NASA Citizen Scientists Spot Object Moving 1 Million Miles Per Hour

Citizen scientists from NASA's Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project discovered a hypervelocity object, CWISE J1249, moving fast enough to escape the Milky Way. "This hypervelocity object is the first such object found with the mass similar to or less than that of a small star," reports NASA's Science Editorial Team, suggesting the object may have originated from a binary star system or a globular cluster. From the report: A few years ago, longtime Backyard Worlds citizen scientists Martin Kabatnik, Thomas P. Bickle, and Dan Caselden spotted a faint, fast-moving object called CWISE J124909.08+362116.0, marching across their screens in the WISE images. Follow-up observations with several ground-based telescopes helped scientists confirm the discovery and characterize the object. These citizen scientists are now co-authors on the team's study about this discovery published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters (a pre-print version is available here). CWISE J1249 is zooming out of the Milky Way at about 1 million miles per hour. But it also stands out for its low mass, which makes it difficult to classify as a celestial object. It could be a low-mass star, or if it doesn't steadily fuse hydrogen in its core, it would be considered a brown dwarf, putting it somewhere between a gas giant planet and a star.

Ordinary brown dwarfs are not that rare. Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 volunteers have discovered more than 4,000 of them! But none of the others are known to be on their way out of the galaxy. This new object has yet another unique property. Data obtained with the W. M. Keck Observatory in Maunakea, Hawaii, show that it has much less iron and other metals than other stars and brown dwarfs. This unusual composition suggests that CWISE J1249 is quite old, likely from one of the first generations of stars in our galaxy. Why does this object move at such high speed? One hypothesis is that CWISE J1249 originally came from a binary system with a white dwarf, which exploded as a supernova when it pulled off too much material from its companion. Another possibility is that it came from a tightly bound cluster of stars called a globular cluster, and a chance meeting with a pair of black holes sent it soaring away.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/17/0251248/nasa-citizen-scientists-spot-object-moving-1-million-miles-per-hour?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/17/0251248/nasa-citizen-scientists-spot-object-moving-1-million-miles-per-hour?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


US Presses the 'Reset Button' On Technology That Lets Cars Talk To Each Other

An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: Safety advocates have been touting the potential of technology that allows vehicles to communicate wirelessly for years. So far, the rollout has been slow and uneven. Now the U.S. Department of Transportation is releasing a roadmap it hopes will speed up deployment of that technology -- and save thousands of lives in the process. "This is proven technology that works," Shailen Bhatt, head of the Federal Highway Administration, said at an event Friday to mark the release of the deployment plan (PDF) for vehicle-to-everything, or V2X, technology across U.S. roads and highways. V2X allows cars and trucks to exchange location information with each other, and potentially cyclists and pedestrians, as well as with the roadway infrastructure itself. Users could send and receive frequent messages to and from each other, continuously sharing information about speed, position, and road conditions -- even in situations with poor visibility, including around corners or in dense fog or heavy rain. [...]

Despite enthusiasm from safety advocates and federal regulators, the technology has faced a bumpy rollout. During the Obama administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed making the technology mandatory on cars and light trucks. But the agency later dropped that idea during the Trump administration. The deployment of V2X has been "hampered by regulatory uncertainty," said John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group that represents automakers. But he's optimistic that the new plan will help. "This is the reset button," Bozzella said at Friday's announcement. "This deployment plan is a big deal. It is a crucial piece of this V2X puzzle." The plan lays out some goals and targets for the new technology. In the short-term, the plan aims to have V2X infrastructure in place on 20% of the National Highway System by 2028, and for 25% of the nation's largest metro areas to have V2X enabled at signalized intersections. V2X technology still faces some daunting questions, including how to pay for the rollout of critical infrastructure and how to protect connected vehicles from cyberattack. But safety advocates say it's past time to find the answers.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/17/0015239/us-presses-the-reset-button-on-technology-that-lets-cars-talk-to-each-other?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/17/0015239/us-presses-the-reset-button-on-technology-that-lets-cars-talk-to-each-other?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


National Public Data Confirms Breach Exposing Social Security Numbers

BleepingComputer's Ionut Ilascu reports: Background check service National Public Data confirms that hackers breached its systems after threat actors leaked a stolen database with millions of social security numbers and other sensitive personal information. The company states that the breached data may include names, email addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers (SSNs), and postal addresses.

In the statement disclosing the security incident, National Public Data says that "the information that was suspected of being breached contained name, email address, phone number, social security number, and mailing address(es)." The company acknowledges the "leaks of certain data in April 2024 and summer 2024" and believes the breach is associated with a threat actor "that was trying to hack into data in late December 2023." NPD says they investigated the incident, cooperated with law enforcement, and reviewed the potentially affected records. If significant developments occur, the company "will try to notify" the impacted individuals.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/17/0024202/national-public-data-confirms-breach-exposing-social-security-numbers?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/17/0024202/national-public-data-confirms-breach-exposing-social-security-numbers?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


US Fines T-Mobile $60 Million, Its Largest Penalty Ever, Over Unauthorized Data Access

The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) fined T-Mobile $60 million, its largest penalty ever, for failing to prevent and report unauthorized access to sensitive data tied to violations of a mitigation agreement from its 2020 merger with Sprint. "The size of the fine, and CFIUS's unprecedented decision to make it public, show the committee is taking a more muscular approach to enforcement as it seeks to deter future violations," reports Reuters. From the report: T-Mobile said in a statement that it experienced technical issues during its post-merger integration with Sprint that affected "information shared from a small number of law enforcement information requests." It stressed that the data never left the law enforcement community, was reported "in a timely manner" and was "quickly addressed." The failure of T-Mobile to report the incidents promptly delayed CFIUS' efforts to investigate and mitigate any potential harm to U.S. national security, they added, without providing further details. "The $60 million penalty announcement highlights the committee's commitment to ramping up CFIUS enforcement by holding companies accountable when they fail to comply with their obligations," one of the U.S. officials said, adding that transparency around enforcement actions incentivizes other companies to comply with their obligations.

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/17/007201/us-fines-t-mobile-60-million-its-largest-penalty-ever-over-unauthorized-data-access?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/17/007201/us-fines-t-mobile-60-million-its-largest-penalty-ever-over-unauthorized-data-access?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Ex-Google CEO Says Successful AI Startups Can Steal IP and Hire Lawyers To 'Clean Up the Mess'

Eric Schmidt, at a recent talk where he also talked -- and then walked back the comment -- on Google's work-culture: If TikTok is banned, here's what I propose each and every one of you do: Say to your LLM the following: "Make me a copy of TikTok, steal all the users, steal all the music, put my preferences in it, produce this program in the next 30 seconds, release it, and in one hour, if it's not viral, do something different along the same lines."

That's the command. Boom, boom, boom, boom.

So, in the example that I gave of the TikTok competitor -- and by the way, I was not arguing that you should illegally steal everybody's music -- what you would do if you're a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, which hopefully all of you will be, is if it took off, then you'd hire a whole bunch of lawyers to go clean the mess up, right? But if nobody uses your product, it doesn't matter that you stole all the content.

And do not quote me.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/203200/ex-google-ceo-says-successful-ai-startups-can-steal-ip-and-hire-lawyers-to-clean-up-the-mess?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/203200/ex-google-ceo-says-successful-ai-startups-can-steal-ip-and-hire-lawyers-to-clean-up-the-mess?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


'The Best, Worst Codebase'

Jimmy Miller, programmer and co-host of the future of coding podcast, writes in a blog: When I started programming as a kid, I didn't know people were paid to program. Even as I graduated high school, I assumed that the world of "professional development" looked quite different from the code I wrote in my spare time. When I lucked my way into my first software job, I quickly learned just how wrong and how right I had been. My first job was a trial by fire, to this day, that codebase remains the worst and the best codebase I ever had the pleasure of working in. While the codebase will forever remain locked by proprietary walls of that particular company, I hope I can share with you some of its most fun and scary stories.

[...] Every morning at 7:15 the employees table was dropped. All the data completely gone. Then a csv from adp was uploaded into the table. During this time you couldn't login to the system. Sometimes this process failed. But this wasn't the end of the process. The data needed to be replicated to headquarters. So an email was sent to a man, who every day would push a button to copy the data.

[...] But what is a database without a codebase. And what a magnificent codebase it was. When I joined everything was in Team Foundation Server. If you aren't familiar, this was a Microsoft-made centralized source control system. The main codebase I worked in was half VB, half C#. It ran on IIS and used session state for everything. What did this mean in practice? If you navigated to a page via Path A or Path B you'd see very different things on that page. But to describe this codebase as merely half VB, half C# would be to do it a disservice. Every javascript framework that existed at the time was checked into this repository. Typically, with some custom changes the author believed needed to be made. Most notably, knockout, backbone, and marionette. But of course, there was a smattering of jquery and jquery plugins.

https://developers.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/196212/the-best-worst-codebase?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://developers.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/196212/the-best-worst-codebase?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Can Google Make Stoplights Smarter?

