Global Pulse

分类： technology

  • Social media ban to target doomscrolling, disappearing stories

    Social media ban to target doomscrolling, disappearing stories

    Australia has significantly expanded its pioneering social media prohibition by implementing new regulatory measures specifically targeting platforms that employ psychologically manipulative design features. The updated legislation, officially registered this Wednesday, now classifies as ‘age-restricted social media platforms’ those services utilizing algorithms ‘engineered to be addictive’ and providing users with a ‘continuous dopamine stimulus.’

    This regulatory enhancement specifically addresses several concerning design elements including infinite scroll interfaces without termination points, feedback mechanisms displaying like counts and upvotes, and ephemeral ‘stories’ functionality that generates artificial urgency among young users. These features have been identified as deliberately fostering ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) psychology, compelling constant application monitoring.

    The revised framework maintains exemptions for communication and educational platforms including Discord, Google Classroom, WhatsApp, and Roblox, which fall outside the prohibition’s scope. Current enforcement focuses on ten major platforms including Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram, with the eSafety Commissioner investigating several additional services.

    Communications Minister Anika Wells emphasized the particular vulnerability of ‘Generation Alpha,’ noting their prolonged exposure to what she characterized as an ‘addictive dopamine drip’ since acquiring their initial smartphones and social media accounts. ‘Sophisticated algorithms, doomscrolling behaviors, persistent notifications, and harmful popularity metrics are appropriating their attention for substantial daily periods,’ Minister Wells stated, affirming the government’s commitment to ‘illuminating these detrimental and habit-forming features targeting young Australians.’

    This regulatory development follows significant international scrutiny regarding social media’s psychological impacts, particularly after a New Mexico judicial ruling determined that Meta’s Facebook operations compromised children’s mental health and safety through state law violations.

    Concurrently, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young announced impending legislation titled the ‘Fix our Feeds’ Bill, drawing direct parallels between social media design and addictive substances. ‘This verdict substantiates long-standing concerns: social media platforms are intentionally architected to maintain user engagement, comparable to cigarettes or gambling machines,’ Senator Hanson-Young remarked regarding the American case.

    The proposed legislation would empower users to selectively opt out of ‘predatory algorithmic systems,’ thereby enabling safer digital experiences according to Greens representatives. However, Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson delivered critical assessment, asserting the existing social media prohibition has ‘failed to deliver promised outcomes’ and questioning the validity of reported 4.7 million deactivated accounts cited by eSafety authorities.

    Senator Henderson characterized the New Mexico decision as ‘deeply condemnatory,’ emphasizing that ‘platform architecture fundamentally seeks to maintain juvenile addiction to detrimental content.’ She further advocated for enhanced algorithmic transparency, stating ‘Australian citizens warrant unambiguous disclosure, and platforms must not operate concealed algorithmic systems when children’s welfare is implicated.’

    eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant is scheduled to provide comprehensive compliance updates regarding the social media prohibition next week.

  • Day of reckoning arrives for social media after US court loss

    Day of reckoning arrives for social media after US court loss

    A landmark legal decision in California has established a critical precedent in the mounting litigation against social media corporations, potentially exposing them to billions in liabilities. A Los Angeles jury determined that both Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube contributed to a teenage girl’s depression through addictive platform designs, despite corporate awareness of associated risks.

    The civil court found these technology giants liable for insufficiently warning young users about mental health dangers inherent in excessive social media engagement. While compensatory damages were set at $3 million with equivalent punitive penalties, the implications extend far beyond financial considerations. This verdict coincides with a separate New Mexico ruling ordering Meta to pay $375 million for endangering minor users on Facebook and Instagram.

    Legal experts identify these cases as bellwether trials that signal how juries respond to allegations of digital harm. According to Pennsylvania State University law professor Daryl Lim, these outcomes intensify pressure on platforms to settle hundreds of pending lawsuits alleging similar violations. Snap and TikTok previously settled with the Los Angeles plaintiff before trial commencement.

