ICT news

• Evan Prodromou Launches The Social Web Foundation To Build Out the Fediverse

  25-09-2024 23:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Evan Prodromou, co-author of the ActivityPub protocol, has launched The Social Web Foundation to address the challenges of the ActivityPub ecosystem and foster the growth of the Fediverse. The foundation aims to support developers, organizations, and governments through advocacy, educational materials, and infrastructure, while maintaining a decentralized approach to improving the social web. We Distribute reports: "I wish I would've started it five years ago," Evan explains in a call, "We're se
  
  Read more

• Russia Blocks OONI Explorer, a Large Open Dataset On Internet Censorship

  25-09-2024 22:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  As of September 11th, Russia has blocked access to OONI Explorer, citing concerns over circumvention tools. This block affects Russian users' ability to access not only circumvention data but also the extensive dataset on global internet censorship that OONI provides. From a blog post: OONI Explorer is one of the largest open datasets on internet censorship around the world. We first launched this web platform back in 2016 with the goal of enabling researchers, journalists, and human rights defe
  
  Read more

• OpenAI CTO Mira Murati Is Leaving Firm

  25-09-2024 21:58 via slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI's chief technology officer Mira Murati has announced her departure from the company, marking the latest high-profile exit from the Microsoft-backed AI firm. Murati, who briefly served as interim CEO during last year's leadership turmoil, cited a desire for personal exploration after six and a half years at OpenAI.
  Her resignation follows the departures of founders Ilya Sutskever and John Schulman earlier this year. The startup, creator of ChatGPT, is currently in talks to raise over $6 bi
  
  Read more

• OpenAI Pitched White House On Unprecedented Data Center Buildout

  25-09-2024 21:20 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: OpenAI has pitched the Biden administration on the need for massive data centers that could each use as much power as entire cities, framing the unprecedented expansion as necessary to develop more advanced artificial intelligence models and compete with China. Following a recent meeting at the White House, which was attended by OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and other tech leaders, the startup shared a document with government offic
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• LG TVs Start Showing Ads On Screensavers

  25-09-2024 20:41 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  LG has started displaying ads on TV screensavers, intensifying the proliferation of ads in smart TV software. The South Korean company quietly announced the move to advertisers on September 5, forgoing a public statement to consumers.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
  Read more

• Meta Unveils AR Glasses Prototype

  25-09-2024 20:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Meta unveiled prototype AR glasses codenamed Orion on Wednesday, featuring a 70-degree field of view, Micro LED projectors, and silicon carbide lenses that beam graphics directly into the wearer's eyes. In an interview with The Verge, CEO Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated the device's capabilities, including ingredient recognition, holographic gaming, and video calling, controlled by a neural wristband that interprets hand gestures through electromyography.
  Despite technological advances, Meta has sh
  
  Read more

• Google Complains To EU Over Microsoft Cloud Practices

  25-09-2024 19:29 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Alphabet unit Google filed a complaint to the European Commission on Wednesday against what it said were Microsoft's anti-competitive practices to lock customers into Microsoft's cloud platform Azure. From a report: Google, whose biggest cloud computing rivals are Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, said Microsoft was exploiting its dominant Windows Server operating system to prevent competition. Google Cloud Vice President Amit Zavery told a briefing that Microsoft made customers pay a 400% mark
  
  Read more

• China-Linked Hackers Breach US Internet Providers in New 'Salt Typhoon' Cyberattack

  25-09-2024 18:41 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Hackers linked to the Chinese government have broken into a handful of U.S. internet-service providers in recent months in pursuit of sensitive information, WSJ reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: The hacking campaign, called Salt Typhoon by investigators, hasn't previously been publicly disclosed and is the latest in a series of incursions that U.S. investigators have linked to China in recent years. The intrusion is a sign of the stealthy success Beijin
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Google Paid $2.7 Billion To Bring Back an AI Genius Who Quit in Frustration

