While many people have office jobs, working inside an office is not for everybody. And these days in the U.S. more people are turning to gig work — temporary jobs that allow them to work from home, hold multiple jobs and have flexible hours. More gig workers are now using smartphone apps to find jobs … continue reading -> “More People Use Smartphone Apps to Find Flexible Gig Jobs”

The world has a love-hate relationship with plastic: It’s as convenient as it is problematic. Because it degrades incredibly slowly, plastic waste pollutes the oceans and endangers wildlife. But for sturdy, cheap and sterile packaging, we simply lack good alternatives. A London startup wants to change that, with some help from lobsters. Markus Meyer-Gehlen reports. … continue reading -> “London Startup Says Lobster Shells Provide Plastic Alternative”

All too often what looks like haze is actually tiny particles in the air that are so small you can breathe them in, and they can be dangerous. Now a group of citizen scientists with help from the National Science Foundation is creating a network of sensors that could warn people when the air they … continue reading -> “Student Scientists Helping to Monitor Air Quality”

As Notre Dame Cathedral burned, a posting on Facebook circulated – a grainy video of what appeared to be a man in traditional Muslim garb up in the cathedral. Fact-checkers worldwide jumped into action and pointed out the video and postings were fake and the posts never went viral. But this week, the Sri Lanka … continue reading -> “US Social Media Firms Scramble to Fight Fake News”

Social media companies such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are not legally responsible for the content that users upload to their sites. That legal protection has been key to their explosive growth, but there is a growing consensus that companies must do more to root out misleading content. Michelle Quinn reports, the companies may be … continue reading -> “US Social Media Companies Pressed to Better Police Content”

Amazon.com Inc plans to deliver packages to members of its loyalty club Prime in just one day, instead of two days, part of a spending ramp-up that might curb future profits after a blockbuster first quarter. Shares rose as much as 2% in after-hours trade on Thursday on the faster shipping announcement for customers around … continue reading -> “Amazon Aims to Bring One-day Delivery to Prime Members Around Globe”

Facebook Inc on Thursday barred a New Mexico-based paramilitary group that has stopped undocumented migrants near the U.S.-Mexico border from using its fundraising tools and said it would remove any of its posts that violated company policies. Facebook made the statement after a civil rights organization asked it to block videos posted by the United … continue reading -> “New Mexico Armed Border Group Barred from Facebook Fundraising”

Facebook Inc broke Canadian privacy laws when it collected the information of some 600,000 citizens, a top watchdog said on Thursday, pledging to seek a court order to force the social media giant to change its practices. Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien made his comments while releasing the results of an investigation, opened a year ago, … continue reading -> “Canada to Seek Court Order to Force Facebook to Follow Privacy Laws”

Facebook’s lead regulator in the European Union, Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner, on Thursday said it had launched an inquiry into whether the company violated EU data rules by saving user passwords in plain text format on internal servers. The probe is the latest to be launched out of Dublin into the social network giant. The … continue reading -> “Irish Regulator Opens Inquiry Into Facebook Over Password Storage”

Microsoft said profits climbed in the past quarter on its cloud and business services as the U.S. technology giant saw its market value close in on the trillion-dollar mark. Profits in the quarter to March 31 rose 19 percent to $8.8 billion on revenues of $30.8 billion, an increase of 14 percent from the same … continue reading -> “Microsoft Surges Toward Trillion-Dollar Value as Profits Rise”

Technology firms should do more to connect people in positive ways and steer away from trends that have tended to exploit human weaknesses, ethicists told a meeting of Silicon Valley leaders on Tuesday. Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin are the co-founders of the nonprofit Center for Humane Technology and the ones who prompted Apple and … continue reading -> “Technology Ethics Campaigners Offer Plan to Fight ‘Human Downgrading’”

Imagine stepping into a movie or virtual world and being able to interact with what’s there. That’s now possible through the magic of Hollywood combined with virtual reality technology.  For $20, the company Dreamscape takes visitors through a multi-sensory journey. Currently in Los Angeles, creators say they plan on opening more virtual reality venues across the … continue reading -> “Multisensory VR Allows Users to Step Into a Movie and Interact with Objects”

