Uber faces ban in Taiwan

In this week's edition of the Worldwide Wrap: Uber faces ban in Taiwan after authorities say the e-hailing taxi service was registered as a software company, and Yahoo develops an AI anti-harassment program.

E-hailing taxi service Uber could be banned in Taiwan, after state officials claimed the company did not operate lawfully within the country.

Treasury authorities say Uber's licence could be revoked because it was registered as a software company, not as a taxi service.
Via: BBC

Yahoo has developed an AI algorithm that can correctly detect up to 90% of abusive comments online, making it outperform other "state-of-the-art" deep-learning-based algorithms, according to a report by the algorithm's developers.

The algorithm uses a mix of machine learning and crowdsourced abuse detection to scan the comment sections of Yahoo News and Finance.
Via: Mashable

A vulnerability in the widely-used "chip and PIN" system has been exploited to make a cash machine spit out money.

Researchers speaking at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas demonstrated how small modifications to chip and PIN equipment would allow attackers to intercept the systems used to authorise payments. The team was able to make a mostly unmodified ATM dispense hundreds of dollars in cash.
Via: BBC

A Dutch inventor has started work on his next project - a cow drone.

Bart Jansen is best known for turning his dead cat Orville into a drone. His next flying venture aims to see him flying cows.
Via: BBC

Intel-owned company Basis will recall all of its Peak smartwatches after a portion of customers complained of the device overheating.

The issue first came about in June, when Basis halted the production and sales of its Peak devices due to the risk of burns or blistering because of the device becoming too hot during use.
Via: Arstechnica

A project called Living Architecture is developing construction bricks composed of biofilm that can harness solar energy, wastewater and air pollution, and turn them into usable resources.

The living bricks fit together to create 'bioreactor walls' that can be programmed to perform all sorts of functions. The inventors say the new, sustainable construction material could be worked into homes, public buildings and office spaces.
Via: Inhabitat