Tom Regan
Articles by Tom Regan
Facebook Messenger update makes business bots easier to deal with
After launching Messenger 2.0 in April, Facebook has just dropped the platform's 2.1 update. Once again, most of these changes are here to help businesses, with Facebook focusing on improving how its Messenger bots work in the latest update. Messenger now has built in natural language processing (NLP), which means the platform can detect seven key traits of any message before passing it onto a businesses' bots. The addition of NLP helps Messenger flag crucial information from an inquiry, like date and time, location, phone number, amount of money and email addresses. This makes life easier for consumers too, meaning that they're more likely to get the right help quickly, rather than spending a frustrating conversation talking to a bot that fails to register the crucial info.
'Marjorie Prime' imagines a world where AI keeps us from grieving
Despite humanity's astounding technological advances, the one thing that we've never been able to invent our way out of is our own mortality. But what if you never actually had to lose the ones you love? That's the premise of upcoming sci-fi flick Marjorie Prime, where advances in AI make the human grieving process a thing of the past. Struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband, the movie's main character, Marjorie, uses a computer program to immortalize him as a piece of AI.
Facebook helped blunt Russian meddling in French elections
Facebook played a key role in identifying and stopping Russian interference in the recent French election, a US congressman has revealed. During the attack, Russian intelligence operatives attempted to spy on Emmanuel Macron's election campaign by posing as friends of Macron's and attempting to glean information. This was in conjunction with the previously reported Russian interference, where spies also used fake Facebook accounts to spread misinformation about the French election.
Nanobots can swim your bloodstream faster by doing the front crawl
With invasive surgery sometimes being a literal pain in the ass, it's no surprise that scientists are working tirelessly to minimize the need for such procedures. Now, however, China's Harbin Institute of Techonology is hoping to bypass fiddly surgery completely, thanks to its new tiny, swimming robots. Inspired by the fastest human method of swimming, the front crawl, these nanobots travel in a similar fashion, with their magnetic arms rotating and propelling them forward as the researchers apply a magnetic field to the bot's arms. This cleverly designed bot is pretty swift too, able to swim the front crawl at an impressive 10 micrometers per second. Thanks to its hefty arms and impressive speed, the bots have a momentum strong enough that they can even pass through thick liquids like blood in order to administer medicine from inside your veins.
Musk and Zuckerberg bicker over the future of AI
It's easy to imagine the world's most powerful people as being mysterious and aloof, but thanks to the wonders of Twitter, we can now regularly witness them being just as petty as the rest of us. Everyone's favorite eccentric billionaire Elon Musk is the latest example of this, publicly slamming Mark Zuckerberg with a tweet stating that the Facebook CEO's understanding of AI "is limited."
FCC denies report that it didn’t document alleged cyberattack (updated)
The Federal Communications Commission now claims to have no data on a DDoS attack that took down its website in May, just months after stating it had "gigabytes" of documentation on the incident. The supposed attack followed talk show host John Oliver redirecting viewers to the FCC's comment section, where he encouraged them to complain about the organization's stance on net neutrality. With over 9 million comments reportedly left on the site, the FCC quickly responded, stating that it couldn't accept more feedback, because it was incapacitated by an alleged DDoS attack. Now, after a freedom of information request filed by Gizmodo attempted to reveal more about the 'attack,' the FCC is claiming that its previous thorough analysis on the incident "did not result in written documentation." (Editor's note: the FCC has refuted the reporting done by Gizmodo and issued a statement. Please see the update below for the full details.)
Reebok’s new foam space boots bring comfy kicks to astronauts
Whether it's using corn to make sustainable sneakers, or 3D printing some pretty out there looking footwear, Reebok isn't afraid of taking bold new steps with its shoes. Now, however, it looks like the brand has decided to take one giant leap for mankind. On Tuesday, Rebook revealed that it's developing a new type of shoe for an upcoming mission to the International Space Station. Christened The Floatride Space Boot SB-01, Reebok's latest is looking to replace the tough and tragically uncool leather boots that have cramped astronauts' feet (and style) for years.
