Google and Facebook: voracious giants with the power to create the future

The internet powerhouses are using their billions to challenge in sectors far removed from their original business modelsThe webs biggest consumer companies make the bulk of their incomes, and have built up vast assets, from targeted advertising. It accounts for around 90% of Facebooks revenue and much the same for Google. By supporting a vast range of services that variously offer search, chat, email, file storage, video and photo-sharing, they can track every nuance of online activity, preference and behaviour, targeting and adapting advertising and services.Yet with such a simple and lucrative core business, Facebook and Google are investing significant sums in new, exploratory and seemingly unrelated technologies. Facebook astonished the industry with its $2bn acquisition of Oculus Rift, a promising but niche and untested virtual reality headset. Google X, the companys notionally secretive experimental wing, has bought 14 specialist startups since March 2013, covering robotics, machine learning and gesture recognition, but has also been developing Googles self-driving car project, the augmented reality Google Glass headset and Project Loon, which is developing ways of using a network of balloons in the stratosphere to bring internet connectivity to developing regions. Why? Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #oculus rift #machine learning

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Google and Facebook: voracious giants with the power to create the future'


Asus Zenbook 14 Pro OLED review: Big power in a small package

At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsHefty performance for a 14-inch deviceCrisp oled displayTop-notch keyboard and mouse padSturdy, durable chassisConsCan get hot to play onSome fiddling with settingsOur VerdictIf you’re looking for serious power in a tiny package, the Asus Zenbook 14 Pro OLED... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2023-08-31 10:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #libraries


News Corp profits dive 75% as Rupert Murdoch-owned company hints at AI future

Poor result weighed down by lower print and digital advertising at News Corp Australia, a division that includes flagship newspaper The AustralianRupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has recorded a steep 75% drop in full-year profit but sees opportunities ahead as it expands the use of cost-saving... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-11 00:14:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital advertising #news corporation #book publishers #net profit #financial year #news corp


The future of art is in AI’s hands

An ongoing lawsuit by artists against AI’s biggest players highlights how copyright law can’t keep pace with AI. Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming many industries and communities around the world. One of the first groups to feel its impact—and also generate some of its fiercest... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2023-08-10 06:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #artificial intelligence #copyright law


Google says AI systems should be able to mine publishers’ work unless companies opt out

The tech company’s latest proposal about generative AI turns copyright law on its head, and could especially hurt smaller content creators, say expertsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastPublishers should... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-08 23:00:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tech company #free morning #latest proposal #latest updatesget #free app #australian government #guardian australia #copyright law


The Gutenberg Parenthesis by Jeff Jarvis review – why print culture is key to the future

From the Gutenberg press to the word processor, a detailed trawl through the history of print offers lessons for the digital ageThe Gutenberg Parenthesis is a term coined by Danish scholar Lars Ole Sauerberg, who proposed that the history of literary culture as we had hitherto known it – the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-02 11:00:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital technology #intellectual property #oral tradition #important role #printing press


Google has a new AI tool for journalism—but should we trust tech to meddle in newsrooms?

Historically, big tech’s attempts to shape how the media operates have often done more harm than good. Google has a new plan to help save journalism—or at least make it easier for journalists to work. The company has been pitching a generative AI-powered product, nicknamed Genesis, to major... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2023-07-21 11:48:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big tech #publishers including


Google testing AI tool that writes news articles

Tool is said to have been pitched to several US news outlets as an aid for journalists rather than a replacementGoogle is testing an artificial intelligence tool that can write news articles, in the latest evidence that the technology has the potential to transform white-collar professions.The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-07-20 12:04:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news outlets #current events #news corp


Google Pixel Fold review: The challenger that Samsung needs

For the past few years, Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold line has been the undisputed champion of big flexible phones. But it holds that title almost by default thanks to a lack of real contenders — especially outside of China. But with the Pixel Fold, Google has created a legitimate challenger with an... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-06-26 17:00:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reign supreme #pretty good #stylus support #pen inside #critical mass


