What do the bicycle and the internet have in common? One less than obvious answer is that they have both encouraged sex between strangers. The introduction of new technologies can often result in dramatic, and largely unforeseen, effects on societies,…
Google is tryharding at phones right now, and I love it
At my high school, it wasn’t “cool” to make an effort during PE. I distinctly remember being told this during a basketball game where I out-hustled a kid six inches taller than me for a rebound. I paused for a…
DeepMind announces ethics group to focus on problems of AI
Firm brings in advisers from academia and charity sector to ‘help technologists put ethics into practice’ in bid to help society cope with artificial intelligence Deepmind, Google’s London-based AI research sibling, has opened a new unit focused on the ethical…
How technology is revolutionising the energy sector
The combination of blockchain technology and machine learning will allow for the delivery of cheaper and more sustainable energy to consume. As the economy moves towards a ‘prosumer’ directed economy, it’s important that the energy sector keeps up. Peer-to-peer energy…
Yahoo admits that all 3 BILLION of its accounts were hacked in 2013 cyber attack
Yahoo has admitted that all 3 billion of its accounts were hacked as part of a cyber attack in 2013 – tripling its earlier estimate. The company, now part of Verizon subsidiary Oath, had previously said that personal information relating to one…
Rolls-Royce Phantom (2017) review
The Rolls-Royce Phantom is the car industry’s longest-running nameplate. The first one, launched 92 years ago, replaced the Silver Ghost, renowned rightly as ‘the best car in the world’. Since then, Phantoms of various flavour but invariably prodigious proportions have ranged from…
BMW M550i: Driven
One of those M cars that BMW denies us. We’re not too sad You already know there are different types of M car. At the lowest rung is the BMW 318d wearing a wonky looking “M” badge purchased…
Uber CEO apologizes for “mistakes” after London license blow
Uber’s new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has written an open letter apologizing for “mistakes we’ve made” following the announcement on Friday by London’s transport regulator that it was withdrawing licensing from Uber — having deemed it is not “fit and proper” to operate.…
The Toyota Corolla Altis gets an update in safety and style
There was a time when the Toyota Corolla would rule the car sales charts. Its combination of reliability and value saw generations of owners buy this 1.6-litre family saloon and dutifully replace it with another Corolla whenever the successive model…
Facebook fined €1.2M for privacy violations in Spain
Another privacy-related fine for Facebook in Europe: The Spanish data protection regulator has issued a €1.2M (~$1.4M) fine against the social media behemoth for a series of violations regarding its data-harvesting activities. Spain’s AEPD said an investigation into how Facebook…