    The litigation centers on plaintiffs like Kaley G.M., who developed severe depression, chronic anxiety, and body image disorders following early, intensive social media exposure. Researchers increasingly correlate such psychological conditions with adolescent social media overuse.

    This judicial action represents a strategic circumvention of Section 230 protections—the legal provision historically shielding platforms from content-related liability. Lawyers successfully argued that platform architecture itself, rather than user-generated content, created addictive environments harming young users.

    The verdicts occur amid accelerating global regulatory scrutiny. Australia’s recent proposition to ban social media for under-16 users has inspired similar legislative considerations across multiple U.S. states. Industry analysts warn that court-mandated product redesigns could fundamentally threaten the attention-based advertising models underpinning these technological enterprises.

  • Shanghai kicks off 2026 WeStart international innovation and entrepreneurship competition

    Shanghai kicks off 2026 WeStart international innovation and entrepreneurship competition

    Shanghai has officially inaugurated the 2026 edition of its prestigious WeStart International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, marking a significant stride in fostering global technological advancement. The launch event on Tuesday introduced a comprehensive platform designed to bridge innovative enterprises with governmental support systems, investment opportunities, and collaborative networks.

    Huang Lihong, Director of the Shanghai Technology Innovation Center, emphasized this year’s strategic focus: “We are intensifying our commitment to technology entrepreneurship initiatives across future industrial domains. Our expanded partnerships with leading research institutions, major corporations, innovative R&D facilities, and high-caliber incubators have significantly broadened our reach into early-stage projects spanning healthcare, energy, advanced materials, manufacturing, and next-generation communications.”

    The three-day inaugural ceremony featured the unveiling of the competition’s enhanced ecological service framework and the establishment of a dedicated incubation academy. The event also integrated multiple brand initiatives including the WeStart Venture Capital Conference and the Gateway cross-border community platform, creating a unified ecosystem for innovation development.

    Demonstrating the competition’s tangible impact, previous award-winning teams formalized agreements to establish operations within Shanghai. These enterprises represent diverse sectors including semiconductor design and intermodal transportation solutions. Among them, Sailyond Technology—winner of the 2025 top prize—showcased their groundbreaking work in AI-driven automation equipment for high-end manufacturing.

    Ru Binxin, Co-founder of Sailyond Technology, elaborated on their achievement: “Our AI-powered industrial inspection machines have addressed critical challenges in manufacturing precision, representing exactly the type of innovation WeStart seeks to amplify. Shanghai’s ecosystem provides the ideal environment for transforming technological concepts into commercial realities.”

    The 2026 competition reinforces Shanghai’s position as a global innovation hub, strategically designed to attract, nurture, and scale transformative technological ventures through structured support mechanisms and international collaboration.

  • California jury finds Meta, YouTube liable in social media addiction trial

    California jury finds Meta, YouTube liable in social media addiction trial

    In a groundbreaking legal decision with far-reaching implications for the tech industry, a Los Angeles jury has delivered a decisive verdict against Meta and YouTube, holding both platforms accountable for their role in fostering social media addiction among young users. The Wednesday ruling found the companies liable for harming a plaintiff identified as Kaley through intentionally addictive platform designs, awarding $3 million in compensatory damages while opening the door for potentially substantial punitive awards in a subsequent phase.

    The jury unanimously affirmed all seven allegations on the verdict forms, determining that both Meta and YouTube acted negligently in designing and operating their platforms, with this negligence substantially contributing to the plaintiff’s harm. Crucially, jurors concluded that the companies were either aware or should have been aware that their services presented dangers to minors, yet failed to provide adequate warnings about these risks.

    Meta was assigned 70% responsibility ($2.1 million) for the damages, while YouTube was deemed 30% responsible ($900,000). The jury further determined that both companies acted with ‘malice, oppression or fraud’—a finding that establishes the foundation for separate punitive proceedings that could significantly increase the financial penalties.