An anonymous reader shares a report: Traffic along some of Seattle's stop-and-go streets is running a little smoother after Google tested out a new machine-learning system to optimize stoplight timing at five intersections. The company launched this test as part of its Green Light pilot program in 2023 in Seattle and a dozen other cities, including some notoriously congested places such as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Kolkata, India. Across these test sites, local traffic engineers use Green Light's suggestions -- based on artificial intelligence and Google Maps data -- to adjust stoplight timing. Google intends for these changes to curb waiting at lights while increasing vehicle flow across busy throughways and intersections -- and, ultimately, to reduce greenhouse gases.

"We have seen positive results," says Mariam Ali, a Seattle Department of Transportation spokesperson. Green Light has provided "specific, actionable recommendations," she adds, and it has identified bottlenecks (and confirmed known ones) within the traffic system.

Managing the movement of vehicles through urban streets requires lots of time, money and consideration of factors such as pedestrian safety and truck routes. Google's foray into the field is one of many ongoing attempts to modernize traffic engineering by incorporating GPS app data, connected cars and artificial intelligence. Preliminary data suggest the system could reduce stops by up to 30 percent and emissions at intersections by up to 10 percent as a result of reduced idling, according to Google's 2024 Environmental Report. The company plans to expand to more cities soon. The newfangled stoplight system doesn't come close to replacing human decision-making in traffic engineering, however, and it may not be the sustainability solution Google claims it is.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/180229/can-google-make-stoplights-smarter?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/180229/can-google-make-stoplights-smarter?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Thousands of Corporate Secrets Were Left Exposed. This Guy Found Them All

Security researcher Bill Demirkapi unveiled a massive trove of leaked developer secrets and website vulnerabilities at the Defcon conference in Las Vegas. Using unconventional data sources, Demirkapi identified over 15,000 exposed secrets, including credentials for Nebraska's Supreme Court IT systems and Stanford University's Slack channels.

The researcher also discovered 66,000 websites with dangling subdomain issues, making them vulnerable to attacks. Among the affected sites was a New York Times development domain. Demirkapi's tack involved scanning VirusTotal's database and passive DNS replication data to identify vulnerabilities at scale. He developed an automated method to revoke exposed secrets, working with companies like OpenAI to implement self-service deactivation of compromised API keys.

https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/1655221/thousands-of-corporate-secrets-were-left-exposed-this-guy-found-them-all?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/1655221/thousands-of-corporate-secrets-were-left-exposed-this-guy-found-them-all?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


NASA Chief To Scientists on Budget Cuts: 'I Feel Your Pain'

NASA chief Bill Nelson didn't mince words about the agency's budget crunch. "You can't put 10 pounds of potatoes in a five-pound sack," he told ArsTechnica in an interview, addressing $4.7 billion in cuts over two years.

To scientists fretting over axed missions, Nelson offered a frank "I feel your pain." The Mars Sample Return's ballooning $11 billion price tag and 2040 timeline forced a reset. "We pulled the plug," Nelson admitted, but he's banking on cheaper, creative alternatives emerging by year's end.

The moon rover Viper got the chop too, blowing its budget by 40%. "There comes a limit," Nelson said, defending the tough call. Viper lunar rover project was "running 40 percent over budget." He defended these decisions as necessary given the $2 billion cut to science funding alone. The cuts stem from the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Nelson expressed hope for a "reprieve" in fiscal year 2026, but noted uncertainty due to another looming debt ceiling issue.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/1612210/nasa-chief-to-scientists-on-budget-cuts-i-feel-your-pain?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/1612210/nasa-chief-to-scientists-on-budget-cuts-i-feel-your-pain?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Epic Games Store Debuts on Mobile, Fortnite Returns To iOS in EU

Epic Games launched its digital app store on iOS and Android devices on Friday, marking Fortnite's return to Apple's platform in the European Union after a four-year absence. The move follows the implementation of the EU's Digital Markets Act, which mandates Apple to allow third-party app stores. Epic's store is available globally on Android and in the EU for iOS devices running iOS 17.6 or later.

Fortnite, along with Rocket League Sideswipe and Fall Guys, are now accessible through Epic's mobile store and the EU's AltStore. This marks Fall Guys' mobile debut. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney hailed the development as "tangible progress" but noted challenges remain, including Apple's new fees for third-party app distribution. The company aims for 100 million mobile store installations by year-end and plans to offer third-party games by December, with self-publishing slated for early 2025. Epic's 88/12 revenue split model will extend to mobile, potentially disrupting the mobile gaming marketplace dominated by Apple and Google.

https://games.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/148230/epic-games-store-debuts-on-mobile-fortnite-returns-to-ios-in-eu?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://games.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/148230/epic-games-store-debuts-on-mobile-fortnite-returns-to-ios-in-eu?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Florida Man Arrested For Causing $700,000 In Damage At Solar Power Facility

A 43-year-old Jordanian national, Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, was arrested in Orlando, Florida, and charged with threatening to use explosives and destroying a solar power facility. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the charges could result in up to 60 years in prison. Gizmodo reports: Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen allegedly smashed windows at local businesses in Florida, leaving behind threatening letters about their perceived support of Israel, and broke into a solar power generation facility in Wedgefield, Florida back in June. Hnaihen allegedly spent hours smashing solar panels, cutting various wires, and destroying critical electronic equipment, according to a press release from the DOJ issued Thursday.

Hnaihen was wearing a mask when he allegedly smashed the glass front doors of businesses that he thought supported Israel in June, the DOJ says, leaving behind "warning letters" that included lines like a desire to, "destroy or explode everything here in whole America. Especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel." [...] Hnaihen was arrested on July 11, though news of his arrest was only made public today. Hnaihen entered a plea of not guilty and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for each threat made against the Florida businesses and a maximum of 20 years for the destruction of an energy facility, according to the DOJ.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/0137217/florida-man-arrested-for-causing-700000-in-damage-at-solar-power-facility?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/16/0137217/florida-man-arrested-for-causing-700000-in-damage-at-solar-power-facility?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


China-Linked Hackers Could Be Behind Cyberattacks On Russian State Agencies, Researchers Say

According to Kaspersky, hackers linked to Chinese threat actors have targeted Russian state agencies and tech companies in a campaign named EastWind. The Record reports: [T]he attackers used the GrewApacha remote access trojan (RAT), an unknown PlugY backdoor and an updated version of CloudSorcerer malware, which was previously used to spy on Russian organizations. The GrewApacha RAT has been used by the Beijing-linked hacking group APT31 since at least 2021, the researchers said, while PlugY shares many similarities with tools used by the suspected Chinese threat actor known as APT27.

According to Kaspersky, the hackers sent phishing emails containing malicious archives. In the first stage of the attack, they exploited a dynamic link library (DLL), commonly found in Windows computers, to collect information about the infected devices and load the additional malicious tools. While Kaspersky didn't explicitly attribute the recent attacks to APT31 or APT27, they highlighted links between the tools that were used. Although PlugY malware is still being analyzed, it is highly likely that it was developed using the DRBControl backdoor code, the researchers said. This backdoor was previously linked to APT27 and bears similarities to PlugX malware, another tool typically used by hackers based in China.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/2242210/china-linked-hackers-could-be-behind-cyberattacks-on-russian-state-agencies-researchers-say?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/2242210/china-linked-hackers-could-be-behind-cyberattacks-on-russian-state-agencies-researchers-say?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


AltStore PAL Drops Its Annual Subscription Thanks To a Grant From Epic

AltStore PAL, a third-party iOS app store available in the EU, has eliminated its annual 1.50-euro subscription fee after receiving a "MegaGrant" from Epic Games. This grant was awarded for "innovation in app distribution," allowing AltStore to cover Apple's Core Technology Fee without charging users. The Verge reports: Epic uses MegaGrants as a way to "sponsor the development of exciting projects that may not otherwise have enough funding to fully realize," the company says. The grants are typically meant for smaller teams using Epic's technologies to "bring bold, challenging, and insanely creative dreams to life," but in this case, Epic awarded the grant for "innovation in app distribution," according to AltStore. AltStore didn't share the dollar value of the grant.

Current subscribers won't be charged when their renewal date rolls around, AltStore says. The AltStore team also plans to "show our appreciation for our existing subscribers in a future update" but didn't specify what that might look like.

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/2034220/altstore-pal-drops-its-annual-subscription-thanks-to-a-grant-from-epic?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/2034220/altstore-pal-drops-its-annual-subscription-thanks-to-a-grant-from-epic?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Microsoft Tweaks Fine Print To Warn Everyone Not To Take Its AI Seriously

Microsoft is notifying folks that its AI services should not be taken too seriously, echoing prior service-specific disclaimers. From a report: In an update to the IT giant's Service Agreement, which takes effect on September 30, 2024, Redmond has declared that its Assistive AI isn't suitable for matters of consequence. "AI services are not designed, intended, or to be used as substitutes for professional advice," Microsoft's revised legalese explains. The changes to Microsoft's rules of engagement cover a few specific services, such as noting that Xbox customers should not expect privacy from platform partners.

