Comment Re:They should go fuck themselves (Score 1) 80
How about verification that people in government are not pedophiles? Until governments can be cleaned out of pedophiles can we stop axcepting any and all requirements from them?
Submission + - ATM "jackpotting" incidents rising across US, FBI says (kxan.com)
alternative_right writes: An analysis found that 700 incidents occurred in 2025 alone and accounted for over $20 million in losses. The FBI has identified about 1,900 jackpotting incidents across the country since 2020.
Jackpotting happens when individuals or groups use malware to infect ATMs and force them to dispense cash. The FBI’s bulletin says the “Ploutus” malware can force an ATM to dispense cash without using a bank card, customer account or bank authorization.
“The malware can be used across ATMs of different manufacturers with very little adjustment to the code as the Windows operating system is exploited during the compromise,” the bulletin said.
Jackpotting happens when individuals or groups use malware to infect ATMs and force them to dispense cash. The FBI’s bulletin says the “Ploutus” malware can force an ATM to dispense cash without using a bank card, customer account or bank authorization.
“The malware can be used across ATMs of different manufacturers with very little adjustment to the code as the Windows operating system is exploited during the compromise,” the bulletin said.
Comment Re:We could just require the data centres to pay (Score 1) 41
Well spoken. And LLM is not a public service ... like water or sewage ... that benefits all. LLMs will benefit nitches & a very very select few.
Comment Stockton Rush would be proud. (Score 2) 75
Outing oneself as an imbecile by testing on an account that mattered is hilarious.
Comment That would require a motivated, aware public. (Score 1) 41
No such public exists, either in the corrupt USA or passive, submissive UK.
Submission + - AI hurts your credibility even if your work is great, study finds (nerds.xyz)
BrianFagioli writes: New research from Florida International University suggests that simply disclosing AI use can damage a creatorâ(TM)s reputation, even when the creative output itself is identical. In one experiment, participants evaluated the same video game soundtrack but were given different descriptions of the composer. Some were told it was written by Hans Zimmer, while others were told it came from an unknown student. When AI collaboration was disclosed, ratings dropped across the board, regardless of whether the name attached carried prestige.
The study found that reputation offered only limited protection. Participants were slightly more willing to believe a well known composer remained in control of the creative process, but overall perceptions of authenticity and competence still declined. Researchers say the issue is not performance quality but perception. Once AI enters the picture, audiences begin questioning whether the creativity is genuine, suggesting that, at least for now, AI carries a reputational tax.
The study found that reputation offered only limited protection. Participants were slightly more willing to believe a well known composer remained in control of the creative process, but overall perceptions of authenticity and competence still declined. Researchers say the issue is not performance quality but perception. Once AI enters the picture, audiences begin questioning whether the creativity is genuine, suggesting that, at least for now, AI carries a reputational tax.
Submission + - Alcohol Profoundly Changes The Way Your Brain Communicates, Study Finds (sciencealert.com)
alternative_right writes: A few glasses of alcohol are enough to start fragmenting the way the brain works, leading to more localized information processing and reduced brain-wide communication, a new study has discovered.
While plenty of previous research has looked at the ways booze changes the brain, little of it has considered the network-wide effects.
While plenty of previous research has looked at the ways booze changes the brain, little of it has considered the network-wide effects.
Submission + - The stunning privacy cost of LinkedIn verification (thelocalstack.eu)
Arrogant-Bastard writes: Blogger "rogi" decided to verify themself on LinkedIn — and then dug into the privacy policy not just of LinkedIn, but of the company they use for this purpose...and then of the companies and governments the data is shared with. It's an extensive, alarming, and well-written trip down the rabbit hole of the user verification.
