Asia
WhatsApp block about to stop older iPhones and Android handsets working with popular chat app
Many WhatsApp users are about to find themselves cut off from using the hugely popular chat app. Users of older iPhones and Android handsets are to find the app has stopped working after it said it would stop support from the end of the 2016. WhatsApp said that the move had been made to ensure that the app could continue to introduce new features and stay secure, which relies on the app being used on newer operating systems. But it has been criticised by many users, particularly those in developing markets where both the app and older handsets are popular. The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session A man looks at an exhibit entitled'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey suggests that site might finally add much-request 'edit' tool
Twitter might finally let people fix their bad tweets. The troubled company's CEO, Jack Dorsey, has suggested that he might have the site add an "edit" button so that updates can be fixed after they are posted. It was just one of a range of new year's resolutions that he made after taking requests from its users. Mr Dorsey admitted that the site needs such an edit button, but said also that he will need to think more about how it can be rolled out. The suggestion came after Mr Dorsey sent out a tweet asking users what they would want to see change about the site in 2017. A range of responses followed, including a number of people who asked for tweets to be allowed to be changed once they had been posted.
Tesla's new Roadster, and more in the week that was
Has Tesla succeeded in creating a vehicle that reacts faster than its driver? A recently-surfaced dashcam video appears to show Tesla's autopilot mode predicting an accident moments before it actually happens. It currently takes hours to charge an electric car - but Elon Musk just hinted that Tesla's next-gen superchargers will be able to juice up an eve in mere seconds. Musk also confirmed plans for a new Tesla Roadster, which is expected to debut in 2019. Uber recently launched a fleet of self-driving cars in California, but the state promptly shut the experiment down.
16ish Listicles and Videos from 2016 – Andreessen Horowitz
There's a new era of social self-expression and mobile entertainment happening, enabled by always-on cameras, real-time computer vision, social media, and other tech. Several of these phenomena -- from emoji to stickers to filters to cultural memes -- emerged in Asia or were popularized in messaging apps there before they made their way into global products. Well, livestreaming is currently exploding in China. And while it's been around in the U.S. for years in various forms, it hasn't really taken off at mainstream scale… yet. So what can we learn as livestreaming evolves in China (and perhaps here too)?
'I Know What You Download': Website claims to let people see everything their friends have torrented
A new website claims to be able to show everything you – and your friends – have torrented. "I Know What You Download" gathers information frm across the internet to find out the things that people have been downloading. And it even provides an easy way for friends to make that information available, too – meaning that you may already have been tricked into exposing your torrenting habits. The tool works simply by looking up the IP address of the person using it. While torrents might feel secret, unless they are protected they are attached to those same unique IP addresses – meaning that anyone looking to find a download can be identified by others doing so at the same time.
Video games for a more human new year
In December, footage emerged of the Japanese film director Hayao Miyazaki visiting the Dwango Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in Tokyo. In the clip, which was broadcast as part of an NHK documentary, the director of Spirited Away is shown a video of a computerised humanoid creature that has taught itself to walk by using its head and buttocks to shimmy along the ground. After the presentation Miyazaki sits in thought, before issuing his verdict. "Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever," he says. Miyazaki's delivery has none of the vein-throbbing fury of a Gordon Ramsay – only the life-haunting melancholy of the disappointed father.
Trump says he doesn't trust computers as he rings in 2017
Trump rarely uses email or computers despite his frequent tweeting. "You know, if you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old-fashioned way. Because I'll tell you what: No computer is safe," Trump told reporters during his annual New Year's Eve bash. "I don't care what they say." Trump has repeatedly cast aside allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia tried to influence the presidential election through hacking.
Israel, China Inaugurate Joint Robotics Institute
The Sino-Israeli Robotics Institute (SIRI) was inaugurated in mid-December when a delegation of nine Israeli companies -- led by Ariel University Prof. Zvi Shiller, chair of the Israeli Robotics Association, and Technion Prof. Moshe Shoham, founder of Mazor Robotics and a world leader in medical robotics -- participated in the second Sino-Israeli Robotics Innovation Conference in Guangzhou, China. Intended as "home base" for Israeli robotics companies entering the Chinese market, SIRI is located at the Guangzhou International Robotics Center (ROBOHUB), a government-supported, 4,800-square-meter robotics incubator and demonstration center including a large exhibition and demo area, innovation lab, training center, and corporate offices. "This is an exciting time for the Israeli robotics industry," Shiller said. "We are committed to establishing a true partnership with SIRI and ROBOHUB, and we look forward to broadening this strategic cooperation, which will serve as a fast track for transforming ideas into products and for moving products into the Chinese market." The conference attracted some 100 robotics companies from Guangdong Province, more than 40 of which held B2B meetings with the Israeli companies.
Why 2017 will be Asia's year for artificial intelligence
Not a day goes by when we don't hear of something related to artificial intelligence in the news. But AI (sometimes confused with machine learning, which is simply a technique within AI) wouldn't be where it is today if it weren't for one seminal event in 2016: AlphaGo beating Lee Sedol. In March last year, an AI program that trained itself to play the ancient game of Go beat the 18-time world champion. The reason it was such a feat for AI, was because Go is about feel, strategic judgment and winning multiple battles across the board – and a computer cannot simply memorise all possible combinations of board pieces, assess the situation, construct and execute a strategy to win, like chess. So the programmers of AlphaGo, from Google DeepMind, set up the basic heuristics of the game, allowed AlphaGo to analyse previous games and then split its brain so it could play itself millions of times.
Trump says he doesn't trust computers as he rings in 2017
Trump rarely uses email or computers despite his frequent tweeting. "You know, if you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old-fashioned way. Because I'll tell you what: No computer is safe," Trump told reporters during his annual New Year's Eve bash. "I don't care what they say." Trump has repeatedly cast aside allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia tried to influence the presidential election through hacking.