ApplicationCompanyEnd UserSectorTechnology Monday in January 2017, at 2:30 in the afternoon, about a thousand employees—horrified, alarmed, and a little giddy—began pouring out of the company's offices in Mountain View, California. They packed themselves into a cheerful courtyard outside the main campus café, a parklike area dotted with picnic tables and a shade structure that resembles a giant game of pickup sticks. Many of them held up handmade signs: “Proud Iranian-American Googler,” “Even Introverts Are Here,” and of course, “Don't Be Evil!” written in the same kindergarten colors as...…ApplicationCompanyEnd UserSectorTechnology Monday in January 2017, at 2:30 in the afternoon, about a thousand employees—horrified, alarmed, and a little giddy—began pouring out of the company's offices in Mountain View, California. They packed themselves into a cheerful courtyard outside the main campus café, a parklike area dotted with picnic tables and a shade structure that resembles a giant game of pickup sticks. Many of them held up handmade signs: “Proud Iranian-American Googler,” “Even Introverts Are Here,” and of course, “Don't Be Evil!” written in the same kindergarten colors as...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareCorporate America — including Wall Street and Silicon Valley giants — is now pledging to play a bigger role in combating systemic racism across the United States, but an examination of companies’ track records shows that they have repeatedly stopped short of major overhauls during prior opportunities for change.The new corporate posture has spread across firms from nearly every industry in the past few weeks as companies rushed to respond to nationwide protests. One of the most provocative statements came from Jamie...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareCorporate America — including Wall Street and Silicon Valley giants — is now pledging to play a bigger role in combating systemic racism across the United States, but an examination of companies’ track records shows that they have repeatedly stopped short of major overhauls during prior opportunities for change.The new corporate posture has spread across firms from nearly every industry in the past few weeks as companies rushed to respond to nationwide protests. One of the most provocative statements came from Jamie...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSAN FRANCISCO — A consortium of Facebook insiders and critics filed a confidential whistleblower’s complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday, claiming the social media giant is aware of illegal activity on its platform, such as the sale of opioids, and has failed to properly police it.The complaint, which was obtained by The Washington Post, includes dozens of pages of screenshots of opioids and other drugs for sale on Facebook and its photo-sharing site Instagram, with some having seemingly obvious...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSAN FRANCISCO — A consortium of Facebook insiders and critics filed a confidential whistleblower’s complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday, claiming the social media giant is aware of illegal activity on its platform, such as the sale of opioids, and has failed to properly police it.The complaint, which was obtained by The Washington Post, includes dozens of pages of screenshots of opioids and other drugs for sale on Facebook and its photo-sharing site Instagram, with some having seemingly obvious...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateEmboldened by billionaire Elon Musk, a cadre of wealthy tech investors and venture capitalists is pushing for an end to shelter-in-place orders, arguing the harm of the quarantines outweighs the benefits and even equating the measures to forced detention.Musk railed against the widespread shelter-in-place orders on his electric car company Tesla's earnings call Wednesday, using harsh language and profanities to describe orders he characterized as "fascist" and as "forcibly imprisoning" people in their homes.By Thursday, Musk was...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateEmboldened by billionaire Elon Musk, a cadre of wealthy tech investors and venture capitalists is pushing for an end to shelter-in-place orders, arguing the harm of the quarantines outweighs the benefits and even equating the measures to forced detention.Musk railed against the widespread shelter-in-place orders on his electric car company Tesla's earnings call Wednesday, using harsh language and profanities to describe orders he characterized as "fascist" and as "forcibly imprisoning" people in their homes.By Thursday, Musk was...WW…

