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Microsoft makes its advanced account protection free for healthcare workers
As if fighting the coronavirus pandemic weren’t challenging enough, cybercriminals are making things more difficult for healthcare providers and humanitarian groups. Typically aimed at politicians and their staff, AccountGuard notifies customers when Microsoft detects an attack and provides guidance on stopping it. The service will be available to these new groups until the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, Microsoft said in an announcement.
Microsoft’s AI tech will aid humanitarian efforts
Microsoft is offering up its AI technology to those working on humanitarian efforts around the world. Over the next five years, its AI for Humanitarian Action program will put $40 million towards initiatives focused on four priorities -- disaster response, needs of children, refugees and displaced people and human rights. "We believe that technology, like artificial intelligence combined with cloud technology, can be a game changer, helping save more lives, alleviate suffering and restore human dignity by changing the way frontline relief organizations anticipate, predict and better target response efforts," Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a blog post.
IBM built a handheld counterfeit goods detector
Just a month after IBM announced it's leveraging the blockchain to guarantee the provenance of diamonds, the company has revealed new AI-based technology that aims to tackle the issue of counterfeiting -- a problem that costs $1.2 trillion globally. IBM Crypto Anchor Verifier brings together AI and optical imaging to help prove the identity and authenticity of frequently forged goods such as fine wine, diamonds and medicine, as well as analyze water quality and detect bacteria, such as E.coli. And the technology is small enough to use with a cell phone camera.
New app lets anyone spot and help migrant boats in distress (Update)
If you've ever wished you could do more to help migrants, but don't have the wherewithal to join a humanitarian group, a new app could do the trick. The Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS)'s I Sea iOS app lets you scour satellite images to spot refugee boats in trouble and alert rescue teams to their location.
Google will match your donations to migrant and refugee relief
As you're no doubt aware, Europe is facing a crisis: it's struggling to accommodate scores of migrants and refugees coming to the continent in search of a better life. If you're wondering how you can help, you'll be glad to hear that Google is making things easier. It just launched a campaign that will see it match donations until it raises a total of €10 million ($11.3 million) toward migrant and refugee relief. Any money you send will be distributed to four nonprofits (Doctors Without Borders, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children and the UN) providing food, security and shelter to those in need. Google's effort won't solve everything, but it's worth checking out if you previously felt powerless to help. Update: (9/19): Google announced that it has reached the €10 million goal, and its website has links for those still interested in donating to contact the programs directly. [Image credit: AP Photo/Selcuk Bulent]
3D printers find a home fighting disease in Syrian refugee camps
Sure, 3D printers can make guns, but it can also be used for good: for instance, its capability to create whatever you want gives it a bright future in humanitarian efforts around the globe. Oxfam (an organization that seeks to eradicate poverty) agrees, that's why it has partnered with online 3D printables platform MyMiniFactory for a mission in Lebanon. Their first collaboration? To find a printable water-efficient hand wash system for Syrian refugees who fled to the country in order to lower instances of diarrhea and other diseases. Here's how the partnership works: MyMiniFactory will accept design submissions from anyone, and then select a few to email the Oxfam team. The org will then print and test these designs onsite, and then email MyMiniFactory on how to tweak them and make them better. Sadly, not every org out there comes with a 3D printer in tow, but a lot of humanitarians recognize the technology's benefits and hope to take advantage of it soon. With the advent of more affordable 3D printers, that's looking more and more possible. So, we wouldn't be surprised if organizations start lugging around printers instead of actual equipment to produce everything from housing to medical supplies in the future.
Smartphone-powered mine detectors readied for field-testing in Cambodia (video)
Red Lotus Technologies is now refining and pitching its PETALS technology for real-world use around the world. Short for Pattern Enhancement Tool for Assisting Landmine Sensing, the system connects acoustic sensors to smartphones, outputting a silhouette of what lies below onto the phone's screen. The company has expanded from an initial research project that paired mine-detecting sensors with the processing clout (and availability of) smartphones. It's now developed some tablet-based training equipment for de-miners and, working alongside the Landmine Relief Fund, aims to field-test the devices in Cambodia before launching them next year.
Google Earth utilized by HALO Trust to clear minefields in Cambodia, Angola
Sure, Google Earth is a neat program to play around with and it's easy to take for granted, but plenty of groups are taking advantage of the technology to help improve -- and save -- lives all over the world. One such organization is the HALO Trust, a group that's dedicated to clearing war-riddled countries (such as Cambodia and Angola) of minefields. Taking advantage of Google Earth, the Trust has been able to survey land, validate data and produce maps for governments and other organizations, thus making a huge impact on people left impoverished as a result of these minefields. Check out the video below to learn more about the HALO Trust's efforts, and head to the More Coverage links if you're curious to see how this group is working with Google to make a difference. Relive the memories in our liveblog... right here!
Metal detectors and smartphones make beautiful, mine-sniffing music together
Harvard researchers have married a smartphone to a metal detector to create PETALS, a low cost way to improve mine detection in third-world countries. Traditionally, locating land mines has required a carefully trained ear to distinguish deadly explosives from, say, a can. This new system removes some of the guesswork by mapping the beeps on a cell phone screen, creating a silhouette of whatever is beneath the surface. Similar results have been accomplished using acoustic sensors, but so far they've been relegated to research projects and would likely be too expensive for use where they're needed most. Not only should the simplicity of PETALS (which stands for Pattern Enhancement Tool for Assisting Land mine Sensing) make it cheap and easy to deploy but, in tests novice de-miners were able to improve their performance by 80 percent -- that's a least a few less brave humanitarians going "boom" in the field.
Study scrutinizes shooters for violations of war crime laws
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/24/study-scrutinizes-shooters-for-violations-of-war-crime-laws/'; Two Swiss humanitarian organizations recently examined 20 shooting-centric video games to determine whether they allowed players to break the wartime guidelines laid out by the Geneva Convention -- rules which prohibit torture, destroying "protected objects" (such as churches or mosques), or, say, shooting a bunch of people who are waiting to catch a plane. The games observed, which include 24: The Game, Call of Duty 4 and 5 (we assume they meant Modern Warfare 2) and Metal Gear Solid, were largely panned for allowing the player to simply ignore the Geneva Convention's statutes. According to a BBC report on the study, the two groups explained that while players of these titles may never become soldiers, these war crime violations could "influence what people believe war is like and how soldiers conduct themselves in the real world." In short, you should feel bad about your recent airport murder spree in Modern Warfare 2. Not for the moral implications of killing dozens and dozens of innocent people, mind you -- but because it was against the rules.
