Few apps made by a Big Tech company have improved more over the years than Google Maps. When it launched in 2005, it was a moderately better alternative to AOL’s MapQuest. With the rise of smartphones, it became truly essential to the lives of millions — upending incumbents whose entire business had been selling expensive, subscription-based in-car navigation systems. And with each passing year it improves: offering advice about when to change lanes, rerouting you to avoid traffic, and even telling you which exit to take when climbing out of the New York subway. Today is its 15th birthday.
It’s a happy story in a relatively dark time for consumer tech, so it makes sense that Google would want to celebrate. The company marked the occasion with a lightly refreshed design, including a good-looking new pin-shaped logo. It also sat for a portrait in Wired, where Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai took a victory lap with Lauren Goode and Boone Ashworth:
“Overall, I think computing should work in a way where it’s much more intuitive to the way people live and not the other way around,” Pichai says. “AR and Maps is really in the sweet spot of that, because as humans we’re walking around the world, perceiving a lot, trying to understand a lot.” Pichai says he sees a future in which Maps users are walking around and an AR layer of information is popping up in Maps, showing them vegetarian menu options at nearby restaurants.
That doesn’t mean AR in Google Maps works like magic now—or will in the near future. “We talk about the double-edge sword of AR,” says Alex Komoroske, director of product management at Maps. “If you get it exactly right, it’s extremely intuitive. But if we get it wrong, it is actively confusing. It’s worse than showing nothing.”
People walking around and finding themselves subject to ubiquitous computing — whether they like it or not — is a subject that has been in the news constantly of late, as we debate the rise of for-profit facial recognition and tools like Clearview AI. It’s a story that, to my mind, starts with the rise of Google Maps.
But first, a bit of history.
“Worse than showing nothing” is what Google Maps was accused of a decade ago in Germany, where in the aftermath of the Nazi regime, privacy-conscious Germans objected to the latest feature added to the app in the name of progress: Street View, which took photos of everyone’s homes and allows anyone to browse them at their leisure. In response to criticism, then-Google CEO Eric Schmidt famously suggested that people angry about the loss of privacy should simply move. (To where?!) Angry Germans sued, but ultimately lost. The courts ruled that, because the photos had been taken from a public road, and people could opt out of having their homes shown, their privacy had not been violated.
Of course, one reason that people object to these massive data-collection schemes is that they almost always gather more data than even their creators intend. Street View cars, for example, connected to unsecured Wi-Fi networks as they made their rounds between 2008 and 2010 — and when they did, slurped up “snippets of e-mails, photographs, passwords, chat messages, [and] postings on websites and social networks,” according to a 2012 story in the New York Times.
Google said it had all been a mistake and apologized, and Germany fined just shy of the maximum for a data privacy breach on that scale: a hilarious 145,000 euros. (I am not leaving out any zeroes on accident there.) In the intervening years, like most data privacy scandals, it has been more or less forgotten.
Still, the case feels freshly relevant in light of the past month’s news about Clearview AI. Like Google in 2008, Clearview slurps up public data — in this case, photos of people posted publicly on the internet — to build a for-profit tool without the permission of anyone involved.
In fact, much of the news in the past week has been companies (including Google!) leaping up to insist that Clearview does not have permission to build its Google-for-faces tool, which the company says it sells only to law enforcement. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Venmo have sent similar cease-and-desist letters.
No one seems terribly confident those letters will be effective, though. Last year, another for-profit company that LinkedIn sued for scraping its public content won its case. There are arguably some good reasons about that — the ability to scrape public sites is good for journalists and academics, for example.
The uses and potential misuses of Clearview’s technology strike me as plainly dangerous in a way that Street View never did. Google offered you a view of an address you could have visited yourself, and — critically — allowed homeowners to opt out of the program, blurring the view of their houses. Like other Google Maps features, it was conceived as a tool for helping people get around — not to empower the prison-industrial complex.
Still, for everything Google Maps did right — and I am a highly satisfied customer — it also heralded a new era in networked photography. You cannot make a previously unseen world visible without making it, at least in some ways, less secure. Look at the once-sleepy neighborhoods transformed into clogged wrecks the moment that Google Maps (through its acquisition of Waze) gained visibility into traffic patterns, and began rerouting the world in the name of efficiency. Once again, making something easier to see made a large group of people feel less safe.
