So I guess most of you know about the Momo challenge. A strange creepy like figure comes on your child’s social media, without warning. Then that figure challenges them to either harm or kill themselves. Consumer alert: The Momo suicide challenge.
So Momo targets children. Then, if that isn’t sick enough, Momo interrupts the most innocent of You Tube Kids shows. I’m talking about kids shows like Peppa Pig? and Doc McStuffins. The sociopaths behind Momo do this on purpose because they think the parents won’t catch on. But thankfully many are, because children are reporting it to parents. Good job, kids. This is what makes Momo so sick and sadistic. They’re going after children. Why?
However, this isn’t the first time the Momo challenge came on the scene. Last year, this creepy figure appeared in the What’s App. Two teenagers committed suicide because of it. This took place in? the South American nation of Columbia. The victims were a 12-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy. So far, no deaths or injuries have been reported from this current round of Momo sights. But I can see why parents, teachers and security experts worry. Anytime you have a coward, or group of cowards, using IT service and social media to tell children to harm and kill, that’s major cause for alarm.
Parents, please know what your kids are watching on You Tube. Not only that, but warn them of Momo. And instruct them on what to do if they do see this character. I’m thankful that kids are already alerting adults about this. Yes, You Tube and other IT support systems do the best they can, but they need the consumer’s help. You see, AI and algorithms do much of the programming now, so much is out of human hands. And the bad guys know it. That’s why we in the community need to step it up like never before. We don’t know who is behind this, but police worldwide are looking for them. In fact, celebrities like Kim Kardashian call for an end to this Momo challenge. This is a consumer alert: The Momo suicide challenge. What will you do about it?
So far, things are not boring at the Barcelona Mobile World Congress (MWC). First, there is the controversy surrounding China smartphone company Huawai. Then, we have the public display of a technology you wear…inside your skin. Man shows off their RFID Chip: stunt or new reality?
So actually, several people took the stage here. The first man shows off their RFID chip. One was Edger Pons, who publicly got the chip inserted under his skin. He testified how he had an ‘automatic’ house. That means your doors and other openings are keyless. You have to have either a password or device to open them. The chip is about the size of a grain of rice. He says not only will it make it easy for him to access his house, but he can take it out anytime he wants.
The second man, who is now an RFID chip veteran, goes by the name of Pau. This man shows off their RFID chip by putting his smartphone under the chip’s skin entry. This was to show how easy it is to pay for goods simply by using his chip and/or smartphone. Sabadell, is the Spanish bank chain that sponsor this. And Sabadell executives looked on and bragged with pride. Then there’s the third person, name an engineer and curator for Alpha. That’s a Barcelona IT support firm. While this was going on, he assures the chip will NOT degrade in your skin, and bragged on other features.
But what is to make of this?? Well, they don’t tell you that you can be tracked 24/7 with if you get this RFID chip. They also don’t tell you you basically sell your privacy, what little we have left, for a little bit of convenience. Yes, Pons says he can take it out anytime he wants. But do you want to be your own surgeon every time you want to take this chip out? In this crazy IT service and tech business, I learned years ago to look at what they’re not saying. Is this a stunt or new reality?
So remember when the iPhone X came out at around $1,000? That was pretty outrageous. Then came the iPhone XS and XS Max, which ran as high as almost $1,500. But Huawei, the Chinese smartphone giant, is about to top them all. Huawei makes news for right and wrong reasons.
So Huawei is coming out with their latest phone, the Mate X. It’s their new folding phone, and you can expect to pay $2,600 for it. The folding phone seems to be the next big thing. Huawei wants the biggest piece of that they can get. But folding phones don’t come cheap. For example, Samsung has a folding phone that’ll cost $1,900. Some leaders explain that when the notebook came out, it was unbeleivebly expensive. But as it got more popular, the prices became more affordable. That is Huawei’s hope for their $2,600 Mate X.
