Latest Stories from Jamie
Facebook’s new ‘Emotional Health Centre’ addresses Covid blues
Right on cue for World Mental Health Day, Facebook has announced the launch of a new Emotional Support centre for users struggling with challenges imposed by COVID-19. Understandably, physical health is at the forefront of everyone’s minds at the moment. Though we appear to have navigated the first initial peak of COVID-19, the immediate safety of ourselves and our fellow citizens remains the priority. However, as national health services begin...
Prisons to curb inmate extremism and organised crime using AI surveillance
Prisoners’ phone calls could soon be monitored by AI technology to prevent notorious criminals and terrorists offending from behind bars. We’ve all seen the Netflix dramas and old cop shows that depict prison gangs as highly dangerous threats, but how do real life governments monitor the communication of inmates behind bars? Not very well, apparently. Recorded warnings to inmates that phone calls are being ‘recorded and monitored’ inside conventional prisons has...
Twitter to root out misinformation with ‘Birdwatch’
Twitter users will soon be able to warn one another about misinformation propagating on the platform through a new feature called ‘Birdwatch’. In the grips of a global pandemic, the last thing people need is a bunch of loosely based conspiracy theories spreading online. That’s how anti-lockdown rallies ignite and spikes in infection occur… true story. Add to this nigh-on undetectable deep-fakes...
Vaccine nationalism could cause needless global suffering
As wealthy countries gobble up the resources needed to give everyone fair COVID-19 vaccination supplies, organisations such as COVAX are trying to keep things balanced. Health experts have predicted that COVID-19 could kill 40 million people and reduce global economic output by $12.5 trillion by the end of 2021. It’s in everyone’s immediate interest to develop and distribute a vaccine as efficiently as possible, yet appeals for global co-operation have...
AI delves into the creative world with original writing function
Computer scientists have been left stunned by a language AI’s ability to write original articles and compose poetry. While AI has only really become a mainstay of the tech world in the last five years or so, the rate at which its sophistication is growing is pretty darn scary… certainly if you’re in the business of writing, like me. Whether we’re talking vehicles becoming entirely autonomous, tailoring people’s unique browsing/viewing habits,...
Animal farming: a bigger EU climate crisis than automobiles
The rearing of livestock for meat and dairy is producing more total emissions right now than all vehicles on the road in the EU, according to new reports. At Thred we’re constantly highlighting food reform as a key part of the fight to keep global temperatures from rising 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. With the potential to mitigate 20 percent of the global emission reduction needed by 2050, policy makers...
Xbox remote play: the latest lockdown ploy to draw gamers in
Microsoft is about to launch an Xbox app update for iOS that will allow console owners to stream games directly to their iPhones. Microsoft is readying an update for its Xbox companion app that will soon allow digital titles to be played remotely on iPhone. Dubbed Remote Play, which is already available on the PC version of the Xbox app, this feature will physically turn on the Xbox from within the...
Microsoft’s Bethesda purchase cements gaming as world’s biggest entertainment industry
It’s difficult to find a silver lining to a global pandemic, but the gaming industry is winning big out of Covid-19. The economic fallout (no pun intended) caused by Covid-19 has shaken up entire industries and changed consumer behaviours drastically. People are spending more time than ever before within the confines of their own homes, and as the notion of a second lockdown is mulled over, digital...
Are microscopic robots the future of invasive human treatment?
Microrobots the size of single cells could soon patrol the human body, according to professors at Cornell. In 1959, Cornell’s Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman talked up the possibility of ‘shrinking technology’ revolutionising the medicinal industry in his lifetime. He may have been wide of the mark in that regard, having passed in 1988, but recent breakthroughs from the same University have brought his industry...
AI vessels to make ocean research greener and more efficient
The biggest ever AI-powered autonomous vessel is set to traverse the Atlantic to gather vital oceanic research on microplastics. Marking the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower launch in 1620, computing conglomerate IBM and non-profit research firm ProMare have unveiled their autonomous vessel of the same name. Without so much as a pilgrim on board this time around, 2020’s 15-meter trimaran is officially the biggest captainless ship on record. Just last week...
