ICT news

• OpenAI Faces Safety Scrutiny After Introducing 'ChatGPT For Teens'

  23-08-2026 22:59 via news.slashdot.org
  This week OpenAI launched a version of ChatGPT exclusively designed for teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17, reports CTV, "saying this version came with stronger protections around content related to mentions of suicide, self-harm and romantic or sexual chats."
  [Tech analyst Carmi Levy says] "What it's doing is it's using cues, it's sort of watching how you're using the tool, and it's trying to guess your age." Levy said if ChatGPT thinks a person has lied about their age when they first sig
  
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• Trump Admin Moves to Impose More Than $100K Fee For H-1B Worker Visas

  24-08-2026 23:00 via news.slashdot.org
  The Trump administration is proposing to make permanent a $103,265 fee on certain new H-1B visas, dramatically increasing costs for employers that rely on highly skilled foreign workers in tech, education, and research. "A federal judge in June ruled that the fee was illegal and blocked the Trump administration from collecting it," reports Reuters. "A Boston-based appeals court is reviewing that decision while a different court considers whether a judge properly rejected a challenge to the fee b
  
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• Raspberry Pi Shares Its Official Tutorial For Making a Cyberdeck

  24-08-2026 22:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Raspberry Pi has published an official guide for building a cyberdeck, leaning into a viral trend of homemade portable computers built from repurposed cases, purses, and other oddball hardware. The guide uses a Raspberry Pi 5, keyboard, battery, and Pelican-style case. The Verge reports: Raspberry Pi's head of social, Ashley Whittaker, acknowledged the cyberdeck trend today, saying "we haven't been able to get away from cyberdecks this year." Raspberry Pi has also increased its prices multiple t
  
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• Nvidia Senior Manager Linked To Supermicro Scheme Smuggling AI Servers To China

  24-08-2026 21:00 via slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Taiwan has indicted nine people -- reportedly including an Nvidia senior manager and two Supermicro employees based in the country -- who allegedly helped forge documents to cover up illegal exports of high-end AI servers to China in violation of US export controls. On Monday, Reuters reported that prosecutors in Keelung did not release any names but confirmed that the suspects were "charged with breach of trust and document forgery." One su
  
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• China Delays Ambitious Chang'e 7 Lunar Mission Until 2027

  24-08-2026 20:00 via science.slashdot.org
  China has delayed its ambitious Chang'e 7 lunar mission until at least 2027 after scrubbing an August 24 launch. Poor weather conditions were likely a factor, with China's Manned Space Agency (CMSA) saying the decision reflects the need for "absolute safety." Scientific American reports: China and the U.S. are in a race to send humans back to the moon, a feat that that U.S. accomplished in the 1960s and that has never been achieved by any other country. Chang'e 7 is to play to a crucial part in
  
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• FDA Approves First Alzheimer's Blood Test For Americans As Young As 40

  24-08-2026 19:00 via science.slashdot.org
  The FDA has cleared the first Alzheimer's blood test for symptomatic patients as young as 40. The test measures amyloid and tau biomarkers from a single blood draw and identified positive biomarkers with 97.6% accuracy in a validation study. New Atlas reports: PrecivityAD2 is a single blood test that quickly assesses the proteins amyloid and tau, using mass spectrometry to measure plasma AB42/40 and p-tau217/np-tau217. The results are then scored, qualifying as negative, likely positive, or posi
  
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• Humanoid Robots Run 100 Meters Faster Than Usain Bolt's Record Pace

  24-08-2026 18:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Two humanoid robots competing at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday ran the 100-meter dash faster than Usain Bolt's 9.58-second world-record time. "[T]he Tiangong Ultra humanoid robot completed the 100-meter dash in 9.39 seconds during a preliminary heat," reports Engadget. "Developed by Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, the record-holding robot overtook Honor's Lightning robot, which completed the sprint in 9.47 seconds. From the report: Despite the impressive finish
  
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• Dr. Dre Says He Uses AI To Produce Songs

