Google’s classic “don’t be evil” mantra may have been more of a philosophical statement than a practical guideline, but former staff members now want to hold the company accountable for it. NPR and The Verge say ex-engineers Paul Duke, Rebecca Rivers and Sophie Waldman have sued Google for allegedly violating the “don’t be evil” segment of the company’s code of conduct. They claim Google fired them for organizing worker opposition to controversial projects, like working with the Trump-era Customs and Border Protection. They were supposedly punished for pointing out evil like Google as instructed, in other words.

The one-time employees claimed Google rejected the famous phrase as it was both expensive and leading workers to organize. The internet firm supposedly decided it was better to fire people than admit its approach had changed and give up the “accompanying benefits” that came with its well-known motto.

There are concerns the lawsuit is too vague. What defines evil, exactly? However, plaintiff lawyer Laurie Burgess argued “don’t be evil” was specific enough that it could be enforceable. The saying “must have meaning” if it was in the company code and thus binding, Burgess said.

We’ve asked Google for comment. It has previously accused all of the workers (plus Laurence Berland) of repeatedly violating data security policies by obtaining or sharing confidential data, but the workers and other critics have said this was just a cover for retaliatory action.

The lawsuit won’t necessarily lead to stiff penalties. Google settled with Berland over his departure, for instance. There’s a lot of pressure on Google to avoid a drawn-out legal battle when the National Labor Relations Board is still investigating the other firings. Still, this could be an important case — even if there is a settlement, it might open the door to other complaints about the company’s ethical standards.

Source: Engadget – Three Google workers sue over alleged violations of ‘don’t be evil’ motto

David Marcus, the longtime Facebook executive who has overseen the company’s embattled cryptocurrency plans, is leaving the company. Marcus will step down from the company at the end of 2021, he wrote in a Facebook post.

The former PayPal executive first joined Facebook in 2014; he ran Messenger for four years before leaving the post to kickstart Facebook’s blockchain division. Since then, he’s overseen Meta’s long-troubled cryptocurrency plans, as well as other payments products like Facebook Pay.

“While there’s still so much to do right on the heels of hitting an important milestone with Novi launching — and I remain as passionate as ever about the need for change in our payments and financial systems — my entrepreneurial DNA has been nudging me for too many mornings in a row to continue ignoring it,” Marcus said.

Marcus spent the last two years trying to get Novi, the company’s cryptocurrency wallet off the ground. He announced a “small pilot” of the wallet in the United States and Guatemala earlier this year. But the wallet launched without support for Diem, the cryptocurrency previously known as Libra, that Marcus co-founded. That project, which is now independent from Meta, has been repeatedly delayed amid pushback from regulators and officials around the world. And even news of the test of Novi prompted immediate pushback from lawmakers who urged the company to halt the test, citing disclosures from a whistleblower.

In his Facebook post, Marcus said “the Novi years were the most mission-driven and intellectually stimulating ones,” during his time at the company. He said he plans to take some time off before he begins “building something new and exciting again.”

Source: Engadget – Meta’s crypto chief is leaving the company

The latest season of Fall Guys is underway and although there’s a party vibe this time around, those on Nintendo Switch and Xbox are unfortunately unable to join the festivities. Developer Mediatonic has once again delayed the adorable battle royale on those platforms. The Switch and Xbox versions were initially supposed to arrive last summer, but they were pushed back until later this year. Now, according to an updated Xbox Wire post, Fall Guys will land on those platforms in 2022.

“We know everyone’s excited about Fall Guys coming to Nintendo Switch and Xbox, with good reason,” Mediatonic wrote in a blog post. “There’s been a lot of speculation on social media connecting these new console releases to the Season 6 launch and we want to clarify that that’s not the case so no one’s left confused looking for the game on these platforms. Thank you for being patient with us, it’s one of our top priorities in active development and we can’t wait to share more details with you in 2022.”

Although the news will come as a disappointment for would-be Switch and Xbox players, Fall Guys fans on PlayStation and PC have a lot more to check out after season six started today. Along with new levels, obstacles and cross-platform progression, there are a couple of fantastic costumes based on Jin Sakai from Ghost of Tsushima to unlock. There will be more limited-time events too, such as one starting tomorrow in which players can earn a super-cute Sackboy costume.

Source: Engadget – ‘Fall Guys’ for Switch and Xbox delayed until 2022

It might soon be easy to build living robots — because they’ll build themselves. New Scientistreports Harvard University, Tufts University and University of Vermont researchers have learned that their frog cell-based Xenobots can self-reproduce. The custom organisms can collect “hundreds” of individual cells in their dishes to spontaneously assemble baby bots that grow up within a few days. As this happens over and over, you could use the reproduction to amass however robots you need to deliver drugs, remove microplastics from rivers or otherwise complete small-scale tasks.

The replication method is as notable as the bots themselves. The cells would normally develop into tadpole skin, but the computer-designed cell mix instead uses the “kinematic” (motion-based) replication normally seen only with molecules. No known animal or plant reproduces this way, according to study lead Sam Kriegman — the robots effectively broke the ‘rules’ of biology.

Yes, the researchers are aware of the technical and ethical problems with robots that copy themselves without prompting. The team’s goal is to understand the self-reproduction and learn how to “control it, direct it, douse it, exaggerate it,” according to project co-leader Joshua Bongard. Honing this development in a tightly-controlled lab could lead to carefully managed growth. That, in turn, could lead to regenerative medicine and anti-pollution tools that simply weren’t possible before.