List of All Articles with Tag 'tech'

Five US senators are set to reintroduce legislation Wednesday that would block companies including TikTok from transferring Americans' personal data to countries such as China, as part of a proposed broadening of US export controls.

A new deal will bring the “biggest shake-up in the UK mobile market for over a decade” – and could have significant consequences for anyone who uses a phone in the country. Vodafone and Three will merge as part of a deal that will see the two companies merge to make one of Europe’s biggest mobile operators. That will leave customers of those companies – and other operators in the UK – with a network operator significantly different from the one before the merger happened. But will it benefit those customers, or harm them? Here’s everything you need to know about how the possible deal might shakeup the mobile market. What is happening? Vodafone and Three – both relatively small phone networks in the UK – will merge together, with Vodafone owning 51 per cent of the combined business. It’s not clear yet what the new company will be called. It’s also not actually clear whether the deal will actually go through. Regulators still have to approve it, which is not guaranteed. It will affect the companies themselves, which will be re-organised around the new merger, as well as employees who may now fear job cuts. But it will also affect customers and the rest of the country. The deal is expected to be completed before the end of 2024, the companies said. “This long-awaited mega merger represents the biggest shake-up in the UK mobile market for over a decade,” said Kester Mann, director of consumer and connectivity at CCS Insight. What does it mean for customers? The companies are looking to position the deal as great for its customers. It says that it will immediately lead to a “better network experience with greater coverage and reliability at no extra cost, including through certain flexible, contract-free offers with no annual price increases, and social tariffs”. Over the long term, it is not clear how the company intends to bring those customers together. When EE and T-Mobile merged into EE, for instance, the two customer groups initially stayed separate and then gradually became integrated. What does it mean for people who aren’t Three or Vodafone customers? Those behind the merger argue that it will help everyone else, too. Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone’s chief executive, said that it was “great for customers, great for the country and great for competition”. The “country” part of the statement is intended to point to the £11 billion investment that the newly merged company has promised for the UK, which it says will help “create one of Europe’s most advanced standalone 5G networks”. That new network will help provide billions in economic benefit, it argues. And the “competition” part comes from the argument that the mobile market will become more competitive, with another large operator in it. In theory, that could lead to better prices and deals for everyone – though there is of course no guarantee of that. Will prices go up for existing or new customers? It’s difficult to know this far out. Bigger companies have more power, which they can use to try and drive prices higher – but they also have more scale, which they can potentially use to be more efficient and reduce prices. Both companies have recently increased their prices significantly, even above inflation, which might be a clue to how they intend to behave in the future. But they may argue that the deal would allow them to avoid similar rises in the future. This will be the question that regulators grapple with as they probe whether the deal should go ahead. If they cannot be convinced that the merger will lead to better conditions for customers, then they will look to stop it. Will the deal go ahead? There is still a good chance that regulators will stop the deal from going ahead. They did the same when Three attempted to take over O2 in 2016, citing the risk that the deal would lead to higher prices. “This will be a hard sale given that both companies have been outperforming the market for the last year or so,” said Paolo Pescatore, from PP Foresight. “Let’s see if the authorities have a change of heart. Both parties need to demonstrate that this is genuinely in the interest of UK plc, the economy, and consumers for it to have a chance of getting over the line.” Read More Battery breakthrough ‘offers 1,500 kilometre range from just 10 minutes of charging’ EU makes major statement on the future of Google Reddit’s blackout protest is set to continue indefinitely Battery breakthrough ‘offers 1,500 kilometre range from just 10 minutes of charging’ EU makes major statement on the future of Google Reddit’s blackout protest is set to continue indefinitely

Toyota has revealed plans for a next-generation electric vehicle battery capable of delivering close to 1,500 kilometres (932 miles) of range. The Japanese automotive giant said it aims to produce the commercial solid-state battery by 2027, claiming that it will have a charge time of just 10 minutes. “With the evolution of the vehicle’s operating system, the next-generation battery EV will also enable customization of the ‘driving feel,’ with a focus on acceleration, turning and stopping,” the company said in a technology briefing. The company said that several recent breakthroughs with battery technology meant it was ready to move from the research stage to production of solid-state batteries, which offer a number of advantages over lithium-ion batteries that are currently used in commercial electric cars. Despite range and charging limitations of lithium-ion batteries, they have been favoured over solid-state batteries due to cost and durability issues. Toyota claimed that a “technological breakthrough” had overcome these issues, though did not specify which. The company said it would continue to push forward development of lithium-ion batteries, with plans for a more efficient battery capable of 1,000km of range – nearly double that of the long-range version of Tesla’s Model Y. Lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries will also be developed as a lower cost alternative to lithium-ion and solid-state batteries, Toyota said. Other innovations unrelated to batteries that were detailed in the briefing included aerodynamic technology “based on rocket hypersonic aerodynamics”, as well as manufacturing upgrades designed to reduce costs. Among these is a production process called Giga casting, which was pioneered by Tesla in order to streamline the manufacturing of electric vehicles. Toyota President Koji Sato has previously said that the company had fallen behind in the EV sector and was forced to play catchup. The latest announcement saw Toyota’s share price jump to its highest level since last August. Read More Solar trees offer unique solution to charging electric cars Electric car drives for 100 hours non-stop on futuristic road Three and Vodafone are merging. Here’s what that means for your phone EU makes major statement on the future of Google Reddit’s blackout protest is set to continue indefinitely

