Google is using AI to help The New York Times digitize 5 million historical photos

The New York Times doesn’t keep bodies in its “morgue” — it keeps pictures. In a basement under its Times Square office, stuffed into cabinets and drawers, the Times stores between 5 million and 7 million images, along with information about when they were published and why. Now, the paper is working with Google to Read more about Google is using AI to help The New York Times digitize 5 million historical photos[…]

The US Military Just Publicly Dumped Russian Government Malware Online

This week, US Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), a part of the military tasked with hacking and cybersecurity focused missions, started publicly releasing unclassified samples of adversaries’ malware it has discovered. CYBERCOM says the move is to improve information sharing among the cybersecurity community, but in some ways it could be seen as a signal to those Read more about The US Military Just Publicly Dumped Russian Government Malware Online[…]

OpenAI releases learning site for Reinforcement Learning: Spinning Up in Deep RL!

Welcome to Spinning Up in Deep RL! This is an educational resource produced by OpenAI that makes it easier to learn about deep reinforcement learning (deep RL). For the unfamiliar: reinforcement learning (RL) is a machine learning approach for teaching agents how to solve tasks by trial and error. Deep RL refers to the combination Read more about OpenAI releases learning site for Reinforcement Learning: Spinning Up in Deep RL![…]

Artificial intelligence predicts Alzheimer’s years before diagnosis

Timely diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is extremely important, as treatments and interventions are more effective early in the course of the disease. However, early diagnosis has proven to be challenging. Research has linked the disease process to changes in metabolism, as shown by glucose uptake in certain regions of the brain, but these changes can Read more about Artificial intelligence predicts Alzheimer’s years before diagnosis[…]

Apple Blocks Linux From Booting and makes Windows hard to boot On New Hardware With T2 Security Chip

Apple’s new-generation Macs come with a new so-called Apple T2 security chip that’s supposed to provide a secure enclave co-processor responsible for powering a series of security features, including Touch ID. At the same time, this security chip enables the secure boot feature on Apple’s computers, and by the looks of things, it’s also responsible Read more about Apple Blocks Linux From Booting and makes Windows hard to boot On New Hardware With T2 Security Chip[…]

Virtualbox 0-day posted because Oracle won’t update, allows you to execute on the underlying server

I like VirtualBox and it has nothing to do with why I publish a 0day vulnerability. The reason is my disagreement with contemporary state of infosec, especially of security research and bug bounty: Wait half a year until a vulnerability is patched is considered fine. In the bug bounty field these are considered fine: Wait Read more about Virtualbox 0-day posted because Oracle won’t update, allows you to execute on the underlying server[…]

Card Fraud on the Rise, Despite on card chip Adoption

As we have passed the three-year anniversary of the US EMV migration deadline, it is evident that the majority of financial institutions were successful in providing their customers with new EMV enabled cards. However, contrary to the prevailing logic, migration to the EMV did not eradicate the card-present fraud. Of more than 60 million payment Read more about Card Fraud on the Rise, Despite on card chip Adoption[…]

Why Big Tech pays poor Kenyans to teach self-driving cars

Each day, Brenda leaves her home here to catch a bus to the east side of Nairobi where she, along with more than 1,000 colleagues in the same building, work hard on a side of artificial intelligence we hear little about – and see even less. In her eight-hour shift, she creates training data. Information Read more about Why Big Tech pays poor Kenyans to teach self-driving cars[…]

These Animated AI Bots Learned to Dress Themselves, Awkwardly

The ability to put our clothes on each day is something most of us take for granted, but as computer scientists from Georgia Institute of Technology recently found out, it’s a surprisingly complicated task—even for artificial intelligence. As any toddler will gladly tell you, it’s not easy to dress oneself. It requires patience, physical dexterity, Read more about These Animated AI Bots Learned to Dress Themselves, Awkwardly[…]

Chinese ‘gait recognition’ tech IDs people by how they walk

Chinese authorities have begun deploying a new surveillance tool: “gait recognition” software that uses people’s body shapes and how they walk to identify them, even when their faces are hidden from cameras. Already used by police on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai, “gait recognition” is part of a push across China to develop artificial-intelligence Read more about Chinese ‘gait recognition’ tech IDs people by how they walk[…]

Dutch cops hope to cuff ‘hundreds’ of suspects after snatching server, snooping on 250,000+ encrypted IronChat texts

Dutch police claim to have snooped on more than a quarter of a million encrypted messages sent between alleged miscreants using BlackBox IronPhones. The extraordinary claim was made in a press conference on Tuesday, in which officers working on a money-laundering investigation reckoned they had been able to see crims chatting “live for some time.” Read more about Dutch cops hope to cuff ‘hundreds’ of suspects after snatching server, snooping on 250,000+ encrypted IronChat texts[…]

AINED looks at a Dutch national AI strategy – calls for info (Dutch)

De initiatiefnemers van AINED ontwikkelen met ondersteuning van de Boston Consulting Group (BCG) en DenkWerk een Nationale Strategie Artificial Intelligence (AI) voor Nederland, geïnitieerd door het Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat. Het projectteam doet dit vanuit de overtuiging dat in het Nederlandse landschap de mogelijkheden van AI nog te weinig worden benut, en de Read more about AINED looks at a Dutch national AI strategy – calls for info (Dutch)[…]

Old School ‘Sniffing’ Attacks Can Still Reveal Your Browsing History to any old website

