Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

All posts by Aida Akl

US Tech Firms Fight Encryption-limits Bill; Free Wi-Fi Networks Unsafe

Posted April 20th, 2016 at 12:48 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Groups Representing Google, Netflix, Microsoft, Apple Slam Latest Bill Aiming to Curb Tech Security Both houses of the U.S. Congress are looking at bills that could seriously limit building strong privacy measures into tech devices and social media messaging services. But this week, a host of groups representing major tech companies published […]

Augmented Reality Takes on the PC; Your Newscast in Virtual Reality

Posted April 19th, 2016 at 11:59 am (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: This Mysterious Startup Wants to Kill Computers for Good It’s called Magic Leap – a new startup that is developing a headset or goggles it hopes will do away with computer screens for good. The plan is to use the headset to add an augmented reality layer to the real world view. […]

Asia Mobile Banking Apps Riddled With Malware

Posted April 15th, 2016 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
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Mobile users are more likely to fall victim to cyberattacks in Asia than in any other region, in part because the continent’s Android mobile banking system is riddled with malware, thanks to a lack of awareness and the proliferation of third-party software. While cybercriminals are likely to attack wherever they can get a foothold, the […]

Encrypting the Entire Web; Facebook’s New Plan to Connect the World

Posted April 14th, 2016 at 11:35 am (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: A Scheme to Encrypt the Entire Web Is Actually Working Encryption is slowly becoming the enemy, so to speak, as lawmakers, at least in the U.S., rush to enact legislation that would either add back doors to mobile devices or force tech companies to comply with government requests to unlock certain smartphones. […]

Robot Joins Search for Loch Ness Monster; Facebook’s Bots Are Coming

Posted April 13th, 2016 at 12:57 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Robot Finds ‘Monster’ Film Prop In Loch Ness Munin, an underwater robot, has been making an in-depth exploration of Scotland’s famous Loch Ness. Scientists undertook the mission to investigate an underwater trench said to house the nest of the fabled Loch Ness monster. So far, it has managed to find some film […]

IBM’s Watson Joins Cancer War; Google to Train 1 Million Africans

Posted April 12th, 2016 at 11:33 am (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: IBM Watson Enlists in War on Cancer IBM’s artificial intelligence system, also known as Watson, is being fed nearly 14,000 pages of all kinds of cancer topics to create a mobile app that can offer personalized advice to cancer patients. The effort is a partnership between IBM and the American Cancer Society. […]

VR Aids Therapy, but What Happens to Your Brain?

Posted April 8th, 2016 at 9:05 am (UTC-5)
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Virtual reality (VR) is finally becoming a reality for consumers, thanks to a new generation of affordable gear that could expand its use beyond travel and entertainment to medicine. But what you might not know is that VR is already in use for therapy and has been for the past 20 years, although its long-term […]

Philippines Suffers Massive Breach; Your Next Car Needs a Firewall

Posted April 7th, 2016 at 12:01 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Megabreach Leaves 55 Million Philippine Voters Exposed The database of the Philippines’ Commission on Elections has been compromised in what could be the biggest government-related breach ever. Researchers at cybersecurity firm Trend Micro found sensitive information, including passport and fingerprint data, among the compromised files. Officials played down the incident, saying sensitive […]

3-D Printing Recreates Rembrandt; The Woman Behind Microsoft’s Tay

Posted April 6th, 2016 at 11:28 am (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Computer, 3-D Printer Create Perfect Rembrandt Painting ‘The Next Rembrandt’ – a collaboration between historians, software developers, scientists, engineers and analysts – has recreated the work of Dutch painter Rembrandt using a computer and a 3-D printer. The team spent months studying the master’s works in order to create an algorithm that […]

AI Helps Blind Navigate Facebook; China’s Panama Papers Scramble

Posted April 5th, 2016 at 11:54 am (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Facebook Using Artificial Intelligence to Help Visually Impaired Most of Facebook’s one billion users scroll through their timelines unhindered and unaware that there are many others who cannot see what they see because of visual impairment. Facebook has been working to remedy the situation with a tool powered by artificial intelligence that guides […]