Tag - data

 
 

DATA

A recent near-hacking incident underscores the critical role of open-source software in the digital economy and the vulnerabilities inherent in its decentralized development process.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2024
The world narrowly escapes a supply chain doomsday scenario
A software engineer last month stumbled on what some say would have been the most widespread and effective backdoor ever planted in any software product.
James Manyika, who heads Google’s technology and society team, delivers the keynote address at Google I/O in Mountain View, California, in 2023. OpenAI, Google and Meta ignored corporate policies, altered their own rules and discussed skirting copyright law as they sought online information to train their newest artificial intelligence systems.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 8, 2024
How tech giants cut corners to harvest data for AI
The companies’ actions illustrate how online information has increasingly become the lifeblood of the booming AI industry.
The Alphabet unit allegedly surreptitiously collected user browsing data when they were in "incognito" mode.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2024
Google agrees to delete web browsing data as it settles ‘incognito’ lawsuit
The case, filed in 2020, alleged that Google surreptitiously collected user's browsing history when they were in "incognito" mode.
A real estate sign advertises powered data center land for sale in Johnstown, Ohio, on March 23.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 29, 2024
Amazon bets $150 billion on data centers required for AI boom
In addition to meeting demand for corporate services, they will provide the massive computing power needed for an expected boom in generative AI.
A man walks through the financial and business district of La Defense, near Paris, on March 13.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2024
EU's new gig-worker rules could tame 'management by algorithm'
The opaque nature of algorithmic management tools can result in random job assignments and performance ratings, and even termination.
NEC computers at an electronics store in Tokyo. Founded in 1899, NEC focuses on information technology and network communications, biometric recognition, the internet of things and artificial intelligence technologies, according to its website.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 14, 2024
Japan’s NEC weighing $500 million data center sale, sources say
The Tokyo-traded company is looking to hire financial advisers to help prepare a potential sale of the business.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose company launched a pair of smart glasses, on stage at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, in September.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023
Do you want Meta snooping in your closet with AI wearables?
AI wearable devices represent yet another intrusion into our privacy, allowing tech companies to learn even more about who we are — and what we might buy.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
Biden cracks down on U.S. data flows to China and Russia
Seeking to protect American personal data, Biden unveiled an executive order barring genomic data transfers to China and other "countries of concern."
The climate risks sparked by AI-driven computing are far-reaching — and will worsen without a big shift from fossil fuel-based electricity to clean power.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 27, 2024
AI is exploding data center energy use. A Google-created technique may help.
Data centers and transmission networks collectively contribute up to 3% of global energy consumption, with emissions comparable to the entirety of Brazil.
An arm of the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence is tapping companies and colleges to help harness rapidly developing AI technology that could provide an edge against global competitors like China. The challenge is ensuring it doesn’t open a backdoor into the nation’s top secrets or generate fake data.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 27, 2024
U.S. spies want AI as tool against China if tech can be trusted
The challenge is ensuring the rapidly developing tech doesn’t open a backdoor into the nation’s top secrets or generate fake data.
Data center development is time-consuming and complex — requiring a mix of expertise around real estate, technology, local regulations and environmental requirements. Asia’s highly fragmented market makes navigating these factors even more onerous.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 15, 2024
Global investors plow into Asia data centers on AI boom
Asia is becoming the latest hunting ground for investors in data centers, as companies bet on the region’s growing computing and data storage needs.
FACTEV shows that a Nissan Leaf electric car driven in Hokkaido will get between 106 kilometers and 212 kilometers per charge in its first year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 12, 2023
Using big data to speed up Japan’s slow electric car transition
Gaming company DeNA has developed an EV simulation tool that can assess the lifespan and cruising range per charge of battery cars over time.
A My Number card reader at a clinic in Tokyo
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 3, 2023
Half of hospitals see no merit in My Number health insurance cards
Over 70 million in Japan have already adopted the cards, but actual use remains around 4%.
Japan's inflation marked a four-decade high this year, caused by surging fuel and raw material costs amid Russia's war against Ukraine. Japanese firms chose the kanji character for 'change' to describe such turbulence.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 3, 2023
Firms in Japan pick kanji for 'change' to describe turbulent 2023
From extreme weather to global conflicts, many companies in Japan say they spent the year adapting to new market forces.
A 23andMe DNA kit
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023
Drugmakers are set to pay 23andMe millions to access consumer DNA
Under the new agreement, 23andMe will provide GSK with access to anonymized DNA data from customers who have agreed to share their information.
The European Union and Japan concluded an agreement Saturday on cross-border data flows, a deal that could benefit companies across a range of sectors, including financial services, transport, machinery and e-commerce, allowing them to handle data without cumbersome and costly administration.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2023
EU and Japan conclude agreement on data flows
The deal on cross-border data flows should drive business and may help shape global rules for data, the European Commission said.
Major supermarket chain Daiei opened a checkout-free, walk-through store in the CeeU Yokohama mall on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 27, 2023
At new Japan supermarket outlet, high tech runs the store
The system replaces cash registers with a network of cameras, weight sensors and a smartphone app.
About 9 million sets of customer information have been leaked from an NTT West subsidiary.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2023
NTT unit says around 9 million sets of customer information leaked
The former worker illegally downloaded customer information between around July 2013 and January this year.
Foreign visitors in Kyoto. Local governments are rushing to use big data on spending by foreign visitors to analyze trends.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2023
Local governments tap big data on spending by foreign visitors
Such data allows authorities to analyze consumption trends in detail, "visualize" markets and place targeted advertisements.
Rice planting in Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture. Satellite data could greatly improve how global farmers respond to climate change.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 21, 2023
How satellites are helping farmers adapt to global warming
Farther than the eye can see, advances in satellite data are giving global farmers the tools to better manage their fields in a rapidly changing climate.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores