The Latest from Sarah Wells
DARPA announces $2B investment in AI
At a symposium in Washington DC on Friday, DARPA announced plans to invest $2 billion in artificial intelligence research over the next five years. In a program called “AI Next,” the age
Tor Project launches official mobile browser for Android
Tor Project, the group behind the anonymous Tor browser, has released an alpha version of its own anonymous browser for Android. Following this release, Orfox, the longstanding Tor Project-approved
Huawei caught cheating performance test for new phones
UL, the company behind the tablet and phone performance benchmark app 3DMark, has delisted new Huawei phones from its “Best Smartphone” leaderboard after AnandTech discovered the phone mak
YouTube TV now lets you pause your subscription for up to 6 months
YouTube TV introduced a new feature to its service Thursday that allows users to pause their service between four-week and six-month periods at any time, as reported by Android Police. Unlike cancelin
Instagram launches parent portal to teach internet safety
For parents who grew up with dial-up connections and tape players, the high-speed, digital social lives of their teens can be a mystery. Today, both the good and destructive aspects of social interact
TSA to expand 3D carry-on baggage screening to reduce security wait times
The Transportation Security Agency will expand its 3D carry-on luggage scanning program it originally launched in more than a dozen airports this July. The agency originally estimated the program wou
Uber CEO: No plans to sell self-driving car unit ‘for now’
Uber has no plans to sell its self-driving car research unit “at this time,” according to the company’s chief executive. Dara Khosrowshahi said that the ride-hailing giant will ̶
Google announces ‘Dataset Search’ to help scientists and journalists tell stories
Google announced Wednesday the launch of its new “Dataset Search” to help scientists and data journalists alike sift through the data-drenched web easier and quickly find stories between
Facebook sues BlackBerry over patent infringement of voice-messaging tech
Facebook has accused BlackBerry of stealing its voice-messaging technology in its instant messaging app. In an 118-page complaint filed Tuesday in San Francisco, Facebook claimed BlackBerry infringed
Language learning app Drops adds Native Hawaiian, more than doubles downloads
Drops, the game-based language learning app, has announced Native Hawaiian as the newest addition to the app’s 30-language selection. With just under 300 Native Hawaiian speakers worldwide, acco
Graphika visualizes Twitter’s filter bubbles in the US
It’s no surprise that political discourse in America is divided — especially online. And last week in MIT Technology Review, data visualization company Graphika brought those divides to
Why engineers are looking to animals for new technology
As a race, human beings have a lot of shortcomings. We’re not very fast, not all that strong and while we have been able to create technology that helps us overcome our environments, we’re
Eventbrite files for $200 million IPO
Eventbrite filed an IPO today for $200 million, confirming reports earlier this summer that the event-planning company plans to go public later this year. According to the document, the company plans
Crater rebrands as Shyft to focus on helping global nomads move
After finally settling on a new apartment, packing your last box and rushing out to pick up your moving van for the measly three hours you could book it — have you ever taken a moment to think,
Y Combinator invests in non-invasive breast cancer screening bra EVA
According to a report by the American Cancer Society, an estimated 266,120 women will be newly diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States this year and (according to a 2016 estimate) can expec
Facebook awards $200K to Internet Defense Prize winners
Facebook announced today the winners of its annual Internet Defense Prize and awarded first-, second- and third-place winners a total of $200,000 for research papers that addressed topics of internet
The Boring Company proposes hyperloop to Dodger Stadium
The Boring Company announced a proposal yesterday to construct a 3.6 mile hyperloop to carry fans from the city directly to Dodger Stadium in less than four minutes for about $1.
This proposed loop
LA to become the first city to use body scanners in rail transit systems
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority just announced its plans to become the first city to use portable body scanners in its subway and light-rail systems to help detect the pre
Turkish President Erdogan calls for boycott of US tech
Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a boycott of all U.S. technology during a speech in the country’s capital city of Ankara. “Every product that we buy in foreign cu
Y Combinator invests in HappiLabs to help scientists shop smarter
To create life-saving drugs or groundbreaking technological advancements, scientists first need the proper lab equipment. Everything from intricate and expensive specialized machines to beakers and ru