PPB October 2019

worth of Google’s revenue or two days’ profit. Commissioner Rohit Chopra, an American consumer advocate and an FTC commissioner, further commented that illegally collecting data from children was a profitable endeavor for Google. This isn’t the first issue relating to children that Google’s YouTube has faced. Earlier this year, YouTube eliminated the ability for users to post comments on videos targeting children—nearly all videos with kids—when pedophiles started commenting on the videos in attempts to make contact with underage users. Starting in January 2020, Google will also limit its data collection on children, though how is not specified, and YouTube will turn to the expertise of video creators and machines alike to determine the content targeting children, using specific algorithms to locate themes, such as children’s toys and caricatures. If there are YouTube channels that post children’s videos but don’t identify the videos as targeting children, the content creators will receive steep fines from the FTC, discouraging this behavior. And to further remedy the situation, Google is pledging to promote its kid-friendly YouTube Kids app—although this app, too, has been said to include content that is inappropriate and potentially harmful to children—and create a $100-million fund dedicated to the development of creative, intellectual apps for kids, to be distributed over a three-year period. But ironically, those thought to be most affected by the changes made by YouTube are not the children or their parents, but content creators targeting children. These creators may experience a loss of views and, consequently, revenue, and ultimately YouTube may see a decrease in the number of people creating children’s videos. Hank Green, an American video blogger from Birmingham, Alabama, and author of the book, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing , tweeted that he estimates kids' content creators will see their revenues drop by more than 50 percent. TECH TALK The Self-Healing Robots Are Here Technology has no cap in sight: introducing robots who can heal themselves. Technology is marvelous in its capabilities, both for personal and for business. But, there’s a few major problems: it can malfunction and break. Professionals operating in a primarily tech-based capacity are well aware this is not only a possibility, but it happens, and it happens often. And unfortunately, troubleshooting and fixing these machines can prove time-consuming, not to mention, frustrating. To resolve this very common problem, according to IEEE Spectrum , a publication catering to engineering and applied sciences, the European Commission is funding SHERO, or Self HEaling soft RObotics, that involves robots who are able to repair themselves; a potentially major innovation for all businesses, particularly those with assembly-line work. The project is made possible through a partnership between Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the University of Cambridge, École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la ville de Paris and Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology. This three-year project estimated at USD $3,315,150, is looking into two types of healing for the robots. The first involves heat application, which would be used if a robot was transporting dirty materials and must be cleaned so the dirt does not implant in its material. This would require the robot to bring itself to a heating station or activate an implanted heat-based mechanism. The second type of healing is purely self-driven, where the robot will heal itself without further involvement. This would be used for patching minor cuts and scrapes, which the robot would perform itself using super glue or duct tape. The healable components of the robot would be made using soft materials, allowing for repeated repair. The material used would be 3D-printed, developing a plain, impermeable finish. This, however, is the “easy” part. For healing to happen, the robots must operate autonomously and self-identify damage. But even robots need time to heal. After three days, the robot is healed 62 percent; after seven days, 91 percent; and only after two weeks does the robot reach its near-maximum efficiency at 97 percent. | OCTOBER 2019 | 79 THINK