ICT news

• Saturn's 'Death Star'-Shaped Moon Mimas May Be Hiding an Ocean

  23-01-2022 22:18 via science.slashdot.org
  
  CNET reports:Saturn has some famous moons, like Enceladus (a plume-spewing moon of mystery) and Titan (the intriguing target of NASA's future Dragonfly mission). But what about dainty Mimas, a moon that's mostly known for its resemblance to the Star Wars Death Star?
  Turns out it might be hiding an ocean.
  A study published in the journal Icarus lays out evidence that suggests Mimas has liquid deep under its icy surface. "If Mimas has an ocean, it represents a new class of small, 'stealth' ocean w
  
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• Cruise Is Back Driving Autonomously After Pedestrian-Dragging Incident

  14-05-2024 09:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Cruise's autonomous vehicles have resumed operation in Phoenix, Arizona, following an incident in San Francisco last October where a driverless vehicle dragged a pedestrian. The Verge reports: Cruise spokesperson Tiffany Testo said the company is deploying only two autonomous vehicles with safety drivers behind the wheel. In addition, the company has eight manually driven vehicles in the city. Eventually, the service area will "gradually expand" to include Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Tempe, Mes
  
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• Slashdot Asks: How Do You Protest AI Development?

  14-05-2024 05:30 via ask.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: On a side street outside the headquarters of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology in the center of London on Monday, 20 or so protesters are getting their chants in order. "What do we want? Safe AI! When do we want it?" The protesters hesitate. "Later?" someone offers. The group of mostly young men huddle for a moment before breaking into a new chant. "What do we want? Pause AI! When do we want it? Now!" These protesters are part of
  
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• Intel Aurora Supercomputer Breaks Exascale Barrier

  14-05-2024 04:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Josh Norem reports via ExtremeTech: At the recent International supercomputing conference called ISC 2024, Intel's newest Aurora supercomputer installed at Argonne National Laboratory raised a few eyebrows by finally surpassing the exascale barrier. Before this, only AMD's Frontier system had been able to achieve this level of performance. Intel also achieved what it says is the world's best performance for AI at 10.61 "AI exaflops." Intel reported the news on its blog, stating Aurora was now of
  
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• ChatGPT Is Getting a Mac App

  14-05-2024 03:25 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI has launched an official macOS app for ChatGPT, with a Windows version coming "later this year." "Both free and paid users will be able to access the new app, but it will only be available to ChatGPT Plus users starting today before a broader rollout in 'the coming weeks,'" reports The Verge. From the report: In the demo shown by OpenAI, users could open the ChatGPT desktop app in a small window, alongside another program. They asked ChatGPT questions about what's on their screen -- wheth
  
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• Biden Admin Shells Out $120 Million To Return Chip Startup To US Ownership

  14-05-2024 02:47 via slashdot.org
  
  Brandon Vigliarolo reports via The Register: Not everything in the semiconductor industry is about shearing off every last nanometer, which is why the Biden administration is splashing out CHIPS Act funding to those pursuing less cutting edge processor production. Case in point, today's announcement that Bloomington, Minnesota-based Polar Semiconductor could be getting up to $120 million in CHIPS funds to double production capacity over the next two years, along with a possible buyout to return
  
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• IBM Open-Sources Its Granite AI Models

  14-05-2024 02:02 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: IBM managed the open sourcing of Granite code by using pretraining data from publicly available datasets, such as GitHub Code Clean, Starcoder data, public code repositories, and GitHub issues. In short, IBM has gone to great lengths to avoid copyright or legal issues. The Granite Code Base models are trained on 3- to 4-terabyte tokens of code data and natural language code-related datasets. All these models are licensed under the Apache 2.0 licens
  
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• Melinda Gates To Resign From Gates Foundation

  14-05-2024 01:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Melinda French Gates announced today she is stepping down from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, three years after announcing her separation from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. With her departure as co-chair, the foundation will change its name to Gates Foundation and Bill Gates will be its sole chairperson, said CEO Mark Suzman. NBC News reports: In a statement posted on her Instagram account, she said that as part of her agreement to step down from the foundation, she will retain $12.5
  
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• AI Hitting Labour Forces Like a 'Tsunami', IMF Chief Says

  14-05-2024 00:41 via slashdot.org
  
  AI is hitting the global labour market "like a tsunami" International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday. AI is likely to impact 60% of jobs in advanced economies and 40% of jobs around the world in the next two years, Georgieva told an event in Zurich. From a report: "We have very little time to get people ready for it, businesses ready for it," she told the event organised by the Swiss Institute of International Studies, associated to the University of Zurich.
  
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• Apple and Google Introduce Alerts for Unwanted Bluetooth Tracking

  14-05-2024 00:00 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple and Google have launched a new industry standard called "Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers" to combat the misuse of Bluetooth trackers for stalking. Starting Monday, iPhone and Android users will receive alerts when an unknown Bluetooth device is detected moving with them. The move comes after numerous cases of trackers like Apple's AirTags being used for malicious purposes.
  Several Bluetooth tag companies have committed to making their future products compatible with the new standard.
  
