Tucson, Arizona, the Kitt Peak National Observatory was threatened last week by the ongoing Contreras Fire. While the blaze has affected more than 20,000 acres and disrupted work at the facility, the major scientific equipment seems to be thus far unscathed.

The scientific community feared the worst, but over the weekend, the National Science Foundation's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), the organization that operates the site, had good news to share. "All physical scientific observatory structures are still standing," NOIRLab said in a tweet spotted by Gizmodo. However, in a later press release, the organization said the fire destroyed four support buildings on June 17th.

The facility's official Twitter account said NOIRLab staff would have to conduct a thorough assessment of the observatory grounds to determine the extent of the full damage caused by the inferno. "This process will likely take weeks," the account tweeted. "Restoration of services (power, etc) may take even longer." 

The telescopes aren't safe just yet. The Contreras Fire continues to blaze in and around the area of the Kitt Peak National Observatory. As of Monday, 350 firefighters were working to contain the fire, according to the Arizona Emergency Information Network.

The potential destruction of Kitt Peak comes a little more than a year after the Arecibo Observatory's receiver platform collapsed into its iconic 1,000-foot wide antenna. Puerto Rico has pledged $8 million to rebuild the telescope, but the future of the facility is unclear. Kitt Peak may be less famous than Arecibo but it's no less important. The facility's Mayall telescope is the seventh-largest optical telescope in the US and was used to discover methane ice on Pluto back when it was considered a planet.

Watch scientists discuss the latest research on killer asteroids

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 02:08 PM PDT

Astronomers, astronauts and other near-Earth object experts from around the world are gathering next week in Luxembourg to talk about asteroids. If you tune in to the Asteroid Foundation's live event on International Asteroid Day (which is June 30), you can hear about the latest in space rock research. The four hour event will consist of panel discussions on future missions, advances in technology, how scientists track and discover asteroids and what resources might be gleaned from asteroids. It will be moderated by Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project, the astronomer Phil Plait, Asteroid Day's editorial director Stuart Clark and Patrick Michel, director of research at CNRS of the Côte d'Azur Observatory.

"Asteroid Day reminds the world of just how important these celestial objects are. They hold the keys to understanding the formation of the Solar System, provide stepping stones we will utilize to explore our solar system, and occasionally they hit our planet," said Dr Dorin Prunariu, Vice-Chair of the Asteroid Foundation in a press release. The Asteroid Day event will also feature pre-recorded interviews from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, which is currently on its way back to Earth after collecting samples from the asteroid Bennu.

Detecting asteroids is a tricky science, and scientists still manage to miss a large number that are potentially dangerous. NASA has detected nearly 16,000 near-Earth objects, which are objects within approximately 45 million kilometers of our planet's orbit. As The Conversation notes, while extinction-level asteroids are very rare, smaller space rocks such as the one that hit Tunguska, Siberia in 1908 or the 10,000-ton space rock that hit the Russian city of Chelyabinsk are also capable of doing damage. And there have been plenty of near misses. Scientists estimate that in 2029, a 1,120 feet asteroid known as Apophis will miss Earth by a mere 19,000 miles.

You can stream Asteroid Day's program on June 30 at 11 am CET (or 5 am EDT) on Asteroid Day's website, TwitchTV or YouTube.

Robots learn to shape letters using Play-Doh

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 01:27 PM PDT

Humans aren't the only ones working with Play-Doh. MIT CSAIL researchers have created a system, RoboCraft, that teaches robots how to work with the kid-friendly goo. The platform first takes the image of a shape (in this case, a letter of the alphabet) and reinterprets it as a cluster of interlocking particles. The bot then uses a physics-oriented neural network to predict how its two "fingers" can manipulate those spheres to match the desired outcome. A predictive algorithm helps the machine plan its actions.

The technology doesn't require much time to produce usable results. It took just ten minutes of practice for an robot to perform roughly as well (and in some cases better) than humans remote-controlling the same hardware. That's not the same as having a human shape the Play-Doh by hand, but it's no mean feat for a machine discovering how to perform the task for the first time. Robots frequently struggle with soft objects where they tend to thrive with firm shapes.

RoboCraft-trained bots aren't about to produce elaborate sculptures. The results are still imprecise, and the machine works slowly using just two fingers. The team is already developing a method of making dumplings, though, and plans to teach robots to use additional tools (such as a rolling pin) to prep the food.

