A Russian computer program is said to have become the first to pass the “Turing Test” for artificial intelligence. Whether that’s the case is a question of interpretation. The Turing test is named after computer pioneer Alan Turing, whose 1950 paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” examined whether computers can think. He said such a question […]
Tetris is 30 years old today. Here are ten things you might not know about the game: The game was completed on June 6th 1984 by Alexander Pajitnov, a programmer at the Moscow Academy of Sciences who worked on the game in his spare time. Pajitnov created the game on an Elektronika computer. The brand […]
The University of Michigan is building a 32-acre model city for testing self-driving cars. The Mobile Transformation Facility will include both a city centre with the traditional grid model and a four-lane highway. Realistic features will include “merge lanes, stoplights, intersections, roundabouts, road signs, a railroad crossing, building facades, construction barrels and eventually a mechanical […]
If you want to fool the Secret Service, it appears sarcasm might be the way to go. The agency is looking for software that can figure out when social media users don’t mean exactly what they say. In a procurement document, spotted by the BBC, the agency is asking for a commercial firm to provide […]
Confused about Net Neutrality? Watch this. Know someone confused by Net Neutrality? Watch this. (Contains some language.) [via HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver]
The Federal Communications Commission is said to be mulling over a change in the threshold for an Internet service to be considered broadband, with 10Mbps the most likely new threshold. At the moment the FCC defines “broadband” (which it also refers to as “high-speed Internet”) as 4Mbps with a 1Mbps upload. It’s planning a public […]
Several iPhone users say their phones have been hijacked by extortionists who’ve managed to ‘hack’ the Find My iPhone security tool. The victims have discovered that the tool — which is meant to be used by phone owners if their handset is lost or stolen — has been activated and their phone locked. They’ve then […]
It was a mixed set of results for Pirate Parties in the European Parliament elections. The parties, which campaign for online freedoms, lost two seats across Europe but picked one up and almost won another. As a result of the last European Parliament elections, in 2009, the Pirate Party of Sweden picked up two seats, […]
Nest has recalled its high-tech smoke alarm thanks to a design flaw that could stop it sounding quickly enough to be an effective alert during a fire. The problem is with a wave feature, which allows customers to temporarily disable an alarm (or cancel a test) by vigorously waving their arms underneath the sensor. Unlike […]
The Federal Communication Commission has formally published its plans on revisions to the way the Internet is regulated and begun a four month public consultation period. The commission voted 3-2 on party lines to publish a proposed notice of rulemaking — in effect, draft rules that could be amended before they take effect. Although FCC […]