Comment Re:Cultural reference (Score 1) 12
Scapegoating does not exclude guilt. People lacking political pull are easily fed to the lions.
Submission + - Physicists identify 'octupolar' magnetism, with implications for quantum tech (phys.org)
alternative_right writes: Recent advances in quantum mechanics have revealed higher orders of magnetism, including an "octupolar order" in which a pattern of particles arranged in a crystalline structure within a material behaves as if it has eight magnetic poles rather than the familiar two.
Comment Re:M13 Individual Decontaminating Kit (Score 1) 23
We got M13 in the early 1980s to use in exercise (aircraft hydraulic fluid simulated agent since the strips were basically PH test strips similar to those used in swimming pools) and wore the olive green CPOG with flappy overboots (until someone figured out rain boots were better in every way and not prone to holes).
The later gear is much comfier, and unlike M17 masks troops don't have to remove a contaminated mask to replace filters....
Comment CBRN suits are not used for normal work. (Score 1) 23
In US practice expired CBRN ensembles and others stencilled "For Training Use Only" are the standard during military exercises. In case of war new gear is issued.
When troops go through decontamination they doff their contaminated gear for processing or disposal, they shower etc and new or clean gear is issued.
Comment And nothing of value is lost. (Score 1) 134
I don't eat their unappetizing pseudo-food anyway but whatever deters others helps make the world a better place.
Comment Gear preserves "Ability Ti Survive and Operate" (Score 2) 23
Chems are horrid but one can dress for them.
Nerve agent like other war gases degrades opponents by forcing them to wear CBRN ensembles which are miserable to work and fight in. (Gas is so nasty not even Hitler used it in combat because he'd personal experience in WWI.)
Modern CBRN suits are (barely) breathable because they can filter contaminants. Suits which even partly neutralize nerve agent would not just save lives but reduce misery. Gases are frequently inefficient even when used on undefended targets like Saddam Hussein's bombing of Halabja (which took multiple sorties to execute).
A chem suit fabric that can neutralize contamination could save lives and usefully decrease exposure. Chems don't magically wipe out everyone exposed. The 1995 Tokyo subway attack affected several thousand people while only causing ~14 direct fatalities among a concentrated, defenseless group. Neutralizing fabric would be very useful against highly diluted agents.
Comment That's what curtains are for. (Score 1) 84
Mine work quite well and hold up the blackout panels underneath them. I have no problem making my bedroom pitch dark because I cut rectangular panels of lightweight aluminum-clad siding to fit inside my windows. Masonite etc is cheap, and cardboard not pretty but works in a pinch.
Effective outdoor lighting is useful for work and play. Many residents of extremely hot areas like Las Vegas or the Middle East stay indoors and come out at night because daytime heat is (even more) dangerous. Brightly lit roads make it easier to scan for vehicles and pedestrians. Outdoor "security" lights are rightly popular among home and business owners so we can see where we're going. Working outdoors at night allows me to DIY many things including home and vehicle maintenance and repair.
Submission + - New Ai-Powered "America.gov" Government Website Uses Gemini and Grok (cnn.com) 3
fahrbot-bot writes: CNN is reporting (and others) that 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 people a whole lot of frustration.
The administration’s new initiative aims to allow Americans to access dozens of federal websites through a single point, making America.gov akin to a search tool that pulls information from across the government. And in the same way that people increasingly use AI models like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to compile information and provide customized answers, Trump officials claimed that America.gov would be able to do the same for people’s interactions with the federal government.
Enrolling in Medicare, for example, will become a matter of typing the request into the America.gov AI tool and following its step-by-step instructions. The same goes for applying to a government job — the new tool will now let people upload their resume directly to the site — or answering questions about federal benefits, publicly available documents or other necessities that fall under the federal government’s vast umbrella.
“Our vision is that one day, this type of convenience and simplicity will be across every government service,” said Joseph Gebbia, who leads the government’s National Design Studio.
But the reality is that the most advanced actions won’t be available until some point in 2027, raising questions about how long it will take for the administration to revamp the way the people interact with the government’s websites. The current version of America.gov can only do “answers.”
In related news, Variety notes that America.gov confirms, for now anyway, that Biden won the 2020 election.
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 people a whole lot of frustration.
The administration’s new initiative aims to allow Americans to access dozens of federal websites through a single point, making America.gov akin to a search tool that pulls information from across the government. And in the same way that people increasingly use AI models like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to compile information and provide customized answers, Trump officials claimed that America.gov would be able to do the same for people’s interactions with the federal government.
