ICT news

• Big Tech Isn't Prepared for AI's Next Chapter: Open Source

  04-06-2023 17:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Security guru Bruce Schneier and CS professor Jim Waldo think big tech has underestimated the impact of open source principles on AI research:In February, Meta released its large language model: LLaMA. Unlike OpenAI and its ChatGPT, Meta didn't just give the world a chat window to play with. Instead, it released the code into the open-source community, and shortly thereafter the model itself was leaked. Researchers and programmers immediately started modifying it, improving it, and getting it to
  
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• AI Is Poisoning Reddit To Promote Products and Game Google With 'Parasite SEO'

  23-04-2024 21:22 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: For years, people who have found Google search frustrating have been adding "Reddit" to the end of their search queries. This practice is so common that Google even acknowledged the phenomenon in a post announcing that it will be scraping Reddit posts to train its AI. And so, naturally, there are now services that will poison Reddit threads with AI-generated posts designed to promote products.
  A service called ReplyGuy advertises itself as "the AI that plugs
  
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• How GM Tricked Millions of Drivers Into Being Spied On

  23-04-2024 20:45 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  General Motors (GM) has been selling data about the driving behavior of millions of people to insurance companies, leading to higher premiums for some drivers, according to a recent investigation. The affected drivers were not informed about the tracking, which was carried out through GM's OnStar connected services plan and the Smart Driver program. The New York Times reporter who broke the story discovered that her own driving data had been shared with data brokers working with the insurance in
  
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• Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments As Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

  23-04-2024 20:01 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations."
  As a result, Apple is expected to take a "conservative view" of headset deman
  
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• FTC To Vote On Noncompete Ban

  23-04-2024 19:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The Federal Trade Commission is set to vote Tuesday afternoon on a proposal to ban noncompete agreements, which prevent workers from taking positions at competitors for a period of time after they leave a job. From a report: The ban could be a win for workers -- particularly at the low end of the income scale. Critics of these agreements say they stifle innovation and wage growth by restricting workers' ability to take new jobs that pay higher wages or offer some other opportunity. They also mak
  
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• No One Buys Books Any More

  23-04-2024 18:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The U.S. publishing industry is driven by celebrity authors and repeat bestsellers, according to testimony from a blocked merger between Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. Only 50 authors sell over 500,000 copies annually, with 96% of books selling under 1,000 copies. Publishing houses spend most of their advance money on celebrity books, which along with backlist titles like The Bible, account for the bulk of their revenue and fund less commercially successful books.Read more of thi
  
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• Fedora Linux 40 Officially Released

  23-04-2024 18:01 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  prisoninmate writes: Fedora Linux 40 distribution has been officially released -- powered by the latest Linux 6.8 kernel series, and featuring the GNOME 46 and KDE Plasma 6 desktop environments, reports 9to5Linux: "Powered by the latest and greatest Linux 6.8 kernel series, the Fedora Linux 40 release ships with the GNOME 46 desktop environment for the flagship Fedora Workstation edition and the KDE Plasma 6 desktop environment for the Fedora KDE Spin, which defaults to the Wayland session as th
  
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• China's Ageing Tech Workers Hit By 'Curse of 35'

  23-04-2024 17:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Chinese tech giant Kuaishou is laying off employees in their mid-30s as part of a company-wide restructuring plan dubbed "Limestone," FT reported Tuesday, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. The move highlights the pervasive ageism in China's tech sector, where younger workers are favored for their perceived willingness to work long hours and keep up with the latest technological developments, the report adds.
  While China's labor law does not explicitly prohibit age discrimination
  
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• Microsoft Launches Phi-3 Mini, a 3.8B-Parameter Model Rivaling GPT-3.5 Capabilities

  23-04-2024 16:45 via slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft has launched Phi-3 Mini, a lightweight AI model with 3.8 billion parameters, as part of its plan to release three small models. Phi-3 Mini, trained on a smaller data set compared to large language models, is available on Azure, Hugging Face, and Ollama. Microsoft claims Phi-3 Mini performs as well as models 10 times its size, offering capabilities similar to GPT-3.5 in a smaller form factor. Smaller AI models are more cost-effective and perform better on personal devices.Read more of t
  
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• Google Fires More Employees Over Protest of Cloud Contract With Israel

  23-04-2024 16:07 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google has fired another 20 workers for participating in protests against its $1.2 billion cloud computing contract with the Israeli government, according to an activist group representing the workers. From a report: In total, the company has now fired around 50 employees over sit-in protests held in Google offices last week that were part of yearslong discontent among a group of Google and Amazon workers over claims that Israel is using the companies' services to harm Palestinians. Google has d
  
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• Toyota's Hydrogen Future Is Crumbling As Owners File Lawsuits, Call For Buybacks

