Technology

The United Nations' digital agency reports that operational carbon emissions from leading technology companies increased an average of 150 percent between 2020 and 2023, driven by artificial intelligence investments and expanding data center operations that significantly boosted global electricity consumption. Amazon's operational emissions surged 182 percent in 2023 compared to 2020 levels, while Microsoft recorded 155 percent growth, Meta increased 145 percent, and Google's parent company Alphabet rose 138 percent during the same timeframe, according to the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU). These figures encompass both direct operational emissions and those from purchased energy consumption, as detailed in ITU's new assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from the world's top 200 digital companies spanning 2020 to 2023. The UN agency attributes this sharp increase to recent AI breakthroughs and growing demand for digital services including cloud computing. "Advances in digital innovation […]

Amazon has unveiled a new robotic system called Vulcan at an event in Dortmund, Germany, describing it as "its first robotic system with a genuine sense of touch—designed to transform how robots interact with the physical world." Vulcan's primary purpose is warehouse operations, specifically stowing and picking items within Amazon's mobile robotic inventory system. The technology is detailed in two upcoming papers in IEEE Transactions on Robotics. Significant progress has been made since initial development, particularly in stowing operations. According to Aaron Parness, director of applied science at Amazon Robotics, the stowing robots have improved speed and reliability over more than 500,000 operational warehouse stows, reaching the point where the average robot now slightly outpaces the average human stower. The stowing process at Amazon involves placing products into mobile robotic pods containing fabric cubbies (bins) with elastic bands across the […]

The growing influence of generative AI on traditional search engines was highlighted when Apple's senior vice president of services reported that Safari web browsing decreased for the first time in two decades, attributing this decline to users shifting to large language models (LLMs). Google contested these assertions, stating its search engine continues "to see overall query growth." However, emerging data suggests ChatGPT is making inroads in online shopping behavior. A survey by Datos revealed that between late October and mid-January, Amazon.com was the most frequently visited domain referred from ChatGPT's search function, accounting for 9.13% of all traffic. E-commerce domains collectively received 12.65% of traffic, falling behind news (21.42%) and academic (17.81%) domains. The rising trend of AI-assisted shopping is transforming marketing strategies. While traditional marketing has centered on search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to improve visibility in Google results—focusing […]

A US judge has determined that Google maintains an illegal monopoly in online advertising technology, marking the tech giant's second antitrust loss within a year. The lawsuit, brought by the US Department of Justice and 17 states, successfully argued that Google illegally dominates the technology determining online ad placement. This ruling follows an earlier decision that found Google also held a monopoly in online search. Google has announced plans to appeal the decision. "Publishers have many options and they choose Google because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective," stated Lee-Ann Mulholland, Google's head of regulatory affairs. In her ruling, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema declared Google had "wilfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts" allowing it to "acquire and maintain monopoly power" in the market. "This exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google's publisher customers, the competitive process, […]

The US Embassy in Zambia has issued an alert to American citizens about a new cybersecurity law that requires surveillance of electronic communications in the country. The embassy warned Americans "in or planning to visit Zambia of a new law that requires the interception and surveillance of all electronic communications in the country," including calls, emails, texts and streamed content to check for "critical information," a term described as "so broadly defined that it could apply to almost any activity." Zambia's government defended the law as necessary to combat online fraud, child pornography, and disinformation. The foreign ministry responded that the Cyber Security Act is "not intended to invade any person's privacy" of either Zambians or foreigners, stating: "The Law does not authorize mass or random surveillance. Any interception or data request requires a court-issued warrant." The government clarified that […]

A significant antitrust trial against Meta commenced Monday in Washington, where the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges the social media giant engaged in anticompetitive practices by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC contends that Meta, which owned Facebook, purchased Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 specifically to eliminate competition and establish a monopoly. Although the FTC initially reviewed and approved these acquisitions with a commitment to monitor outcomes, a victory in this case could force Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to divest both platforms. Meta has expressed confidence in winning the case. Experts suggest the company will likely argue that Instagram users have benefited from Meta's ownership. "The FTC's argument is that the acquisition of Instagram was a way of neutralizing this rising competitive threat to Facebook," explains Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor of antitrust at Vanderbilt Law School. Allensworth […]