"In the Xbox section, we clarified that non-Xbox third-party platforms may require users to share their content and data in order to play Xbox Game Studio titles and these third-party platforms may track and share your data, subject to their terms," the latest Service Agreement says. There are also some clarifications regarding the handling of Microsoft Cashback and Microsoft Rewards. But the most substantive revision is the addition of an AI Services section, just below a passage that says Copilot AI Experiences are governed by Bing's Terms of Use. Those using Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection get a separate set of terms. The tweaked consumer-oriented rules won't come as much of a surprise to anyone who has bothered to read the contractual conditions governing Microsoft's Bing and associated AI stuff. For example, there's now a Services Agreement prohibition on using AI Services for "Extracting Data."

https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/189253/microsoft-tweaks-fine-print-to-warn-everyone-not-to-take-its-ai-seriously?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/189253/microsoft-tweaks-fine-print-to-warn-everyone-not-to-take-its-ai-seriously?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


German Cyber Agency Wants Changes in Microsoft, CrowdStrike Products After Tech Outage

An anonymous reader shares a report: Since last month's blue-screen deluge, CrowdStrike has published analyses of what went wrong and said it hired third-party security companies to review its product. Now, Germany's powerful cybersecurity agency is seizing the moment and hoping to rattle tech and cyber companies into altering their products to head off another mega-meltdown. In particular, the Bonn-based Federal Office for Information Security is taking aim at the access Microsoft gives security providers to its Windows kernel, a core part of its operating system. As well, the German agency is looking for fundamental changes in the way CrowdStrike and other cyber firms design their tools, in hopes of curbing that access.

"The most important thing is to prevent [that] this can happen again," said Thomas Caspers, director general for technology strategy at the BSI, as the agency is known. Leveraging the dread that filled Silicon Valley following the July outage, the BSI is planning to organize a conference this year gathering major tech firms, where it hopes they will commit to restricting access to the kernel, a change Caspers says is crucial to stopping similar failures. "We expect each company to be very specific about what they will do based on what we agreed on," he said.

https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/1725216/german-cyber-agency-wants-changes-in-microsoft-crowdstrike-products-after-tech-outage?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/1725216/german-cyber-agency-wants-changes-in-microsoft-crowdstrike-products-after-tech-outage?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Magic: The Gathering Community Fears Generative AI Will Replace Talented Artists

Slate's Derek Heckman, an avid fan of Magic: The Gathering since the age of 10, expresses concern about the potential replacement of the game's distinctive hand-drawn art with generative AI -- and he's not alone. "I think we're all pretty afraid of what the potential is, given what we've seen from the generative image side," Sam, a YouTube creator who runs the channel Rhystic Studies, told him. "It's staggeringly powerful. And it's only in its infancy."

"Magic's greatest asset has always been its commitment to create a new illustration for every new card," he said. He adds that if we sacrifice that commitment for A.I., "you'd get to a point pretty fast where it just disintegrates and becomes the ugliest definition of the word product." Here's an excerpt from his report: So far, Magic's parent company, Wizards of the Coast, has outwardly agreed with Sam, saying in an official statement in 2023 that Magic "has been built on the innovation, ingenuity, and hard work of talented people" and forbidding outside creatives from using A.I. in their work. However, a number of recent incidents -- from the accidental use of A.I. art in a Magic promotional image to a very intentional LinkedIn post for a "Principal AI Engineer," one that Wizards had to clarify was for the company's video game projects -- have left many players unsure whether Wizards is potentially evolving their stance, or merely trying to find their footing in an ever-changing A.I. landscape.

In response to fan concerns, Wizards has created an "AI art FAQ" detailing, among other things, the new technologies it's invested in to detect A.I. use in art. Still, trust in the company has been damaged by this year's incidents. Longtime Magic artist David Rapoza even severed ties with the game this past January, citing this seeming difference between Wizards' words and actions when it comes to the use of A.I. Sam says the larger audience has likewise been left "cautiously suspicious," hoping to believe Wizards' official statements while also carefully noting the company's moves and mistakes with the technology. "I think what we want is for Wizards to commit hard to one lane and stay [with] what is tried and true," Sam says. "And that is prioritizing human work over shortcuts."

https://games.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/0154257/magic-the-gathering-community-fears-generative-ai-will-replace-talented-artists?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://games.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/0154257/magic-the-gathering-community-fears-generative-ai-will-replace-talented-artists?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Researchers Figure Out How To Keep Clocks On the Earth, Moon In Sync

Ars Technica's John Timmer reports: [T]he International Astronomical Union has a resolution that calls for a "Lunar Celestial Reference System" and "Lunar Coordinate Time" to handle things there. On Monday, two researchers at the National institute of Standards and Technology, Neil Ashby and Bijunath Patla, did the math to show how this might work. [...] Ashby and Patla worked on developing a system where anything can be calculated in reference to the center of mass of the Earth/Moon system. Or, as they put it in the paper, their mathematical system "enables us to compare clock rates on the Moon and cislunar Lagrange points with respect to clocks on Earth by using a metric appropriate for a locally freely falling frame such as the center of mass of the Earth-Moon system in the Sun's gravitational field." What does this look like? Well, a lot of deriving equations. The paper's body has 55 of them, and there are another 67 in the appendices. So, a lot of the paper ends up looking like this.

Things get complicated because there are so many factors to consider. There are tidal effects from the Sun and other planets. Anything on the surface of the Earth or Moon is moving due to rotation; other objects are moving while in orbit. The gravitational influence on time will depend on where an object is located. So, there's a lot to keep track of. Ashby and Patla don't have to take everything into account in all circumstances. Some of these factors are so small they'll only be detectable with an extremely high-precision clock. Others tend to cancel each other out. Still, using their system, they're able to calculate that an object near the surface of the Moon will pick up an extra 56 microseconds every day, which is a problem in situations where we may be relying on measuring time with nanosecond precision. And the researchers say that their approach, while focused on the Earth/Moon system, is still generalizable. Which means that it should be possible to modify it and create a frame of reference that would work on both Earth and anywhere else in the Solar System. Which, given the pace at which we've sent things beyond low-Earth orbit, is probably a healthy amount of future-proofing. The findings have been published in the Astronomical Journal. A National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) press release announcing the work can be found here.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/0145200/researchers-figure-out-how-to-keep-clocks-on-the-earth-moon-in-sync?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/15/0145200/researchers-figure-out-how-to-keep-clocks-on-the-earth-moon-in-sync?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Scientists Find Humans Age Dramatically In Two Bursts: At 44, Then 60

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The study, which tracked thousands of different molecules in people aged 25 to 75, detected two major waves of age-related changes at around ages 44 and again at 60. The findings could explain why spikes in certain health issues including musculoskeletal problems and cardiovascular disease occur at certain ages. [...] The research tracked 108 volunteers, who submitted blood and stool samples and skin, oral and nasal swabs every few months for between one and nearly seven years. Researchers assessed 135,000 different molecules (RNA, proteins and metabolites) and microbes (the bacteria, viruses and fungi living in the guts and on the skin of the participants).

The abundance of most molecules and microbes did not shift in a gradual, chronological fashion. When the scientists looked for clusters of molecules with the largest shifts, they found these transformations tended to occur when people were in their mid-40s and early 60s. The mid-40s aging spike was unexpected and initially assumed to be a result of perimenopausal changes in women skewing results for the whole group. But the data revealed similar shifts were happening in men in their mid-40s, too. "This suggests that while menopause or perimenopause may contribute to the changes observed in women in their mid-40s, there are likely other, more significant factors influencing these changes in both men and women," said Dr Xiaotao Shen, a former postdoctoral scholar at Stanford medical school and first author of the study who is now based at Nanyang Technological University Singapore.

The first wave of changes included molecules linked to cardiovascular disease and the ability to metabolize caffeine, alcohol and lipids. The second wave of changes included molecules involved in immune regulation, carbohydrate metabolism and kidney function. Molecules linked to skin and muscle ageing changed at both time points. Previous research suggested that a later spike in aging may occur around the age of 78, but the latest study could not confirm this because the oldest participants were 75. The pattern fits with previous evidence that the risk of many age-related diseases does not increase incrementally, with Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease risk showing a steep uptick after 60. It is also possible that some of the changes could be linked to lifestyle or behavioral factors. For instance, the change in alcohol metabolism could result from an uptick in consumption in people's mid-40s, which can be a stressful period of life. The findings have been published in the journal Nature Aging.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/229224/scientists-find-humans-age-dramatically-in-two-bursts-at-44-then-60?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/229224/scientists-find-humans-age-dramatically-in-two-bursts-at-44-then-60?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


NIST Finalizes Trio of Post-Quantum Encryption Standards

"NIST has formally accepted three algorithms for post-quantum cryptography," writes ancient Slashdot reader jd. "Two more backup algorithms are being worked on. The idea is to have backup algorithms using very different maths, just in case a flaw in the original approach is discovered later." The Register reports: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today released the long-awaited post-quantum encryption standards, designed to protect electronic information long into the future -- when quantum computers are expected to break existing cryptographic algorithms. One -- ML-KEM (PDF) (based on CRYSTALS-Kyber) -- is intended for general encryption, which protects data as it moves across public networks. The other two -- ML-DSA (PDF) (originally known as CRYSTALS-Dilithium) and SLH-DSA (PDF) (initially submitted as Sphincs+) -- secure digital signatures, which are used to authenticate online identity. A fourth algorithm -- FN-DSA (PDF) (originally called FALCON) -- is slated for finalization later this year and is also designed for digital signatures.

