Facebook, after creating its dominion in the social media space with its bundle of apps - Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger -- and venturing into the hardware space via its Oculus and Portal devices is now planning to dip its toes in the operating system space, a world that is dominated by Apple and Google.

According to a report by The Information (via The Verge), Facebook is working on developing its own operating system to power its future devices and reduce its reliance on Google's Android OS. At present, the company's Oculus VR sets and Portal smart displays are powered by a modified version of Android OS. The OS that is currently being developed by a team led by Microsoft veteran, Mark Lucovsky would reduce or even remove the company's reliance on Google.

"We really want to make sure the next generation has space for us...We don't think we can trust the marketplace or competitors to ensure that's the case. And so we're gonna do it ourselves," Facebook's head of hardware, Andrew Bosworth, told the publication.

It's worth mentioning that Facebook's prior attempt to building an OS wasn't exactly a success. The Facebook Home was essentially a forked version of Android OS and it was available on a selection of HTC and Samsung devices in the US.

Coming back to the news update about Facebook, the company in addition to developing a brand new operating system, is also developing augmented reality powered glasses, codenamed "Orion", which the company is expected to launch in 2023. Interestingly, that is the same time around which Apple is expected to launch its AR Glasses. The iPhone maker is expected to launch AR headset in 2022.

What can be termed as a big compliment for India's Unified Payment Interface (UPI), search giant Google wants US Federal Reserve to implement a similar real-time payments platform. The letter (dated November 7) has been written by Mark Isakowitz, Google vice president, government affairs and public policy, US, Canada to the Federal Reserve Financial Services Policy Committee. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) built India's UPI system.Google has also shared details of its learnings from the UPI with the US government. The company also shared the success of its payments app, Google Pay, in India. "Google has been a successful market participant in Indias use of UPI, and Google Pay provides one of the three leading mobile applications that use UPI, as measured by transaction volume," the letter elaborated.Here are the reasons Google thinks India needs to emulate India's digital payments system .

WhatsApp is adding an update to its latest beta that adds the "WhatsApp from Facebook" tag to the application. This comes less than a week after the Facebook-owned platform started rolling out a feature called "Fingerprint lock" for its Android beta users. The tag is visible under WhatsApp's Settings and is a clear indication of Facebook marking its territory. Although Facebook has kept the app separate, the company hasn't given up on the dream of a unified platform, the MSPoweruser reported on Saturday.

The social networking giant purchased WhatsApp back in February 2014 and has made sure that people know about the purchase and this is another step in that direction. Meanwhile, when the Fingerprint lock feature is enabled, it would let people use fingerprint to open WhatsApp. However, users would still be able to answer calls even when WhatsApp is locked, WABetaInfo, a fan website that tracks WhatsApp updates, reported earlier this week.

Google is planning to offer checking accounts within its Google Pay app, The Wall Street Journal reports. Its “Cache” project, which could launch as soon as next year, will be offered in partnership with Citigroup and a small Stanford University credit union.

According to Google, it will not sell account holders’ financial data. Caesar Sengupta, General Manager & VP, Payments and Next Billion Users, “If we can help more people do more stuff in a digital way… it’s good for the Internet and good for us”.

Facebook, which has launched a payment system for all its apps — WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook — is facing scrutiny over its digital currency Libra.

US lawmakers bluntly told Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a hearing last month to address his existing failures first before launching the digital currency Libra.

In a six-hour grilling at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, both Democrat and Republican lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with Facebook’s cryptocurrency plans.

A team of researchers at China University of Geosciences and Wuhan WXYZ Technologies in China has recently proposed a new machine learning-based technique to locate people's eyes in images of their faces. This technique, presented in a paper published in Elsevier's journal Neurocomputing, could have several useful applications. For example, it could be used to detect drowsiness in people who are driving a car or performing tasks that require a certain degree of alertness and attention.

One of the most effective ways to estimate levels of drowsiness in humans is by looking at their eyes, which in drowsy people are typically more closed or fatigued. Automatically analyzing people's eyes using computational methods, however, first of all entails locating them in real-time images or videos."Our recent work is one part of our research on drowsiness estimation," the researchers who carried out the study told TechXplore via email. "In our previous works, we proposed an initiative service model for service robot that is different from passive service (i.e., the robot needs to wait for a user's instruction when providing service). What's more, we selected a drinking service robot as an example to verify the effectiveness of the initiative service model."

Initially, the researchers set out to develop a technique for drowsiness estimation that could improve the practicality of a robotic platform that serves drinks to humans. The first step in this direction was creating an automatic method to locate people's eyes in real time by analyzing images of their faces."Reliable eye localization is necessary for drowsiness estimation, thus, we will now try to apply the proposed eye localization method to initiative service of robots for drowsiness estimation, designed to help increase people's work efficiency," the researchers said.

It seems like Google has an abundance of Home Minis lying around because it’s giving them away for free to everyone out there. The company has previously offered a free Home Mini to Google One subscribers and YouTube Premium members in various regions. Earlier this year, it also partnered with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to give away 100,000 free Home Minis to people living with paralysis and their caregivers. And now, the company seems to be offering one to some Google Assistant users as well.

Thanks to a recent tip from XDA Recognized developer argraur, the free Home Mini offer is now popping up in the Google Assistant feed. Users simply need to tap on “Get free gift”, enter their shipping details and get a new Google Home Mini free of charge. However, they’ll still have to pay for shipping, which isn’t all that bad. As of now, it isn’t clear which users are eligible for the free smart speaker. But since the offer is popping up in the Assistant feed, it’s safe to assume that Google is extending it to people who utilize the Google Assistant on their devices.

The company has been aggressively pushing the compact smart speaker in a bid to expand market share in the voice assistant space. It has previously partnered with Spotify to offer a free Home Mini to subscribers of the streaming service’s family plan. But that’s not all, Google has also offered the smart speaker for free with purchases made on eBay and also with purchases of over $125 on Google Express.

Over the last few years, WhatsApp has evolved from merely being an instant messaging application to doing what it does best, and that is being a full-fledged communications solutions. Under Facebook’s leadership, the favourite messaging app of the world has undergone many changes owing to the constant stream of updates. There have been new features on WhatsApp like Status, unsend, forwarded tag, forward limit and more which enhance the user experience, improve privacy and security and protect the users from fake news. But, there is one more functionality which has been in the making for WhatsApp users since quite a while now, and that is the disappearing messages. There is no dearth of applications out there now which come with the disappearing messages functionality, and Snapchat seems to be the favourite choice among the users. But, soon, WhatsApp might also get disappearing messages as soon as this new update reaches the users.

WhatsApp Disappearing Messages Feature Details:This is similar to the feature which Gmail has introduced in its inbox, where the users can set a self destruct timer after which the email gets deleted from the user’s inbox. Similarly, with the disappearing messages feature, users will be able to send messages with a time limit, after which the recipient won’t be able to access the message anymore. Notably, WhatsApp’s competitor, Telegram, which is another popular messaging app, also comes with a similar feature known as Secret Chat, but it is a little different.

WhatsApp Rolling Out New Feature for Beta Users:The blog updating news about WhatsApp, WABetaInfo has informed that for some users, WhatsApp has started seeding this update already which brings this feature onboard the application. The update is being pushed to the users via the Google Play Beta Program version 2.19.275.

Google has unveiled an updated version of its Android (Go edition) mobile operating system for entry-level phones based on Android 10. Christened Android 10 (Go edition), the latest iteration of Android (Go Edition) is claimed to provide a more fluid multitasking experience, all the while making the whole user experience more reliable and faster. Google also claims to have upped the security aspect in Android 10 (Go edition) in such a way that the performance of devices is not affected. Android 10 (Go Edition) will be out this fall, but there is no word regarding the brands that will launch the first wave of Android 10 (Go edition) phones.Google also mentions that Android 10 (Go edition) employs Adiantum, a new encryption format that has been tailor-made for entry-level devices to secure their data without affecting device performance. To recall, Adiantum was introduced as a special encryption method for entry-level smartphones earlier this year. It was designed to make storage encryption more efficient for devices without cryptographic acceleration, which means it does not require special hardware and as a result, won't create a stress on the silicon inside phones running Android 10 (Go edition).

