On Friday, US President Joe Biden on the billionaire Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, said that Musk had bought a social networking platform that spreads lies around the world.
"Now what worries us all, is Elon Musk's purchase of a tool that sends lies around the world...There are no more editors in America. There are no editors. How can we expect children to be risk-aware?" Biden warned.
The head of the Safety and Integrity Department at Twitter, Yoel Roth announced earlier Friday, in a tweet that the company had laid off 50 percent of its employees, while he said that there had been no change in content monitoring on Twitter.
Roth added that 15% of Twitter employees on the Safety and Integrity team, which monitors misinformation and harmful content, have been laid off. He added that company-wide layoffs affected 50 percent of employees, the first confirmation from Twitter insider about the scale of the layoffs.
"Again, to be absolutely clear, Twitter's strong commitment to content moderation remains absolutely unchanged," Musk said in a tweet shortly after Roth's tweet.
Musk had previously said Twitter had seen a "massive drop in revenue" due to civil rights groups that have raised concerns about how layoffs will affect content moderation and have pressured major advertisers to withdraw their ad spending.
As some oppose Musk’s takeover of the platform that us largely used by civil society groups and politicians, many back Musk’s new policies in the Twitter and call it a return of freedom to the platform.
On Monday, Apple released the official iOS 16 operating system, which contains some new features for iPhone devices, but there are some essential tips you should follow before downloading it.
And Apple decided to deprive some old phone models and revealed that the new operating system will be available for download now for owners of "iPhone 8" and later versions.
The new operating system brings all-new customization features, deeper intelligence, and smoother communication and sharing.
Important tips must be followed before downloading the iOS 16 operating system, including ensuring that the phone includes enough space, not less than 15 GB, whether in the iPhone or iPad.
It must also be ensured that the smart device is charged more than 50%, and it is recommended to take a backup copy of the phone data.
iOS 16 brings new personalization features, thus enhancing the iPhone experience, and the operating system improves devices with all-new personalization features, deeper intelligence, and smoother ways to communicate and share.
It also offers widgets on the lock screen, where you can display a set of widgets as part of the lock screen to peek at information such as weather, time, date, and battery levels.
Smart Search will improve your results by correcting misspellings and using synonyms for your search terms.
You can edit or unsend a message you just sent and mark a message as unread if you can't reply to it at the moment and want to return to it later.
The new operating system also includes the iCloud Shared Photo Library, coming out later this year, and lets you share a photo library with your family and up to five others. Each has equal permissions to add, edit, and delete photos in the shared library.
Fitness
iOS 16 adds a fitness app for all users who use the phone's built-in motion sensors to provide an estimate of calories burned based on steps, distance traveled, and use of third-party fitness apps, even if you don't have an Apple Watch. And the new Medications feature in the Health app lets you track what you should take and when.
Camera Translation
The new system adds a camera translation feature, which may be suitable for holidays in foreign regions, allowing you to translate the text around you using the camera in the translation app. Just hold the camera on the words you want to translate, pause the display, and the translation will be added to the text in a still image.
Lock Mode Feature
It won't be for everyone, but Apple says the new Lockdown feature "provides maximum protection for a minimal number of users who face serious, targeted threats to their digital security."
Disconnect
When your hands are full, it can be challenging to end a phone with a hard-to-find phone in your pocket. Now you can ask Siri by sending the command, "Hey Siri, hang up." But beware, if you're trying to be discreet, the caller can hear you telling Siri to hang up.
A groundbreaking mathematical equation that could transform medical procedures, natural gas extraction, and plastic packaging production in the future has been discovered.
The new equation, developed by scientists at the University of Bristol, indicates that diffusive movement through permeable material can be modeled exactly for the very first time.
It comes a century after world-leading physicists Albert Einstein and Marian von Smoluchowski derived the first diffusion equation, and marks important progress in representing motion for a wide range of entities from microscopic particles and natural organisms to man-made devices.
Until now, scientists looking at particle motion through porous materials, such as biological tissues, polymers, various rocks and sponges have had to rely on approximations or incomplete perspectives.