  24-08-2026 17:00 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Dr. Dre, the pioneering rapper and seven-time Grammy-winning producer behind hit songs like Tupac's "California Love" and Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady," is very much pro using artificial intelligence tools to make music. In an interview with the New York Times, Dr. Dre and Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine spoke about artificial intelligence's recent foray into music production, with the producer characterizing those who oppose AI song
  
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• After 50 Years, Physicists May Have Finally Found a Particle Made of Pure Force

  24-08-2026 13:34 via science.slashdot.org
  Gluons are the quantum 'Gorilla Glue' involved in binding quarks together, ScienceAlert reminds us. But for nearly 50 years, physicists have hunted for "glueballs", exotic particles predicted by this theory of the strong interaction — the only type of particle in nature composed entirely of force mediators:
  Now, a collaboration working at a collider in Beijing says it has the clearest evidence yet that a known particle called X(2370) is dominated by one of these elusive states... Physicist
  
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• SCO Successor Xinuos Asks Court to Rehear Its Claims Against IBM/Red Hat Over Project Monterey

  24-08-2026 09:34 via linux.slashdot.org
  The long legal battle over ownership of Linux "is closer than ever to ending," reports the Register, "after a panel of three judges ruled a claim against IBM and Red Hat isn't valid, and that time has expired for further action."In 2021, an heir to SCO settled with IBM for $14.25 million — a sum that reflects the fact SCO had for years failed to produce strong evidence to back its claims. Another of SCO's legal successors, Xinuos, filed a new claim that IBM should be on the hook because Bi
  
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• One-Third of Web Pages are Now Written With AI, Says Pew Research

  24-08-2026 06:34 via slashdot.org
  A Pew Research senior data scientist analyzed 500,000 English-language webpages from the past five years with an AI detection tool to estimate how many were likely written or edited by AI:Of all the pages in this sample, 10% show significant signs of AI authorship... If we filter old webpages out of our samples and look at only the pages published after the release of ChatGPT, the trend is even more pronounced. In the July 2026 snapshot, signs of AI authorship can be found in over one-third of p
  
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• Could Mecha Comet's Linux PC-Phone Hybrid Be the Future of Linux Smartphones?

  24-08-2026 04:31 via linux.slashdot.org
  3,346 backers pledged $1,198,844 on Kickstarter to build the (modular) handheld Linux computer, the Mecha Comet. It's slightly bigger and heavier than your smartphone, with a 4-inch AMOLED display and loaded up with things like microphones, speakers, a SIM tray, two USB ports and a mini HDMI port. There's three separate kill switches for wifi, microphone and camera — plus a "boot mode" switch for the SD card, and even three pins for instant access to its debug console.
  It's now expected to
  
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• The Global Race To Make a Practical Quantum Computer Just Took a Big Leap Forward

  24-08-2026 01:53 via tech.slashdot.org
  It's "radically different from other quantum computers" reports Phys.org. The Helios system uses trapped ions — charged atoms suspended in free space using electromagnetic fields.
  But it operates with 98 qubits — making it the largest trapped-ion quantum computer built so far.Quantinuum, the company behind the device, is based in Cambridge, U.K., and Broomfield, Colorado. It demonstrated earlier machines operating on 32 qubits in 2023 and 56 qubits in 2025...It relies on two major ad
  
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• Twitch And Amazon Hit With Lawsuit for Training AI With Streamers' Content

  23-08-2026 23:59 via yro.slashdot.org
  A class action filed this week accused Amazon's Twitch gaming service of using video streams to fuel its AI products without licensing or obtaining permission, reports Engadget:Earlier this month, Twitch Support posted on X that it added an option to opt out of "having your channel content used to train generative AI content models across Amazon." Shortly after, Twitch hosted an episode of its recurring Patch Notes stream where Mike Minton, the company's chief product officer, said "if it was op
  
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• Iran-linked Cyberattackers Shut Down a UK Power Plant for Four Days

  23-08-2026 20:53 via news.slashdot.org
  "Iran shut down a British power plant for four days in an unprecedented cyber attack," reports the Telegraph.
  More details from the BBC:
  The government said that at no point was there a risk to the UK's energy system, but the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has contacted power companies to advise them about the risk of cyber attacks... DESNZ said the incident had affected a small-scale generator and at no point had there been a risk to the wider energy system. The UK's power
  
