https://uploadvr.com/facebook-ads-vr/
The day is here some VR enthusiasts feared would arrive when Facebook acquired Oculus VR in 2014 for billions of dollars as “Facebook will now use information about your Oculus activity, like which apps you use, to help provide…more relevant content, including ads”
https://medium.com/fluxx-studio-notes/52-things-i-learned-in-2019-8ee483e6c816
At least three private companies have fallen victim to ‘deep fake’ audio fraud. In each case, a computerised voice clone of the company CEO “called a senior financial officer to request an urgent money transfer.”
Some blind people can understand speech that is almost three times faster than the fastest speech sighted people can understand. They can use speech synthesisers set at at 800 words per minute (conversational speech is 120–150 wpm). Research suggests that a section of the brain that normally responds to light is re-mapped in blind people to process sound.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/06/business/algorithm-bias-fix.html
Humans are inscrutable in a way that algorithms are not
Changing algorithms is easier than changing people: software on computers can be updated; the “wetware” in our brains has so far proven much less pliable.
https://ipvm.com/reports/ethnicity-analytics
This exposes that Uyghur persecution and discrimination goes far beyond Xinjiang and is being built on video surveillance technologies
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50573069
Apple has complied with Russian demands to show the annexed Crimean peninsula as part of Russian territory on its apps.
The vulnerability allows malicious apps to masquerade as legitimate apps that targets have already installed and come to trust, researchers from security firm Promon reported in a post. Running under the guise of trusted apps already installed, the malicious apps can then request permissions to carry out sensitive tasks, such as recording audio or video, taking photos, reading text messages or phishing login credentials. Targets who click yes to the request are then compromised
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_gardening
a form of mutation breeding where plants are exposed to radioactive sources, typically cobalt-60, in order to generate mutations, some of which turned out to be useful.
The practice of plant irradiation has resulted in the development of over two thousand new varieties of plants, most of which are now used in agricultural production.
https://pxlnv.com/blog/garages-to-geopolitics/
any company operating worldwide must set a line that it will not cross. There cannot be limitless ethical bending to appease an audience of countries ranging from liberal democracies to ruthless authoritarian states. Otherwise, products and services will morph from tools for customers into tools for dictators
https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/01/fbi-smart-tv-security/
Beyond the risk that your TV manufacturer and app developers may be listening and watching you, that television can also be a gateway for hackers to come into your home. A bad cyber actor may not be able to access your locked-down computer directly, but it is possible that your unsecured TV can give him or her an easy way in the backdoor through your router
arguably one of the bigger issues that should cause as much if not greater concerns are how much tracking data is collected on smart TV owners.
collect tons of information about what users are watching in order to help advertisers better target ads against their viewers
The FBI recommends placing black tape over an unused smart TV camera, keeping your smart TV up-to-date with the latest patches and fixes
As convenient as it might be, the most secure smart TV might be one that isn’t connected to the internet at all.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/technology/tiktok-censorship-apology.html
The video app said it would review its policies after a 17-year-old in New Jersey who discussed Chinese detention camps was locked out of her account