ISPs barred from telling users they’re under FBI investigation
Back in 2013, a federal judge ruled that the FBI couldn't force ISPs to hand over a users' private data without the suspect being informed first. Now, however, a change in the law means that's no longer the case. Thanks to a federal appeals court ruling on Monday, ISPs, financial institutions and phone carriers are now completely prohibited from informing a user if the FBI is investigating them. Under the new 'gag' ruling, the FBI can still issue a National Security Letter (or NSL) without immediately notifying their target, but must instead review the need for an NSL three years after the letter was sent. On top of that, the FBI must also completely terminate their prying into the user's online activities once the national security investigation in question has concluded.
How Valve inspired Neill Blomkamp to start his own movie studio
Neill Blomkamp has a question: "If you could break apart films and treat them a little bit more like software, what would that look like?" Whether it's blindly following Amazon Instant recommendations or waiting for a film to hit Netflix instead of buying it, video streaming has slowly ushered in a new cinematic landscape; changing the way we consume movies drastically. Yet, despite the impact of the internet on movie-watching, filmmakers' still haven't truly changed their creative process. Cult sci-fi director Blomkamp wants to do exactly that. After District 9, Elysium and Chappie, the director set up Oats Studio, which has just released three short films -- Firebase, Rakku and Zygote (collectively titled Volume 1). With YouTube and Steam as distribution platforms, Blomkamp's new endeavor is aiming for a more collaborative approach to crafting movies. While he's still toying with how best to monetize his creations, the short films are all free on YouTube and Steam. But that's just the start: Alongside each film, Oats is also selling "DLC" -- its 3D assets and raw sound files -- on Steam for $5. For Blomkamp, this video-game-inspired "free to watch" approach is all about collaboration. By putting the shorts online for free, Blomkamp and his studio can see which ideas people gravitate toward rather than pouring millions of dollars into an idea that might never recoup its costs. More importantly, though, the DLC gives young creators access to big-budget assets, allowing fans to recut Oats' shorts or even use complex CG models for movies of their own. All the shorts boast cinema-quality visual effects, and Zygote and Rakku feature performances from stars like Dakota Fanning and Sigourney Weaver. After watching Volume 1, I spoke with Neill Blomkamp to find out more about this ambitious project and how he sees the internet shaping his future movies.
China might not block personal VPNs after all
With China making "unapproved" virtual private networks illegal at the start of the year, we previously reported that the nation planned to completely block public access to VPNs by February 1st. Now, just a few days later, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued a statement that appears to debunk the claims. The minister states that VPNs with "permissions" such as domestic and international companies won't be affected. The Ministry then goes onto say that "the majority of users" will also be safe, stating that it will only crack down on "unapproved" VPNs. Predictably, the statement doesn't clarify exactly how users go about getting said approval.
This gadget tells you if you smell so others don't have to
Ever had to rush somewhere and begun to worry that you stink like a teenage locker room? Well, thankfully, there's now an app that can measure exactly how badly you smell. Connecting to your smartphone via Bluetooth, Kukun Body is a pocket-sized device that lets you test your stench in four different locations. Developed by Japanese camera manufacturer Konica Minolta, the tape recorder shaped device can be used to scan four areas: feet, behind the ear, near the head and of course – the all important armpits.
Radiohead album hides an app that only runs on an '80s computer
In the age of the hipster, dust-covered and irrelevant mediums like the vinyl and cassette tape have slowly been given a new lease of life. Now, thanks to Radiohead, it looks like popular British computer the ZX Spectrum might be the next '80s relic to come back into fashion. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's genre-bending opus, OK Computer, Radiohead has released a £100 commemorative special edition of the album, entitled OKNOTOK.
