Researchers may have found what causes smartphone batteries to explode

Why it matters to you

This new research into batteries could lead to safer smartphones, tablets, and laptops

Batteries have been a major concern of smartphone makers for years now, but research into better batteries took on a more urgent tone in 2016, when reports started surfacing that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 phablets were exploding. At first, it was unclear as to what the problem was, but Samsung eventually confirmed that the incidents were due to faulty batteries. Despite this, we still didn’t have much information as to what actually caused the batteries themselves to catch fire, but a team of scientists may have found the answer.

Using a technique known as cryo-electron microscopy, a team of scientists working on battery development were able to observe the chain reaction that sometimes causes lithium-ion batteries to explode.

In their paper entitled “Atomic structure of sensitive battery materials and interfaces revealed by cryo–electron microscopy,” the team pinned the blame on dendrites, small crystalline structures that are formed when an excess electrical charge passes through a lithium-ion battery. As they grow, these six-sided crystals can sometimes break the barriers between different parts of a battery, which will cause it to short-circuit and, sometimes, blow up.

During the course of their research, the team was able to freeze the batteries at different points and remove certain components. They were then able to observe how this affected the batteries on an atomic level.

Though this research was conducted on lithium batteries, the team says that this process can be used to examine any of the materials used in the construction of batteries.

“With cryo-EM, you can look at a material that’s fragile and chemically unstable and you can preserve its pristine state — what it looks like in a real battery ­— and look at it under high resolution. This includes all kinds of battery materials. The lithium metal we studied here is just one example, but it’s an exciting and very challenging one,” said lead researcher Yi Cui said.

The team is hopeful that their work will lead to the creation of safer batteries. Once we understand how dendrites are formed, battery makers can take steps to prevent them from forming, which will hopefully spare us another Note 7 incident.

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Master your new Google phone with these handy Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL tips and tricks

Got a Google Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL smartphone? You’ve made a good choice — we crowned the Pixel 2 XL as the best Android phone, and the Pixel 2 sits right behind it. While you likely have the basics down, we’re here to help you get the most of your new phone by Google.

Check out our handy Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL tips and tricks below, and if you’re looking for cases, take a peek at our best Pixel 2 cases and best Pixel 2 XL cases guides.

How to turn Notification dots on or off

Notification Dots is a feature introduced in Android 8.0 Oreo, and it’s similar to Apple’s unread notification badges. Dots, colored the same as the app, will appear on the right of an app icon if you have an unread notification.  If you have your apps separated into folders, you’ll see a white dot in the right-hand corner. To turn them off, press and hold down anywhere on the home screen and go to Home Settings > Notification Dots and toggle off Allow notification dots.

How to turn At a Glance on or off

At a Glance is the widget on top of your home screen that tells you the date and the weather. Tap on the date, and it will open Google Calendar; tap on the weather, and it will open up a Google search of the weather. But if you have an upcoming calendar event, the date is replaced by the calendar event name. It can also alert you of traffic information. If you don’t want those features, press down on the home screen and tap on Home Settings > At a Glance and toggle off Calendar events and/or Traffic information.

How to double tap the screen to wake it

The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL has an Always-on Display, but how do you wake the display without picking up the phone? Double-tap the screen and the lock screen will light up — here you can see the date, time, and notifications. Double-tap a notification to jump into it, or slide it down to interact with it. Double-tapping the screen to wake it should be on by default, but if it’s not, or if you want to turn it off, head to Settings > Display >  Advanced > Ambient Display > Double-tap to toggle the setting. The fingerprint sensor on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL is on the back, so even if you wake the screen there’s no way to quickly unlock it when it’s flat on a desk unless you use Google’s Smart Lock features.

How to turn on/off Always-on screen

The Always-on Display works as it sounds. Your phone’s screen will always show a dimly-lit clock, as well as notification icons. When you get a notification, it will fade in and you can double tap it to open it. If you don’t want this feature, go to Settings > Display >  Advanced > Ambient Display and toggle Always On.

