farms

Google’s programmatic ad product, called Google Ads, is the largest exchange and made $168 billion in advertising revenue last year. The company has come under criticism for serving ads on content farms in the past, even though its own policies prohibit sites from placing Google-served ads on pages with “spammy automatically generated content.” Around a quarter of the sites flagged by NewsGuard featured programmatic ads from major brands. Of the 393 ads from big brands found on AI-generated sites, 356 were served by…

Aquaponics operations combine aquaculture and hydroponics, with nutrient-rich water from the former being used to fertilize plants in the latter. Soon, such systems could also be powered by methane biogas derived from their own fish feces.In a typical aquaponics setup, fish are raised in land-based pens which are connected (by pipes) to soil-less hydroponics grow beds in which vegetables are growing. As water is pumped from the one to the other, fish waste in that water fertilizes the plants. Additionally, bacteria in the…

When State Farm announced in May that the company would stop writing new homeowners insurance policies in California, it issued a two-paragraph statement by way of explanation.It listed “historic increases in construction costs,” “rapidly growing catastrophe exposure, and a challenging reinsurance market” as the culprits, adding that it needed to take this action to “improve the company’s financial strength.” Those two paragraphs sent shockwaves through the state. Coming in tandem with a similar pullback by Allstate, the…

Farmers around the world regularly burn post-harvest crop waste, producing a significant amount of greenhouse gases and air pollution in the process. A new portable system, however, can be brought to farms to convert that waste into useful products.The technology is the brainchild of Kevin Kung, who is currently a post-doctoral researcher in the Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group at Canada's University of British Columbia. It's being developed by spinoff company Takachar, of which he is the Chief Technical Officer.The…

Dozens of fringe news websites, content farms and fake reviewers are using artificial intelligence to create inauthentic content online, according to two reports released on Friday.The misleading AI content included fabricated events, medical advice and celebrity death hoaxes, the reports said, raising fresh concerns that the transformative technology could rapidly reshape the misinformation landscape online. The two reports were released separately by NewsGuard, a company that tracks online misinformation, and…

Terafab is an automated digital system featuring robots that build utility-scale solar farms, and its creators claim it’s able to double installation productivity yet reduce cost. Berkeley, California-based Terabase Energy‘s Terafab system features solar panel installation robots that can operate “24/7” on an automated assembly line on the solar farm’s site. The system uses robotic arms that lift and connect solar panels to trackers. The system also features a digital twin (i.e., a virtual…

Beaches have become makeshift necropsy labs along the shores of New York and New Jersey. An alarming number of whales are washing up along the east coast of the US. And when they do, a team of researchers arrives at the scene to hunt for clues pointing to a cause of death. They start by examining the outside of the body. Are there teeth marks from an attack? Or are there telltale signs of an accident with a ship: gashes from propellers, rust that has rubbed off from the vessel, broken bones or flesh that’s been pushed in…

The news-rating group NewsGuard has found dozens of news websites generated by AI chatbots proliferating online, according to a report published Monday, raising questions about how the technology may supercharge established fraud techniques. The 49 websites, which were independently reviewed by Bloomberg, run the gamut. Some are dressed up as breaking news sites with generic-sounding names like News Live 79 and Daily Business Post, while others share lifestyle tips, celebrity news or publish sponsored content. But none…

The person responsible for churning out some of those rage-inducing, clickbait headlines crawling their way through your Facebook feed might not actually be a person at all. In a report published Monday, researchers say they’ve found 49 examples of news sites with articles generated by ChatGPT-style AI chatbots. Though the articles identified share some common chatbot characteristics, NewsGuard warned the “unassuming reader” would likely never know they are written by software.Why Banning TikTok Won’t Protect Our…

To raise more crops from the earth, tractor maker Deere & Co. is looking to space. The farm-equipment company wants to use satellites to connect farms in remote areas of Brazil and the U.S. as the company rolls out high-tech machinery and software designed to sow and harvest crops more quickly, and with less manpower.  To raise more crops from the earth, tractor maker Deere & Co. is looking to space. The farm-equipment company wants to use satellites to connect farms…