On the whole, at least for me, I’d say it has been a good bargain. But as Maps turns 15, it seems worth noting that there’s a straight line from Street View to Clearview. We’re beginning to understand in America what Germans knew a decade ago — that whatever miracles technology can provide must always be weighed against the value of simply being left alone.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
After the 2016 election, much was made of the threats posed to American democracy by foreign disinformation. Stories of Russian troll farms and Macedonian fake-news mills loomed in the national imagination. But while these shadowy outside forces preoccupied politicians and journalists, Trump and his domestic allies were beginning to adopt the same tactics of information warfare that have kept the world’s demagogues and strongmen in power.
Every presidential campaign sees its share of spin and misdirection, but this year’s contest promises to be different. In conversations with political strategists and other experts, a dystopian picture of the general election comes into view—one shaped by coordinated bot attacks, Potemkin local-news sites, micro-targeted fearmongering, and anonymous mass texting. Both parties will have these tools at their disposal. But in the hands of a president who lies constantly, who traffics in conspiracy theories, and who readily manipulates the levers of government for his own gain, their potential to wreak havoc is enormous.
The two filed a class-action lawsuit against Facebook and Cognizant on Wednesday, alleging the companies made content moderators work under dangerous conditions that caused debilitating physical and psychological harm and did little to help them cope with the traumas they suffered as a result. Jeudy also has filed a discrimination charge against Cognizant with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The lawsuit says the two companies ignored the very safety standards they helped create. It also alleges that Facebook’s outsourcing relationship with Cognizant is a way for the social media giant to avoid accountability for the mental health issues that result from moderating graphic content on the platform.
In the statement for users, TikTok said that it was “extremely sad about this tragedy” and guaranteed that its top priority was to “foster a secure and positive environment on the application.” The company wrote, “We have measures in place to protect users from misusing the app, including simple mechanisms that allow you to report content that violates our terms of use.” Insofar as these mechanisms exist, however, they had clearly not worked as well as advertised. […]
According to the ByteDance source, TikTok’s chief of operations in Brazil and Latin America advised employees of the Brazilian office not to say anything about what had occurred. “Her orders were clear: ‘Don’t let it go viral,’” the source told me.
Cycling is dangerous, but emoji are cute. So naturally:
Here comes Ford with a novel solution: an emoji jacket. As part of its “Share the Road” campaign to improve cycling safety, the automaker’s European division designed a cycling jacket with an LED display on the back that lights up with various emoji to convey the cyclist’s mood. A smiley face indicates a happy cyclist, a frowny face a less happy one, and so on. There are also directional symbols for when a cyclist intends to make a turn and a hazard symbol when they may be experiencing a flat tire.
CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines has struck a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer satellite-based Starlink WiFi service on flights within the next several years.
The airline said Friday the service will be free to passengers.
United said it will begin testing the service early next year and begin offering it on some flights by later in 2025.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The announcement comes as airlines rush to offer more amenities as a way to stand out when passengers pick a carrier for a trip. United’s goal is to make sitting on a plane pretty much like being on the ground when it comes to browsing the internet, streaming entertainment and playing games.
“Everything you can do on the ground, you’ll soon be able to do on board a United plane at 35,000 feet, just about anywhere in the world,” CEO Scott Kirby said in announcing the deal.
The airline says Starlink will allow passengers to get internet access even over oceans and polar regions where traditional cell or Wi-Fi signals may be weak or missing.
Sony has made it easy for Canadian consumers to preorder the PlayStation 5 Pro in Canada directly from PlayStation’s official website. Here’s how:
Visit the Official Website: Go to direct.playstation.com and navigate to the PS5 Pro section once preorders go live on September 26, 2024.
Create or Log in to Your PlayStation Account: If you don’t have a PlayStation account, you will need to create one. Existing users can simply log in to proceed.
Place Your Preorder: Once logged in, follow the instructions to preorder your PS5 Pro. Ensure you have a valid payment method ready and double-check your shipping information for accuracy.
Preorder Through Major Canadian Retailers
While preordering directly from PlayStation is a popular option, you can also secure your PS5 Pro through trusted Canadian retailers. These retailers are expected to offer preorders on or after September 26:
Best Buy Canada
Walmart Canada
EB Games (GameStop)
Amazon Canada
The Source
Steps to Preorder via Canadian Retailers:
Visit Retailer Websites: Search for “PlayStation 5 Pro” on the website of your preferred retailer starting on September 26.
Create or Log in to Your Account: If you’re shopping online, having an account with the retailer can speed up the preorder process.
Preorder in Store: For those who prefer in-person shopping, check with local stores regarding availability and preorder policies.