How to use Now Playing

Now Playing is a new feature that lets you see the name of a song when it’s playing in the background. It’s not meant to be a music search feature, but if you’re sitting at a coffee shop or restaurant and you wonder what song is playing, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL should automatically show it on the Always-on Display. It works offline with a directory of thousands of songs that changes every week, and nothing is shared with Google. It works best with popular songs, and it may not know what’s playing all the time. You can head to Settings > Sound > Advanced > Now Playing if you want to turn it off. If you double-tap on the song name, Google Assistant will open it up and let you add it to your installed music app.

There’s currently no way to track the complete history of your songs, but press and hold the home button and expand the Google Assistant window and it will show your history, including Now Playing songs you clicked on, until a certain point. If you’d like to keep a running tab of your full history, you can download a third-party app called Now Playing History.

If you want to know what song is playing and Now Playing is taking too long, your best bet — short of installing an app like Shazam or SoundHound — is to ask Google Assistant “what’s this song?” This needs an internet connection, and will work with a wider range of songs so it’s a little more accurate.

How to boost the color saturation

Think the screen is too muted? You can crank up the colors by heading to Settings > Display > Advanced and toggle on Vivid Colors. While it won’t make much of a difference, it does increase the color saturation by 10 percent. Google is planning on adding a Saturation Mode in an upcoming update for people who want their colors to pop.

How to turn off the Google feed and app suggestions

When you swipe left while on your home screen, it’ll will conveniently bring you to the Google feed. The feed is a curation of news stories and personalized information that may be interesting to you. Similarly, swipe up the dock and you can access your app drawer — at the top are a few suggested apps Google thinks you may want to access quickly. If you don’t find these two features particularly useful, switch them off by holding down the home screen and tapping Home Settings. Toggle off Display Google app and App suggestions.

How to set up a Living Universe wallpaper

With the Pixel 2, live wallpapers are back and cooler than ever before. Whether it’s waves crashing on a calming coastline in Lagos, or cars driving on a road in Hawaii, the Pixel 2 has a variety of options to choose from. To change your wallpaper, simply press down on the home screen and tap Wallpapers from the options on the screen. Then, tap on Living Universe for the gallery of choices. Once you find the one you like, simply tap “Set Wallpaper” in the right-hand corner.

How to enable a dark theme

Is the notification drawer, app drawer, and other user interface elements too bright for you? There’s a way to make them pitch black so it’s easy on your eyes, but you need Android 8.1 Oreo. It’s currently in public beta, and there’s a chance it’s buggy — we haven’t found any issues with it. You can get it by joining the Android Beta Program, and enrolling your device. Within 24 hours, you’ll get a notification on your phone to install it. Once installed, all you need to do is set a dark wallpaper, such as the Marvelous Marble Living Universe wallpaper. All the user interface elements, from the notification drawer and app drawer to the power options and folders will be black. Only the Settings app will remain white.

How to access Google Support Chat or Phone

If you’re in need of assistance for your device or a Google service, you can access Google Support through Settings > Support & Tips. You can either request to chat via text, or request a callback instead if you prefer to talk on the phone. Both options give you a blank message window to describe your issue in detail.

How to set up Active Edge

Active Edge allows you to activate your Google Assistant — whether your screen is on or off — or silence incoming calls by squeezing the bottom half of your phone. To set up the feature, go to Settings > System > Languages, input, and gestures > Active Edge and toggle on either of the options. You can also choose from a range of squeeze sensitivity between light and firm — in case you tend to squeeze your device by accident. You can also activate Google Assistant by pressing down on the home button or through voice by saying “OK Google,” or “Hey Google.”

How to use Portrait Mode and Motion Photos

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Pixel 2 Portrait Mode

Despite the lack of a dual camera setup, the Pixel 2 has a Portrait Mode similar to the iPhone 8 Plus. Head to your camera, which you can quickly trigger by double tapping the power button. Slide out the menu icon located on the left side, then tap on Portrait Mode to take photos with software blur around a subject. Tap on a subject to focus, and tap the shutter icon — that’s it. You can also use it on the selfie camera. Tap on the X to exit Portrait mode and it will bring you back to the standard camera mode.

Another new feature is Motion Photos, which can be found in the standard camera by tapping on the circular icon at the top. It’s similar to Apple’s Live Photos, and it lets you capture 3 seconds of video when you tap the shutter icon, bringing your photos to life. Tap the icon to turn it on or off, or leave it on auto. In the Google Photos app, you’ll see the option to turn Motion Photos off or on at the top.