The CSAIL scientists already have an idea of where the technology might be deployed. Kitchen robots could take over more responsibilities, while artistic automatons might create pottery. Eventually, technology like this could help the elderly and people with mobility issues by taking over household duties that require subtle motor skills.

The Obamas are leaving Spotify for Audible

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 12:49 PM PDT

Barack and Michelle Obama are heading to Audible. On Tuesday, the Amazon-owned company announced an exclusive multiyear first-look production deal with the former first couple's Higher Ground media company.

The deal comes after it was revealed Spotify had declined to extend its exclusive podcast partnership beyond the end of 2022 the Obamas. According to a Bloomberg report published in April, the family wanted an agreement that would see their content distributed widely across various platforms, and that's what this deal with Audible will allow the Obamas to do. It will also let the couple take a more behind-the-scenes role in future productions, a request that Spotify reportedly met with pushback when it came to their recent negotiations.

"At Higher Ground, we have always sought to lift up voices that deserve to be heard — and Audible is invested in realizing that vision alongside us," former President Obama said. "I'm looking forward to partnering with them to tell stories that not only entertain but also inspire."

Audible did not disclose the financial terms of its agreement with Higher Ground. The Obamas' previous deal with Spotify was rumored to be worth around $25 million. That partnership produced Renegades: Born in the USA with Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen, as well as The Michelle Obama Podcast. The latter was among the most popular original podcasts Spotify released in 2020.

Correction 6/21/22 6:05pm ET: A prior version of this story stated that High Ground and Spotify had decided not to extend their partnership; Spotify has contended for several months that it had opted not to extend the agreement. We regret the error. "We are incredibly proud of our partnership with Higher Ground," a Spotify spokesperson told Engadget "and while we declined to extend our deal we are excited about the series we made together and those still to come in the months ahead."

Activision Blizzard shareholders approve plan for public report on sexual harassment

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 12:49 PM PDT

Activision Blizzard shareholders on Tuesday approved a plan for the company to release an annual, public report detailing its handling of sexual harassment and gender discrimination disputes, and how it's working to prevent these incidences. The proposal was initially made in February by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Under the proposal, Activision Blizzard will have to publicly disclose the following information each year:

  • The number and total dollar amount of disputes settled by the studio relating to sexual harassment and abuse, and discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, service member status, gender identify, or sexual orientation — covering the last three years

  • What steps Activision Blizzard is taking to reduce the average length of time it takes to resolve these incidents internally and legally

  • The number of pending complaints facing the studio relating to sexual abuse, harassment and discrimination, internally and in litigation

  • Data on pay and hours worked, as required by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing

The DFEH sued Activision Blizzard in July 2020, alleging executives there fostered a culture of rampant sexual harassment and systemic gender discrimination. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also sued the studio over these allegations in 2020, and Activision Blizzard settled with the federal agency in March, agreeing to set up an $18 million fund for claimants. Activists, employees and the DFEH have argued that this settlement is too low, and former employee Jessica Gonzalez appealed the ruling in May. The DFEH estimates there are 2,500 injured employees deserving more than $930 million in compensation.

"For years, there have been alarming news reports that detail allegedly rampant sexual abuse, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation directed toward female employees," a statement in support of the proposal to shareholders reads. As an investor-focused document, it outlines the ways in which systemic discrimination and sexual abuse can damage the studio's revenue streams and its ability to retain employees, saying, "A report such as the one requested would assist shareholders in assessing whether the company is improving its workforce management, whether its actions align with the company's public statements and whether it remains a sustainable investment."

While Activision Blizzard is facing multiple lawsuits and investigations in regards to sexism, harassment and discrimination, some employees at the studio are attempting to unionize with the help of the Communications Workers of America. This would be the first union at a major video game studio and could signal a shift in the industry's longstanding crunch-centric cycle. At Tuesday's annual meeting, Activision Blizzard shareholders denied a proposal that would've added an employee representative to the board of directors, with just 5 percent voting in favor, according to The Washington Post.

At the same time, Microsoft is in the process of acquiring Activision Blizzard in a deal worth nearly $69 billion. Microsoft has pledged to respect the rights of workers to unionize. And all the while, Activision Blizzard is still making games.

Meta settles US lawsuit over housing discrimination

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 12:17 PM PDT

Meta has agreed to settle 2019 charges that it enabled housing discrimination through ad targeting. The deal with the Justice Department will have the company end use of a "Special Ad Audiences" tool that allegedly used a discrimination-prone algorithm to widen the reach of housing ads on Facebook. Meta is instead developing a new method, the "variance reduction system," to ensure home ads match their eligible targeted viewers.

