ICT news

• Amazon Prime Video Pulls AI-Powered Recaps After Fallout Flub

  12-12-2025 21:36 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Amazon Prime Video has pulled its AI-powered video recap of Fallout after viewers noticed that it got key parts of the story wrong. The streaming service began testing Video Recaps last month, and now they're missing from the shows included in the test, including Fallout, The Rig, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Upload, and Bosch.
  The feature is supposed to use AI to analyze a show's key plot points and sum it all in a bite-sized video, complete with an AI voiceover
  
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• GitHub Is Going To Start Charging You For Using Your Own Hardware

  17-12-2025 23:10 via hardware.slashdot.org
  GitHub will begin charging $0.002 per minute for self-hosted Actions runners used on private repositories starting in March. "At the same time, GitHub noted in a Tuesday blog post that it's lowering the prices of GitHub-hosted runners beginning January 1, under a scheme it calls 'simpler pricing and a better experience for GitHub Actions,'" reports The Register. "Self-hosted runner usage on public repositories will remain free." From the report: Regardless of the public repo distinction, enterpr
  
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• Linux Kernel Rust Code Sees Its First CVE Vulnerability

  17-12-2025 22:30 via it.slashdot.org
  Longtime Linux developer Greg Kroah-Hartman announced that the Linux kernel has received its first CVE tied to Rust code. Phoronix reports: This first CVE (CVE-2025-68260) for Rust code in the Linux kernel pertains to the Android Binder rewrite in Rust. There is a race condition that can occur due to some noted unsafe Rust code. That code can lead to memory corruption of the previous/next pointers and in turn cause a crash. This CVE for the possible system crash is for Linux 6.18 and newer since
  
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• Google Releases Gemini 3 Flash, Promising Improved Intelligence and Efficiency

  17-12-2025 21:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Google began its transition to Gemini 3 a few weeks ago with the launch of the Pro model, and the arrival of Gemini 3 Flash kicks it into high gear. The new, faster Gemini 3 model is coming to the Gemini app and search, and developers will be able to access it immediately via the Gemini API, Vertex AI, AI Studio, and Antigravity. Google's bigger gen AI model is also picking up steam, with both Gemini 3 Pro and its image component (Nano Banan
  
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• Browser Extensions With 8 Million Users Collect Extended AI Conversations

  17-12-2025 20:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Browser extensions with more than 8 million installs are harvesting complete and extended conversations from users' AI conversations and selling them for marketing purposes, according to data collected from the Google and Microsoft pages hosting them.
  Security firm Koi discovered the eight extensions, which as of late Tuesday night remained available in both Google's and Microsoft's extension stores. Seven of them carry "Featured" badges, which are endorsemen
  
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• English Has Become Easier To Read

  17-12-2025 20:00 via news.slashdot.org
  The conventional wisdom that English prose has gotten easier to read because sentences have gotten shorter is wrong, according to a new analysis published in Works in Progress by writer and Mercatus Center research fellow Henry Oliver. The real transformation happened centuries ago in the 1500s and 1600s when Bible translators like William Tyndale and Thomas Cranmer developed a "plain style" built on logical syntax rather than the older rhythmic, periodic structures inherited from medieval prose
  
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• FCC Chair Suggests Agency Isn't Independent, Word Cut From Mission Statement

  17-12-2025 19:17 via yro.slashdot.org
  FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in his Wednesday Senate testimony that the agency he governs "is not an independent agency, formally speaking." Axios: During his testimony, the word "independent" was removed from the FCC's mission statement on its website. The extraordinary statement speaks to a broader trend of regulatory agencies losing power to the executive branch during the Trump era. Last week, the Supreme Court appeared poised to allow President Trump to fire members of the Federal Trade C
  
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• How We Ingest Plastic Chemicals While Consuming Food

  17-12-2025 18:38 via science.slashdot.org
  A comprehensive database built by scientists in Switzerland and Norway has catalogued 16,000 chemicals linked to plastic materials, and the findings paint a troubling picture of what Americans are actually eating when they prepare food in their kitchens. Of those 16,000 chemicals, more than 5,400 are considered hazardous to human health by government and industry standards, while just 161 are classified as not hazardous. The remaining 10,700-plus chemicals simply don't have enough data to determ
  
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• Coursera Acquires Udemy For $930 Million

  17-12-2025 17:49 via news.slashdot.org
  Coursera announced on Wednesday that it will acquire rival online learning platform Udemy in an all-stock deal that values the combined company at $2.5 billion, a move that brings together two of the largest U.S.-based players in an industry that has struggled since pandemic-era enrollment highs faded. Under the terms of the agreement, Udemy shareholders will receive 0.8 shares of Coursera for each share they hold, valuing Udemy at roughly $930 million. Based on Coursera's last closing price, th
  
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• Google Sues Alleged Chinese Scam Group Behind Massive US Text Message Phishing Ring

  17-12-2025 17:12 via tech.slashdot.org
  Google is suing a Chinese-speaking cybercriminal group it says is responsible for a massive wave of scam text messages sent to Americans this year, according to a legal complaint filed Tuesday. From a report: The group, known as Darcula, sells software that allows users to send phishing text messages en masse, impersonating organizations like the IRS or the U.S. Postal Service in scams. The lawsuit is designed to give Google legal standing so U.S. courts will allow it to seize websites the group
  
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• Meta Is Considering Charging Business Pages To Post Links

  17-12-2025 16:21 via tech.slashdot.org
  Meta is informing some users that they will soon be restricted in how many link posts they can share each month, unless they pay for its Meta Verified subscription service. As per the notification message: "Starting December 16, certain Facebook profiles without Meta Verified, including yours, will be limited to sharing links in 2 organic posts per month. Subscribe to Meta Verified to share more links on Facebook, plus get a verified badge and additional benefits to help protect your brand."
  To
  
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• Warner Bros Discovery Board Rejects Rival Bid From Paramount

  17-12-2025 15:45 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  Warner Bros Discovery's board spurned Paramount Skydance's $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid on Wednesday, calling the offer "illusory" as it accused the studio giant of misleading shareholders about its financing. From a report: Paramount has been in a race with Netflix to win control of Warner Bros, and with it, its prized film and television studios, HBO Max streaming service and franchises like "Harry Potter." After Warner Bros accepted the streaming giant's offer, Paramount launched a hos
  
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• OpenAI in Talks With Amazon About Investment That Could Exceed $10 Billion

  17-12-2025 15:09 via slashdot.org
  OpenAI is in discussions with Amazon about a potential investment and an agreement to use its AI chips, CNBC confirmed on Tuesday. From the report: The details are fluid and still subject to change but the investment could exceed $10 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the talks are confidential. The discussions come after OpenAI completed a restructuring in October and formally outlined the details of its partnership with Microsoft, giving i
  
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• Uber and DoorDash Try To Halt NYC Law That Encourages Tipping

  17-12-2025 14:00 via news.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Two of the largest food-delivery app companies have made a last-ditch effort to overturn tipping laws in New York City that go into effect in January just as its next mayor, who has been highly critical of the companies and the app industry, takes office. Tips to delivery workers have plummeted since some food-delivery apps switched to showing the tipping option only after a purchase had been completed; that change came after New York
  
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• Senators Count the Shady Ways Data Centers Pass Energy Costs On To Americans

  17-12-2025 11:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  U.S. senators are probing whether Big Tech data centers are driving up local electricity bills by socializing grid upgrade costs onto residents. Some of the tactics they're using include NDAs, shell companies, and lobbying. Ars Technica reports: In letters (PDF) to seven AI firms, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) cited a study estimating that "electricity prices have increased by as much as 267 percent in the past five years" in "are
  
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• The Arctic Is in Dire Straits, 20 Years of Reporting Show

  17-12-2025 08:00 via news.slashdot.org
  A new Arctic Report Card recap shows how the Arctic has transformed in just 20 years, warming about twice as fast as the global average and losing most of its oldest sea ice. It's also triggering cascading impacts from "Atlantification" to permafrost-driven "rusting rivers" and more destructive storms. Scientific American reports: The first Arctic Report Card was released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2006. Since then the region has warmed twice as fast as the global
  
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• Breach At South Korea's Equivalent of Amazon Exposed Data of Almost Every Adult

  17-12-2025 04:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Wall Street Journal: The alleged perpetrator had improper access to virtually every South Korean adult's personal information: names, phone numbers and even the keycode to enter residential buildings. It was one of the biggest data breaches of recent years and it has sent the company it targeted -- Coupang, South Korea's equivalent of Amazon -- reeling, generating lawsuits, government investigation and calls to toughen penalties against such leaks. Th
  
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• EU Moves To Ease 2035 Ban On Internal Combustion Cars

  17-12-2025 02:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  The EU is moving to soften its planned 2035 ban on internal combustion cars by allowing a small share of low-emission engines. "The less stringent limit would leave room for automakers to continue selling some plug-in hybrids, which have both electric and internal combustion engines and can use the combustion engine to recharge the battery without the need to find a charging station," reports the Associated Press. From the report: The proposal from the EU's executive commission would change prov
  
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• Meta Tolerates Rampant Ad Fraud From China To Safeguard Billions In Revenue

  17-12-2025 01:50 via meta.slashdot.org
  A Reuters investigation found that Meta knowingly tolerated large volumes of scam and illegal ads from China worth billions in revenue. Reuters reports: Though China's authoritarian government bans use of Meta social media by its citizens, Beijing lets Chinese companies advertise to foreign consumers on the globe-spanning platforms. As a result, Meta's advertising business was thriving in China, ultimately reaching over $18 billion in annual sales in 2024, more than a tenth of the company's glob
  
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• Dual-PCB Linux Computer With 843 Components Designed By AI Boots On First Attempt

  17-12-2025 01:10 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Quilter says its AI designed a complex Linux single-board computer in just one week, booting Debian on first power-up. "Holy crap, it's working," exclaimed one of the engineers. Tom's Hardware reports: LA-based startup Quilter has outlined Project Speedrun, which marks a milestone in computer design by AI. The headlining claims are that Quilter's AI facilitated the design of a new Linux SBC, using 843 parts and dual-PCBs, taking just one week to finish, then successfully booting Debian the first
  
