ICT news

• Google's Secret New Project Teaches AI To Write and Fix Code

  24-11-2022 23:00 via developers.slashdot.org
  Google is working on a secretive project that uses machine learning to train code to write, fix, and update itself. From a report: This project is part of a broader push by Google into so-called generative artificial intelligence, which uses algorithms to create images, videos, code, and more. It could have profound implications for the company's future and developers who write code. The project, which began life inside Alphabet's X research unit and was codenamed Pitchfork, moved into Google's
  
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• Google Says Google and Other Android Manufacturers Haven't Patched Security Flaws

  24-11-2022 22:08 via tech.slashdot.org
  Google has disclosed several security flaws for phones that have Mali GPUs, such as those with Exynos chipsets. From a report: The company's Project Zero team says it flagged the problems to ARM (which produces the GPUs) back in the summer. ARM resolved the issues on its end in July and August. However, smartphone manufacturers including Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo and Google itself hadn't deployed patches to fix the vulnerabilities as of earlier this week, Project Zero said.
  Researchers identified fi
  
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• Senators Alarmed Over Potential Chinese Drone Spy Threat

  24-11-2022 20:00 via news.slashdot.org
  Hundreds of Chinese-manufactured drones have been detected in restricted airspace over Washington, D.C., in recent months, a trend that national security agencies fear could become a new means for foreign espionage. From a report: The recreational drones made by Chinese company DJI, which are designed with "geofencing" restrictions to keep them out of sensitive locations, are being manipulated by users with simple workarounds to fly over no-go zones around the nation's capital.
  Federal officials
  
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• EU Countries Back Billion-Euro Chip Plan Ahead of Talks With Lawmakers

  24-11-2022 19:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  EU countries agreed to a 45-billion-euro ($46.6 billion) plan to fund the production of chips, putting the 27-country bloc a step closer to its goal of reducing its reliance on U.S. and Asian manufacturers. From a report: EU envoys unanimously backed an amended version of the European Commission's proposal, the Czech Republic which holds the rotating EU presidency said. European Union ministers will meet on Dec. 1 to rubber stamp the chip plan that will still need to be debated with the European
  
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• US Authorities Seize iSpoof, a Call Spoofing Site That Stole Millions

  24-11-2022 18:00 via news.slashdot.org
  An international police operation has dismantled an online spoofing service that allowed cybercriminals to impersonate trusted corporations to steal more than $120 million from victims. From a report: iSpoof, which now displays a message stating that it has been seized by the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service, offered "spoofing" services that enabled paying users to mask their phone numbers with one belonging to a trusted organization, such as banks and tax offices, to carry out social engineering
  
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• Microsoft Argues Nintendo Offers a 'Broader Range of Mature Content' than Xbox

  24-11-2022 17:00 via games.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader shares a report: According to Microsoft, Nintendo "offers a broader range of mature content than Xbox." Microsoft's statements came about as part of its response to the UK CMA about wanting to buy Activision. Despite some claiming that Nintendo is more family-friendly, Switch in particular has proven otherwise. Microsoft highlighted the Nintendo-published Bayonetta 3, the console-exclusive Shin Megami Tensei V, and other third-party titles such as The Witcher 3 and NieR: Auto
  
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• Lawsuit Takes Aim at the Way AI Is Built

  24-11-2022 16:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  A programmer is suing Microsoft, GitHub and OpenAI over artificial intelligence technology that generates its own computer code. From a report: In late June, Microsoft released a new kind of artificial intelligence technology that could generate its own computer code. Called Copilot, the tool was designed to speed the work of professional programmers. As they typed away on their laptops, it would suggest ready-made blocks of computer code they could instantly add to their own. Many programmers l
  
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• Harvard Paper To Central Banks: Buy Bitcoin

  24-11-2022 15:00 via news.slashdot.org
  A new working paper by Matthew Ferranti -- a fifth-year PhD candidate in Harvard's economics department and advisee of Ken Rogoff, a former economist at the IMF and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors who is now a Harvard professor -- has caused a minor splash. From a report: In it, Ferranti argues that it makes sense for many central banks to hold a small amount of Bitcoin under normal circumstances, and much more Bitcoin if they face sanctions risks, though his analysis finds gold is a more
  
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• Feds Likely To Challenge Microsoft's $69 Billion Activision Takeover

