IBM's 2020 Call for Code Challenge invites developers from around the world to submit their open source technology solutions to climate change. In the past, the tech company sought practical applications for disaster relief, which led to a flood-proof WiFi network and a tool for monitoring firefighter health.
"The first two years we challenged this community to help mitigate the challenges of natural disasters, so it was after the fact," Bob Lord, IBM senior vice president of cognitive applications and developer ecosystems, told Cheddar.
Now IBM wants solutions that get out in front of climate change, a shift in focus partially inspired by the company's partnership with the United Nations. The international body has called for a "global reality check" on climate change and has put out a rallying cry for fresh solutions.
Lord said this pushed IBM to pivot toward using the challenge to better understand climate change, whether that means tracking the weather or tracking our behaviors.
"What kind of information do you need? How do you change your behaviors on a daily basis to halt the challenges that we're starting to see with climate change?" Lord said.
Another goal for the challenge is to help collate and organize the data sets related to climate change, he added.
IBM will provide participants with access to its full stack of open source software, including Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Cloud, IBM Watson, and IBM Blockchain.
The challenge is not just about sourcing new ideas, Lord said, but implementing them in the real world. In addition to the $200,000 prize money for the winning team, IBM provides guidance and hands-on support to projects, which so far has yielded results for past winners.
Project Owl, which won in 2018, has begun to deploy its emergency Wi-Fi networks in disaster zones. Prometeo, the firefighter monitoring device that won in 2019, is in the process of testing its device before rolling it out for wider use.
"Every year it sort of evolves based on what we learned in the year one and year two," Lord said. "We will move the topic where the community wants to go, and right now climate change is a really relevant topic for all of us."
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
