The NHS’s new coronavirus track-and-trace app could be hijacked by trolls bent on ‘sowing chaos for malicious pleasure’ with people more likely to ignore warnings about self-isolating if ‘false alerts’ become widespread, experts warned today. The UK app is currently the only one in the world that will allow an element of self reporting – … Read more
Google and Apple show samples of how eventual coronavirus exposure apps might look and forbid use of GPS-enabled location services The companies released samples of what COVID exposure apps may look like Samples are meant to be starting points for developers The companies are also forbidding the use of location tracking by apps Here’s how … Read more
A Google-developed AI that was capable of identifying cases of diabetic retinopathy (DR) with 90 percent accuracy in the testing laboratory has turned out to be much less useful in clinics and hospitals. In laboratory settings, the AI designed by Google Health performed at the equivalent level of a medical ‘specialist,’ but in testing at … Read more
Online searches for questions including ‘How to do fractions’ and ‘What is an adverb’ have skyrocketed during the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus crisis. After schools were closed in March and children were sent home, many pupils have been taught by their parents and taken to Google themselves to help with school work. And … Read more
A son has managed to nurse his coronavirus-stricken father back to health at home despite the 81-year-old being released from hospital to die. Raj Nathwani used a Google spreadsheet to monitor Suri’s vital signs, kept his house clean and isolated him from the rest of the family in Watford. The 55-year-old also relied on a continuous positive … Read more
Zoom video meetings are all the rage – and most people have now discovered that they can change their background, with many choosing an exotic backdrop to ‘virtually travel’. Luxury holiday firm Kuoni has delved into Google Trends data and revealed the most popular destinations for Zoom background pictures, and it’s the Caribbean that’s in … Read more
A top Google executive specialising in artificial intelligence joined the Government’s science experts at a top-level coronavirus meeting, it was revealed today. Demis Hassabis, the founder and chief executive of the tech giant’s DeepMind operation, sat in on a meeting of Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) last month. His attendance at the invitation of … Read more
Google tells its employees they won’t return to company office until at least June 1st, and will use a staggered approach when it finally does bring workers back CEO Sundar Pichai wrote an all-staff email announcing the company offices would remain closed at least until June 1st He said that when the tech giant does … Read more
Internet searches for two anti-malaria drugs soared after high-profile endorsements from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk as potential treatments for the novel coronavirus, a new study finds. Because there are no treatments approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), people may end up searching for unproven therapies. Two of them are chloroquine … Read more
A new poll suggests 60 PERCENT of Americans are unable or unwilling to use coronavirus-tracking apps enabled by Google and Apple A new poll from researchers casts doubt on COVID-tracking apps’ adoption Three out of five adults are unwilling or unable to use COVID-tracking apps Likelihood to adopt an app is related to if they consider … Read more