Submission + - NYT: 'AI Literacy' Is Trending in Schools. Here's Why.
theodp writes: "Computer literacy. Internet literacy. Social media literacy. Mobile literacy. Virtual reality literacy. Every few years," the NY Times reports in 'A.I. Literacy' Is Trending in Schools, "the tech industry introduces a new kind of product, then prods schools to teach millions of students how to use it. The pitch to train schoolchildren on the latest tech has stayed roughly the same since the introduction of personal computers in the late 1970s: improved learning and better career prospects. Since then, campaigns for a host of new tech literacies have come and gone — even as some of the promises failed to materialize. Now tech giants like Google, Microsoft and OpenAI are urging schools to teach the latest topic: A.I. literacy."
But as AI companies are urging teachers to prepare students for an 'A.I.-driven future,' what that means varies from school to school. Some, like Washington Park High School in Newark, are staking out a middle ground by treating AI as if it were a car and helping students develop rules for the road. Mike Taubman, a career explorations teacher who co-developed the school’s new literacy course, compared the class to preparing teenagers for their driver’s license exam. “Where do you want to go, and can A.I. help you get there?” Mr. Taubman asked. Students needed to learn to drive A.I. tools, analyze what’s under the hood, develop guidelines for personal use and design ideal safety policies, he said.
So, is "Are you steering the [AI] technology or is it steering you?" the new "Don’t just play on your phone, program it"?
But as AI companies are urging teachers to prepare students for an 'A.I.-driven future,' what that means varies from school to school. Some, like Washington Park High School in Newark, are staking out a middle ground by treating AI as if it were a car and helping students develop rules for the road. Mike Taubman, a career explorations teacher who co-developed the school’s new literacy course, compared the class to preparing teenagers for their driver’s license exam. “Where do you want to go, and can A.I. help you get there?” Mr. Taubman asked. Students needed to learn to drive A.I. tools, analyze what’s under the hood, develop guidelines for personal use and design ideal safety policies, he said.
So, is "Are you steering the [AI] technology or is it steering you?" the new "Don’t just play on your phone, program it"?
Submission + - Quantum algorithm beats classical tools on complement sampling tasks (phys.org)
alternative_right writes: A team of researchers working at Quantinuum in the United Kingdom and QuSoft in the Netherlands has now developed a quantum algorithm that solves a specific sampling task—known as complement sampling—dramatically more efficiently than any classical algorithm. Their paper, published in Physical Review Letters, establishes a provable and verifiable quantum advantage in sample complexity: the number of samples required to solve a problem.
"We stumbled upon the core result of this work by chance while working on a different project," Harry Buhrman, co-author of the paper, told Phys.org. "We had a set of items and two quantum states: one formed from half of the items, the other formed from the remaining half. Even though the two states are fundamentally distinct, we showed that a quantum computer may find it hard to tell which one it is given. Surprisingly, however, we then realized that transforming one state into the other is always easy, because a simple operation can swap between them."
"We stumbled upon the core result of this work by chance while working on a different project," Harry Buhrman, co-author of the paper, told Phys.org. "We had a set of items and two quantum states: one formed from half of the items, the other formed from the remaining half. Even though the two states are fundamentally distinct, we showed that a quantum computer may find it hard to tell which one it is given. Surprisingly, however, we then realized that transforming one state into the other is always easy, because a simple operation can swap between them."
Submission + - Quantum algorithm beats classical tools on complement sampling tasks (phys.org)
alternative_right writes: A team of researchers working at Quantinuum in the United Kingdom and QuSoft in the Netherlands has now developed a quantum algorithm that solves a specific sampling task—known as complement sampling—dramatically more efficiently than any classical algorithm. Their paper, published in Physical Review Letters, establishes a provable and verifiable quantum advantage in sample complexity: the number of samples required to solve a problem.
"We stumbled upon the core result of this work by chance while working on a different project," Harry Buhrman, co-author of the paper, told Phys.org. "We had a set of items and two quantum states: one formed from half of the items, the other formed from the remaining half. Even though the two states are fundamentally distinct, we showed that a quantum computer may find it hard to tell which one it is given. Surprisingly, however, we then realized that transforming one state into the other is always easy, because a simple operation can swap between them."