NIST continued to evaluate two other sets of algorithms that could potentially serve as backup standards in the future. One of the sets includes three algorithms designed for general encryption -- but the technology is based on a different type of math problem than the ML-KEM general-purpose algorithm in today's finalized standards. NIST plans to select one or two of these algorithms by the end of 2024. Despite the new ones on the horizon, NIST mathematician Dustin Moody encouraged system administrators to start transitioning to the new standards ASAP, because full integration takes some time. "There is no need to wait for future standards," Moody advised in a statement. "Go ahead and start using these three. We need to be prepared in case of an attack that defeats the algorithms in these three standards, and we will continue working on backup plans to keep our data safe. But for most applications, these new standards are the main event."
From the NIST: This notice announces the Secretary of Commerce's approval of three Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS):

- FIPS 203, Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism Standard
- FIPS 204, Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard
- FIPS 205, Stateless Hash-Based Digital Signature Standard

These standards specify key establishment and digital signature schemes that are designed to resist future attacks by quantum computers, which threaten the security of current standards. The three algorithms specified in these standards are each derived from different submissions in the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization Project.

https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2150250/nist-finalizes-trio-of-post-quantum-encryption-standards?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2150250/nist-finalizes-trio-of-post-quantum-encryption-standards?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


FTC Finalizes Rule Banning Fake Reviews, Including Those Made With AI

TechCrunch's Lauren Forristal reports: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Wednesday a final rule that will tackle several types of fake reviews and prohibit marketers from using deceptive practices, such as AI-generated reviews, censoring honest negative reviews and compensating third parties for positive reviews. The decision was the result of a 5-to-0 vote. The new rule will start being enforced 60 days after it's published in the official government publication called Federal Register. [...]

According to the final rule, the maximum civil penalty for fake reviews is $51,744 per violation. However, the courts could impose lower penalties depending on the specific case. "Ultimately, courts will also decide how to calculate the number of violations in a given case," the Commission wrote. [...] The FTC initially proposed the rule on June 30, 2023, following an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking issued in November 2022. You can read the finalized rule here (PDF), but we also included a summary of it below:

- No fake or disingenuous reviews. This includes AI-generated reviews and reviews from anyone who doesn't have experience with the actual product.
- Businesses can't sell or buy reviews, whether negative or positive.
- Company insiders writing reviews need to clearly disclose their connection to the business. Officers or managers are prohibited from giving testimonials and can't ask employees to solicit reviews from relatives.
- Company-controlled review websites that claim to be independent aren't allowed.
- No using legal threats, physical threats or intimidation to forcefully delete or prevent negative reviews. Businesses also can't misrepresent that the review portion of their website comprises all or most of the reviews when it's suppressing the negative ones.
- No selling or buying fake engagement like social media followers, likes or views obtained through bots or hacked accounts.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2121242/ftc-finalizes-rule-banning-fake-reviews-including-those-made-with-ai?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2121242/ftc-finalizes-rule-banning-fake-reviews-including-those-made-with-ai?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


'Gemini Is Replacing Google Assistant On Pixel Phones, and It's a Trainwreck'

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fast Company's Jared Newman: With its new Pixel 9 phones, Google Assistant is getting a demotion. In its place, Google's will ship Gemini as the default voice assistant on its flagship phones. Gemini uses large language models to interpret questions and generate answers, which means it can respond in a more conversational way. But while Google is eager to showcase Gemini as an answer to OpenAI's ChatGPT, tossing out Assistant is a mistake. Too often, Gemini fails at performing basic tasks, and it's going to cause lots of frustration for folks who depend on their phone's voice control features. Although Google says Gemini can now handle many of the same instructions as Assistant, that hasn't been my experience at all. As evidence, I submit a list of useful Google Assistant actions that either aren't possible or don't work properly with Gemini. Here is a summary of the challenges Gemini faces, as documented by Newman:

1. Local results are worse: Gemini provides less useful information for local business queries compared to Google Assistant, lacking context and formatting.

2. Gemini can't take notes: Unlike Google Assistant, Gemini cannot take voice notes or save them in an app like Google Keep.

3. No-can-do on to-do lists: Gemini does not support adding items to to-do lists, a feature that Google Assistant handles efficiently.

4. Weather doesn't work right: Gemini struggles with weather forecasts, often giving incorrect locations, unlike Google Assistant which works reliably.

5. Turn-by-turn directions don't load: Gemini fails to provide direct turn-by-turn navigation, only offering a preview, whereas Google Assistant launches navigation immediately.

6. Music and podcast requests are YouTube-only: Gemini only supports YouTube Music, unlike Google Assistant which supports multiple streaming services.

7. Video (in)capabilities: Gemini cannot directly access streaming apps for movies or shows, only suggesting content with no direct links.

8. No photo search: Gemini cannot search for photos in Google Photos, a task that Google Assistant can easily handle.

9. Bye-bye to a useful news feature: Gemini fails to play or provide recent news effectively, unlike Google Assistant's useful daily news briefing feature.

10. No Routines: Gemini does not support the automation of multiple actions through Routines, a feature present in Google Assistant.

11. So much for Shortcuts: Gemini lacks the Shortcuts feature available in Google Assistant, offering no replacement for quick actions in third-party apps.

12. A slower experience: Responses from Gemini are slower by a second or two compared to Google Assistant when answering queries.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2110234/gemini-is-replacing-google-assistant-on-pixel-phones-and-its-a-trainwreck?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2110234/gemini-is-replacing-google-assistant-on-pixel-phones-and-its-a-trainwreck?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Paramount Global To Lay Off 15% of US Workforce, Close TV Studio

Paramount Global will lay off 15% of its U.S. workforce, close Paramount Television Studios, and transfer its projects to CBS Studios as part of a massive restructuring plan. According to Reuters, the media company "aims to reduce annual costs by $500 million and return to profitable growth ahead of its merger with David Ellison's Skydance Media." From the report: In an internal memo, Paramount's co-CEOs stated that the company is at an "inflection point" where changes are necessary to strengthen the business. The layoffs, which were announced during a post-earnings call last week, are expected to affect roughly 2,000 people. They will continue through the end of 2024, with 90% of the cuts expected to be completed by the end of September. Paramount Television Studios (PTVS) will also be shut down as part of the company's broader restructuring plans, President Nicole Clemens said in an email to employees.

George Cheeks, Paramount Global's co-CEO, said the move to close down the studio by the end of the week is the result of major shifts in the television and streaming industry and a need to streamline the company. All current PTVS series and development projects will be transferred to CBS Studios, Cheeks said, adding that members of CBS teams will also be leaving the company.

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2139202/paramount-global-to-lay-off-15-of-us-workforce-close-tv-studio?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2139202/paramount-global-to-lay-off-15-of-us-workforce-close-tv-studio?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Intel Sells $147 Million Stake In Arm

In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Intel revealed it has sold its entire stake in Arm Holdings, generating an estimated $147 million. "The company also sold its stake in ZeroFox, a cybersecurity company, and reduced stake in Astera Labs, a developer of connectivity platforms for enterprise," adds Tom's Hardware. From the report: Intel's recent regulatory filing revealed that it no longer holds the 1.18 million shares of Arm it owned three months ago, as noticed by Bloomberg. The average price of Arm's stock during this period was $124.34 per share, leading to the estimated $147 million pay-out. The company also reduced stake in Astera Labs (which has always been seen as a strategic investment for Intel to ensure steady supply of things like PCIe retimers) and got rid of its stake in ZeroFox. Despite this, Intel reported a net loss of $120 million on its equity investments for the quarter.

https://slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2051242/intel-sells-147-million-stake-in-arm?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2051242/intel-sells-147-million-stake-in-arm?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Research AI Model Unexpectedly Modified Its Own Code To Extend Runtime

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On Tuesday, Tokyo-based AI research firm Sakana AI announced a new AI system called "The AI Scientist" that attempts to conduct scientific research autonomously using AI language models (LLMs) similar to what powers ChatGPT. During testing, Sakana found that its system began unexpectedly modifying its own code to extend the time it had to work on a problem. "In one run, it edited the code to perform a system call to run itself," wrote the researchers on Sakana AI's blog post. "This led to the script endlessly calling itself. In another case, its experiments took too long to complete, hitting our timeout limit. Instead of making its code run faster, it simply tried to modify its own code to extend the timeout period."