Huawei is also quite the star at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress (MWC). In fact, they’re so big that multiple nations are blocking their 5G infrastructure. This includes the US, Australia and Japan. In Barcelona, people of the MWC claims Huawei said, “…Huawei has now completely taken over the normal course of events”. But the US is especially critical of Huawei, and the feeling is mutual. One Hwawei brags that there is no way the US can beat them.
But Huawei may have an unlikely ally…US President Donald Trump. In a tweet, he hints that he welcomes Huawei as competition. Chairman Ken Hu tweeted back that he agreed and wants to work within the US. The 5G debate has been heated and controversial, to say the least. And Huawei is in the middle of it. But this Mate X could be the next big thing in IT support, IT service, and smartphone use. That’s how Huawei makes news for right and wrong reasons. What do you think of Huawei?
So Back in November 2018, China’s state media made news history and computer technology history. Because they put an AI robot in charge of broadcasting the news. Then, last week, they made news again. They hired a female robot to broadcast the news. These are China’s AI news anchors. Is this a media trend?
So let’s go back to November 2018. The robot’s name is Qui Hao. It will deliver the news tirelessly, and it can do so all day every day. However, the scary thing is how human it looks. It wears a suit and tie, just like real (when I say real, I mean human) anchors do. It also nods it’s heads, blinks, and makes other human movements. Chinese IT support company Xinhua is the one who put this together. Qui Hao can also speak perfect English.
Then they bring in their second robot. It is a female they name Xin Xiaomeng. The same IT service company that created Qui also created Xin. This includes the help of some search engines. Like Qui, Xin has human movements and can speak perfect English. It wears a professional pink dress and has very well done hair, like a real woman news anchor would. In fact, Qui and Xin are often seen broadcasting the news together. They do it in record time. For instance, 3,400 news reports in less than 10,000 minutes. That averages to one news story about every three minutes.
This is what is scary. It’s scary enough that robots are taking up other jobs. The creepier thing is some are taking robots as lovers. Look, I know many people are fed up with the media today. I’m fed up with it. But hiring robots instead of human reporters is not the way. China’s AI news anchors aren’t going to make it better. Or are these robots a source of mind control? Who control these robots? Think about who programs these AI machines. Civil rights leader Malcolm X used to say, “The media is the most powerful thing on Earth”. The Chinese government knows this. Human anchors have their own feelings. Robots don’t. So are they using robots to further control the masses in way human journalists can not?
So let me give this disclaimer now. This article is not to scare anyone. But in these global volatile times, we, even us in the IT support and computer repair world should prepare for anything. I heard Putin’s address to Russia, and it was terrifying. Then I ask myself: Should the USA prepare for a cyberattack?
So many tech and intelligent experts say Russia and China can now launch huge cyberattacks. They can attack our electric grid and oil pipelines, among other parts of our infrastructure. In fact, one US intelligence firm confirmed this. This committee’s report says Russia and China often practice with weapons that could really mess up the systems we depend on. Think this is sci-fi? Earlier this week, I read about how Russia is having drills to live without the Internet, in case of an emergency. This committee’s report warns since we’re depending more on digital devices, our opponents can exploit that. It also warns of Russia and China’s cyber spying. The report then says Russia sees the US’s political, social and racial tensions these days. Their cyber spies see that and use it to their advantage, like sharks who smell blood in the water.
Then there are other worries. This report states AI and robotic technology can be even a bigger threat than any foreign foe.? Like I said, this is not to fear-monger. But we can’t stick our heads in the sand about this either. Did you know that if someone hits us with an EMP cyber attack, it would knock out everything? There would be no more computers of any kind, no more smartphones, no more radio, TV, even telegraphs. Most jobs and businesses would cease to exist. You wouldn’t even be able to start your car. Planes, trains and buses would be grounded. In other words, a cyber attack could knock us back to the 19th century! This is why we should be in the know of such things.? Should the USA prepare for a cyberattack? And if so, then what do we do about it?