Google's new AI acquisition aims to fix developing world problems
As part of its continued push into the AI sector, Google has just revealed that it has purchased a new deep learning startup. The Indian-based Halli Labs are the latest addition to Google's Next Billion Users team, joining the world-leading tech company less than two months after the startup's first public appearance. The young company has described its mission statement at Google as "to help get more technology and information into more people's hands around the world." Halli announced the news itself in a brief post on Medium, and Caesar Sengupta, a VP at Google, confirmed the purchase shortly afterwards on Twitter. Welcome @Pankaj and the team at @halli_labs to Google. Looking forward to building some cool stuff together. https://t.co/wiBP1aQxE9 — Caesar Sengupta (@caesars) July 12, 2017
'Arms' update adds a fresh fighter, mode and a new stage
While we're big fans of Nintendo's springy-armed fighter at Engadget, the one criticism we had of the Switch exclusive brawler was that it was a bit lacking in content. Now, with today's game's first major free DLC – it looks like Nintendo is trying to change that. Arms 2.0 is now live, bringing with it a slew of free content including a brand new character, an additional mode, extra arms and even another stage to brawl in. Players may recognize the latest addition to the roster, as the new fighter is one of the hard-hitting bosses from the game's Grand Prix mode -- Max Brass. In addition to being able to fight as him, players will also be able to battle it out on Brass' stage too, Skyloft Arena.
There’s a college scholarship for talented ‘Overwatch’ players
If you've ever thought that your Overwatch plays were a fine art worthy of college recognition, then it looks like your dreams may have just been answered. After introducing a League Of Legends scholarship last year, The University of California Irvine (UCI) is now adding an Overwatch scholarship to its program. Starting later this year, those awarded a scholarship will be given $2500 a year towards their tuition fees. In return they are expected to spend between 15 and 20 hours a week split between practicing their plays, attending team meetings, entering competitions and even doing a bit of community service.
Recreate the thrills of '90s PC admin in this browser game
Video games can be hard work. With all the grinding, stat chasing and repetition that defines many modern games, sometimes toiling away in a virtual world can feel like a second job. Well, it seems like for design professor Pippin Barr this hasn't gone unnoticed, as he's taken the concept of digital busy work one step further. In his latest game It Is As If You Were Doing Work, players find themselves logging in to a brilliantly realized Windows 95 backdrop as they're tasked with clicking boxes and doing completely pointless 'work'.
Pro ‘Street Fighter’ player immortalized in manga biography
In Japan, Pro gamers can be a bit of a big deal. Yet, despite their celebrity status, there's only one gamer who's managed to get their own manga series. Daigo Umehara is the man with that honor. Considered to be one of the best Street Fighter players on the planet, he currently holds a Guinness World Record for being the game's most successful pro fighter. Now, thanks to his huge popularity, UDON Entertainment has opted to bring that manga series over to the west.
Russian exoskeleton suit turns soldiers into Stormtroopers
In a bid to make its armed forces look even more intimidating, Russia has taken inspiration from science-fiction to create some futuristic-looking new combat suits. Developed by the state-owned Central Research Institute for Precision Machine Building, this very Star Wars-esque combat armor features a powered exoskeleton, ballistic protection from bullets and shrapnel and a heads-up display. While just a concept at the moment, the suit's designers hope it will enter full production in the next few years.
Daimler is investing $735 million in China's EV infrastructure
German car manufacturer Daimler has announced a partnership with China's BAIC Motor Corporation, pledging to provide $735 million investment into electric vehicle infrastructure in the region. Daimler (the company behind brands like Mercedes-Benz) has revealed a large chunk of that hefty sum will be spent on building a new Chinese battery factory under the joint venture Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd.
Volvo's parent company acquires flying car startup
According to the South China Morning Post, Geely (the Chinese company who owns Volvo) has just agreed to acquire the startup behind the world's most promising flying car. Known for the impressive plane/car hybrid, "Transition", Terrafugia is the company that's come the closest to making flying cars a reality. Now, thanks to Geely's deep pockets, it looks like we could soon be seeing winged Volvos soaring over the freeway.