Krishna

Royal Society calls for data-led net-zero transition

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The Royal Society has published a report which identifies how the UK can play a leading role in tackling climate change through a data-led transition supported by the adoption of digital technologies.  While data-enabled technologies such as machine learning have boosted efficiency in some sectors, contributing to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, they also have … Read more

Facebook’s Oversight Board tackles hate speech and nudity in first cases

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Facebook’s independent Oversight Board has announced the first cases on which it will deliberate, following the opening of user appeals in October.  First announced in 2018, the Board will have the final word on what content is permitted on Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram. It was created in response to criticism from various groups, particularly … Read more

UK households revealed to be second worst in Europe for e-waste

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Britons produce the second largest amount of e-waste per person in Europe, a study has found.  In 2019 alone, there were 53.6 million tonnes of electronic waste generated globally according to statistics from the United Nations. With Christmas purchases expected to exacerbate the e-waste problem as consumers throw their old devices out, data from the … Read more

Waterborne plastic tracked over thousands of kilometres

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Plastic waste is able to travel thousands of kilometres in just a few months through rivers and oceans, a new study has found.  A team from the University of Exeter and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) inserted GPS and satellite tags into 500ml bottles and released them into the Ganges river in India. The … Read more

Robot fleet dives for climate answers in ‘marine snow’

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An Australian research voyage is under way to investigate how life in the Southern Ocean captures and stores carbon from the atmosphere.  A fleet of new-generation, deep-diving ocean robots will be deployed in the Southern Ocean in a major study of how marine life acts as a handbrake on global warming. The automated probes will … Read more

Cambridge University launches master’s degree in AI ethics

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The University of Cambridge will offer a master’s degree course focused on the responsible use of artificial intelligence, which it says will be the UK’s first.  The course will be led by the university’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI), in partnership with the university’s Institute for Continuing Education. It is designed for … Read more

Facebook poised to launch scaled-back Libra cryptocurrency in January

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Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency could finally launch in January, the Financial Times (FT) has reported citing three sources involved in the project.  The social network originally announced the project last year, with tentative plans to launch in 2020 as a way to encourage people to make more financial transactions online. The payment method revolves around a digital … Read more

Hollowed-out optical fibres promise big boost for internet infrastructure

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Optical fibres, the cornerstone technology for high-speed data transfer, can be given a significant performance boost by hollowing out their centre, researchers from Southampton University have discovered.  Optical fibres, which are made of silica glass, have long been the transmission medium of choice for high-speed optical communications as well as for other uses such as … Read more