Garoetpos.com – At the end of 2019, there were various luck. But not a few also failures. Like this variety of technology. Which failed in 2019 ::
Autopilot Not Controlled By Boeing
The first 737 Max Boeing aircraft, Lion Air Flight 510, crashed shortly after takeoff. Everyone aboard died. In each case, the pilots fought against the autopilot system which took over and dropped the aircraft to their destruction.
Pilots have only a short time to react to flight controls, called MCAS, which they know little or nothing about.
An autopilot was installed to compensate for the decision to add a larger, more fuel-efficient engine to the one-aisle aircraft, a choice that could cause them to stall in certain situations.
The second accident, from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019, revealed not only that the autopilot was to blame, but also how the US air safety regulator from time to time gave more authority to Boeing.
The combination of an overly aggressive automation system and lack of pilot training proved deadly. Boeing’s losses have reached billions, and the Max 737 fleet remains in use.
Computer Fake Food
The MIT Media Lab has been called the “factory of the future” —but the “food computer” is unlikely to be part of it. In the 2015 TED Talk, which collected 1.8 million views, architect Caleb Harper introduced a hydroponic box filled with electronics and AI, which he said would measure millions of combinations of light, temperature and humidity.
Is it true that a food computer?, It turns out, is nothing more than a glorified growing box that doesn’t work well. But by enriching the project with the keywords “climate hacking,” “open source,” “microbiome” Lab Media continues to get attention and funding for it.
Claims for the device peaked in April, when Harper said “machine learning” had been used to grow basil which an MIT news release called “might be better” than it had ever tasted.
In September, workers stepped forward to blow the whistle, informing the media about fake photo shoots, smoke-and-mirror tactics, and environmental violations.
In October, MIT officials had “stopped most work” by the OpenAg group, according to the Boston Globe.
Bacterial Gene
When a company called Recombinetics created hornless dairy cows by editing genes, they insisted that they were not GMOs and that they shouldn’t even be regulated. After all, with precision editing you can only exchange one animal gene for another.
But these cows have bloopers. No one noticed until the US Food and Drug Administration saw the DNA of one bull which was accidentally inserted by a group of bacterial genes.
Therefore, the bull and some other hornless animals are GMOs. Yes, adding bacterial DNA might not be harmful.
The real injury is the gene editor’s claim about molecular precision. The animals were finally burned, a loss for all involved.
Gaydar Genetics
Within weeks of a major study identifying genes associated with homosexual behavior, a programmer has launched an application called “How Gay Are You?”
With $ 5.50, the application claims to use the research findings to calculate the gay level of anyone, using the results of DNA testing as sold by 23andMe.
Controversy ensued. Is the application a “dangerous mischaracterization” of science or does it accurately underline the main point, namely there is no gene for being gay? Or does it show that the original research project to try to explain homosexual behavior was conceived?
The Gaydar application is now gone but the problem of genetic prediction will not disappear. Gene scientists have a new way to connect small genetic differences not only with a person’s risk of disease, but also with traits such as height, intelligence, or earning potential.
Dark Space Passenger
This year, a company in Israel launched its first lunar lander in the country, which unfortunately landed on the moon in April. Fortunately, there was no one on board. Unfortunately, there is something.
It turns out that a US non-profit organization called the Arch Mission Foundation secretly adds mission content to a capsule filled with tardigrades, or water bears.
Microscopic, eight-legged creatures can survive inactivity through harsh conditions, and maybe even on the moon.
The concept of planetary protection is the idea that we don’t have to pollute another world with earthly life. There are concerns about contamination, and what’s more, if you find life outside of orbit, you want to make sure you don’t put it there.
Without water, tardigrades will not revive and spread. However, this shows that this system might not be enough to ensure planetary protection.
Why did Arch do it? The foundation’s mission is to back up planet Earth, and thus test technologies for long-lasting records, such as securing information in DNA strands or wrapping insects in artificial resin.
Its payload on the Israeli mission includes nanopatterned nickel sheets with 60,000 Wikipedia pages and other texts. Arch and co-founder Nova Spivack decided to add some human hair, blood cells and thousands of tardigrades.
“We did not tell them that we put life into this,” said Spivack. “We have just decided to take a risk.”
Samsung Foldable Screen Phone
Reviews on Galaxy Fold phones are not as expected. “After one day of use,” Bloomberg gadget reviewer Mark Gurman tweeted in April along with a flickering screen image. “Completely damaged and unusable.”
Half a dozen folding phones are planned for next year. But Samsung’s premature introduction of a cellphone that opens with a 7.3-inch screen shows the difficulty of making major consumer innovations in smartphones.
The type that can make people buy new ones, and ward off cheap models from China. The review model is broken, delaminated, causing Samsung to suddenly delay the launch of the spring mobile phone, saying it will “take steps” to strengthen the display.
The company recognizes that defects “can be attributed” to weak hinges as well as “substances found in the device.” Gadget fans still can’t wait.
But reviewers say the re-engineered version, now sold for $ 1,980, remains “fragile and experimental” and is a “science experiment” which proves flexible screens are not ready.
Apple Credit Card
Why does a wealthy tech entrepreneur get a credit limit 10 times higher than his wife on the new Apple Card, even though their assets are jointly owned? When someone complains, a representative tells him, “This is just an algorithm.”
Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, said that also happened to his wife. But what is the program, and what is its function? Apple and Goldman Sachs, the bank that supports the card, did not say.
And that is the problem. Computerized bias exists, but it is difficult to hold anyone, or anything, responsible.
Facebook this year reached a conclusion to stop letting advertisers deliberately discriminate in housing and work advertisements, but research shows that invisible algorithms still diverge from the results.
Ads for taxi drivers on Facebook are automatically shown more often to minorities, and supermarket work for women.
Internet Off
This is the largest democracy in the world, but India is not so democratic in terms of internet services. Instead, the federal and local governments of the country have found that when there is a beer problem, the easiest response is to cut off access to Facebook, WhatsApp, and the entire internet.
In December, India shut down the internet for 60 million people, according to InternetShutdown. During the full year, it disconnected connectivity more than 90 times.
While India is a world champion in internet restrictions, similar closures have taken place in Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Sudan and Benin, where the government has learned that flipping a switch can cool dissent, avoid problems, and stop news of protests from reaching the world.
India’s major closure in December came after people in the north of the country began protesting citizenship laws that were unfavorable to Muslims.
Turmoil in the Kashmir region has been shut down since August. Some people have to travel for miles just to check email. (*)
