Facebook plays the Uno reverse card and buys your data, MIT discovered a new potent antibiotic compound using AI, and Instagram Music has finally come to Canada.
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Thank you for tuning into Hashtag Trending, it’s Monday, February 24th, and I’m your host, Tom Li.
Trending on Google, Facebook will now pay money to improve its voice recognition data. Through Viewpoints, Facebook’s research app, a select number of users will be chosen to ask Portal, Facebook’s home device, to call a friend. Repeating the task 10 times earns you 200 points in the app. Once you’ve collected 1,000, you can convert them into a cool $5. Unfortunately, each participant will only be able to transact once, so it isn’t a great way to get rich quick.
Trending on Google, MIT has discovered a new antibiotic compound that can kill even the most resilient bacterias. The algorithm derived the antibiotic formula in mere days after scanning through more than 100 million chemical compounds. The new antibiotic attacks bacteria using unconventional mechanisms and was able to clear infections in two different mouse models. Using machine learning to explore potential drugs is significantly cheaper and much quicker than current methods, which could lead to more potent and affordable drugs.
Trending on LinkedIn, Instagram Music has finally landed in Canada. This tool finally allows Canadian Instagrammers to insert homegrown Canadian music into their stories and posts. To use it, navigate to the sticker icon and select the Music sticker from Instagram’s camera. If you feel like the timing is apt, you can also use songs to reply to questions posted in your friend’s stories. There’s a breadth of new musical effects as well to give the same song new perspectives.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Tom Li, thanks for listening.