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• Mark Carney Criticised For Using British Spellings In Canadian Documents

  17-12-2025 00:30 via news.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: Mark Carney says that amid a fundamental shift to the nature of globalization, his government will catalyze the growth in both the public and private sector. But Canadian linguists say that's a problem. Language experts have called out the Canadian prime minister's growing "utilization" of British spellings in key documents -- including the recent federal budget and a press release issued following a meeting with Donald Trump.Carney, who ser
  
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• Intel Quietly Discontinues Its Open-Source User-Space Gaudi Driver Code

  16-12-2025 23:50 via news.slashdot.org
  Intel has quietly stopped maintaining its open-source user-space driver stack for Gaudi accelerators. Phoronix reports: It turns out earlier this year Intel archived the SynapseAI Core open-source code and is no longer maintained by Intel. The open-source Synapse AI Core GitHub repository was archived in February and README updated with: "This project will no longer be maintained by Intel. Intel has ceased development and contributions including, but not limited to, maintenance, bug fixes, new r
  
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• Reporter Suggests Half-Life 3 Will Be a Steam Machine Launch Title

  16-12-2025 23:10 via games.slashdot.org
  A veteran games journalist claims Half-Life 3 is real and still planned as a Spring 2026 launch title tied to Valve's next Steam Machine push. Ars Technica reports: On the contrary, veteran journalist Mike Straw insisted on a recent Insider Gaming podcast that "everybody I've talked to are still adamant [Half-Life 3] is a game that will be a launch title with the Steam Machine."Straw -- who has a long history of reporting gaming rumors from anonymous sources -- said this Half-Life 3 information
  
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• Volkswagen To End Production At German Plant, a First In Company History

  16-12-2025 22:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: The last vehicle will roll off the assembly line at Volkswagen's plant in Dresden, Germany, on Tuesday, marking the first time in the automaker's 88-year history that it has closed a plant in its home country. Volkswagen warned of potential production cuts last year, as it faced shaky demand in Europe and China, its biggest market, as well as higher tariffs that have crimped sales in the United States.After 24 years of vehicle producti
  
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• Utah Leaders Hinder Efforts To Develop Solar Energy Supply

  16-12-2025 21:50 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed two bills this year that ended solar development tax credits and imposed a new tax on solar generation despite solar power accounting for two-thirds of the new projects waiting to connect to the state's power grid. The legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature has already had an impact.
  Since May, when the laws took effect, 51 planned solar projects withdrew their applications to connect to the grid. That represents more than a quarter of all projec
  
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• MI6 Chief: We'll Be as Fluent in Python As We Are in Russian

  16-12-2025 21:10 via developers.slashdot.org
  The new chief of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service told officers this week that they must become as fluent in programming languages like Python as they are in foreign languages like Russian as the spy agency adapts to what she described as a space between peace and war. Blaise Metreweli, MI6's first female chief and previously the service's director general of technology and innovation, said in her first public speech that mastery of technology is now required across the organization.
  She wa
  
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• Racks of AI Chips Are Too Damn Heavy

  16-12-2025 20:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  The weight of AI server racks has reached a point where legacy data centers cannot accommodate them even with significant retrofitting efforts, The Verge reports. Chris Brown, chief technical officer at Uptime Institute, said most retrofitting attempts would require "bulldozing the building and starting over from scratch."
  AI racks are projected to reach 5,000 pounds compared to the 400 to 600 pounds that racks weighed three decades ago. The dramatic increase stems from hundreds to 1,000 GPUs pa
  
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• US Threatens Penalties Against European Tech Firms Amid Regulatory Fight

  16-12-2025 19:50 via news.slashdot.org
  U.S. officials excoriated the European Union for discriminating against American technology companies and threatened to penalize European tech companies in return, in a social media post on Tuesday. From a report: The pronouncement appeared to signal a rockier period for U.S.-E.U. trade relations, as the two governments work to finalize a trade framework they announced this year. The United States has been pushing Europe to open up its tech sector to American firms. But U.S. officials have compl
  
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• Texas Sues TV Makers For Taking Screenshots of What People Watch

  16-12-2025 19:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  mprindle writes: The Texas Attorney General sued five major television manufacturers, accusing them of illegally collecting their users' data by secretly recording what they watch using Automated Content Recognition (ACR) technology.
  The lawsuits target Sony, Samsung, LG, and China-based companies Hisense and TCL Technology Group Corporation. Attorney General Ken Paxton's office also highlighted "serious concerns" about the two Chinese companies being required to follow China's National Security
  
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• McKinsey Plots Thousands of Job Cuts in Slowdown for Consulting Industry

  16-12-2025 18:27 via slashdot.org
  McKinsey, the consulting giant that has spent a century advising companies on how to cut costs and restructure operations, is now turning that advice inward as it plans to eliminate thousands of jobs across its non-client-facing departments over the next 18 to 24 months.
  The firm's leadership has discussed a roughly 10% headcount reduction in support functions, according to Bloomberg. McKinsey's revenue has hovered around $15 billion to $16 billion for the past five years after a decade of rapid
  
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