Google

Google’s parent company Alphabet has reportedly more than doubled its profits after companies massively invested in digital advertising to reach people working and interacting online during the coronavirus pandemic. The Times reports that profits at Google-parent Alphabet have more than doubled this year due to a major increase in advertising investment from companies attempting to reach people working online during the coronavirus pandemic. Alphabet has been largely boosted by “elevated consumer activity online” as it again beat Wall Street’s expectations. The tech giant’s revenue jumped by 34 percent to $55.31 billion in a record-breaking first quarter, bringing its overall net profits to $17.93 billion. Alphabet’s shares are now on track to reach a new high following the earnings report. Alphabet is now valued at more than $1.5 trillion and makes more money from digital advertising than any other company. Alphabet sells advertising space on Google’s search engine and … [Read more...] about Google’s Parent Company Doubles Profits Thanks to Pandemic Advertising Boom

Google announced on Thursday that it is launching a “Grow with Google Career Readiness for Reentry” program designed to offer job readiness and digital skill training for former prisoners. The Grow with Google Career Readiness for Reentry program was created in partnership with the nonprofit organizations, including The Ladies of Hope Ministries (LOHM), Center for Employment Opportunities, Defy Ventures, Fortune Society, and The Last Mile, according to a blog post by LOHM founder Topeka Sam. In her post, Sam says that “more than 600,000 people make the transition from prisons to the community each year” in the United States, and that “many face systemic barriers to entering the workforce.” “The unemployment rate for people impacted by incarceration is five times the national average,” writes Sam, who goes on to claim that “systemic racism in the justice system” makes it so that black people are “disproportionately” affected with regards to higher unemployment rates. … [Read more...] about Google Announces Career Training for Ex-Cons

A coalition of “human rights” organizations, many of them funded by Google, have written an open letter to President Joe Biden urging the creation of a “Disinformation Defense and Free Expression Task Force.” Congratulating Biden on his “impressive first hundred days” as President, the “coalition of human rights, free speech, democracy, and technology organizations” recommends the creation of a federal interagency task force to contain what the organizations describe as the “clear and present threat” of disinformation. In the letter, published by Axios , the organizations call disinformation a threat to “democracy,” and blame it for the Capitol riot. As we think about the next four years, we are keenly aware of the challenge the rampant spread of disinformation poses to our nation. The prevalence of deceptions, propaganda, and conspiracy theories related to the 2020 election , COVID-19, and the recent Capitol insurrection illustrates the clear and present threat that … [Read more...] about Google-Funded Orgs Declare ‘Disinformation’ a ‘Threat to Free Speech’

The two top senators on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust have sent a letter to Google asking about a phone call the company made to Match Group, the developer behind the Tinder dating app, a day before its top lawyer was set to testify about the company’s treatment on the Google Play app store. Match claims the call was an attempt to pressure the company into making positive comments about the Masters of the Universe. CNBC reports that the chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and ranking member Sen. Mike Lee, (R-UT), have sent a letter to Google this week requesting more information on a phone call between Google and Match Group a day before the Tinder app developer’s lawyer was set to testify about the company’s treatment on the Google Play app store. Match Chief Legal Officer Jared Sine told senators during last week’s hearing that employees at Google called Match after Sine’s opening testimony became public. Sine … [Read more...] about Senators Question Google over Bullying Tinder the Day Before Hearing

Apple has reportedly hired a former Google AI veteran who quit the company amidst a scandal over the company’s firing of two female AI ethics researchers. Engadget reports that Google AI veteran Samy Bengio has joined Apple after quitting Google in protest of the company’s treatment of two female AI ethics researchers. Bengio will reportedly lead a new AI research unit at Apple where he will join multiple former Google employees and Apple’s current VP of machine learning and AI strategy, John Giannandrea. Bengio left Google last week after 14 years working at the firm following Google’s controversial firing of two AI ethics researchers, Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell. Both researchers reported to Bengio on multiple projects. The two researchers were advocates of diversity in their field and had warned of the dangers of large language models and algorithmic bias in Google products. In a statement posted to Facebook following Gebru’s firing, Bengio stated that he was … [Read more...] about Apple Hires AI Researcher Who Quit Google During Ethics Scandal