First Humanoid Robot Factory

Per a recent write-up in Axios, a factory that produces humanoid robots is set to open in Salem, Oregon as early as 2025, with a number of massive implications for businesses and the general workforce. These bipedal bots are expected to be produced in the tens of thousands annually, with a number already set to ship to warehouse chains such as Amazon to assist with loading and unloading large boxes. The production of these automatons has been sped up by manufacturers citing competition from Beijing, China, where corporate interests project a mass production of robots by 2025.   READ MORE...

Around the World

Amazon to use rival SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets to deploy the first batch of its space-based internet satellites; SpaceX operates competitor Starlink, which already provides near-global coverage (More)

Israeli forces push south into Gaza amid US pressure to protect civilians; Palestinian death toll surpasses 15,000, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry (More)

Atmospheric river expected to drop month-worth of rain in Pacific Northwest over next few days; flood watches issued for portions of Washington state (More)

AI Needs to be REGULATED

For most of the past decade, public concerns about digital technology have focused on the potential abuse of personal data. People were uncomfortable with the way companies could track their movements online, often gathering credit card numbers, addresses, and other critical information. They found it creepy to be followed around the web by ads that had clearly been triggered by their idle searches, and they worried about identity theft and fraud.

Those concerns led to the passage of measures in the United States and Europe guaranteeing internet users some level of control over their personal data and images—most notably, the European Union’s 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 

Of course, those measures didn’t end the debate around companies’ use of personal data. Some argue that curbing it will hamper the economic performance of Europe and the United States relative to less restrictive countries, notably China, whose digital giants have thrived with the help of ready, lightly regulated access to personal information of all sorts. (Recently, however, the Chinese government has started to limit the digital firms’ freedom—as demonstrated by the large fines imposed on Alibaba.) 

Others point out that there’s plenty of evidence that tighter regulation has put smaller European companies at a considerable disadvantage to deeper-pocketed U.S. rivals such as Google and Amazon.

But the debate is entering a new phase. As companies increasingly embed artificial intelligence in their products, services, processes, and decision-making, attention is shifting to how data is used by the software—particularly by complex, evolving algorithms that might diagnose a cancer, drive a car, or approve a loan. 

The EU, which is again leading the way (in its 2020 white paper “On Artificial Intelligence—A European Approach to Excellence and Trust” and its 2021 proposal for an AI legal framework), considers regulation to be essential to the development of AI tools that consumers can trust.  READ MORE...

In Case You Missed It - Amazon to Layoff 18,000

Amazon has announced it will cut more than 18,000 jobs from its workforce, citing “the uncertain economy” and the fact that it had “hired rapidly” during the pandemic.

“Between the reductions we made in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles,” said CEO Andy Jassy in a statement to his staff. The company had announced 10,000 layoffs in November.

The jobs to be slashed under the plan amount to 6 percent of Amazon’s roughly 300,000-person corporate workforce, the largest among recent workforce reductions that have impacted the US tech sector.

Jassy said the company’s leadership was “deeply aware that these role eliminations are difficult for people, and we don’t take these decisions lightly.

“We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support,” he said.

Some of the layoffs would be in Europe, Jassy said, adding that the impacted workers would be informed starting on January 18.  READ MORE...

Ancient Pyramids in the Amazon

Secret pyramids and small cities dating back to the Middle Ages have been discovered in one of the densest parts of the Amazon.


According to a journal published in Nature, a new type of advanced laser-mapping technology was used to penetrate the dense Bolivian rainforest of the region.


By deploying this new research tool, archaeologists have now made the landmark discovery of town-like civilisations in the area.


The discovery is particularly exciting for researchers as this now proves that Amazonians lived together in township-like structures before the Spanish set foot on South American soil.


Colorado State University archaeologist Chris Fisher said the new technology will usher in a new age of research in the Amazon, as per The Wall Street Journal.


"This is the first of what I hope will be a huge series of studies that will blow the lid off of preconceptions about what pre-Hispanic polities looked like in the Amazon in terms of their complexity, size and density," he said.


Dr Fisher said that before Hispanic occupation in the 16th century it was believed Amazonians lived in small groups with limited social development and agricultural systems.


However, this landmark discovery indicates that may not have been the case.


Dr Fisher added: "These sites are pushing the boundaries of what we would call cities."


Scientists from Germany and the UK searched six regions of the Amazon in Bolivia using a helicopter equipped with light detection and ranging equipment.


The new type of research has paid them back in spades, with 26 settlements revealed to them in unprecedented new detail.  READ MORE...

Union at Amazon

Amazon Labor Union leader Christian Smalls celebrates the landmark win

A team of Amazon workers has forced the technology giant to recognise a trade union in the US for the first time.


Workers at a New York warehouse voted 55% in favour of joining the Amazon Labor Union.


The group is led by former Amazon worker Chris Smalls, who made his name protesting against safety conditions at the retail giant during the pandemic.