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• Slovakia Finds Russian Backdoor In Traffic Speed Cameras

  23-08-2026 19:38 via yro.slashdot.org
  Slovakia acquired speed cameras to modernize its traffic control-- but there was a surprise. Tom's Hardware cites this story from the Risky Bulletin Newsletter:Unfortunately, the country's national security service, the NBU, has discovered that the cameras have multiple security issues. Firstly, they have SMS-activated Russian backdoors. Secondly, live camera feeds can be accessed by anyone with the device IP, no password necessary...
  [The cameras] are thought to be rebranded Russian CORDON PRO.
  
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• Stanford Economist Now Believes an AI Job Apocalypse Is Unlikely

  23-08-2026 18:34 via it.slashdot.org
  "There is still no sign of economy-wide job destruction," says economist Erik Brynjolfsson. Working with researchers at the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, Brynjolfsson has determined an AI "job apocalypse" is unlikely, reports the Washington Post, "even though it will likely impact entry-level jobs."
  And Brynjolfsson "predicts that demand for experienced workers such as senior coders will still be high even if AI takes on more routine knowledge and coding work in the future."Earlier this month, B
  
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• 23 Years After SimCity 4's Release, 'Eternal Commuter' Bug Finally Fixed

  23-08-2026 17:34 via games.slashdot.org
  "It began life just a year after SimCity 4's 2003 launch," writes the blog PCGamesN. "Now, over 20 years later, it's still going strong with the arrival of Network Addon Mod update 50."The SimCity 4 Network Addon Mod, or simply 'NAM' among the community, has long been a de facto recommendation to anyone looking to pick up the classic city builder. It's a comprehensive overhaul to the game's transportation and infrastructure networks that combines key fixes with a vast set of additional build pie
  
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• Canonical is Funding a PhD to Automate C to Rust Translation

  23-08-2026 16:34 via developers.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader shared this report from the blog It's FOSS:
  Canonical has committed funding to a three-year PhD project focused on building a system that can automatically translate large C codebases into Rust. And they are not alone; UK Research and Innovation is matching their funding for the project, which is set to run through the University of Bristol's Programming Languages Research Group.
  The PhD is aiming to build an all-encompassing platform that can take a C repository running into
  
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• Supply Chain Issues Delaying US Grid Batteries' Installation

  23-08-2026 13:34 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Falling prices have made grid-scale storage batteries more attractive, reports Bloomberg. But after decades of stagnant investment, America's grids "are racing to make the upgrades needed to plug them in," with supplies straining for the necessary equipment.Demand for batteries has skyrocketed as electricity use across the U.S. swells, driven by data centers' booming energy needs and increasing electrification. It's also getting harder to get them connected to power grids... As those upgrades ge
  
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• Debian is Voting on Whether to Allow AI-Assisted Contributions

  23-08-2026 09:34 via linux.slashdot.org
  Debian developers are voting on whether to ban AI-assisted contributions, reports the blog Linuxiac, with a ballot listing eight proposals and a "None of the above" option.The first one is still the original proposal to ban LLM-assisted contributions by changing the Debian Social Contract. This would stop generative AI from being used for direct Debian work like packaging, software, documentation, translations, websites, and project communication. However, upstream projects made with AI help wou
  
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• Defamation Suit Demanding Elsevier Retract Paper Heads Closer To Trial

  23-08-2026 06:33 via science.slashdot.org
  Retraction Watch reports:
  A trial date has been set in a $1 billion defamation case against Elsevier that alleges the company published what plaintiffs say was a manipulated study about an air purifying technology over objections from peer reviewers. The case has already cost Elsevier a $10,000 sanction from a judge.Global Plasma Solutions (GPS), which makes air quality products, sued Elsevier in 2022 after the publisher declined to retract a 2021 paper in Building and Environment about GPS' nee
  
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• Microsoft Blames Windows Gaming Issues On RGB Lighting Devices

