Category: Technology

TOKYO: A city in Japan is set to advise all smartphone users to restrict screen time to two hours a day outside work or school, under a proposed ordinance that carries no penalties. The guideline — aimed at residents of Toyoake City in central Japan — will be not be binding and there will be no penalties for exceeding the suggested limit, according to the draft. The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues… including sleep problems,” mayor Masafumi Koki said in a…

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TOKYO: A city in Japan is set to advise all smartphone users to restrict screen time to two hours a day outside work or school, under a proposed ordinance that carries no penalties. The guideline — aimed at residents of Toyoake City in central Japan — will be not be binding and there will be no penalties for exceeding the suggested limit, according to the draft. The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues… including sleep problems,” mayor Masafumi Koki said in a…

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SAN FRANCISCO: Google has rolled out a new programme called Gemini for Government, offering artificial intelligence tools to US agencies at no cost, the government announced on Thursday. The aim, officials said, is to help departments work faster, solve problems more easily, and bring modern technology into everyday government tasks. A suite of AI and cloud computing services called “Gemini for Government” from Google is intended to speed up the adoption of the technology across the US government, the General Services Administration (GSA) said in a joint statement. “Gemini for Government gives…

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Scientists warned that rapid melting of Antarctic sea ice could trigger irreversible climate changes, including sea level rises, loss of marine life and changes to ocean currents. The paper in the journal Nature aimed to describe in previously unseen detail the interlocking effects of global warming on the Antarctic, the frozen continent at the planet’s South Pole. “Evidence is emerging for rapid, interacting and sometimes self-perpetuating changes in the Antarctic environment,” it said. The study gathered data from observations, ice cores, and ship logbooks to chart long-term changes in the area of…

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The White House opened an official TikTok account on Tuesday, even as President Donald Trump continues to allow the Chinese-owned platform to operate in the US despite legislation mandating its sale. “America, we are BACK! What’s up TikTok?” read a caption on the account’s first post on the popular video-sharing app, a 27-second clip. The account had about 4,500 followers an hour after posting the video. Trump’s account on TikTok, meanwhile, has 110.1 million followers, though his last post was on November 5, 2024 — Election Day. TikTok is owned…

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Google agreed on Monday to pay a A$55 million ($35.8 million) fine in Australia after the consumer watchdog found it had hurt competition by paying the country’s two largest telcos to pre-install its search application on Android phones, excluding rival search engines. The fine extends a bumpy period for the Alphabet-owned internet giant in Australia, where last week a court mostly ruled against it in a lawsuit brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games accusing Google and Apple of preventing rival application stores in their operating systems. Google’s YouTube was also…

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The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) has confirmed that the country’s remote sensing satellite, launched last month from the China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, has become operational following its successful deployment in the space. “The satellite has established stable contact with ground stations and begun capturing and transmitting high-resolution imagery, greatly enhancing data availability and reliability for various national sectors,” read the statement issued by the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco). The satellite, it added, will deliver high-quality imaging capabilities to support a wide range of applications, revolutionising…

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BEIJING: The world’s first-ever humanoid robot games began on Friday in Beijing, with over 500 androids alternating between jerky tumbles and glimpses of real power as they compete in events from the 100-metre hurdles to kung fu. Hundreds of robotics teams from 16 countries are going for gold at the Chinese capital’s National Speed Skating Oval, built for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The games include traditional sports like athletics and basketball, as well as practical tasks such as medicine categorisation and cleaning. “I believe in the next 10 years or…

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SAN FRANCISCO: YouTube has introduced artificial intelligence to help determine whether users are genuinely adults or minors posing as adult on the popular video-sharing platform. The move that aims to stop children from sneaking past age checks is part of efforts to prevent underage children from accessing material intended for older audiences. The new safeguard is being rolled out in the United States as Google-owned YouTube and social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok come under scrutiny to shield children from content aimed at grown-ups. A version of AI…

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WASHINGTON: AI chatbot Grok on Tuesday gave conflicting reasons for its brief suspension from X after alleging that Israel and the United States were committing “genocide” in Gaza, while accusing owner Elon Musk of “censoring me”. Developed by Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI and integrated into his social media platform X, Grok was temporarily taken offline on Monday in the latest controversy to surround the chatbot. No official explanation was provided for the suspension. Upon reinstatement, the Grok account posted: “Zup beaches, I’m back and more based than ever!”  …

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