BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Google accused of making it harder to search for rival
Google has been accused of taking advantage of its market dominance to make it harder to search for a rival email service. Tuta Mail - which says it has more than ten million users worldwide - alleges that, since March, it hasn’t appeared prominently in Google searches for “encrypted email." The company has made a complaint to the EU claiming that Google - which has its own hugely popular G ... Read more
2024-04-25 19:24:13
Three-year-olds groomed online, charity warns
Sexual predators are grooming children under six into performing “disturbing” acts of sexual abuse via phones or webcams a charity has warned. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said it had discovered more than two thousand remotely filmed child abuse images of three to six-year-olds online in 2023. If follows recent warnings from the communications watchdog Ofcom that almost a quarter of child ... Read more
2024-04-22 19:39:05
TikTok warns US ban would 'trample free speech'
TikTok says a potential ban on its app in the US would "trample the free speech" of 170 million Americans. The US House of Representatives voted on Saturday to ban TikTok if the app's owner does not cut its ties with China. The legislation was part of a US foreign policy package that included aid for Ukraine and could become law as early as next week. In recent months US officials hav ... Read more
2024-04-21 19:36:49
EU demands answers on money-for-views version of TikTok
TikTok has been given 24 hours to respond to the European Commission over a version of the app which pays users for viewing videos. TikTok Lite launched in France and Spain this week. European Commissioner Thierry Breton has compared it to the idea of "light" cigarettes, asking whether it was "as addictive and toxic." TikTok said in a statement it would "respond to the ... Read more
2024-04-17 21:55:14
Can AI take teaching 'out of the Victorian ages'?
In a class of 30 children, no two learn the same way and a teacher does not have time to instruct them all differently. But artificial intelligence does - and across the East of England it is being used to modernise and personalise education. The aim is to ensure no child gets left behind and that learning is engaging, but how can teachers ensure the technology is not abused? In a hangar at West ... Read more
2024-04-17 03:05:11
Billionaire twins invest in ninth-tier football club
A non-league football club has received an injection of $4.5m (about £3.6m) from a pair of cryptocurrency investors. Real Bedford FC (RBFC) received the Bitcoin investment from Winklevoss Capital, an investment firm owned by Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Podcaster Peter McCormack bought the side, currently in the ninth tier of English football, in 2021 with the goal of turning it ... Read more
2024-04-12 19:50:04
UK competition watchdog has 'real concerns' over big tech AI dominance
Big tech's dominance of the rapidly developing artificial intelligence (AI) market is a matter of "real concern", the competition regulator has warned. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is looking into the new breed of powerful AI tools - foundation models. They include text and image generators, such as ChatGPT. The CMA found an "interconnected web" of AI partners ... Read more
2024-04-11 20:29:31
TikTok to take on Instagram with photo app
TikTok is to take on social media rival, Instagram, by launching a photo-sharing app. The company said it was working on a "dedicated space" for images and text. Some users have received notifications saying their photo posts will be shared to a new "TikTok Notes" app unless they opt out. It is the latest example of social media firms imitating each others' products - includ ... Read more
2024-04-09 19:10:49
Microsoft announces new AI office in UK
Microsoft is opening a new office in London dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) research and development. The tech firm's AI boss Mustafa Suleyman said it will advertise roles for "exceptional individuals" in the coming weeks and months. But he has not said how many jobs will be created. Microsoft is a major investor in ChatGPT-creator OpenAI, which itself opened an office in Lo ... Read more
2024-04-08 19:56:39
Solar Eclipse: Sky watchers hope for clear weather
Millions are hoping for clear skies as anticipation grows ahead of Monday's total solar eclipse. Forecasters are predicting cloudy conditions in northern Mexico, Texas and parts of the Great Lakes region. Better weather is expected in western Mexico and parts of the US Midwest, with clear spring skies likely in New England and Canada. The total solar eclipse, the first to cross the continent si ... Read more
2024-04-07 19:29:53