The arrival of Adiantum, Google claims, brings Android 10 (Go edition) on par with the standard Android operating system when it comes to data security.The Android 10-based version of Android (Go edition) will arrive in the fall. Google also touted some of Android Go Edition's unique features and apps such as read-out-loud for listening to long-form text content, Lens in Google Go app, YouTube Go, and Gallery Go as some of the solutions that further enhance the Android experience on entry-level phones in meaningful ways. Google claims that so far, more than 500 manufacturers have launched over 1,600 Android Go-powered phones in 180+ countries within the last 18 months.

It can be very easy to lose track of tabs in Chrome for Android. The current cascade-style can result in a lot of information getting lost, and if you have a lot of tabs open, it can be difficult to navigate quickly. This new update changes the style from cascade to a grid. The grid layout is far easier on the eyes and conveys a lot more information. You can easily see thumbnails for all the tabs and it’s far less clumsy to select a tab.Tabs are also getting some updates on the desktop version of Chrome. If you use your PC a lot, you might have run into the issue where you have so many tabs open in your browser that you can no longer see their titles, just the icons. This new update brings the ability to preview tabs by hovering over them with the cursor. Currently, it only brings up the page title, but Google plans to implement a preview of the full page very soon.

A more useful search bar: We’re used to seeing some instant answers in the search bar. Stuff like basic addition provides answers where you would normally see the suggestions bar. Google is adding to this functionality in this latest update. Now, you can get updates on the weather, sporting event results, and even translations for foreign words – right in the search bar.Speaking of translations, Chrome prompts translation tools when it thinks you need them. There’s now also a translation button in the search bar and in the Chrome menu.

Chrome Themes: Keeping the focus in and around the search bar, Google is adding new customization options to the tab page. New designs – so far we’ve only seen a floral one – are being included, alongside the ability to change the color of the entire browser UI.Of course, similar options have been available for years now through the Chrome Web Store, but it’s nice to see Google adding a little more in-house customization features.

5G globally is a substantial opportunity and in India, it is going to be even bigger because so many people are using smart devices. The explosion in data usage that is occurring on these devices is higher in India per device, than anywhere else on the planet.

Dell Technologies’ embedded and edge solutions business is growing massively in India, says the company’s senior vice president and general manager for OEM & IoT Solutions, Bryan Jones. In a recent conversation with Sudhir Chowdhary, he highlighted the growing 5G, IoT and OEM market in India and how Dell Technologies is helping its customers transform in the space. Excerpts:How is Dell Technologies powering towards enabling 5G and how massive is this transformation going to be?

We are currently focused on 40 different verticals and I am responsible for our embedded and edge solutions business globally. Amongst a few of the large investments, 5G is a big focus for us. It is a very significant business within our embedded vision. Our focus spreads across a few areas – computer vision, digital automation, manufacturing and healthcare.

We face two major threats today: one to the health of our planet and the other to our own. The U.N. says the global population will hit 9.7 billion by 2050, meaning more people consuming more natural resources than at any point in human history. Consumption is already doubling every 10-12 years. Add to that the challenges of a warming planet. On the human health front, some 30% of young people under age 20 are obese, 31% of deaths are from cardiovascular disease, and cancer cases are growing at a rate twice as fast as the population.

Fortunately, biology and technology are creating fixes for the planet as well as for the human body.

As they do so, they are poised to reinvent countless industries, giving rise to what I believe is a golden age for biology as technology. As Arvind Gupta, the founder of health-science accelerator IndieBio, argued in one recent Medium post, “the twin catastrophes of planetary and human health” will create a $100 trillion opportunity.In 1976, Robert A. Swanson helped launch the birth of biotech when he co-founded Genentech, which became a pioneer in the field of recombinant DNA technology. By creating novel DNA sequences in the lab, Genentech was able to synthesize human insulin for diabetics (1982), and create growth hormones for kids who suffered from a hormone deficiency (1985).

Today, innovative researchers are building on those early technologies.

In an attempt to boost digital transactions and facilitate payments through credit and debit cards, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed card issuers to offer the e-mandate facility to their customers. This means that the apex banks will allow the customers to make recurring payments of less than Rs 2,000 without the two-factor authentication process by giving an e-mandate. This move will make digital payments to merchant more convenient especially at kirana and grocery stores where ticket sizes are small.

"The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, over the past decade, put in place various safety and security measures for card payments, including the requirement of Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA), especially for ‘card-not-present’ transactions. Recurring transactions based on standing instructions given to the merchants by the cardholders were brought within the ambit of AFA," the central bank said in a circular dated August 21, 2019.

1. This circular is applicable for transactions performed using all types of cards such as debit, credit and Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs), including wallets.

2. The maximum permissible limit for a transaction under this arrangement shall be Rs 2,000.

3. All other instructions related to card transactions shall be applicable on these e-mandate based recurring card transactions.

4. No charges shall be levied or recovered from the cardholder for availing the e-mandate facility on cards for recurring transactions.

5. This directive, issued under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007), will come into effect from September 1, 2019.

6. This facility may be reviewed, in due course, for the extension to other digital modes of payments.

7. The e-mandate arrangement on cards shall be only for recurring transactions and not for a 'once-only' payment.

8. The issuer shall provide the cardholder an online facility to withdraw any e-mandate at any point of time following which no further recurring transactions shall be allowed for the withdrawn e-mandate.

WhatsApp has not stopped updating its app with new features in 2019. The chat app recently bought new features like fingerprint authentication and continuous voice messages for its users and is expected to further update its app, which will set it apart from its competitors. There have been rumours about the dark mode and edit media feature for long but that's not all and the Facebook-owned company is looking to make its app more intuitive.Features that WhatsApp fans want in 2019.

Boomerang for WhatsApp: Facebook is known to pick features from its own apps and make them universally available. It started with Stories and now WhatsApp is all set to get Boomerang feature of Instagram. The feature will allow users to play a video in loop. It will be available in the Video Type panel along with the convert to GIF feature.

Dark Mode: WhatsApp has been talking about the introducing the dark mode since mid-2018, however, a delay in the launch has made the chat app fans impatient. Facebook's Messenger app already has the dark mode and WhatsApp could soon get the feature. Besides looking good, the new mode will make chatting easier on the users' eyes at night and will also save battery.

Ranking of contacts on WhatsApp: The new contact ranking feature in WhatsApp has been in talks for months and promises to automatically rank contacts by detecting, which contacts users interact the most. The ranking feature will make it easier for people to find their most-contacted friends.

Share WhatsApp Status to Facebook: The new feature will be a first step towards the integration of WhatsApp with the parent Facebook. In future, the users of WhatsApp will be able to share their WhatsApp status posts on Facebook and Instagram. The API lets users share content without linking the accounts.

Voice message previews in notification: WhatsApp allows preview of photos and videos in the notification but does not allow it for the voice messages. However, the chat app is now planning to allow its users to preview voice messages.

Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it was tweaking its policies to allow users to see and control the data that the social network gathers from their browsing habits on other websites and apps.

The company defines the data, for example when a clothing website shares information with Facebook on browsing activity of a user, as “Off-Facebook Activity”.

Facebook said in a blog post that the tool is being rolled out in Ireland, South Korea and Spain and would be available to users across the globe in the coming months, adding that it expects the move to have some impact on its business.

“We believe this Off-Facebook Activity information has been pretty valuable to Facebook, enabling it to offer advertisers the ability to reach consumers that have already shown some interest in their products or services,” Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell said.

The latest action comes as the company faces severe criticism from lawmakers and regulators over its privacy practices. Last month, Facebook agreed to a record-setting $5 billion privacy settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Intel Corp on Tuesday unveiled its latest processor that will be its first using artificial intelligence (AI) and is designed for large computing centres.

The chip, developed at its development facility in Haifa, Israel, is known as Nervana NNP-I or Springhill and is based on a 10 nanometre Ice Lake processor that will allow it to cope with high workloads using minimal amounts of energy, Intel said.Facebook, it said, already has started using the product.Intel said its first AI product comes after it had invested in Israeli AI startups, including Habana Labs and NeuroBlade.

