Category: Internet

Software ‘bots’ posing as people can spread misinformation and foment division while making social media audiences seem larger than they really are. Elon Musk’s pausing of his bid to buy Twitter due to questions over “bots” has put the artificially-operated accounts at the heart of the proposed deal’s latest controversy. The software is so commonplace […]

Mohammad Mannan, associate professor at the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE) at the Gina Cody School for Engineering and Computer Science. Credit: Concordia University It’s no secret that the commercial websites and mobile apps we use every day are tracking us. Big companies like Facebook and Google depend on it. However, as a […]

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Even by the white-knuckle standards of the cryptocurrency universe, it was a standout week. An algorithmic stablecoin called TerraUSD crashed from its dollar peg when the complex mechanism designed to ensure the link suddenly turned against it, sucking even the biggest digital assets into a vortex of panicked selling. Terms like […]

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The US$44 billion (£36 billion) purchase of Twitter by “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk has many people worried. The concern is the site will start moderating content less and spreading misinformation more, especially after his announcement that he would reverse the former U.S. president Donald Trump’s ban. There’s good reason for […]

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Alphabet Inc.’s Google unveiled a series of planned upgrades to its search and maps services revealing the company’s augmented reality ambitions—and its appeal to a generation of internet users drifting away from the company. The new features include ways for people to search for nearby items using images and identify physical […]

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Researchers have developed an algorithm that can identify the basic needs of users from the text and images they share on social networks. The experts hope this tool will help psychologists to diagnose possible mental health problems. The study suggests that Spanish-speaking users are more likely to mention relationship problems when […]

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Lower-income Americans now have more options for free high-speed internet access, including at least eight providers that serve Southern California, the White House announced Monday. The federal government launched the Affordable Connectivity Program at the end of last year to provide $30-per-month subsidies for households with incomes at no more than […]

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Frances Haugen was cooking dinner one Friday evening when her phone rang. On the other end of the line was the White House. Could Haugen get to Washington in four days, Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed asked. She’d been chosen to be the first lady’s guest at the forthcoming State […]

Wireless transmissions can take many routes to the intended receiver. The colored lines are reconstructions of measured paths of millimeter-wave signals between a transmitter (not visible) and receiver (lower middle) in a NIST industrial control room. Each path is precisely characterized in terms of length and angle to the receiver. These paths are all secondary, […]

The Google mobile phone icon, in Philadelphia, April 26, 2017. Big tech companies like Google and Facebook will have to comply with tough rules under a new digital watchdog aimed at giving consumers more choice online or face the threat of big fines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File Big tech companies like Google and Facebook […]