Month: January 2023

ChatGPT: Study shows AI can produce academic papers good enough for journals – just as some ban it

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Some of the world’s biggest academic journal publishers have banned or curbed their authors from using the advanced chatbot, ChatGPT. Because the bot uses information from the internet to produce highly readable answers to questions, the publishers are worried that inaccurate or plagiarized work could enter the pages of academic literature. Several researchers have already Read more about ChatGPT: Study shows AI can produce academic papers good enough for journals – just as some ban it[…]

MusicLM generates music from text descriptions – pretty awesome

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We introduce MusicLM, a model generating high-fidelity music from text descriptions such as “a calming violin melody backed by a distorted guitar riff”. MusicLM casts the process of conditional music generation as a hierarchical sequence-to-sequence modeling task, and it generates music at 24 kHz that remains consistent over several minutes. Our experiments show that MusicLM Read more about MusicLM generates music from text descriptions – pretty awesome[…]

An ALS patient set a record communicating through a brain implant: 62 words per minute

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Eight years ago, a patient lost her power of speech because of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, which causes progressive paralysis. She can still make sounds, but her words have become unintelligible, leaving her reliant on a writing board or iPad to communicate. Now, after volunteering to receive a brain implant, the woman has been Read more about An ALS patient set a record communicating through a brain implant: 62 words per minute[…]

This teacher has adopted ChatGPT into the syllabus

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Ever since the chatbot ChatGPT launched in November, educators have raised concerns it could facilitate cheating. Some school districts have banned access to the bot, and not without reason. The artificial intelligence tool from the company OpenAI can compose poetry. It can write computer code. It can maybe even pass an MBA exam. One Read more about This teacher has adopted ChatGPT into the syllabus[…]

ChatGPT Is Now Finding, Fixing Bugs in Code

Posted on by Robin Edgar

AI bot ChatGPT has been put to the test on a number of tasks in recent weeks, and its latest challenge comes courtesy of computer science researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University and University College London, who find(Opens in a new window) that ChatGPT can weed out errors with sample code and fix it better than Read more about ChatGPT Is Now Finding, Fixing Bugs in Code[…]

How The Friedman Doctrine Leads To The Enshittification Of All Things

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We recently wrote about Cory Doctorow’s great article on how the “enshittification” of social media (mainly Facebook and Twitter) was helping to lower the “switching costs” for people to try something new. In something of a follow up-piece on his Pluralistic site, Doctorow explores the process through which basically all large companies eventually hit the Read more about How The Friedman Doctrine Leads To The Enshittification Of All Things[…]

Dutch hacker obtained, sold virtually all Austrians’ (and Dutch and Colombian?) personal data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A Dutch hacker arrested in November obtained and offered for sale the full name, address and date of birth of virtually everyone in Austria, the Alpine nation’s police said on Wednesday. A user believed to be the hacker offered the data for sale in an online forum in May 2020, presenting it as “the full Read more about Dutch hacker obtained, sold virtually all Austrians’ (and Dutch and Colombian?) personal data[…]

An AI robot lawyer was set to argue in court. Scared lawyers shut it down with jail threats

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A British man who planned to have a “robot lawyer” help a defendant fight a traffic ticket has dropped the effort after receiving threats of possible prosecution and jail time. Joshua Browder, the CEO of the New York-based startup DoNotPay, created a way for people contesting traffic tickets to use arguments in court generated by Read more about An AI robot lawyer was set to argue in court. Scared lawyers shut it down with jail threats[…]

Wearable Ultrasound Patch size of a stamp Images the Heart in Real-Time

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A wearable ultrasound imager for the heart that is roughly the size of a postage stamp, can be worn for up to 24 hours, and works even during exercise may one day help doctors spot cardiac problems that current medical technology might miss, a new study finds. Heart disease is the leading cause of death Read more about Wearable Ultrasound Patch size of a stamp Images the Heart in Real-Time[…]

Pet food retailer Zooplus hits out at Royal Canin’s ‘excessive’ price increases – and offers customers 10% off its competitors

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Customers have been reporting steep price increases across a number of items from Royal Canin – with one saying her food had increased by £15 for a 10kg bag in less than a year. Zooplus, an online pet food seller that stocks Royal Canin – among other brands – said it did not want Read more about Pet food retailer Zooplus hits out at Royal Canin’s ‘excessive’ price increases – and offers customers 10% off its competitors[…]

Meta’s WhatsApp fined 5.5 mln euro by lead EU privacy regulator

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Meta’s (META.O) WhatsApp subsidiary was fined 5.5 million euros ($5.95 million) on Thursday by Ireland’s Data Privacy Commissioner (DPC), its lead EU privacy regulator, for an additional breach of the bloc’s privacy laws. The DPC also told WhatsApp to reassess how it uses personal data for service improvements following a similar order it issued this Read more about Meta’s WhatsApp fined 5.5 mln euro by lead EU privacy regulator[…]

Microsoft rummages through your PC to look at Office installs

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft wants to know how many out-of-support copies of Office are installed on Windows PCs, and it intends to find out by pushing a patch through Microsoft Update that it swears is safe, not that you asked. Quietly mentioned in a support post this week, update KB5021751 is targeting versions of Office “including” 2007 and Read more about Microsoft rummages through your PC to look at Office installs[…]