  23-08-2026 04:29 via tech.slashdot.org
  BleepingComputer reports:
  Microsoft says ongoing issues causing games to crash or fail to launch after installing the August 2026 Windows updates may be caused by peripherals with RGB lighting.
  As Microsoft explained when it confirmed it's investigating on Wednesday, this known issue affects games like ARC Raiders, MARVEL Tokon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals on systems running Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2... "[Peripherals or internal device components with RGB lighting features] may install drivers
  
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• Battery Fires At Recycling Centres Are Costing the UK £1bn a Year

  23-08-2026 02:29 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Wrongly discarded lithium batteries, such as those in vapes, are causing more than 10 fires a week at U.K. recycling centers, according to figures shared with the Guardian:The Environment Services Association (ESA), the trade body for waste management companies, said its members had reported 1,518 fires in the year to March 2026. At least 541 of these fires were directly attributed to lithium ion batteries, the survey found. There were a further 216 battery fires in bin lorries [garbage trucks].
  
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• How Will AI Change the Field of Mathematics?

  23-08-2026 00:39 via science.slashdot.org
  "AI went from being very terrible to seemingly genuinely quite good at a professional level in a very short space of time..." says the Verge's AI reporter.But AI systems "are still truly, truly terrible at some areas of math... even the days of the week."If you look at academic math papers, a lot of the time you won't see numbers... So they're still terrible, but they're now also very good at this other part. As to why, at some point you reach a critical mass of what these systems can do. We saw
  
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• Rush Rescue Mission for NASA's $500M Space Telescope Fails

  22-08-2026 23:00 via science.slashdot.org
  Remember that rush rescue mission for NASA's $500M space telescope? It failed, reports CNN, and the LINK satellite won't be able to boost the telescope's orbit. NASA says its decades-old Swift telescope will now continue losing altitude, until it reaches Earth's atmosphere later this year and burns up.
  CNN reports:Just weeks after LINK lifted off on July 3, it started to spin out of control. [Satellite designer] Katalyst was able to regain control of the satellite, but the company acknowledged t
  
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• Flock is Secretly Building a Powerful New Prompt-Based AI Tool for Police

  22-08-2026 22:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  Slashdot reader fjo3 shared this article from Wired:[Flock] has told the public for years that its technology "cannot recognize, identify, or track individuals." It has now built a system that does both, an artificial intelligence tool for police that can identify drivers and track vehicles by their patterns of movement alone, WIRED has learned... Because the system also reaches police case files, 911 dispatch logs, and commercial identity records, those plates can be turned into names, home add
  
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• Low Emission Zone Led To Better Lung Size, Function Among London Children

  22-08-2026 21:00 via news.slashdot.org
  Long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shared this report from the Guardian:
  Children's lungs grew bigger and stronger after the most polluting vehicles were restricted from entering London, a study has found. Examinations of London schoolchildren before and after the introduction of the city's ultra-low emission zone found a restoration of lung capacity that had been stunted by exposure to pollution... "Traffic pollution in cities damages children's health and development," said Chris Griffiths, a p
  
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• Moderna-Merck Vaccine Cuts Recurrence And Spread of Melanoma, Raises New Treatment Hope

  22-08-2026 20:00 via science.slashdot.org
  Reuters reports "a major success in a new field of cancer treatment this week, as Moderna and Merck announced a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine "reduced the risk of recurrence and spread of melanoma in a late-stage trial". The vaccine was tested with Merck's widely used immunotherapy drug Keytruda:Thousands of patients who have undergone surgery to remove high-risk melanoma tumors could benefit as soon as next year if regulators approve the vaccine, Moderna President Stephen Hoge said in an int
  
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• Is AI Really to Blame for High Unemployment Among Recent Graduates? What Economists Say

  22-08-2026 19:00 via it.slashdot.org
  47% of recent graduates say AI has already impacted hiring in their field, according to an April survey from ZipRecruiter.
  "But is AI really the problem, or is it more complicated?" asks NPR. "Here's what economists have to say."According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the unemployment rate for recent graduates — which it defines as 22-to-27-year-olds with a new bachelor's degree or higher — was 5.7% as of June, more than the rate for all workers, which stands at 4.1%... St
  
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