The findings, published today in the journal Physical Review Research, provide a novel technique that presents exciting opportunities in a diverse range of settings including health, energy, and the food industry.
Lead author Toby Kay, who is completing a Ph.D. in Engineering Mathematics, said, "This marks a fundamental step forward since Einstein and Smoluchowski's studies on diffusion. It revolutionizes the modeling of diffusing entities through complex media of all scales, from cellular components and geological compounds to environmental habitats.
"Previously, mathematical attempts to represent movement through environments scattered with objects that hinder motion, known as permeable barriers, have been limited. By solving this problem, we are paving the way for exciting advances in many different sectors because permeable barriers are routinely encountered by animals, cellular organisms and humans."
Creativity in mathematics takes different forms and one of these is the connection between different levels of description of a phenomenon. In this instance, by representing random motion in a microscopic fashion and then subsequently zooming out to describe the process macroscopically, it was possible to find the new equation.
Further research is needed to apply this mathematical tool to experimental applications, which could improve products and services. For example, being able to model accurately the diffusion of water molecules through biological tissue will advance the interpretation of diffusion-weighted MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) readings. It could also offer more accurate representation of air spreading through food packaging materials, helping to determine shelf life and contamination risk. In addition, quantifying the behavior of foraging animals interacting with macroscopic barriers, such as fences and roads, could provide better predictions on the consequence of climate change for conservation purposes.
The use of geolocators, mobile phones, and other sensors has seen the tracking revolution generate movement data of ever-increasing quantity and quality over the past 20 years. This has highlighted the need for more sophisticated modeling tools to represent the movement of wide-ranging entities in their environment, from natural organisms to man-made devices.
Senior author Dr. Luca Giuggioli, Associate Professor in Complexity Sciences at the University of Bristol, said, "This new fundamental equation is another example of the importance of constructing tools and techniques to represent diffusion when space is heterogeneous; that is, when the underlying environment changes from location to location.
"It builds on another long-awaited resolution in 2020 of a mathematical conundrum to describe random movement in confined space. This latest discovery is a further significant step forward in improving our understanding of motion in all its shapes and forms—collectively termed the mathematics of movement—which has many exciting potential applications."
NASA officials say they will make their second attempt to launch a rocket to the moon on Saturday.
The rocket has a length of a 32-story building, around 100 meters, and will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket would remain six weeks in space before touching down earth again.
While Artemis I will not carry astronauts, nor land on the moon, the mission is critical to demonstrating that NASA’s monster rocket and deep space capsule can deliver on their promised abilities. Artemis I has been delayed for years, with the program running billions over budget.
Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Elissa Slotkin stated that if Google (GOOGLGOOGLE) does not limit anti-abortion clinics from appearing in the Google Search and Maps results for abortion services, the company should label search results to clearly show whether a clinic in its results actually provides abortions, according to a letter sent Friday to Google CEO Sundar Pichai that was signed by more than 20 lawmakers.
"Directing women towards fake clinics that traffic in misinformation and don't provide comprehensive health services is dangerous to women's health and undermines the integrity of Google's search results," the letter states.
In addition, He addressed topics like remote working, freedom of speech and potential extra-terrestrial life.
Musk was talking to staff for the first time since launching his bid for the firm in April.
He declared that he may quit the deal in case he is not given data about fake accounts. Moreover, he told Twitter employees that layoffs at Twitter would depend on the company's financial situation.
Musk stated that the company does need to get healthy whereas the costs exceed the revenue.
China has seen momentum in developing mobile payments, online investment, big tech credit and digital currency, which all play a vital role in driving inclusive finance. These areas are expected to play a critical role in the country's future economic growth.
To begin with, the platform economy has a great impact on the financial sector, which can be narrowed down to "three increases and three decreases".
The "Three increases" means that the platform economy has helped "increase business scale, improve efficiency as well as user experience". since the platform can offer services to many customers simultaneously, costs are minimized therefore overall efficiency will naturally be enhanced.