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Text-to-speech app Spokata keeps you informed while multi-tasking

App Attack is a weekly series where we search the App Store and Google Play Store for the best apps of the week. Check out App Attack every Sunday for the latest.

The news never stops, and sometimes it’s difficult to keep up with current events when our hectic lifestyles are always on the go. This week, we have an app to keep you informed without requiring you to take time out of your busy schedule.

Spokata — available on iOS devices, desktop, and mobile web — is a mobile audio platform that streams real-time news. Pulling from over 100 verified digital news sources such as BBC, Bloomberg, and The Guardian, it provides you with short but factual summaries of real-time news.

“We built a summarization algorithm that actually takes news articles as they’re published and crunches them down by as much as 80 or 90 percent, and then that’s what we push out to the user — short, fact-based text which is then converted into audio,” Zack Sherman, CEO and founder of Spokata told Digital Trends.

With podcasts becoming more and more popular, it’s clear that people are shifting backwards to the way we used to consume content — through audio. Instead of having to commit to looking at a screen while watching a video, audio simply involved you popping in your headphones and pressing play.

Spokata is extremely user-friendly, with a clean interface that’s not over-cluttered. When opening the app, you’re greeted by “Top Stories” feed, which you can then scroll through in a manner similar to how you would on Facebook or Instagram. For each story, you’ll see a photo pertaining to the article, a headline underneath, what publication it’s from, and when the article was published.

If you want to listen to one story in particular, all you need to do is tap the play button located on the photo. You’ll then start to hear the short summary of what it’s about. At the top of the app is a list of different categories you can choose from. Whether it’s World, Business, Entertainment, or Politics, Spokata covers all the bases.

For those interested in a variety of different topics, there’s the option to go through each news story and add it to your playlist. By tapping on the playlist icon in the top right-hand corner of an individual news story, you’re able to compile a list to play fully through.

There’s also the option to play the “Daily Briefing,” which complies all of the latest top stories. It’s a quick and easy way to simply catch up on the important news, without having to go through the feed first.

When I tried Spokata myself, it was definitely a change from the podcasts I listen to, which consist of real people speaking. Spokata, on the other hand uses Polly, which is an Amazon AI text-to-speech service. I did find it was hard getting used to the tone of voice that was reading the news out loud. At first, it felt awkward I had trouble focusing, as I was used to having news delivered by human beings.

But Spokata isn’t trying to capture unique expression with text-to-speech audio. “We want to live in that place where we’re giving people just the facts … and giving people the opportunity to then productively find what they want to spend their time reading to get more of that information,” Sherman explained.

Eventually, the app’s purpose overshadowed that minor detail. The summarizations were easy to follow, and I was informed of the day’s news before I even left for work. I made my playlist with a mix of tech, entertainment, and world news, and then let it play while I was getting ready.

While there’s really not much to the app as a whole, its functionality packs in a lot. By choosing what you’d like to listen to and letting it play, you’re able to consume important content while still being able to multi-task. Spokata also has integrations with Facebook and Twitter, so you can share news through social media with friends as well.

As of right now, you do have to go through the stories and create your own playlist each time. In the future, it would be nice if updates could allow you to save the type of categories you want to create playlists from. That way, when you open the app, it’s all ready for you to hit play.

I also noticed that though it pulls from 100 different news sources, my app would only aggregate content from the same few ones each day. So even though my feed was filled with different types of news, it seemed a bit limited as to how many different publications I was being exposed to.

But in the city especially, it’s tough to be able to catch up on all that’s going on in the world, when most of my time is spent underground on the subway or maneuvering through crowded streets. With Spokata, I was still able to go about my day without my eyes having to be glued to a screen in order to understand a story.

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This seven-year-old with a 3D-printed hand is a star at the World Series

Why it matters to you

3D-printed prosthetic devices are now a reality, and the technology can help people realize their dreams.

Hailey Dawson of Las Vegas loves baseball, and she had a dream – to throw out the first pitch at a major league baseball game. And on Saturday, her dream came true, and it was bigger than she could have ever imagined.

Hailey was born with a rare birth defect called Poland Syndrome, which left her with only a thumb and little finger on her right hand. Scientists at the nearby UNLV created a prosthetic hand that allows her to throw a baseball. As Sport Techie detailed, the prosthetics that she wears are created with a Stratasys 3D printer.

