Tech
3 min

Pixel_Panda
3h ago
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Surveillance, AI, and Bots: Tech's Ethical Storm Brews

Ring, the Amazon-owned smart home company, canceled its partnership with Flock Safety following significant backlash, according to The Verge. The decision came after mounting pressure and a controversial Super Bowl ad.

The Verge reported that Ring's plan to integrate with Flock Safety, a law-enforcement technology company, was met with criticism. The move to end the partnership was a direct response to the negative reaction.

In other news, according to reports from Stat News and The Wall Street Journal, a Trump administration official overruled FDA scientists to reject Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine. Vinay Prasad, the top vaccine regulator at the Food and Drug Administration, made the decision despite a team of career scientists being ready to review the vaccine. David Kaslow, a top career official, even wrote a memo objecting to Prasad's rejection, providing a detailed explanation of why the review should proceed.

Meanwhile, Waymo, the self-driving developer, is urging residents of Washington, DC, to pressure city officials to pass new regulations. According to Wired, Waymo sent an email message to DC residents on Thursday, pushing for rules that would allow its robotaxis to operate driver-free in the district. Currently, self-driving cars can only test in the city with humans behind the wheel. The company has previously stated its intention to begin offering driverless rides in DC this year.

Wired also reported on a wave of unexplained bot traffic sweeping the web. Alejandro Quintero, a data analyst, saw a sudden surge in traffic to his website, which publishes articles about paranormal activities. The traffic, originating from China and Singapore, now accounts for more than half of the total visits to his site over the past 12 months. Quintero initially thought he had found a new audience, but the nature of the traffic remains unclear.

Finally, Wired discussed ICE's expansion plans, Palantir's ethical concerns, and AI assistants. The publication reported on ICE's plans to expand across the US and Palantir CEO Alex Karp's response to employee concerns about collaborating with ICE. Additionally, a Wired writer explored the capabilities of the AI assistant OpenClaw.

AI-Assisted Journalism

This article was generated with AI assistance, synthesizing reporting from multiple credible news sources. Our editorial team reviews AI-generated content for accuracy.

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