Digital platforms also offer personalized services. With technological advances, these services will be much smoother, more convenient to use and more popular among consumers.
The "Three decreases" refers to "reducing costs, lowering risks and minimizing contact". In terms of risk control in particular, user data accumulated by the platform will be very helpful to identify risks in advance.
Based on the above changes, digital platforms will also have a certain effect on the rules and even laws of economic activity and exchanges. It will make users more reliant on the platform itself, but the platform will also be closely related to the economy.
currently, the China's platform companies have developed quite well and are comparable to leading foreign internet heavyweights, thanks mainly to improvements in digital technology, market-oriented reforms, the large population and relatively independent market conditions.
“This is Lenovo's first in-house manufacturing facility in Europe and it represents a significant economic potential for both the private and public sectors in Hungary with increased production capacity, greater potential for collaboration with local vendors and the creation of new jobs” Lenovo stated.
According to the Beijing-based company, the plant, which officially opened on Tuesday, already employs over 1,000 full-time workers in a variety of engineering, management and operational roles, with numbers continuing to increase as the facility moves towards full capacity.
Strong infrastructure, skilled labor and a location in the center of Europe made Hungary a natural choice for Lenovo to place its first European in-house manufacturing facility. In addition, part of Lenovo's investment has been supported by local government incentives through the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency.
As explained in a new paper published in the journal Nature, a research team from the University of Texas at Austin modified an enzyme to break down the individual components of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a commonly disposed plastic that accounts for a staggering 12 percent of waste worldwide.
The modified enzyme also reduced the period it takes for the plastic to degrade from months to a just single week.
Depolymerization, is the process that has the added benefit of allowing the broken-down monomers to be reconstituted back into virgin PET plastic, a potentially revolutionary way of recycling the massive amounts of plastic waste people have disposed. The process is not industrialized so far.
The fact that PET plastic can be turned back into its pure form is a game changer. Unlike traditional recycling, depolymerization can recycle a plastic and keep its original traits.
From remote driving vending carts and robot dogs to special vehicles, flexible robots and driverless sightseeing vehicles, 5G technology can be applied in various industries to facilitate and promote economic development.
Let's take a look at more 5G tech applications at the Industrial-Grade 5G Innovation Application (Dali) Research Institute.
Quantum computers are able to make very complex calculations extremely quickly and their creators say they can solve the problems regular computers cannot.
The MoD will work with British company Orca Computing to explore applications for quantum technology in defence.
Stephen Till, of the MoD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), called it a "milestone moment".
The computers found in most of our homes and workplaces process data in bits, which have a binary value of either zero or one.
Quantum computers instead use a two-state unit for data processing called a qubit.
This can represent digits like one or zero simultaneously through a quantum mechanical process called superposition, letting quantum computers bridge binary digits and cope with uncertainty where regular computers cannot.
In addition, the company declared that when Larry Ellison`s term, who is co-founder Oracle Corp and a friend of Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, ends at this year's shareholder meeting, he will not stand for re-election to Tesla's board.
Ellison is among the top investors who have promised funding toward Musk's $44 billion acquisition of social media firm Twitter Inc.
Shares of Austin, Texas-based Tesla rose more than 1% in extended trading on Friday. This is whereas since Musk unveiled his stake in Twitter in early April, those shares have fallen nearly 40% which was affected in part by a strict lockdown in Shanghai that has hurt Tesla's production.
Shareholders will vote on Tesla's proposed stock split on Aug. 4. If approved, it would be the company's first such action after a five-for-one split in August 2020.
The court documents showed that The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice claim that Twitter violated an agreement it had with regulators.
Whereas Twitter had vowed to not give personal information like phone numbers and email addresses to advertisers and the Federal investigators say that the social media company broke those rules.
Twitter was also fined £400,000 in December 2020 for breaking Europe's GDPR data privacy rules.
The FTC is an independent agency of the US government whose mission is the enforcement of anti-trust law and the promotion of consumer protection.
