Comment Fewer (Score 0) 19
CFO of $320 Billion Software Firm: AI Will Help Us 'Afford To Have Less People'
New Headline: CFO of $320 Billion Software Firm Doesn't Know The Difference Between "Less" and "Fewer"
Submission + - Facebook Data Reveal the Devastating Real-World Harms Caused By Misinformation (theconversation.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Twenty-one years after Facebook’s launch, Australia’s top 25 news outlets now have a combined 27.6 million followers on the platform. They rely on Facebook’s reach more than ever, posting far more stories there than in the past. With access to Meta’s Content Library (Meta is the owner of Facebook), our big data study analysed more than three million posts from 25 Australian news publishers. We wanted to understand how content is distributed, how audiences engage with news topics, and the nature of misinformation spread. The study enabled us to track de-identified Facebook comments and take a closer look at examples of how misinformation spreads. These included cases about election integrity, the environment (floods) and health misinformation such as hydroxychloroquine promotion during the COVID pandemic. The data reveal misinformation’s real-world impact: it isn’t just a digital issue, it’s linked to poor health outcomes, falling public trust, and significant societal harm. [...]
Our study has lessons for public figures and institutions. They, especially politicians, must lead in curbing misinformation, as their misleading statements are quickly amplified by the public. Social media and mainstream media also play an important role in limiting the circulation of misinformation. As Australians increasingly rely on social media for news, mainstream media can provide credible information and counter misinformation through their online story posts. Digital platforms can also curb algorithmic spread and remove dangerous content that leads to real-world harms. The study offers evidence of a change over time in audiences’ news consumption patterns. Whether this is due to news avoidance or changes in algorithmic promotion is unclear. But it is clear that from 2016 to 2024, online audiences increasingly engaged with arts, lifestyle and celebrity news over politics, leading media outlets to prioritize posting stories that entertain rather than inform. This shift may pose a challenge to mitigating misinformation with hard news facts. Finally, the study shows that fact-checking, while valuable, is not a silver bullet. Combating misinformation requires a multi-pronged approach, including counter-messaging by trusted civic leaders, media and digital literacy campaigns, and public restraint in sharing unverified content.
Our study has lessons for public figures and institutions. They, especially politicians, must lead in curbing misinformation, as their misleading statements are quickly amplified by the public. Social media and mainstream media also play an important role in limiting the circulation of misinformation. As Australians increasingly rely on social media for news, mainstream media can provide credible information and counter misinformation through their online story posts. Digital platforms can also curb algorithmic spread and remove dangerous content that leads to real-world harms. The study offers evidence of a change over time in audiences’ news consumption patterns. Whether this is due to news avoidance or changes in algorithmic promotion is unclear. But it is clear that from 2016 to 2024, online audiences increasingly engaged with arts, lifestyle and celebrity news over politics, leading media outlets to prioritize posting stories that entertain rather than inform. This shift may pose a challenge to mitigating misinformation with hard news facts. Finally, the study shows that fact-checking, while valuable, is not a silver bullet. Combating misinformation requires a multi-pronged approach, including counter-messaging by trusted civic leaders, media and digital literacy campaigns, and public restraint in sharing unverified content.
Submission + - World's Oceans Fail Key Health Check As Acidity Crosses Critical Threshold (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The world’s oceans have failed a key planetary health check for the first time, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels, a report has shown. In its latest annual assessment, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said ocean acidity had crossed a critical threshold for marine life. This makes it the seventh of nine planetary boundaries to be transgressed, prompting scientists to call for a renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels, deforestation and other human-driven pressures that are tilting the Earth out of a habitable equilibrium. The report, which follows earlier warnings about ocean acidity, comes at a time of recordbreaking ocean heat and mass coral bleaching.
Oceans cover 71% of the Earth’s surface and play an essential role as a climate stabilizer. The new report calls them an “unsung guardian of planetary health”, but says their vital functions are threatened. The 2025 Planetary Health Check noted that since the start of the industrial era, oceans’ surface pH has fallen by about 0.1 units, a 30-40% increase in acidity, pushing marine ecosystems beyond safe limits. Cold-water corals, tropical coral reefs and Arctic marine life are especially at risk. This is primarily due to the human-caused climate crisis. When carbon dioxide from oil, coal and gas burning enters the sea, it forms carbonic acid. This reduces the availability of calcium carbonate, which many marine organisms depend upon to grow coral, shells or skeletons.
Near the bottom of the food chain, this directly affects species like oysters, molluscs and clams. Indirectly, it harms salmon, whales and other sea life that eat smaller organisms. Ultimately, this is a risk for human food security and coastal economies. Scientists are concerned that it could also weaken the ocean’s role as the planet’s most important heat absorber and its capacity to draw down 25-30% of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Marine life plays an important role in this process, acting as a “biotic bump” to sequester carbon in the depths. In the report, all of the other six breached boundaries – climate change, biosphere integrity, land system change, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows, and novel entities – showed a worsening trend. But the authors said the addition of the only solely ocean-centred category was a alarming development because of its scale and importance.
