Members of the House Judiciary Committee peppered the head of Google about potential bias against conservatives and Russian influence and misinformation; Gillian Turner reports. Google has been forced to shut down and "effectively end" its controversial China search engine project, code-named Project Dragonfly, after members of the company's privacy team raised complaints, according to a new report. The tech giant led by CEO Sundar Pichai was forced to close a data analysis system it was using for the controversial project, according to The Intercept, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The news outlet originally broke the news that Google had been considering launching the app-based search engine. Google has not yet responded to a request for comment from Fox News.

The Bloodhound SSC world record bid is back on after the 1,000mph land speed record car received the investment needed to push forward with its attempt. A shortage of funds had forced the Bristol-based project to go into administration in October, with the company saying it needed around £15 million to continue with the project and break the current record. Earlier this month, administrators of Bloodhound Programme, the company behind Project Bloodhound, announced that efforts to secure the funding had not been successful. Following the announcement, the company said Yorkshire-based entrepreneur Ian Warhurst came forward and agreed to buy the business and its assets for an undisclosed amount. "We have been overwhelmed by the passion that clearly exists for Bloodhound and are thrilled that we have been able to secure a buyer who is able to give this inspiring project a future," Andrew Sheridan, a joint administrator of Bloodhound Programme, said in a statement on Monday.

Tumblr's ban on pornography is now in place, with a huge number of posts being wiped off the site entirely. Users will see their previously public posts disappear as the ban goes into effect. Many users have already indicated they are planning to leave the site because of the ban, and a movement known as the "log off" protest has tried to encourage even more. Tumblr announced the ban earlier this month. It was initially met with a vast backlash, by users who said it would penalise the substantial number of sex-positive, LGBT and sex worker communities that have unified around the site, which has traditionally been less conservative than other social networks.

The NES and SNES classic are about to be killed off – and will not be coming back, Nintendo has confirmed. The tiny consoles had become beloved for their miniature recreations of Nintendo's classic systems, available at a relatively limited price. As soon as they came out they were hugely popular, and spurred a growth of classic consoles that also included the new PlayStation Classic. But that popularity led the consoles to quickly sell out, amid confusion about how many the company had produced and whether more would arrive. Now Nintendo of America's president Reggie Fils-Aime has confirmed that there is only a limited number of those consoles being made, and that when they are sold out no more will be made. There will also be no more Classic versions of other consoles created, he suggested.

New Delhi: We profile two enterprise tech start-ups that are using artificial intelligence (AI) to solve real world problems. TransOrg Analytics is a Gurgaon-based data science company that uses machine learning (ML)algorithms to predict customer behaviour. Founded by Naveen Jain, TransOrg offers automated machine learning solutions on the cloud. Jain and team have built Clonizo (inspired by the word'cloning'), an artificial intelligence (AI) engine that identifies customers who demonstrate similar behaviours to an "ideal" group of customers. It not only helps in identifying customer look-alikes (clones) but also in predicting customer behaviours.

A STORY of espionage set both on the moon and in China in 2047, Red Moon describes burgeoning lunar settlements, mostly built by the Chinese. The protagonists are a US quantum engineer, a famous Chinese poet and the daughter of a top Chinese politician. Robinson is famous for the scientific detail and plausibility of his novels, and this one is no different. He has created a deeply realised world that feels more like a peep into our future than a work of fiction. PRESIDENT Stephen Blades (think Barack Obama) finds a letter from his predecessor about a secret NASA mission.

Major convenience store operator Seven-Eleven Japan Co. has launched an experimental outlet in Tokyo with an unmanned payment system and facial recognition technology. The facial recognition system was developed by technology giant NEC Corp. Seven-Eleven Japan plans to open such outlets in locations where customers can be identified, such as office buildings and factories, after resolving various technological challenges. The trial shop, located in a building that hosts NEC group companies, can be used only by their employees. The NEC-developed system checks customers' faces against pre-registered facial images of employees using cameras when they enter the outlet and make payments. After shoppers scan barcodes on products in the self-checkout area, the purchase amounts are automatically deducted from their salaries.

To try to get a glimpse of the everyday devices we could be using a decade from now, there are worse places to look than inside the Future Interfaces Group (FIG) lab at Carnegie Mellon University. During a recent visit to Pittsburgh by Engadget, PhD student Gierad Laput put on a smartwatch and touched a Macbook Pro, then an electric drill, then a door knob. The moment his skin pressed against each, the name of the object popped up on an adjacent computer screen. Each item had emitted a unique electromagnetic signal which flowed through Laput's body, to be picked up by the sensor on his watch. The software essentially knew what Laput was doing in dumb meatspace, without a pricey sensor needing to be embedded (and its batteries recharged) on every object he made contact with.

Lawson is a giant convenience store chain that originated in Ohio, but is now more or less entirely Japanese. OK ... TOC Osaki is a building in the Shinagawa district of Tokyo, near Lawson's headquarters. And they have a robot frying chicken, have they? More precisely, it makes instant Karaage-kun. Just tell me what you're talking about.

China's AI dominance reaches across multiple industries compared to the majority of nations only concentrating on a few.Getty The Boston Consulting Group's study Mind the (AI) Gap: Leadership Makes the Difference published earlier this month provides insights into China's emerging global leadership of AI. A copy of the study can be downloaded here (PDF, 20 pp., no opt-in). BCG's study focuses on the key drivers of success in AI implementations and is based on a global survey of over 2,700 managers in seven countries. Please see page 4 of the study for additional details regarding the methodology. The study found that there is a strong connection between bold, disruption-friendly management styles including actively putting AI high on the agenda, encouraging rapid development and piloting, and fostering cross-functional, agile R&D, all leading to AI industry leadership.