“In order to reach a future situation of ‘AI everywhere’, we have to deal with huge amounts of data generated and make sure organisations are equipped with what they need to make effective use of the data and process them where they are collected,” said Naveen Rao, general manager of Intel’s artificial intelligence products group.“These computers need acceleration for complex AI applications.”It said the new hardware chip will help Intel Xeon processors in large companies as the need for complicated computations in the AI field increases.

India will be the first country to get OnePlus TV when it officially launches next month. The smart TV?will be available online via Amazon.in. Interested customers can register for “notify me” on the e-commerce platform.OnePlus CEO Pete Lau in a new post revealed that the company was working with local content providers in India to push its new OnePlus TV. OnePlus also plans to launch the device in North America, Europe and China regions as it forms partnerships with local and regional content providers.Lau said that users can expect quality image and sound experience along with “remarkable design” and “smart inter-connectivity” from OnePlus TV. He also hinted at using “high-quality display” in the upcoming device.

“This shift may greatly impact the way we think about the future of our smart homes. I’m a firm believer that TV will not only become the center of our smart home, but also the center of our daily smart social hub,” he said in the post.

“With the implementation and increasing maturity of other advanced technology such as 5G, AI, VR and AR, I’m excited about what our lives will look like in the?future. The OnePlus TV is an important step towards OnePlus being involved in the world of IoT and interconnectivity. It’s also proof of our commitment in continuing our exploration of how we can improve the world around us by designing a connected human experience,” he added.

The latest announcement comes shortly after the company confirmed “OnePlus TV” name for its new smart TV portfolio. OnePlus hasn’t yet disclosed full features of its smart TV but has hinted at using cutting edge technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence.

OnePlus TV also made an appearance on Bluetooth SIG website. According to reports, OnePlus TV will debut in India with a 43-inch panel and Android TV. OnePlus TV will reportedly be available in both LCD and OLED models across price points and different screen sizes.

Google Maps has, without a doubt, changed the way we traveled. If one has a working internet connection, there is no need to ask for directions along the way, no need to carry a map or bother anyone for quick brief on how to get anywhere before starting the journey. Google Maps has become an indispensable part of our daily lives and can now be used on desktops as well as Android and iOS smartphonesTo keep up with the times, Google has continuously improved upon its Maps and keeps updating the application with the latest features. And now there are three new features which have recently been made available for some of the tech enthusiasts to use.

Google Maps AR:

Google Maps AR, which was rolled out in beta for Google Pixel phones earlier in 2019, employs augmented reality to layer directions on a phone’s camera feed in the app.

This mode allows you to see the directions on the way in real time while on a journey and reduces the chances of heading in the wrong direction.

Discovering great food is easier than ever before:

The above-mentioned feature brings us to yet another recent improvement made by Google. The latest feature launched in the Google Maps on Android lets users see a restaurant’s favourite dishes backed by relevant photos and their reviews. The feature is yet to arrive on Apple devices. However, reports have said that it will be made available soon and will make selecting good restaurants, cafes and bars easier.

Google has highlighted that the function has been supported by contributions from users and the machine learning algorithms. In another terms, Google Maps focuses on highlighting a restaurant’s most popular dishes on the menu and gives a user an idea on what to order, thereby building a handy list of a restaurant’s most popular items in Google Maps.

Improved transit features:

In June 2019, the search engine giant said that it was launching a new transit features for Google Maps to show live traffic delays for busses and predictions on crowdedness.

This would allow Google Maps to predict travel times in real time and thereby improving its overall accuracy. Additionally, the popular navigation app would be able to give the user an idea if they will get a seat on public transport. Combined together, these features make its easier for users when they are travelling and decide if they want to wait for another one or just get in according to their convenience and time and hence plan their commute in a better way.

India’s Chandrayaan-2 will enter Moon’s orbit on Tuesday, August 20 which is tomorrow. Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander is expected to land on the Moon’s surface on September 7. If the landing is successful, it will make India the fourth country in the world to successfully do a soft landing on the satellite’s surface. The previous moon mission Chandrayaan-1 had a hard landing on Moon’s surface.

So far, Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft has raised its orbit five times from July 23 to August 6. The spacecraft was launched on July 22 by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from the Sriharikota launch range on the GSLV MK-III rocket. In order to insert Chandrayaan-2 into a lunar orbit, the spacecraft’s liquid engine will be fired again. Following this, there will be four more orbit manoeuvres, which will take the spacecraft into its final orbit. This process of manoeuvering in the lunar orbit will be taking place from August 21 to September 1.

So what happens when Chandrayaan-2 reaches the Moon?

Once Chandrayaan-2 is in the final orbit of the Moon, it will separate the Vikram lander from itself on September 2. It is the Vikram lander, which will make the soft landing on the moon. It will go through two more orbit manoeuvers before a powered descent for landing on the surface of the moon.

With the Vikram lander, ISRO will be landing on an explorer on the southern pole of the Moon. This part of Earth’s satellite remains unexplored. ISRO had said in a statement that the south pole is especially interesting because of the lunar surface area here that remains in shadow is much larger than that at the north pole. India’s mission to the Moon will look for the presence of water in these areas.

Once the Vikram lander has successfully landed on the surface, the Pragyan rover will do the exploration. This is a six-wheeled, AI-powered vehicle, which will collect data from the Moon’s surface. The rover has two primary instruments. The Lander and Rover are designed to work for 14 days, which is one lunar day.

Reliance Jio is highly anticipated to commercially launch its high-speed broadband service JioGigaFiber at the upcoming 43rd Annual General Meet of the company on August 12. Just like the two previous AGMs, it is speculated that the company will also be launching a Jio Phone 3 this year.

The optical fibre-based broadband service by Jio was launched at last year’s AGM — ever since then it has been conducting beta trials at certain cities across the country with select users. At this year’s AGM, the company is likely to finally reveal its commercial plans for GigaFiber and roll it out for the public with the promise of up to 100Gbps internet speed. Optical fibre-based broadband services are faster than the copper-wire based network infrastructure.

It is speculated that Jio will offer a base plan of Rs 500 – Rs 600 for its GigaFiber services that will remain valid for 28 days, along with a complimentary landline connection and OTT service. There will be other premium plans as well, as per reports. Currently, the preview offer for Jio GigaFiber, gives 100GB of high-speed broadband data for 90 days at a speed of 100Mbps. Though the service is not chargeable right now, a refundable security deposit of Rs 2,500 is charged towards the router, which initially was Rs 4,500.

Along with the public roll out of Jio GigaFiber, it is also expected to launch Jio Phone 3, which is expected to have a lot more smart features as compared to its predecessors, along with 4G connectivity option. The Jio Phone 2 launched last year was priced at Rs 2,999. However, how much JioPhone 3 will cost is yet to be seen, if it’s a part of company’s launch plans.

“Global Artificial Intelligence Market”, this report helps to analyze top manufacturers, regions, revenue, price, and also covers Industry sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.

The Global Artificial Intelligence Market is anticipated to reach USD 54 billion by 2026. The advancements of robots and the rise in their deployment rate particularly, in the developing economies globally have had a positive impact on the global artificial intelligence market. Augmented customer experience, expanded application areas, enhanced productivity, and big data integration has highly propelled artificial intelligence market worldwide. Although, absence of adequate skilled workforce as well as threat to human dignity are some of the factors that could affect the growth of the market. However, these factors are expected to have minimal impact on the market attributed to the introduction of advanced technologies.

Currently, North America dominates the global Artificial Intelligence market attributed to the high government funding availability, existence of prominent artificial intelligence providers in the region, and robust technical adoption base. Also, the region is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. Moreover, the adoption of cloud-based services in key economies, such as the US and Canada, is considerably adding to the market growth in the North American region. The markets in Asia Pacific, MEA and South America region are expected to notice a high growth during the coming years. The growth in Asia Pacific region is attributed to the increasing demand for artificial technologies by the developing economies. Thus, the region is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

LAST YEAR, GOOGLE faced internal revolt from many employees over its handling of Project Maven, a secretive contract between the company and the Department of Defense to use artificial intelligence to improve the military’s drone targeting capabilities. After a series of internal, worker-led protests and resignations following reporting by The Intercept and Gizmodo, the company said it would wind down the drone project and promised a more transparent approach to similar work in the future.

