Author: The Conversation

Facebook has responded to Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, saying it “buries the substance in sensationalism”. The show is currently in Netflix Australia’s top ten list and has been popular around the globe. Some media pundits suggest it’s “the most important documentary of our times”. The Social Dilemma focuses on how big social media companies manipulate users by using algorithms that encourage addiction to their platforms. It also shows, fairly accurately, how platforms harvest personal data to target users with ads – and have so far gone largely unregulated. But what are we meant to do about it? While the Netflix feature educates viewers…

Since the beginning of the health crisis, Canadian courts, like those in other countries, have been making a technological shift. The number of proceedings filed online have increased and the same holds for virtual trials. Although their use appears legitimate during the pandemic, video communications applications such as Skype or Zoom are hindering the role of the non-verbal communication in courtrooms. The issue may seem simple and innocuous, but in reality, it is not. Erroneous beliefs The outcome of lawsuits is not only determined by laws and precedents. Indeed, the appearance of witnesses and the way they behave can play a determining role.…

People around the globe have been watching the build up to the US election with disbelief. Particularly confusing to many is the furore over postal ballots, which the US president, Donald Trump is insisting will lead to large-scale voter fraud – despite a complete lack of evidence to back this. And yet this issue has become a central feature of the debate. Citizens of Estonia, a small nation in the Baltic region, will perhaps be particularly perplexed: since 2005, Estonians have been able vote online, from anywhere in the world. Estonians log on with their digital ID card and vote as many…

The holiday season is already a booming time for online shopping. The COVID-19 pandemic only increases the likelihood that when people shop this holiday season, they will choose online shopping over brick-and-mortar stores. However, this also means there is likely to be a boom in online scams. Already, multiple companies from outside the U.S. are advertising relatively unchecked on the internet, selling – or even just pretending to sell – all manner of products. The items are typically advertised using designs stolen from legitimate businesses and artists, often ripped off from Etsy, especially if those designs have been featured on popular sites like Bored…

Artificial intelligence seems to be making enormous advances. It has become the key technology behind self-driving cars, automatic translation systems, speech and textual analysis, image processing and all kinds of diagnosis and recognition systems. In many cases, AI can surpass the best human performance levels at specific tasks. We are witnessing the emergence of a new commercial industry with intense activity, massive financial investment, and tremendous potential. It would seem that there are no areas that are beyond improvement by AI – no tasks that cannot be automated, no problems that can’t at least be helped by an AI application. But is this strictly true? Theoretical studies…

The big idea For the first time, my colleagues and I have built a single electronic device that is capable of copying the functions of neuron cells in a brain. We then connected 20 of them together to perform a complicated calculation. This work shows that it is scientifically possible to make an advanced computer that does not rely on transistors to calculate and that uses much less electrical power than today’s data centers. Our research, which I began in 2004, was motivated by two questions. Can we build a single electronic element – the equivalent of a transistor or switch – that performs…

This year has brought many changes into our everyday routine. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to physically distance ourselves as much as possible, while masks and other public health measures remain in place in the outside world. The number of COVID-19 cases are rising in Canada and remain high in the United States. Schools have reopened, with much debate as to whether or not they should to reduce the risk of transmission. As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, and we anticipate the arrival of a second wave, we’ll all be looking for activities to stay inside. Gaming activities As…

Facebook Messenger and Instagram’s direct messaging services will be integrated into one system, Facebook has announced. The merge will allow shared messaging across both platforms, as well as video calls and the use of a range of tools drawn from both platforms. It’s currently being rolled out across countries on an opt-in basis, but hasn’t yet reached some locations. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans in March last year to integrate Messenger, Instagram Direct and WhatsApp into a unified messaging experience. At the crux of this was the goal to administer end-to-end encryption across the whole messaging “ecosystem”. Ostensibly, this was part of…

The advent of mass working from home has made many people more aware of the security risks of sending sensitive information via the internet. The best we can do at the moment is make it difficult to intercept and hack your messages – but we can’t make it impossible. What we need is a new type of internet: the quantum internet. In this version of the global network, data is secure, connections are private and your worries about information being intercepted are a thing of the past. My colleagues and I have just made a breakthrough, published in Science Advances, that will…

The source code of the Windows XP operating system is now circulating online as a huge 43GB mega-dump. Although the software is nearly two decades old, it’s still used by people, businesses and organisations around the world. This source code leak leaves it open to being scoured for bugs and weaknesses hackers can exploit. The leaked torrent files, published on the bulletin board website 4chan, include the source code for Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2003, MS DOS 3.30, MS DOS 6.0, Windows 2000, Windows CE 3, Windows CE 4, Windows CE 5, Windows Embedded 7, Windows Embedded CE,…