Matt O'Brien | Manufacturing Business Technology

David Limp, senior vice president of Devices and Services at Amazon, displays a new Echo, left, and an Echo Plus during an event announcing several new Amazon products by the company, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, in Seattle. On Tuesday, June 8, 2021 Amazon launched a program that forces users of many Echo smart speakers and Ring security cameras to automatically share a small portion of their wireless bandwidth with neighbors. The only way to stop it is to turn it off yourself.

Amazon May Be Helping Itself to your Bandwidth

Some experts warn that the technology is so new that privacy and security risks remain unclear.

June 10, 2021

In this Nov. 10, 2016, file photo, people walk past a Microsoft office in New York. China-based government hackers have exploited a bug in Microsoft's email server software to target U.S. organizations, the company said Tuesday, March 2, 2021.

Microsoft: China-based Hackers Found Bug to Target US Firms

Microsoft said the group is based in China but operates from leased virtual private servers in the U.S., helping it avoid detection.

March 2, 2021

Amazon Bans Police Use of its Facial Recognition Tech

The moratorium will be in place for one year.

June 10, 2020

In this Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020 photo, John Brownstein, right, co-founder of HealthMap, a system using artificial intelligence to monitor global disease outbreaks, speaks on a phone in a HealthMap work area at Boston Children's Hospital in Boston.

AI's Role in Virus Outbreak Detection

In the final days of 2019, an AI system in Boston sent out the first global alert about a new viral outbreak in China.

February 20, 2020

Amazon Sues Over Lost $10B Contract

The Pentagon awarded the cloud computing project to Microsoft in October.

February 11, 2020

In this Nov. 29, 2019, file photo, a metal head made of motor parts symbolizes artificial intelligence, or AI, at the Essen Motor Show for tuning and motorsports in Essen, Germany. The Trump administration is proposing new rules guiding how the U.S. government regulates the use of artificial intelligence in medicine, transportation and other industries. The White House unveiled the proposals Tuesday, Jan. 7, and said they're meant to promote private sector applications of AI that are safe and fair.

White House Proposes Regulating AI

But the vagueness of the principles announced by the White House is unlikely to satisfy AI watchdogs.

January 8, 2020

In this Dec. 4, 2019, file photo commuters pass through the World Trade Center in New York. A study by a U.S. agency has found that facial recognition technology often performs unevenly based on a person's race, gender or age. This is the first time the National Institute of Standards and Technology has investigated demographic differences in how face-scanning algorithms are able to identify people.

Race, Gender Affect Face-Scanning

The report suggests higher error rates for women, the youngest and oldest people, and for certain racial groups.

December 20, 2019

In this Feb. 14, 2019, file photo people stand in the lobby for Amazon offices in New York. Amazon says President Donald Trump's “improper pressure' and behind-the-scenes attacks harmed its chances of winning a $10 billion Pentagon contract. Amazon argues in a lawsuit unsealed Monday, Dec. 9, that the decision should be revisited because of “substantial and pervasive errors' and Trump's interference.

Amazon Suit Cites Trump's 'Improper Pressure'

Amazon argues in a lawsuit unsealed Monday that the decision should be revisited because of “substantial and pervasive errors" and Trump's interference.

December 9, 2019

Google

Tech Titans' AI Concerns

'Ethical AI' has become a buzz word for addressing bias in facial recognition, anxieties about job losses to the technology, and its use by law enforcement.

November 19, 2019

Google Touts Quantum Computing Milestone

They say an experimental quantum processor has completed a calculation in just a few minutes that would take a traditional supercomputer thousands of years.

October 23, 2019

Big Tech Oil And Gas Ap

Despite Eco Pledges, Big Tech Wants Big Oil

Microsoft and other tech giants have been competing with one another to strike lucrative partnerships with ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and other energy firms.

October 2, 2019

AI Surveillance Expanding Worldwide

At least 75 countries are actively using AI tools such as facial recognition.

September 18, 2019

Microsoft

Microsoft Growth Beats Expectations

This sector of the business helped contribute to quarterly profits of over $13 billion.

July 19, 2019

Tech

Congress Grills Big Tech

Lawmakers are trying to determine if their business practices run afoul of century-old laws originally designed to combat railroad and oil monopolies.

July 17, 2019

Amazon

Amazon, Microsoft Battle Over 'War Cloud'

The $10B contract covers a computing project that will store and process classified data, and enable the military to speed up its use of AI.

July 9, 2019