BRUSSELS The EU parliament approved on Wednesday new rules to make batteries more durable, more sustainable, and better

Google's advertising business should be broken up, European Union officials said Wednesday, alleging that the tech giant's involvement in multiple parts of the digital advertising supply chain creates "inherent conflicts of interest" that risk harming competition.

By Jessie Pang HONG KONG (Reuters) -Various versions of the pro-democracy protest anthem "Glory to Hong Kong" were unavailable on

Google has been abusing its dominance for years, and may have to sell part of its business as a result, European regulators have said. Breaking the advertising technology business apart may be the only way to address regulators’ concerns, they said. The European Union said that Google has been favouring its own advertising technology over those of its competitors, using its dominance over the internet to further entrench that control. It has been abusing that dominant position since 2014, regulators said. As such, only selling part of that advertising technology business would be the way to avoid those concerns, it said. So-called “behavioural remedies” – which force the business to conduct itself in specific ways but without changing the ownership or structure of the company – would not work, regulators warned. More follows Read More Elon Musk refuses to pay Twitter’s Google bill, leaving site in peril Major Google Bard update allows it to not just write code, but execute it Artificial intelligence warning over human extinction labelled ‘publicity stunt’

Dozens of popular Reddit communities have pledged to continue a blackout indefinitely after no resolution was reached over a pricing dispute. The protest was initially meant to last 48 hours, with moderators of the subreddit communities hoping the action would force Reddit’s chief executive to reconsider charges for third-party app developers. These charges have already forced the Apollo app to announce that it is shutting down, as they mean it will no longer be able to afford access to Reddit’s API (Application Programming Interface). Apollo is one of several platforms that Reddit members use to access the site, with several subreddits posting a message on Wednesday stating: “Reddit is killing third-party applications (and itself).” The continuation of the protest will impact millions of Reddit users, with more than 300 subreddits committing to staying dark. They include r/music, which has 32 million subscribers, and r/videos, which has around 26 million members. Unpaid volunteers who moderate the communities claim that Reddit admins have been removing moderators who support the protest in order to force the sub-Reddits to open. One moderator of r/gaming also claimed the defiant stance was a response to Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman claiming that the protest “will pass”. In an internal memo to staff this week, Mr Huffman reportedly referred to the blackout as “noise”, despite more than 8,000 communities initially taking part on Monday. “Please know that our teams are on it, and like all blowups on Reddit, this one will pass as well,” he wrote, according to The Verge. “We absolutely must ship what we said we would. The only long term solution is improving our product, and in the short term we have a few upcoming critical mod tool launches we need to nail.” Mr Huffman also warned staff members to not wear the Reddit logo in public, in case it made them the “object of [users’] frustrations”. The CEO claimed that the site-wide protest had not resulted in “any significant revenue impact”, though this is unlikely to remain the case if widespread blackouts continue. Read More ‘This will pass’: Reddit boss responds to major chaos at site Reddit is in chaos – and it’s boss has finally responded Reddit down amid major protest Reddit just went ‘dark’, and the site is in chaos

Paul McCartney has revealed a 'final' song by The Beatles is set for release, all thanks to help from artificial intelligence. The tech has managed to replicate the voice of John Lennon, and although currently unnamed, it's like to be a 1978 song by the late artist, called 'Now And Then'. The group had previously attempted to finish the song without Lennon, and vowed it would be completed one day. "We just finished it up and it'll be released this year," McCartney said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, much to the excitement of fans. Click here to sign up for our newsletters

LONDON/HONG KONG Vodafone and CK Hutchison will merge their British operations, the two groups said on Wednesday, creating