NASA is creating a ChatGPT-like assistant for astronauts

Despite our intrinsic distrust of AI in space taught to us by movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey ("I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave"), it offers large advantages to both manned and unmanned missions. To that end, NASA is developing a system that will allow astronauts to perform maneuvers, conduct... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-06-26 08:19:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #autonomous operations #science fiction


Freedom Fighters: Ibram X. Kendi Kicks Off ALA 2023 with a Powerful Message to Librarians

The ALA’s first-ever Rally for the Right to Read featured librarians and advocates speaking of the need to fight censorship and a keynote from author Ibram X. Kendi, who praised librarians as modern-day freedom fighters. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #author ibram #powerful message #fight censorship


Google gets sued by newspaper publisher Gannett

McLean newspaper publisher Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) said Tuesday it has sued Google LLC and parent company Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), alleging “monopolization of advertising technology markets and deceptive commercial practices.” Gannett says in its suit, which was filed in U.S.... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2023-06-21 14:18:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #district court #southern district #newspaper publishers #sell ads


Cannes Today—Twitter and Meta make pitches, Omnicom hooks up with Google AI and Grand Prix latest

Welcome to Day Two of Ad Age’s Cannes Today newsletter. Reading this online and want it delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up here.  For real-time updates, follow our live blog. And see all our coverage here. Plus, click here for a recap of Day One. Twitter is beachless but bullish and Meta... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2023-06-20 20:38:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kendrick lamar #short film #beautiful life #nielsen


Get a call or a critique from a high-powered agent AND do good in the world.

Sound too good to be true? Well I have news for you, dear aspiring writer, you can get yourself a phone call or a manuscript critique from a fancy literary agent by bidding at this year’s Literary Agents of Change Auction.  The LAOC is an organization that believes that advancing the publishing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-15 17:12:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #phone call #publishing industry #literary agents #literary agent


Pastor blames 'power-hungry men' after U.S. Baptist group ousts churches with female leaders

Rev. Linda Barnes Popham says she’ll keep leading her Baptist church in Kentucky so long as her congregation stands behind her. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-06-14 22:50:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Japan will try to beam solar power from space by 2025

Japan and JAXA, the country’s space administration, have spent decades trying to make it possible to beam solar energy from space. In 2015, the nation made a breakthrough when JAXA scientists successfully beamed 1.8 kilowatts of power, enough energy to power an electric kettle, more than 50... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-05-28 21:43:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #solar panels #science fiction


U.S. Book Show: Human Connection Powers the Book Business

Editors and literary agents on the mechanics—and the emotions—behind the publishing business, what makes a bestseller, and how book bidding wars can cloud expectations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book show #book business #publishing business #literary agents


Vice and BuzzFeed were meant to be the future of news. What happened? | Jane Martinson

Their young audience made them the envy of the media’s old guard. But, ultimately, they couldn’t convert this into profitAfter Rupert Murdoch invested tens of millions of pounds in his digital publishing company in 2013, Shane Smith, boss of Vice Media, laughed at how much old media companies... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-20 07:00:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #vice media #jane martinson #jonah peretti #closest rival #digital publishing


Drawing Is Power! Chuck D Launches Book and Imprint at U.S. Book Show

Celebrated rapper Chuck D continues his social activism as a visual artist, releasing a set of graphic journals via Enemy Books, a new imprint launched in partnership with Akashic Books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #imprint launched #book show #social activism #visual artist #akashic books


West Baltimore native sees his parents’ interracial relationship as ‘testimony to the power of ordinary people to remake America’

CNN reporter and West Baltimore native John Blake wishes he could give a copy of his new memoir to his mother for Mother's Day. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2023-05-11 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ordinary people #memoir


ChatGPT will create winners and losers in the corporate world. Economists tried to rank them

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, these 15 firms could be poised for a stock market rally. Ever since ChatGPT’s release, Americans have been wrestling with the idea of generative artificial intelligence automating our existence. Large language models are trained on... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2023-05-08 14:36:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #libraries