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[ad_1] Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The algorithm repeated bias towards men, reflected in the technology industry An algorithm that was being tested as a recruitment tool by online giant Amazon was sexist and had to be scrapped, according to a Reuters report. The artificial intelligence system was trained on data submitted by applicants over a 10-year period, much of which came from men, it claimed. Reuters was told by members of the team working on it that the system effectively taught itself that male candidates were preferable. Amazon has not responded to the claims. Reuters spoke to five members of the team who developed the machine learning tool in 2014, none of whom wanted to be publicly named. They told Reuters that the system was intended to review job applications and give candidates a score r...

[ad_1] Image copyright AFP Image caption US warships were found to be harbouring the compromised computers, Bloomberg says Apple and Amazon are among US companies and agencies who have had data stolen by Chinese spies, claims Bloomberg. The data had been siphoned off via tiny chips inserted on server circuit boards made by a company called Super Micro Computer, reported the news agency. The servers had been compromised during manufacturing and the chips activated once they were up and running, it said. Apple, Amazon and Super Micro have rejected Bloomberg's claims, calling them "untrue". Bloomberg said a year-long investigation by reporters Jordan Robertson and Michael Riley had uncovered evidence of the wide-ranging attack, which gave Beijing access to 30 large companies and many federal agencies. It ...

[ad_1] Image copyright Amazon Online retailing giant Amazon is raising pay for hundreds of thousands of workers in the US and the UK. Workers in the US will be paid $15 an hour, compared to the minimum wage of $7.25. Those in the UK will be paid £9.50, or £10.50 in London, compared to the minimum UK wage rate of £7.83 for over 25s and £7.38 for those aged 21 to 24. The move will benefit 250,000 workers in the US, and 17,000 in the UK, and an estimated 20,000 seasonal workers. The increase will apply from 1 November to all staff, full and part-time, as well as temporary and seasonal workers. The company also said it would press for a change to the US minimum wage level. Amazon spokesman Jay Carney said: "We will be working to gain Congressional support for an increase in the federal minimum wage. The current rate of $7.25 was set nearly a decade ago." [ad_2]