ICT news

• Anthropic Asks Job Applicants Not To Use AI In Job Applications

  03-02-2025 23:40 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: Anthropic, the company that made one of the most popular AI writing assistants in the world, requires job applicants to agree that they won't use an AI assistant to help write their application. "While we encourage people to use AI systems during their role to help them work faster and more effectively, please do not use AI assistants during the application process," the applications say. "We want to understand your personal interest in Anthrop
  
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• Microsoft Paint Gets a Copilot Button For Gen AI Features

  03-02-2025 22:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  A new update is being rolled out to Windows 11 insiders (Build 26120.3073) that introduces a Copilot button in Microsoft Paint. PCWorld reports: Clicking the Copilot button will expand a drop-down menu with all the generative AI features: Cocreator and Image Creator (AI art based on what you've drawn or text prompts), Generative Erase (AI removal of unwanted stuff from images), and Remove Background. Note that these generative AI features have been in Microsoft Paint for some time, but this quic
  
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• NetChoice Sues To Block Maryland's Kids Code, Saying It Violates the First Amendment

  03-02-2025 22:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  NetChoice has filed (PDF) its 10th lawsuit challenging state internet regulations, this time opposing Maryland's Age-Appropriate Design Code Act. The Verge's Lauren Feiner reports: NetChoice has become one of the fiercest -- and most successful -- opponents of age verification, moderation, and design code laws, all of which would put new obligations on tech platforms and change how users experience the internet. [...] NetChoice's latest suit opposes the Maryland Age-Appropriate Design Code Act,
  
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• Air Force Documents On Gen AI Test Are Just Whole Pages of Redactions

  03-02-2025 21:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), whose tagline is "Win the Fight," has paid more than a hundred thousand dollars to a company that is providing generative AI services to other parts of the Department of Defense. But the AFRL refused to say what exactly the point of the research was, and provided page after page of entirely blacked out, redacted documents in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from 404 Media related
  
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• Why Even Physicists Still Don't Understand Quantum Theory 100 Years On

  03-02-2025 20:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A century after quantum mechanics revolutionized physics, scientists still cannot agree on how the theory fundamentally works, despite its tremendous success in explaining natural phenomena and enabling modern technologies. The theory's central puzzle remains unresolved: the way quantum systems are described mathematically differs from what scientists observe when measuring them.
  This has led to competing interpretations about whether quantum states represent physical reality or are merely tools
  
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• Trump Orders Creation of US Sovereign Wealth Fund, Says It Could Buy TikTok

  03-02-2025 19:55 via news.slashdot.org
  
  U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday ordering the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments to create a sovereign wealth fund and said it may purchase TikTok. From a report: "We're going to stand this thing up within the next 12 months. We're going to monetize the asset side of the U.S. balance sheet for the American people," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters. "There'll be a combination of liquid assets, assets that we have in this country as we work to brin
  
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• Anthropic Makes 'Jailbreak' Advance To Stop AI Models Producing Harmful Results

  03-02-2025 19:10 via slashdot.org
  
  AI startup Anthropic has demonstrated a new technique to prevent users from eliciting harmful content from its models, as leading tech groups including Microsoft and Meta race to find ways that protect against dangers posed by the cutting-edge technology. From a report: In a paper released on Monday, the San Francisco-based startup outlined a new system called "constitutional classifiers." It is a model that acts as a protective layer on top of large language models such as the one that powers A
  
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• Cloudflare Rolls Out Digital Tracker To Combat Fake Images

  03-02-2025 18:30 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Cloudflare, a major web infrastructure company, will now track and verify the authenticity of images across its network through Content Credentials, a digital signature system that documents an image's origin and editing history. The technology, developed by Adobe's Content Authenticity Initiative, embeds metadata showing who created an image, when it was taken, and any subsequent modifications - including those made by AI tools.
  Major news organizations including the BBC, Wall Street Journal an
  
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• Levels of Microplastics in Human Brains May Be Rapidly Rising, Study Suggests

  03-02-2025 17:50 via science.slashdot.org
  
  The exponential rise in microplastic pollution over the past 50 years may be reflected in increasing contamination in human brains, according to a new study. From a report: It found a rising trend in micro- and nanoplastics in brain tissue from dozens of postmortems carried out between 1997 and 2024. The researchers also found the tiny particles in liver and kidney samples. The human body is widely contaminated by microplastics. They have also been found in blood, semen, breast milk, placentas a
  
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• OpenAI's New Trademark Application Hints at Humanoid Robots, Smart Jewelry, and More

  03-02-2025 17:10 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI has filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark hardware products under its brand name, signaling potential expansion into consumer devices. The filing covers AI-assisted headsets, smart wearables and humanoid robots with communication capabilities. CEO Sam Altman told The Elect on Sunday that OpenAI plans to develop AI hardware through multiple partnerships, though he estimated prototypes would take "several years" to complete.Read more of this story at Sl
  
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• New Bill Aims To Block Foreign Pirate Sites in the US

  03-02-2025 16:48 via news.slashdot.org
  
  U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren has introduced a bill that would allow courts to block access to foreign websites primarily engaged in copyright infringement. The Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act would enable rightsholders to obtain injunctions requiring large Internet service providers and DNS resolvers to block access to pirate sites.
  The bill marks a shift from previous site-blocking proposals, notably including DNS providers like Google and Cloudflare with annual revenues above $100 million.
  