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• 'Roaring Kitty' Trader Returns, Causing GameStop Shares To Jump More Than 70%

  13-05-2024 23:20 via slashdot.org
  
  GameStop shares surged over 72% on Monday after Keith Gill, also known as "Roaring Kitty," returned to social media following a three-year hiatus. Gill gained notoriety for his role in the 2020 meme stock frenzy, where he encouraged amateur investors to buy GameStop shares, significantly driving up the stock price and challenging hedge funds. From a report: He resurfaced on X, Sunday night, with an image of a sketched man leaning forward in a chair, marking the end of a roughly three-year hiatus
  
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• First Person To Receive a Genetically Modified Pig Kidney Transplant Dies

  13-05-2024 22:40 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBS News: Richard "Rick" Slayman, the first human to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant, has died almost two months after the procedure. Slayman, who had end-stage kidney disease, underwent the transplant in March at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston at age 62. The hospital said in a statement on Saturday that there was "no indication" that his death was the result of the transplant. The transplant surgeon had said he hoped the tr
  
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• Microsoft Places Uses AI To Find the Best Time For Your Next Office Day

  13-05-2024 22:01 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Microsoft is attempting to solve the hassle of coordinating with colleagues on when everyone will be in the office. It's a problem that emerged with the increase in hybrid and flexible work after the recent covid-19 pandemic, with workers spending less time in the office. Microsoft Places is an AI-powered app that goes into preview today and should help businesses that rely on Outlook and Microsoft Teams to better coordinate in-office time together.
  "When emp
  
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• Meta Explores AI-Assisted Earphones With Cameras

  13-05-2024 20:49 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Meta Platforms is exploring developing AI-powered earphones with cameras, which the company hopes could be used to identify objects and translate foreign languages, according to three current employees. Meta's work on a new AI device comes as several tech companies look to develop AI wearables, and after Meta added an AI assistant to its Ray-Ban smart glasses.
  Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has seen several possible designs for the device but has not been satisfied
  
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• Microsoft is Finally Changing Word's Annoying Default Paste Behavior

  13-05-2024 20:08 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: The default pasting behavior of Microsoft Word is a nightmare, and has been forever. If you want to add a text or image using the standard option, you can easily mess up the entire formatting in the text if a completely different font suddenly appears. After many years of complaints, Microsoft is finally listening to user feedback and changing the default behavior when pasting in Word.
  From now on, the source's formatting will no longer be automatically retai
  
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• OpenAI Launches New Free Model GPT-4o

  13-05-2024 19:24 via slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI unveiled its latest foundation model, GPT-4o, and a ChatGPT desktop app at its Spring Updates event on Monday. GPT-4o, which will be available to all free users, boasts the ability to reason across voice, text, and vision, according to OpenAI's chief technology officer Mira Murati. The model can respond in real-time, detect emotion, and adjust its voice accordingly. Developers will have access to GPT-4o through OpenAI's API at half the price and twice the speed of its predecessor, GPT-4 T
  
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• Solar Storm Knocks Out Farmers' Tractor GPS Systems During Peak Planting Season

  13-05-2024 18:48 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  mspohr shares a report: The solar storm that brought the aurora borealis to large parts of the United States this weekend also broke critical GPS and precision farming functionality in tractors and agricultural equipment during a critical point of the planting season, 404 Media has learned. These outages caused many farmers to fully stop their planting operations for the moment. One chain of John Deere dealerships warned farmers that the accuracy of some of the systems used by tractors are "extr
  
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• US Kicks Off AI Safety Talks With China

  13-05-2024 18:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The United States is heading to Geneva this week to start a series of diplomatic talks with the Chinese government about artificial intelligence safety and risk standards. From a report: The U.S. and China are in tight competition to dominate the AI market, both in the private sector and within their own governments. However, the two world powers have yet to agree on what it means to safely use the technologies they're developing.
  The United States and China will meet in Switzerland on Tuesday,
  
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• Google Bringing Project Starline's 'Magic Window' Experience To Real Video Calls

  13-05-2024 17:24 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google announced on Monday that it is preparing to bring its experimental Project Starline videoconferencing technology to the market. The company is collaborating with HP to integrate the system, which creates 3D projections of participants, into existing platforms like Google Meet and Zoom. The move aims to make the technology more accessible for offices and conference rooms, potentially transforming the way people communicate and collaborate remotely.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Microsoft Set To Face EU Competition Charges Over Teams Software

  13-05-2024 16:43 via slashdot.org
  
  The European Commission is set to issue new antitrust charges [non-paywalled link] against Microsoft over concerns that the tech giant is undermining competitors to its videoconferencing app Teams, according to FT. The move comes after Microsoft offered concessions last month, including a global plan to unbundle Teams from other software such as Office, in an attempt to avoid regulatory action.
  The EU officials remain concerned that the company's efforts do not sufficiently ensure fairness in th
  
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• How Microsoft Employees Pressured the Company Over Its Oil Industry Ties