"We stumbled upon the core result of this work by chance while working on a different project," Harry Buhrman, co-author of the paper, told Phys.org. "We had a set of items and two quantum states: one formed from half of the items, the other formed from the remaining half. Even though the two states are fundamentally distinct, we showed that a quantum computer may find it hard to tell which one it is given. Surprisingly, however, we then realized that transforming one state into the other is always easy, because a simple operation can swap between them."
Submission + - 40,000-year-old Stone Age symbols may have paved the way for writing, long befor (phys.org)
alternative_right writes: Over 40,000 years ago, our early ancestors were already carving signs into tools and sculptures. According to a new analysis by linguist Christian Bentz at Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz at the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (Museum of Prehistory and Early History) in Berlin, these sign sequences have the same level of complexity and information density as the earliest proto-cuneiform script that emerged tens of thousands of years later, around 3,000 B.C.E.
Submission + - Oldest Fossilized Butthole Found in 290-Million-Year-Old Reptile (sciencealert.com)
alternative_right writes: The fossil hails from the sedimentary Goldlauter Formation in Germany's Thuringian Forest Basin, and an analysis of the impression left behind shows it was made by a reptile about 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) in length.
In the mud, it left a clear impression of what appears to be belly scales, structures made of hard keratin that act as armor. But the real showstopper is at the base of the tail, where modified scales surround a vent-like opening – what appears to be a cloaca.
It smashes the previous record, a Psittacosaurus butthole dated to around 120 million years ago, and now represents "the earliest fossil record of a cloacal vent in amniotes", the researchers write in their paper, supporting long-held views that the cloaca was present in early reptiles.
In the mud, it left a clear impression of what appears to be belly scales, structures made of hard keratin that act as armor. But the real showstopper is at the base of the tail, where modified scales surround a vent-like opening – what appears to be a cloaca.
It smashes the previous record, a Psittacosaurus butthole dated to around 120 million years ago, and now represents "the earliest fossil record of a cloacal vent in amniotes", the researchers write in their paper, supporting long-held views that the cloaca was present in early reptiles.
Comment Re:That logic ends badly (Score 1) 137
Nailed it. But, how many /. readers know the name "Khmer Rouge"? Many will think it's some kind of womans' makeup.
Submission + - Colorado Senate Bill Would Require Apple and Google to Embed ID Checks in OSes (reclaimthenet.org)
alternative_right writes: Colorado’s latest attempt to regulate minors’ online access differs from its predecessors. Senate Bill 26-051 doesn’t target adult websites directly. Instead, it targets the operating system sitting on your phone.
The bill, currently before the Senate Committee on Business, Labor, and Technology with a hearing scheduled for February 24, would require operating system providers to collect your date of birth when you create an account.
By moving enforcement to the operating system layer, lawmakers are targeting a genuine chokepoint. Apple and Google control the operating systems, app stores, account infrastructure, and software distribution pipelines for virtually every smartphone. Requiring age signals at that layer means a defined compliance target with a limited number of companies to regulate.
The desktop web doesn’t offer that. Browser-based access spans millions of independently operated sites across multiple jurisdictions. There’s no single point of control. Any law that tried to impose universal age verification across the open web would require something far more radical, either mandatory identity verification for internet access, which would end anonymous browsing entirely, or rely on parental controls, which already exist and remain optional.
The bill, currently before the Senate Committee on Business, Labor, and Technology with a hearing scheduled for February 24, would require operating system providers to collect your date of birth when you create an account.
By moving enforcement to the operating system layer, lawmakers are targeting a genuine chokepoint. Apple and Google control the operating systems, app stores, account infrastructure, and software distribution pipelines for virtually every smartphone. Requiring age signals at that layer means a defined compliance target with a limited number of companies to regulate.
The desktop web doesn’t offer that. Browser-based access spans millions of independently operated sites across multiple jurisdictions. There’s no single point of control. Any law that tried to impose universal age verification across the open web would require something far more radical, either mandatory identity verification for internet access, which would end anonymous browsing entirely, or rely on parental controls, which already exist and remain optional.
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