ICT news

• Perl 5.38 Released with New Experimental Syntax for Defining Object Classes

  08-07-2023 17:34 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Perl 5.38 was released this week "after being in development for more than one year," reports Phoronix. "Perl 5.38 brings a new experimental syntax for defining object classes where per-instance data is stored in 'field' variables that behave like lexicals."
  "Maybe, just maybe, the new features introduced into the language in this newest version will attract much sought new talent," writes the site I Programmer, noting the argument that Perl is installed by default everywhere — and has the
  
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• HAM Radio Operators In Belarus Arrested, Face the Death Penalty

  21-01-2026 23:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: The Belarusian government is threatening three HAM radio operators with the death penalty, detained at least seven people, and has accused them of "intercepting state secrets," according to Belarusian state media, independent media outside of Belarus, and the Belarusian human rights organization Viasna. The arrests are an extreme attack on what is most often a wholesome hobby that has a history of being vilified by authoritarian governments in
  
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• Ozempic is Reshaping the Fast Food Industry

  21-01-2026 22:22 via science.slashdot.org
  New research from Cornell University has tracked how households change their spending after someone starts taking GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, and the numbers are material enough to explain why food industry earnings calls keep blaming everything except the obvious culprit.
  The study analyzed transaction data from 150,000 households linked to survey responses on medication adoption. Households cut grocery spending by 5.3% within six months of a member starting GLP-1s; high-income h
  
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• Half of World's CO2 Emissions Come From Just 32 Fossil Fuel Firms, Study Shows

  21-01-2026 21:45 via news.slashdot.org
  Just 32 fossil fuel companies were responsible for half the global carbon dioxide emissions driving the climate crisis in 2024, down from 36 a year earlier, a report has revealed. The Guardian: Saudi Aramco was the biggest state-controlled polluter and ExxonMobil was the largest investor-owned polluter. Critics accused the leading fossil fuel companies of "sabotaging climate action" and "being on the wrong side of history" but said the emissions data was increasingly being used to hold the compa
  
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• Adobe Acrobat Now Lets You Edit Files Using Prompts, Generate Podcast Summaries

  21-01-2026 21:01 via slashdot.org
  Adobe has added a suite of AI-powered features to Acrobat that enable users to edit documents through natural language prompts, generate podcast-style audio summaries of their files, and create presentations by pulling content from multiple documents stored in a single workspace.
  The prompt-based editing supports 12 distinct actions: removing pages, text, comments, and images; finding and replacing words and phrases; and adding e-signatures and passwords. The presentation feature builds on Adobe
  
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• The Gold Plating of American Water

  21-01-2026 20:22 via news.slashdot.org
  The price of water and sewer services for American households has more than doubled since the early 1980s after adjusting for inflation, even though per-capita water use has actually decreased over that period. Households in large cities now spend about $1,300 a year on water and sewer charges, approaching the roughly $1,600 they spend on electricity. The main driver is federal regulation.
  Since the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, the U.S. has spent approximately
  
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• AI Company Eightfold Sued For Helping Companies Secretly Score Job Seekers

  21-01-2026 19:44 via yro.slashdot.org
  Eightfold AI, a venture capital-backed AI hiring platform used by Microsoft, PayPal and many other Fortune 500 companies, is being sued in California for allegedly compiling reports used to screen job applicants without their knowledge. From a report: The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday accusing Eightfold of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act shows how consumer advocates are seeking to apply existing law to AI systems capable of drawing inferences about individuals based on vast amounts of data.
  
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• Ubisoft Cancels Six Games, Slashes Guidance in Restructuring

  21-01-2026 19:04 via games.slashdot.org
  Ubisoft is canceling game projects, shutting down studios and cutting its guidance as the Assassin's Creed maker restructures its business into five units. From a report: The French gaming firm expects earnings before interest and tax to be a loss of $1.2 billion the fiscal year 2025-2026 as a result of the restructuring, driven by a one-off writedown of about $761 million, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
  Ubisoft also expects net bookings of around $1.76 billion for the year, with
  
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• Ireland Wants To Give Its Cops Spyware, Ability To Crack Encrypted Messages

  21-01-2026 18:25 via it.slashdot.org
  The Irish government is planning to bolster its police's ability to intercept communications, including encrypted messages, and provide a legal basis for spyware use. From a report: The Communications (Interception and Lawful Access) Bill is being framed as a replacement for the current legislation that governs digital communication interception. The Department of Justice, Home Affairs, and Migration said in an announcement this week the existing Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (R
  
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• Google Temporarily Disabled YouTube's Advanced Captions Without Warning

  21-01-2026 17:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  Google has temporarily disabled YouTube's advanced SRV3 caption format after discovering the feature was causing playback errors for some users, according to a statement the company posted. SRV3, also known as YouTube Timed Text, is a custom subtitle system Google introduced around 2018 that allows creators to use custom colors, transparency, animations, and precise text positioning. Creators cannot upload new SRV3 captions while the feature remains disabled, and existing videos that use the for
  
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• Japan Restarts World's Largest Nuclear Plant as Fukushima Memories Loom Large