Now, a number of Google workers are voicing concerns that the Mountain View, California-based search giant is continuing to deploy cutting-edge AI technology to the Pentagon and law enforcement customers.

GOOGLE EMPLOYEES- who spoke anonymously, fearing reprisal — said the work embraced by Gradient Ventures startups appears to circumvent the commitment by their employer to carefully vet and disclose military and law enforcement applications of AI technology.

The startups not only receive financial support from Google. Google employees shared internal company emails with The Intercept that stated that all firms backed by Gradient Ventures “will be able to access vast swaths of training data that Google has accumulated to train their own AI systems” and “will have the opportunity to receive advanced AI trainings from Google.”

COGNIAC’S WORK ON behalf of the Army was detailed two years ago in a story from UAS Weekly, a trade publication for the drone industry, which noted that the firm had been successfully used in combat exercises to analyze images from small battlefield drones to identify and enemy combatants. Cogniac is also one of several firms competing to provide a so-called virtual fence at the border to identify and apprehend individuals.

The social media advertising juggernaut for brands is getting more and more competitive. Facebook is soon starting ads on WhatsApp as well.

Says Sahil Shah, EVP – operations & media, WATConsult, "There are reports that WhatsApp will do two rollouts. First will be a Facebook/Instagram ad with a 'chat on WhatsApp' button and the second will be ads on the WhatsApp Status Stories. Brands who currently have a business account of WhatsApp like MakeMyTrip, BookMyShow, etc. will be the early adopters buying into the first rollout."

When Facebook acquired WhatsApp in February 2014 for $19 billion, it had promised its audience an ad-free usage for the first five years. "And now it seems Facebook is desperate to leverage WhatsApp, one of the largest social media and messaging platforms with 1.6 billion global users, and monetise it to the fullest," say experts.

Experts believe India, with nearly 400 million WhatsApp users, will be a key playground for Facebook to monetise through ads. Digital media ad spend in India is predicted to grow at a rate of 32.7% to

Rs 14,410 crore this year, making up 21% of the total advertising expenditure, according to a report by Dentsu Aegis Network. Another report by MMA and Group M states that 70% of the Indian digital ad spends go towards mobile advertising. While as per Statista estimates, 60-65% of spends on digital are on social media.

The government is in the advanced stages of finalising guidelines for IT intermediaries like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, internet service providers (ISPs) and search engines like Google. The guidelines have been framed with an intent to curb misuse of social media platforms and to check the spread of fake news and provocative content.

Sources said the ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) is in the final stages of preparing the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2018, which will replace the rules notified in April 2011. “There are discussions taking place at the level of IT minister and secretary and guidelines will be notified very soon,” one of the sources added. An intermediary is an entity which offers services like delivery of online content to the end user. Confirming the development, a senior government official said MeitY is currently fine-tuning the guidelines and they are being discussed with IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. “It (guidelines) is expected to come out soon,” he added.

The draft guidelines propose that intermediaries should help the government and law enforcement agencies for tracing individuals or entities who are spreading fake or unlawful information, within a period of 72 hours upon receiving such a request. It also seeks to ‘disable access’ within 24 hours to content considered defamatory or against national security.

Facebook Story Sharing:

Soon, the company will allow its users to share their WhatsApp status updates directly to Facebook Stories, which is quite similar to how users can presently do with Instagram. In order to do so, WhatsApp will be using Facebook’s data sharing API. At present, the feature is being tested only on Android. This move would also validate reports that Mark Zucerberg is keen to integrate all the social media apps his company owns – Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Profile picture protection:

The Profile picture protection feature went live on Android, and will be on Apple soon. The latest feature protects its users profile picture from being downloaded by others. Moreover, making this feature watertight is the fact that as soon as the feature is activated, users will not be able to even take screenshots of users profile pictures. However, WhatsApp users can still download the group images.

QR Code:

The QR code feature will let WhatsApp users to add contacts to their phones by scanning other users’ WhatsApp QR codes. As soon as this feature goes live, users will get a unique QR code which other WhatsApp users can scan and add to their contact lists. It is to be noted that this feature is already available on apps such as WeChat.

Night Mode:

At present, WhatsApp is working on a night mode version of its platform. The new mode, reports say, will be named the Night Mode and similar to Android’s Dark Mode will make the theme of WhatsApp black. The Night Mode feature will help smartphones with OLED panels to save their battery life and also be helpful to users eyes in dimly lit conditions.

Cleaner album layout:

WhatsApp’s Apple version will soon be getting a cleaner album layout. With the new update, the instant messaging platform will begin putting together multiple photos in one bubble on WhatsApp Chats. Apart from this, WhatsApp will also display a number of pictures which are in the album bubble.

In the first three generations of telecommunication services, data analytics and Big Data played a major role. With 4G, Artificial Intelligence (AI) got embedded into the services that telcos provided for customers and in services that vendors collectively provided for telcos. With the advent of 5G, telcos are shunning more of their analog skin as they switch over to intelligent forms of operations. Major telecommunication players believe that it is about time that AI is built as an overarching engine, that drives all these operations, from automating core telecommunication operations to services consumed by the end user.

“With 5G, networks will increasingly become open and there will be a shift towards virtual networks, that is, making networks a software based administrative entity,” says Yosi Mor Yosef, solutions marketing director, Amdocs, a US-based software and services provider for telecommunication services. Digitising customer journey involves cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT) and enabled by Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV). Initially, the shift from old to new systems with a number of cognitive and connected technologies may look difficult because of barriers such as changes in value chain (addition and removal of vendors), organisational and operational culture (making telecom towers more IT-based) and security. In the long run, however, there will be enough advancements that the whole process could be managed by an overarching AI engine which will make networks intelligent. It will account for a range of IoT devices and digital services.

Virtualisation in the era of 5G will help managing a great deal of things in every day life—gaming and streaming services without latency, autonomous fleets of vehicles and remote healthcare services. Telcos will be able to offer slice based connectivity which, for instance, will enable enterprises to avail network slices of their own—slicing the network for different use cases and services.

Doctors could soon get some help from an artificial intelligence tool when diagnosing brain aneurysms -- bulges in blood vessels in the brain that can leak or burst open, potentially leading to stroke, brain damage or death.

The AI tool, developed by researchers at Stanford University and detailed in a paper published June 7 in JAMA Network Open, highlights areas of a brain scan that are likely to contain an aneurysm.

"There's been a lot of concern about how machine learning will actually work within the medical field," said Allison Park, a Stanford graduate student in statistics and co-lead author of the paper. "This research is an example of how humans stay involved in the diagnostic process, aided by an artificial intelligence tool."

This tool, which is built around an algorithm called HeadXNet, improved clinicians' ability to correctly identify aneurysms at a level equivalent to finding six more aneurysms in 100 scans that contain aneurysms. It also improved consensus among the interpreting clinicians. While the success of HeadXNet in these experiments is promising, the team of researchers -- who have expertise in machine learning, radiology and neurosurgery -- cautions that further investigation is needed to evaluate generalizability of the AI tool prior to real-time clinical deployment given differences in scanner hardware and imaging protocols across different hospital centers. The researchers plan to address such problems through multi-center collaboration.

1. Artificial intelligence and robotics

With the global robotics industry forecast to be worth US$80 billion by 2024, a large portion of this growth is down to the strength of interest and investment in artificial intelligence (AI) – one of the most controversial and intriguing areas of computer science research. The technology is still in its early stages, but tech giants like Facebook, Google and IBM are investing huge amounts of money and resources into AI research.

2. Big data analytics

Back in 2012, the Harvard Business Review branded data science the ‘sexiest job’ of the 21 century. Yes, you read that correctly. There has been a surge in demand for experts in this field and doubled efforts on the part of brands and agencies to boost salaries and attract data science talents. From banking to healthcare, big data analytics is everywhere, as companies increasingly attempt to make better use of the enormous datasets they have, in order to personalize and improve their services.

3. Computer-assisted education

The use of computers and software to assist education and/or training, computer-assisted education brings many benefits and has many uses. For students with learning disabilities, for instance, it can provide personalized instruction and enable students to learn at their own pace, freeing the teacher to devote more time to each individual.

