Technology

Robots could soon be cloaked in human-like synthetic skin, similar to the cyborg assassin of the “Terminator” movie franchise, after Stanford University researchers developed an ultra-realistic, self-healing material.  Researchers have been studying and developing convincing skin materials for robots for years, with Stanford professor Zhenan Bao touting the first multi-layer self-healing synthetic electronic skin back in 2012.  More than a decade …

Amazon is in talks with several telecom providers to offer low-cost or possibly free mobile phone service to US Prime subscribers, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The e-commerce giant is engaged with Verizon Communications, T-Mobile US and Dish Network, and looking to offer wireless plans for $10 a month or lower to Prime members, according to the …

Facebook parent Meta is ordering most of its employees to work on site at least three days per week beginning this fall — the latest move in Mark Zuckerberg’s ongoing “year of efficiency” at the tech giant that has slashed 21,000 jobs. The change will take effect on Sept. 5 and will only apply to hybrid employees who are assigned …

The women’s-only Texas prison that disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will call home for the next decade used male guards to conduct “shower checks” and has faced a half-dozen sexual misconduct allegations in the past year, according to a former inmate at the federal minimum-security lockup and official records. Lynn Espejo, who spent nearly two years at Bryan Federal Prison …

Amazon has paid $25 million to settle federal allegations that tens of thousands of its employees had access to Alexa users’ voice recordings picked up by the smart device’s speakers. US regulators made the allegation in a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission that has resulted in the $25 million settlement, according to Bloomberg News. The FTC claimed that …

Elon Musk is being accused of insider trading in a proposed class action by investors accusing the Tesla CEO of manipulating the cryptocurrency dogecoin, costing them billions of dollars. In a Wednesday night filing in Manhattan federal court, investors said Musk used Twitter posts, paid online influencers, his 2021 appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and other “publicity stunts” to trade profitably at their …

Stock photo provider Getty Images has asked London’s High Court for an injunction to prevent artificial intelligence company Stability AI from selling its AI image-generation system in Britain, court filings show. The Seattle-based company accuses the company of breaching its copyright by using its images to “train” its Stable Diffusion system, according to the filing dated May 12. Stability AI has yet …

Facebook parent Meta threatened to remove all news content in California ahead of a key vote by state lawmakers Thursday on whether to advance a bill requiring Big Tech firms to pay media outlets. The California Journalism Preservation Act would require “online platforms” to fork over a “journalism usage fee” to outlets whose content appears on their sites. “If the …

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the company’s next mixed-reality headset, the Quest 3, in a Thursday morning Instagram post – setting up a looming clash with Apple as it prepares to release its own pricier version. Zuckerberg said the Quest 3 will be priced starting at $499 for the 128GB model and be “the first mainstream headset with high-res color …

A former employee of Amazon’s Ring doorbell camera unit spied for months on female customers in 2017 with cameras placed in bedrooms and bathrooms, the Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing on Wednesday when it announced a $5.8 million settlement with the company over privacy violations. Amazon also agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations it violated children’s privacy rights when it …