  21-01-2026 17:05 via slashdot.org
  New submitter BeaverCleaver shares a report: Japan has restarted operations at the world's largest nuclear power plant for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster forced the country to shut all of its reactors. The decision to restart reactor number 6 at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa north-west of Tokyo was taken despite local residents' safety concerns. It was delayed by a day because of an alarm malfunction and is due to begin operating commercially next month.
  Japan, which had always heavily re
  
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• Comic-Con Bans AI Art After Artist Pushback

  21-01-2026 16:27 via slashdot.org
  San Diego Comic-Con changed an AI art friendly policy following an artist-led backlash last week. From a report: It was a small victory for working artists in an industry where jobs are slipping away as movie and video game studios adopt generative AI tools to save time and money. Every year, tens of thousands of people descend on San Diego for Comic-Con, the world's premier comic book convention that over the years has also become a major pan-media event where every major media company announce
  
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• YouTube CEO Acknowledges 'AI Slop' Problem, Says Platform Will Curb Low-Quality AI Content

  21-01-2026 15:40 via news.slashdot.org
  YouTube CEO Neal Mohan used his annual letter to creators, published Wednesday, to outline an ambitious 2026 vision that embraces AI-powered creative tools while simultaneously pledging to crack down on the low-quality AI content that has come to be known as "slop."
  Mohan identified four AI-related areas that YouTube "must get right in 2026." The platform is working on tools that will let creators use AI to generate Shorts featuring their own likenesses and to experiment with music. "Just as the
  
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• CEOs Say AI is Making Work More Efficient. Employees Tell a Different Story.

  21-01-2026 15:01 via slashdot.org
  Companies are spending vast sums on AI expecting the technology to boost efficiency, but a new survey from AI consulting firm Section found that two-thirds of non-management workers among 5,000 white-collar respondents say they save less than two hours a week or no time at all, while more than 40% of executives report the technology saves them upward of eight hours weekly.
  Workers were far more likely to describe themselves as anxious or overwhelmed about AI than excited -- the opposite of C-sui
  
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• Verizon Wastes No Time Switching Device Unlock Policy To 365 Days

  21-01-2026 14:00 via mobile.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from DroidLife: When the FCC cleared Verizon of its 60-day device unlock policy a week ago, we talked about how the government agency, which is as anti-consumer as it has ever been at the moment, was giving Verizon the power to basically create whatever unlock policy it wanted. We also expected Verizon to make a change to its policies in a hurry and they did not disappoint. Again, the FCC provided them a waiver 7 days ago and they are already starting to updat
  
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• Snap Settles Social media Addiction Lawsuit Ahead of Landmark Trial

  21-01-2026 11:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  Snap has settled a social media addiction lawsuit just days before trial, while Meta, TikTok, and Alphabet remain defendants and are headed to court. "Terms of the deal were not announced as it was revealed by lawyers at a California Superior Court hearing, after which Snap told the BBC the parties were 'pleased to have been able to resolve this matter in an amicable manner.'" From the report: The plaintiff, a 19-year old woman identified by the initials K.G.M., alleged that the algorithmic desi
  
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• Aurora Watch In Effect As Severe Solar Storm Slams Into Earth

  21-01-2026 08:00 via news.slashdot.org
  alternative_right shares a report from ScienceAlert: Thanks to a giant eruption on the Sun and a large opening in its atmosphere, we're currently experiencing G4 conditions -- a severe geomagnetic storm strong enough to disrupt power grids as energy from space weather disturbances drives electric currents through Earth's magnetic field and the ground. Experts say the storm could even reach G5 levels, the extreme category responsible for the spectacular auroral activity seen in May 2024. In fact,
  
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• Era of 'Global Water Bankruptcy' Is Here, UN Report Says

  21-01-2026 04:30 via news.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: The world has entered an era of "global water bankruptcy" that is harming billions of people, a UN report has declared. The overuse and pollution of water must be tackled urgently, the report's lead author said, because no one knew when the whole system could collapse, with implications for peace and social cohesion. All life depends on water but the report found many societies had long been using water faster than it could be replenished an
  
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• cURL Removes Bug Bounties

  21-01-2026 03:02 via it.slashdot.org
  Ancient Slashdot reader jantangring shares a report from Swedish electronics industry news site Elektroniktidningen (translated to English), writing: "Open source code library cURL is removing the possibility to earn money by reporting bugs, hoping that this will reduce the volume of AI slop reports," reports etn.se. "Joshua Rogers -- AI wielding bug hunter of fame -- thinks it's a great idea." cURL maintainer Daniel Stenberg famously reported on the flood AI-generated bad bug reports last year
  
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• OpenAI and ServiceNow Strike Deal to Put AI Agents in Business Software

  21-01-2026 02:25 via slashdot.org
  According to the Wall Street Journal, OpenAI and ServiceNow signed a three-year deal to embed AI agents directly into ServiceNow's enterprise workflows. CNBC reports: As part of the deal, ServiceNow will integrate GPT-5.2 into its enterprise workflow platform and create AI voice technology harnessing these models. "Bringing together our engineering teams and our respective technologies will drive faster value for customers and more intuitive ways of working with AI," said Amit Zavery, president,
  
