Scientists measured brain waves using cochlear implants for the first time

Scientists have successfully measured brain waves through an ear implant for the first time, a breakthrough that could improve smart hearing aids. Researchers from KU Leuven, a university in Belgium, used an experimental cochlear implant to record neural signals that arise in response to sounds. These signals could be used to measure and monitor hearing quality. “In the future, it should even be possible for the hearing implant to adjust itself autonomously based on the recorded brain waves,” said study co-author Tom Francart. [Read: How to use AI to better serve your customers] Instead of making sounds louder like a conventional hearing aid, cochlear implants use…

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Facebook’s feckless ‘Fairness Flow’ won’t fix its broken AI

Facebook today posted a blog post detailing a three-year-old solution to its modern AI problems: an algorithm inspector that only works on some of the company’s systems. Up front: Called Fairness Flow, the new diagnostic tool allows machine learning developers at Facebook to determine whether certain kinds of machine learning systems contain bias against or towards specific groups of people. It works by inspecting the data flow for a given model. Per a company blog post: To measure the performance of an algorithm’s predictions for certain groups, Fairness Flow works by dividing the data a model uses into relevant groups…

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How we taught Google Translate to stop being sexist

Online translation tools have helped us learn new languages, communicate across linguistic borders, and view foreign websites in our native tongue. But the artificial intelligence (AI) behind them is far from perfect, often replicating rather than rejecting the biases that exist within a language or a society. Such tools are especially vulnerable to gender stereotyping because some languages (such as English) don’t tend to gender nouns, while others (such as German) do. When translating from English to German, translation tools have to decide which gender to assign English words like “cleaner.” Overwhelmingly, the tools conform to the stereotype, opting for…

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MSTRMND Academy helps entrepreneurs learn the stuff that can make or break their business

TLDR: MSTRMND Academy is home to hundreds of courses, e-books and more to help you train up in business, marketing, personal growth and more, all for less than $30. There’s a lot to consider when you’re starting a business. In fact, there’s too much to consider. And when you take into account the impact that all those early decisions across a whole swath of disciplines can have, it’s pretty intimidating. And no matter how learned or seasoned you are, there’s a good chance you’ll eventually stray into some uncharted waters. Since few of us have mastered everything, MSTRMND Academy is…

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Onboard new employees and transfer knowledge easier with this learning management system

TLDR: The Coassemble Learning Management System lets you easily create online training for any-sized business. Every founder wants to grow their business from a one-man band into the next big thing. Of course, the more a business expands and hires on new people, the less each of those newbies are connected to the founding principles. Messages get watered down, procedures shift when no one is looking, and before you know it, ideas that were company cornerstones at the start can become forgotten. Or boil it down to something even more basic: wouldn’t it be nice to have all your employees…

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UK is spending £3B to completely overhaul its bus system

This article was originally published by Christopher Carey on Cities Today, the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates follow Cities Today on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, or sign up for Cities Today News. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced plans to invest £3 billion (US$4.18 billion) in bus services across England, including the roll-out of 4,000 new British-built electric or hydrogen buses. As part of the investment, the government has pledged to introduce hundreds of miles of new bus lanes, provide more weekend and evening services and…

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Here’s how a charitable deed can win you $5K in cash towards a new gaming PC, NFTs, and more

TLDR: Donate to the Playing for Change Foundation and one lucky donor will then be rewarded with $5,000 for their good work. There’s nothing better than being rewarded for doing the right thing for the right reasons. You don’t need the grateful little old lady to give you $20 for finding and returning her lost purse. But that $20 definitely feels sweeter because you put good karma out into the universe — and that good deed found its way back to you. That being said…how does $5,000 worth of good karma sound to ya? You’re going to have to be…

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Google Maps will soon suggest ‘eco-friendly routes’ by default

Google Maps is getting a new feature that encourages drivers to make more eco-friendly journeys. The app will soon default to showing the route with the lowest carbon footprint, as long it’s got roughly the same ETA as the fastest path. The new routing model analyzes data such as road incline and traffic congestion to optimize for lower fuel consumption. When the eco-friendly route significantly increases the travel time, you’ll be able to compare the CO2 impact between the different routes. If you’d rather prioritize speed, you can adjust your preferences in Settings to show the fastest route as default (just know Mother Earth will…

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What your selfie camera angle says about you

Over the past decade, selfies have become a mainstay of popular culture. If the #selfie hashtag first appeared in 2004, it was the release of the iPhone 4 in 2010 that saw the pictures go viral. Three years later, the Oxford English Dictionary crowned “selfie” word of the year. We use selfies for a variety of purposes, ranging from the social to the professional. According to a 2018 survey, 82% of US adults under 34 had posted a selfie on social media. Until the pandemic hit pause on public gatherings, an entire industry was dedicated to generating selfie events and…

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Music recommendation algorithms are unfair to women artists — but we can fix that

These days, more and more people listen to music on streaming apps – in early 2020, 400 million people were subscribed to one. These platforms use algorithms to recommend music based on listening habits. The recommended songs might feature in new playlists or they might start to play automatically when another playlist has ended. But what the algorithms recommend is not always fair. In a new study we showed a widely used recommendation algorithm is more likely to pick music by male than female artists. In response, we’ve come up with a simple way to give more exposure to female…

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How to control who can comment on your Facebook posts

On Facebook, you can control if you want to make a post public, visible to friends, just yourself, or a specific set of friends.A nd now, a new feature lets you control who can comment on your public post — great for when you only want responses from friends and family, or if you just need to put something out there and don’t care to hear back. Here’s how you can change the comment control on your public post: Open the Facebook app on your phone. Head to the post where you want to control comments. Tap on the three-dot…

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Two beer drinkers in California…

Two beer drinkers in California sued the Kona Brewing Co. in 2017 for deceptive marketing and branding, believing their products to be made exclusively in Hawaii. Kona does in fact make beer in 5 different states, including Hawaii, and labels their products accordingly.

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Tesla reportedly double charged its customers, and there’s no refund in sight

Imagine saving up for your dream car, only to be charged twice when you come to pay for it. That’s bad enough, but then imagine not knowing where or who to turn to, to get your money back. This is an affliction facing a host of new Tesla owners at the moment, according to a report by CBNC published earlier this week. One buyer told CNBC that they paid $37,000 extra, while another reportedly had $71,000 removed from their bank account on top of what they already paid for their car. Those affected have said the funds were taken without…

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William Stephenson, a Canadian…

William Stephenson, a Canadian, was the real-life inspiration for fictional character James Bond. Stephenson played a key role in the creation of the CIA.

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To prepare for her role as Annie…

To prepare for her role as Annie in Speed, Sandra Bullock actually learned how to drive a bus. She passed the test and got her license on her first try.

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What’s the difference between open-back and closed-back headphones?

If you don’t love headphones, then I’m worried about you. Do you like sunsets? Puppies? Food? Anyway, as fantastic as musical earmuffs are, they can also be a little confusing. And that’s why we’re here. Today, we’re going to answer a common question: what’s the difference between open-back and closed-back headphones? Your response to that might be “who cares?” — and the answer? You. You should care. Whether a pair of headphones is open- or closed-back makes a huge difference to the sound. Without any further messing around, let’s just jump straight in. Tell me, what are open-back headphones? The phrase “open-back”…

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