Google has invented a new gadget called Google Clips. The Google Clips, is a small, 2 inch high camera that automates the job of a photographer. Users would place the camera on a surface, preferably somewhere that people or pets would pass by frequently, such as a living room or kitchen space. Using an algorithm, the camera would capture “candid” pictures of scenes it believes are worthwhile. The camera looks for children, animals, and faces 3 to 8 feet from the lens when determining what makes a good photo. This may sound creepy, especially being from Google, a company known for capturing users data. However Google has been careful to not raise any privacy red flags and only  stores images and videos on the device. These clips can be previewed by connecting directly to the clips camera from your smartphone and manually choosing what you want to save.

I found this article to be interesting because it is difficult to create an algorithm that determines a good photo. This ties into our in class conversations of artificial intelligence, by using an algorithm to perform a task usually done by a human, which is capturing a “candid” photo. I feel as though this device is a good idea in concept, but would not take photos as well as a human can. I wouldn’t see myself using this much but its definitely a cool idea.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/30/technology/google-clips-photography/index.html

The Hudson’s Bay Company, which is famous for owning retail chains such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off 5th and Lord & Taylor, has confirmed a security breach on Sunday April 1. The stolen information was used for in store purchases and according to Hudson’s Bay “there is ‘no indication’ online purchases were affected.Gemini Advisory, a cyber security firm identify the security preach stating that it was amongst the largest and most damaging breaches to ever target retail companies, with over 130 locations impacted. The majority of stolen cards came from New York and New Jersey locations, with info obtained from sales dating back to May 2017.

This article tied into our in class discussions of security, specifically cyber security. Companies have had breaches like these in the past such as Home Depot, losing nearly 30 million due to a security breach. Penn State’s Database has also experienced a breach back in 2012, but was not notified until 2015. Penn State now offers a two-factor authentication system which uses more than one device to confirm your identity before allowing you to log in to your account. This article is proof that security breaches and identity theft can happen to anyone, whether it be an individual or a million dollar company, and it is important to take the measures to prevent this from occurring before it is too late.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/01/technology/saks-hack-credit-debit-card/index.html

-Stefan Desroches