ICT news

• Anti-Porn Lobbyists Pressure Reddit To Shut Down Its NSFW Communities

  03-05-2023 15:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: An anti-pornography group that claims all adult content is unhealthy is taking aim at Reddit, one of the biggest online platforms for sharing porn and sex worker resources. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), formerly Morality in Media, celebrated changes to policy that resulted in adult performers losing their incomes, taken credit for pressuring Instagram to ban Pornhub from the platform, and encouraged its followers to help
  
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• Google Unveils Gemini 4 Argon, Retaking Benchmark Lead Over OpenAI and Anthropic

  01-10-2026 01:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Google has unveiled Gemini 4 Argon, a new frontier AI model that it says leads or ties rivals on 13 of 18 disclosed benchmarks. The model is initially being released only to trusted cyber defenders and select pre-release testers, with broader availability planned later. VentureBeat reports: Google is not claiming that Gemini 4 Argon wins every benchmark. But across the benchmark table disclosed in the company's embargoed materials, Argon posts the highest score, or ties for the highest score, in
  
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• 'Xbox Is Not For Sale,' Says Microsoft's Gaming Chief

  01-10-2026 00:00 via games.slashdot.org
  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says Microsoft has no plans to sell the gaming business, telling The New York Times that "Xbox is not for sale" and that the company intends to take a long-term view. Windows Central reports: Microsoft's vast layoffs across the summer have hit Xbox in their thousands, with studios like Ninja Theory on the path to being closed, and others like Double Fine being divested completely. Microsoft has effectively shut down Halo Studios itself and handed off the franchise to Call of
  
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• Hackers Stole Millions of US Military Personnel Records During Months-Long Data Breach

  30-09-2026 23:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  A months-long breach of the Defense Manpower Data Center exposed personal information belonging to roughly 2.8 million living current and former U.S. military personnel and staff, plus records for nearly 300,000 deceased people. Attackers reportedly exploited a file-sharing vulnerability between October 2025 and July 2026, accessing unencrypted records that included Social Security numbers, dates of birth, demographic information, and military service details. TechCrunch reports: The DMDC may no
  
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• Google Reportedly Tests Paying Publishers For AI Search Results

  30-09-2026 22:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Google is reportedly testing a program that pays around 100 publishers based on how much their content contributes to its AI-powered search features. According to The Information, one publisher earned more than $1 million over a year, while another has received roughly $50,000 to $60,000." Digiday reports: Once a publisher joins the "AI contribution pilot," they receive an extra AI earnings widget via their Search Console dashboard. This displays a monthly earnings number (with some history), th
  
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• Reddit Is Killing RSS Feeds, Ending Public API Access

  30-09-2026 21:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Amid a number of updates for moderators and developers announced Wednesday comes bad news for supporters of a more open web: Reddit is ending support for RSS feeds. Reddit says RSS has now become a "common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse," which is why it's made the decision to wind down RSS feeds on its platform. "We know RSS has been a beloved part of the open web for a long time, and we're grateful to everyone who used
  
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• Singapore Pilots a Government-Built Dating Service

  30-09-2026 20:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  Longtime Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shares a report from Mashable: Singapore's government is trying its hand at matchmaking again. The country's Government Technology Agency (GovTech) has launched FirstDate, a pilot dating service for singles aged 21 to 35. For now, it's open only to public officers, according to the service's website. Applications close Oct. 5. FirstDate is designed as an alternative to endless swiping.Instead of browsing a stream of profiles, users fill out a questionnaire about
  
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• Trump Administration Launches New AI-Powered 'America.gov' Website

  30-09-2026 19:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  fahrbot-bot shares a report from CNN: President Donald Trump on Tuesday unveiled America.gov, a government website meant to serve as a one-stop shop for people trying to accomplish basic tasks like renewing a passport, enrolling in Medicare or applying for disaster relief. The site, which launched with some basic functions ahead of a full rollout next year, is designed to serve as an AI-powered guide through the thicket of government agencies that Trump officials pledged would ultimately save pe
  
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• Trump Hosts AI CEOs to Discuss Safety Standards, Rebrands AI as 'Super Intelligence'

  30-09-2026 18:00 via politics.slashdot.org
  hcs_$reboot writes: Trump hosted executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Google, Nvidia, and other tech companies at the White House. They agreed to voluntary AI-safety standards, including independent audits and safeguards aimed at preventing AI systems from accessing or hacking technical systems in unintended ways. Trump also strongly backed the continued rapid expansion of AI data centers, despite concerns over their electricity demand, utility costs, and other impacts on local communities.
  