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• Developer Rescues Stadia Bluetooth Tool That Google Killed

  21-01-2026 01:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  This week, Google finally shut down the official Stadia Bluetooth conversion tool... but there's no need to panic! Developer Christopher Klay preserved a copy on his personal GitHub and is hosting a fully working version of the tool on a dedicated website to make it even easier to find. The Verge's Sean Hollister reports: I haven't tried Klay's mirror, as both of my gamepads are already converted, but here's my video on how easy the process is. It's worth doing now that the pads work relatively
  
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• HHS Announces New Study of Cellphone Radiation and Health

  21-01-2026 01:02 via mobile.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from U.S. News & World Report: U.S. health officials plan a new study investigating whether radiation from cellphones may affect human health. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the research will examine electromagnetic radiation and possible gaps in current science. The initiative stems from numerous concerns raised by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has linked cellphone use to neurological damage an
  
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• UK Mulls Australia-Like Social Media Ban For Users Under 16

  21-01-2026 00:20 via news.slashdot.org
  The UK government has launched a public consultation on whether to ban social media use for children under 16, drawing inspiration from Australia's recently enacted age-based restrictions. "It would also explore how to enforce that limit, how to limit tech companies from being able to access children's data and how to limit 'infinite scrolling,' as well as access to addictive online tools," reports Engadget. "In addition to seeking feedback from parents and young people themselves, the country's
  
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• Majority of CEOs Report Zero Payoff From AI Splurge

  20-01-2026 23:40 via slashdot.org
  A PwC survey of more than 4,500 CEOs found that over half report no revenue growth or cost savings from their AI investments so far, despite massive spending. Of the 4,454 business leaders surveyed, only 12% saw both lower costs and higher revenue, while 56% saw neither benefit. "26% saw reduced costs, but nearly as many experienced cost increases," adds The Register. From the report: AI adoption remains limited. Even in top use cases like demand generation (22 percent), support services (20 per
  
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• Meta's Oversight Board Takes Up Permanent Bans In Landmark Case

  20-01-2026 23:02 via meta.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Meta's Oversight Board is tackling a case focused on Meta's ability to permanently disable user accounts. Permanent bans are a drastic action, locking people out of their profiles, memories, friend connections, and, in the case of creators and businesses, their ability to market and communicate with fans and customers. This is the first time in the organization's five-year history as an oversight body that permanent account bans have been a su
  
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• 56% of Companies Have Seen Zero Financial Return From AI Investments, PwC Survey Says

  20-01-2026 22:22 via slashdot.org
  More than half of companies haven't seen any financial benefit from their AI investments, according to PwC's latest Global CEO Survey [PDF], and yet the spending shows no signs of slowing down. Some 56% of the 4,454 chief executives surveyed across 95 countries said their companies have realized neither higher revenues nor lower costs from AI over the past year.
  Only 12% reported getting both benefits -- and those rare winners tend to be the ones who built proper enterprise-wide foundations rath
  
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• Setapp Mobile To Close in February as Alternative iOS App Store Economics Prove Untenable

  20-01-2026 21:45 via apple.slashdot.org
  MacPaw, the Ukraine-based developer, has announced that Setapp Mobile -- its alternative iOS app store for European Union users that launched in open beta in September 2024 -- will shut down on February 16, 2026, citing "still-evolving and complex business terms" for alternative marketplaces that don't fit its current business model.
  Alternative iOS stores became possible under the Digital Markets Act but face challenges including Apple's controversial Core Technology Fee, which Epic Games CEO T
  
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• Anthropic CEO Says Government Should Help Ensure AI's Economic Upside Is Shared

  20-01-2026 21:02 via slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei predicted a future in which AI will spur significant economic growth -- but could lead to widespread unemployment and inequality. Amodei is both "excited and worried" about the impact of AI, he said in an interview at Davos Tuesday. "I don't think there's an awareness at all of what is coming here and the magnitude of it."
  Anthropic is the developer of the popular chatbot Claude. Amodei said the government will need to p
  
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• AI Agents 'Perilous' for Secure Apps Such as Signal, Whittaker Says

  20-01-2026 20:22 via it.slashdot.org
  Signal Foundation president Meredith Whittaker warned that AI agents that autonomously carry out tasks pose a threat to encrypted messaging apps [non-paywalled source] because they require broad access to data stored across a device and can be hijacked if given root permissions.
  Speaking at Davos on Tuesday, Whittaker said the deeper integration of AI agents into devices is "pretty perilous" for services like Signal. For an AI agent to act effectively on behalf of a user, it would need unilatera
  
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• Palantir CEO Says AI To Make Large-Scale Immigration Obsolete

  20-01-2026 19:35 via slashdot.org
  AI will displace so many jobs that it will eliminate the need for mass immigration, according to Palantir CEO Alex Karp. Bloomberg: "There will be more than enough jobs for the citizens of your nation, especially those with vocational training," said Karp, speaking at a World Economic Forum panel in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday. "I do think these trends really do make it hard to imagine why we should have large-scale immigration unless you have a very specialized skill."
  Karp, who holds a PhD i
  
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