TECHNOLOGY – Page 2

Some App Settings Are A Real Threat To User Privacy

3Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Some App Settings Are A Real Threat To User Privacy

Complicated app settings are a threat to user privacy. Default privacy settings in popular mobile apps seem like a convenience, allowing you to use a single setting to control the level of privacy – who can see which actions you take – across all of the app’s functions. But default privacy settings are also a potential risk to your privacy. The U.S. app market generated US$44.9 billion in 2023, with smartphone users spending 217 billion hours on their apps. The growing popularity of mobile apps can be attributed to their convenience, ease of use, connectivity and flexibility. For instance, Venmo, a popular peer-to-peer payment app for iPhone and Android users, lets users send and receive money from anyone with a Venmo account. It is particularly convenient when dealing with transactio...

The Challenges Of Digital Inaccessibility For Blind And Low-Vision People

15Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY, VIDEO REELS

The Challenges Of Digital Inaccessibility For Blind And Low-Vision People

Digital inaccessibility: Blind and low-vision people have powerful technology but still face barriers to the digital world. Imagine that you have low vision and you’re completing an online job application using screen reader software. You get through half the form and then come to a question with drop-down options the screen reader cannot access because the online form doesn’t conform to accessibility standards. You’re stuck. You can’t submit the application, and your time has been wasted. Assistive technologies like screen readers go a long way toward closing the gap between people who are blind or have low vision and their sighted peers. But the technologies often hit roadblocks because the information they are designed to work with – documents, websites and software programs – don’t w...

Can You Prove That You’re A Human And Not A Bot

5Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

Can You Prove That You’re A Human And Not A Bot

CAPTCHAs: The struggle to tell real humans from fake. CAPTCHAs are those now ubiquitous challenges you encounter to prove that you’re a human and not a bot when you go to log in to many websites. Websites and mobile apps have long been attacked by bots on a massive scale. Those malicious bots are programmed to automatically consume a large amount of computing resources, post spam messages, collect data from websites and even register and perform user authentication. This state of affairs led to the introduction of CAPTCHA, which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. As a computer scientist, I see CAPTCHAs as an effective shield for websites to prevent automated attacks, enhance cybersecurity and improve user experience – at least in the...

Even Though Most Of The Cars Around Them Are Driven By People, Study Finds Robocars Promise To Improve Traffic

4Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY

Even Though Most Of The Cars Around Them Are Driven By People, Study Finds Robocars Promise To Improve Traffic

Robocars promise to improve traffic even when most of the cars around them are driven by people, study finds. Robotic vehicles can optimize the flow of traffic in cities even when mixed in with vehicles driven by humans, thereby improving traffic efficiency, safety and energy consumption, my colleagues and I found. Robot vehicles are no longer a sci-fi concept: Cities around the world have been testing autonomous robotaxis since 2016. With the increasing presence of robot vehicles in traffic and the foreseeable long period of transitioning from mixed traffic to fully autonomous traffic, my team and I wondered whether robot vehicles and their interactions with human-driven vehicles can alleviate today’s notorious traffic problems. I am a computer scientist who studies artificial intell...

How Good Are You At Detecting Fake Videos

30Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY, TOP FOUR

How Good Are You At Detecting Fake Videos

No, you’re not that good at detecting fake videos − 2 misinformation experts explain why and how you can develop the power to resist these deceptions. Someone tracking the conflict raging in the Middle East could have seen the following two videos on social media. The first shows a little boy hovering over his father’s dead body, whimpering in Arabic, “Don’t leave me.” The second purports to show a pregnant woman with her stomach slashed open and claims to document the testimony of a paramedic who handled victims’ bodies after Hamas’ attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Even though these videos come from different sides of the Israel-Hamas war, what they share far exceeds what separates them. Because both videos, though real, have nothing to do with the events they claim to represent. The...

The Global Information Ecosystem Massive IT Outage Spotlights Major Vulnerabilities

22Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism, TECHNOLOGY, VIDEO REELS

The Global Information Ecosystem Massive IT Outage Spotlights Major Vulnerabilities

Massive IT outage spotlights major vulnerabilities in the global information ecosystem. The global information technology outage on July 19, 2024, that paralyzed organizations ranging from airlines to hospitals and even the delivery of uniforms for the Olympic Games represents a growing concern for cybersecurity professionals, businesses and governments. The outage is emblematic of the way organizational networks, cloud computing services and the internet are interdependent, and the vulnerabilities this creates. In this case, a faulty automatic update to the widely used Falcon cybersecurity software from CrowdStrike caused PCs running Microsoft’s Windows operating system to crash. Unfortunately, many servers and PCs need to be fixed manually, and many of the affected organizations ha...

Lessons In Dealing With AI And The Disability Community

11Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

Lessons In Dealing With AI And The Disability Community

Disability community has long wrestled with ‘helpful’ technologies – lessons for everyone in dealing with AI. You might have heard that artificial intelligence is going to revolutionize everything, save the world and give everyone superhuman powers. Alternatively, you might have heard that it will take your job, make you lazy and stupid, and make the world a cyberpunk dystopia. Consider another way to look at AI: as an assistive technology – something that helps you function. With that view, also consider a community of experts in giving and receiving assistance: the disability community. Many disabled people use technology extensively, both dedicated assistive technologies such as wheelchairs and general-use technologies such as smart home devices. Equally, many disabled people re...

A Closer Look At The Unique Abilities Of Quantum Computers

15Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

A Closer Look At The Unique Abilities Of Quantum Computers

Quantum computers are like kaleidoscopes − why unusual metaphors help illustrate science and technology. Quantum computing is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: You never know what you’re gonna get. Quantum phenomena – the behavior of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic levels – are not definite, one thing or another. They are opaque clouds of possibility or, more precisely, probabilities. When someone observes a quantum system, it loses its quantum-ness and “collapses” into a definite state. Quantum phenomena are mysterious and often counterintuitive. This makes quantum computing difficult to understand. People naturally reach for the familiar to attempt to explain the unfamiliar, and for quantum computing this usually means using traditional binary computing as a meta...

26May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism, TECHNOLOGY, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

New Ransomware Threat On The Horizon

Cybersecurity researchers spotlight a new ransomware threat – be careful where you upload files. You probably know better than to click on links that download unknown files onto your computer. It turns out that uploading files can get you into trouble, too. Today’s web browsers are much more powerful than earlier generations of browsers. They’re able to manipulate data within both the browser and the computer’s local file system. Users can send and receive email, listen to music or watch a movie within a browser with the click of a button. Unfortunately, these capabilities also mean that hackers can find clever ways to abuse the browsers to trick you into letting ransomware lock up your files when you think that you’re simply doing your usual tasks online. I’m a computer scientist ...

The Impact Of AI-Enabled Bots On Election Disinformation

21Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

AI, TECHNOLOGY

The Impact Of AI-Enabled Bots On Election Disinformation

Election disinformation: how AI-powered bots work and how you can protect yourself from their influence. Social media platforms have become more than mere tools for communication. They’ve evolved into bustling arenas where truth and falsehood collide. Among these platforms, X stands out as a prominent battleground. It’s a place where disinformation campaigns thrive, perpetuated by armies of AI-powered bots programmed to sway public opinion and manipulate narratives. AI-powered bots are automated accounts that are designed to mimic human behaviour. Bots on social media, chat platforms and conversational AI are integral to modern life. They are needed to make AI applications run effectively, for example. But some bots are crafted with malicious intent. Shockingly, bots constitute a si...