In the wake of the Christchurch attack, New Zealand said on Wednesday that it would work with France in an effort to stop social media from being used to promote terrorism and violent extremism. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a statement that she will co-chair a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris … continue reading -> “New Zealand, France Plan Bid to Tackle Extremism on Social Media”

Shares in Twitter Inc jumped 13 percent Tuesday after the social media company reported quarterly revenue above analyst estimates, which executives said was the result of weeding out spam and abusive posts and targeting ads better. New ad formats, partnerships with content providers like the U.S. National Basketball Association and efforts to patrol abusive content … continue reading -> “Twitter Shares Jump; Growth Attributed to Fight Against Abuse”

Actor Will Smith, NASA, Fortnite and Disney are among the 2019 Webby Award winners for internet excellence. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced the winners Tuesday. Smith’s The Jump won a Webby for events and live stream video while Disney was chosen the WebbyMedia Company of the Year for earning the most … continue reading -> “Will Smith, NASA, Fortnite Among 2019 Webby Award Winners”

The European Union is praising Facebook, Google and Twitter for tackling disinformation while urging the social media giants to do more in clamping down on fake accounts. Under an EU code of conduct, the three companies report routinely on their efforts to stop election interference. Facebook, for one, has been criticized for being a tool … continue reading -> “EU Wary of Fake Online Accounts as Europe Elections Approach”

People in Sri Lanka are experiencing a second day without access to some of the most popular social media sites within the country, after the government shut down the services in the wake of a terror attack that killed nearly 300 people and injured hundreds on Easter Sunday. Facebook and its properties — Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger — were … continue reading -> “Sri Lanka Shuts Down Social Media After Terror Attack”

Looking back at her time as an early Microsoft employee, Melinda Gates said the brash culture at the famously tough, revolutionary tech company made her want to quit, but that she didn’t discuss it with her boyfriend, and later her husband, Bill Gates, the company CEO who embodied that culture. “That wasn’t my job to … continue reading -> “Melinda Gates Talks ‘Brash’ Microsoft Culture in New Book”

Tesla broadcast a web presentation on Monday to update investors about its self-driving strategy as Chief Executive Elon Musk tries to show that the electric car maker’s massive investment in the sector will pay off. Global carmakers, large technology companies and an array of startups are developing self-driving — including Alphabet Inc’s Waymo and Uber … continue reading -> “Tesla Shows Off Self-Driving Technology to Investors”

Ford is showing off its new fleet of electric vehicles. Some of the standouts include a new hybrid plug-in and the promise of a new, all-electric model by 2022. The U.S. automaker plans to have a fleet of 40 different electric vehicles on the roads in the next three years. VOA’S Kevin Enochs reports. …

British agriculture is going high-tech. Farmers recently tested cutting-edge technology like robots that autonomously tend fields and wireless cattle that may connect faster to the farm than you to your favorite app. Incoming message from Arash Arabasadi. …

Recent technological advances demonstrated by China have started an intense debate on whether it is set to take a lead in the field of artificial intelligence, or AI, which has extensive business and military applications. U.S. concerns about China’s AI advances have also influenced, in part, the ongoing trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing. Both … continue reading -> “China’s Political System Helps Advance Its Artificial Intelligence”

College student Fatima Guerra, 19, will be the first to admit, she’s into some really nerdy stuff. “Like, up there nerdy.” “Way up there nerdy,” she says. “All the way up into space.” Guerra is an astronomer in training, involved since a high school internship with a small project at the Adler Planetarium, with big … continue reading -> “NASA Launches Chicago Planetarium’s Student Project into Space”

For some, the launch of a rocket into space to resupply the International Space Station is a routine mission. But for a group of students working with the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, it is a historic moment marking the achievement of a lifetime. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from Chicago. …

Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it may have “unintentionally uploaded” email contacts of 1.5 million new users since May 2016, in what seems to be the latest privacy-related issue faced by the social media company. In March, Facebook had stopped offering email password verification as an option for people who signed up for the first … continue reading -> “Facebook ‘Unintentionally’ Uploaded Email Contacts of 1.5 Million Users”