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FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’

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26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave

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He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he's betting $32 million that robots can fix construction's labor crisis
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Zuckerberg says Facebook’s giant Internet drones are already flying

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Ben Geier
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March 26, 2015, 2:25 PM ET
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Facebook has begun testing its giant, Internet-beaming drone aircraft, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg says.

Zuckerberg posted a Facebook update Thursday saying that Facebook’s drones, which would fly over remote communities and beam down Internet signals, have taken test flights in the United Kingdom:

Today, I’m excited to share that we’ve successfully completed our first test flight of these aircraft in the UK.

The final design will have a wingspan greater than a Boeing 737 but will weigh less than a car. It will be powered by solar panels on its wings and it will be able to stay at altitudes of more than 60,000 feet for months at a time.

Aircraft like these will help connect the whole world because they can affordably serve the 10% of the world’s population that live in remote communities without existing internet infrastructure.

Facebook isn’t the only company looking to bring the Internet to remote areas with novel technologies — Google’s Project Loon is looking to accomplish the same goal with giant balloons rather than more airplane-like aircraft. While both companies have framed their respective projects as lofty, big-thinking goals, they would also materially benefit from having more Internet-connected humans they could turn into users.

Facebook’s fourth quarter earnings were up 34%, hitting $701 million thanks to strong growth in advertising, particularly on mobile devices.

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