technology
Donald Trump repeatedly asked if China could shoot hurricanes at US, reveal former officials
- Former senior officials of the Trump administration revealed that President Donald Trump would repeatedly ask his aides if China had a secret technology that could create large hurricanes to launch at the U.S.
- Trump would then allegedly follow up with questions about whether this would constitute an act of war, inciting a U.S. military retaliation.
- Trump also reportedly suggested on multiple occasions that the U.S. bomb hurricanes with nuclear weapons, based on the assumption that a huge explosion could destroy tropical storms.
- Former press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who resigned from the Trump administration on bad terms after the Capital riot, said she did not overhear the conversation about hurricanes, but it would not have surprised her.
Former senior officials of the Trump administration revealed that former President Donald Trump would repeatedly ask his aides if China had a secret technology that could create large hurricanes to launch at the U.S.
Trump would then allegedly follow up with questions as to whether this would constitute an act of war, inciting a U.S. military retaliation.
Chinese inventor builds 27,000,000mAH power bank capable of charging 5,000 smartphones
- Handy Geng, an inventor and YouTuber, created the world’s largest power bank with a capacity equaling approximately 900 power banks.
- The mega power bank contains a 27,000,000-mAh battery and includes up to 60 charging ports.
- A video showing how he made the power bank has garnered over 387,000 views since being uploaded on Jan. 29.
Chinese inventor and YouTuber Handy Geng created the world’s largest power bank with the capacity to charge 5,000 phones.
Geng uploaded a video documenting how he made a 27,000,000-mAh portable charger to his official YouTube channel on Jan. 29.
Japanese scientist develops TV screen that viewers can lick to taste displayed foods
- A Japanese professor at Meiji University in Tokyo developed an interactive lickable screen allowing viewers to taste what they see on TV.
- The “Taste the TV” prototype contains flavor canisters that spray across the surface of the screen, recreating the specific taste profile.
- A video demonstration shows how the device recreates a range of flavors, including sweet chocolate, wine and ramen.
Professor Homei Miyashita of Meiji University in Tokyo has developed a prototype lickable screen that allows users to taste what’s on their screen.
Miyashita and a team of 30 students developed the “Taste the TV” (TTTV) project over the course of the past year.
China develops AI ‘prosecutor’ that can charge citizens with crimes with ‘97% accuracy’
China has developed an artificial intelligence capable of charging people with more than 97% accuracy, replacing prosecutors “to a certain extent,” according to its researchers.
How it works: The machine, built and tested by the Shanghai Pudong People’s Procuratorate — China’s largest district prosecution office — can file a charge based only on verbal description, according to the South China Morning Post. The program runs on a desktop computer.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg rebrands company name to Meta to focus on VR/AR
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company is changing its corporate name to Meta in a rebrand that focuses on virtual and augmented reality.
“Metaverse”: The company’s stock ticker symbol will change from FB to MVRS on Dec. 1, but the Facebook app’s name — as well as Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger — are here to stay.
Japanese robotics company solves empty stadium dilemma with 100-humanoid-robot cheerleading squad
The official Instagram account of Guinness World Records has posted a video of 100 humanoid robots performing a synchronized cheerleading routine at a baseball game in Japan.
Robot cheer team: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people around the world are not permitted to enter stadiums for sports events. Because athletes are missing the adrenaline rush of applauding audiences, a Japanese robotics company created an artificial cheer team of robots, reported Asianet News.
Meet Artist Drue Kataoka, the First Asian American Woman to Be the Face of Clubhouse
Clubhouse, the pioneering audio-focused social networking platform, has selected acclaimed artist, technologist and activist Drue Kataoka as its newest “icon.” This marks the eighth time the San Francisco-based company has chosen a face to represent its app, which has drawn 13 million users on iOS to date.
Kataoka — a Tokyo-born, West Coast-raised artist — is the first Asian American woman and first visual artist to occupy the role, which will last for several weeks in time for the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Her selection also comes at an important time of reckoning in the U.S. for the treatment of Asian Americans, who have been targets of violence since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Digital Bank Cheese Aims to Fix ‘Inequality’ Asian Americans Face, Donates $100K to Asian Communities
A digital bank aimed at serving the Asian American community recently launched on Wednesday.
Cheese provides its own debit Mastercard (issued by the Coastal Community Bank) and is available to anyone, even those without a credit history.
Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward to Give Seniors Smartphones With Free Data
Shibuya Ward officials are planning to provide 3,000 smartphones to senior residents with paid data plans as part of their initiative to teach the elderly how to use technology, especially during natural disasters.
Officials hope to finish the rollout by September, according to Mainichi Shimbun via SoraNews24.
South Korean Man Weeps After Using VR to ‘Meet’ Late Wife Again
With the help of virtual reality (VR), a South Korean man “reunites” with his wife four years after her death.
The power of VR: Last year, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) released a TV documentary entitled 너를 만났다 (“I Met You”).
Korean Scientists Invest Transparent Solar Panels to Be Used on Phones
A team of scientists led by a Korean professor invented new transparent solar panels that can eventually be used to charge smartphones.
Professor Joondong Kim and his colleagues from the Incheon National University in Korea, recently published their latest invention in the Journal of Power Sources on Jan. 1, according to Science Daily.
Japan is Now Using AI to Get People to Date and Make Babies
Japan will use artificial intelligence to match singles and bring them together, a cabinet official said on Monday.
Last year, the nation of 126 million people had a fertility rate of 1.36 — one of the world’s lowest and statistically unlikely to reverse its “demographic time bomb.”
