ICT news

• Meta Delays 'Behemoth' AI Model Release

  15-05-2025 23:25 via meta.slashdot.org
  
  According to the Wall Street Journal (paywalled), Meta is delaying the release of its largest Llama 4 AI model, known as "Behemoth," over concerns that it may not be enough of an advance on previous models. "It's another indicator that the AI industry's scaling strategy -- 'just make everything bigger' -- could be hitting a wall," notes Axios. From the report: The Journal says that Behemoth is now expected to be released in the fall or even later. It was originally scheduled to coincide with Met
  
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• Google Restores File Permissions For Nexcloud

  15-05-2025 22:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Longtime Slashdot reader mprindle writes: Nextcloud has been in an ongoing battle with Google over the tech giant revoking the All Files permission from the Nextcloud Android App, which prevents users from managing their files on their server. After a blog post and several tech sites reported on the issue, "Google reached out to us [Nexcloud] and offered to restore the permission, which will give users back the functionality that was lost." Nextcloud is working on an app update and hopes to have
  
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• Telegram Bans $35 Billion Black Markets Used To Sell Stolen Data, Launder Crypto

  15-05-2025 22:07 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On Thursday, Telegram announced it had removed two huge black markets estimated to have generated more than $35 billion since 2021 by serving cybercriminals and scammers. Blockchain research firm Elliptic told Reuters that the Chinese-language markets Xinbi Guarantee and Huione Guarantee together were far more lucrative than Silk Road, an illegal drug marketplace that the FBI notoriously seized in 2013, which was valued at about $3.4 billion
  
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• Uber Expects More Drivers Amid Robotaxi Push

  15-05-2025 21:03 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Uber's autonomous vehicle chief Andrew Macdonald predicted this week that the company will employ more human drivers in a decade despite aggressively expanding robotaxi operations. Speaking at the Financial Times' Future of the Car conference, Macdonald outlined a "hybrid marketplace" where autonomous vehicles dominate city centers while human drivers serve areas beyond robotaxi coverage, handle airport runs, and respond during extreme weather events.
  "I am almost certain that there will be more
  
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• American Schools Were Deeply Unprepared for ChatGPT, Public Records Show

  15-05-2025 20:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  School districts across the United States were woefully unprepared for ChatGPT's impact on education, according to thousands of pages of public records obtained by 404 Media. Documents from early 2023, the publication reports, show a "total crapshoot" in responses, with some state education departments admitting they hadn't considered ChatGPT's implications while others hired pro-AI consultants to train educators.
  In California, when principals sought guidance, state officials responded that "un
  
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• Baby Is Healed With World's First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment

  15-05-2025 19:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Scientists have successfully treated a 9.5-month-old boy with an ultra-rare genetic disorder using the world's first personalized gene-editing therapy. The patient, identified as KJ, has CPS1 deficiency -- a condition affecting just one in 1.3 million babies that prevents proper ammonia processing and is often fatal.
  The breakthrough treatment, detailed in the New England Journal of Medicine, uses base editing technology to correct KJ's specific DNA mutation. The therapy delivers CRISPR componen
  
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• Apple Tags EU Apps Using Alternative Payments With Warning Symbols

  15-05-2025 18:42 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple has implemented conspicuous warning labels featuring red exclamation marks on EU App Store listings that use external payment systems. The company's new tactic targets apps like Instacar, a popular Hungarian vehicle valuation tool with thousands of positive reviews, displaying ominous warnings that the app "does not support the App Store's private and secure payment system."
  The associated support page cautions users that external payments require providing personal information directly to
  
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• Google Dominates AI Patent Applications

  15-05-2025 18:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Google has overtaken IBM to become the leader in generative AI-related patents and also leads in the emerging area of agentic AI, according to data from IFI Claims. Axios: In the patents-for-agents U.S. rankings, Google and Nvidia top the list, followed by IBM, Intel and Microsoft, according to an analysis released Thursday.
  Globally, Google and Nvidia also led the agentic patents list, but three Chinese universities also make the top 10, highlighting China's place as the chief U.S. rival in the
  
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• FTC Delays 'Click To Cancel' Rule Implementation To July