4. Bioinformatics

A fascinating application of big data, bioinformatics, or the use of programming and software development to build enormous datasets of biological information for research purposes, carries enormous potential. Linking big pharma companies with software companies, bioinformatics is growing in demand and offers good job prospects for computer science researchers and graduates interested in biology, medical technology, pharmaceuticals and computer information science.

5. Cyber security

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, cyber security jobs are predicted to grow by 28 percent between 2016 and 2026 – much faster than average for all occupations, and raising concerns about the shortfall in qualified graduates. In February 2015, Barack Obama spoke of the need to “collaborate and explore partnerships that will help develop the best ways to bolster our cyber security.

Upgrading your PC or building a new one? Don't pay more than you have to for Windows 10.

The deadline to get a free upgrade to Windows 10 has sadly now passed. Not to worry though as you can rely on TechRadar to help you buy Windows 10 for the best price. Windows 10 is generally seen as an improvement over Windows 8 - yes, the Start button is back!

So, if you're building a brand new system or want to upgrade to Windows 10 on an older device, you're going to need to buy a copy. Don't worry though, because we check the prices of Windows 10 every day to make sure you get the best deals.

Buy Windows 10 Home for the best price

The perfect version of Windows for home users

Windows 10 Home is the version that most people will need. It's for home use and includes game streaming from Xbox One and other consumer features like Cortana, as well as Windows Hello for logging into your PC via a fingerprint scanner or your face. If Windows 8 was the steepest learning curve imaginable, Windows 10 is like meeting a great friend you once knew again - it's just that they've bought some new clothes of which you really do approve.

Facebook is going after the banking business with a new digital currency and financial transaction network all based on blockchai

After months of speculation and rumor, Facebook today announced it is creating a fiat-backed cryptocurrency that can be stored in digital wallets and used by consumers and others to transfer funds or make purchases anywhere in the world.

Calibra, Facebook's digital wallet, will store Libra, Facebook's digital currency. A Facebook user would download the Calibra digital wallet application, purchase the Libra digital currency through a financial network, and then perform peer-to-peer digital money transfers through Calibra as a stand-alone app. A user could also do the same thing through Facebook's most popular communication platforms: WhatsApp and Messenger.

The cryptocurrency platform is expected to launch sometime in 2020.

The cryptocurrency app will allow Facebook users to send, add or withdraw money "in just a few taps," using WhatsApp, and it will allow someone to fill their wallet, cash out or split a restaurant tab all using Messenger, the company said.

The Calibra app will also show exchange rates for changing fiat currency, like the U.S. dollar, into Libra digital currency and back again. Because it's based on blockchain, Facebook is cutting out the middleman – a central bank or clearing house; that eliminates the majority of costs associated with financial transactions today.

"Transaction fees will be low-cost and transparent, especially if you're sending money internationally. Calibra will cut fees to help people keep more of their money," Facebook said.

The chances are high that most people you know have never heard of skyrmions. This is natural, because they are rather murky products of quantum field theory that act like particles without actually being particles. So far so obscure. Skyrmions, however, may soon be as well known as silicon chips. That’s because they have the potential to change the face of computing, revolutionising the fields of data storage, information processing and artificial intelligence.

Skyrmions are quasi-particles – little twists in energy fields that look and behave like particles. They can be moved around, interact with other skyrmions and be created and destroyed. Like particles, they can be extremely stable, lasting years in the right conditions.

Skyrmions were first proposed in the 1960s by theoretical physicist Tony Skyrme, who thought they might be a way of describing protons and neutrons within atoms. They turned out not to be particularly useful in this regard, although they did find applications elsewhere such as in liquid crystal displays.

In December 2018, a team from MIT published a paper showing that they could achieve the right sizes and, to some degree, speeds to be competitive. They did it by focusing on a new set of materials. “The field in this past decade has focused on ferromagnets, which are things like cobalt, nickel and iron,” says MIT researcher Lucas Caretta. “We discovered in the paper that ferromagnets have a fundamental limit for the size of the skyrmions you can have and how fast you can drive them.”

The five-seater prototype plane is entirely battery powered and comes equipped with 36 jet engines that allow it to take-off and land vertically, while achieving efficient horizontal flight during transit.

In 2017, the company secured $90m (£70m) from investors including the founders of Skype and Twitter to expand upon its design which was initially a two-seat prototype.

The Lilium Jet has a top speed of 300 km/h, a range of 300km and should be able to complete journeys four times faster than its ground-based counterparts.

The developers say its fixed-wing design allows it to achieve much greater energy efficiency than similar vehicles that use a drone-like setup. It means it will require less than ten per cent of its maximum 2,000 horsepower during cruise flight - comparable to the energy efficiency of an electric car, they claim.

The battery-powered aircraft, operated by remote control, took off vertically at a Munich airfield, marking a milestone for the company.

“In less than two years, we have been able to design, build and successfully fly an aircraft that will serve as our template for mass production,” said Daniel Wiegand, Lilium’s co-founder and CEO, talking about the 4 May test flight.

Video footage provided by the company showed the aircraft lifting off slowly and then floating in mid-air. It did not take a spin around the airfield, however, as an earlier two-seater prototype had done in 2017.

Cookies are usually delectable delights, but web cookies can sometimes be less than delightful. These little files hide in your computer so that your browser and websites can track your browsing sessions and save certain useful information, such as account names and passwords, for later retrieval. Although cookies may seem harmless overall, they can threaten your privacy if an attacker tries to use them maliciously.

How to clear cookies in Chrome:

1. Open Google Chrome , click the menu in the upper-right corner of the Chrome window, and select More tools > Clear browsing data.

2. Make your selection for which browsing data you want cleared. If it’s just cookie data, deselect the other two options (see screen on right).

3. Click the Advanced tab if you want to select a date range from which to clear browsing data.

4. To manage cookie data going forward, go to Chrome’s Settings > Advanced > Site Settings > Cookies, where you can make more nuanced decisions about how cookie data is saved (or not), including making Block and Allow lists for particular sites.

How to clear cookies in Firefox:

1. Make sure you’re running the latest version of the Firefox browser, and then select the Firefox menu. From there, select Options and then Privacy & Security.

2. Scroll to the section on Cookies and Site Data, where you can select the Clear Data option to remove all cookies.

3. You can also choose the option to Manage Data, which shows you a complete list of your stored cookies which you can selectively delete or Remove All; the Exceptions option lets you set up lists to block or allow.

How to clear cookies in Safari:

1. Open the Safari browser, and then from the Safari menu, go to Preferences > Privacy.

2. You will be given the option to Block all cookies.

3. Click Manage Website Data to see a list of all sites that have stored cookies, and manually choose which sites you want to delete cookies for, or Remove All.

Just in time for hurricane season, Google is rolling out new Maps features to help you stay informed about and steer clear of natural disasters.

"In the days leading up to a hurricane, you'll see a crisis notification card on Google Maps that automatically appears if you're near the impacted area," Google Maps Product Manager Hannah Stulberg wrote in a blog post. "This card will direct you to a hurricane forecast cone, which shows the prediction of the storm's trajectory along with information about what time it's likely to hit certain areas, so you can use this information to plan how to react."

In addition to the new hurricane forecast cones, Maps will show earthquake information and flood forecasts. After an earthquake, you'll see a strike map in the app showing its epicenter, magnitude, and impact on surrounding areas.

"This information can help you quickly assess the reach of the earthquake and identify areas likely to have experienced the highest impact," Stulberg wrote.

In India, Maps will show flood forecast visualizations highlighting areas likely to be impacted and the expected severity there.

Google plans to start rolling out the hurricane forecast cones and earthquake strike maps in the coming weeks to Maps on iOS, Android, desktop, and mobile web. The flood forecast visualizations will first launch in Patna, India, followed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra regions. Google says that 20 percent of global flood-related fatalities occur in India.

Meanwhile, Maps will also soon show navigation warnings when your route may be impacted by a crisis. The company expects to launch that feature later this summer

ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) is not just for playing games. It also has important practical uses. One such is in Semantic Scholar, a system developed by researchers at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, in Seattle, for the purpose of ferreting out the scientific papers most relevant to a particular problem. This week Marie Hagman, the project’s leader, and her colleagues have launched an updated version of the system. They have added 26m biomedical-research papers to the 12m previously contained in its database, and upgraded the way that the database’s contents can be searched and correlated. Instead of relying on citations in other papers, or the frequency of recurring phrases to rank the relevance of papers, as it once did and rivals such as Google Scholar still do, the new version of Semantic Scholar applies AI to try to understand the context of those phrases, and thus achieve better results.