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• AI Won The Beatles a Grammy 55 Years After They Broke Up

  03-02-2025 15:47 via slashdot.org
  
  The Beatles' final song "Now and Then," featuring John Lennon's AI-restored vocals from a 1970s demo, has won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr completed the track in 2023 using machine learning to isolate Lennon's voice from the original piano recording.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Meta's Investment in Virtual Reality on Track To Top $100 Billion

  03-02-2025 15:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Meta's investment in virtual and augmented reality is set to exceed $100 billion this year as CEO Mark Zuckerberg declares 2025 a "defining year" for its smart glasses ambitions. The company invested $19.9 billion in its Reality Labs division last year, according to its annual report, bringing total spending on VR and AR development to over $80 billion since 2014. The unit, which develops Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and Quest VR headsets, sold 1 million pairs of glasses in 2024 but continues to p
  
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• Ubuntu's Dev Discussions Will Move From IRC to Matrix

  03-02-2025 09:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The blog OMG Ubuntu reports:
  Ubuntu's key developers have agreed to switch to Matrix as the primary platform for real-time development communications involving the distro. From March, Matrix will replace IRC as the place where critical Ubuntu development conversations, requests, meetings, and other vital chatter must take place... Only the current #ubuntu-devel and #ubuntu-release Libera IRC channels are moving to Matrix, but other Ubuntu development-related channels can choose to move — o
  
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• Will Cryptomining Facilities Change Into AI Data Centers?

  03-02-2025 07:19 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  To capitalize on the AI boom, many crypto miners "have begun to repurpose parts of their operations into data centers," reports Reuters, "given they already have most of the infrastructure" (including landing and "significant" power resources...)
  Toronto-based bitcoin miner Bitfarms has enlisted two consultants to explore how it can transform some of its facilities to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence data centers, it said on Friday... Earlier this month, Riot Platforms launche
  
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• Google Stops Malicious Apps With 'AI-Powered Threat Detection' and Continuous Scanning

  03-02-2025 05:03 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Android and Google Play have billions of users, Google wrote in its security blog this week. "However, like any flourishing ecosystem, it also attracts its share of bad actors... That's why every year, we continue to invest in more ways to protect our community." Google's tactics include industry-wide alliances, stronger privacy policies, and "AI-powered threat detection."
  "As a result, we prevented 2.36 million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play and banned more than 158,0
  
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• Boeing Acquires Spirit AeroSystems, While Boeing's 'Starliner' Unit Gets a New VP

  03-02-2025 02:50 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Spirit Aerosystems builds aircraft components, including fuselages and flight deck sections for Boeing, according to Wikipedia. But now Boeing is set to acquire Spirit AeroSystems.
  The aviation blog called Aviation Source News says the price tag was $4.7 billion, and opines that Boeing's move signals "a renewed focus on quality and supply chain stability" as Boeing "addresses lingering concerns surrounding its 737 program."
  Spirit's recent struggles with quality control and production delays hav
  
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• OpenAI Makes Surprise Livestream Today for 'Deep Research' Announcement

  03-02-2025 00:44 via slashdot.org
  
  Just three hours ago, OpenAI made a surprise announcement to their 3.9 million followers on X.com. "Live from Tokyo," they'd be livestreaming... something. Their description of the event was just two words.
  "Deep Research"
  It begins in just 15 minutes.
  X.com users shared their reactions to the coming announcement:"It's like DeepSeek, but cleaner"
  "Deep do do if things don't work out"
  "Live from Tokyo? Hope this research includes the secret to waking up early!"
  "Stop trying, we don't trust u"
  But
  
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• OpenAI Holds Surprise Livestream to Announce Multi-Step 'Deep Research' Capability

  03-02-2025 00:44 via slashdot.org
  
  Just three hours ago, OpenAI made a surprise announcement to their 3.9 million followers on X.com. "Live from Tokyo," they'd be livestreaming... something. Their description of the event was just two words.
  "Deep Research"
  UPDATE: The stream has begun, and it's about OpenAI's next "agent-ic offering". ("OpenAI cares about agents because we believe they're going to transform knowlege work...")"We're introducing a capability called Deep Research... a model that does multi-step research. It discove
  
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