5G’s rollout impacted planes, California democrats undecided on new EV proposition, and a new Danish political party is led by an AI.
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That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now, welcome to Hashtag Trending. It’s Tuesday, October 18, and I’m your host, Tom Li.
Earlier in the year, three flights above Tennessee experienced altimeter errors that made it challenging to maintain proper altitude. In one case, it resulted in one jet losing its autopilot completely. These incidents, and several others, were linked by pilots to problems with the aircraft’s altimeters, which are needed to help avoid crashing into mountains. According to reports, the complaints of malfunctioning altimeters coincided with the introduction of high-speed 5G wireless networks, which use similar frequencies as these instruments. Between January and May, there were 93 reports of faulty or failing radar altimeters. While these errors are decreasing, pilots are calling for more safety measures.
Source: IEEE Spectrum
California Democrats are split on a ballot measure that would tax the rich to help put more electric cars on the road. The proposal calls for a 1.75 per cent tax on personal income of more than $2 million. State analysts estimate it could raise $5 billion a year to help drive EV adoption and to build charging stations, with some allocated to fighting wildfires. But according to AP News, California governor Gavin Newsom has branded the proposition as a money grab by ridesharing giant Lyft. Newsom added that he has already dedicated $10 billion to various programs aimed at boosting EV adoption over the next six years.
Source: Associated Press
A new Danish political party called The Synthetic Party, with an artificially intelligent representative and policies derived from AI, is looking for a seat in parliament. The party, which was founded by the artist collective Computer Lars and a non-profit tech organization MindFuture Foundation, is hoping to run in the country’s November general election. A Vice article reported that the party’s led by the AI chatbot Leader Lars, which has been programmed on the policies of Danish fringe parties since 1970. Leader Lars is an AI chatbot that people can speak with via Discord. People can address Leader Lars by beginning their sentences with an exclamation mark. Leader Lars won’t be on the ballot anywhere, but the human members of The Synthetic Party are committed to carrying out their AI-derived platform.
Source: Vice
A first-generation iPhone from 2007 is on the auction block, with the auction house estimating it could go for $30,000 or more. The very first iPhone came with a 3.5-inch screen, a 2-megapixel camera, and a web browser. CEO Steve Jobs introduced it 15 years ago, calling it a combination of the iPod, a phone, and an “internet communicator.” The 8GB iPhone is sealed in its original box. The auction ended Sunday afternoon. Business Insider reported that at the time there had been 16 bids for the phone, starting at $2,500 with one of the top bids at $10,446.
Source: Business Insider
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 briefings or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. Also, catch the next episode of Hashtag Tendances, our weekly Hashtag Trending episode in French, which drops every Thursday morning. If you have a suggestion or a tip, drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thank you for listening, I’m Tom Li.