Like most AI systems, the new Semantic Scholar relies on a neural network—a computer architecture inspired by the way real neurons connect to each other. Neural networks are able to learn tasks by trial-and-error. Ms Hagman’s team wished to bend their network to the task of recognising scientific phrases and their contexts.

A mere week after AMD unveiled its new Radeon “RDNA” graphics architecture at Computex, rebranding the GPU cores formerly code-named “Navi,” it’s already expanding beyond graphics cards. On Monday, AMD and Samsung announced a partnership to bring Radeon graphics to mobile devices. Surprise!

Samsung will pay AMD to use Radeon RDNA graphics in its mobile devices, including smartphones, but presumably manufacture the chips itself in the company’s cutting-edge foundries. “This strategic partnership will extend the reach of our high-performance Radeon graphics into the mobile market, significantly expanding the Radeon user base and development ecosystem,” AMD CEO Lisa Su said in the press release.

While Radeon’s market share lags far behind Nvidia’s GeForce graphics cards among PC gamers, achieving a mere 14.9 percent share in the May 2019 Steam hardware survey, AMD nevertheless claims to power over 400 million gaming devices thanks to its aggressive semi-custom business. You’ll find Radeon inside the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and Sony already revealed that the PlayStation 5 will include a custom AMD processor marrying Ryzen CPU cores and Radeon RDNA graphics cores on a single chip. Last year, Jon Peddie Research (an analyst firm that specializes in graphics technology) said that AMD Radeon GPUs are found in 53 percent of gaming machines when you take consoles and other devices into account.

1. Artificial intelligence

2. Iot(internet of things)

3. Big data

4. Chatbots

5. Google Opens Up VR180 Standard for Virtual Reality Photos and Videos

6. GPS maker Trimble’s AR foray for construction industry

7. Machine Learning

8.Cloud Computing

9. Cyber Security

10. Analytics

Google’s auto delete essentially lets users manually control the period for which they want their data to be kept with the company, after which it will be deleted. There is the option of choosing from a period ranging from three months to 18 months. So, if a user chooses three months, then all of their data with Google will be deleted after this period and so on.More privacy controls will be included in Android Q, stable version for which will roll out in the coming months. Another privacy enhancement that Google introduced is that a user’s privacy settings will be available from one place in their account, which can be accessed by clicking on their profile picture.

There is still time before one can get their hands on the stable version of Android Q, but the auto delete privacy setting is available for everyone currently.

So how can one use auto delete for Web and App activity?

1. Log in to your Google Account.

2. Open the Web & Activity tab.

3. Click on the “Choose to delete automatically” button.

4. You should see three options including “Keep until I delete manually”, “Keep for 18 months then delete automatically”, and “Keep for 3 months them delete automatically”.

5. If you choose the first option then your data will be kept with Google and not deleted until you do it manually.

6. With the second option, all your data will be deleted after three months, while with the third option it is 18 months.

7. By default, Google does not delete your data and it is stored on its servers.

However, users should understand that the data will only be deleted after the expiry date, say three or 18 months, depending on what they choose. So, their data till the expiry date will still be there with Google.

Google has said that auto delete option will be made available for Location History as well in the coming weeks. This means that that users will be able to delete their Location history, which is basically almost every place they have travelled in the world. As of now, there is only the option of manually deleting data permanently.

Google has been discreetly keeping a track of almost all of your online purchases, even if they have been purchased from non-Google websites such as Amazon, Flipkart or Swiggy as mostly all of these purchases come with online receipts which are sent directly to your personal Gmail account.

Advertising

A page by Google called ‘Purchases’ displays a list of most of the things which have been bought dating back to at least 2012, CNN reported.

According to the report, the reporter made purchases using different online services or mobile apps such as Amazon, DoorDash or Seamless, or in stores such as Macy’s, but never made purchases directly from Google. However, the digital receipts from the orders were sent to the Gmail account, so Google got to know of these purchases from them.

To check the tool, you will need to log on to https://myaccount.google.com/purchases with your Google credentials and then you will be able to observe all the purchases that you have made online

The CNN report further said quoting a Google spokesperson that, “To help you easily view and keep track of your purchases, bookings and subscriptions in one place, we’ve created a private destination that can only be seen by you”.

“You can delete this information at any time. We don’t use any information from your Gmail messages to serve you ads, and that includes the email receipts and confirmations shown on the Purchase page,” the spokesperson was quoted in the report.

However, the process of removing these purchases is not at all easy. You need to click on every order listed on the purchases page and click on ‘Remove Purchase option, the page will immediately prompt “To remove this purchase, delete the email” and it will redirect you to your Gmail inbox on proceeding.

Did you know that you can also use your landline number to send and receive messages using WhatsApp?

As astounding as it sounds, a special version of WhatsApp can be used to send and receive messages using your landline number. And the best thing about this trick is that you don't have to share your mobile number with strangers, if you don't want to.

The key to this mystery lies in the business centric app - the WhatsApp Business - launched by the company nearly a near ago in January last year. In case you aren't sure, WhatsApp Business is a special version of WhatsApp that is aimed at helping small businesses reach out to their customers and answer their queries using its platform.

To put it simply, you can use WhatsApp's Business app to use access WhatsApp via your landline. All you need is a smartphone compatible with WhatsApp and a landline (in working condition of course).

Once you have these basic requirements in place, all you need to do is follow these steps:

- Download the WhatsApp Business app on your smartphones.

- Open the app, agree to the terms and conditions and tap on Continue option.

- Now, a prompt will ask you to select your country code (+91 in case of India) and enter your contact number.

- Enter your landline number here. Remove the '0' from the beginning of your landline number.

- The app will try to verify the number by sending an OTP on your listed contact number. Since it is a landline, you won't be able to see message. Wait for a minute till verification by SMS fails.

- Next WhatsApp will show the other Call Me option. Tap on that.

- Now you will receive a call from WhatsApp on your landline wherein an automated voice will tell you your 6-digit verification code. Note this down carefully.

- Now enter this 6-digit OPT in your app. Doing so will verify your number.

-Once verification is complete, you can set up your profile picture, settings, About section to finish the setup process.

Once you have completed the setup, you can use WhatsApp on your smartphone using your landline.

A report from The Financial Times this afternoon details a vulnerability in WhatsApp that allowed attackers to inject Israeli spyware onto phones. The malicious code was developed by Israeli company NSO Group and transmitted by calling users via WhatsApp on iOS and Android.

The malicious code could be transmitted even if a user did not answer the WhatsApp call, the report explains. In many cases, the call would disappear from call logs, so it’s possible that users could have been targeted and not even realize it.

Many details about the vulnerability remain unclear, but the report suggests that the loophole was open for several weeks. In a statement, WhatsApp said:

“This attack has all the hallmarks of a private company known to work with governments to deliver spyware that reportedly takes over the functions of mobile phone operating systems,” the company said. “We have briefed a number of human rights organizations to share the information we can, and to work with them to notify civil society.”

According to the report, WhatsApp is too early into its own investigations of the attack to “estimate how many phones were targeted.” WhatsApp is used by over 1.5 billion worldwide and is owned by Facebook

WhatsApp reportedly disclosed the issue to the United States Department of Justice last week, and started deploying a fix to its servers on Friday. Engineers worked through Sunday before deploying a patch for customers today, the report says.

NSO Group develops tools such as Pegasus and markets them to governments around the world as a way to fight terrorism and crime. In a statement to The Financial Times, it said that it “would, or could not, use its technology in its own right to target any person or organization.”

Over the past year, a team of as many as 260 contract workers in Hyderabad, India has ploughed through millions of Facebook Inc photos, status updates and other content posted since 2014. The workers categorize items according to five "dimensions," as Facebook calls them. These include the subject of the post - is it food, for example, or a selfie or an animal? What is the occasion - an everyday activity or major life event? And what is the author`s intention - to plan an event, to inspire, to make a joke?

