Blog Archives
Berners-Lee: ‘Computers Are Getting Smarter. We’re Not’
October 26, 2014
“Companies,” says web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, “are increasingly going to be run by computers. And computers are getting smarter and we are not.” The only solution, he argues, is for people to embrace new technology, and accept that some jobs will simply disappear. Sir Tim is, as he puts it, “in London to think about the future”. Today he will speak at IP Expo, last month he addressed senior technology executives at a dinner organised by digital agency SapientNitro, but the over-riding...
October 26, 2014
“Companies,” says web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, “are increasingly going to be run by computers. And computers are getting smarter and we are not.” The only solution, he argues, is for people to embrace new technology, and accept that some jobs will simply disappear. Sir Tim is, as he puts it, “in London to think about the future”. Today he will speak at IP Expo, last month he addressed senior technology executives at a dinner organised by digital agency SapientNitro, but the over-riding...
Elon Musk: a Machine Tasked with Getting Rid of Spam Could End Humanity
October 26, 2014
Tesla and SpaceX C.E.O. Elon Musk said he was worried that people didn’t understand how fast artificial intelligence was progressing, and expressed his concern that, in a worst-case scenario, a “super-intelligent” machine might decide to destroy human life. Musk was speaking to Walter Isaacson, the president and C.E.O. of the Aspen Institute, on stage at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit in San Francisco. Musk, uncharacteristically wearing a suit, detailed his fears after teasing...
October 26, 2014
Tesla and SpaceX C.E.O. Elon Musk said he was worried that people didn’t understand how fast artificial intelligence was progressing, and expressed his concern that, in a worst-case scenario, a “super-intelligent” machine might decide to destroy human life. Musk was speaking to Walter Isaacson, the president and C.E.O. of the Aspen Institute, on stage at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit in San Francisco. Musk, uncharacteristically wearing a suit, detailed his fears after teasing...
Race is on to Build World’s First Driverless Car
October 25, 2014
Who will build the self-driving car of the future? Fired-up by Google’s driverless prototype, carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz and Volvo are already testing autonomous vehicles on public roads. But the advanced sensors and electronics that form the building blocks of self-driving cars are often made by suppliers, not the car manufacturer. Some fear that, in the long term, carmakers that lag behind in autonomous vehicle technology face a future akin to today’s PC assemblers – with the big profits...
October 25, 2014
Who will build the self-driving car of the future? Fired-up by Google’s driverless prototype, carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz and Volvo are already testing autonomous vehicles on public roads. But the advanced sensors and electronics that form the building blocks of self-driving cars are often made by suppliers, not the car manufacturer. Some fear that, in the long term, carmakers that lag behind in autonomous vehicle technology face a future akin to today’s PC assemblers – with the big profits...
Marriott to Pay $600K for Blocking Guests’ Personal Wi-Fi Access at Opryland Hotel
October 25, 2014
Marriott International has agreed to pay the government $600,000 to resolve allegations that it blocked access to guests’ personal Wi-Fi networks at its Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The Federal Communications Commission says the hotel used a monitoring system to block Internet access via guests’ Wi-Fi hotspots while charging $250 to $1,000 for a wireless access point, depending on the plan. A press release is here (PDF) and the order and consent decree are here (PDF). Publications with stories...
October 25, 2014
Marriott International has agreed to pay the government $600,000 to resolve allegations that it blocked access to guests’ personal Wi-Fi networks at its Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The Federal Communications Commission says the hotel used a monitoring system to block Internet access via guests’ Wi-Fi hotspots while charging $250 to $1,000 for a wireless access point, depending on the plan. A press release is here (PDF) and the order and consent decree are here (PDF). Publications with stories...
FCC Busts Marriott for Blocking Wi-Fi Hotspots
October 25, 2014
It’s uncanny how often otherwise zippy mobile hotspots suddenly fail once you walk into a hotel conference room. Could somebody be blocking their signal? The FCC has found at least one hotel that actually did it. Marriott’s Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. And the commission busted the hotel for doing so. Marriott will pay a $600,000 fine for the offense. You can read the FCC Order here. The investigation started when the FCC got a complaint in 2013 from...
October 25, 2014
It’s uncanny how often otherwise zippy mobile hotspots suddenly fail once you walk into a hotel conference room. Could somebody be blocking their signal? The FCC has found at least one hotel that actually did it. Marriott’s Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. And the commission busted the hotel for doing so. Marriott will pay a $600,000 fine for the offense. You can read the FCC Order here. The investigation started when the FCC got a complaint in 2013 from...
