Saturday's technology stories

Suspect identified in London train blast
British security services have identified a suspect involved in the ISIS-backed train blast in southwest London Friday, per Reuters. The explosion took place around 8:20 a.m. local time at the height of rush hour on Parsons Green District line, a busy commuter train. At least 29 people were hospitalized in relation to the attack, which is being investigated by Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, SO15.
- On Friday evening (local time), Prime Minister Theresa May raised the U.K. terror threat level to "critical" after initially stating that the level would remain at "severe." May added in her televised statement that there will be a heavier police and military presence on the streets in the coming days.
- President Trump said Friday that the attack was "a terrible thing — just keeps going and going" and reiterated his earlier comments suggesting the government has not been tough enough when cracking down on terrorism: "We have to be tougher. We have to be smarter."
- Bottom line: This marks the fifth major terrorist attack in the U.K. this year.

Artificial intelligence pioneer says we need to start over
In 1986, Geoffrey Hinton co-authored a paper that, three decades later, is central to the explosion of artificial intelligence. But Hinton says his breakthrough method should be dispensed with, and a new path to AI found.
Speaking with Axios on the sidelines of an AI conference in Toronto on Wednesday, Hinton, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and a Google researcher, said he is now "deeply suspicious" of back-propagation, the workhorse method that underlies most of the advances we are seeing in the AI field today, including the capacity to sort through photos and talk to Siri. "My view is throw it all away and start again," he said.

As iPhone 8 orders begin, wireless operators dangle juicy offers
You can order the new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and cellular equipped Apple Watch (but not the iPhone X) starting at just after midnight PT.
- The iPhone 8 starts at $699, but to try to woo customers, the major cellular carriers are all offering a variety of deals, ranging from discounts on trade-ins or future updates to free movie services like HBO or Netflix.
- As for the LTE-equipped Apple Watch, most carriers are charging $10 a month to add the watch to your monthly plan after getting the first three months free. And the watch itself will set you back about $400.
Bottom line: There are some good offers for those that have a recent smartphone and are sure they want the iPhone 8. But, those willing to both spend a little more and wait a little longer might prefer the iPhone X, with its edge-to-edge screen and face recognition technology.