The work is aimed at understanding how the types of things users post on its services are changing, Facebook said. That can help the company develop new features, potentially increasing usage and ad revenue. Details of the effort were provided by multiple employees at outsourcing firm Wipro Ltd over several months. The workers spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation by the Indian firm. Facebook later confirmed many details of the project. Wipro declined to comment and referred all questions to Facebook.

The Wipro work is among about 200 content labeling projects that Facebook has at any time, employing thousands of people globally, company officials told Reuters. Many projects are aimed at "training" the software that determines what appears in users` news feeds and powers the artificial intelligence underlying many other features.

Artificial Intelligence has been able to revolutionize a variety of areas like healthcare, e-commerce, manufacturing, and medicine. However, it does not stop there as more sectors seem to transition every day. Here are four more areas AI is revolutionizing:

Finance

Audit firms are coming up with a robust set of AI tools that utilize predictive analytics properties for their non-audit and audit customers. These tools allow the firms to assess, interrogate, and contest the predictions that underpin asset valuation of the customers’ balance sheets. Audit and accounting firms are also using cognitive software that goes through thousands of pages of agreements or contracts and makes a summary almost immediately by set criteria about what is and is not needed. Research indicates that 80% of accounting and finance tasks will be carried out with automation in the foreseeable future.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

RPA is an upcoming business process automation technology. Its heavily relies on the idea of AI or software robots. This system develops an action list that needs automation through watching the performance of the task by the user in the GUI of the application. The system then repeats the tasks directly in the graphical user interface. Robotic process automation technology uses artificial intelligence to execute repetitive, rules-based, and back-end tasking that programmers or workers don’t want to do, or couldn’t do as fast as the RPA system. An example of an RPA tool is one that receives an email comprising an invoice, extracts the information, and then types it into the bookkeeping system.

Security

IT companies are offering services and products that proactively curb, as opposed to reactively detecting, the execution of persistent and advanced malware and threats. Companies are also using SAP’s machine learning solutions and cloud platform in the management of their databases of collected information like customer details or sales transactions, apps, relational databases, and other sources. According to research, 44% of companies are using AI to detect and prevent security intrusions.

Education

Companies are using AI to make customized educational content. Deep learning is being used to absorb and make an analysis of existing course materials, syllabi, and textbooks. The technology comes up with customized learning materials that include multiple choice tests, chapter summaries, and textbooks. Additionally, AI is also being used to reduce the time used in the grading of school assignments. Students upload their assignments to a school platform that has incorporated AI. Multiple assignments get graded at once. The software then offers instructors with an analysis of where the students got wrong and right.

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre on a plea seeking framing of guidelines to regulate the functioning of online media streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

The apex court was hearing a petition by NGO Justice for Rights Foundation, which alleged that online streaming platforms show “uncertified, sexually explicit and vulgar” content.

The NGO also alleged that the contents were violative of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.

The government said the content on online platforms is not being regulated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

As per the petition, online platforms stream content which is full of vulgarity, sexually explicit, pornographic, profane, virulent, religiously forbidden, morally unethical.

The petition is against all video streaming apps, that also include Hotstar, known as "over-the-top" broadcasters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly signed a law to create a separate internet for security reasons.

On Wednesday, Putin signed a law that would start development of Russian's own internet, according to CNN. Government documents explaining the law reportedly say Russia will develop a "sustainable, secure and fully functioning" internet.

The law will also create a monitoring and management service controlled by the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications, also known as Roskomnadzor. When needed, the agency will reportedly be able to cut off non-Russian traffic to make the internet completely insulated from foreign entities.

As of now, this separate internet is only a concept, and it may take time before it becomes a reality.

Microsoft Corp on Thursday announced new tools for software makers aimed at making technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain easier for businesses to use.

Microsoft released the tools ahead of its software developer conference next week in Seattle. Once known mostly for its Windows personal computer operating system, the company now relies on revenue growth from its cloud-based computing and software services, most of which are sold to other businesses.

While Microsoft still trails the cloud computing leader Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services in revenue, it has taken a different approach to the market, designing many of its services to be run in either Microsoft’s Azure data centres, its customers private data centres, or a combination of the two.

Amazon, by contrast, at first asked customers move their data to its own servers, though it too has in recent years moved toward Microsoft’s “hybrid” approach.

Today is a dedicated day for one of the most important part of our day-to-day lives, passwords. There’s a password for almost everything now starting with smartphones, emails, net banking, Netflix accounts, and more. On ‘World Password Day’, we take a look at the most used passwords, and a few tips on how to up your game with passwords.

The most commonly used password globally is ‘123456’. This was also the most attempted password used by cyber criminals to enter the Mumbai cloud server honeypot, according to a study by Sophos. More passwords that made it to the list were 1234, admin, ubnt, and 12345. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) also revealed that 123456 were appearing in over 23 million passwords.

Using the same password for multiple accounts seems understandable since it’s not easy remembering them. However, this makes users vulnerable to cyber criminals when the same password is compromised. Here are a few tips on why it’s important to keep passwords protected.

Unique passwords:

Create unique and hard to guess passwords for your accounts. Keep your passwords at least eight characters long and include an uppercase letter, a number and symbols. It is highly advised to not keep one’s birth date, kid’s name and such personal details as passwords as they are one of the easiest to guess.

Password managers:

Remembering passwords and that too difficult ones can be a big task. For those who find it difficult in remembering passwords can opt for password managers. Google Chrome comes with a built-in password manager on the browser. Smartphones from companies like Samsung and Apple also come with tools like Samsung Knox and iCloud Keychain for password protection.

Multi-factor authentication:

For added protection, it’s advised to use multi-factor authentication for passwords. This security tool adds a secondary layer of protection to accounts in addition to passwords. For example, Google’s two-factor authentication requires users to enter a six-digit code sent to their registered mobile number.

Virtual reality proponents see 5G as part of the answer to an vexing problem: What happens if you want high-resolution VR, but don’t have a powerful enough PC to run it?

Meet cloud VR, the next stage in VR’s evolution. Rendering the scene on a remote server and then streaming it to a headset eliminates the need for a powerful CPU. But fail to deliver a responsive experience, and users get disoriented and nauseous. A series of demos hosted by AT&T and Ericsson on Monday suggested a number of solutions, all using 5G as a high-speed, low-latency backhaul that proponents think could make cloud VR a future reality.

Eventually, the AR/VR industry even hopes you’ll take the technology outside, perhaps fulfilling the promise that Google Glass once offered. But to do so, you’ll need a high-bandwidth, low-latency wireless infrastructure. Here again, the 5G industry is volunteering.

SAN FRANCISCO — The New York State attorney general’s office plans to open an investigation into Facebook’s unauthorized collection of more than 1.5 million users’ email address books, according to two people briefed on the matter.

The inquiry concerns a practice unearthed in April in which Facebook harvested the email contact lists of a portion of new users who signed up for the network after 2016, according to the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the inquiry had not been officially announced.

Those lists were then used to improve Facebook’s ad-targeting algorithms and other friend connections across the network.

The investigation was confirmed late Thursday afternoon by the attorney general’s office.

There are two types of people in this world. One who like the night mode and others who are happy with the light mode that Android usually offers. Although, the night mode is designed to reduce strain on eyes during the night, people who use it prefer to utilize it during the day as well.

For the longest time, users have been asking for the night or the dark mode on Google Chrome. While there are many night-mode extensions for Chrome on desktop, the feature was missing in the Android variant up until now. But, thankfully, it’s here. Now, you can enable the night mode for Chrome Android too.

Step 1: Open Google Chrome on your Android device and tap the three-dot icon in the top-right corner. Then, tap Settings

Step 2: Under Settings, hit Accessibility. Then, enable Simplified view. This is a one-time step

NIGHT MODE FOR CHROME ON ANDROID

Once you have changed the page view to the Simplified view, as shown above, you will get new customization options. You can change themes – Light, Dark, and Sepia, and also customize the font style and size in the Simplified view.

To access and enable them, tap the three-dot icon in the top-right corner and select Appearance from the menu. Please note that you should be in the Simplified view to access the Appearance options.

Google's Gmail will suck in a small corner of the internet to allow you to research hotel rooms or add a pin to your Pinterest board from within an email.