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced £50 million in funding to develop trustworthy and secure artificial intelligence (AI) that can help solve major challenges. The investment, which will bring experts across different fields together, was revealed during this year’s London Tech Week. As part of the package, £31 million has been awarded to a group called Responsible AI UK (www.rai.ac.uk), led by the University of Southampton. Its aim is to create a UK and international research and innovation ecosystem for responsible and trustworthy AI that will be responsive to the needs of society. AI tends to be looked at by the tech community as AI that has been thoroughly tested Professor Gopal Ramchurn Led by Professor Gopal Ramchurn, the consortium will help people understand what responsible and trustworthy AI is, how to develop it and build it into existing systems, and the impacts it will have on society. Explaining what trustworthy AI means, Prof Ramchurn said: “Trustworthy AI tends to be looked at from a very technical perspective – ie it is tested and validated in well-defined settings. “However, that doesn’t mean it will be trusted by the public, government, and industry.” He added: “AI tends to be looked at by the tech community as AI that has been thoroughly tested. “It can be AI that is trustworthy by the technical functionality of the application and the particular closed environments it has been tested in, but it is not trusted because maybe it uses personal data, you know, uses your personal data in ways that you would not want it to do.” In addition, £2 million will be awarded to 42 projects to carry out feasibility studies in businesses as part of the BridgeAI programme. These will speed up the adoption of trusted and responsible AI and Machine Learning (ML) technologies. The projects will look at developing a range of tools to facilitate assessment of AI technologies, and successful ones will go on to receive a share of an additional £19 million to develop these solutions further. A further £13 million will be used to fund 13 projects to help the UK meet its net zero targets. Universities across the UK, from Edinburgh to Aberystwyth, and Leicester to Southampton, will lead these projects. The UK’s expertise in the field of AI is a major asset to the country and will help develop the science and technology that will shape the fabric of many areas of our lives Kedar Pandya, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council UKRI has also awarded two new Turing AI World Leading Researcher Fellowships, to Professor Michael Bronstein and Professor Alison Noble, both based at the University of Oxford. Kedar Pandya, executive director, Cross-Council Programmes at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, said: “The UK’s expertise in the field of AI is a major asset to the country and will help develop the science and technology that will shape the fabric of many areas of our lives. “That is why UKRI is continuing to invest in the people and organisations that will have wide-ranging benefit. “For this to be successful we must invest in research and systems in which we can have trust and confidence, and ensure these considerations are integrated in all aspects of the work as it progresses. “The projects and grants announced today will help us achieve this goal.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ‘Last Beatles record’ was created using AI, says Paul McCartney Put ‘public good’ at heart of AI and new tech, Starmer to say Ukrainian schoolboy to buy home for his mother after selling Minecraft server

Many of us look to the stars for answers to life’s most complex questions. But actually, some of the greatest mysteries lie beneath our very feet. One might think we’d know the Earth pretty well by now but, in fact, our planet’s core remains shrouded in enigma. Indeed, there are two gigantic blobs located beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean that occupy around six per cent of the world’s entire volume. And yet, we’re still not entirely sure what they’re made of or where they came from. There are a number of hypotheses, including that they are piles of oceanic crust that have accumulated over billions of years. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But a more interesting theory is that they are huge chunks of an ancient planet that hit the Earth around 4.5 billion years ago. To give an indication of just how massive these things are, the structure under Africa – an area known as Tuzo – is thought to be around 800km (497 miles) tall – the equivalent of some 90 Mount Everests stacked on top of one another, as IFLScience notes. The problem with determining the origin of these monster formations is that there are no direct ways of observing the Earth’s core. The deepest hole humans have ever dug – branded the "entrance to hell" – reached a pretty staggering 12,263m (40,230ft), but that doesn’t even come close to breaking through the crust to the layers beneath. Our most effective tool for analysing what lies beneath the ground is a technique called seismic tomography, which looks at how waves of energy travel when earthquakes occur. Since rocks and liquids have different densities, the waves move through them at different speeds. By measuring the tremors from different points on the surface, geologists can determine what kind of material the waves are travelling through and, in so doing, map out the Earth’s interior. It was by using this technique that the two unusual structures – known as large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) – were found. Waves travel more slowly in these areas – fondly known as “blobs” – than through the surrounding lower mantle, indicating that they’re made of something different. We can’t tell what this material is based on seismic tomography data alone, but some scientists like to believe that they are the remnants of an ancient planet called Theia – an idea known as the “giant impact hypothesis”. According to this hypothesis, around 4.5 billion years ago, a Mars-sized object collided with the Earth. This impact not only created the planet we call home today, but also threw off enough rock to form the moon that lights up our night skies. Some scientists suggest that some of Theia’s leftovers also sunk to the bottom of the planet, probably settling somewhere above the core – thereby forming at least one of the two LLSVPs. More Updates About Strange Blob Structures Inside Planet Earth youtu.be Experts have been investigating the area for decades but there’s still no way of knowing for sure just what these two giant blobs are. Still, studies into Theia have offered important insights into how the possible collision might have kickstarted key plate tectonic and mantle motion inside our planet – crucial processes for establishing the world on which we live. It’s also a useful reminder that we still have so much to learn about our planet and where we came from. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.