    The case centered on Kaley (identified in court documents as K.G.M.), who began using YouTube at age six before progressing to Instagram at nine, despite her mother’s attempts to restrict access. Testimony revealed how her extensive social media engagement negatively impacted self-worth, social relationships, and personal development.

    Plaintiff attorneys successfully argued that platform features including infinite scrolling, autoplay videos, notifications, and engagement metrics were deliberately engineered to promote compulsive usage patterns among young audiences. Despite defense arguments attributing Kaley’s challenges to familial circumstances and disputing actual platform usage metrics, the jury rejected these counterarguments across all considerations.

    This bellwether case establishes a critical precedent regarding technology companies’ legal responsibilities for mental health impacts resulting from their platform designs, potentially triggering numerous similar lawsuits across the industry.

  • First Lady Melania Trump arrives with humanoid robot at tech summit

    First Lady Melania Trump arrives with humanoid robot at tech summit

    First Lady Melania Trump made a striking entrance at a White House technology summit, accompanied by a humanoid robot, to highlight the intersection of artificial intelligence and education. The event, convened by Mrs. Trump, focused on critical discussions surrounding AI development and the imperative of safeguarding children in increasingly digital environments. This visual demonstration served as a powerful symbol of the technological advancements shaping modern society while underscoring the administration’s commitment to addressing both the opportunities and challenges presented by digital innovation. The summit brought together thought leaders from technology, education, and child advocacy sectors to explore responsible AI implementation and develop strategies for protecting young digital citizens. Mrs. Trump’s initiative reflects growing governmental engagement with emerging technologies and their societal implications, particularly concerning the wellbeing of the next generation navigating complex digital landscapes.

  • DeepZang, first AI model in Tibetan language, unveiled

    DeepZang, first AI model in Tibetan language, unveiled

    In a landmark development for both artificial intelligence and linguistic preservation, China has introduced DeepZang—the world’s inaugural large language model specifically engineered for the Tibetan language. The groundbreaking platform, unveiled in Lhasa by local technology firm Choknor, represents a significant stride in bridging digital divides and enhancing public service accessibility for Tibetan speakers.

    DeepZang facilitates multilingual interactions in Tibetan, Mandarin Chinese, and English, integrating advanced functionalities such as AI-driven dialogue, real-time translation, and speech-to-text conversion. Its certification by the World Record Certification Agency as the ‘World’s First Tibetan Large Language Model’ underscores its pioneering status in global AI research.

    According to Tenzin Norbu, founder of Choknor, the model culminates over four years of intensive development. It leverages an extensive dataset comprising nearly 70 million standardized parallel corpora and over 30,500 hours of voice recordings encompassing Tibet’s three primary dialects: Utsang, Kham, and Amdo. This repository now stands as China’s most comprehensive and meticulously annotated Tibetan speech database.

    Beyond its technical achievements, DeepZang is poised for practical implementation across multiple sectors. Several institutions, including China Mobile and PICC Property and Casualty Co’s regional branches, have entered collaborative agreements to deploy the technology in government services, education, healthcare, and financial operations.

    Li Yalong, Deputy General Manager at PICC Xizang, emphasized the model’s potential to overcome linguistic barriers in servicing rural communities: ‘It will enable the development of intelligent Tibetan-language customer support and policy interpretation tools, particularly in agricultural insurance.’

    Academic users have reported efficiency gains in research workflows. Sonam Yontan, a doctoral candidate at Xizang University, noted: ‘The translation and search functionalities significantly accelerate material processing and source retrieval, marking an unprecedented advancement for Tibetan in AI.’

    However, initial feedback indicates areas for refinement. Tibetan language instructor Nie Chang observed that while DeepZang’s linguistic capabilities are robust, its response latency exceeds that of mainstream models like ChatGPT. Some users also reported encountering paywalls after limited queries, potentially impacting accessibility.

    In educational contexts, the model currently functions more as a search engine than a tailored pedagogical tool, with grammar explanations sometimes lacking clarity for non-native learners. Online discourse reflects mixed reactions, praising cultural preservation efforts while noting challenges in translation accuracy, complex query handling, and pricing structures.