Most modern browsers—such as Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, and even browsers such as FuzzyFox and DeterFox (different, security-focused versions of Firefox)—have vulnerabilities that allow hosts of malicious websites to extract hundreds to thousands of URLs in a user’s web history, per new research from the University of California San Diego. What’s worse, the vulnerabilities are Read more about Old School ‘Sniffing’ Attacks Can Still Reveal Your Browsing History to any old website[…]

20th Century Fox is using AI to analyze movie trailers and find out what films audiences will like

Machine learning is, at heart, the art of finding patterns in data. That’s why businesses love it. Patterns help predict the future, and predicting the future is a great way to make money. It’s sometimes unclear how these things fit together, but here’s a perfect example from film studio 20th Century Fox, which is using Read more about 20th Century Fox is using AI to analyze movie trailers and find out what films audiences will like[…]

Solid state of fear: Euro boffins bust open SSD, Bitlocker encryption (it’s really, really dumb)

Fundamental flaws in the encryption system used by popular solid-state drives (SSDs) can be exploited by miscreants to easily decrypt data, once they’ve got their hands on the equipment. A paper [PDF] drawn up by researchers Carlo Meijer and Bernard van Gastel at Radboud University in the Netherlands, and made public today, describes these critical Read more about Solid state of fear: Euro boffins bust open SSD, Bitlocker encryption (it’s really, really dumb)[…]

Facebook releases Horizon, a reinforcement learning platform

Horizon is an open source end-to-end platform for applied reinforcement learning (RL) developed and used at Facebook. Horizon is built in Python and uses PyTorch for modeling and training and Caffe2 for model serving. The platform contains workflows to train popular deep RL algorithms and includes data preprocessing, feature transformation, distributed training, counterfactual policy evaluation, Read more about Facebook releases Horizon, a reinforcement learning platform[…]

Palau plans sunscreen ban to save coral

A spokesman for President Tommy Remengesau said there was scientific evidence that the chemicals found in most sunscreens are toxic to corals, even in minute doses. He said Palau’s dive sites typically hosted about four boats an hour packed with tourists, leading to concerns a build-up of chemicals could see the reefs reach tipping point. Read more about Palau plans sunscreen ban to save coral[…]

FlexPai is the world’s first phone with fully foldable screen: 4″ 2 sided phone or 7.8″ tablet

The first foldable phone is a reality – the FlexPai. Well, it’s actually a tablet as unfolded it boasts a 7.8” screen (4:3 aspect ratio). Folded, that drops to a more manageable 4”. And get this, this device is the first to use the 7nm Snapdragon 8150! Back to the screen, it’s an AMOLED that Read more about FlexPai is the world’s first phone with fully foldable screen: 4″ 2 sided phone or 7.8″ tablet[…]

The CIA’s communications suffered a catastrophic compromise through Google scraping, killing ~30 agents

From around 2009 to 2013, the U.S. intelligence community experienced crippling intelligence failures related to the secret internet-based communications system, a key means for remote messaging between CIA officers and their sources on the ground worldwide. The previously unreported global problem originated in Iran and spiderwebbed to other countries, and was left unrepaired — despite Read more about The CIA’s communications suffered a catastrophic compromise through Google scraping, killing ~30 agents[…]

NVIDIA Launches Year-Long Research Residency Program

If you’re a researcher looking to deepen your exposure to AI, NVIDIA invites you to apply to its new AI Research Residency program. During the one-year, paid program, residents will be paired with an NVIDIA research scientist on a joint project and have the opportunity to publish and present their findings at prominent research conferences Read more about NVIDIA Launches Year-Long Research Residency Program[…]

Google AI offering a share of $25m for social AI ideas

Google.org is issuing an open call to organizations around the world to submit their ideas for how they could use AI to help address societal challenges. Selected organizations will receive support from Google’s AI experts, Google.org grant funding from a $25M pool, credit and consulting from Google Cloud, and more. Source: Impact Challenge – Google Read more about Google AI offering a share of $25m for social AI ideas[…]

It’s Kind of Brilliant How This Dual-Screen Smartphone Avoids the Notch

Created by Chinese smartphone company Nubia (which is partially owned by ZTE), the Nubia X solves the problem of where to put the selfie cam on an all-screen phone by dodging the question entirely. That’s because instead of using the main 6.1-inch LCD screen and a front-facing camera to take selfies, you can simply flip Read more about It’s Kind of Brilliant How This Dual-Screen Smartphone Avoids the Notch[…]

Flex Logix Says It’s Solved Deep Learning’s DRAM Problem

Deep learning has a DRAM problem. Systems designed to do difficult things in real time, such as telling a cat from a kid in a car’s backup camera video stream, are continuously shuttling the data that makes up the neural network’s guts from memory to the processor. The problem, according to startup Flex Logix, isn’t Read more about Flex Logix Says It’s Solved Deep Learning’s DRAM Problem[…]

Experimental AI lie detector will help screen EU travelers

In the future, you might talk to an AI to cross borders in the European Union. The EU and Hungary’s National Police will run a six-month pilot project, iBorderCtrl, that will help screen travelers in Hungary, Greece and Latvia. The system will have you upload photos of your passport, visa and proof of funds, and Read more about Experimental AI lie detector will help screen EU travelers[…]

Empathetic machines favored by skeptics but might creep out believers

Most people would appreciate a chatbot that offers sympathetic or empathetic responses, according to a team of researchers, but they added that reaction may rely on how comfortable the person is with the idea of a feeling machine. In a study, the researchers reported that people preferred receiving sympathetic and empathetic responses from a chatbot—a Read more about Empathetic machines favored by skeptics but might creep out believers[…]