Technology category, Page 4
China outlines more controls on exports of rare earths and technology
HONG KONG — China outlined new curbs on exports of rare earths and related technologies on Thursday, extending controls over use of the elements critical for many high-tech and military products ahead of a meeting in about three weeks between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The regulations...
RIP landline phones? If you don’t have one now, you may not be able to get one
When Andy Brady had his cable television service installed, a landline telephone number was part of the package deal. He’s never hooked a phone to it, though. That probably says something about the bleak future for landline phones, considering Brady is the market president for the Verizon Consumer Group’s Great...
AI ‘Grandparent Scams’ are on the rise in Pennsylvania
Grandparent scams are on the rise once again, but this time, AI technology is involved, officials say. AARP Pennsylvania warned residents about the resurgence and offered ways for older adults and their families to stay safe. A “Grandparent Scam” usually begins with an urgent phone call from an imposter claiming...
Shady Side Academy senior advocates for nationwide youth financial literacy
Laurence Park grew up in Los Angeles and never thought he’d end up living in Pittsburgh. But when his father was hired as a financial professor at The University of Pittsburgh in 2022, Park traded West Coast living for the hills of Western Pennsylvania. “It’s very different but there’s a...
Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration
WASHINGTON — Apple said on Thursday that it had removed ICEBlock, the most popular ICE-tracking app, and other similar apps from its App Store after it was contacted by President Donald Trump’s administration. The app alerts users to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in their area. ICE has been a...
OpenAI launches new AI video app spun from copyrighted content
OpenAI is releasing an AI video-generating app called Sora that lets people create and share AI videos that can be spun from copyrighted content and shared to social media-like streams. Copyright owners, such as television and movie studios, must opt out of having their work appear in the video feed,...
OpenAI to bring parental controls in ChatGPT after California teen’s suicide
OpenAI is rolling out parental controls for ChatGPT on the web and mobile on Monday, following a lawsuit by the parents of a teen who died by suicide after the artificial intelligence startup’s chatbot allegedly coached him on methods of self-harm. The controls let parents and teenagers opt in for...
How AI is reshaping education — from teachers to students
When Emily Sanders worked as a high school English teacher, she never imagined being tasked with teaching her colleagues how to incorporate artificial intelligence into lesson plans. “I learned how to teach Shakespeare to kids,” she said. “I didn’t learn how to teach technology to teachers.” Fast forward and Sanders...
Proof of life or too much pressure? The generational reckoning with social media
Rosemarie Powers, 21, of Irwin joined social media at 7 years old when her mother first let her open up a Facebook account. Her formative years were marred by the influence of social media — platforms parents and experts weren’t prepared for. “Parents were blindsided,” said Sophia Choukas-Bradley, licensed clinical...
Trump mulls tariffs on foreign electronics based on number of chips, sources say
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering imposing tariffs on foreign electronic devices based on the number of chips in each device, according to three people familiar with the matter, as it seeks to drive companies to shift their manufacturing to the United States. According to the plan, which has...
Instagram’s ‘deliberate design choices’ make it unsafe for teens despite Meta promises, report finds
Despite years of congressional hearings, lawsuits, academic research, whistleblowers and testimony from parents and teenagers about the dangers of Instagram, Meta’s wildly popular app has failed to protect children from harm, with “woefully ineffective” safety measures, according to a new report from former employee and whistleblower Arturo Bejar and four...
TikTok’s algorithm to be licensed to U.S. joint venture led by Oracle, Silver Lake
WASHINGTON — Tech giant Oracle will spearhead U.S. oversight of the algorithm and security underlying TikTok’s video popular platform under the terms of a deal laid out Monday by President Donald Trump’s administration. All the final details still need to be nailed down among several joint venture partners that will...
Trump reveals Murdochs and Michael Dell could potentially take part in TikTok deal
President Donald Trump said prominent billionaires — including media mogul Rupert Murdoch and tech founder Michael Dell — could be part of a deal in which the U.S. will take control of the social video platform TikTok. Trump namedropped the 94-year-old Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch, the head of...
Trump extends TikTok shutdown deadline again after reaching framework deal with China
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is extending a deadline for the social media app TikTok to shut down. It will be the fourth time that Trump has ignored federal and extended a deadline for TikTok to go out of business. Trump has signed an executive order to keep TikTok operating,...
Tesla under investigation after parents say faulty door handles trapped their kids in the back
Car safety regulators opened an investigation Tuesday into possible defects in Tesla doors that have reportedly left parents with children trapped in the back seat and forced to break windows to get them out. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the preliminary probe is focused on 2021 Tesla...
DEP gives preliminary nod to $10B Homer City plant, environmental group sounds alarm
State environmental regulators say they intend to approve an air quality plan for a proposed natural gas-fired power plant near Homer City, despite concerns from an environmental group that the facility would become the largest air polluter in Pennsylvania. The Department of Environmental Protection said the air quality plan submitted...
BNY AI lab coming to Carnegie Mellon as $10M investment in on-campus research
Bank of New York Mellon is creating an artificial intelligence lab at Carnegie Mellon University as part of a $10 million investment into research and recruiting at the school. The partnership was unveiled Thursday just before the start of Pittsburgh’s AI Horizons Summit, a two-day event for government and industry...
AI Horizons Summit brings tech leaders, ‘legacy industrial titans’ together
For the second time in just three months the city of Pittsburgh is acting as a home base for the conversation on artificial intelligence. Back in July, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick hosted the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University. Now, the AI spotlight returns as Pittsburgh’s AI...
Amazon’s Zoox launches its robotaxi service in Las Vegas
Amazon’s Zoox on Wednesday launched its robotaxi service in Las Vegas, offering free rides through parts of the entertainment mecca for anyone willing to gamble on the safety of a driverless vehicle. The Las Vegas debut of Zoox’s long-planned ride-hailing service reflects the Amazon-owned robotaxi maker’s confidence in the safety...
Apple’s iPhone 17 line-up includes new ultra-thin model and $100 price hike for Pro model
Apple on Tuesday rolled out its next generation of iPhones that includes a new ultra-thin model and a slight price hike for one of its high-end models, while the company feels the squeeze of a global trade war. The iPhone 17 line-up includes a new slimmed-down model that will adopt...
Trillion dollar man: New pay package could make Musk that much richer if Tesla thrives
The world’s richest man could become its first trillionaire if Elon Musk hits a series of extremely aggressive targets for his electric car company over the next decade, according to a proposed pay package released by the company. Tesla said in a regulatory filing Friday that it will hand Musk...
Anthropic to pay authors $1.5 billion to settle lawsuit over pirated chatbot training material
NEW YORK — Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit by book authors who say the company took pirated copies of their works to train its chatbot. The landmark settlement, if approved by a judge as soon as Monday, could mark a...
Google hit with $3.5 billion fine from European Union in ad-tech antitrust case
LONDON — European Union regulators on Friday hit Google with a 2.95 billion euro ($3.5 billion) fine for breaching the bloc’s competition rules by favoring its own digital advertising services, marking the fourth such antitrust penalty for the company. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive branch and top antitrust...
How to add TribLive as preferred source on Google
To our loyal Trib readers: There’s now a way you can make sure Trib articles show up in your Google search results. The feature is called “preferred sources,” and it was just launched this August as a way for users to curate sites they love. “You can select your favorite...
Google avoids breakup in search monopoly case, but judge orders other changes in landmark ruling
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a shake-up of Google’s search engine in a crackdown aimed at curbing the corrosive power of an illegal monopoly while rebuffing the U.S. government’s attempt to break up the company and impose other restraints. The 226-page decision made by U.S. District...