    Choknor acknowledges the model’s evolving status and commits to continuous improvement through data expansion and user feedback. The current mobile application represents merely one manifestation of the underlying technology, with potential future applications spanning wearable devices, sector-specific solutions in healthcare and education, and possibly extending to other minority languages like Mongolian and Uygur.

  • Meta told to pay $375m for misleading users over child safety

    Meta told to pay $375m for misleading users over child safety

    A New Mexico court has mandated Meta Platforms Inc. to pay a substantial $375 million civil penalty following a groundbreaking verdict that found the social media giant liable for endangering young users on its platforms. The jury determined that Meta, which operates Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, systematically misled the public about platform safety while exposing minors to sexually explicit content and potential predators.

    The seven-week trial revealed compelling evidence through internal company documents and testimony from former employees, demonstrating Meta’s awareness of predatory behavior targeting children. Particularly damning was the account of former engineering executive Arturo Béjar, who testified about experiments showing underage users being served sexualized content. Béjar shared the disturbing experience of his own daughter receiving sexual propositions from strangers on Instagram.

    New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez hailed the decision as “historic,” marking the first successful state lawsuit against Meta concerning child protection issues. “Meta executives knew their products harmed children, disregarded warnings from their own employees, and lied to the public about what they knew,” Torrez stated following the verdict.

    The penalty amount reflects thousands of violations of New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act, with each infraction carrying a maximum $5,000 fine. Internal research presented during trial proceedings indicated that at one point, 16% of Instagram users reported encountering unwanted nudity or sexual activity within a single week.

    Meta has announced its intention to appeal the decision, with a company spokesperson maintaining that they “work hard to keep people safe on our platforms” and remain “confident in our record of protecting teens online.” The company highlighted recent safety initiatives including Teen Accounts on Instagram and parental alert systems for self-harm content detection.

    This case occurs alongside thousands of similar lawsuits progressing through US courts, including a separate trial in Los Angeles where a plaintiff claims addiction to intentionally designed social platforms during childhood.

  • Amazon buys Fauna Robotics, maker of the Sprout humanoid robot

    Amazon buys Fauna Robotics, maker of the Sprout humanoid robot

    Amazon has strategically acquired New York-based robotics startup Fauna Robotics, marking a significant expansion beyond its industrial automation capabilities into the social robotics domain. The acquisition comes merely two months after Fauna’s introduction of Sprout, a humanoid robot designed specifically for interactive engagement in domestic and educational environments.

    This move represents Amazon’s deliberate pivot toward social robotics despite recent setbacks in consumer-facing automation. The e-commerce behemoth, which already operates over 1 million robots within its warehouse networks, now incorporates Sprout’s unique capabilities focused on human interaction rather than logistical functions.

    Fauna Robotics will maintain its operational identity as ‘Fauna Robotics, an Amazon company,’ with all employees and founders transitioning to Amazon’s New York division. While financial specifics remain undisclosed, the acquisition signals Amazon’s commitment to exploring novel applications for robotics in everyday consumer contexts.

    Sprout, standing at 1.5 feet with a distinctive rectangular head, represents a departure from traditional utilitarian robots. Priced at $50,000, the platform specializes in social interactions including dancing, object manipulation, and mobility exercises rather than heavy lifting. Initially launched in January as both a hardware and software development platform, Sprout had already attracted notable clients including Disney and various academic research institutions.

    This development follows Amazon’s failed acquisition of iRobot in 2024 due to regulatory challenges, demonstrating the company’s persistent ambition to penetrate consumer robotics markets. Amazon’s existing AI assistant Alexa provides complementary infrastructure for potential integration with social robotics technologies.

    The company stated its intention to leverage Fauna’s expertise to ‘develop new ways to make customers’ lives better and easier,’ suggesting potential applications that combine social robotics with Amazon’s ecosystem of smart home technologies and AI capabilities.