The decision to retire Special Ad Audiences also applies to credit and employment ads, Meta added. The company said all three categories were part of a "deep-rooted problem" with discrimination in the US.

This is the first time the DOJ has used a case to tackle algorithmic biases under the Fair Housing Act, according to officials. Meta said it collaborated with the Department of Housing and Urban Development for over a year to more accurately target ads and avoid discrimination. The new system will also be subject to DOJ approval and monitoring.

The firm had already limited ad targeting in 2019 after settling another lawsuit accusing it of violating housing discrimination law. Advertisers haven't been allowed to target campaigns based on age, gender or ZIP code. Special Ad Audiences was launched at the same time to help address issues with a previous system, but Meta said its algorithms needed to adapt to ensure fairness.

A settlement isn't shocking. Meta has faced other accusations of allowing problematic ad targeting in fields like politics. Other tech heavyweights have also faced penalties. The Federal Trade Commission slapped Twitter with a $150 million fine for reportedly "deceptive" ad targeting that relied on sensitive contact information. The agreement could help Meta avoid similar punishments, and suggests it's willing to cooperate when ad systems come under scrutiny.

NASA picks three companies to develop lunar nuclear power systems

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 12:05 PM PDT

NASA and the Department of Energy have awarded contracts to three companies that are designing concepts to bring nuclear power to the Moon. The agencies will award Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse and IX around $5 million each to fund the design of a fission surface power system, an idea that NASA has been working on for at least 14 years. 

The three companies are being tasked with developing a 40-kilowatt class fission power system that can run for at least 10 years on the lunar surface. NASA hopes to test the system on the Moon as soon as the end of this decade. If the demonstration proves successful, it could lead to nuclear energy powering long-term missions on the Moon and Mars as part of the Artemis program. "Developing these early designs will help us lay the groundwork for powering our long-term human presence on other worlds," Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, said in a statement.

Under the 12-month contracts, Lockheed Martin will partner with BWXT and Creare. Westinghouse will team up with Aerojet Rocketdyne, while IX (a joint venture of Intuitive Machines and X-Energy) will work with Maxar and Boeing on a proposal.

Lockheed Martin was one of three companies chosen by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency last year to develop nuclear-powered spacecraft. The Defense Department has also sought nuclear propulsion systems for spacecraft.

Researchers made cyborg locusts that can smell cancer

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 11:50 AM PDT

Early in the pandemic, scientists tried training dogs to detect COVID-19 infections in humans. The results were predictable. Man's best friend proved adept at sniffing out the disease, but the question researchers kept asking themselves was how they would scale that approach. After all, training a dog is expensive, and taking care of one can be a handful.

Still, the idea of using animals to spot sick humans is a good one and one that a team of researchers from Michigan State University approached in a novel way. In a recent study published in the journal bioRXiv, they detailed a locust-based cancer screening system. Per MIT Technology Review, the tech involves surgically-altered locusts with electrodes implanted into the lobes of their brains by Professor Debajit Saha and his colleagues. Those electrodes were there to capture signals from each insect's antennae, which they use to sense smells.

Additionally, the team grew three different types of cancerous human mouth cells – in addition to a separate set of healthy ones – and built a device for capturing the gases emitted by those tissues. They then used that device to give the insects a whiff of the gases. They found that the locusts' brains responded to each type of tissue differently and that they could correctly identify sick cells with only the recording of the gasses.

It's hard to say if you'll ever see your local clinic uses insects for cancer screenings. The study hasn't been peer-reviewed yet, and it's difficult to know if regulators like the Food and Drug Administration would ever approve such a procedure. People could also find the treatment of the locusts questionable. "The insect is dead in terms of its body function," Saha told MIT Technology Review. "We are just keeping its brain alive."

Saha and his team plan to continue work on the project. Their current system requires between six and 10 locust brains to function. He hopes new electrodes will allow his team to record more neurons, thereby making a single locust brain sufficient for an individual screening. He also wants to make the device holding the brain and antennae portable, which would allow the team to use the system outside of a lab.

Locust screening system
University of Michigan, Saha et al.

Microsoft will phase out facial recognition AI that could detect emotions

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 11:30 AM PDT

Microsoft is keenly aware of the mounting backlash toward facial recognition, and it's shuttering a significant project in response. The company has revealed it will "retire" facial recognition technology that it said could infer emotions as well as characteristics like age, gender and hair. The AI raised privacy questions, Microsoft said, and offering a framework created the potential for discrimination and other abuses. There was also no clear consensus on the definition of emotions, and no way to create a generalized link between expressions and emotions.