  24-11-2022 14:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Politico: The Federal Trade Commission is likely to file an antitrust lawsuit to block Microsoft's $69 billion takeover of video game giant Activision Blizzard, maker of the hit games Call of Duty and Candy Crush, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. A lawsuit would be the FTC's biggest move yet under Chair Lina Khan to rein in the power of the world's largest technology companies. It would also be a major black mark for Microsoft, whic
  
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• Europe's Biggest Battery Storage System Switched On

  24-11-2022 11:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  What is thought to be Europe's biggest battery energy storage system has begun operating near Hull. The BBC reports: The site, said to be able to store enough electricity to power 300,000 homes for two hours, went online at Pillswood, Cottingham, on Monday. Its launch was brought forward four months as the UK faces possible energy shortages this winter. The facility was developed by North Yorkshire renewable power firm Harmony Energy using technology made by Tesla.The Pillswood facility has the
  
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• ESA Names World's First Disabled Astronaut

  24-11-2022 08:00 via science.slashdot.org
  The European Space Agency on Wednesday named the first ever "parastronaut" in a major step towards allowing people with physical disabilities to work and live in space. Reuters reports: The 22-nation agency said it had selected former British Paralympic sprinter John McFall as part of a new generation of 17 recruits picked for astronaut training. He will take part in a feasibility study designed to allow ESA to assess the conditions needed for people with disabilities to take part in future miss
  
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• Microsoft Says Attackers Are Hacking Energy Grids By Exploiting Decades-Old Software

  24-11-2022 04:30 via it.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Microsoft has warned that malicious hackers are exploiting a discontinued web server found in common Internet of Things (IoT) devices to target organizations in the energy sector. In an analysis published on Tuesday, Microsoft researchers said they had discovered a vulnerable open-source component in the Boa web server, which is still widely used in a range of routers and security cameras, as well as popular software development kits (SDKs), d
  
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• Frederick P. Brooks Jr., Computer Design Innovator, Dies at 91

  24-11-2022 03:02 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Frederick P. Brooks Jr., whose innovative work in computer design and software engineering helped shape the field of computer science, died on Thursday at his home in Chapel Hill, N.C. He was 91. His death was confirmed by his son, Roger, who said Dr. Brooks had been in declining health since having a stroke two years ago. The New York Times reports: Dr. Brooks had a wide-ranging career that included creating the computer science department at the University of North Carolina and leading influen
  
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• US Navy Forced To Pay Software Company For Piracy

  24-11-2022 02:25 via yro.slashdot.org
  The U.S. Navy was found guilty of piracy and is ordered to pay a software company $154,400 for a lawsuit filed back in 2016. Gizmodo reports: The company, Bitmanagement Software GmbH, filed a complaint against the Navy, accusing the military branch of copyright infringement. GmbH claimed they had issued 38 copies of their 3D virtual reality software, BS Contact Geo, but while they were still in negotiations for additional licenses, the Navy installed the software onto at least 558,466 machines b
  
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• Amazon To Spend $1 Billion a Year On Theatrical Film Releases

  24-11-2022 01:45 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  Cinemas stocks got a boost Wednesday after a report said Amazon plans to spend $1 billion a year on theatrical film releases. CNBC reports: The tech company plans to make between 12 and 15 movies for movie theaters each year, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A smaller number of films will be produced in 2023 as Amazon builds up its output, the report said. Cinemark jumped 11% on the news, with IMAX up 7% and AMC up 5%.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• San Francisco Police Seek Permission For Its Robots To Use Deadly Force

  24-11-2022 01:02 via hardware.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: The San Francisco Police Department is currently petitioning the city's Board of Supervisors for permission to deploy robots to kill suspects that law enforcement deems a sufficient threat that the "risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available to SFPD." The draft policy, which was written by the SFPD itself, also seeks to exclude "hundreds of assault rifles from its inventor
  
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• Valve Introduces Proton Next

  24-11-2022 00:20 via games.slashdot.org
  Proton Next has been announced by Valve developer Pierre-Loup Griffais on Twitter, as an easier way to check out and test the upcoming stable releases of new Proton versions for Linux desktop and Steam Deck. GamingOnLinux reports: It is mostly the same as the Release Candidate for Proton 7.0-5 that was put up in October. However, it's now its own entry in Steam as Proton Next. This makes it far easier to test, since you can set it to games individually, instead of opting into a Beta with the cur
  
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