DARPA to Invest $2 Billion in AI and Machine Learning Over Next 5 Years
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has always been focused on accelerating the progress of technologies with profound potential. So it’s no surprise that it’s interested in artificial intelligence (AI). Last week, the ambitious experimental arm of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced it would be investing $2 billion in AI and machine learning […]
Google’s Launchpad Studio Accelerator Sets Its Sights on FinTech Startups
Wait — Google has an accelerator program? Of course they do! Last year’s Accelerator program focused on MedTech, although Google does accept applicants on a rolling basis across different verticals. This year’s Google Accelerator participants are from a variety of financial technology (FinTech) firms from around the world. A Different Kind of Accelerator The Launchpad Studio Accelerator program […]
Trump Says Google Is Rigged – Is It True?
Google handles about 90% of the world’s searches every day, making it the clear-cut leader of search engines. Recently, President Donald Trump took to Twitter, his favorite social media platform, to discuss Google search results about himself. Basically, he asserted that Google was rigged. Many U.S. citizens assumed Trump’s lack of technical skills was the cause […]
California Passes Strongest Net Neutrality Law in the United States of America
A few months ago, we were super excited about California’s net neutrality bill successfully moving through the state’s Senate. A few days ago, we got even better news: the bill passed with approval through the State Assembly. The bill changed a bit between the Senate and Assembly, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation calls the final version […]
Y Combinator’s Bold Basic Income Plan Is off to a Rocky Start
Ideas strictly in the realm of FinTech development aren’t the only ones making waves amongst finance industry insiders and economists. Universal basic income, a program in which citizens of a society receive a predetermined amount of money with no strings attached, has gained its fair share of media attention in recent years. And Y Combinator wants […]
Is Edge Computing Really That Important to the Internet of Things?
Just as cloud computing is an imperative part of the workflow and analysis of most businesses today, the Internet of Things (IoT) is developing into a cornerstone of most enterprise setups as well. But unless we ramp up computing power, network connectivity, computation speed, and device reliability could all take a hit. Is edge computing the solution we need? […]
Google Wanted to Change China, but is China Changing Google?
In the early days of Google, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin probably didn’t ever imagine that their main motto, “Don’t be evil,” would be the center of controversy 20 years later. In 2004, the founders told investors at Google’s initial public offering (IPO), “Google is not a conventional company,” and added that they planned to […]
Verizon Throttled Firefighter Data during California Wildfire
Verizon recently throttled the data connection that firefighters were relying on during an emergency fire response effort in Santa Clara, about an hour outside of San Francisco. Anthony Bowden, the Santa Clara County Fire Chief, expressed his disappointment in Verizon in an official statement: “This throttling has had a significant impact on our ability to […]
China Is Building AI-Powered Submarines
Who said all the hot artificial intelligence (AI) innovation is being developed in San Francisco and other U.S. tech hubs? China has built AI-powered submarines — and plans to launch them in hotly-contested surrounding seas by 2020. Many Questions, Few Answers Many of the details surrounding these submarines are shrouded in secrecy. Per the South […]
The FDA Approves a Contraceptive App for the First Time
Many women around the world lack access to affordable, accurate contraception. To address this, Elina and Raoul Berglund created an app called “Natural Cycles.” The app augments our perspective of fertility by tracking cycles and body temperature in women. When a woman is fertile, the couple can avoid having sex, and when a woman is out of […]