Oceans cover 71% of the Earth’s surface and play an essential role as a climate stabilizer. The new report calls them an “unsung guardian of planetary health”, but says their vital functions are threatened. The 2025 Planetary Health Check noted that since the start of the industrial era, oceans’ surface pH has fallen by about 0.1 units, a 30-40% increase in acidity, pushing marine ecosystems beyond safe limits. Cold-water corals, tropical coral reefs and Arctic marine life are especially at risk. This is primarily due to the human-caused climate crisis. When carbon dioxide from oil, coal and gas burning enters the sea, it forms carbonic acid. This reduces the availability of calcium carbonate, which many marine organisms depend upon to grow coral, shells or skeletons.
Near the bottom of the food chain, this directly affects species like oysters, molluscs and clams. Indirectly, it harms salmon, whales and other sea life that eat smaller organisms. Ultimately, this is a risk for human food security and coastal economies. Scientists are concerned that it could also weaken the ocean’s role as the planet’s most important heat absorber and its capacity to draw down 25-30% of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Marine life plays an important role in this process, acting as a “biotic bump” to sequester carbon in the depths. In the report, all of the other six breached boundaries – climate change, biosphere integrity, land system change, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows, and novel entities – showed a worsening trend. But the authors said the addition of the only solely ocean-centred category was a alarming development because of its scale and importance.
Submission + - European Windows 10 users get 1 year free security with less strings attached (tweakers.net)
An anonymous reader writes: In response to pressure from European consumer organizations Microsoft has agreed to scrap conditions/terms for the two free options that consumers have to receive one year of Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows 10. This applies to consumers in the European Economic Area. Euroconsumers, Testaankoop (in Belgium) and Microsoft (in the Netherlands) confirm this now:
https://tweakers.net/nieuws/23...
https://tweakers.net/nieuws/23...
Submission + - Toyota sued for selling telematic data to insurance (insurancejournal.com)
sinij writes:
A federal class action lawsuit filed this week in Texas accused Toyota and an affiliated telematics aggregator of unlawfully collecting driversâ(TM) information and then selling that data to Progressive.
It seems like car manufacturers cannot resist selling telematics (driving data) from connected cars to all kinds of third parties.
Comment Re:How about workslop from management? (Score 2) 48
They just weren't leveraging the team's core competencies to proactively align with their public-facing stealth goals.
Comment Re:How about workslop from management? (Score 3, Funny) 48
Expecting AI to slow the tide of slop is expecting the AI providers to fight themselves.
It's like trying to extinguish an oil fire by throwing aviation gas on it.
Comment Re:How about workslop from management? (Score 2) 48
Wait, it is possible to receive management content that has substance in it?
I've heard of such a thing repeatedly over my 50+ years in the workforce but I've never actually seen it in the wild.
Submission + - When the sun sets off Nantucket, some residents start seeing red (archive.is)
An anonymous reader writes: NANTUCKET — Ahhh, September on Nantucket, the best month of the year.
The traffic backups are gone, the locals are chill, the fish are still biting.
The stunning nature is soothing. The cool nights are great for throwing the windows open and listening to the lullaby of breaking waves.
But now some people here are seeing red. Literally. Right from the same Madaket Beach where they watch those spectacular sunsets over Nantucket Sound.
Vineyard Wind has 62 wind turbines planned for 15 miles southwest of the island. Seventeen are already operating, the company said.
Each one is 812 feet tall, nearly 22 times the size of the Green Monster at Fenway Park. Each blade is the size of a football field.
On clear nights, the blinking red lights make it look like Logan Airport.
“I don’t like all this mess out on the horizon, all the flashing red lights each night,” says one fisherman, who asked that he not be named.
“When you come out here you expect peace and serenity and it’s flashing lights out there, it just messes with your psyche.”
The traffic backups are gone, the locals are chill, the fish are still biting.
The stunning nature is soothing. The cool nights are great for throwing the windows open and listening to the lullaby of breaking waves.
But now some people here are seeing red. Literally. Right from the same Madaket Beach where they watch those spectacular sunsets over Nantucket Sound.
Vineyard Wind has 62 wind turbines planned for 15 miles southwest of the island. Seventeen are already operating, the company said.
Each one is 812 feet tall, nearly 22 times the size of the Green Monster at Fenway Park. Each blade is the size of a football field.
On clear nights, the blinking red lights make it look like Logan Airport.
“I don’t like all this mess out on the horizon, all the flashing red lights each night,” says one fisherman, who asked that he not be named.
“When you come out here you expect peace and serenity and it’s flashing lights out there, it just messes with your psyche.”
Submission + - Vietnam Shuts Down Millions of Bank Accounts Over Biometric Rules (icobench.com)
schwit1 writes: As of September 1, 2025, banks across Vietnam are closing accounts deemed inactive or non-compliant with new biometric rules. Authorities estimate that more than 86 million accounts out of roughly 200 million are at risk if users fail to update their identity verification.
