A Google artificial intelligence program defeated a Chinese grand master at the ancient board game Go on Tuesday, a major feather in the cap for the firm's AI ambitions as it looks to woo Beijing to gain re-entry into the country. In the first of three planned games in the eastern water town of Wuzhen, the AlphaGo program held off China's world number one Ke Jie in front of Chinese officials and Google parent Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) chief executive Eric Schmidt. The victory over the world's top player - which many thought would take decades to achieve - underlines the potential of artificial intelligence to take on humans at complex tasks. Wooing Beijing may be less simple. The game streamed live on Google-owned YouTube, while executives from the DeepMind unit that developed the program sent out updates live on Twitter (TWTR.N). Both are blocked by China, as is Google search. Google pulled its search engine from China seven years ago after it refused to self-censor internet searches, a … [Read more...] about Google AI beats Chinese master in ancient game of Go
Google blocks 1,500 ‘toxic’ YouTube videos at Vietnam’s request
Google has blocked 1,500 YouTube videos Vietnam deems ‘toxic and harmful’ on the world’s largest video-sharing platform, the country’s electric information watchdog said Tuesday. Google has blocked 1,500 YouTube videos Vietnam deems ‘toxic and harmful’ on the world’s largest video-sharing platform, the country’s electric information watchdog said Tuesday. The ‘cleanup’ came more than a month after the Authority of Broadcasting and Electric Information under Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications demanded that more than 2,200 videos whose content is either fake or anti-government be removed from on Google-owned YouTube. Vietnam’s information ministry believed that there are as many as 8,000 such videos on YouTube. The removal of the harmful YouTube videos is result of several working sessions between Vietnam and Google representatives, after which the Internet giant has created a special mechanism … [Read more...] about Google blocks 1,500 ‘toxic’ YouTube videos at Vietnam’s request
Google offers support to tourism SMEs
Smartphone adoption in Vietnam is now at 72 percent and the same as in the US, but a far higher proportion of Vietnamese travelers use smartphones to research hotels and travel than people in the US do, according to Google’s 2016 Consumer Barometer report. The proportion of people using smartphones for researching hotels in Vietnam stands at 48 per cent, much higher than the US’s 18 per cent, while 42 per cent research overland travel compared to 25 per cent, and 37 per cent research flights against 18 per cent in the US. “The key to current and future success for travel businesses lies in getting mobile right,” Ms. Ha Lam Tu Quynh, Head of PR & Communications at Google Asia Pacific, told a recent conference on “Solutions for the Development of Vietnamese Tourism Businesses” in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam welcomed 10 million tourists last year, a 26 per cent increase from 2015, and the industry contributed 6.6 per cent of GDP, with the target … [Read more...] about Google offers support to tourism SMEs
See how Vietnam has changed through the eyes of Google Earth
Satellite images show dramatic changes to famous cities and regions across Vietnam between 1984 and 2016. Google has updated its Earth Engine Timelapse that shows how landscapes have changed in just 32 years. With 5 million satellite images taken over the past three decades by 5 different satellites, Timelapse allows you to zoom in on any corner of the world and see what has happened to that area over the period. Let’s see how Vietnam has changed. Hanoi The capital city has expanded and more buildings have gone up, especially along the two banks of the Red River. Sa Pa Tourism development has changed the northern mountainous town drastically, replacing vast forests with buildings. Da Nang The fast pace of urbanization has turned Da Nang from a fishing town into one of the biggest and most modern cities in Vietnam. Hoi An Rising sea levels have washed away beaches in Hoi An, and the serious erosion at Cua Dai Beach can easily be seen from the satellite images. Da … [Read more...] about See how Vietnam has changed through the eyes of Google Earth
Vietnam child abuser-turned-mother: Google never forgets my forgettable past
A young woman infamously known for abusing a child at a daycare in 2013 claims to have turned over a new leaf following time behind bars, though Google’s endless memory is a constant reminder that the Internet may never recognize “the new me.” A young woman infamously known for abusing a child at a daycare in 2013 claims to have turned over a new leaf following time behind bars, though Google’s endless memory is a constant reminder that the Internet may never recognize “the new me.” Nguyen Le Thien Ly became notorious countrywide after a video clip surfaced on the Internet in December 2013 which showed her repeatedly hitting a toddler’s back before attempting to drown the child in a water tank. Ly was 19 years old at the time of the incident and the scandal was immediately thrust into the media spotlight, with Ly and the owner of the daycare where the incident occurred tried in public court in January 2014. The young woman was sentenced to … [Read more...] about Vietnam child abuser-turned-mother: Google never forgets my forgettable past