Weckert managed to fool Google Maps into reporting non-existent traffic jams by wheeling around a cartful of 99 phones down the streets of berlin. Wherever Weckert went, a jam appeared. Weckert tried his scheme last summer, but only revealed the results this week for Google Maps’ 15th birthday. It’s an incredibly simple tactic (assuming you have access to 99 phones), but one that appears to have worked perfectly. You can watch the results of the experiment here: As you might know by now, Google determines traffic information largely thanks to our phone data sending broad location cues, which Maps can then use to suggest specific routes avoiding the jammed roads....

Ease of shipping There will be a massive increase in vehicles on the road with the advent of fully-autonomous technology. Long-haul delivery vehicles could largely become operated with no passengers inside, and will likely not even have a place for a passenger. They will cruise down highways and across borders. Law enforcement is currently unable to scan every vehicle on the road as it is, yet alone after the vehicle traffic increases....

Ahem. While there’s already tons of advice for overcoming impostor syndrome, I find it usually falls into one of two buckets: The first angle is clearly useless, and the second, I’d argue, is neither possible nor advisable. Hot take: you cannot successfully fake being confident. Not to say it wouldn’t be useful if you could. Research shows that when it comes to appearing competent, confidence is as (or more) persuasive than actual competence in getting people to think you know what you’re doing....

— Paul Graham (@paulg) October 12, 2019 Bel is interesting, not least because it highlights the enduring and improbable longevity of one of the earliest high-level programming languages. That’s no small feat, especially given the hype-driven nature of the software development sphere, where front-end JavaScript frameworks emerge and disappear on a near-weekly basis. That said, before we delve into the technical weeds, it’s probably worth doing a bit of a recap on LISP....

The economic shock that followed has turned this on its head, with monumental ramifications for the startup community and the broader tech sector. Despite Vestager’s efforts to manage their influence and restrict monopolies, we’ve seen a resurgence in the profile of Big Tech companies – mainly because society needs them. Whether by enabling the contact tracing apps that monitor the spread of the virus, facilitating remote working, battling disinformation or simply by keeping us entertained during lockdown, the pandemic has provided an opportunity for the world’s largest tech firms to prove how indispensable they are....

iFinex claimed that the New York State Attorney General (NYAG) lacked the relevant jurisdiction to investigate the cryptocurrency exchange and stablecoin issuer as it claims it doesn’t serve customers in the state. The court didn’t see it the same way. As a result, the NYAG’s inquiry will continue and iFinex will have to provide evidence and documents at the request of the courts. “The Court finds based on the evidence and applicable law that it has jurisdiction – and a clear statutory mandate – to adjudicate this matter,” court documents read....

The average American checks their phone 80 times a day. That’s once every 12 minutes. And a prime reason for all those eyeballs is apps. Whether it’s a grab-your-attention notification alert or just a casual check-in, apps and all they bring command our waking hours. The ability to come up with and then create an app is an increasingly vital skill, whether your career is in web development or not....

Sorry, we’re late this month. Since we last spoke, Anouk went to Thailand, Cara trained with Chelsea FC, and Georgina started her new role as editor + content creative. WHO SAYS WOMEN CAN’T HAVE IT ALL??? Each month, our gloriously gifted designer, Saïna, illustrates a weird comment or tweet we receive from one of TNW’s misogynistic, or just funny, readers. Here’s the latest: Now, TJ wasn’t lying… here’s Saïna’s artistic interpretation: BY THE WAY!...

In 2020, more than 6,500 people were struck and killed while walking in the country. A new report by Smart Growth America lays most of the blame on roadways. “Our nation’s streets are dangerous by design, designed primarily to move cars quickly at the expense of keeping everyone safe,” the study authors wrote. The campaigners want streets to be redesigned for pedestrian safety. A new AI experiment imagines the outcomes....