  15-05-2025 17:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The Federal Trade Commission has postponed enforcement of its consumer-friendly "click to cancel" rule from May 14 to July 14, giving businesses two additional months to comply. The regulation requires companies to make subscription cancellations as straightforward as the sign-up process, prohibiting practices like forcing customers who subscribed online to navigate through chatbots or call centers to cancel.
  The rule, established under former Democratic Chair Lina Khan, unsurprisingly has garne
  
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• Coinbase Offers $20 Million Bounty To Catch Data Thieves After Extortion Attempt

  15-05-2025 16:40 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said Thursday it is offering a $20 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of criminals who attempted to extort the company for the same amount after stealing customer data.
  The criminals bribed customer support agents in overseas markets to access records containing addresses, phone numbers, government IDs, and partial bank and Social Security details of more than 80,000 customers. "It sucks but when we see a problem like this we want
  
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• ChatGPT Diminishes Idea Diversity in Brainstorming, Study Finds

  15-05-2025 15:00 via slashdot.org
  
  A new study published in Nature Human Behaviour reveals that ChatGPT diminishes the diversity of ideas generated during brainstorming sessions. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School found [PDF] that while generative AI tools may enhance individual creativity, they simultaneously reduce the collective diversity of novel content.
  The investigation responds to previous research that examined ChatGPT's impact on creativity. Their findings align with separate research publi
  
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• Microsoft Layoffs Hit Coders Hardest With AI Costs on the Rise

  15-05-2025 14:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Microsoft's recently announced job cuts fell hardest on the people who build the company's products, showing that even software developers are at risk in the age of artificial intelligence.
  In Microsoft's home state of Washington, software engineering was by far the largest single job category to receive layoff notices, making up more than 40% of the roughly 2,000 positions cut, according to state documents reviewed by Bloomberg. Microsoft on Tuesday said it
  
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• CISA Releases Twenty-Two Industrial Control Systems Advisories

  15-05-2025 14:00 via cisa.gov
  CISA released twenty-two Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on May 15, 2025. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS.ICSA-25-135-01 Siemens RUGGEDCOM APE1808 Devices
  ICSA-25-135-02 Siemens INTRALOG WMS
  ICSA-25-135-03 Siemens BACnet ATEC Devices
  ICSA-25-135-04 Siemens Desigo
  ICSA-25-135-05 Siemens SIPROTEC and SICAM
  ICSA-25-135-06 Siemens Teamcenter Visualization
  ICSA-25-135-07 Siemens IPC RS-828A
  ICSA-25-13
  
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• CoreWeave To Spend Up To $23 Billion This Year To Tap AI Demand Boom

  15-05-2025 12:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Nvidia-backed CoreWeave plans to spend up to $23 billion this year on AI infrastructure and data center capacity, as it aims to meet the booming demand from clients. Reuters reports: The heavy spending plan weighed on its shares, which fell 5% after surging as much as 11% on better-than-expected revenue in its first results as a public company after debuting on the Nasdaq in March. The company's projected capital expenditure of between $3 billion and $3.5 billion for the second quarter was way a
  
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• Trump Tells Apple CEO To Avoid Manufacturing in India

  15-05-2025 10:32 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  U.S. President Donald Trump said he has told Apple CEO Tim Cook to stop expanding manufacturing operations in India despite New Delhi offering a "no-tariff deal" to the United States, a move that could impede India's aspirations to become a global technology manufacturing hub.
  "I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said during his state visit to Qatar, referring to the Apple chief executive. "He is building all over India. I don't want you building in India. India can take care
  
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• First US Hub For Experimental Medical Treatments Is Coming

  15-05-2025 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Montana has passed a bill allowing licensed clinics to offer experimental medical treatments that haven't been approved by the FDA, provided the drugs have passed phase I safety trials. MIT Technology Review reports: The bill, which was passed by the state legislature on April 29 and is expected to be signed by Governor Greg Gianforte, essentially expands on existing Right to Try legislation in the state. But while that law was originally designed to allow terminally ill people to access experim
  
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• Klarna Pivots Back To Humans After AI Experiment Fails