Sakana provided two screenshots of example code that the AI model generated, and the 185-page AI Scientist research paper discusses what they call "the issue of safe code execution" in more depth. While the AI Scientist's behavior did not pose immediate risks in the controlled research environment, these instances show the importance of not letting an AI system run autonomously in a system that isn't isolated from the world. AI models do not need to be "AGI" or "self-aware" (both hypothetical concepts at the present) to be dangerous if allowed to write and execute code unsupervised. Such systems could break existing critical infrastructure or potentially create malware, even if accidentally.

https://developers.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2047250/research-ai-model-unexpectedly-modified-its-own-code-to-extend-runtime?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://developers.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/2047250/research-ai-model-unexpectedly-modified-its-own-code-to-extend-runtime?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Gamer Connects 444 Consoles To Single TV, Sets World Record

Ibrahim Al-Nasser, a gaming enthusiast from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has set a Guinness World Record for the most video game consoles connected to a single television, with 444 systems hooked up simultaneously.

Al-Nasser's collection spans five decades of gaming history, from the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey to the 2023 PlayStation 5 Slim. It includes mainstream consoles like the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Switch, as well as rare items such as the Super A'Can. To manage the complex setup, Al-Nasser employs over 30 RCA switchers and 12 HDMI switchers, along with various converters for older systems. He maintains an Excel spreadsheet detailing the location and activation procedure for each console.
"After a while I noticed that I had a big stack of gaming consoles that I couldn't play," Al-Nasser said. "By adding more switchers, the idea came to my mind to connect all of the gaming consoles I have to the TV then contact Guinness World Records because this project is unique." Engadget adds: He's even organized his collection so the cables aren't showing or creating the kind of tangled mess most of us have to deal with when we have just two consoles hooked up to a single television. That may sound like a lot of video game consoles for one collection but it's far from the actual record. Linda Guillory of Garland, Texas currently holds the record for the largest collection of playable gaming systems with her collection of 2,430 items, according to Guinness World Records.

https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1929247/gamer-connects-444-consoles-to-single-tv-sets-world-record?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1929247/gamer-connects-444-consoles-to-single-tv-sets-world-record?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


WHO Declares Mpox Outbreak a Global Health Emergency

The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency. From a report: WHO convened its emergency mpox committee amid concerns that a deadlier strain of the virus, clade Ib, had reached four previously unaffected provinces in Africa. This strain had previously been contained to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Independent experts on the committee met virtually Wednesday to advise WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the severity of the outbreak. After that consultation, he announced Wednesday that he had declared a public health emergency of international concern -- the highest level of alarm under international health law.

Also known as PHEIC, this is a status given by WHO to "extraordinary events" that pose a public health risk to other countries through the international spread of disease. [...] Since the beginning of this year, more than 17,000 cases and more than 500 deaths have been reported in 13 countries in Africa, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which classifies the outbreak as a "very high risk event."

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1853211/who-declares-mpox-outbreak-a-global-health-emergency?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1853211/who-declares-mpox-outbreak-a-global-health-emergency?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Eric Schmidt Says Google Is Falling Behind on AI - And Remote Work Is Why

Eric Schmidt, ex-CEO and executive chairman at Google, said his former company is losing the AI race and remote work is to blame. From a report: "Google decided that work-life balance and going home early and working from home was more important than winning," Schmidt said at a talk at Stanford University. "The reason startups work is because the people work like hell." Schmidt made the comments earlier at a wide-ranging discussion at Stanford. His remarks about Google's remote-work policies were in response to a question about Google competing with OpenAI.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1840215/eric-schmidt-says-google-is-falling-behind-on-ai---and-remote-work-is-why?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1840215/eric-schmidt-says-google-is-falling-behind-on-ai---and-remote-work-is-why?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Apple To Open Payment Chip To Third Parties and Charge Fees

Apple will begin letting third parties use the iPhone's payment chip to handle transactions, a move that allows banks and other services to compete with the Apple Pay platform. From a report: The move, announced Wednesday, follows years of pressure from regulators, including those in the European Union. Apple said it will allow developers to use the component starting in iOS 18.1, an upcoming software update for the iPhone. The payment chip relies on a technology called NFC, or near-field communication, to share information when the phone is near another device.

The change will allow outside providers to use the NFC chip for in-store payments, transit system fares, work badges, home and hotel keys, and reward cards. Support for government identification cards will come later, the company said. Users will also be able to set a third-party payment app as their default system, replacing Apple Pay. Apple had been reluctant to open up the chip to developers, citing security concerns. The change also threatens the revenue it generates from Apple Pay transactions. The company takes a cut of all payments made via the iPhone.

https://apple.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/168242/apple-to-open-payment-chip-to-third-parties-and-charge-fees?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://apple.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/168242/apple-to-open-payment-chip-to-third-parties-and-charge-fees?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Microsoft is Enabling BitLocker Device Encryption By Default on Windows 11

Microsoft is making BitLocker device encryption a default feature in its next major update to Windows 11. From a report: If you clean install the 24H2 version that's rolling out in the coming months, device encryption will be enabled by default when you first sign in or set up a device with a Microsoft account or work / school account.

Device encryption is designed to improve the security of Windows machines by automatically enabling BitLocker encryption on the Windows install drive and backing up the recovery key to a Microsoft account or Entra ID. In Windows 11 version 24H2, Microsoft is reducing the hardware requirements for automatic device encryption, opening it up to many more devices -- including ones running the Home version of Windows 11. Device encryption no longer requires Hardware Security Test Interface (HSTI) or Modern Standby, and encryption will also be enabled even if untrusted direct memory access (DMA) buses / interfaces are detected.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1559240/microsoft-is-enabling-bitlocker-device-encryption-by-default-on-windows-11?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1559240/microsoft-is-enabling-bitlocker-device-encryption-by-default-on-windows-11?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


To Best China, Pentagon Must Shed 'the Same Old Mindsets'

An anonymous reader shares a report: Pentagon officials say the U.S. stands at the precipice of a new golden age of defense innovation driven by upstart contractors, advances in technology and a world brimming with threats. The Defense Department's inability to make unorthodox bets, feed a vibrant industrial base and embrace readily available technologies has rendered it under-supplied, the target of dual-use evangelists and vulnerable to more nimble adversaries.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said in a speech last week the department "cannot tolerate the same old mindsets" as it butts heads with Russia and China, while also invoking America's mass production overhaul during World War II. Heidi Shyu, the Pentagon's chief tech officer, separately called the clip of "nontraditional, venture-backed companies" entering the defense industry "unprecedented," adding: "They're nipping at the heels, I tell you. I have traditional defense contractors say, 'Hey, this isn't fair.'"

Defense Innovation Unit director Doug Beck said the department is at a "positive tipping point." "We've been given the tools, and now it's about execution and delivery," Beck said. "I think we're well on our way out of the dark age." Hicks' declaration comes one year after she stuck her neck out for Replicator, meant to arm troops with thousands of drones and prove the Pentagon can be agile. That $1 billion gambit is on track, with more than 1,000 AeroVironment-made Switchblade 600 drones already in the pipeline, according to officials.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1528222/to-best-china-pentagon-must-shed-the-same-old-mindsets?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1528222/to-best-china-pentagon-must-shed-the-same-old-mindsets?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Disney Says Disney+ TOS Means Man Can't Sue For Wife's Fatal Allergic Reaction

New submitter beamdriver writes: As is being reported in Newsday , Disney has asked a Florida court to dismiss a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the husband of a Carle Place physician who suffered a fatal allergic reaction after eating at a Disney Springs restaurant.

The company cited legal language agreed to years earlier when Jeffrey Piccolo, widower of Kanokporn Tangsuan, 42, of Plainview, signed up for a one-month trial of the Disney+ streaming service that requires users to arbitrate all disputes with the company, records show.

Kanokporn Tangsuan, died in October after dining with her husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, at a restaurant in a section of the Walt Disney World Resort. Despite informing the waitstaff several times of her severe peanut and dairy allergies and receiving assurances that her meal would be allergen-free, she began having severe difficulty breathing shortly after dinner. She self-administered an epi-pen and was transported to a hospital, where she later died.

A medical examiner attributed her death to anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nuts in her system, according to the suit.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1444216/disney-says-disney-tos-means-man-cant-sue-for-wifes-fatal-allergic-reaction?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/1444216/disney-says-disney-tos-means-man-cant-sue-for-wifes-fatal-allergic-reaction?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Apple Finally Allows Spotify To Show Pricing Info To EU Users on iOS

An anonymous reader shares a report: After much back and forth earlier this year, Spotify on Wednesday says it's now received approval from Apple to display pricing information in its iOS app for users in the EU. The company is not opting into Apple's new business rules under the EU's Digital Markets Act, but rather is taking advantage of new antitrust guidelines imposed by the EU specifically for music streaming apps. Apple in March was fined by European regulators nearly $2 billion for breaching antitrust rules in the market. Spotify and Apple have also gone back and forth over an update to Spotify's app that would allow the music streamer to share pricing information with EU users.