  • Poland faced a surge in cyberattacks in 2025, including a major assault on the energy sector

    Poland faced a surge in cyberattacks in 2025, including a major assault on the energy sector

    WARSAW, Poland — Polish cybersecurity authorities have reported a dramatic 250% surge in cyberattacks during 2025, with over 270,000 incidents targeting the nation’s digital infrastructure. Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Paweł Olszewski revealed these alarming statistics on Tuesday, describing an ongoing ‘cyber war’ that has intensified significantly each year.

    The most concerning incident occurred on December 29, when coordinated attacks simultaneously struck a combined heat and power plant serving approximately 500,000 customers and multiple renewable energy facilities. While electricity distribution remained uninterrupted, the destructive nature of the infiltration prompted CERT Polska (Computer Emergency Response Team) to issue an unprecedented public technical report seeking international cybersecurity expertise.

    Marcin Dudek, head of CERT Polska, characterized the attack as ‘a significant escalation’ distinct from previous financially-motivated ransomware incidents. ‘The motivation was just destruction,’ Dudek emphasized, noting this marked the first known destructive cyber assault on energy infrastructure within both NATO and European Union territories.

    Technical analysis points toward Russian state-sponsored threat actors. CERT’s investigation identified digital infrastructure previously associated with ‘Dragonfly’ (also known as ‘Static Tundra’ or ‘Berserk Bear’), a cybersecurity cluster linked to FSB Center 16 according to FBI alerts. Simultaneously, ESET cybersecurity researchers found malware signatures consistent with ‘Sandworm,’ another Russian-affiliated group historically connected to destructive operations in Ukraine.

    Anton Cherepanov, ESET’s senior malware researcher, confirmed the attack employed ‘data-wiping malware and its deployment techniques commonly associated with Sandworm.’ Both groups have established ties to Russian intelligence services, with Sandworm previously attributed to the GRU by U.S. authorities.

    The Polish government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk has substantially reinforced cyber defenses since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Russian Embassy in Warsaw has not responded to requests for comment regarding these allegations.

  • Czech ‘arks’ help preserve Ukraine’s cultural heritage

    Czech ‘arks’ help preserve Ukraine’s cultural heritage

    Prague’s National Museum has unveiled a groundbreaking mobile digitization laboratory designed to preserve Ukraine’s endangered cultural artifacts amid ongoing conflict. The innovative system, dubbed Archa III (Ark III), consists of a Volkswagen van transformed into a high-tech studio equipped with an autonomous robotic scanner and three specialized cameras.

    This advanced preservation technology can create hyper-realistic 3D digital replicas of historical items ranging from small artifacts to large museum pieces, both indoors and outdoors. According to National Museum director Michal Lukes, the system generates ‘precise digital copies that serve documentation, research, restoration, and potential reconstruction purposes.’

    The Archa III represents the third phase of a comprehensive Czech preservation initiative for Ukraine. Previous deployments included Archa I, a container-based system for book conservation, and Archa II, designed for digitizing two-dimensional items. These efforts have already processed approximately 40,000 pages of historical documents, including newspapers rescued from the Regional Scientific Library in Kherson.

    Museum IT director Martin Soucek explained the technical capabilities: ‘The robotic system moves along three axes and can capture thousands of high-quality photographs within minutes, creating detailed digital twins with exceptional precision.’

    The project, developed in partnership with the foundation of Czech billionaire Karel Komarek, includes comprehensive training for Ukrainian experts and a dedicated website to showcase the digitized artifacts. The van is scheduled for delivery to Kyiv in early April, where it will be operated by Ukrainian cultural preservation teams.

    Vitalii Usatyi, charge d’affaires at the Ukrainian Embassy in Prague, emphasized the significance of the mobile capability: ‘This technology can operate across Ukraine, including regions exposed to risks related to Russian aggression, which is crucial for preserving our cultural heritage.’

    The urgency of such preservation efforts is underscored by UNESCO reports verifying damage to 523 cultural sites in Ukraine as of March 11, including religious sites, historical buildings, museums, and libraries.