Sci-Tech

Indonesia Indigenous group requests internet blackout

JAKARTA, June 9, 2023 (AFP) – An Indigenous community in Indonesia has requested an internet blackout in their area to minimise the “negative impact” of the online world, officials said Friday. The Baduy, a community of 26,000 people in Banten province on Java island, divide themselves into an outer group that partly adopts technology, and a sacred inner group that shuns the trappings of contemporary life. The inner group asked authorities to shut down internet […]

African space tech? Don’t rule it out, says Nigeria’s startup king

By Joseph BOYLE PARIS, June 8, 2023 (AFP) – Iyinoluwa Aboyeji might not have the personal wealth of Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg, but his level of success as an African entrepreneur bears comparison with any Silicon Valley tech titan. While still in his twenties, the Nigerian co-founded two “unicorns”, an industry term for companies that achieve a valuation of more than $1 billion. By most counts, Africa has produced only seven unicorns compared with […]

AI meets VR to keep Holocaust memory alive

By Deborah COLE Inge Auerbacher fears for a future when Holocaust survivors like her can no longer bear witness. But advances in virtual reality and AI give her hope their stories will live on. Auerbacher, 88, is the star of a new interactive VR experience called “Tell Me, Inge” in which she recounts her horrific experiences as a small Jewish child in a Nazi concentration camp and what it took for her to not give […]

US fines Microsoft $20 million over child data violations

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2023 (AFP) – Microsoft will pay $20 million to settle government charges that it collected personal information from children without their parents’ consent, officials said Monday. The Federal Trade Commission alleged that from 2015 to 2020 Microsoft collected personal data from children under age 13 who signed up to its Xbox gaming system without their parents’ permission and retained this information. To open an account, users had to provide their first and […]

Apple unveils Vision Pro, its $3,500 headset

CUPERTINO, United States (AFP) — Apple on Monday unveiled its first-ever mixed reality headset, challenging Facebook-owner Meta in a market that has yet to tempt users beyond videogamers and tech geeks. The release was the most significant product launch by the iPhone maker since it unveiled the Apple Watch in 2015. The Vision Pro, which was generally well received on Monday, will cost a hefy $3,499 and be available early next year in the United States […]

Here Comes the AI: Fans rejoice in ‘new’ Beatles music

By Issam AHMED Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, June 5, 2023 (AFP) — When the Beatles broke up more than 50 years ago, devastated fans were left yearning for more. Now, artificial intelligence is offering just that. From “re-uniting” the Fab Four on songs from their solo careers, to re-imagining surviving superstar Paul McCartney’s later works with his voice restored to its youthful peak, the new creations show off how far this technology has come — and […]

At its 787 Dreamliner factory, Boeing prepares for takeoff

By Juliette MICHEL Agence France-Presse NORTH CHARLESTON, United States (AFP) — As airlines seek to fulfill customers’ growing post-pandemic appetites for long-haul travel, Boeing is aiming to speed up production of its 787 Dreamliners after a period plagued by repeated delivery interruptions due to manufacturing defects. At a hangar in the US East Coast state of South Carolina, the plane begins to take shape on its first assembly line — here, the wings, cockpit, cabin […]

French parliament seeks to regulate ‘jungle’ of social media influencers

  PARIS, June 1, 2023 (AFP) – The upper house Senate of France’s parliament was Thursday due to pass a law that will better regulate social media influencers by limiting and regulating their ability to endorse products and encourage betting. The lower house National Assembly late on Wednesday gave its green light to the bill which has wide-cross party support — highly unusual in France’s current tense political climate — after being proposed by deputies […]

Russia fines WhatsApp for failing to delete content

MOSCOW, June 1, 2023 (AFP) – A Russian court imposed a fine on US messenger service WhatsApp on Thursday for failing to delete banned content. The three-million-rouble ($37,000) fine was the first imposed on WhatsApp for such an offence. WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, was banned and branded “extremist” by Russian authorities last year. Meta’s other platforms, Facebook and Instagram, were blocked in Russia along with Twitter, but WhatsApp remained accessible. WhatsApp was punished for failing […]

EU, US ready common code of conduct on artificial intelligence

By Marc Preel with Shaun Tandon in Oslo STOCKHOLM, May 31, 2023 (AFP) – The European Union and the United States said Wednesday that they would soon release a voluntary code of conduct on artificial intelligence, hoping to develop common standards among democracies as China makes rapid gains. Both political and technology industry leaders have been warning of the growing risks as AI takes off, with potentially wide-ranging effects on privacy and other civil liberties. […]

Amazon settles Ring customer spying complaint

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Amazon on Wednesday agreed to pay $30.8 million to settle Ring and Alexa privacy complaints filed by US regulators, including accusations that employees spied on female customers, according to court documents. The Federal Trade Commission charged Amazon-owned home security camera company Ring with failing to implement basic protections to stop hackers or employees from accessing people’s devices or accounts. According to the FTC complaint, Ring’s failures in security resulted in “egregious” […]

France to open its first electric car battery factory

By Caroline Nelly PERROT Agence France-Presse BILLY-BERCLAU, France, May 30, 2023 (AFP) — France will launch its first battery factory for electric cars on Tuesday, taking a big step in its race to build up a sector dominated by China. Building up the battery industry is at the heart of President Emmanuel Macron’s “reindustrialization” plan for France, with a clutch of factories set to emerge in the north of the country over the next three […]