Surveys: Law Firm Tech Adoption Sluggish
October 25, 2014
Although good business sense should lead law firms toward legal technology innovation and investment, firms are largely static in their adoption of technology, said recent blog posts from Boston-based Blue Hill Research. The three-part blog series called “Why Do Law Firms Struggle With Strategic IT?” was penned by David Houlihan, principal analyst at Blue Hill Research. Houlihan examines the last several years of the annual purchasing surveys from the International Legal Technology Association...
October 25, 2014
Although good business sense should lead law firms toward legal technology innovation and investment, firms are largely static in their adoption of technology, said recent blog posts from Boston-based Blue Hill Research. The three-part blog series called “Why Do Law Firms Struggle With Strategic IT?” was penned by David Houlihan, principal analyst at Blue Hill Research. Houlihan examines the last several years of the annual purchasing surveys from the International Legal Technology Association...
Korea Ups Its Robots Game
October 25, 2014
In 1976 an animated film called Robot Taekwon V captured Korean kids’ imaginations with its tale of a superhero robot fending off giant machines bent on world domination. The film’s appeal endures—as does the cultural fascination with automated machines. South Korean President Park Geun Hye’s industrial planners have global ambitions of their own: to blow by Europe, Japan, and the U.S. in the race to hold sway over advanced robotics. South Korea is embracing robotics with the same intensity...
October 25, 2014
In 1976 an animated film called Robot Taekwon V captured Korean kids’ imaginations with its tale of a superhero robot fending off giant machines bent on world domination. The film’s appeal endures—as does the cultural fascination with automated machines. South Korean President Park Geun Hye’s industrial planners have global ambitions of their own: to blow by Europe, Japan, and the U.S. in the race to hold sway over advanced robotics. South Korea is embracing robotics with the same intensity...
Unexpected Bedfellows: Nolo and Martindale
October 24, 2014
The terrain seems to be changing faster than an infant changes shoe sizes. New companies sprout up, and in some cases, geriatric organizations get new homes. In 2011, Nolo became a wholly owned subsidiary of Internet Brands, based in El Segundo, Calif. At the time, it seemed an odd acquisition for the company, launched in 1998 from incubator Idealab. It began as CarsDirect.com, and now serves automotive, health, home and travel, legal, and diversified media fields. (In June, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts...
October 24, 2014
The terrain seems to be changing faster than an infant changes shoe sizes. New companies sprout up, and in some cases, geriatric organizations get new homes. In 2011, Nolo became a wholly owned subsidiary of Internet Brands, based in El Segundo, Calif. At the time, it seemed an odd acquisition for the company, launched in 1998 from incubator Idealab. It began as CarsDirect.com, and now serves automotive, health, home and travel, legal, and diversified media fields. (In June, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts...
Google Trial Lets You Chat With Doctors When You Search for Symptoms
October 24, 2014
Searching the web for symptoms of illness can be dangerous -- you could identify a real condition, but you also risk scaring yourself for no reason through a misdiagnosis. Google might have a solution that puts your mind at ease, though. The company has confirmed to Engadget that it's testing a Helpouts-style feature which offers video chats with doctors when you search for symptoms. While there aren't many details of how this works in practice, the search card mentions that Google is covering the costs...
October 24, 2014
Searching the web for symptoms of illness can be dangerous -- you could identify a real condition, but you also risk scaring yourself for no reason through a misdiagnosis. Google might have a solution that puts your mind at ease, though. The company has confirmed to Engadget that it's testing a Helpouts-style feature which offers video chats with doctors when you search for symptoms. While there aren't many details of how this works in practice, the search card mentions that Google is covering the costs...
Third-Party Funding Of Litigation: A Perspective On The International Landscape
October 24, 2014
Jonathan Wood and Daniel Hemming of Reynolds Porter Chamberlain take an in-depth look at third-party funding in the global litigation landscape: "If the availability of funding means that more good claims are litigated and won, then, subject to the proper scrutiny and management of the funder’s role, this continued growth should be welcomed." In 1787, Jeremy Bentham ventured, as part of a famous attack on “the antique laws against what are called Maintenance and Champerty”, that: No man of ripe...
October 24, 2014
Jonathan Wood and Daniel Hemming of Reynolds Porter Chamberlain take an in-depth look at third-party funding in the global litigation landscape: "If the availability of funding means that more good claims are litigated and won, then, subject to the proper scrutiny and management of the funder’s role, this continued growth should be welcomed." In 1787, Jeremy Bentham ventured, as part of a famous attack on “the antique laws against what are called Maintenance and Champerty”, that: No man of ripe...
