Articles written by matt obrien
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AI can read! Tech firms race to smarten up thinking machines
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Seven years ago, a computer beat two human quizmasters on a "Jeopardy" challenge. Ever since, the tech industry has been training its machines to make them even better at amassing knowledge and answering questions. And it's w...
Russian networks pushing conservative meme, researchers say
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twitter accounts linked to Russian influence operations are pushing a conservative meme related to the investigation of Russian election interference, researchers say. The purported Russian activity involves the hashtag #...
AP Explains: Who's affected by computer chip security flaw
Technology companies are scrambling to fix serious security flaws affecting computer processors built by Intel and other chipmakers and found in many of the world's personal computers and smartphones. The two hardware bugs discovered can be...
Disney-Fox deal may create a new nerdy nirvana
MENLO PARK, California (AP) — The coming union of the Disney and Fox media empires is set to create a new nirvana for fanboys and -girls, one that reunites superheroes and sci-fi characters long separated by an energy barrier of corporate l...
Microsoft updates Bing search to highlight reputable results
BOSTON (AP) — Microsoft on Wednesday rolled out new features on its Bing search engine powered by artificial intelligence, including one that summarizes the two opposing sides of contentious questions, and another that measures how many reputable s...
Men plead guilty to creating 'botnet' used to crash the web
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Three men pleaded guilty to creating a "botnet" known as Mirai that was used to paralyze chunks of the internet in 2016. Paras Jha, Josiah White and Dalton Norman admitted to one count of conspiracy in plea agreements f...
Have you been 'pwned' in a data breach? Troy Hunt can tell
Troy Hunt has collected a trove of 4.8 billion stolen identity records pulled from the darkest corners of the internet — but he isn't a hacker. Instead, he uses that repository to help ordinary people navigate the growing scourge of the corporate d...
Federal "extreme vetting" plan castigated by tech experts
Leading researchers castigated a federal plan that would use artificial intelligence methods to scrutinize immigrants and visa applicants, saying it is unworkable as written and likely to be "inaccurate and biased" if deployed. The experts, a group...
AP Explains: Why smartphones are giving the police fits
BOSTON (AP) — The phone used by the gunman who fatally shot 26 people inside a small Texas church has become the latest flashpoint in the privacy wars. Federal investigators complain that they can't get into Devin Patrick Kelley's phone thanks to s...
Being Bing: Microsoft's overlooked AI tool
Microsoft's Bing search engine has long been a punch line in the tech industry, an also-ran that never came close to challenging Google's dominant position. But Microsoft could still have the last laugh, since its service has helped lay the...
Wooing Amazon with sun, fun ... and giant buttons
BOSTON (AP) — Mayors from Toledo to Tulsa are so eager to woo Amazon's much-vaunted second headquarters that they're brandishing bourbon, selling the sun, whispering sweet nothings to the company and even pushing its buttons. Literally. The A...
Could cyberattacks knock out lights in the US? Not so easily
Hackers likely linked to the North Korean government targeted a U.S. electricity company late last month, according to a security firm that says it detected and stopped the attacks. John Hultquist, director of intelligence analysis for FireEye, said...
Big Tech has big plans to help reconnect Puerto Rico
Facebook and Google once aimed to connect the world. Now they would be happy just to reconnect part of it. In the wake of Hurricane Maria, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged to send a "connectivity team" to help restore communications in ravaged Pu...
Yahoo: 3 billion accounts breached in 2013. Yes, 3 billion
BOSTON (AP) — Yahoo has tripled down on what was already the largest data breach in history, saying it affected all 3 billion accounts on its service, not the 1 billion it revealed late last year. The company announced Tuesday that it has sent e...
Confusion hits consumer market over US ban of Kaspersky
NEW YORK (AP) — Worries rippled through the consumer market for antivirus software after the U.S. government banned federal agencies from using Kaspersky Lab software on Wednesday. Best Buy and Office Depot said they will no longer sell software m...
Self-driving boats: The next tech transportation race
BOSTON (AP) — Self-driving cars may not hit the road in earnest for many years - but autonomous boats could be just around the pier. Spurred in part by the car industry's race to build driverless vehicles, marine innovators are building automated f...
Alexa, Cortana talk to each other in Amazon-Microsoft deal
BOSTON (AP) — Alexa, meet Cortana. Microsoft and Amazon are pairing their voice assistants together in a collaboration announced Wednesday. Both companies say that later this fall, users will be able to access Alexa using Cortana on Windows 10 c...
Leaked email shows HBO negotiating with hackers
BOSTON (AP) — Hackers this week released an email from HBO in which the company expressed willingness to pay them $250,000 as part of a negotiation over data swiped from HBO's servers. The July 27 email was sent by John Beyler, an HBO executive w...
Judge sets $30K bail for UK researcher in malware case
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas federal judge set bail of $30,000 on Friday for a celebrated young British cybersecurity researcher accused by U.S. prosecutors of creating and distributing malicious software designed to steal banking passwords. The a...
Hacker who helped stop global cyberattack arrested in US
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Marcus Hutchins, a young British researcher credited with derailing a global cyberattack in May, was arrested for allegedly creating and distributing malicious software designed to collect bank-account passwords, U.S. authorities s...
At hacker summit, a new focus on preventing brazen attacks
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Against a backdrop of cyberattacks that have grown into full-fledged sabotage, Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos brought a sobering message Wednesday to hackers and security experts at the Black Hat conference. In short: i...
AP Explains: Should you be worried about the rise of AI?
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tech titans Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk recently slugged it out online over the possible threat artificial intelligence might one day pose to the human race, although you could be forgiven if you don't see why this seems l...
Microsoft eyes buffer zone in TV airwaves for rural internet
Microsoft wants to extend broadband services to rural America by turning to a wireless technology that uses the buffer zones separating individual television channels in the airwaves. Microsoft plans to partner with rural telecommunications...
Smaller states rejoice as Amazon finally collects sales tax
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Many online shoppers in the United States have for years had to pay state sales taxes whenever they buy goods from Amazon. But the Seattle e-commerce giant has dragged its feet on collecting sales taxes in small and s...
Rhode Island governor looks to pioneer free tuition for all
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A college-for-all idea that sparked Democratic voter enthusiasm during the presidential race could now be tested in the smallest state. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo said she is pushing to make Rhode Island the first state to...