Enrolling in Medicare, for example, will become a matter of typing the request into the America.gov AI tool and following its step-by-step instructions. The same goes for applying to a government job — the new tool will now let people upload their resume directly to the site — or answering questions about federal benefits, publicly available documents or other necessities that fall under the federal government’s vast umbrella.
“Our vision is that one day, this type of convenience and simplicity will be across every government service,” said Joseph Gebbia, who leads the government’s National Design Studio.
But the reality is that the most advanced actions won’t be available until some point in 2027, raising questions about how long it will take for the administration to revamp the way the people interact with the government’s websites. The current version of America.gov can only do “answers.”
In related news, Variety notes that America.gov confirms, for now anyway, that Biden won the 2020 election.
Submission + - Mistral CEO Says US AI Safety Debate Masks Competitors' 'Negligence' (cnbc.com)
An anonymous reader writes: 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, those systems [AI agents] are very dynamic, so they can go and do things that you do not expect,” Mensch told CNBC. “You need to have the right monitoring in place, and the enterprises we work with, we give them those kind of monitoring systems,” he said.
Mistral also develops AI models but takes a different approach to OpenAI and Anthropic by working with individual companies to create custom AI tools to suit their needs and integrate them with their businesses. But unlike its competitors, Mistral has no plans to slow down development of advanced models. The lead that U.S. labs have is “not extremely large,” Mensch said, adding that his company was confident that its next-generation model will close the gap “very significantly.”
“We have been raising the capital needed to scale the compute that we need to train bigger and more powerful models, in order for us to own our own destiny,” he said. Earlier this month, Mistral raised 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) in fresh funding led by memory chip giant Samsung, as it looks to position itself as a European alternative to rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Mistral also develops AI models but takes a different approach to OpenAI and Anthropic by working with individual companies to create custom AI tools to suit their needs and integrate them with their businesses. But unlike its competitors, Mistral has no plans to slow down development of advanced models. The lead that U.S. labs have is “not extremely large,” Mensch said, adding that his company was confident that its next-generation model will close the gap “very significantly.”
“We have been raising the capital needed to scale the compute that we need to train bigger and more powerful models, in order for us to own our own destiny,” he said. Earlier this month, Mistral raised 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) in fresh funding led by memory chip giant Samsung, as it looks to position itself as a European alternative to rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Submission + - Yet Another AI Security OSS Externality (holdenkarau.com)
An anonymous reader writes: With all the news of the AI models hacking different companies, the flood of "helpful" AI security reports is another tax that the frontier labs are placing on OSS. Holden writes about her experience dealing with a frontier AI lab's security reports during the Apache Spark 3.5.9/4.0.4/and 4.1.3 releases and how the inflexibility of the labs almost caused them to have to ship with known security issues (while the OSS accounts from one lab kept triggering safe guards during the release process).
Comment Any facility would soon be obsolete. (Score 2) 46
Codes should require facilities which are easy to maintain and easy to convert to residential or other public purpose.
One reason to build AI is finding ways to reduce expensive overhead.
Comment We have more than sufficient poor people (Score 1) 109
While the poster was crude, importing the impoverished makes no sense in the US where bottom-feeder jobs are now the best many can do to keep food on the table.
If you want open borders then say so.
Comment What do they sell for on Ebay? (Score 1) 17
It might be worth selling them as a group.
I never bought one as better used notebooks abound, but a buyer may want the group. (Not worth selling individually.)
Submission + - Wearable nanotech could combat nerve agents (phys.org)
alternative_right writes: 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.
Submission + - Virus Stole a Human Gene and Won't Let Go of It (nytimes.com)
joshuark writes: In a new twist on the phrase "going viral" or stealing code, the NYT reports a virus has "stolen" a human gene, and will not let it go. In the article "This Virus Stole a Human Gene and Won’t Let Go of It" reports that scientists have found a human gene lurking in a virus that causes skin infections. Thus using our own DNA to infect us.
The molluscum contagiosum virus, which causes sores on skin, swiped a gene from humans about 100,000 years ago according to a new study.
The way that viruses replicate makes them particularly good at thieving DNA. The viruses infect a cell, then co-opt its machinery by injecting their own genes. Sometimes this process goes awry, and a stretch of the host’s DNA gets bundled into the new viral genes. This molecular error can pose a threat to human health.
The molluscum contagiosum virus, which causes sores on skin, swiped a gene from humans about 100,000 years ago according to a new study.
The way that viruses replicate makes them particularly good at thieving DNA. The viruses infect a cell, then co-opt its machinery by injecting their own genes. Sometimes this process goes awry, and a stretch of the host’s DNA gets bundled into the new viral genes. This molecular error can pose a threat to human health.