Mr Smalls' victory marks a major defeat for Amazon, which had fiercely fought against unionisation.


However, in Alabama, where Amazon was facing a separate union drive, the company appeared to have fended off activists in a tight contest in which challenged ballots could yet overturn that result.


Together, the two elections mark a milestone for activists, who have long decried labour practices at Amazon, the country's second largest employer.



Mr Smalls emerged from the vote count looking tired but jubilant, and popped open a bottle of champagne he was handed by supporters.


"We did whatever it took to connect with these workers," he told the crowd, recounting an against-the-odds campaign that started with "two tables, two chairs and a tent" and relied on an online fundraiser for money.  READ MORE...

Amazon Selling "Z" T-shirts

Online retail giant Amazon has provoked outrage after advertising Russian military-style 'Z' symbol clothing on its website.

Long-sleeved tops, phone accessories and military green T-shirts bearing the controversial symbol, which some have nicknamed 'Putin's swastika', were selling for prices ranging from £10 to £15.99.

The sign - a white Z inside a square box - is being used to signal support for Vladimir Putin's war and has been visible on Russian tanks rolling into Ukraine.

Russia's defence ministry posted on Instagram late last week that the symbol came from the Russian За победу, which begins with a "Z" sound and means "for the victory".

The ads were swiftly removed on Tuesday morning and the Mirror has contacted Amazon for comment. It's not clear which manufacturer was selling the items, but Amazon had allowed the company a platform.

Labour has said businesses like billionaire Jeff Bezos' mega-retailer must "act responsibly" as the conflict tears apart lives in Europe.

Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, said: “These items are highly inappropriate and should never have been available in the first place.

"Amazon cannot on one hand decry the invasion of Ukraine and then profit from the misery the Russian army is inflicting on the other.

" Labour is resolute in our support for Ukraine and we encourage firms to act responsibly and do all they can do to support the Ukrainian people."

Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak will be investigated by the sport's governing body after he wore the 'Z' symbol after finishing third in the parallel bars at a competition in Qatar over the weekend. READ MORE...

DevOps

DevOps is the combination of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools that increases an organization’s ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity: evolving and improving products at a faster pace than organizations using traditional software development and infrastructure management processes. This speed enables organizations to better serve their customers and compete more effectively in the market.

Under a DevOps model, development and operations teams are no longer “siloed.” Sometimes, these two teams are merged into a single team where the engineers work across the entire application lifecycle, from development and test to deployment to operations, and develop a range of skills not limited to a single function.

In some DevOps models, quality assurance and security teams may also become more tightly integrated with development and operations and throughout the application lifecycle. When security is the focus of everyone on a DevOps team, this is sometimes referred to as DevSecOps.

These teams use practices to automate processes that historically have been manual and slow. They use a technology stack and tooling which help them operate and evolve applications quickly and reliably. These tools also help engineers independently accomplish tasks (for example, deploying code or provisioning infrastructure) that normally would have required help from other teams, and this further increases a team’s velocity.

Why DevOps Matters
Software and the Internet have transformed the world and its industries, from shopping to entertainment to banking. Software no longer merely supports a business; rather it becomes an integral component of every part of a business. Companies interact with their customers through software delivered as online services or applications and on all sorts of devices. They also use software to increase operational efficiencies by transforming every part of the value chain, such as logistics, communications, and operations. In a similar way that physical goods companies transformed how they design, build, and deliver products using industrial automation throughout the 20th century, companies in today’s world must transform how they build and deliver software.  READ MORE...

Workimg From Home

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1. A wall charger with six outlets *and* two USB fast-charging ports to keep all your devices and accessories at 100% and not die in the middle of that team meeting.

amazon.com, amazon.com

Promising review: "I work from home in a small apartment, and this really made my setup work the way I want it to. I need to use all six plugs, plus I like to keep my phone and Mi-Fi charging while working, too. This was the perfect thing for me to get everything plugged in and essentially retrofitted into a built-in apartment wall desk setup that was intended for the large desktop towers of the late '90s. I’m ordering a second one in hopes it transforms another part of my weird floor plan. Bonus: The USB ports seem to fast-charge my iPhone XS Max. I can go from dead to fully charged in about 90 minutes." —Moose              Get it from Amazon for $19.97.


2. A storm cloud that will not only look cool sitting on your desk but will also change patterns as the air pressure changes, alerting you as to what the weather is like outside.

Uncommon Goods


Promising review: "This is such a sweet and unique item, and it really works with the changes in the weather!! I've had a number of friends who have remarked how cool it is. This is the perfect gift for anyone who has an interest in the weather or wants something different." —MM    Get it from Uncommon Goods for $25 or from Amazon for $22.46.    

TO FIND OUT AND READ A LITTLE ABOUT ABOUT THE OTHER ITEMS ON THIS LIST...  CLICK HERE...