Credit Scores Based On AI and Your Social Media Profile Could Usher In New Way For Banks To Discriminate

Credit scores have a long history of prejudice. “Most changes in how credit scores are calculated over the years — including the shift from human assessment to computer calculations, and most recently to artificial intelligence — have come out of a desire to make the scores more equitable, but credit companies have failed to remove […]

‘Medicine Needs To Embrace Open Source’

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols from ZDNet argues that “the expensive and abusive pharmaceutical industry needs to open up to improve everyone’s health.” An anonymous reader shares an excerpt from the report: Now, I know little about creating and testing drugs. Here’s what I do know: Open source and data produces better results than proprietary methods. In […]

Huawei Started Serving Ads On Phone Lock Screens Without Asking Users’ Permission

Huawei is reportedly displaying advertisements on the lock screen of its smartphones, seemingly without warning or any sort of announcement. Huawei says that it’s doing no such thing. “The ads are not initiated by Huawei. We encourage individuals to check app settings, or follow publicly available directions on how to remove lock screen ads,” Huawei […]

Lawsuits Claim Amazon’s Alexa Voice Assistant Illegally Records Children Without Consent

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Seattle Times: A lawsuit filed in Seattle alleges Amazon is recording children who use its Alexa devices without their consent, in violation of laws governing recordings in at least eight states, including Washington. “Alexa routinely records and voiceprints millions of children without their consent or the consent […]