On Oct. 17, the fifth-grade teachers at North Star Academy in Redwood City sent an email to parents. “Students should not be wearing Apple watches in class,” the teachers wrote to parents, the second such warning of the school year. “We have had a number of instances where students have been texting or messaging other
Apple Watches a growing distraction in elementary schools Read More »
SB 680 aimed to hold social media companies accountable for content that promotes eating disorder, suicide and drug addiction.
Social Media Bill Expected to Return to California Lawmakers in 2024 Read More »
In his speech, Obama contrasted the original internet to today’s online landscape, identified the missteps of social media companies and issued direct calls to action for government, tech companies and Stanford students.
In Stanford speech Obama speaks about misinformation and how it threatens democracy Read More »
Music streaming service Spotify launched its annual “Wrapped” campaign — a data-driven feature that showcases the artists and genres that people listened to the most, individualized reports of user data highlighting users’ top songs and podcasts of the year, how many minutes users spent streaming music and podcasts, and cultural trends that shaped 2020.
Behind the Scenes of Spotify Wrapped Read More »
Since September, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have made personal donations of $400 million to date, to help election offices across the country secure more staffing, training, and equipment to administer the November 3 elections.
Zuckerberg Helps Key Swing States Like Michigan Pay for Election Infrastructure Read More »
SUNNYVALE — Some Silicon Valley techies are trying to invest in their communities through advocacy work and engagement in local government.
SILICON VALLEY — Demographic data on employees who self-identify as having a disability is often some of the last to be added to diversity reports for tech companies. And some major tech firms still lack resource groups focused on disability. The Tech Disability Project is a place where tech workers with disabilities can meet, share their experiences, and discuss their hopes for disability advocacy in the tech industry.
Tech disability community meets for conversation and connection Read More »
CALIFORNIA — In September, even before the October wildfires began to ravage parts of northern and southern California, governor Gavin Newsom announced two contracts totaling nearly $2 million for developing technology to facilitate wildfire detection and emergency decision-making.
As fires rage, California takes steps to integrate technology into wildfire management Read More »
MENLO PARK — Former Facebook software engineer Yi Yin didn’t expect to lose his job when he picked up the microphone during a protest last month at the entrance of the social media giant’s headquarters in Menlo Park.
Facebook employee, fired after attending protest, has no regrets Read More »
Last month, tech writer Kate O’Neill sparked a debate online, with a sarcastic tweet speculating that Facebook’s “Ten Year Challenge” was really a ploy by the social media company to fuel it’s facial recognition machine learning algorithms. Her subsequent
Machine learning explained: How Facebook uses it to learn more about you Read More »
SILICON VALLEY — Lea Coligado was 19 years old when she held a summer internship at a small software company in Silicon Valley. While there, she faced comments about how women don’t code because they are better at art and heard insinuations that women’s brains were just not wired to handle the algorithmic complexity that their male counterparts could. Instead of complimenting her code, she received comments about her clothes.
Women of Silicon Valley: A safe haven for women in technology Read More »
PALO ALTO — After nine years of patrolling the tracks at Palo Alto’s Caltrain railroad crossings, the last of the human guards were replaced with cameras as part of the city’s Track Watch program – a suicide prevention initiative.
Palo Alto replaces Caltrain track guards with cameras in suicide prevention program Read More »