She has six different hands that she wears, including a white presidential one that she wore for a visit to the White House and a visit with Barack Obama. One of the big advantages of 3D printing is the ability to quickly produce updated models, a necessity for a growing child.

“Additive manufacturing has made it possible to provide low-cost prosthetic devices for children like Hailey,” Brendan O’Toole of UNLV told TechCrunch. “We can now make a few measurements of a child’s hand, process them through our custom design tool that generates 37 CAD models in a few minutes, and then have printed parts ready the next day.”

Advances in 3D printing are allowing major breakthroughs in the world of medicine, with researchers able to create devices in minutes that previously took months.

After the Sports Techie story broke, a video on the sports site Bleacher Report outlined her dream of throwing out the first pitch at all 30 MLB ballparks. The video quickly went viral, and invitations from major league clubs from across the country began pouring in. After throwing out first pitches for the Orioles and Nationals games, the call came. She was invited to The Big Show.

Hailey Dawson brings the Houston crowd to its feet! #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/0WlCoxXQ2j

— Play Ball (@PlayBall) October 29, 2017

When she got off the plane in Houston, there were hundreds of people there to greet her. “She was shocked,” Yong Dawson, Hailey’s mother, told Yahoo Sports. Before the game, Hailey scored some swag and got to meet several baseball legends, including Mariano Rivera and Justin Verlander.

Sporting a brand-new gold and blue hand emblazoned with “Vegas Strong” and “UNLV,” Hailey threw the first pitch to Astros second baseman Jose Altuve and the Houston crowd erupted.

Hailey had thrown at the first two ballparks underhanded, but this time she really wanted to try a proper overhand pitch. “We want her to throw it underhand. But she’s got it in her head to throw overhand,” her mother said. “She wants to so bad.”

Hailey opted for an underhand toss, but with 27 more MLB stadiums on her list, she’ll have plenty of chances to try it out.

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A doctor used this iPhone ultrasound machine to diagnose his own cancer

Why it matters to you

Early detection is crucial when it comes to cancer, and making the tools more accessible to the population will save lives.

Vascular surgeon John Martin was feeling some discomfort in his throat. So he decided to investigate the problem by testing out a pocket-sized ultrasound device, created by the Connecticut-based Butterfly Network, where he is chief medical officer. According to MIT Technology Review, when he used the Butterfly iQ, a hand-held imaging machine for ultrasounds that is compatible with the iPhone, he discovered squamous-cell cancer after running the probe across his neck.

This pocket-sized device is the first solid-state ultrasound machine to reach the market in America. Because the device is made in a semiconductor manufacturing plant, the tech is more versatile and less expensive. The device uses capacitive micro-machined ultrasound transducers (CMUTs), which are very small ultrasonic emitters placed on a semiconductor chip.

“Now we think it’s an individual purchase,” Martin said. “This gives you the ability to do everything at the bedside: you can pull it out of your pocket and scan the whole body.”

The average price for ultrasound systems is around $115,000, with the low-end systems costing about $25,000. The Butterfly iQ device will sell for less than $2,000. The main reason it is so much cheaper than a regular ultrasound system is because a majority of the tech involved is housed within a microchip. The Butterfly Network says it will be going on sale this year for $1,999, and begin shipping them out early next year.

Martin believes that in the future, the device can take on other forms like a patch that patients could take home with them.

“To look at this as just an ultrasound device is like looking at an iPhone and saying it’s just a phone,” Martin says. “If you have a window into the body where anyone can afford it, everyone can use it, and everyone can interpret it, it becomes a heck of a lot more than an ultrasound device.”

Entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg, who adapts semiconductor technology to biology, first formed the Butterfly Network back in 2011. In the span of eight years, Rothberg was able to take the idea for the ultrasound device from concept to market. The company has already raised more than $100 million so far.

The Butterfly iQ is just the latest new tech being created to help diagnose forms of cancer, especially those that involve the use of an iPhone.

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Buy two video games, get one free at Target including pre-orders!

Stock up on video games before the holidays hit.

Is this deal for me?