  15-05-2025 07:30 via slashdot.org
  
  Fintech startup Klarna is now recruiting humans after its AI customer service agents underperformed. The buy-now-pay-later company, which eliminated its marketing contracts in 2023 and customer service team in 2024, now plans an "Uber-type setup" with remote gig workers.
  This marks a stark reversal from CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski's 2024 claim that "AI can already do all of the jobs that we, as humans, do." Siemiatkowski told Bloomberg: "From a brand perspective, I just think it's so critical th
  
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• Google DeepMind Creates Super-Advanced AI That Can Invent New Algorithms

  15-05-2025 05:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Google's DeepMind research division claims its newest AI agent marks a significant step toward using the technology to tackle big problems in math and science. The system, known as AlphaEvolve, is based on the company's Gemini large language models (LLMs), with the addition of an "evolutionary" approach that evaluates and improves algorithms across a range of use cases. AlphaEvolve is essentially an AI coding agent, but it goes deeper than a
  
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• Microsoft Cuts Off Access To Bing Search Data as It Shifts Focus To Chatbots

  15-05-2025 03:25 via slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft quietly announced earlier this week that it plans to shut down a long-standing tool supplying search engine startups and other software developers with a raw feed of Bing search results. From a report: The Bing Search APIs, or application programming interfaces, were once vital to many niche Google alternatives, but fell out of favor more recently as Microsoft hiked fees for the service and restricted its use.
  The shutoff, which is scheduled to begin on August 11, still came as a surpr
  
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• 'Aggressive' Hackers of UK Retailers Are Now Targeting US Stores, Says Google

  15-05-2025 02:45 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Google has warned that the hacker group known as "Scattered Spider," which recently disrupted UK retailer Marks & Spencer, is now targeting U.S. retailers with aggressive and sophisticated cyberattacks. "U.S. retailers should take note. These actors are aggressive, creative, and particularly effective at circumventing mature security programs," John Hultquist, an analyst at Google's cybersecurity arm, said in an email sent on Wednesday. The Guardian reports: Scattered Spider is widely report
  
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• Netflix Says Its Ad Tier Now Has 94 Million Monthly Active Users

  15-05-2025 02:02 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Netflix said its cheaper, ad-supporter tier now has 94 million monthly active users -- an increase of more than 20 million since its last public tally in November. CNBC reports: The company and its peers have been increasingly leaning on advertising to boost the profitability of their streaming products. Netflix first introduced the ad-supported plan in November 2022. Netflix's ad-supported plan costs $7.99 per month, a steep discount from its least-expensive ad-free plan, at $17.99 per month. N
  
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• iPhone Shipments Crash 50% In China As Local Brands Dominate

  15-05-2025 01:20 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  Apple's smartphone shipments in China plunged nearly 50% year-over-year in March 2025, as domestic brands like Huawei and Vivo surged ahead -- now controlling 92% of the market. MacRumors reports: The steep decline saw shipments fall to just 1.89 million units, down from 3.75 million during the same period last year. That shrinks Apple's share of the Chinese market to approximately 8%, while domestic brands now control 92% of smartphone shipments. For the entire first quarter, non-Chinese brand
  
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• Microsoft Is Open-Sourcing Its Linux Integration Services Automation Image-Testing Service

  15-05-2025 00:40 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: Would you believe Microsoft has announced a new Linux distribution service for its Azure cloud service? You should. For many years, the most popular operating system on Azure has not been Windows Server, it's been Linux. Last time I checked, in 2024, Azure Linux Platforms Group Program Manager Jack Aboutboul told me that 60% of Azure Marketplace offerings and more than 60% of virtual machine cores use Linux. Those figures mean it's sensible for Mic
  
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• NordVPN Finally Gets a Proper GUI On Linux

  15-05-2025 00:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  BrianFagioli shares a report from BetaNews: For years, NordVPN made Linux users live in the terminal. Sure, the command-line interface technically worked, but let's not pretend it was ideal for everyone. Meanwhile, competitors like Surfshark and ExpressVPN had already given their Linux users full graphical interfaces. Now, NordVPN has finally caught up by launching its very own GUI for Linux. So, what exactly does this mean? Well, instead of typing in commands, users can now click their way thro
  
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