  25-09-2024 18:04 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  At a time when tech companies are paying eye-popping sums to hire the best minds in artificial intelligence, Google's deal to rehire Noam Shazeer has left others in the dust. From a report: A co-author of a seminal research paper that kicked off the AI boom, Shazeer quit Google in 2021 to start his own company after the search giant refused to release a chatbot he developed. When that startup, Character.AI, began to flounder, his old employer swooped in.
  Google wrote Character a check for around
  
  Read more

• Admins Using Windows Server Update Services Up in Arms as Microsoft Deprecates Feature

  25-09-2024 17:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft giveth and Microsoft taketh away, as administrators using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) will soon find out. From a report: Windows Server 2025 remains in preview, but Microsoft has been busy letting users know what is set for removal and what will be deprecated in the release. WSUS fits into the latter category -- still there for now, but no longer under active development. This is a big deal for many administrators who rely on the feature to deploy and manage the distribution
  
  Read more

• New California Law Requires One-Click Subscription Cancellations

  25-09-2024 16:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  A new law in California will make it easier for consumers to cancel their streaming subscriptions and similar products when they enroll in automatic renewal of those services. From a report: The law, passed through Assembly Bill (AB) 2863, will require companies that offer automatic subscription renewals through one-click purchases to also offer customers a way to cancel their subscriptions through the same one-click method. California already had one of the toughest subscription cancellation la
  
  Read more

• Nintendo Japan Plans To Stop Repairing Its Classic Edition Consoles

  25-09-2024 16:00 via games.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Somehow, Nintendo's NES Classic Edition console is already almost eight years old, while the Super Nintendo Classic Edition is about to turn seven. That's apparently old enough for Nintendo to announce that the Japanese versions of the consoles -- the Nintendo Classic Mini Family Computer and the Nintendo Classic Mini Super Famicom -- will no longer be eligible for repair once Nintendo Japan's current stock of parts runs out.
  That doesn't mean that if you wak
  
  Read more

• Microsoft Claims Its New Tool Can Correct AI Hallucinations

  25-09-2024 15:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Microsoft today revealed Correction, a service that attempts to automatically revise AI-generated text that's factually wrong. Correction first flags text that may be erroneous -- say, a summary of a company's quarterly earnings call that possibly has misattributed quotes -- then fact-checks it by comparing the text with a source of truth (e.g. uploaded transcripts). Correction, available as part of Microsoft's Azure AI Content Safety API (in
  
  Read more

• Threat Actors Continue to Exploit OT/ICS through Unsophisticated Means

  25-09-2024 14:00 via cisa.gov
  CISA continues to respond to active exploitation of internet-accessible operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) devices, including those in the Water and Wastewater Systems (WWS) Sector. Exposed and vulnerable OT/ICS systems may allow cyber threat actors to use default credentials, conduct brute force attacks, or use other unsophisticated methods to access these devices and cause harm.   
  CISA urges OT/ICS operators in critical infrastructure sectors to ap
  
  Read more

• ASD’s ACSC, CISA, and US and International Partners Release Guidance on Detecting and Mitigating Active Directory Compromises

  25-09-2024 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, the Australian Signals Directorate Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD ACSC), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and other U.S. and international partners released the joint guide Detecting and Mitigating Active Directory Compromises. This guide informs organizations of recommended strategies to mitigate common techniques used by malicious actors to compromise Active Directory.
  Active Directory is the most widely used authentication and authorization solution i
  
  Read more

• 45 Years Ago CompuServe Connected the World Before the World Wide Web

  25-09-2024 12:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Tony Isaac shares a report from WOSU Public Media: Silicon Valley has the reputation of being the birthplace of our hyper-connected Internet age, the hub of companies such as Apple, Google and Facebook. However, a pioneering company here in central Ohio is responsible for developing and popularizing many of the technologies we take for granted today. A listener submitted a question to WOSU's Curious Cbus series wanting to know more about the legacy of CompuServe and what it meant to go online be
  
  Read more

• X-Rays From a Nuclear Explosion Could Redirect an Asteroid

  25-09-2024 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Scientists have proposed a method to deflect dangerous asteroids using nuclear explosions, not by directly blowing them up, but by detonating a bomb above the surface to create an X-ray burst that vaporizes part of the asteroid and changes its course. Experiments using the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories simulated this process, showing that it could potentially redirect even large asteroids to prevent catastrophic impacts on Earth. Space.com reports: In a new study, the researchers emp
  