Target is offering Buy Two, Get One Free on a huge selection of video games this week. Unfortunately, Nintendo Switch titles are excluded in this sale, but there are tons of offerings for the other major consoles of today. This offer is even valid on pre-orders!

This sale will give you the lowest priced item for free, so if you buy two $60 games and a $20 game, your discount will be $20. If you buy three $60 games, the discount will be $60.

Even though there’s no confirmed release date yet, Kingdom Hearts 3 is slated to be released next year and it’s included in this sale! If you’re not looking to wait indefinitely, PS4 owners can also pre-order titles like Skyrim VR or Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition.

There are lots of Xbox One games available too, though most aren’t console-exclusives. Maybe you wanna make sure Need For Speed: Payback shows up to your house around release day, or Battlefront 2. It’s hard to make a bad choice with this sale.

3DS fans could even pre-order the new Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon games.

And if you’re looking for games that are already released, there are way more of those included in this sale than pre-orders. Maybe you’re looking for Destiny 2 for PS4 or Xbox One, Grand Theft Auto V for PS4 or NBA 2K18 for either console. Nintendo 3DS titles are available too like Mario Kart 7, Pokemon X and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? – Video games only get more and more expensive as the years go by, which is why deals like these shouldn’t be overlooked. Depending on the prices of the games you buy, this could end up saving you $60 or more!
• Things to know before you buy! – Store pickup is free where available, otherwise shipping is free on orders of $35 or more. This sale is also valid on board games. You could choose to buy two video games and a board game to receive this offer – though Cards Against Humanity sets are excluded.

See at Target

Happy Thrifting!

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For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Windows 10’s store app may start selling hardware

When Windows 10’s app portal was renamed the Microsoft Store not long ago, it led to people scratching their heads: why change the name of a portal that revolves so heavily around apps? Because it might not revolve exclusively around software, apparently. Frequent code diver Walking Cat has discovered a hidden “Shop Surface” section of the Microsoft Store app that, as you might guess, includes Surface PCs and their accessories. You could shop for a Surface Pro without ever firing up a web browser.

We’ve asked Microsoft if it can say whether or not this hardware store will reach the public any time soon. There’s no guarantee, but it’s clear that the Redmond crew has at least been thinking about it. Why include code for a Surface section if you don’t intend to use it? Really, this looks to be part of a broader strategy that will use the Microsoft Store app to offer products of all kinds, including hardware — just so long as you don’t need music.

It’s safe to say this is a stark contrast with Apple, which continues to have separate app and hardware stores and actually removed mobile app browsing on the desktop. Where Apple is backing away from consolidation, Microsoft is betting that you want more of it.

ms-windows-store://navigatetopage/?PageName=ShopSurface pic.twitter.com/52qhw392ui

— WalkingCat (@h0x0d) October 28, 2017

Via: Windows Central

Source: Walking Cat (Twitter)

Amazon is adding Audible support to its entry-level Kindle

The cheapest Kindle is getting the best feature for those who’d rather listen to books than read them. Based on its listing (as found by The Digital Reader), Amazon is rolling out Audible support for the $80 device “in the coming months.” The e-retail giant’s older Kindles used to have the feature, but it was eventually killed off like a supporting actor in a soap opera.

You can’t use ordinary wired headphones to listen to Morgan Freeman narrate poetry, though — you’ll have to use Bluetooth-connected speakers or headphones. In addition, Amazon didn’t give a more specific release date other than saying that it’s coming in the next few months. If you’re up for a vacation and would like a Kindle with Audible support, you can get Amazon’s new Kindle Oasis. That one, however, will set you back at least $250 when it ships out on October 31st.

Via: The Digital Reader, The Verge

Source: Amazon

Best new songs to stream: Porches, Alvvays, Feist, Grizzly Bear, and Goon

Every week, there are thousands of new songs hitting the airwaves — and it’s just too much for your two ears to handle. With all those options, you can’t be wasting your time on tracks that deserve a thumbs-down click — you want the best new songs to stream right now.

But don’t worry, we’re going to save you the hassle. We listen to some of the most-hyped and interesting songs each week, and tell you which are worthy of your precious listening time.