  23-04-2024 15:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Toyota's Mirai, a hydrogen-powered Fuel Cell EV initially heralded as the future of driving, has faced significant challenges due to inadequate hydrogen fueling infrastructure. As chronicled by InsideEVs, many owners have become disillusioned with the vehicle's high operational costs, unreliable refueling options, and significant depreciation, prompting lawsuits and calls for buybacks. Longtime Slashdot reader whoever57 writes: Toyota Mirai owners are fed up and disillusioned. Hydrogen fuel pump
  
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• NASA Officially Greenlights $3.35 Billion Mission To Saturn's Moon Titan

  23-04-2024 12:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  NASA last week formally approved a $3.35 billion mission to explore Saturn's largest moon with a quadcopter drone. "Dragonfly is a spectacular science mission with broad community interest, and we are excited to take the next steps on this mission," said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's science mission directorate. "Exploring Titan will push the boundaries of what we can do with rotorcraft outside of Earth." The mission has a launch date of July 2028. Ars Technica reports: After reac
  
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• Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Updates To Earth

  23-04-2024 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  quonset writes: Just over two weeks ago, NASA figured out why its Voyager 1 spacecraft stopped sending useful data. They suspected corrupted memory in its flight data system (FDS) was the culprit. Today, for the first time since November, Voyager 1 is sending useful data about its health and the status of its onboard systems back to NASA. How did NASA accomplish this feat of long distance repair? They broke up the code into smaller pieces and redistributed them throughout the memory.From NASA: "
  
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• California Is Grappling With a Growing Problem: Too Much Solar

  23-04-2024 05:33 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Washington Post: In sunny California, solar panels are everywhere. They sit in dry, desert landscapes in the Central Valley and are scattered over rooftops in Los Angeles's urban center. By last count, the state had nearly 47 gigawatts of solar power installed -- enough to power 13.9 million homes and provide over a quarter of the Golden State's electricity. But now, the state and its grid operator are grappling with a strange reality: There is so muc
  
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• Pareto's Economic Theories Used To Find the Best Mario Kart 8 Racer

  23-04-2024 03:25 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Data scientist Antoine Mayerowitz, PhD, applied Vilfredo Pareto's (the early 20th-century Italian economist) theories to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to determine the best racer combinations. "When you break down the build options (including driver stats and various vehicle details) in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, there are over 700,000 possible combinations," notes Engadget. "But once you eliminate duplicates that differ only in appearance, you can narrow it down to 'only' 25,704 possibilities." From the report
  
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• Apple Acquires Datakalab, a French Startup Behind AI and Computer Vision Tech

  23-04-2024 02:45 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  According to French business magazine Challenges, Apple has acquired Datakalab -- a Paris-based startup specializing in artificial intelligence compression and computer vision technology. 9to5Mac reports: Datakalab described itself as "experts in low power, runtime efficient, and deep learning algorithms" that work on device. On its LinkedIn page, Datakalab highlights "industry leading compression and adaptation to deploy embedded computer vision that is fast, cost-effective and precise." Prior
  
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• Huawei Wants To Take Homegrown HarmonyOS Phone Platform Worldwide

  23-04-2024 02:02 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: Huawei plans to expand its native HarmonyOS smartphone platform worldwide, despite coming under US-led sanctions that have deprived it of access to key technologies. "We will work hard to build up the HarmonyOS app ecosystem in the China market first, then, from country to country, we will start gradually pushing it out to other parts of the world," Huawei's rotating chairman Erik Xu told attendees at its 21st Analyst Summit in Shenzhen last
  
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• Gaming Giant Embracer Group Is Splitting Into Three Companies

  23-04-2024 01:20 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Jess Weatherbed reports via The Verge: Swedish gaming conglomerate Embracer Group announced plans on Monday to split itself into three distinct games and entertainment companies: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. These will be separate, publicly listed companies, according to Embracer, which says the move will allow "each entity to better focus on their respective core strategies and offer more differentiated and distinct equity stories for ex
  
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• EU Opens Probe of TikTok Lite, Citing Concerns About Addictive Design

  23-04-2024 00:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The European Union has opened a second formal investigation into TikTok under its Digital Services Act (DSA), an online governance and content moderation framework. The investigation centers around TikTok Lite's "Task and Reward" feature that may harm mental health, especially among minors, by promoting addictive behavior. TechCrunch reports: The Commission also said it's minded to impose interim measures that could force the company to suspend access to the TikTok Lite app in the EU while it in
  
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• Home Assistant Has a New Foundation, Goal To Become a Consumer Brand

  23-04-2024 00:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Home Assistant, until recently, has been a wide-ranging and hard-to-define project. The open smart home platform is an open source OS you can run anywhere that aims to connect all your devices together. But it's also bespoke Raspberry Pi hardware, in Yellow and Green. It's entirely free, but it also receives funding through a private cloud services company, Nabu Casa. It contains tiny board project ESPHome and other inter-connected bits. It
  