According to the Vancouver Island Free Daily, Campbell River police pulled over a vehicle last week. Boring! But it gets better. After some erratic maneuvers and failing to stay in its lane, officers believed that the vehicle was being driven by a drunk person. So they stopped it to investigate further. Nothing unusual here. When the police investigated the driver and passenger of the car, they found they were both completely sober....

If you’ve been in a health food store recently — or just follow any wellness social media accounts — you’ll have come across CBD. For those not in the know, CBD stands for cannabidiol, which is one of the chemical components (specifically, the cannabinoids) that are in the marijuana plant. Now, the most famous of these is THC. That’s the part that gets you high, but what CBD does is different....

CDs have a bad rep. While vinyl and even cassettes have gone through a bit of a revival, very few people give a single, solitary fuck about CDs. Which is a massive shame. CDs are a great format. They’re hardy, easy-to-use, long-lasting, and produce brilliant-sounding music at a higher quality than the majority of streaming services. On top of that, you can get CDs pretty damn cheap these days, as public demand is so low....

Credit: OpenAI Microscope, so named because it puts neural networks under a metaphorical microscope to expose their inner workings, is a visual method for showing what a neural network’s expansive system of layers and nodes looks like. According to OpenAI’s Microscope website: Researchers can use these accurate models to compare differences in neural networks, much like they would compare cells under an actual microscope. Without such visualizations, developers are forced to compare raw output data – something that’s not always useful....

When most people think about the SCS, they imagine it primarily as a scoring mechanism, a way for the central government to rank China’s citizens and companies based on their behavior. But that’s a skewed misconception of what social credit actually is. The social credit system, at its core, is perhaps better described as a data-sharing service; the more technical among you could reasonably think of it as a massive national API....

The company announced the acquisition news via a blog post today. “…We’ve decided that a future inside ConsenSys is the best future for our team, our users and this rapidly emerging ecosystem,” the post reads. “As a result, we are pleased to announce that ConsenSys has formally acquired all of the rights to Infura and Infura will continue as a wholly owned business unit within ConsenSys,” it adds. While the acquisition may indeed spell good news for both companies involved, it’s likely it will ruffle feathers among decentralization supporters, following claims about Infura’s alleged centralization....

Up front: The SFC’s problem with GitHub stems from accusations that Microsoft and OpenAI trained an AI system called Copilot on data that was published under an open-source license. Open-source code isn’t like a donations box where you can just take whatever you want and use it in any way you choose. It’s more like photography. Just because a photographer doesn’t charge you to use one of their images, you’re still ethically and legally required to give credit where it’s due....

Chief among their concerns is the testing for immunity. Immunity passports would rely on antibody tests that show someone has recovered from the infection. But scientists still don’t know how long someone remains immune to the coronavirus — or even if they can become immune at all. As the World Health Organization warned in April: Onfido, an ID verification firm that’s in talks with the government, believes a digital immunity passport can solve this problem, as it can be updated whenever new evidence emerges....

Dressed in all white and donning a backward baseball cap, President Nayib Bukele looked more like a pop star than a politician as he described an ecological metropolis funded by Bitcoin-backed bonds. He compared his strategy to that of Alexander the Great founding cities that he humbly named after himself: — Nayib Bukele ?? (@nayibbukele) November 22, 2021 Bukele, who once “jokingly” described himself as “the coolest dictator in the world,” shared some key details on how he hoped to build his Alexandria....

— CD PROJEKT RED (@CDPROJEKTRED) January 16, 2020 This is far from the only game to be delayed so far this year. It’s becoming something of an epidemic. The Final Fantasy VII Remake was delayed from March to April, and the Avengers game has moved from May to September. But the Cyberpunk delay is the longest yet. CDPR says in its announcement on Twitter that, while the game is playable, it needs fixes, polish, and playtesting....

My school education was in my native language, Gujarati. So, my formal introduction to English was much later in my education. In effect, I have never studied Shakespeare or any of ‘classic’ English literature. Harry Potter was one of the first English novels I read, and I really appreciate those stories that got me reading more books. I even indulged in Harry Potter related games and spent countless hours on Pottermore....