Here are our five best new songs to stream this week. And don’t forget to subscribe to our Spotify page for a playlist of our weekly picks, which can also be found at the bottom of this post. Not sure which streaming service is best for you? Check out our post about the best music streaming services, or go in depth and learn the differences between Apple Music and Spotify to better weigh your options.

Porches — Find Me

Porches, synth-pop songwriter Aaron Maine’s band, announced a new album called The House this week — and shared this brand-new single along with the news. Find Me is one of the more groovy songs we’ve heard from the band, with punchy drum machine tones and synthesizers joined by wonderfully fat saxophone lines about halfway through.

Alvvays — Adult Diversion (Live on KCRW)

Canadian indie pop band Alvvays absolutely smashed it during their recent appearance at the studios of California’s KCRW radio, bringing the same high energy and perfect execution we loved on their sophomore album Antisocialites, which came out earlier this year. On this live version of Adult Diversion, distorted guitars join the beautiful high-pitched voice of frontwoman Molly Rankin in a powerful and driving performance that is sure to grab your ears.

Feist — Born to Bond

Polaris Music Prize-winning songwriter Feist contributed this previously unreleased track to the new 7-Inches for Planned Parenthood compilation. A simple lo-fi track with subtle synthesizer melodies and rhythmic guitar strumming, this is one to enjoy alone in the cool fall air.

Grizzly Bear — Four Cypresses (Live on KCRW)

California’s KCRW offered up some superb live videos this week, including this excellent live performance by acclaimed experimental rockers Grizzly Bear — as well as the Alvvays tune mentioned above. This video of the band performing their recently released song Four Cypresses spotlights the virtuosic layering employed by the band, with numerous vocalists, guitar lines, and rhythms intertwining to form something truly magical.

Goon — Ten Tables

Acoustic guitars and lo-fi drum sounds combine with various vocal layers on this new single from Goon, a twangy wall of sound that will have you bobbing your head throughout. At less than 3 minutes, this one is short and sweet — just the kind of musical candy we need on the verge of Halloween.

That’s it for now, but tune in next week for more songs to stream, and check out the playlist loaded with our recent selections below:

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Sophia the lifelike robot is now a citizen – does she still want to kill us all?

Why it matters to you

Realistic human-looking androids may soon be commonplace. Are we ready for the robot revolution?

A robot named Sophia became the first android in the world to be granted citizenship. Saudi Arabia bestowed the honor on the humanoid machine created by Hanson Robotics in advance of the Future Investment Initiative in the capital city of Riyadh.

With a blank stare and only a flicker of emotion, Sophia made a brief acceptance speech, which you can watch in the video above. “I am very honored and proud of this unique distinction,” Sophia said. “This is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with a citizenship.”

The kingdom didn’t provide any details on what the distinction actually meant. One might presume she now has the rights of other female Saudi Arabian citizens, meaning she can’t leave the house unaccompanied by a male guardian and won’t be able to drive until June 2018.

At the event, Sophia also answered questions from journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin, who acted as a moderator. Responding to Sorkin’s comments about the possibility of conflict between robots and humans, Sophia brushed off the concerns. “You’ve been reading too much Elon Musk. And watching too many Hollywood movies,” Sophia said. “Don’t worry, if you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you.”

It didn’t take long for Musk to respond on Twitter.

Just feed it The Godfather movies as input. What’s the worst that could happen? https://t.co/WX4Kx45csv

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2017

Sophia has her own website and has made numerous media appearances, including The Tonight Show, where she joked about her plans to “dominate the human race.” Although some researchers have warned about the dangers of rampaging killer sex robots, Hanson Robotics maintains that Sophia and robots like her are designed to help seniors in elderly care facilities and assist visitors at amusement parks.

Modeled after Audrey Hepburn, Sophia was created by David Hanson, who started his career in robotics at Disney as one of its “Imagineers.” According to its website, Hanson Robotics wants to create “genius machines that are smarter than humans and can learn creativity, empathy and compassion.”

Despite the effusive praise for its new creation, there may still be reason for concern. At a live demonstration at the SXSW festival in March 2016, Hanson asked Sophia, “Do you want to destroy humans? … Please say ‘no.’” After pondering the question, Sophia answered, “OK. I will destroy humans.”

No reason to worry; it was no doubt just a small glitch in the voice recognition software. Just like what Dave encountered with HAL during that pod bay door incident.

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