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• Dutch Police Arrest 'Reformed' Hacker In Shiny Hunters Investigation

  30-09-2026 17:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from KrebsOnSecurity: Authorities in the Netherlands have arrested a 24-year-old convicted cybercriminal on suspicion of aiding in data thefts and extortions by the prolific hacker group ShinyHunters. In the days immediately following the suspect's arrest, remaining ShinyHunters members dramatically escalated their attacks, stealing highly sensitive data from the FBI and extorting the Russian ransomware group Cl0p. According to three sources familiar with the
  
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• CISA Adds One Known Exploited Vulnerability to Catalog  

  30-09-2026 14:00 via cisa.gov
  CISA has added one new vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation.CVE-2026-76504 Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Hex Encoding VulnerabilityThis type of vulnerability is a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and poses significant risks to the federal enterprise. 
  Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04: Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk establishes vulnerability management requirements for Federal Civil
  
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• Wearable Nanotech Could Combat Nerve Agents

  30-09-2026 13:00 via science.slashdot.org
  alternative_right shares a report from Phys.org: Nanoparticles could someday provide a new way to help soldiers fight back against deadly nerve agents on the front lines. In a new study, Northwestern University scientists developed a nanoparticle-based compound that, when mixed into clothing dyes, could limit the impact of chemicals commonly found in pesticides, insecticides and nerve agents. Manufacturers could potentially add the nanoparticles to clothing used by those most at risk, such as fa
  
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• The Night Sky Is Getting 10% Brighter Every Year

  30-09-2026 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  fjo3 quotes a report from The Guardian, written by Tove Danovich: Every year, the night sky is becoming 10% brighter. Eighty percent of people live under light-polluted skies. And while the UN declared a healthy environment -- clean air, clean water -- to be a human right, I believe we also all have a right to darkness as well. This doesn't mean turning off every streetlamp. But do we really need bright white floodlights at the front of every garage? Replacing lights with ones that are bright en
  
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• Tech Workers Made ChatGPT Drive a Toyota Corolla

  30-09-2026 05:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: Some tech workers in San Francisco hooked up ChatGPT to a Toyota Corolla and got it to drive around a parking lot. This may not sound impressive in the age of the self-driving car until you realize that the LLM driving the car was a general purpose chatbot running on a laptop and not the purpose-built driving system based on millions of hours of training data used by Waymo or Tesla.The people behind the stunt call themselves DrivingBench and th
  
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• Firefox Redesign Brings Round Tabs, New Themes, and Compact Mode

  30-09-2026 01:00 via mobile.slashdot.org
  Firefox 157 is rolling out a major redesign across desktop and mobile, bringing rounded "bubble" tabs, a curved address bar, refreshed icons and colors, and a more consistent visual language across devices. Mozilla is also adding more themes and wallpapers while bringing back Compact Mode, which the company says "reduces the size of your tabs and toolbar to give more of your screen to the web, with an auto-compact option for smaller screens." The Verge reports: According to Mozilla, the design c
  
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• Microsoft Makes Linux Containers Native On Windows 11

  30-09-2026 00:00 via linux.slashdot.org
  BrianFagioli shares a report from NERDS.xyz: Microsoft has made WSL Containers generally available, giving Windows 11 developers a built-in way to build, run, and deploy Linux containers through Windows Subsystem for Linux. The release includes wslc.exe for managing containers, GPU support, networking improvements, health checks, storage mounts, and integration with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Intune. Microsoft also claims up to twice the performance when Linux environments access files
  
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• Mistral CEO Says US AI Safety Debate Masks Competitors' 'Negligence'

  29-09-2026 23:00 via slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: Mistral Chief Executive Arthur Mensch has accused leading global artificial intelligence companies of using the debate over the safety of the technology as a cover-up for their "negligence." "The debate that we've seen in the U.S. has been a cover for the negligence of some of our competitors," Mensch told CNBC's Annette Weisbach, adding that it was necessary to make systems that can contain the AI agents. [...]"When you give them a lot of tools, th
  
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• McDonald's Reportedly Using AI to 'Dynamically' Price Its Burgers

  29-09-2026 22:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  McDonald's is reportedly using AI-powered pricing tools to recommend menu prices based on what customers near individual restaurants are willing to pay. Franchisees technically retain control over final prices, but some told Reuters they feel pressured to follow the algorithm's recommendations. "A corporate document reviewed by the publication shows that McDonald's tracks adherence to the platform, and notes any deviations from the algorithm's price recommendations," reports Engadget. From the r
  
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• 500K Facial Recognition Scans at UK Stations Yield Zero Arrests, One False Positive

  29-09-2026 21:00 via news.slashdot.org
  A six-month British Transport Police trial of live facial recognition at London railway stations scanned more than 500,000 faces, cost over 320,000 pounds, and produced just one alert with no arrests directly resulting from the technology. That one alert ended up being a false positive.Despite those results, BTP has extended the pilot through November and expanded it to selected Underground stations. The Guardian reports: British Transport Police said that since the extension there had been thre
  
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• OpenAI Unveils Always-On AI Agent 'Dots'

  29-09-2026 20:00 via slashdot.org
  In addition to the company's GPT-6.1 Astra announcement, OpenAI announced always-on AI agents called "Dots" that can proactively use a computer and connected apps to research, draft documents, write software and handle other tasks on a user's behalf. "OpenAI said it would roll out Dots to paid users starting Tuesday," reports Bloomberg. "Initially, OpenAI said, each user will have access to a single 'dot' that can act as an assistant. Over time, the company expects users to manage a slew of them
  