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• Europe Baked in 'Extreme Heat Stress' Pushing Temperatures To Record Highs

  22-04-2024 23:21 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Scorching weather has baked Europe in more days of "extreme heat stress" than its scientists have ever seen. The Guardian: Heat-trapping pollutants that clog the atmosphere helped push temperatures in Europe last year to the highest or second-highest levels ever recorded, according to the EU's Earth-watching service Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Europeans are suffering with unprecedented heat during the day and are stressed by uncomfortable warmth at night. The deat
  
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• Study: Alphabetical Order of Surnames May Affect Grading

  22-04-2024 22:41 via science.slashdot.org
  
  AmiMoJo writes: Knowing your ABCs is essential to academic success, but having a last name starting with A, B or C might also help make the grade. An analysis by University of Michigan researchers of more than 30 million grading records from U-M finds students with alphabetically lower-ranked names receive lower grades. This is due to sequential grading biases and the default order of students' submissions in Canvas -- the most widely used online learning management system -- which is based on a
  
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• Amazon Ends California Drone Deliveries

  22-04-2024 22:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Amazon confirmed it is ending Prime Air drone delivery operations in Lockeford, California. The Central California town of 3,500 was the company's second U.S. drone delivery site, after College Station, Texas. Operations were announced in June 2022. From a report: The retail giant is not offering details around the setback, only noting, "We'll offer all current employees opportunities at other sites, and will continue to serve customers in Lockeford with other delivery methods. We want to thank
  
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• Meta Opens Quest OS To Third Parties, Including ASUS and Lenovo

  22-04-2024 21:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  In a huge move for the mixed reality industry, Meta announced today that it's opening the Quest's operating system to third-party companies, allowing them to build headsets of their own. From a report: Think of it like moving the Quest's ecosystem from an Apple model, where one company builds both the hardware and software, to more of a hardware free-for-all like Android. The Quest OS is being rebranded to "Meta Horizon OS," and at this point it seems to have found two early adopters. ASUS's Rep
  
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• Chinese Flying Taxi Sector Claims Global Lead Thanks To Regulatory Support

  22-04-2024 20:41 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  A Shanghai flying taxi company says that China's "low altitude" industry is edging ahead of western rivals, thanks to more supportive regulators, technological breakthroughs and cut-throat competition in the Chinese logistics sector. From a report: The total market created by electric vertical take-off and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft is forecast to be worth $1.5tn a year by 2040 in a base-case assessment by Morgan Stanley analysts, with potential customers across airlines, logistics, emergency s
  
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• Europol Becomes Latest Law Enforcement Group To Plead With Big Tech To Ditch E2EE

  22-04-2024 20:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Yet another international cop shop has come out swinging against end-to-end encryption - this time it's Europol which is urging an end to implementation of the tech for fear police investigations will be hampered by protected DMs. The Register: In a joint declaration of European police chiefs published over the weekend, Europol said it needs lawful access to private messages, and said tech companies need to be able to scan them (ostensibly impossible with E2EE implemented) to protect users. With
  
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• Apple Reportedly Stops Production of FineWoven Accessories

  22-04-2024 19:20 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories, according to reliable Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami." From a report: In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kosutami explained that Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories due to its poor durability. The company may move to another non-leather material for its premium accessories in the future. Apple introduced FineWoven, a soft fabric material, last year. The company claimed that the material is made of 6
  
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• Biden Marks Earth Day by Announcing $7 Billion in Solar Power Grants

  22-04-2024 18:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  President Joe Biden travels to Triangle, Virginia, Monday to mark Earth Day, where he'll unveil $7 billion in grant funding for solar power under the Inflation Reduction Act and announce new steps to stand up his administration's American Climate Corps -- a program popular with youth climate groups. From a report: The announcements come days after the Biden administration made several significant conservation announcements, including barring oil drilling on nearly half of the national petroleum
  
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• AI Needs So Much Electricity That Tech Companies Are Getting Into Energy Business

  22-04-2024 18:01 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: To accommodate tech companies' pivots to artificial intelligence, tech companies are increasingly investing in ways to power AI's immense electricity needs. Most recently, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman invested in Exowatt, a company using solar power to feed data centers, according to the Wall Street Journal. That's on the heals of OpenAI partner, Microsoft, working on getting approval for nuclear energy to help power its AI operations. Last year Amazon, which is a m
  
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• Russian Court Sentences Meta Spokesperson To Six Years in Absentia, Calls Meta 'Extremist Organisation'

  22-04-2024 17:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  A military court in Moscow on Monday sentenced Meta spokesperson Andy Stone to six years in prison for "publicly defending terrorism," a verdict handed down in absentia, RIA news agency reported. Reuters: Meta itself is designated an extremist organisation in Russia and its Facebook and Instagram social media platforms have been banned in the country since 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
  [...] Russia's interior ministry opened a criminal investigation into Stone late last year, without disclos
  
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