Innholdsfortegnelse for #678 i Techlife News

The imagination of Tim Burton has produced ghosts and ghouls, Martians, monsters and misfits — all on display at an exhibition that is opening in London just in time for Halloween. But you know what really scares him? Artificial intelligence. Burton said this week that seeing a website that had used AI to blend his drawings with Disney characters “really disturbed me.” “It wasn’t an intellectual thought — it was just an internal, visceral feeling,” Burton told reporters during a preview of “The World of Tim Burton” exhibition at London’s Design Museum. “I looked at those things and I thought, ‘Some of these are pretty good.’ ... (But) it gave me a weird sort of scary feeling inside.” Burton said he thinks AI is unstoppable, because “once you can do…

Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die? It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps. Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors: APPLE The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact “ who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give…

Technology continues to shrink in size yet grow in capability, and the new iPad mini is no exception. The robust tool was designed to meet the demands of both personal and professional users. It is now equipped with the powerful A17 Pro chip and integrated with Apple Intelligence, promising to deliver a powerful and deeply personal experience. THE ALL-NEW IPAD MINI Available in four elegant finishes—blue, purple, starlight, and space gray—the iPad mini retains its beloved 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display. However, beneath its sleek exterior lies a host of advancements that make it more capable and versatile. At the heart of the new iPad mini is the A17 Pro chip, a technological marvel representing a significant leap over its predecessor, the A15 Bionic. The A17 Pro features a 6-core CPU…

Artificial intelligence’s recent rise to the forefront of business has left most office workers wondering how often they should use the technology and whether a computer will eventually replace them. Those were among the highlights of a recent study conducted by the workplace communications platform Slack. After conducting in-depth interviews with 5,000 desktop workers, Slack concluded there are five types of AI personalities in the workplace: “The Maximalist” who regularly uses AI on their jobs; “The Underground” who covertly uses AI; “The Rebel,” who abhors AI; “The Superfan” who is excited about AI but still hasn’t used it; and “The Observer” who is taking a wait-and-see approach. Only 50% of the respondents fell under the Maximalist or Underground categories, posing a challenge for businesses that want their workers to embrace…

The U.S. government fined American Airlines $50 million for failing to provide wheelchair assistance to passengers with disabilities and damaging thousands of wheelchairs over a five-year period, The Transportation Department said this week that “in some cases,” wheelchair users were injured, but it did not give a number. American said it has made significant investments to improve the handling of wheelchairs. The airline will be credited $25 million, or half of its civil penalty, for those investments and compensation paid to affected passengers, according to a consent order. The incidents raised by the Transportation Department occurred between 2019 and 2023. The investigation was prompted in part by three formal complaints the Paralyzed Veterans of America filed against American. Investigators also seized on video of an incident at Miami International Airport…

A federal judge delayed an order requiring Google to open up its Android app store to more competition until an appeals court decides whether to block the shake-up because of legal questions surrounding a jury’s verdict that branded Google as an illegal monopolist. The delay granted during a court hearing in San Francisco comes less than two weeks after U.S. District Judge James Donato issued a decision that would have forced Google to make sweeping changes to its Play Store for Android smartphones starting Nov. 1. The mandated changes included a provision that would have required Google to make its library of more than 2 million Android apps available to any rivals that wanted access to the inventory and also distribute the alternative options in its own Play Store. Google…

New rules from the White House on the use of artificial intelligence by U.S. national security and spy agencies aim to balance the technology’s immense promise with the need to protect against its risks. The framework signed by President Joe Biden and announced Thursday is designed to ensure that national security agencies can access the latest and most powerful AI while also mitigating its misuse. Recent advances in artificial intelligence have been hailed as potentially transformative for a long list of industries and sectors, including military, national security and intelligence. But there are risks to the technology’s use by government, including possibilities it could be harnessed for mass surveillance, cyberattacks or even lethal autonomous devices. “This is our nation’s first-ever strategy for harnessing the power and managing the risks of…

Had she wanted to, Michelle Chumley could have afforded a pricey new SUV loaded with options. But when it came time to replace her Chevrolet Blazer SUV, for which she’d paid about $40,000 three years ago, Chumley chose something smaller. And less costly. With her purchase of a Chevrolet Trax compact SUV in June, Chumley joined a rising number of buyers who have made vehicles in the below-average $20,000-to-$30,000 range the fastest-growing segment of the nation’s new-auto market. “I just don’t need that big vehicle and to be paying all of that gas money,” said Chumley, a 56-year-old nurse who lives outside Oxford, Ohio, near Cincinnati. Across the industry, auto analysts say, an “affordability shift” is taking root. The trend is being led by people who feel they can no…

Netflix reported that its subscriber growth slowed dramatically during the summer, a sign the huge gains from the video-streaming service’s crackdown on freeloading viewers is tapering off. The 5.1 million subscribers that Netflix added during the July-September period represented a 42% decline from the total gained during the same time last year. Even so, the company’s revenue and profit rose at a faster pace than analysts had projected, according to FactSet Research. Netflix ended September with 282.7 million worldwide subscribers – far more than any other streaming service. The Los Gatos, California, company earned $2.36 billion, or $5.40 per share, a 41% increase from the same time last year. Revenue climbed 15% from a year ago to $9.82 billion. Netflix management predicted the company’s revenue will rise at the same…

