“This is what AI work looks like when workers have no say in the process.” Enshittification Amid a massive wave of tech company layoffs in favor of AI, Google is firing thousands of contractors tasked with making its namesake search engine work better. As Vice reports, news of the company ending its contract with Appen — a data training firm that employs thousands of poorly paid gig workers in developing countries to maintain, among other things, Google’s search algorithm — coincidentally… Source link
Read More »Google improving Docs voice typing & expanding browser support
Google Docs has offered voice typing on the web since 2015 and the input method is now set to pick up “enhancements” that will also improve automatic captions in Google Slides. When viewing a Google Doc, Tools > Voice Typing opens a floating microphone that accepts input until you click again. You can also edit and format with your voice. The upcoming update will “reduce transcription errors and minimize lost audio,” but Google doesn’t provide any specific examples. Google… Source link
Read More »Google search is improving bilingual search results
Google is improving how Google search presents information in two languages, alongside developing its voice search feature to understand inquiries that use a mix of languages. Search results in the knowledge graph box and some sections like “Top stories” and “People also ask” will be displayed in both English and Hindi in Hindi-speaking regions of India, regardless of which language the user used to make the search. The new bilingual search function is available in India first with… Source link
Read More »Where inflation is improving the most
At the start of the year, new and used car prices were soaring. Nobody had ever heard of a 40% inflation rate for used cars, yet an acute shortage of semiconductors threw the car market into disarray. With chip shortages severely depressing new-car production, consumers with plenty of cash shopped used instead. So prices skyrocketed. With the chip shortage easing, car prices are falling back to earth. The year-over-year change in new cars peaked at 13.2% in April and has now dropped to 8.4%,… Source link
Read More »Google says it’s improving fingerprint scanner performance with a Pixel 6 update
Google quietly rolled out a Pixel 6 update that addresses fingerprint scanner issues, as first reported by XDA Developers. The update details have been confirmed in a post on a Google Support page, which vaguely notes that it includes “minor bug fixes and some fingerprint sensor performance improvements for Pixel 6 and 6 Pro,” without really giving us any details about how the sensor was improved. Dan Siefert called out the fingerprint reader in our reviews of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6… Source link
Read More »Google Improving Smartphone Accessibility – Disability Scoop
Google is offering up new ways for people with various disabilities to more easily use their smartphones. The technology giant said that it’s now possible to control Android-powered smartphones hands-free by using simple gestures like smiling, raising eyebrows or looking to one direction. The new options are available through two tools — Camera Switches and Project Activate — which use machine learning technology and the phone’s front-facing camera to pick… Source link
Read More »Google moves to keep advertisers happy while improving user privacy
Google signage. NurPhoto | Getty Images At Google’s annual marketing event Thursday, the company is showcasing ways advertisers will continue to be able to reach consumers as it reduces support for tracking cookies, which advertisers have used for decades to track users across sites to target ads and measure how effective they are. Google‘s Marketing Livestream is meant to give advertisers, agencies and other partners a sense of the tech giant’s roadmap for the year ahead, and to seek feedback…. Source link
Read More »The U.S. economy is still improving: Morning Brief
Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe Friday, April 23, 2021 While as some strategists warn of ‘peak growth’ The U.S. economic recovery continues. On Thursday, the latest weekly data on initial jobless claims fell to another pandemic-era low of 547,000. This data beat Wall Street expectations and marked another improvement in what has been to this point the most stubbornly negative economic data point during the crisis. And when… Source link
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