Up to 925000 Norton LifeLock Accounts Targeted in credential stuffing attack

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Thousands of people who use Norton password manager began receiving emailed notices this month alerting them that an unauthorized party may have gained access to their personal information along with the passwords they have stored in their vaults. Gen Digital, Norton’s parent company, said the security incident was the result of a credential-stuffing attack rather Read more about Up to 925000 Norton LifeLock Accounts Targeted in credential stuffing attack[…]

Google Accused of Creating Digital Ad Monopoly in New Justice Dept. Suit

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Google Tuesday, accusing the tech giant of using its market power to create a monopoly in the digital advertising business over the course of 15 years. Google “corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide Read more about Google Accused of Creating Digital Ad Monopoly in New Justice Dept. Suit[…]

Perfectly Good MacBooks From 2020 Are Being Sold for Scrap Because of Activation Lock

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Secondhand MacBooks that retailed for as much as $3,000 are being turned into parts because recyclers have no way to login and factory reset the machines, which are often just a couple years old. “How many of you out there would like a 2-year-old M1 MacBook? Well, too bad, because your local recycler just took Read more about Perfectly Good MacBooks From 2020 Are Being Sold for Scrap Because of Activation Lock[…]

Indian Android Users Can Finally Use Alternate Search and Payment Methods and forked Google apps

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Android users in India will soon have more control over their devices, thanks to a court ruling. Beginning next month, Indian Android wielders can choose a different billing system when paying for apps and in-app smartphone purchases rather than default to going through the Play Store. Google will also allow Indian users to select a Read more about Indian Android Users Can Finally Use Alternate Search and Payment Methods and forked Google apps[…]

Airline owned through open Jenkins and hardcoded AWS – TSA NoFly List found and exposed

Posted on by Robin Edgar

how to completely own an airline in 3 easy steps and grab the TSA nofly list along the way note: this is a slightly more technical* and comedic write up of the story covered by my friends over at dailydot, which you can read here *i say slightly since there isnt a whole lot of Read more about Airline owned through open Jenkins and hardcoded AWS – TSA NoFly List found and exposed[…]

US law enforcement has warrantless access to many money transfers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Your international money transfers might not be as discreet as you think. Senator Ron Wyden and The Wall Street Journal have learned that US law enforcement can access details of money transfers without a warrant through an obscure surveillance program the Arizona attorney general’s office created in 2014. A database stored at a nonprofit, the Read more about US law enforcement has warrantless access to many money transfers[…]

Locust antenna / AI driven cyborg can identify scents

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]In a study published Monday in the journal Biosensor and Bioelectronics, a group of researchers from Tel Aviv University (via Neuroscience News) said they recently created a robot that can identify a handful of smells with 10,000 times more sensitivity than some specialized electronics. They describe their robot as a bio-hybrid platform (read: cyborg). It Read more about Locust antenna / AI driven cyborg can identify scents[…]

Coating to protect spacecraft from heat and harvest sun energy developed

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]The research team working with Airbus at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute claims its nano-coating, referred to as a Multifunctional Nanobarrier Structure (MFNS), can be applied to the surfaces of equipment, including antennas, and it has been shown to be able to reduce the operating temperature of such surfaces from 120°C to 60°C Read more about Coating to protect spacecraft from heat and harvest sun energy developed[…]

Researchers Breed Naturally Flame-Resistant Cotton

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Chemical flame retardants can make us safer by preventing or slowing fires, but they’re linked to a range of unsettling health effects. To get around that concern, researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have bred a new population of cotton that can self-extinguish after encountering a flame. The team of scientists from the USDA’s Read more about Researchers Breed Naturally Flame-Resistant Cotton[…]

Revealed: more than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest provider Verra are worthless, may be damaging, analysis shows

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The forest carbon offsets approved by the world’s leading provider and used by Disney, Shell, Gucci and other big corporations are largely worthless and could make global heating worse, according to a new investigation. The research into Verra, the world’s leading carbon standard for the rapidly growing $2bn (£1.6bn) voluntary offsets market, has found that, Read more about Revealed: more than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest provider Verra are worthless, may be damaging, analysis shows[…]

DARPA’s New X-Plane Aims To Maneuver With Nothing But Bursts Of Air

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has moved into the next phase of its Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors program, or CRANE. The project is centered on an experimental uncrewed aircraft, which Aurora Flight Sciences is developing, that does not have traditional moving surfaces to control the aircraft in flight. Aurora Flight Sciences’ Read more about DARPA’s New X-Plane Aims To Maneuver With Nothing But Bursts Of Air[…]

This man used AI to write and illustrate a children’s book in one weekend. He wasn’t prepared for the backlash.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ammaar Reshi wrote and illustrated a children’s book in 72 hours using ChatGPT and Midjourney. The book went viral on Twitter after it was met with intense backlash from artists. Reshi said he respected the artists’ concerns but felt some of the anger was misdirected. Ammaar Reshi was reading a bedtime story to his friend’s Read more about This man used AI to write and illustrate a children’s book in one weekend. He wasn’t prepared for the backlash.[…]

High-powered lasers can be used to steer lightning strikes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] European researchers have successfully tested a system that uses terawatt-level laser pulses to steer lighting toward a 26-foot rod. It’s not limited by its physical height, and can cover much wider areas — in this case, 590 feet — while penetrating clouds and fog. The design ionizes nitrogen and oxygen molecules, releasing electrons and Read more about High-powered lasers can be used to steer lightning strikes[…]