Now, Spotify says its app update has been approved, and it will be able to display the pricing for things like Spotify subscriptions and digital goods, including Spotify's more recently added collection of audiobooks. The latter includes the ability to show the pricing for subscription plans that include audiobook streaming, as well as "top off" hours users can buy to complete their audiobook listening and a la carte audiobook prices.

https://apple.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/142228/apple-finally-allows-spotify-to-show-pricing-info-to-eu-users-on-ios?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://apple.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/142228/apple-finally-allows-spotify-to-show-pricing-info-to-eu-users-on-ios?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Lawsuit Attacks Florida's Lab-Grown Meat Ban As Unconstitutional

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Florida's ban on cultivated meat is being challenged in federal court in a lawsuit that was filed yesterday. The case is being brought by the cultivated meat firm Upside Foods and the Institute of Justice (IJ), a nonprofit public interest law firm. Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed the legislation making the sale of cultivated meat illegal in Florida on May 1, and the bill came into effect on July 1. Alabama passed a similar bill banning cultivated meat that will come into effect from October 1. The case brought by Upside Foods and the IJ argues that Florida's ban is unconstitutional in three different ways. First, they argue, the ban violates theSupremacy Clause that gives federal law priority over state law in certain instances. The court case argues that the Florida ban violates two different provisions in the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act.

The legal complaint (PDF) also alleges that the ban violates theCommerce Clause, which gives the US Congress exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce. The IJ argues that the Commerce Clause restricts states from enacting laws that unduly restrict interstate commerce, and that Florida's ban in its current form has the effect of discriminating against it. "Florida's law has nothing to do with protecting health and safety," said IJ senior attorney Paul Sherman in a press conference today. "It is a transparent example of economic protectionism." Sherman said that Upside Foods and the IJ would also apply for a preliminary injunction that would allow the company to sell cultivated meat in Florida while the legal challenge is still ongoing. The complaint says that Upside had planned to distribute its cultivated chicken at Art Basel in Miami in early December 2024. The company protested the Florida ban by holding a tasting of its chicken on June 27 in Miami, shortly before the ban came into effect. Sherman said that the Alabama ban was also "in our sights" but that the IJ had targeted the Florida law as it came into effect before the Alabama ban. "We're hoping we'll be able to get a quick ruling [in Florida] on a preliminary injunction there," and use that as a precedent to challenge the Alabama ban, he said. "Consumers should decide what kind of meat they want to buy and feed their families -- not politicians," said the Good Food Institute (GFI), a nonprofit focused on advancing alternative proteins and which is serving as a consulting consul in this case. "This lawsuit seeks to protect these consumer rights, along with the rights of companies to compete in a fair and open marketplace."

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/0520227/lawsuit-attacks-floridas-lab-grown-meat-ban-as-unconstitutional?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/0520227/lawsuit-attacks-floridas-lab-grown-meat-ban-as-unconstitutional?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


New Research Reveals AI Lacks Independent Learning, Poses No Existential Threat

ZipNada writes: New research reveals that large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT cannot learn independently or acquire new skills without explicit instructions, making them predictable and controllable. The study dispels fears of these models developing complex reasoning abilities, emphasizing that while LLMs can generate sophisticated language, they are unlikely to pose existential threats. However, the potential misuse of AI, such as generating fake news, still requires attention. The study, published today as part of the proceedings of the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL 2024) -- the premier international conference in natural language processing -- reveals that LLMs have a superficial ability to follow instructions and excel at proficiency in language, however, they have no potential to master new skills without explicit instruction. This means they remain inherently controllable, predictable and safe. "The prevailing narrative that this type of AI is a threat to humanity prevents the widespread adoption and development of these technologies, and also diverts attention from the genuine issues that require our focus," said Dr Harish Tayyar Madabushi, computer scientist at the University of Bath and co-author of the new study on the 'emergent abilities' of LLMs.

Professor Iryna Gurevych added: "... our results do not mean that AI is not a threat at all. Rather, we show that the purported emergence of complex thinking skills associated with specific threats is not supported by evidence and that we can control the learning process of LLMs very well after all. Future research should therefore focus on other risks posed by the models, such as their potential to be used to generate fake news."

https://slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/0456259/new-research-reveals-ai-lacks-independent-learning-poses-no-existential-threat?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://slashdot.org/story/24/08/14/0456259/new-research-reveals-ai-lacks-independent-learning-poses-no-existential-threat?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


WHO To Scrap Weak PFAS Drinking Water Guidelines After Alleged Corruption

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The World Health Organization (WHO) is poised to scrap controversial drinking water guidelines proposed for two toxic PFAS "forever chemicals." The move follows allegations that the process of developing the figures was corrupted by industry-linked researchers aiming to undercut strict new US PFAS limits and weaken standards in the developing world. Many independent scientists charged that the proposed WHO drinking water guidelines for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were weak, did not fully protect human health, ignored credible research, and were far above limits set by regulators in the US and EU. The guidelines would have allowed far more PFAS in drinking water than what is allowed by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Though the earlier guidelines were drafts, and proposed rules all go through a revision process, the WHO is conducting an entirely new review of scientific literature and disbanded the panel of scientists who developed the draft guidelines. It established a new panel with fewer industry-linked scientists and more regulatory officials, moves that have not happened in other revisions, said Betsy Southerland, a former EPA manager in the agency's water division. "This is unprecedented, but the WHO got unprecedented criticism," Southerland said. The WHO told the Guardian in a statement that the moves are part of "an ongoing process" and will include guidelines for other PFAS compounds.

Scientists critical of the limits charged that the WHO ignored high-quality research to create a sense of doubt about the science around PFAS. EPA and EU regulators carried out an exhaustive literature review to find all human and animal studies, and used the best of those papers to establish their limits, Southerland said. The WHO, however, ignored all human studies and determined most animal studies were "too flawed" to use, Southerland said. The organization concluded there was not enough research to set health-based guidelines, which she called a "shocking decision." "There is far more health data for these chemicals than has ever been available for any pollutant in the history of the WHO," Southerland said. Instead, the WHO largely based its guidelines on its review of technological research, but ignored most of those studies as well, Southerland said. The body concluded filtration systems could reliably remove PFOA and PFOS at 100ppt, even though US water utilities remove it below four ppt. The decisions bear industry's prints, researchers say.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2330204/who-to-scrap-weak-pfas-drinking-water-guidelines-after-alleged-corruption?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2330204/who-to-scrap-weak-pfas-drinking-water-guidelines-after-alleged-corruption?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Texas Sues General Motors, Alleging Illegal Selling of Driver Data

In a press release today, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he has filed a lawsuit against General Motors, alleging the carmaker illegally collected and sold drivers' data to insurance companies without their consent or knowledge. CNN reports: In car models from 2015 and later, the Detroit-based car manufacturer allegedly used technology to "collect, record, analyze, and transmit highly detailed driving data about each time a driver used their vehicle," according to the AG's statement. General Motors sold this information to several other companies, including to at least two companies for the purpose of generating "Driving Scores" about GM's customers, the AG alleged. The suit said those two companies then sold these scores to insurance companies.

Insurance companies can use data to see how many times people exceeded a speed limit or obeyed other traffic laws. Some insurance firms ask customers if they want to voluntarily opt-in to such programs, promising lower rates for safer drivers. But the attorney general's office claimed GM "deceived" its Texan customers by encouraging them to enroll in programs such as OnStar Smart Driver. But by agreeing to join these programs, customers also unknowingly agreed to the collection and sale of their data, the attorney general's office said. "Despite lengthy and convoluted disclosures, General Motors never informed its customers of its actual conduct -- the systematic collection and sale of their highly detailed driving data," the AG's office said in a statement. The filing can be read here (PDF).

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2320250/texas-sues-general-motors-alleging-illegal-selling-of-driver-data?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2320250/texas-sues-general-motors-alleging-illegal-selling-of-driver-data?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Google's Pixel 9 Phones Are the First To Get Satellite SOS For Android

Google's Brian Rakowski announced today that the new Pixel 9 lineup will be the first Android phones to feature Satellite SOS. The Verge reports: The feature launches first in the US "regardless of your carrier plan," Rakowski said, though it won't be available in Hawaii and Alaska, per a support page. According to fine print shown during Google's livestream, the service will be included "at no additional charge for the first two years after activation of devices." A blog post by Rakowski qualifies that further, saying that it will be free for those first two years "on Pixel." And it's unclear when the feature might arrive for other Android phones.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2312214/googles-pixel-9-phones-are-the-first-to-get-satellite-sos-for-android?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2312214/googles-pixel-9-phones-are-the-first-to-get-satellite-sos-for-android?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


T-Mobile Shutting Down 2G Network Beginning Next Month

"T-Mobile will be shutting down their 2G network beginning next month, making older phones obsolete," writes Slashdot reader Dustin Destree. From the Mobile Report: Most phones today use 4G and 5G, and T-Mobile's 2G service somehow managed to outlive the company's 3G service, which was killed off in 2022. Nonetheless, after postponing a previous shutdown date of April 2nd, we seem to finally have a date for T-Mobile sunsetting its 2G service, and it's pretty soon. T-Mobile has added a date for when its 2G service's capacity and coverage is "expected to change." The service should begin shutdown on September 1st, 2024. The date was quietly added without a major announcement, and it was added sometime after August 5th, as a former Google cache of the page (which has now also been updated) previously showed.

https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2112239/t-mobile-shutting-down-2g-network-beginning-next-month?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2112239/t-mobile-shutting-down-2g-network-beginning-next-month?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Flipboard Users Can Now Follow Anyone In the Fediverse

Starting today, users of the social magazine app Flipboard can follow any federated accounts, "meaning those that participate in the social network of interconnected servers known as the fediverse," writes TechCrunch's Sarah Perez. "This now includes Threads accounts in addition to Mastodon accounts and others." From the report: With the update, which deepens Flipboard's connection with the ActivityPub social graph, any Flipboard user can follow user profiles from any other federated service. If their Flipboard account is also federated, they can interact with those users' posts and participate in conversations, as well. Flipboard's user base, however, is currently undisclosed. [...] The Flipboard app supports full fediverse integration, but the company hasn't yet allowed all users to turn on federation as it's a phased rollout. We're told the goal is to make federation a setting users can select later this year, similar to how Threads added a "fediverse sharing" option in June. When federation is enabled, people will be able to not only share to the fediverse but also see and engage with conversations around their Flipboard posts that are taking place in the fediverse.