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which means it’s the perfect time to learn how to protect yourself from scams. “Scams have become so sophisticated now. Phishing emails, texts, spoofing caller ID, all of this technology gives scammers that edge,” said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. As scammers find new ways to steal money and personal information, consumers should be more vigilant about who they trust, especially online. A quick way to remember what to do when you think you’re getting scammed is to think about the three S’s, said Alissa Abdullah, also known as Dr. Jay, Mastercard’s deputy chief security officer “Stay suspicious, stop for a second (and think about it) and stay protected,” she said. Whether it’s romance scams or job scams, impersonators…

Newspapers in the United States closed at the rate of more than two per week during 2023, but a burst of activity among digital entrepreneurs illustrated some tiny shoots of growth in what has become a desert-like climate for local news. A total of 127 newspapers closed last year, while the 81 digital sites gained was the most in any year since the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University began measuring that activity in 2018, and possibly the most ever. “It shows that there are some entrepreneurs and innovators out there,” said Tim Franklin, director of the Medill Local News Initiative. One caution: digital news is still an area with a lot of churn. There were actually 212 new sites that started last year, including 30 that were former…

The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War. Kuwait has not publicly acknowledged banning the game, which is a tentpole product for the Microsoft-owned developer Activision and is set to be released last weekend worldwide. However, it comes as Kuwait still wrestles with the aftermath of the invasion and as video game makers more broadly deal with addressing historical and cultural issues in their work. The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis…

A federal regulator ordered Apple and to pay a combined $89 million for deceiving consumers and mishandled transaction disputes of Apple Card customers. The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau orders point to “customer service breakdowns and misrepresentations” around Apple and Goldman’s credit card partnership. Apple failed to send tens of thousands of Apple Card disputes to Goldman, and when such customer disputes were reported, the investment bank did not follow federal requirements for investigating, the agency said. As a result, many consumers faced long waits to get their money back from disputed charges and, in some cases, saw incorrect negative information added to their credit reports, the CFPB added. Apple and Goldman were also accused of misleading people who purchased iPhones and other Apple devices about interest-free payments for the credit…

New GoFundMe tools will make it easier to circulate causes across online platforms in a push to cater toward younger generations. The crowdfunding site hopes to meet digital natives in the online spaces where they frequently advocate, streamlining the donation experience to encourage more charity and connecting traditional nonprofits with a demographic that prefers direct contributions over institutional giving. Among the features rolling out this fall are fundraising widgets for video game streamers, personalized profiles to highlight users’ philanthropic interests and an integrated button on Instagram to donate. “We play a really important role helping people ask for help and give help in the world,” GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan told. “We want to make sure that people can carry that with them, and communicate and express that, in the places…

The unregulated carbon dioxide removal industry is calling on the U.S. government to implement standards and regulations to boost transparency and confidence in the sector that’s been flooded with billions of dollars in federal funding and private investment. A report by the Carbon Removal Alliance, a nonprofit representing the industry, outlined recommendations to improve monitoring, reporting, and verification. Currently the only regulations in the U.S. are related to safety of these projects. Some of the biggest industry players, including Heirloom and Climeworks, are alliance members. “I think it’s rare for an industry to call for regulation of itself and I think that is a signal of why this is so important,” said Giana Amador, executive director of the alliance. Amador said monitoring, reporting and verification are like “climate receipts” that…

Federal regulators gave a strong push to electric-powered air taxis by issuing a final rule for operating the aircraft and how pilots will be trained to fly them. The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, Mike Whitaker, said the rule recognizes air taxis as an entirely new type of aircraft that will soon join airplanes and helicopters in the sky. These aircraft take off and land vertically, like helicopters, but fly like fixed-wing planes. Many companies are working to get them on the market, but they have been held back by the lack of clarity over regulations to govern their use. Whitaker said the FAA is stressing safety as it works to fold the new aircraft into the nation’s airspace. He said “powered-lift aircraft” are the first new category of…

Peloton plans to sell its deluxe stationary bike at Costco this holiday season as the struggling connected-exercise company seeks to broaden its customer base. The Peloton Bike+, a stationary bike that enables riders to participate in online classes and work out with a virtual community of friends, will be sold at a discount online and in 300 Costco stores from November through mid-February, the companies announced this week. The model will sell in Costco stores for $1,999 and will require self-assembly. That’s about $500 cheaper than buying a new bike directly through Peloton’s website, a purchase which includes delivery and setup. Costco will also sell the Peloton Bike+ on its website for $2,199, which includes delivery. “The Costco brand is incredibly powerful and respected in the U.S. and abroad,” Dion…

The Hong Kong government is barring most civil servants from using popular apps like WhatsApp, WeChat and Google Drive on their work computers due to potential security risks. The latest IT security guidelines from the Digitial Policy Office have many civil servants complaining about added inconvenience. Government workers will still be allowed to use the services from personal devices at work, and can get exceptions to the ban with approval from a manager. Information technology experts said companies have adopted similar policies due to increasing risks of data leaks and cybersecurity challenges. Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, said on a radio program that the ban is needed as hacking is becoming a more serious problem. He said the governments of the United States and China have also…