Sitting at the entrance of Chengdu’s East Railway Station, Fu Guobin stared at a screen displaying infrared images of people passing through the station’s gates. As each person entered, a number popped up next to their image indicating their body temperature.“This is making my life much easier,” the station employee said as he sat in his booth. “Before this, I’d have to test everyone’s temperature with an ear thermometer.

Airlines have voiced concern that the rollout of 5G mobile technology in the United States (US) could cause potentially dangerous interference with aircraft systems.Verizon and AT&T were activating their networks on Wednesday but agreed to delay their rollout near airports.Here are some key questions about the issue:Why Are Airlines Afraid? The C-Band frequencies used for 5G networks are close to those used by the altimeters of airplanes.US telecom operators were allocated fr

The COVID-19 pandemic was exploited as an excuse to further normalise surveillance and monitor an increasing number of daily activities of people around the world under the guise of public health, a tech watchdog warned.Since the onset of the coronavirus crisis, a slew of automated decision-making (ADM) systems were adopted in haste and with almost no transparency, no adequate safeguards, and insufficient democratic debate, according to AlgorithmWatch, a non-profit that tracks ADM systems and

A bipartisan coalition of United States (US) state attorneys general said on Thursday it has opened a probe into Facebook, now known as Meta Platforms, for promoting its subsidiary Instagram to children despite potential harms.The investigation, involving at least nine states, comes at a time when Facebook is under scrutiny over its approach to children and young adults.The attorneys general are investigating whether the company violated consumer protection laws and put young people at risk,

Facebook changed its parent company name to "Meta" on Thursday as the tech giant tries to move past being a scandal-plagued social network to its virtual reality vision for the future.The new handle comes as the company battles to fend off one of its worst crises yet and pivot to its ambitions for the "metaverse," which would blur the lines between the physical world and the digital one.Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – which are used by billions around the world – will k

Frances Haugen, a 37-year-old former product manager turned whistleblower, heavily criticised the company at a hearing on Capitol Hill.Facebook has faced growing scrutiny and increasing calls for its regulation.Founder Mark Zuckerberg hit back, saying recent coverage painted a "false picture" of the company.In a letter to staff, he said many of the claims "don't make any sense", pointing to their efforts in fighting harmful content, establishing transparency and creat

A big quake may be headed towards California. No, it is not the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that Californians have been worried about. This has only a 31 percent chance of happening. And that too from now to 30 years. Of a higher probability is the quake-causing reforms United States (US) President Joe Biden is sending the way of Big Tech in northern California.The tech giants are surely going to feel the earth move under their feet.

The next time you attend a wedding or concert, visit a place of worship, eat indoors at a restaurant or even go to work, you may need to show digital proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results.On Friday, New York became the first state in the United States (US) to roll out a vaccine verification app, often referred to as a digital vaccine passport. It's using IBM's Excelsior Pass app, which leans on blockchain and displays a personalised QR code to verify health status.

Facebook and Google are planning two new undersea internet cables to connect Southeast Asia to North America.The project with regional telecoms companies aims to supply faster internet speeds to Singapore and Indonesia.This comes after Facebook withdrew three projects to connect the United States (US) to Hong Kong with similar cables, following government concerns over spying.The cables require regulatory approval from the national governments involved.“Named Echo and Bifrost, those

Before the devastating coronavirus pandemic, during the 2019 ASEAN Summit, Thailand introduced the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) initiative to transform three Thai provinces into smart cities – which has turned out to be a success. With the aim to create a centre for trade, investment, regional transportation, and a strategic gateway to Asia - Thailand is confident that it would promote a seamless ASEAN. In accordance with Thailand 4.0, the country aims to achieve 100 smar