'Children's cafeterias' in Japan hit record 12,601 sites, survey reveals The number of children's cafeterias that provide free or low-cost meals mainly to children in need in Japan rose by more than 1,700 from the previous fiscal year, according to a survey by a nonprofit organization. The number of children's cafeterias, which provide free or low-cost meals mainly to children in need in Japan, has reached a record 12,601 this fiscal year, according to a survey by a nonprofit organization. The total rose by more than 1,700 from the previous fiscal year, said the survey released Thursday by Musubie, a Tokyo-based nonprofit supporting kodomo shokudō programs nationwide. The nonprofit organization said the expansion reflected efforts by central and local governments to create comfortable spaces for children. We aim to create an environment that makes it easier to start and sustain kodomo shokudō programs, Musubie head Rie Mishima said at a news conference.

Owners of the popular Nintendo Switch games console have been left footing hefty bills to replace faulty Joy-Con controllers because of a flaw in the technology, according to a new report. Since the Nintendo Switch was launched in 2017, there have been many reports of'Joy-Con drift', where the console registers movement even when players are not touching the controllers. Now a survey by Which? has revealed that one in five Nintendo Switch Classic owners in the UK have experienced the problem. The consumer watchdog is calling on Nintendo to commission an independent investigation into the issue, and is urging the gaming giant to make the findings of any investigation public. Nintendo says the issue has only affected a small number of devices.

In a year that has seen decades' worth of global shocks, bad news, and scandals squeezed into 12 excruciatingly long months, the summer already feels like a distant memory. In August 2020, the world was in the throes of a major social and racial justice movement, and I argued hopefully in VentureBeat that the term "ethical AI" was finally starting to mean something. It was not the observation of a disinterested observer but an optimistic vision for coalescing the ethical AI community around notions of power, justice, and structural change. Yet in the intervening months it has proven to be, at best, an overly simplistic vision, and at worst, a naive one. The piece critiqued "second wave" ethical AI as being preoccupied with technical fixes to problems of bias and fairness in machine learning.

Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, is regularly cited as a key enterprise technology, but according to a survey published today, there are serious misconceptions surrounding the technology. RPA refers to software designed to work side-by-side with human workers to carry out basic business processes, such as processing invoices, vetting CVs or dealing with customer queries. The worldwide RPA software market grew 63% in 2018, according to Garnter, which predicts that 85% of large and very large organisations will be using some form of the technology by 2022. Although RPA has the potential to improve productivity by taking on some repetitive or monotonous tasks in order to free up workers for other things, it is often misunderstood. A survey of 800 people conducted by V1, which provides automated invoicing software, has revealed many misconceptions surrounding the technology.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the hottest topics in today's headlines. It powers natural language recognition for voice-powered assistants like Siri and Alexa, beats world-class Google Go players, and enables hyper-targeted e-commerce and content recommendations across the web on industry-giant websites that include Target and Netflix. But recently, AI has begun actively expanding its footprint in the enterprise. Executives are trying to more fully comprehend what AI is and how they can use it to capitalize on business opportunities by gaining insight into the data they collect and engaging with customers more productively to hone their competitive edge. AI is the frontier of enterprise technology, but there remain many misperceptions about what it is and how it works.

People care about their privacy, but not enough to quit buying gadgets that expose their personal data, says a new study on consumer habits. Consumers International and the Internet Society surveyed thousands of people across North America, Europe and Asia to better understand the relationship between consumers and'smart' devices -- a term they defined as'everyday device and products that can connect to the internet.' The study did not include phones and mobile apps, which present a vast and more complex array of privacy issues. What they found was that many respondents using products like Google Home or Amazon Echo, fitness wearables, gaming consoles and internet-connected home appliances shared concern over how those devices harvest and share their personal data. Consumers think that data collection of their smart devices is'creepy' according to a new study of consumers across the world.

THE UK public is well-informed and positive about science and technology, but its hopes and fears are largely being ignored by politicians. That is the key finding of an exclusive New Scientist survey of public attitudes to science, technology, medicine and the environment. The 2018 New Scientist Asks the Public survey reveals that the issues uppermost in people's minds are genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, cancer and climate change. They believe these things are "most likely to have an impact on society and human life". But people are not expecting a sci-fi apocalypse – public opinion is surprisingly upbeat.

An Uber Technologies Inc. Volvo self-driving sports utility vehicles (SUV) sits on the road after a high-impact crash in Tempe, Arizona, U.S., on Friday, March 24, 2017. Uber Technologies Inc.'s self-driving cars were back on public roads Monday,... A spate of recent crashes involving Tesla and Uber are taking a toll on public confidence in self-driving cars. Two studies released this week, one by AAA and the other by Cargurus.com, The AAA survey was conducted in April, shortly after a self-driving Uber vehicle struck and killed Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, Ariz., and after a fatal accident involving a Tesla Model X operating in Autopilot mode in Mountain View, Calif. Uber halted its autonomous vehicle testing in Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto after the death of Ms. Herzberg.

A new study exploring depths of the Gulf of Oman revealed a massive increase in the size of its "dead zone," an area with too little oxygen for the survival of marine life. First spotted nearly half a century ago, dead-zones, aka oxygen minimum zones or OMZs, were flagged as a major threat to marine biology. They occur naturally at depths ranging from 700 to 2500 feet due to changes in the level of atmospheric oxygen and have been located in three to four parts of the world including the Gulf of Oman which shares its waters with the Arabian Sea. Now, that dead-zone appears to have grown bigger than what was previously thought. During a recent study, scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA) sent two underwater robots, dubbed Seagliders, into the gulf to create a detailed picture of oxygen levels and the mechanics that mix oxygen and other nutrients into the water.

Emphasize the rewards: Although Pegasystems' "What Consumers Really Think About AI" survey reveals that 72% of respondents are afraid of AI in some way, 68% of people want more AI if it will make their lives easier. For this reason, companies must educate consumers on how AI benefits the customer experience. Examples include getting better product offers, faster customer service, and more relevant messaging from favorite brands. Be transparent: Transparency tops the list of features valued most highly among business leaders, and for good reason: Consumer trust is the foundation for real engagement. In response, companies should disclose information on how consumer data is being used and stored, and the precautionary measures being taken to protect consumer privacy--a critical step in building trust with customers.