Friday’s shocking ouster of Sam Altman, who negotiated his return as CEO of OpenAI late Tuesday night, was not the first time the shrewd Silicon Valley operator has found himself on the outs.Four years ago, one of Altman’s mentors, Y Combinator founder Paul Graham, flew from the United Kingdom to San Francisco to give his protégé the boot, according to three people familiar with the incident, which has not been previously reported. Graham had surprised the tech world in 2014 by tapping Altman, then in his 20s, to lead the vaunted Silicon Valley incubator. Five years later, he flew across...…Friday’s shocking ouster of Sam Altman, who negotiated his return as CEO of OpenAI late Tuesday night, was not the first time the shrewd Silicon Valley operator has found himself on the outs.Four years ago, one of Altman’s mentors, Y Combinator founder Paul Graham, flew from the United Kingdom to San Francisco to give his protégé the boot, according to three people familiar with the incident, which has not been previously reported. Graham had surprised the tech world in 2014 by tapping Altman, then in his 20s, to lead the vaunted Silicon Valley incubator. Five years later, he flew across...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareTwitter on Friday banned President Trump from its site, a punishment for his role in inciting violence at the U.S. Capitol this week, robbing him of the megaphone he used to communicate directly with more than 88 million supporters and critics.The move amounted to a historic rebuke for a president who had used the social-networking site to fuel his rise to political prominence. Twitter has been Trump’s primary communication tool to push policies, drive news cycles, fire officials, spread falsehoods, savage opponents and...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareTwitter on Friday banned President Trump from its site, a punishment for his role in inciting violence at the U.S. Capitol this week, robbing him of the megaphone he used to communicate directly with more than 88 million supporters and critics.The move amounted to a historic rebuke for a president who had used the social-networking site to fuel his rise to political prominence. Twitter has been Trump’s primary communication tool to push policies, drive news cycles, fire officials, spread falsehoods, savage opponents and...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA prominent artificial-intelligence computer scientist who helped pioneer research into facial recognition software’s bias against people of color said she was abruptly fired from Google for sending an email criticizing the company’s treatment of minority employees and saying she felt “constantly dehumanized.”Timnit Gebru said in a series of tweets Wednesday night that she was fired from her post as the co-leader of Google’s Ethical Artificial Intelligence Team, where she had spearheaded research that helped elevate the...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA prominent artificial-intelligence computer scientist who helped pioneer research into facial recognition software’s bias against people of color said she was abruptly fired from Google for sending an email criticizing the company’s treatment of minority employees and saying she felt “constantly dehumanized.”Timnit Gebru said in a series of tweets Wednesday night that she was fired from her post as the co-leader of Google’s Ethical Artificial Intelligence Team, where she had spearheaded research that helped elevate the...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareFacebook is embarking on a major overhaul of its algorithms that detect hate speech, according to internal documents, reversing years of so-called “race-blind” practices.Those practices resulted in the company being more vigilant about removing slurs lobbed against White users while flagging and deleting innocuous posts by people of color on the platform.The overhaul, which is known as the WoW Project and is in its early stages, involves re-engineering Facebook’s automated moderation systems to get better at detecting and...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareFacebook is embarking on a major overhaul of its algorithms that detect hate speech, according to internal documents, reversing years of so-called “race-blind” practices.Those practices resulted in the company being more vigilant about removing slurs lobbed against White users while flagging and deleting innocuous posts by people of color on the platform.The overhaul, which is known as the WoW Project and is in its early stages, involves re-engineering Facebook’s automated moderation systems to get better at detecting and...WW…

This article was published more than 3 years agoCommentGift ShareSAN FRANCISCO — Some workers here who provide on-demand rides and delivery services, but are independent contractors without many protections, are bracing for the spread of the novel coronavirus.Drivers have been scrubbing down their cars “inch by inch” between rides at local airport parking lots, according to Edan Alva, who drives full-time for Lyft in the Bay Area.Alva said the company has not communicated with drivers yet about the coronavirus, despite the risk of infection. “No support, no advice, no guidance...…This article was published more than 3 years agoCommentGift ShareSAN FRANCISCO — Some workers here who provide on-demand rides and delivery services, but are independent contractors without many protections, are bracing for the spread of the novel coronavirus.Drivers have been scrubbing down their cars “inch by inch” between rides at local airport parking lots, according to Edan Alva, who drives full-time for Lyft in the Bay Area.Alva said the company has not communicated with drivers yet about the coronavirus, despite the risk of infection. “No support, no advice, no guidance...WW…