Tag: tech

Canada plans to set up an AI hub

AI

Canada wants to be an artificial-intelligence hotbed. Don Walker, chief executive of Canadian carparts giant Magna International, hosted a number of the country’s leading executives, scientists and politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at his summer home last July to mull ways Canada could move past its reliance on natural-resource exports. Artificial intelligence was at the top of the list, according to several attendees. We are already living in a world infused with AI, from music and movie recommendation services, to driver assistance systems in cars, to virtual personal assistants…

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China robot industry developing fast, but risks oversupply in low-end segment

Dianne Jacobs
robot

China has strong demand for robots, but locally robot production took up only 26.7% of its demand in 2015. The industry is growing rapidly, but a more standardized industry is required if products are to be more reliable.To meet the demand, China firms have geared up development of robots with government incentives in recent years and the use of robots has extended from manufacturing to other sectors. But the development of China’s robotic industry faces two risks: over investment in low-end robots with low added values, and consequently oversupply, according…

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Future Robots May Be Controlled By Magnetic Fields

Robots have to be soft and flexible if they are  to become more lifelike or if we want to start using them for more biological applications. Scientists studying soft robotics are trying to overcome some of the inadequacies of moving metal beings made from janky, clanky parts, which might not be so useful for squeezing into tight spaces or moving around in the human body. But switching to bendier materials comes with its own set of problems to solve—for instance, how best to control soft robots, or make them strong…

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Samsung’s quest to redeem itself with the Galaxy S8 Launch

Samsung has unveiled its new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, the Korean giant’s latest attempt to take on the iPhone. The launch of the device is seen as a crucial moment for Samsung coming after the scandal that saw it forced to recall and cease production of the Galaxy Note 7, its previous top-end phone. The new device comes in two sizes, the 5.8-inch S8 and the 6.2-inch S8+. They feature a new design in which the “infinity display” wraps around the device, meaning that the large screen takes up almost all…

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Facebook will launch group chatbots at F8

Dianne Jacobs

Facebook will reveal at its F8 conference a new class of group bots that work inside Messenger group chats. These group bots can keep users informed about real-time news such as a sports game’s progress, e-commerce deliveries and more, according to three sources familiar with the development of the feature. Facebook is already working with top chatbot makers to prepare for the launch. Facebook will open up APIs to allow more developers to start building group bots, too. When asked for comment, a Facebook spokesperson said “we don’t comment on…

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Is technology contributing to increased inequality?

Airlines

As global poverty continues to decline thanks to technology, another issue emerges. According to the World Economic Forum, rising income inequality and the polarization of societies pose a risk to the global economy, and may lead to increased polarization and lack of political stability reports Tech Crunch. This, however, is not a global problem. In developing countries, inequality is decreasing and the amount of people living in extreme poverty is at an all-time low. Mobile technology is contributing to financial inclusion in countries without an established financial infrastructure, and global markets create trade opportunities. However, the…

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Google Translate mobile apps now available for users in China

Dianne Jacobs
Farmers

Google has reintroduced its Translate mobile apps to China, where they can now be accessed and used without the need for software to bypass local censorship. Google left China more than seven years ago when it redirected its local search engine to Hong Kong and many of its services are censored in the country. Today’s low-key relaunch marks the first time it has revived a service specifically for users in China. The google translate apps will be maintained by Google’s joint-venture in China, which runs the services it has remaining there, and will be subject…

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Facebook pivots into Stories

Facebook is evolving from textual content and link-focused sharing to the visible verbal exchange layout its admits “Snapchat has in point of fact pioneered”. All users will quickly have access to the Facebook’s new digicam feature that permits them to overlay special effects on photos and videos. They can then share this content to a Snapchat clone known as facebook tales that seems above news Feed on cellular and works in a similar way to Instagram’s 24-hour ephemeral slideshows. Users also may share these posts to News Feed, individual friends…

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Cloud Foundry launches its developer certification program

Dianne Jacobs

Cloud Foundry, a massive open source project that allows enterprises to host their own platform-as-a-service for running cloud applications in their own data center or in a public cloud, today announced the launch of its “Cloud Foundry Certified Developer” program. The Cloud Foundry Foundation calls this “the world’s largest cloud-native developer certification initiative,” and while we obviously still have to wait and see how successful this initiative will be, it already has the backing of the likes of Dell EMC, IBM, SAP and Pivotal (the commercial venture that incubated the Cloud…

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10 million users help Microsoft test Windows 10

Microsoft has amassed over 10 million volunteer testers who help the Redmond tech giant to rigorously test and polish the software. Anyone can sign up to test Windows 10, and now 10 million people are helping Microsoft refine and improve its operating system. Unlike the development of Windows 7 and Windows 8, the tech giant has remained open about the development process and the expected features that would make a certain Windows 10 version. When the company introduced the program in 2014, it wasn’t expected to get such a huge…

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