  13-05-2024 13:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The non-profit environmental site Grist reports on "an internal, employee-led effort to raise ethical concerns about Microsoft's work helping oil and gas producers boost their profits by providing them with cloud computing resources and AI software tools." There's been some disappointments — but also some successes, starting with the founding of an internal sustainability group within Microsoft that grew to nearly 10,000 employees:
  Former Microsoft employees and sources familiar with tech
  
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• Squarespace To Go Private in $6.9 Billion Deal With Permira

  13-05-2024 13:22 via slashdot.org
  
  Squarespace said on Monday it has agreed to be taken private by private equity firm Permira in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $6.9 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Squarespace stockholders will receive $44.00 per share in cash, representing a premium of about 29% over the company's 90-day volume weighted average trading price.
  Upon completion of the transaction, Squarespace will become a privately held company. Founder and CEO Anthony Casalena will continue to lead the busine
  
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• OpenAI's Sam Altman Wants AI in the Hands of the People - and Universal Basic Compute?

  13-05-2024 09:34 via slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman gave an hour-long interview to the "All-In" podcast (hosted by Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks and David Friedberg).
  And when asked about this summer's launch of the next version of ChatGPT, Altman said they hoped to "be thoughtful about how we do it, like we may release it in a different way than we've released previous models...
  Altman: One of the things that we really want to do is figure out how to make more advanced technology available to free users
  
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• Will Smarter Cars Bring 'Optimized' Traffic Lights?

  13-05-2024 05:54 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  "Researchers are exploring ways to use features in modern cars, such as GPS, to make traffic safer and more efficient," reports the Associated Press.
  "Eventually, the upgrades could do away entirely with the red, yellow and green lights of today, ceding control to driverless cars."Among those reimagining traffic flows is a team at North Carolina State University led by Ali Hajbabaie, an associate engineering professor. Rather than doing away with today's traffic signals, Hajbabaie suggests addin
  
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• Australia Criticized For Ramping Up Gas Extraction Through '2050 and Beyond'

  13-05-2024 03:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Slashdot reader sonlas shared this report from the BBC:
  Australia has announced it will ramp up its extraction and use of gas until "2050 and beyond", despite global calls to phase out fossil fuels. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government says the move is needed to shore up domestic energy supply while supporting a transition to net zero... Australia — one of the world's largest exporters of liquefied natural gas — has also said the policy is based on "its commitment to being a
  
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• Linux Kernel 6.9 Officially Released

  13-05-2024 00:34 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  "6.9 is now out," Linus Torvalds posted on the Linux kernel mailing list, "and last week has looked quite stable (and the whole release has felt pretty normal)."
  Phoronix writes that Linux 6.9 "has a number of exciting features and improvements for those habitually updating to the newest version." And Slashdot reader prisoninmate shared this report from 9to5Linux:
  Highlights of Linux kernel 6.9 include Rust support on AArch64 (ARM64) architectures, support for the Intel FRED (Flexible Return and
  
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• Reddit Grows, Seeks More AI Deals, Plans 'Award' Shops, and Gets Sued

  12-05-2024 23:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Reddit reported its first results since going public in late March. Yahoo Finance reports:Daily active users increased 37% year over year to 82.7 million. Weekly active unique users rose 40% from the prior year. Total revenue improved 48% to $243 million, nearly doubling the growth rate from the prior quarter, due to strength in advertising. The company delivered adjusted operating profits of $10 million, versus a $50.2 million loss a year ago. [Reddit CEO Steve] Huffman declined to say when the
  
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• OpenAI's Sam Altman on iPhones, Music, Training Data, and Apple's Controversial iPad Ad

  12-05-2024 22:34 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman gave an hour-long interview to the "All-In" podcast (hosted by Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks and David Friedberg). And speaking on technology's advance, Altman said "Phones are unbelievably good.... I personally think the iPhone is like the greatest piece of technology humanity has ever made. It's really a wonderful product."
  Q: What comes after it?Altman: I don't know. I mean, that was what I was saying. It's so good, that to get beyond it, I think the
  
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• Webb Telescope Finds a (Hot) Earth-Sized Planet With an Atmosphere

  12-05-2024 21:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shared this report from the Associated Press:
  A thick atmosphere has been detected around a planet that's twice as big as Earth in a nearby solar system, researchers reported Wednesday.
  The so-called super Earth — known as 55 Cancri e — is among the few rocky planets outside our solar system with a significant atmosphere, wrapped in a blanket of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The exact amounts are unclear. Earth's atmosphere is a blend of nitrogen, oxygen, ar
  
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• Could Atomically Thin Layers Bring A 19x Energy Jump In Battery Capacitors?

  12-05-2024 20:34 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Researchers believe they've discovered a new material structure that can improve the energy storage of capacitors.
  The structure allows for storage while improving the efficiency of ultrafast charging and discharging.
  The new find needs optimization but has the potential to help power electric vehicles.*
  An anonymous reader shared this report from Popular Mechanics:In a study published in Science, lead author Sang-Hoon Bae, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science,
  
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