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• Google Says Chromebook Updates End In 2034, 'Many' Models Move to Googlebook OS

  29-09-2026 19:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Google says ChromeOS will keep receiving regular updates and security patches through mid-2034, after which qualifying newer Chromebooks will be able to migrate to the new Googlebook OS. 9to5Google reports: Starting with Chromebook updates, Google says that "Chromebooks you have today will continue to receive updates through their supported lifetime," with all Enterprise and Education management capabilities remaining in place as well: "We will maintain support for current Chromebook devices run
  
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• California Is Banning Public Officials From Making Memecoins

  29-09-2026 18:00 via slashdot.org
  California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed AB 2409, barring California public officials from issuing memecoins and prohibiting companies from listing memecoins that use a public official's image or likeness. Engadget reports: The governor's office pointed to reports that about a million investors lost an alleged $3.8 billion on their purchases of the memecoin released by President Donald Trump in 2025 as a the motivation behind the new rule."No official should profit off their office -- and we're p
  
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• Florida Invokes Extinction Fears In Legal Bid To Halt OpenAI Development

  29-09-2026 17:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The state of Florida is seeking a temporary injunction to stop OpenAI from continuing to develop what it calls a "reckless, unacceptably risky product" without the deployment of "third-party approved safety guardrails." The new legal motion (PDF), filed Monday morning, is part of a civil lawsuit the state of Florida originally filed in June, arguing that ChatGPT represented "a threat to the public safety of Floridians," specifically by preyi
  
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• El Nino Bursts Through Temperature Record Months Before Peak

  29-09-2026 13:00 via news.slashdot.org
  The current El Nino has already surpassed the highest Pacific temperature anomaly recorded in the modern era, reaching 3.05C above the 1991-2020 average months before its expected peak. The commonly used ONI measure is also on the verge of breaking the 2015 record. Forecasts cited by The Guardian suggest the event could reach about 4.0C later this year. From the report: The latest data shows the temperature rise at the heart of El Nino in the Pacific Ocean has now reached 3.05C. That is higher t
  
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• Microbes Could Survive On Saturn's Moon Enceladus

  29-09-2026 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  New research suggests Enceladus may be an especially promising place to search for extraterrestrial life: microbes similar to those found near Earth's hydrothermal vents survived in lab conditions designed to mimic the Saturnian moon's subsurface ocean. A separate study also found that material blasted from Enceladus' plumes may naturally separate and concentrate salts, organics and potential biosignatures into individual ice grains, potentially making them easier for future spacecraft to detect
  
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• Bananas That Don't Go Brown To Hit Supermarkets Thanks to DNA Editing

  29-09-2026 05:30 via science.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: It is the bane of every fruit bowl: sliced banana that turns brown before it has reached the table. But such woes could soon be a thing of the past, with gene-edited bananas that keep their freshly peeled color now one step closer to reaching British shoppers. According to Tropic, the Norwich-based agricultural-biotechnology company that developed the fruit, the bananas have the same taste and texture but stay "fresh, yellow and appetizing l
  
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• China Broadens Travel Curbs To Encompass Family of Top AI Talent

  29-09-2026 01:00 via slashdot.org
  Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Business Standard: China has expanded overseas travel restrictions for top AI professionals in private firms to include the families of key personnel, further tightening measures designed to prevent the outflow of critical know-how and information to the US. Government agencies have recently begun to share the wider restrictions with affected people, which include prominent startup founders as well as the heads of strategically important comp
  
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• AMD Acquires Fei-Fei Li's World Labs For $8.2 Billion

  29-09-2026 00:00 via slashdot.org
  AMD has agreed to acquire Fei-Fei Li's World Labs for about $8.2 billion in stock, making it the chipmaker's second-largest acquisition and giving it a major foothold in "world models" that simulate 3D environments for robotics and other physically grounded AI. CNBC reports: AI researchers expect world models will be able to help develop robots and other physically-grounded artificial intelligence applications. AMD plans to keep World Labs separate from its chipmaking business until the transact
  
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• TikTok to Pay Alabama $100 Million, Limit Teen Use In First State Settlement

  28-09-2026 23:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  TikTok has agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million and adopt new restrictions for teenage users, including a two-hour daily limit, overnight access restrictions, stronger age verification, a ban on beauty filters, and an option for a non-personalized feed. The settlement could grow to as much as $300 million if enough other state attorneys general join similar agreements. The Guardian reports: A trial had been set to begin on Monday in the southern US state over claims by Alabama that TikTok
  
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• Data Center Developer Offers $10,000 Checks To Nearby Households

  28-09-2026 22:00 via news.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Tom's Hardware: NorthPoint Development wants to build a data center on 1,300 acres in the Pocono foothills, near Hazle Township, Pennsylvania. As well as seeking to charm the local government with various funding packages, it has proposed paying checks of $10,000 per household. Despite the Pennsylvania town's median income of $60,000, the offer isn't being warmly welcomed by locals, reports the Wall Street Journal. Those interviewed were widely against th
  
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