It accuses Twitter of breaching a 2011 FTC order that explicitly prohibited the company from misrepresenting its privacy and security practices.
meanwhile the certification gives the necessary clearance and is a significant milestone yet the company still has additional regulatory hurdles to clear before its five-seater aircraft can legally fly passengers.
The FAA's Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate is among the three regulatory approvals critical for Joby's planned launch of all-electric aerial ridesharing service in 2024.
The certification would allow Joby operate its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft as an air taxi service in cities and communities across the United States.
Whether you realize it or not, social media can affect your health. A new study indicates that quitting social networking sites for only one week may lead to a significant improvement in health and a reduction in anxiety and depression.
A team of researchers at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom studied the mental health effects of stopping for a week using social media. Some study participants saved nearly nine hours of their week, which they would have spent scrolling on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, according to Medical Xpress.
The results, published in the American Journal of Cyber Psychology, Behavior and Social Networking, indicated that just one week away from social media improved individuals' overall well-being and reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety.
The researchers randomly assigned 154 individuals between the ages of 18 and 72 who used social media daily to either an intervention group where they were asked to stop using all social media for one week or a control group, where they could continue to scroll as usual. At the start of the study, baseline scores for anxiety, depression, and well-being were taken.
The participants reported that they spent an average of 8 hours per week on social media at the beginning of the study. After one week, participants who were asked to take a one-week break had significantly better improvements in well-being and reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety than those who continued to use social media, indicating a short-term benefit.
Participants were also asked to take a one-week break and reported using social media for an average of 21 minutes compared to 7 hours for those in the control group. Screenshot statistics were provided to check individuals' adherence to the break.
Rising concerns
'Scrolling is so ubiquitous that many of us do it almost without thinking from the moment we wake up until we close our eyes at night,' said Jeff Lambert, principal investigator from Bath's Department of Health.
'We know that social media use is huge and there are growing concerns about its effects on mental health. So, with this study, we wanted to see if asking people to take a week off can have mental health benefits,' Lambert said, adding, 'Many of our participants reported positive effects from social distancing with improved mood and less anxiety overall, which suggests that even a small break can have an effect.'
In addition, the team now wants to build on the study to see if taking a short break can help different population groups, for example, young people or people with physical and mental health conditions.
It also aims to follow people for longer than one week to see if the benefits will last over time.
Common Problem
According to the researchers, feelings of 'weakness.' and a loss of pleasure are hallmarks of depression. At the same time, anxiety is characterized by excessive worrying and being out of control. Well-being refers to an individual's level of positive influence, life satisfaction, and a sense of purpose.
It is noteworthy that according to Mind in the United Kingdom, one in six people suffers from a common mental health problem such as anxiety and depression in any given week.
He is believed to be firing many of the company's employees after the transfer of ownership, which will take about six months, Musk himself said this week to investors.
But in return, the controversial Tesla boss is expected to hire thousands of new employees within the next three years, which could lead to an inflation of about 11,000 employees, up from 7,500 currently, according to the New York Times.
It is also likely to include a batch of these newly appointed, a lot of new talent in engineering.
In addition, the company's numbers will fluctuate, reaching 9,225 employees this year before dropping to 8,332 in 2023. Then, adding another 2,700 workers by 2025.
Most of the jobs suspended will occur during the acquisition period.
Parag Agrawal, who was appointed CEO of Twitter last November, is expected to remain in his position until the sale is completed.
Musk had previously floated the idea of closing the headquarters in San Francisco to save money, and board members might also not get paid, cutting another $3 million from expenses.
Increase Twitter Revenue
It is noteworthy that the changes previously talked about by the American billionaire and the world's wealthiest people are part of his plan to increase Twitter's annual revenue by five times current levels to 26.4 billion dollars by 2028, up from 5 billion dollars last year.
Since last month, the new owner of the bluebird has been talking about a set of changes that he will make to the famous platform, including the ability to edit tweets, support freedom of expression, and add other additional elements, improving its services!