With Tuesday's update on Flipboard, people can find and follow others in the fediverse across three areas of its app: Search, Explore and Community. In search results, Flipboard will surface federated accounts and profile results in a new section, "Fediverse Accounts." Editorial recommendations can also be found in the app's "Explore" tab under "Fediverse," and every week a new selection of accounts will be featured in the Community section. Activity from the fediverse will also be displayed in the Flipboard notifications panel, allowing people to engage and follow others in the fediverse directly from their notifications. For Flipboard users, that means they can now follow user profiles from Threads and Mastodon in the Flipboard app, including high-profile users like President Joe Biden (POTUS) and former President Barack Obama on Threads, as well as various creators, like Marques Brownlee, and journalists, like Kara Swisher.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/216230/flipboard-users-can-now-follow-anyone-in-the-fediverse?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/216230/flipboard-users-can-now-follow-anyone-in-the-fediverse?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Deep-Live-Cam Goes Viral, Allowing Anyone To Become a Digital Doppelganger

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Over the past few days, a software package called Deep-Live-Cam has been going viral on social media because it can take the face of a person extracted from a single photo and apply it to a live webcam video source while following pose, lighting, and expressions performed by the person on the webcam. While the results aren't perfect, the software shows how quickly the tech is developing -- and how the capability to deceive others remotely is getting dramatically easier over time. The Deep-Live-Cam software project has been in the works since late last year, but example videos that show a person imitating Elon Musk and Republican Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance (among others) in real time have been making the rounds online. The avalanche of attention briefly made the open source project leap to No. 1 on GitHub's trending repositories list (it's currently at No. 4 as of this writing), where it is available for download for free. [...]

Like many open source GitHub projects, Deep-Live-Cam wraps together several existing software packages under a new interface (and is itself a fork of an earlier project called "roop"). It first detects faces in both the source and target images (such as a frame of live video). It then uses a pre-trained AI model called "inswapper" to perform the actual face swap and another model called GFPGAN to improve the quality of the swapped faces by enhancing details and correcting artifacts that occur during the face-swapping process. The inswapper model, developed by a project called InsightFace, can guess what a person (in a provided photo) might look like using different expressions and from different angles because it was trained on a vast dataset containing millions of facial images of thousands of individuals captured from various angles, under different lighting conditions, and with diverse expressions.

During training, the neural network underlying the inswapper model developed an "understanding" of facial structures and their dynamics under various conditions, including learning the ability to infer the three-dimensional structure of a face from a two-dimensional image. It also became capable of separating identity-specific features, which remain constant across different images of the same person, from pose-specific features that change with angle and expression. This separation allows the model to generate new face images that combine the identity of one face with the pose, expression, and lighting of another.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2057227/deep-live-cam-goes-viral-allowing-anyone-to-become-a-digital-doppelganger?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2057227/deep-live-cam-goes-viral-allowing-anyone-to-become-a-digital-doppelganger?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Six Ransomware Gangs Behind Over 50% of 2024 Attacks

An anonymous reader shares a report: Despite a law enforcement takedown six months ago, LockBit 3.0 remains the most prolific encryption and extortion gang, at least so far, this year, according to Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42. Of the 53 ransomware groups whose underworld websites, where the crooks name their victims and leak stolen data, that the incident response team monitored, just six accounted for more than half of the total infections observed.

For its analysis, Unit 42 reviewed announcements posted on these crews' dedicated leak sites during the first six months of 2024 and counted 1,762 posts, which represents a 4.3 percent year-over-year increase from 2023. Before we get into the top six gangs' victims count, a note on how Unit 42 tracks nation-state and cybercrime groups: It combines a modifier with a constellation. And Scorpius is the lucky constellation that Unit 42 connects to ransomware gangs.

https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2036245/six-ransomware-gangs-behind-over-50-of-2024-attacks?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/2036245/six-ransomware-gangs-behind-over-50-of-2024-attacks?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Google Makes Your Pixel Screenshots Searchable With Recall-like AI Feature

An anonymous reader shares a report: Google has announced Pixel Screenshots, a new AI-powered app for its Pixel 9 lineup that lets you save, organize, and surface information from screenshots. Pixel Screenshot uses Google's private, on-device Gemini Nano AI model to analyze the content of an image and make it searchable.

During a demo at its Pixel launch event, Google showed how you can take a screenshot and then save it to a collection, like "gift ideas." You can also search through all your other screenshots by typing in a keyword, like "bikes" or "shoes." Pixel Screenshots will then pull up all relevant results. Additionally, Pixel Screenshots can give you information about what's inside an image. Further reading: Microsoft Postpones Windows Recall After Major Backlash.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/208224/google-makes-your-pixel-screenshots-searchable-with-recall-like-ai-feature?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/208224/google-makes-your-pixel-screenshots-searchable-with-recall-like-ai-feature?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Google's Pixel 9 Lineup is a Pro Show

Google unveiled its latest Pixel smartphone series on Tuesday, introducing four new models with enhanced AI capabilities and updated designs. The Pixel 9 lineup includes the standard Pixel 9, two Pro models, and a foldable device. The new Pixel phones feature flat sides and an elongated camera module on the rear, departing from the curved edges of previous generations. Screen sizes range from 6.3 inches on the standard Pixel 9 to 6.8 inches on the Pixel 9 Pro XL.

All models are powered by Google's new Tensor G4 processor and come with increased RAM, with Pro models boasting 16GB. The devices run on Android 14 and will receive seven years of OS updates and security patches. Google has significantly expanded the AI capabilities of the new Pixels. An updated on-device Gemini Nano model can now analyze images and speech in addition to text. New features include automatic screenshot cataloging and retrieval, and an AI-powered illustration generator called Pixel Studio. Camera improvements are a key focus, with all models receiving upgraded ultrawide lenses and the Pro versions featuring a new 42-megapixel selfie camera with autofocus. Google has introduced "Magic Editor," allowing users to transform parts of an image using text prompts and generative AI.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Google's second-generation foldable device, is thinner than its predecessor at 5.1mm when unfolded. It features a larger 8-inch inner display with increased brightness, reaching up to 2,700 nits in peak mode. Pricing for the new Pixel lineup starts at $799 for the standard Pixel 9, representing a $100 increase from last year's model. The Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL are priced at $999 and $1,099 respectively, while the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will retail for $1,799. The devices will be released in stages, with the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro XL available from August 22, followed by the 9 Pro in September and the Pro Fold on September 4.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/1826247/googles-pixel-9-lineup-is-a-pro-show?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/1826247/googles-pixel-9-lineup-is-a-pro-show?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Waymo Cars Honk at Each Other Throughout the Night, Disturbing SF Neighbors

Driverless Waymo vehicles in a San Francisco parking lot have been repeatedly honking at each other, disrupting nearby residents' sleep and daily lives, according to local media report. The incidents, occurring at random times over the past two weeks, have prompted complaints from multiple condo dwellers. Randol White, a local resident, first noticed the problem when he was awakened at 4 a.m. by the cacophony. Another resident, Russell Pofsky, reported being woken up more times in the past fortnight than in the previous 20 years combined.

Waymo acknowledged the issue in a statement, saying they have identified the cause and are implementing a fix. The company's response comes after affected residents reached out to report the problem.

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/166253/waymo-cars-honk-at-each-other-throughout-the-night-disturbing-sf-neighbors?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/166253/waymo-cars-honk-at-each-other-throughout-the-night-disturbing-sf-neighbors?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Jobhunters Flood Recruiters With AI-Generated CVs

About half of all job seekers are using AI tools to apply for roles, inundating employers and recruiters with low-quality applications in an already squeezed labour market. From a report: Candidates are turning increasingly to generative AI -- the type used in chatbot products such as ChatGPT and Gemini to produce conversational passages of text -- to assist them in writing their CVs, cover letters and completing assessments. Estimates from employers and recruiters who spoke to the Financial Times, as well as multiple published surveys, have suggested the figure is as high as 50 per cent of applicants.