Google said Tuesday it has begun rolling out what it calls “dynamic email,” an enhancement to its web-based Gmail page that in some cases eliminates the need to open a separate tab to accomplish a task. Microsoft also said it will add support for the same technology, known as AMP HTML preview.

Dynamic email feels somewhat like an extension of the dynamic replies that will pop up in response to an existing Gmail message, or the autocomplete functions available in Google Search: a simple tool to save time. Dynamic email works by sucking a small portion of the web directly into the email pane, automating a particular task.

Here’s an example: In Google Docs, if a collaborator comments on a line in a sales contract, they can notify you via Gmail to take action. Instead of a link to the document that you’re forced to open, you can simply comment directly in the email, and the comment will be added to the document in question.

WhatsApp was recently spotted testing a new Forwarding Info feature that will tell users the number of times a message was forwarded, and also showed a frequently forwarded label when a message has been forwarded more than four times. However, the features were not enabled until now. It appears that the latest beta build of WhatsApp for Android has introduced the at least one of the features via the open beta channel for all testers. Following the WhatsApp beta update (version 2.19.87), we can now see the number of times a message has been forwarded. Moreover, the update also brings more traces of the long-awaited dark mode for WhatsApp, but there is no word when that will arrive with a beta or stable build. Read on for more details about the latest WhatsApp update for the beta Android app.

WhatsApp Forwarding Info:

After being spotted as 'disabled by default' in a beta build around a week ago, the WhatsApp beta 2.19.87 update has finally enabled the message forward info feature. All users who received the beta update can now see the number of times a message has been forwarded. However, we found that this information is available only when you are the sender of a message that has been forwarded to multiple users. This can be checked by long-pressing the forwarded message and tapping on the information icon ('i' in a circle) at the top.

However, if you have received a forwarded message that has been sent to multiple users, you cannot check the number of times it has been forwarded. Additionally, the ‘frequently forwarded' tag which was spotted recently for messages that have been forwarded more than four times is nowhere to be seen in the latest beta build. We can verify both the aforesaid findings after testing it out multiple times with the WhatsApp update for the beta Android app.

WhatsApp has updated its Android beta app to version 2.19.83, and traces of a new Authentication feature were spotted. The company has been working on bringing this feature since a while now, and the latest update shows that WhatsApp has made a lot of progress. Beta tracker WABetaInfo has shared screenshots showing how the Authentication feature can be enabled in Settings, and what the interface will look like. Unfortunately, this feature is disabled by default, so it won't work for beta users as of yet. It remains unclear when WhatsApp plans to roll it out for the stable version users.

The tracker says that the Authentication feature will let WhatsApp users lock their account, and unlock it using a fingerprint sensor. This feature should be enabled in Settings >Account >Privacy > Use Fingerprint to Unlock. Once it's enabled, WhatsApp will register your fingerprint. It will then ask if you want the app to be locked immediately (after you leave the app)/ after 1 minute/ after 10 minutes/ or after 30 minutes.

WhatsApp will show a sign indicating to users that they needs to unlock the app using fingerprint authentication. It will show an error if the app is not unlocked after multiple tries. As mentioned, this feature isn't enabled yet, so you won't see it even if you are on the latest beta version 2.19.83. This feature should roll out for beta users in next updates. Notably, iPhone users already have the feature in the stable version of the iOS app, and apart from fingerprint authentication via Touch ID, facial recognition via Face ID is also available to them.

WhatsApp is also working on Dark Mode, and it was spotted in one of the recent beta updates. However, there is no word on when the WhatsApp Dark Mode will make its way to the stable version. Recent beta versions also indicate that WhatsApp is working new forwarding features as well.

For better or worse, probably better, WhatsApp is staying put. It does have some concerns about the kind of accountability that the Indian government has demanded from it.

If today morning you woke up to the headlines screaming that WhatsApp was going to leave India because of some government demands, rest easy. It's not happening. For better or worse, probably better, WhatsApp is staying put. It does have some concerns about the kind of accountability that the Indian government has demanded from it, and it still doesn't deny it won't pull out of India, but for now you can keep using WhatsApp.

The headlines that you read today morning are apparently based on some wrong inference that was taken from a few statements that Carl Woog, WhatsApp's Head of Communications, gave news agency IANS. However, Woog apparently never said -- and on this we are going by the statement attributed to Woog in the news story -- that WhatsApp will leave, or is planning to leave, India. Instead, this was what he said when he was asked if WhatsApp would quit India when forced to break encryption in the app:

"The proposed changes are going overboard and are not consistent with strong privacy protections that people around the world are seeking... Given the end-to-end encryption we have in place, the regulations will require us to re-architect our product. It will not help to speculate what is to come. There is a process in place in India to discuss this issue."

So basically, he doesn't say that WhatsApp will leave India. The problem was that Woog didn't categorically denied pulling out of India, and that probably fuelled the impression that WhatsApp might leave India.

WhatsApp has joined hands with Department of Telecom(DoT) to help report fake or abusive messages received on the app.

Everything comes with a price including popularity. WhatsApp serves as the country's most widely used chat app but the app also has to fight its battle against fake news and harassing messages almost every day. The simplistic design and the convenience of sending messages has made WhatsApp an easy target for anyone to spread fake messages and create havoc among public. But this is going to end now as the chat company has joined hands with the Department of Telecom(DoT) to help report about those who sent fake or abusive messages.

WhatsApp was pushed in troubled waters last year for serving as a channel for spreading fake news that triggered several incidents of mob lynchings in various parts of the country. The chat company since then has been taking several steps to fight against this problem. There is also another problem of some people sending abusive or harassing messages on WhatsApp and now the company plans to take on this.

According to a PTI report, you can now file a complaint with the DoT against offensive messages received on WhatsApp. To report, the receiver of abusive message should take a screenshot of the message along with the mobile number and mail it to ccaddn-dot@nic.in. The move comes following many public figures, including journalists, complaining of receiving abusive and threatening messages.

"We will take it up with the telecom operators and police heads for necessary action," DoT Controller Communications Ashish Joshi said in a tweet.

Joshi also tweeted a complete list of all the Licensed Service Area (LSA) saying that there is a lack of awareness about the LSA units among public. The list includes names of LSA, respective headquarter, name of the officer, office address, his fax, landline and email address.

Intel released earnings last week, and it was ugly. Yes, the company beat expectations on the bottom line, but it missed big on the top line and the outlook was dismal. Looking under the covers, the company is a mess. The expected CEO announcement -- it has been operating with an interim CEO -- didn't occur.

AMD's earnings are expected to be very strong. AMD just made some organizational changes that suggest an increase in its competitive attack in view of Intel's weaknesses.

I'll walk you through what is wrong with Intel -- why it missed, and why its outlook is so grim -- and then close with my product of the week: one of the first flying taxis that is actually flying. It continues to amaze me how quickly autonomous flying vehicles are advancing.

We have been watching Artificial Intelligence making its mark in every field but have you ever thought of patients recovering mentally, through Robotic Technology. Hearing news daily about robots is fun surely and by that, we can have the idea of how rapidly the technology is growing. Same goes in the field of Rehabilitation centers this time.

The medical sector is surely at a good phase of development and using the help of Artificial Intelligence for years to cure patients but this time we have something of really great fun. Patients at rehabilitation centers will now be able to have an entertainment zone which has begun with the game “tic-tac-toe.” The game will be played by a robotic arm and it will motivate patients for their rehabilitation exercises.

We have come across this news by the Techcrunch. They have mentioned about Israel, they have researchers at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev. They are using Artificial Intelligence in many ways to help rehabilitation patients get cured with maintaining the zeal of their own, which will be helped by these robotic arms.

Google this week debuted a slew of new capabilities for its artificial intelligence software, Google Assistant, at CES in Las Vegas.

One of the headliners was a preview of Google Assistant Connect. The new platform lets device manufacturers incorporate Google Assistant into their products easily and cost-effectively.

Connect uses Google's existing smart home platform to expand to new device types, while making device setup and discovery easy for consumers. A manufacturer could create a continuous e-ink display projecting weather or calendar information, for example, while using Connect to drive content from a linked smart speaker.

"The key here is making device setup and discovery easy for consumers," observed Jack Narcotta, senior industry analyst for smart home strategies at Strategy Analytics.