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Automation could destroy millions of jobs. We have to deal with it now Yvette Cooper
The robots are coming, artificial intelligence is expanding, yet no one is doing enough to make sure workers benefit rather than losing out. According to a new survey, a quarter of the workforce think their job won't be needed in future. Many of us expect the technological revolution to be as disruptive as the industrial revolution. This could bring amazing opportunities and emancipation, but also new forms of exploitation, deeper inequalities, injustices and anger. Trades unions and communities can't just stand by and hope for the best.
How we can all cash in on the benefits of workplace automation
Artificial intelligence is no different than the cotton gin, telecommunication satellites or nuclear power plants. It's a technology, one with the potential to vastly improve the lives of every human on Earth, transforming the way that we work, learn and interact with the world around us. But like nuclear science, AI technology also carries the threat of being weaponized -- a digital cudgel with which to beat down the working class and enshrine the current capitalist status quo. Just look at how Amazon's automated facial recognition system is being marketed to law enforcement and government agencies, despite its obvious racial biases, or Wisconsin's automated sentencing tool, Compas, which determines a defendant's prison time via a proprietary and secret algorithm. It just so happens to sentence black and brown defendants to longer terms than their white counterparts for similar crimes.
Ethics and the pursuit of artificial intelligence
So many businesses and governments are scurrying to get into the artificial intelligence (AI) race that many appear to be losing sight of some important things that should matter along the way – such as legality, good governance, and ethics. In the AI arena the stakes are extremely high and it is quickly becoming a free-for-all from data acquisition to the stealing of corporate and state secrets. The "rules of the road" are either being addressed along the way or not at all, since the legal regime governing who can do what to whom, and how, is either wholly inadequate or simply does not exist. As is the case in the cyber world, the law is well behind the curve. Ethical questions abound with AI systems, raising questions about how machines recognise and process values and ethical paradigms.
Parker Solar Probe: How will Nasa attempt to 'touch' the Sun?
Nasa is launching its latest space exploration mission this week, the Parker Solar Probe. The robotic craft will fly closer to the Sun than any man-made object has ever been before, beaming back invaluable new data on the star's properties and atmospheric conditions over a seven-year period. The project is named in honour of American physicist Eugene Parker who first speculated on the nature of solar winds in 1958. This is the first time a Nasa mission has honoured a living person. When and where is the launch?
iPhone 9: Apple supplier TSMC warns of delays after it is hit by major cyber attack
A company that makes chips for Apple's iPhones has warned of delays after it was hit by a huge cyber attack. Taiwan Semiconductor Co, or TSMC, is still recovering from the virus and it will raise costs and delay shipments, it said. TSMC supplies chips to Apple as well as a whole host of other companies. The cyber attack came just weeks before the expected launch of the new iPhone, which is due to be released next month. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph.
Yemen: US allies don't defeat al-Qaida but pay it to go away
ATAQ, Yemen – Again and again over the past two years, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States has claimed it won decisive victories that drove al-Qaida militants from their strongholds across Yemen and shattered their ability to attack the West. Here's what the victors did not disclose: many of their conquests came without firing a shot. That's because the coalition cut secret deals with al-Qaida fighters, paying some to leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment and wads of looted cash, an investigation by The Associated Press has found. Hundreds more were recruited to join the coalition itself. These compromises and alliances have allowed al-Qaida militants to survive to fight another day -- and risk strengthening the most dangerous branch of the terror network that carried out the 9/11 attacks. Key participants in the pacts said the U.S. was aware of the arrangements and held off on any drone strikes.
A look at al-Qaida's most lethal branch, Yemen's AQAP
ADEN, Yemen – Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, is considered the most dangerous branch of the terror network after a series of failed attacks on U.S. soil. AQAP has been enmeshed in conflicts in impoverished Yemen for nearly 20 years -- at times working with the government and at times facing crackdown, all the while building ties among tribes in the mountainous countryside to establish refuges and allies. The first anti-American attack in Yemen linked to al-Qaida took place in 1992 when a group called the Islamic Jihad Movement attacked a hotel in the southern city of Aden housing U.S. troops heading to Somalia, killing a Yemeni and an Australian. The group was made up of jihadis who had returned from Afghanistan, where they fought the Soviets alongside Osama bin Laden. The group fell apart after defections spurred by its cozy relationship with ruling authorities as then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh used AQAP fighters to liquidate his top foes, the socialists.
Risk of drone strikes is highlighted by apparent attack in Venezuela
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused political foes of trying to kill him during an open-air speech Saturday using explosives-laden drones, prompting a host of questions about the alleged attack and who might have been behind it. Wherever the investigation leads, Maduro's allegations raised the specter of unmanned aerial vehicles being used by militant groups or others to launch bombing, chemical or biological attacks, a tactic that has long worried security experts. The market for commercial drones has flourished in recent years amid widespread availability and falling prices. So-called quadcopters -- drones with four rotors -- that can be operated from more than a mile away (1.6 km) and can fly for more than 20 minutes on one charge cost less than $1,000 to buy online, though they are generally capable of carrying only a limited payload. Militant groups such as Islamic State have used drones to carry out attacks by dropping grenades or crashing into infrastructure.
Honda Took Pride in Doing Everything Itself. The Cost of Technology Made That Impossible.
It was part of a brutal day of Japanese government testing for Honda Motor Co. HMC 1.81%, whose vehicle was equipped with a camera and sensors that were supposed to detect obstacles and apply brakes to avoid a collision. The SUV scored 0.2 out of a possible 25 points in the pedestrian portion of the test, the worst among tested vehicles. With its long heritage of technical prowess, Honda was determined to do better--and it did. But Honda engineering didn't get it there. The car maker turned to an off-the-shelf sensing kit from Robert Bosch GmbH, the companies said.