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Tech NewsGoogle and Facebook’s Security Guards Are Fighting to Earn a Living Wage
The effort began at an Applebee’s in Redwood City, a link in a chain of towns that dot that peninsula that connects San Francisco to Silicon Valley. Robert Taitt, a security officer who works on Facebook’s campus, signed his union card there. He was one of the first of more than 3,000 Silicon Valley security … Continued
By Kate Conger -
Tech NewsGoogle Rolls Out New Internal Rules in an Effort to Fix Its Culture
Google rolled out new workplace policies and guidelines for internal communication last week, a response to employees who have pressed the company for months to address their concerns over workplace harassment. Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the changes in a company-wide email that stressed the company’s effort to maintain its open culture while enforcing respectful … Continued
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io9Games
‘Machine Learning President’ Designers Have No Idea How the Mercers Got Their Game
When a group of about 40 players first tested out a live game called the Machine Learning President at a private event in San Francisco this February, they were unaware that the game would end up memorialized in the pages of The New Yorker. But during a ski vacation in March, the Republican mega-donor Rebekah … Continued
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Tech News
Uber Driver in Fatal Tempe Crash May Have Been Watching The Voice Behind the Wheel
The crash of an Uber self-driving car that killed an Arizona woman in March was “entirely avoidable,” according to police reports released by the Tempe Police Department. Cellphone data obtained by police suggests that the Uber operator was also streaming an episode of reality show The Voice at the time of the fatal incident. The … Continued
By Kate Conger -
Tech News
Amazon Workers Demand Jeff Bezos Cancel Face Recognition Contracts With Law Enforcement
Following employee protests at Google and Microsoft over government contracts, workers at Amazon are circulating an internal letter to CEO Jeff Bezos, asking him to stop selling the company’s Rekognition facial recognition software to law enforcement and to boot the data-mining firm Palantir from its cloud services. Amazon employees objected to the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” … Continued
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Tech News
Microsoft CEO Downplays ICE Contract in Email to Employees
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella downplayed his company’s work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a company-wide email sent this evening, saying that Microsoft’s contract with ICE deals only with email, calendar, and messaging—not with separating children from their parents. Tensions within the technology firm reached a boiling point on Tuesday amid national outrage over … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy & Security
Google Backtracks, Says Its AI Will Not Be Used for Weapons or Surveillance
Google is committing to not using artificial intelligence for weapons or surveillance after employees protested the company’s involvement in Project Maven, a Pentagon pilot program that uses artificial intelligence to analyze drone footage. However, Google says it will continue to work with the United States military on cybersecurity, search and rescue, and other non-offensive projects. … Continued
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Tech News
Students Pledge to Refuse Job Interviews at Google in Protest of Pentagon Work
Google will not seek to renew its artificial intelligence contract with the Department of Defense after it expires next year, Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene told employees last week. But despite the revelation that the contract has an end date, the pushback against it continues—within the company and externally. Under the contract, Google is providing … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy & Security
Give Your Nudes to Facebook
When Facebook expanded its pilot program to block revenge porn from being posted on its platforms last month, the blowback was swift. The program, which asks users to send in nude or partially nude images so they can be hashed and blocked, was called “creepy” and “controversial.” But Facebook’s approach builds on the way the … Continued
By Kate Conger -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityGoogle Plans Not to Renew Its Contract for Project Maven, a Controversial Pentagon Drone AI Imaging Program
Google will not seek another contract for its controversial work providing artificial intelligence to the U.S. Department of Defense for analyzing drone footage after its current contract expires. Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene announced the decision at a meeting with employees Friday morning, three sources told Gizmodo. The current contract expires in 2019 and there … Continued
By Kate Conger -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityHow to Download Your Data With All the Fancy New GDPR Tools
The big new European data-privacy law known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is here, and it’s ushered in a host of changes to the way companies treat your personal information. One of the consumer benefits of GDPR is that it requires companies to make it possible for users to pack up their data … Continued
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Tech News
Alphabet Shareholders and Employees Want Executive Pay Linked to Diversity Goals
A group of shareholders and several Google employees are teaming up to back a proposal that would tie executive compensation to the company’s ability to meet certain diversity goals. But Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is opposing the proposal, saying that linking executive pay to diversity metrics isn’t in the best interest of the company or … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy & Security
Facebook Won’t Force You to Use a Phone Number for Two-Factor Authentication Anymore
Facebook users who want extra account security but don’t want to share their phone number with the company can now lock down their accounts with alternative two-factor authentication methods like code-generating apps, Facebook announced today. Two-factor authentication helps protect users’ accounts from unauthorized access by requiring a code in addition to a password in order … Continued
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Tech News
Neuralink Is Funding Primate Research at the University of California
Neuralink, Elon Musk’s secretive startup dedicated to the development of brain-computer interfaces that could make it possible for people to communicate with computers using only their thoughts, is funding primate research at a California university, according to public records obtained by Gizmodo. This research grant marks Neuralink’s first successful foray into the arena of animal … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy & Security
The Pentagon’s Controversial Drone AI-Imaging Project Extends Beyond Google
Google has pressed forward with its effort to provide artificial intelligence solutions to the Department of Defense, despite an internal employee petition against the company’s involvement in a pilot program that analyzes drone footage using AI and the resignations of around a dozen employees who objected to the program. But Google isn’t the only company … Continued
By Kate Conger -
Tech News
Google Removes ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Clause From Its Code of Conduct
Google’s unofficial motto has long been the simple phrase “don’t be evil.” But that’s over, according to the code of conduct that Google distributes to its employees. The phrase was removed sometime in late April or early May, archives hosted by the Wayback Machine show. “Don’t be evil” has been part of the company’s corporate … Continued
By Kate Conger -
Tech News
Gary Lives! …Or Does He?
Since Elon Musk launched his tunneling project, The Boring Company, in late 2016, he has often said that his goal is for his boring machines to outpace his pet snail, Gary, in a race. “We want to beat Gary,” Musk announced last year. “Victory will be beating the snail.” But here at Gizmodo, we have … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy & Security
Google Expands Free DDoS Protection to US Political Groups
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is opening up its free denial-of-service protection program to political groups in the United States, a move that will help political campaigns defend themselves against online attacks during the upcoming election season. The program is known as Project Shield, and it’s run by Jigsaw, a group within Alphabet that focuses on … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy & Security
Google Employees Resign in Protest Against Pentagon Contract
It’s been nearly three months since many Google employees—and the public—learned about the company’s decision to provide artificial intelligence to a controversial military pilot program known as Project Maven, which aims to speed up analysis of drone footage by automatically classifying images of objects and people. Now, about a dozen Google employees are resigning in … Continued
By Kate Conger -
Tech NewsSocial Media
Facebook Hasn’t Answered Some Big Questions From Congress—Because Republicans Still Haven’t Asked
After Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the House Energy and Commerce Committee last month, Facebook braced for another barrage of questions, this time to be delivered in writing. Asked about everything from potential legislation to claims that Facebook had censored conservative outlets, Zuckerberg repeatedly stalled, saying he’d follow up with his team to get real answers. … Continued
By Kate Conger
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