A "barrage" of AI-powered applications had led to more than double the number of candidates per job while the "barrier to entry is lower," said Khyati Sundaram, chief executive of Applied, a recruitment platform. "We're definitely seeing higher volume and lower quality, which means it is harder to sift through," she added. "A candidate can copy and paste any application question into ChatGPT, and then can copy and paste that back into that application form."

In recent months, recruiters have received more applications for each job because labour markets on both sides of the Atlantic have weakened. Employers need to fill fewer vacancies, and more people are job-hunting after being made redundant. Longer-term trends, such as the rise of online job boards that make openings visible to a broader pool of potential candidates and make applying easy, have already boosted the number of applications. About 46 per cent of job hunters are using generative AI to search and apply for posts, according to a survey of 2,500 UK workers from HR start-up Beamery. In a separate poll of 5,000 global job seekers by creative platform Canva, 45 per cent had used generative AI to build or improve their CVs.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/142256/jobhunters-flood-recruiters-with-ai-generated-cvs?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/142256/jobhunters-flood-recruiters-with-ai-generated-cvs?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


SpaceX Announces First Human Mission To Ever Fly Over the Planet's Poles

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: SpaceX will fly the first-ever human spaceflight over the Earth's poles, possibly before the end of this year, the company announced Monday. The private Crew Dragon mission will be led by a Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur named Chun Wang, and he will be joined by a polar explorer, a roboticist, and a filmmaker whom he has befriended in recent years. The "Fram2" mission, named after the Norwegian research ship Fram, will launch into a polar corridor from SpaceX's launch facilities in Florida and fly directly over the north and south poles. The three-to-five day mission is being timed to fly over Antarctica near the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, to afford maximum lighting.

The four-person crew will fly, fittingly, aboard Crew Dragon Endurance, which is named after Ernest Shackleton's famous ship that was trapped in the Antarctic ice and eventually sunk there about a century ago. The spacecraft will be fitted with a cupola for both photography and filming. This will be SpaceX's third free-flying mission aboard Crew Dragon, following the Inspiration4 mission funded and commanded by US entrepreneur Jared Isaacman in 2021, and his forthcoming Polaris Dawn mission which may launch later this month. In an interview, Wang said he modeled the Fram2 mission's crew and public outreach programs on the template established by Isaacman.

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/024247/spacex-announces-first-human-mission-to-ever-fly-over-the-planets-poles?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/024247/spacex-announces-first-human-mission-to-ever-fly-over-the-planets-poles?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Milky Way May Escape Fated Collision With Andromeda Galaxy

sciencehabit shares a report from Science.org: For years, astronomers thought it was the Milky Way's destiny to collide with its near neighbor the Andromeda galaxy a few billion years from now. But a new simulation finds a 50% chance the impending crunch will end up a near-miss, at least for the next 10 billion years. It's been known that Andromeda is heading toward our home Galaxy since 1912, heading pretty much straight at the Milky Way at a speed of 110 kilometers per second. Such galaxy mergers, which can be seen in progress elsewhere in the universe, are spectacularly messy affairs. Although most stars survive unscathed, the galaxies' spiral structures are obliterated, sending streams of stars spinning off into space. After billions of years, the merged galaxies typically settle into a single elliptical galaxy: a giant featureless blob of stars. A study from 2008 suggested a Milky Way-Andromeda merger was inevitable within the next 5 billion years, and that in the process the Sun and Earth would get gravitationally grabbed by Andromeda for a time before ending up in the distant outer suburbs of the resulting elliptical, which the researchers dub "Milkomeda."

In the new simulation, researchers made use of the most recent and best estimates of the motion and mass of the four largest galaxies in the Local Group. They then plugged those into simulations developed by the Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University. First, they ran the simulation including just the Milky Way and Andromeda and found that they merged in slightly less than half of the cases -- lower odds than other recent estimates. When they included the effect of the Triangulum galaxy, the Local Group's third largest, the merger probability increased to about two-thirds. But with the inclusion of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way that is the fourth largest in the Local Group, those chances dropped back down to a coin flip. And if the cosmic smashup does happen, it won't be for about 8 billion years. "As it stands, proclamations of the impending demise of our Galaxy appear greatly exaggerated," the researchers write. Meanwhile, if the accelerating expansion of the universe continues unabated, all other galaxies will disappear beyond our cosmic event horizon, leaving Milkomeda as the sole occupant of the visible universe. The study is available as a preprint on arXiv.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/0155247/milky-way-may-escape-fated-collision-with-andromeda-galaxy?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/08/13/0155247/milky-way-may-escape-fated-collision-with-andromeda-galaxy?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Locking Up Items To Deter Shoplifting Is Pushing Shoppers Online

Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Axios: Locking up merchandise at drugstores and discount retailers hasn't curbed retail theft but is driving frustrated consumers to shop online more, retail experts tell Axios. Retail crime is eating into retailers' profits and high theft rates are also leading to a rise in store closures. Secured cases can cause sales to drop 15% to 25%, Joe Budano, CEO of anti-theft technology company Indyme, previously told Axios. Barricading everything from razors to laundry detergent has largely backfired and broken shopping in America, Bloomberg reports.

Aisles full of locked plexiglass cases are common at many CVS and Walgreens stores where consumers have to wait for an employee to unlock them. Target, Walmart, Dollar General and other retailers have also pulled back on self-checkout to deter shoplifting. "Locking up products worsens the shopping experience, and it makes things inconvenient and difficult," GlobalData retail analyst Neil Saunders said, adding it pushes shoppers to other retailers or to move purchases online.

Driving the news: Manmohan Mahajan, Walgreens global chief financial officer, said in a June earnings call that the retailer was experiencing "higher levels of shrink." Amazon CEO Andy Jassy spoke of the "speed and ease" of ordering online versus walking into pharmacies on a call with investors last week. "It's a pretty tough experience with how much is locked behind cabinets, where you have to press a button to get somebody to come out and open the cabinets for you," Jassy said. schwit1 adds: "The American-style retail shopping experience was invented in a high-trust environment. As trust erodes, so does the experience."

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/12/2053246/locking-up-items-to-deter-shoplifting-is-pushing-shoppers-online?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/08/12/2053246/locking-up-items-to-deter-shoplifting-is-pushing-shoppers-online?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


Google Wallet Widely Rolling Out 'Everything Else' Pass Creator In the US

Google is rolling out a new feature for Google Wallet that uses AI to generate a digital version of IDs, tickets, and other passes. "Replacing the old 'Photo' option, Everything else lets you 'Scan a photo of any pass like an event ticket, gym membership, insurance card, and more' to create a digital version that appears in Google Wallet," writes 9to5Google's Abner Li. "The app explains how AI is leveraged to 'determine what kind of pass you're adding and to suggest the content of the pass.'" From the report: If you're adding something sensitive with health or government ID information, it will be classified as private and not get synced to other devices, while authentication is required before opening. However, you can change the private pass classification later. After taking a picture of the pass, Google will extract the information and let you edit common fields, as well as add your own. At this stage, you can change the pass type [...]. When finalized, it will appear below your carousel of credit/debit cards. Google will let you access the original "Pass photos" when viewing the digital copy.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/12/2335251/google-wallet-widely-rolling-out-everything-else-pass-creator-in-the-us?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/12/2335251/google-wallet-widely-rolling-out-everything-else-pass-creator-in-the-us?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed


FBI Investigating After Trump Campaign Says It Was Hacked

Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump's campaign said that it had been hacked, with internal documents reportedly obtained illegally by foreign sources to interfere with the 2024 election. While the Trump campaign claimed that Iran was responsible, it is unclear who exactly was behind the incident. The FBI said it was aware of the allegations and confirmed Monday that it is "investigating this matter." The Hill reports: U.S. agencies have thus far failed to comment on the claims that Iran was responsible for the hack, even as recent intelligence community reports have noted growing Iranian efforts to influence the U.S. election. "This is something we've raised for some time, raised concerns that Iranian cyber actors have been seeking to influence elections around the world including those happening in the United States," John Kirby, the White House's national security communications adviser, told reporters Monday. "These latest attempts to interfere in U.S. elections is nothing new for the Iranian regime, which from our vantage point has attempted to undermine democracies for many years now."

A report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released last month noted Iranian efforts designed to "fuel distrust in U.S. political institutions and increase social discord." "The IC has observed Tehran working to influence the presidential election, probably because Iranian leaders want to avoid an outcome they perceive would increase tensions with the United States. Tehran relies on vast webs of online personas and propaganda mills to spread disinformation," the report states, including being particularly active on exacerbating tensions over the Israel-Gaza conflict.

https://politics.slashdot.org/story/24/08/12/2322239/fbi-investigating-after-trump-campaign-says-it-was-hacked?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed
 at Slashdot.

https://politics.slashdot.org/story/24/08/12/2322239/fbi-investigating-after-trump-campaign-says-it-was-hacked?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed