Month: September 2021

A developer used GPT-3 to build realistic custom personality AI chatbots. OpenAI shut it down. Wants content filters, privacy invasions and inability to model personalities.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“OpenAI is the company running the text completion engine that makes you possible,” Jason Rohrer, an indie games developer, typed out in a message to Samantha. She was a chatbot he built using OpenAI’s GPT-3 technology. Her software had grown to be used by thousands of people, including one man who used the program to Read more about A developer used GPT-3 to build realistic custom personality AI chatbots. OpenAI shut it down. Wants content filters, privacy invasions and inability to model personalities.[…]

Imaginary numbers help AIs solve the very real problem of adversarial imagery • The Register

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Boffins from Duke University say they have figured out a way to help protect artificial intelligences from adversarial image-modification attacks: by throwing a few imaginary numbers their way. […] The problem with reliability: adversarial attacks which modify the input imagery in a way imperceptible to the human eye. In an example from a 2015 paper Read more about Imaginary numbers help AIs solve the very real problem of adversarial imagery • The Register[…]

Wooden floors laced with silicon generate electricity from footsteps

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Wooden floors infused with silicon and metal ions can generate enough electrical power from human footsteps to light LED bulbs. Researchers hope that they could provide a green energy source for homes. Some materials can generate an electrical charge when they come into contact with another such material and are then separated, due to a Read more about Wooden floors laced with silicon generate electricity from footsteps[…]

Masks Lead to Less Covid-19, Massive Study Finds

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An enormous randomized trial of communities in Bangladesh seems to provide the clearest evidence yet that regular mask-wearing can impede the spread of the covid-19 pandemic. The study found that villages where masks were highly promoted and became more popular experienced noticeably lower rates of covid-like symptoms and confirmed past infections than villages where mask-wearing Read more about Masks Lead to Less Covid-19, Massive Study Finds[…]

FTC bans spyware maker SpyFone, and orders it to notify hacked victims

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Federal Trade Commission has unanimously voted to ban the spyware maker SpyFone and its chief executive Scott Zuckerman from the surveillance industry, the first order of its kind, after the agency accused the company of harvesting mobile data on thousands of people and leaving it on the open internet. The agency said SpyFone “secretly Read more about FTC bans spyware maker SpyFone, and orders it to notify hacked victims[…]

WhatsApp fined over $260M for EU privacy violations, failng to explain how data is shared with Facebook

Posted on by Robin Edgar

WhatsApp didn’t fully explain to Europeans how it uses their data as called for by EU privacy law, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said on Thursday. The regulator hit the messaging app with a fine of 225 million euros, about $267 million. Partly at issue is how WhatsApp share information with parent company Facebook, according to the commission. Read more about WhatsApp fined over $260M for EU privacy violations, failng to explain how data is shared with Facebook[…]

EU Bolsters Net Neutrality With Ruling Against Zero Rating

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The European Union’s top court has flipped the bird to German mobile network operators Telekom Deutschland and Vodafone, ruling in two separate judgements that their practice of exempting certain services from data caps violated the bloc’s net neutrality rules. “Zero rating” is when service providers offer customers plans that exempt certain data-consuming services (be it Read more about EU Bolsters Net Neutrality With Ruling Against Zero Rating[…]

Sky Broadband sends Subscribers browsing data through to Premier League without user knowledge or consent

Posted on by Robin Edgar

UK ISP Sky Broadband is monitoring the IP addresses of servers suspected of streaming pirated content to subscribers and supplying that data to an anti-piracy company working with the Premier League. That inside knowledge is then processed and used to create blocklists used by the country’s leading ISPs, to prevent subscribers from watching pirated events. Read more about Sky Broadband sends Subscribers browsing data through to Premier League without user knowledge or consent[…]

Gift Card Gang Extracts Cash From 100k Inboxes Daily

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Some of the most successful and lucrative online scams employ a “low-and-slow” approach — avoiding detection or interference from researchers and law enforcement agencies by stealing small bits of cash from many people over an extended period. Here’s the story of a cybercrime group that compromises up to 100,000 email inboxes per day, and apparently Read more about Gift Card Gang Extracts Cash From 100k Inboxes Daily[…]

Apple stalls CSAM auto-scan on devices after ‘feedback’ from everyone on Earth – will still scan all your pics at some point

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple on Friday said it intends to delay the introduction of its plan to commandeer customers’ own devices to scan their iCloud-bound photos for illegal child exploitation imagery, a concession to the broad backlash that followed from the initiative. “Previously we announced plans for features intended to help protect children from predators who use communication Read more about Apple stalls CSAM auto-scan on devices after ‘feedback’ from everyone on Earth – will still scan all your pics at some point[…]

Lenovo pops up tips on its tablets. And by tips, Lenovo means: Unacceptable ads

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Lenovo has come under fire for the Tips application on its tablets, which has been likened to indelible adware that forces folks to view ads. One customer took to the manufacturer’s support forum late last month to say they were somewhat miffed to see an ad suddenly appear on screen to join Amazon Music on Read more about Lenovo pops up tips on its tablets. And by tips, Lenovo means: Unacceptable ads[…]

A New Navy Weapon Actually Stops You From Talking

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The U.S. Navy has successfully invented a special electronic device that is designed to stop people from talking. A form of non-lethal weapon, the new electronic device effectively repeats a speaker’s own voice back at them, and only them, while they attempt to talk. It was developed, and patented back in 2019 but has only Read more about A New Navy Weapon Actually Stops You From Talking[…]

Huge GTA San Andreas Mod Because Of Take-Two Harassment

Posted on by Robin Edgar

After months of Take-Two Interactive attacking and fighting GTA modders, the folks behind the long-in-development San Andreas mod, GTA Underground, have killed the project and removed it from the web over “increasing hostility” from Take-Two and fears of further legal problems. Over the last few months, Take-Two Interactive — the parent company of GTA devs Read more about Huge GTA San Andreas Mod Because Of Take-Two Harassment[…]

Judge Says an AI Can’t Be Listed as an Inventor on a Patent because they are not people

Posted on by Robin Edgar

U.S. federal judge Leonie Brikema ruled this week that an AI can’t be listed as an inventor on a U.S. patent under current law. The case was brought forward by Stephen Thaler, who is part of the Artificial Inventor Project, an international initiative that argues that an AI should be allowed to be listed as Read more about Judge Says an AI Can’t Be Listed as an Inventor on a Patent because they are not people[…]

Gorgeous Hand-Drawn Game Guides Kickstarter Cancelled By Nintendo – copyright is seriously broken

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Hand-Drawn Game Guides creator Philip Summers knew it was a legal risk to launch his gorgeous, story book-style Nintendo game guides on Kickstarter, but it was a risk he was willing to take. When you pour through all the gorgeous artwork of his unofficial Metroid, Contra, Ninja Gaiden and Legend of Zelda guides, you can Read more about Gorgeous Hand-Drawn Game Guides Kickstarter Cancelled By Nintendo – copyright is seriously broken[…]

Reddit offers a non-response to uproar over COVID-19 misinformation

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Reddit has finally cracked down on COVID-19 misinformation following growing calls to act, although it probably won’t satisfy many of its critics. The social site has banned r/NoNewNormal and quarantined 54 other COVID-19 denial subreddits, but not over the false claims themselves. Instead, it’s for abuse — NoNewNormal was caught brigading en masse (that is, Read more about Reddit offers a non-response to uproar over COVID-19 misinformation[…]

Texan Anti-Abortion Snitching Site Violates GoDaddy’s Rules – help bring it down

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Even if you don’t live in Texas, you’ve likely heard about the state’s draconian abortion restrictions that officially went into effect on Wednesday. The so-called “Heartbeat Bill,” aka Senate Bill 8, makes it fully illegal for anyone—friends, family, doctors—across Texas to help women access an abortion in the state after their sixth week of pregnancy. Read more about Texan Anti-Abortion Snitching Site Violates GoDaddy’s Rules – help bring it down[…]

The New Science of Clocks Prompts Questions About the Nature of Time, finds limits for their accuracy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“It occurred to us that actually a clock is a thermal machine,”[…]Like an engine, a clock harnesses the flow of energy to do work, producing exhaust in the process. Engines use energy to propel; clocks use it to tick. Over the past five years, through studies of the simplest conceivable clocks, the researchers have discovered Read more about The New Science of Clocks Prompts Questions About the Nature of Time, finds limits for their accuracy[…]

CDC shares 8 new charts that show how powerful Pfizer’s vaccine is against COVID-19 and the Delta variant

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is now not only approved for everyone over 16 years old, it’s recommended. On Monday, an independent advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously to support recommending the vaccine. The decision of those 14 experts was based on overwhelming evidence that Pfizer’s 2-shot immunization, named Comirnaty, which Read more about CDC shares 8 new charts that show how powerful Pfizer’s vaccine is against COVID-19 and the Delta variant[…]

Docker Desktop no longer free for large companies: New ‘Business’ subscription is here

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Docker will restrict use of the free version of its Docker Desktop utility to individuals or small businesses, and has introduced a new more expensive subscription, as it searches for a sustainable business model. The company has renamed its Free plan to “Personal” and now requires that businesses with 250 or more employees, or higher Read more about Docker Desktop no longer free for large companies: New ‘Business’ subscription is here[…]

Reddit’s turns anti-vaxx says it’s teaching a controvesy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Over 135 subreddits have gone dark this week in protest of Reddit’s refusal to ban communities that spread misinformation about the COVID pandemic and vaccines. Subreddits that went private include two with 10 million or more subscribers, namely r/Futurology and r/TIFU. The PokemonGo community is one of 15 other subreddits with at least 1 million subscribers Read more about Reddit’s turns anti-vaxx says it’s teaching a controvesy[…]

Australia: Unprecedented surveillance bill rushed through parliament in 24 hours.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Australian government has been moving towards a surveillance state for some years already. Now they are putting the nail in the coffin with an unprecedented surveillance bill that allows the police to hack your device, collect or delete your data, and take over your social media accounts; without sufficient safeguards to prevent abuse of Read more about Australia: Unprecedented surveillance bill rushed through parliament in 24 hours.[…]