  Read more

• Car Software Patches Are Over 20% of Recalls, Study Finds

  25-09-2024 05:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Software fixes are now responsible for more than 1 in 5 automotive recalls. That's the key finding from a decade's worth of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall data, according to an analysis from the law firm DeMayo Law. While that's a sign of growing inconvenience for drivers, the silver lining is that a software patch is usually a much quicker fix than something requiring hardware replacement. "Our analysis suggests we're
  
  Read more

• ByteDance Is Shutting Down TikTok Music Globally

  25-09-2024 04:10 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  In November, ByteDance's TikTok Music will be shut down in all the countries it currently operates in, including Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, and Mexico. A notice on the service's website reads: "We are sorry to inform you that TikTok Music will be closing on 28 November 2024." TechCrunch reports: Subscribers can continue to use the service until November 28, after which renewals will be automatically canceled, the notice said. Users who want to transfer their playlists to other stre
  
  Read more

• Ancient US Air Traffic Control Systems Won't Get a Tech Refresh Before 2030

  25-09-2024 03:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The FAA's air traffic control systems are significantly out of date and won't be updated until the 2030s, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The Register reports: In a report released Monday, the GAO said that 51 of the FAA's 138 ATC systems -- more than a third -- were unsustainable due to a lack of parts, shortfalls in funding to sustain them, or a lack of technology refresh funding to replace them. A further 54 systems were described as "potentially un
  
  Read more

• Kansas Water Facility Switches to Manual Operations Following Cyberattack

  25-09-2024 02:50 via it.slashdot.org
  
  A small city in Kansas switched was forced to switch its water treatment facility to manual operations after a suspected cyberattack was discovered on September 22. The precautionary measure was taken "to ensure plant operations remained secure," the city said. It reassured residents that the drinking water is safe and the water supply remains unaffected. SecurityWeek.com reports: Arkansas City says it has notified the relevant authorities of the incident and that they are working with cybersecu
  
  Read more

• James Cameron Joins Board of Stability AI In Coup For Tech Firm

  25-09-2024 02:10 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Hollywood Reporter: In a major coup for the artificial intelligence company, Stability AI says that Avatar, Terminator and Titanic director James Cameron will join its board of directors. Stability AI is the firm that developed the Stable Diffusion text-to-image generative AI model, an image- and video-focused model that is among those being closely watched by many in Hollywood, particularly in the visual effects industry. In fact, Stability AI's CEO,
  
  Read more

• Human Reviewers Can't Keep Up With Police Bodycam Videos. AI Now Gets the Job

  25-09-2024 01:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Tony Isaac shares a report from NPR: After a decade of explosive growth, body cameras are now standard-issue for most American police as they interact with the public. The vast majority of those millions of hours of video are never watched -- it's just not humanly possible. For academics who study the everyday actions of police, the videos are an ocean of untapped data. Some are now using 'large language model' AI's -- think ChatGPT -- to digest that information and produce new insights. [...] T
  
  Read more

• Caroline Ellison Sentenced To Two Years In Jail For Role In FTX Fraud, Must Forfeit $11 Billion

  25-09-2024 00:40 via slashdot.org
  
  Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, must serve 24 months in prison and forfeit $11 billion. "I've seen a lot of cooperators in 30 years. I've never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison," said Judge Lewis Kaplan during the sentencing hearing today. The Verge reports: Ellison pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and five conspiracy counts in December 2022 as part of a cooperation agreement with the government. Prosecutors had recommended a lenient sentence because of Ellison's "
  
  Read more

• California Governor Vetoes Bill Requiring Opt-Out Signals For Sale of User Data

  25-09-2024 00:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required makers of web browsers and mobile operating systems to let consumers send opt-out preference signals that could limit businesses' use of personal information. The bill approved by the State Legislature last month would have required an opt-out signal "that communicates the consumer's choice to opt out of the sale and sharing of the consumer's personal information or to limit
  
  Read more

Follow @newslocke_ict on Twitter!