New users of Microsoft's Face programming framework no longer have access to these attribute detection features. Current customers can use them until June 30th, 2023. Microsoft will still fold the tech into "controlled" accessibility tools, such as its Seeing AI for people with vision issues.

The exit comes as Microsoft has shared its Responsible AI Standard framework with the public for the first time. The guidelines illustrate the tech firm's decision-making process, including a focus on principles like inclusion, privacy and transparency. This also represents the first big update to the standard since it was introduced in late 2019, and promises more fairness in speech-to-text tech, stricter controls for neural voice and "fit for purpose" requirements that rule out the emotion-detecting system.

Microsoft isn't the first company to have second thoughts about facial recognition. IBM stopped work in that field over worries its projects could be used for human rights abuses. With that said, this is still a major change of heart. One of the world's largest cloud and computing companies is backing away from AI that could have a substantial impact.

Meta won’t take a commission from creators on Facebook and Instagram until 2024

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 11:07 AM PDT

Creators on Instagram and Facebook will have another year to make money from the apps without Meta taking a cut from their earnings. Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that Meta will "hold off on any revenue sharing" until 2024, a one-year extension of his prior pledge to not charge a commission until 2023.

The move will cover monetization features where creators directly charge their fans: paid online events, subscriptions, newsletters and badges sold during livestreams. It doesn't apply to Meta's advertising-related revenue sharing features for Reels or other video products.

Zuckerberg also announced several other monetization updates for creators on the platform. The company is expanding Stars, the company's in-app tipping feature, to more creators, and will open up its bonus program for Reels to more users as well. Meta is also expanding its support for NFTs on Instagram, which it began testing on Instagram profiles last month. Now, the feature will be available to more people, though Meta declined to specify exactly how many will now have access. The company also plans to integrate NFTs into Facebook and Instagram Stories "soon."

The updates build on Meta's massive investment into creator-centric features. Meta has made competing with TikTok one of its top priorities, and getting more creators on its platform is central to that effort. Creators could also help the company make big bucks on the metaverse, where Meta will get as much as 48 percent of creators' earnings.

Cryptocurrency is more centralized than many advocates claim, according to report

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 10:46 AM PDT

One of the big advantages of cryptocurrency over other financial systems, according to many of its proponents, is that no particular company, central bank or government has control. That's not necessarily the case, though. Researchers who worked on a report commissioned by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) found that there can be "unintended centralities" in these supposed decentralized systems.

"It's been taken for granted that the blockchain is immutable and decentralized, because the community says so," said Dan Guido, CEO of Trail of Bits, the software security research company that worked on the report. He told NPR that cryptocurrency power is concentrated among people or organizations that have a large chunk of the pie. Almost like any other capitalist system, some might argue.

Trail of Bits defined "unintended centralities" as circumstances under which an entity has sway over a so-called decentralized system, which could afford them the opportunity to tamper with records of ownership. The report also notes that three ISPs handle 60 percent of all bitcoin traffic. A blockchain network could be disrupted if a communications regulator, a hacker or someone else with oversight of one of those ISPs slowed down or halted bitcoin traffic.

There are also weaknesses in the bitcoin network itself. The report found that 21 percent of nodes are running an old, vulnerable version of the core bitcoin client. Those systems could be targeted in an attempt by an attacker who's looking to take over the majority of a blockchain network, though that seems relatively unlikely given the size of the bitcoin network.

Some of these situations are theoretical, but the report highlights some of the deficiencies of blockchain tech. There have been some clear instances of centralization impacting parts of the ecosystem, however.

It was reported this week that lending platform Solend (which is based on the Solana blockchain) tried to take control of its single largest account, because it said the operator could have significant sway over market movements. Solend planned to temporarily take over the "whale" investor's account in order to liquidate their position "gracefully" and avoid possible disruption.

A proposal allowing the platform to carry out the controversial move (Solend calls itself a "decentralized protocol," after all) passed on Sunday. However, Solend's users voted on another proposal to overturn the first one, with 99.8 percent of votes in favor. As it turns out, the holder of the account in question had more than 1 million of the 1.48 million total votes. Solend is trying another method of liquidating the whale's position, but for now, the platform's power seems to be centralized in that account holder's favor.
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