Microsoft Turns Off Tay
Tay Gets a Time-Out. Microsoft pulled its Twitter AI offline yesterday—just one day after the "chat bot" debuted. The reason? Tay got tricked by users in tweeting some odd if not offensive comments about feminists, plus Presidential candidates including Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz. Many of Tay's tweets have been pulled, and Microsoft hasn't given any indication when the AI will be let loose on the Internet again.
Are You Talking To Your Home? Voice recognition software has been quickly embraced by consumers—with 73 percent using voice commands to control the smart devices in their home. Plus the majority of those—61 percent—want to control even more of their home just by telling things what to do, according to a survey from The NPD Group Connected Intelligence.
The FAA Knows Your Drone. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is working on new technology that will not only ID drones that get too close to airports—but also know who is flying the machines, according to Vice's Motherboard, which obtained documents from the agency through the Freedom of Information Act. The FAA believes its educational effort—telling drone operators to avoid airports—just isn't working.
Apple Builds Virtual Wall. Apple is reportedly looking to build its own servers, concerned that buying third party storage is leaving the company vulnerable, reports 9to5Mac. The timing of the move, as Apple wars with the FBI over unlocking the alleged San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, is probably not a coincidence.
Optical Sensors Near $1B by 2020. Those sensors that tell lights to turn on when night hits are in high demand, expected to hit $971.8 million in just four years, says a new report from Research and Markets. IoT is driving some of this growth including temperature sensors in smart thermometers.