3. Sign Up for Notifications
Many retailers and websites offer the option to sign up for notifications when the preorder goes live. If you’re worried about missing out due to high demand, this can be a useful option.
Visit Retailer Sites: Look for a “Notify Me” or “Email Alerts” option and enter your email to stay informed.
Use PlayStation Alerts: Sign up for notifications directly through Sony to be one of the first to know when preorders are available.
4. Prepare for High Demand
Preordering the PS5 Pro is expected to be competitive, with high demand likely to result in quick sellouts, just as with the initial release of the original PS5. To maximize your chances of securing a preorder:
Act Quickly: Be prepared to place your order as soon as preorders open. Timing is key, as stock can run out within minutes.
Double-Check Payment Information: Ensure your credit card or payment method is ready to go. Any delays during the checkout process could result in losing your spot.
Stay Informed: Monitor PlayStation and retailer websites for updates on restocks or additional preorder windows.
Final Thoughts
The PlayStation 5 Pro is set to take gaming to the next level with its enhanced performance, graphics, and new features. Canadian gamers should be ready to act fast when preorders open on September 26, 2024, to secure their console ahead of the holiday season. Whether you choose to preorder through PlayStation’s official website or your preferred retailer, following the steps outlined above will help ensure a smooth and successful preorder experience.
For more details on the PS5 Pro and to preorder, visit direct.playstation.com or stay tuned to updates from major Canadian retailers.
Since the PlayStation 5 (PS5) launched four years ago, PlayStation has continuously evolved to meet the demands of its players. Today, we are excited to announce the next step in this journey: the PlayStation 5 Pro. Designed for the most dedicated players and game creators, the PS5 Pro brings groundbreaking advancements in gaming hardware, raising the bar for what’s possible.
Key Features of the PS5 Pro
The PS5 Pro comes equipped with several key performance enhancements, addressing the requests of gamers for smoother, higher-quality graphics at a consistent 60 frames per second (FPS). The console’s standout features include:
Upgraded GPU: The PS5 Pro’s GPU boasts 67% more Compute Units than the current PS5, combined with 28% faster memory. This allows for up to 45% faster rendering speeds, ensuring a smoother gaming experience.
Advanced Ray Tracing: Ray tracing capabilities have been significantly enhanced, with reflections and refractions of light being processed at double or triple the speed of the current PS5, creating more dynamic visuals.
AI-Driven Upscaling: Introducing PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, an AI-based upscaling technology that adds extraordinary detail to images, resulting in sharper image clarity.
Backward Compatibility & Game Boost: More than 8,500 PS4 games playable on PS5 Pro will benefit from PS5 Pro Game Boost, stabilizing or enhancing performance. PS4 games will also see improved resolution on select titles.
VRR & 8K Support: The PS5 Pro supports Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and 8K gaming for the ultimate visual experience, while also launching with the latest wireless technology, Wi-Fi 7, in supported regions.
Optimized Games & Patches
Game creators have quickly embraced the new technology that comes with the PS5 Pro. Many games will receive free updates to take full advantage of the console’s new features, labeled as PS5 Pro Enhanced. Some of the highly anticipated titles include:
Alan Wake 2
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
Demon’s Souls
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Gran Turismo 7
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Horizon Forbidden West
These updates will allow players to experience their favorite games at a higher fidelity, taking full advantage of the console’s improved graphics and performance.
Design & Compatibility
Maintaining consistency within the PS5 family, the PS5 Pro retains the same height and width as the original PS5 model. Players will also have the option to add an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive or swap console covers when available.
Additionally, the PS5 Pro is fully compatible with all existing PS5 accessories, including the PlayStation VR2, DualSense Edge, Pulse Elite, and Access controller. This ensures seamless integration into your current gaming setup.
Pricing & Availability
The PS5 Pro will be available starting November 7, 2024, at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of:
$699.99 USD
$949.99 CAD
£699.99 GBP
€799.99 EUR
¥119,980 JPY
Each PS5 Pro comes with a 2TB SSD, a DualSense wireless controller, and a copy of Astro’s Playroom pre-installed. Pre-orders begin on September 26, 2024, and the console will be available at participating retailers and directly from PlayStation via direct.playstation.com.
The launch of the PS5 Pro marks a new chapter in PlayStation’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge gaming experiences. Whether players choose the standard PS5 or the PS5 Pro, PlayStation aims to provide the best possible gaming experience for everyone.
Preorder your PS5 Pro and step into the next generation of gaming this holiday season.