The State Bank of Vietnam has also introduced stricter thresholds for transactions:
The State Bank of Vietnam has also introduced stricter thresholds for transactions:
- Facial authentication is mandatory for online transfers above 10 million VND (about $379).
- Cumulative daily transfers over 20 million VND ($758) also require biometric approval.
The policy is part of the central bank’s broader “cashless” strategy, aimed at combating fraud, identity theft, and deepfake-enabled scams.
As one person commented
If users don't comply by the 30th they'll lose their money. This is why we bitcoin.
Submission + - Google launches "Learn Your Way" (x.com)
schwit1 writes: This is going to revolutionize education
Google just launched "Learn Your Way" that basically takes whatever boring chapter you're supposed to read and rebuilds it around stuff you actually give a damn about.
Like if you're into basketball and have to learn Newton's laws, suddenly all the examples are about dribbling and shooting. Art kid studying economics? Now it's all gallery auctions and art markets.
Here's what got me though. They didn't just find-and-replace examples like most "personalized" learning crap does. The AI actually generates different ways to consume the same information:
- Mind maps if you think visually
- Audio lessons with these weird simulated teacher conversations
- Timelines you can click around
- Quizzes that change based on what you're screwing up
They tested this on 60 high schoolers. Random assignment, proper study design. Kids using their system absolutely destroyed the regular textbook group on both immediate testing and when they came back three days later.
Every single one said it made them more confident.
The part that surprised me? They actually solved the accuracy problem. Most ed-tech either dumbs everything down to nothing or gets basic facts wrong.
Google just launched "Learn Your Way" that basically takes whatever boring chapter you're supposed to read and rebuilds it around stuff you actually give a damn about.
Like if you're into basketball and have to learn Newton's laws, suddenly all the examples are about dribbling and shooting. Art kid studying economics? Now it's all gallery auctions and art markets.
Here's what got me though. They didn't just find-and-replace examples like most "personalized" learning crap does. The AI actually generates different ways to consume the same information:
- Mind maps if you think visually
- Audio lessons with these weird simulated teacher conversations
- Timelines you can click around
- Quizzes that change based on what you're screwing up
They tested this on 60 high schoolers. Random assignment, proper study design. Kids using their system absolutely destroyed the regular textbook group on both immediate testing and when they came back three days later.
Every single one said it made them more confident.
The part that surprised me? They actually solved the accuracy problem. Most ed-tech either dumbs everything down to nothing or gets basic facts wrong.
Submission + - EU policymakers finally plan to fix the cookie banner nightmare they created (techspot.com) 1
jjslash writes: The European Commission is drafting amendments to the ePrivacy Directive to reduce the constant flood of cookie consent banners. Currently, websites must get explicit permission and clearly explain their data practices, leading to widespread banner fatigue. Critics argue that this overuse has backfired, with most users clicking “accept” without reading, undermining privacy protections and awareness.
More than a decade ago, Europe rewrote internet rules which effectively forced the entire internet to adopt stricter rules on cookie consent by amending the ePrivacy Directive. Since 2009, from big tech giants, to small personal blogs, and virtually any internet-based organization had to display a "cookie banner" to first-time visitors. Collectively, European users spend an estimated 575 hours every year clicking through those pesky prompts.
Submission + - Criminals use portable SMS blasters to flood phones with phishing texts (techspot.com)
jjslash writes:
Cybercriminals are increasingly using portable devices known as SMS blasters to flood phones with fraudulent text messages, marking a shift in how large-scale phishing scams are carried out. Instead of relying on lists of numbers and automated delivery systems routed through mobile networks, criminals have begun installing fake cell towers in cars or backpacks to beam scam texts directly to nearby phones. These devices, often disguised inside vehicles, impersonate cellular base stations and force surrounding phones into insecure connections.
The trend is a turning point, according to Cathal Mc Daid, VP of technology at telecommunications and cybersecurity firm Enea. "This is essentially the first time that we have seen large-scale use of mobile radio-transmitting devices by criminal groups," Mc Daid told Wired.
Submission + - We Emit a Visible Light That Vanishes When We Die, Says Surprising Study (sciencealert.com)
alternative_right writes: An extraordinary experiment on mice and leaves from two different plant species has uncovered direct physical evidence of an eerie 'biophoton' phenomenon ceasing on death, suggesting all living things – including humans – could literally glow with health, until we don't.
Submission + - How Signal's CEO Remembers SignalGate: 'No Fucking Way' (wired.com)
echo123 writes: The Signal Foundation president recalls where she was when she heard Trump cabinet officials had added a journalist to a highly sensitive group chat.
...In fact, Signal’s user numbers grew by leaps and bounds, both in the US and around the world. It’s growth that, Whittaker thinks, is coming at a time when “people are feeling in a much deeper, much more personal way why privacy might be important.”
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