ICT news

• A Quake on Mars Showed Its Crust is Thicker Than Earth's

  28-05-2023 23:44 via science.slashdot.org
  
  "Planetary scientists now know how thick the Martian crust is," reports ScienceNews, "thanks to the strongest Marsquake ever observed."
  On average, the crust is between 42 and 56 kilometers thick [26 to 34 miles], researchers report in a paper to appear in Geophysical Research Letters. That's roughly 70 percent thicker than the average continental crust on Earth.
  The measurement was based on data from NASA's InSight lander, a stationary seismometer that recorded waves rippling through Mars' inte
  
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• A Japanese-Made Moon Lander Crashed Because a Crater Confused Its Software

  28-05-2023 22:44 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Last month Japanese startup ispace tried to become the first private company to land a spacecraft on the moon — but in the crucial final moments lost contact with its vehicle.
  Now the Associated Press reports that company officials are revealing what happened: while trying to land, their vehicle went into free-fall. Company officials blame a software issue, plus a decision in December to change the touchdown location to a crater.The crater's steep sides apparently confused the onboard soft
  
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• China Deletes 1.4 Million Social Media Posts in Crackdown

  28-05-2023 21:44 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Reuters reports:China's cyberspace regulator said 1.4 million social media posts have been deleted following a two-month probe into alleged misinformation, illegal profiteering, and impersonation of state officials, among other "pronounced problems"...Beijing frequently arrests citizens and censors accounts for publishing or sharing factual information considered sensitive or critical of the Communist Party, the government or the military, especially when such information goes viral. Of the 67,0
  
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• Is Cybersecurity an Unsolvable Problem?

  28-05-2023 20:22 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Ars Technica profiles Scott Shapiro, the co-author of a new book, Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age in Five Extraordinary Hacks.Shapiro points out that computer science "is only a century old, and hacking, or cybersecurity, is maybe a few decades old. It's a very young field, and part of the problem is that people haven't thought it through from first principles." Telling in-depth the story of five major breaches, Shapiro ultimately concludes that "the very princi
  
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• The Problem with the Matrix Theory of AI-Assisted Human Learning

  28-05-2023 19:09 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Vox co-founder Ezra Klein worries that early AI systems "will do more to distract and entertain than to focus." (Since they tend to "hallucinate" inaccuracies, and may first be relegated to areas "where reliability isn't a concern" like videogames, song mash-ups, children's shows, and "bespoke" images.)
  "The problem is that those are the areas that matter most for economic growth..."One lesson of the digital age is that more is not always better... The
  
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• JWST Discovers a Supermassive Black Hole is 'Far Larger Than Expected'

  28-05-2023 17:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  The Guardian reports that a supermassive black hole discovered at the center of an ancient galaxy "is five times larger than expected for the number of stars it contains, astronomers say."Researchers spotted the immense black hole in a galaxy known as GS-9209 that lies 25bn light-years from Earth, making it one of the most distant to have been observed and recorded. The team at Edinburgh University used the James Webb space telescope (JWST) to observe the galaxy and reveal fresh details about it
  
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• PyPi is Reducing Stored IP Address Data

  28-05-2023 16:34 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  The PyPi registry of open source Python packages "began evaluating ways to reduce the amount of identifying information that it stores," reports the Register, "even before the U.S. Justice Department came asking for data on suspect users."But now, "the Python community package registry wants developers to understand that it's working to minimize the user data that it stores."
  The goal is not to be unable to respond to lawful requests for information; rather it's to store only the minimum amount
  
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• Cost Overruns and Delays: NASA's Artemis Moon Rocket Will Cost $6B More, Take Longer

  28-05-2023 13:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  "An independent report looking into the development of NASA's new moon rocket has found significant cost overruns and delays that could harm the agency's plans to put astronauts back on the moon," reports Space.com.
  Their article cites specifically "increases in costs related to contracts awarded to Aerojet Rocketdyne and Northrop Grumman for SLS's propulsion systems," citing a 50-page report published Thursday by NASA's Inspector General:Altogether, the four contracts for the rocket's booster a
  
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• Fans Book One Last Stay at Disney World's 'Star Wars' Hotel

  28-05-2023 09:34 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Yes, that expensive Star Wars-themed hotel at Walt Disney World is closing September 30th — after opening barely one year ago. But Sfgate spoke to a couple who's already been three times, and before it closes are "currently planning a fourth and final voyage this summer."If you're counting, that's more than $15,000 their travel parties will have spent on the experience. Their first trip was hosted by Disney as a media preview; for the other visits, the pair split rooms with friends to lowe
  
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• Are We Headed to a Future With Autonomous Robot Soldiers?

  28-05-2023 05:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  A CBS News video reports the U.S. military "is now testing an autonomous F-16 fighter jet, and in simulated dogfighting, the AI already crushes trained human pilots." And that's just one of several automated systems being developed — raising questions as to just how far this technology should go:
  "The people we met developing these systems say they aren't trying to replace humans, just make their jobs safer. But a shift to robot soldiers could change war in profound ways, as we found on a
  
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• Microsoft Announces Cloud-Powered OS Backup and Restore for Windows 11, Better ARM Support

  28-05-2023 03:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft's annual developer event Build 2023 unveiled ChatGPT's integration into Bing and an AI 'personal assistant' for Windows 11.But Windows Central also notes two more big (non-AI) announcements:Windows 11 is getting cloud-powered OS backup and restore
  Smartphone owners have long enjoyed a similar functionality, where you could buy a new device and upon the first start, simply log in to your platform account and select "Restore my apps" from the cloud backup. And now Windows will be able to
  
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• Lawyer 'Greatly Regrets' Relying on ChatGPT After Filing Motion Citing Six 'Non-Existent' Cases

  28-05-2023 00:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  The judge's opinion noted the plaintiff's counsel had submitted a motion to dismiss "replete with citations to non-existent cases... Six of the submitted cases appear to be bogus judicial decisions with bogus quotes and bogus internal citations... The bogus 'Varghese' decision contains internal citations and quotes, which, in turn, are non-existent."
  Eugene Volokh's legal blog describes what happened next:
  Thursday, plaintiff's counsel filed an affidavit in response, explaining that he was relyi
  
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