181220764
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sinij writes:
The private companies — some with ties to the military — are marketing detailed intelligence on movements of U.S. forces, even as Beijing seeks to keep its distance.
180929508
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alternative_right writes:
A new study found that people who use smartphones during bathroom visits had a 46% higher risk of hemorrhoids compared to those who don’t.
180905518
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linuxwrangler writes:
Darkreading reports that a team of researchers has determined that signals from tire pressure monitoring systems, required in US cars since 2007, can be used to track the presence, type, weight and driving pattern of vehicles. The researchers report that the TPMS data, which includes unique sensor IDs, is sent in clear text without authentication and can be intercepted 40-50 meters from a vehicle using devices costing $100.
180905146
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fjo3 writes:
Effective January 1, 2027, providers of computer operating systems in California will be required to implement age verification. That's just part of a wave of state and national laws attempting to limit children's access to potentially risky content without considering the perils such laws themselves pose. Now, not a moment too soon, over 400 computer scientists have signed an open letter warning that the rush to protect children from online dangers threatens to introduce new risks including censorship, centralized power, and loss of privacy. They caution that age-verification requirements "might cause more harm than good."
180896430
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sizzlinkitty writes:
AWS facilities in the UAE suffer an outage after "objects" fall from the sky. Amazon's cloud unit, AWS, said on Sunday that power to its data center in the United Arab Emirates was shut down temporarily after objects struck the facility
180873882
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sizzzzlerz writes:
The US is doomed. Science and medical discovery has been mortally wounded by trump and the GoP, home grown manufacturing and industry has been decimated by wall street and the oliogarchs, and now education, already devalued by politicians who need a dumbed down population is being neutered by machine and AI slop that only gives answers without the knowledge to know what they mean.
180860158
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theodp writes:
In another case of life imitating the Simpsons ("Bart Gets Caught Using CheatGPT On His Homework"), nearly 60% of teenagers told Pew that students at their school used chatbots to cheat 'very often' or 'somewhat often', according to a report published Tuesday.
“We’re definitely seeing that the use of A.I. chatbots for help with schoolwork is becoming a common practice for teens,” said Colleen McClain, a senior researcher at Pew and a co-author of the study.
Among the teenagers surveyed, 47% said they had used chatbots for fun, while 42% said they used the tools to summarize content. A smaller group, 12%, said they had used bots for advice or emotional support. The results of the survey, the report said, indicate that teenagers think “cheating with A.I. has become a regular feature of student life.”
180855498
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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.
180821546
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Alain Williams writes:
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deepened its reliance on Microsoft’s cloud technology last year as the agency ramped up arrest and deportation operations, leaked documents reveal.
ICE more than tripled the amount of data it stored in Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform in the six months leading up to January 2026, a period in which the agency’s budget swelled and its workforce rapidly expanded, according to the files.
ICE appears to be using a range of Microsoft’s productivity tools, as well as AI-driven products, to search and analyse the data it holds in Azure. Files suggest some of the agency’s own tools and systems may also be running on Microsoft servers.
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schwit1 writes:
The point the op-ed makes is fundamental: AI cannot add anything to the information it has. It might be able to compile that information well, but its analysis is always going to be limited because it has no true creative spirit. It is merely a software program, albeit a very sophisticated one.
This quote from the essay will give you the sense:Maybe you just use AI to clarify your thoughts. Turn the mottle of ideas in your head into coherent communicable paragraphs. It's OK, you say, because you’re reviewing the results, and often editing the output. You’re ending up with exactly what you want to say, just in a form and style that’s better than any way you could have put it yourself.
But is what you end up with really your thoughts? And what if everyone started doing that?
Stripping the novelty and personality out of all communication; turning every one of our interactions into homogeneous robotic engagements? Every birthday greeting becomes akin to a printed hallmark card. Every eulogy turns into a stamp-card sentiment. Every email follows the auto-response template suggested by the browser.
We do this long enough and eventually we begin to lose the ability to communicate our inner thoughts to others. Our minds start to think in terms of LLM prompts. All I need is the gist of what I want to say, and the system fills in the blanks.
180270067
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alternative_right writes:
On average, managers spend 23 hours a week in meetings. Much of what happens in them is considered to be of low value, or even entirely counterproductive. The paradox is that bad meetings generate even more meetings in an attempt to repair the damage caused by previous ones.
A 2015 handbook laid the groundwork for the nascent field of "Meeting Science". Among other things, the research revealed that the real issue may not be the number of meetings, but rather how they are designed, the lack of clarity about their purpose, and the inequalities they (often unconsciously) reinforce.
Faced with what we call meeting madness, the solution is not to eliminate meetings altogether, but to design them better. It begins with a simple but often forgotten question: why are we meeting?
180258739
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stabiesoft writes:
TMZ picks up some of the craziest stories. Here is one about a waymo driving thru a police standoff in LA with passengers inside. It appears they need to add "avoid crossfire" to the model. Quickest route is not always a good idea.
180244361
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alternative_right writes:
In the 21st century, every government should understand that ensuring software sovereignty and security is part of its job, not only for themselves but also for businesses, society, and researchers. In the 21st century, software is the invisible infrastructure of our everyday life, like roads and bridges. Everything runs on software, and a significant portion of this is made possible by open source, which is maintained by people selflessly. If this open source breaks down, it’s as if a road or bridge collapses: everything else becomes much more complicated and dangerous.
180208141
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schwit1 writes:
By breaking into carriers’ online systems, cyber-powered criminals are making off with truckloads of electronics, beverages and other goods
In the most recent tactics identified by cybersecurity firm Proofpoint, hackers posed as freight middlemen, posting fake loads to the boards. They slipped links with malicious software into email exchanges with bidders such as trucking companies. By clicking on the links, trucking companies unwittingly downloaded remote-access software that lets the hackers take control of their online systems.
Once inside, the hackers used the truckers’ accounts to bid on real shipments, such as electronics and energy drinks, said Selena Larson, a threat researcher at Proofpoint. “They know the business,” she said. “It’s a very convincing full-scale identity takeover.”
180155649
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alternative_right writes:
The latest research confirms a decline in general employee well-being since 2020. In 2024, employees reported the lowest well-being scores on record, as opposed to 2020, when employees reported the highest well-being scores.
"In some cases, the lower scores represent a reduction in employee flexibility for either flexible hours or remote work," the latest research states. "In other cases, these scores could be related to challenges associated with greater economic shifts related to inflation or productivity needs."
"What we're seeing is a growing gap between how leaders and their teams experience the workplace," said Smith. "Managers may feel a return to normalcy, but that doesn't mean their employees do. Leaders must be cautious not to assume their own well-being reflects the broader workforce at their organization. The data shows a potential disconnect, and that's a signal for action."
