US Copyright Office sued for denying AI model authorship

The US Copyright Office and its director Shira Perlmutter have been sued for rejecting one man’s request to register an AI model as the author of an image generated by the software. You guessed correct: Stephen Thaler is back. He said the digital artwork, depicting railway tracks and a tunnel in a wall surrounded by Read more about US Copyright Office sued for denying AI model authorship[…]

Scientists covered a robot finger in living human skin

[…] At the moment, robots are sometimes coated in silicone rubber to give them a fleshy appearance, but the rubber lacks the texture of human skin, he says. To make more realistic-looking skin, Takeuchi and his colleagues bathed a plastic robot finger in a soup of collagen and human skin cells called fibroblasts for three Read more about Scientists covered a robot finger in living human skin[…]

Planting Undetectable Backdoors in Machine Learning Models

We show how a malicious learner can plant an undetectable backdoor into a classifier. On the surface, such a backdoored classifier behaves normally, but in reality, the learner maintains a mechanism for changing the classification of any input, with only a slight perturbation. Importantly, without the appropriate “backdoor key”, the mechanism is hidden and cannot Read more about Planting Undetectable Backdoors in Machine Learning Models[…]

Testing firm Cignpost can profit from sale of Covid swabs with customer DNA

A large Covid-19 testing provider is being investigated by the UK’s data privacy watchdog over its plans to sell swabs containing customers’ DNA for medical research. Cignpost Diagnostics, a government-approved supplier trading as ExpressTest, said it intended to analyse the samples to “learn more about human health”, to develop drugs and products or to sell Read more about Testing firm Cignpost can profit from sale of Covid swabs with customer DNA[…]

Find you: an airtag which Apple can’t find in unwanted tracking

[…] In one exemplary stalking case, a fashion and fitness model discovered an AirTag in her coat pocket after having received a tracking warning notification from her iPhone. Other times, AirTags were placed in expensive cars or motorbikes to track them from parking spots to their owner’s home, where they were then stolen. On February Read more about Find you: an airtag which Apple can’t find in unwanted tracking[…]

Survey of Alternative Displays

[Blair Nearl] has been working on an information database for artists and hackers – a collection of non-conventional display technologies available to us. We’ve covered this repository before, six years ago – since then, it’s moved to a more suitable platform, almost doubled in size, and currently covers over 40+ display technology types and related Read more about Survey of Alternative Displays[…]

Some of Canon’s wireless Pixma printers are stuck in reboot loops

Over the last day or two, there have been a growing number of reports by people who own certain Canon Pixma printers that the devices either won’t turn on at all or, once turned on, get stuck in a reboot loop, cycling on and off as long as they’re plugged in. Verge reader Jamie pointed Read more about Some of Canon’s wireless Pixma printers are stuck in reboot loops[…]

What Is Pegasus Spyware? Why is it important? Infographic

If you’ve been following the latest news on government surveillance scandals around the world, the name Pegasus may have popped up in your feed. It’s a complex story, so we’ve put together an infographic explainer that covers all the basics. How does Pegasus work? Check. Which world leaders were targeted? Check. Astonishing subscription costs? Check. Read more about What Is Pegasus Spyware? Why is it important? Infographic[…]

Fan’s Rare Recordings Of Lost 1963 Beatles’ Performances Can’t Be Heard, Because … Copyright

There’s a story in the Daily Mail that underlines why it is important for people to make copies. It concerns the re-surfacing of rare recordings of the Beatles: In the summer of 1963, the BBC began a radio series called Pop Go The Beatles which went out at 5pm on Tuesdays on the Light Programme. Each Read more about Fan’s Rare Recordings Of Lost 1963 Beatles’ Performances Can’t Be Heard, Because … Copyright[…]

Microsoft’s free Top Gun ‘Flight Simulator’ expansion is finally here

Now that Top Gun: Maverick is finally reaching theaters, the matching Microsoft Flight Simulator expansion is launching as well. Microsoft and Asobo Studio have released the free add-on to both hype up the Tom Cruise movie and give you a taste of the US Navy’s real-world flight training. You’ll get a “Maverick Edition” livery for Read more about Microsoft’s free Top Gun ‘Flight Simulator’ expansion is finally here[…]

Now Amazon to put creepy AI cameras in UK delivery vans

Amazon is installing AI-powered cameras in delivery vans to keep tabs on its drivers in the UK. The technology was first deployed, with numerous errors that reportedly denied drivers’ bonuses after malfunctions, in the US. Last year, the internet giant produced a corporate video detailing how the cameras monitor drivers’ driving behavior for safety reasons. Read more about Now Amazon to put creepy AI cameras in UK delivery vans[…]

GM Discloses Data Breach of Cars’ Locations, Mileage, Service

General Motors suffered a hack that exposed a significant amount of sensitive personal information on car owners—names, addresses, phone numbers, locations, car mileage, and maintenance history. The Detroit-based automaker revealed details of the incident in a breach disclosure filed with the California Attorney General’s Office on May 16. The disclosure explains that malicious login activity Read more about GM Discloses Data Breach of Cars’ Locations, Mileage, Service[…]

Cheap gel film pulls buckets of drinking water per day from thin air

Water scarcity is a major problem for much of the world’s population, but with the right equipment drinking water can be wrung out of thin air. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have now demonstrated a low-cost gel film that can pull many liters of water per day out of even very dry Read more about Cheap gel film pulls buckets of drinking water per day from thin air[…]

MGM Resorts’ 142m person customer data now leaked on Telegram for free

Miscreants have dumped on Telegram more than 142 million customer records stolen from MGM Resorts, exposing names, postal and email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth for any would-be identity thief. The vpnMentor research team stumbled upon the files, which totaled 8.7 GB of data, on the messaging platform earlier this week, and noted Read more about MGM Resorts’ 142m person customer data now leaked on Telegram for free[…]

Twitter fined $150 million after selling 2FA phone numbers + email addresses to targeting advertisers

Twitter has agreed to pay a $150 million fine after federal law enforcement officials accused the social media company of illegally using peoples’ personal data over six years to help sell targeted advertisements. In court documents made public on Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice say Twitter violated a 2011 agreement Read more about Twitter fined $150 million after selling 2FA phone numbers + email addresses to targeting advertisers[…]

GitHub saved plaintext passwords of npm users in log files

GitHub has revealed it stored a “number of plaintext user credentials for the npm registry” in internal logs following the integration of the JavaScript package registry into GitHub’s logging systems. The information came to light when the company today published the results of its investigation into April’s unrelated OAuth token theft attack, where it described Read more about GitHub saved plaintext passwords of npm users in log files[…]

Clearview AI Ordered to Purge U.K. Face Scans, Pay GBP 7.5m Fine

The United Kingdom has had it with creepy facial recognition firm Clearview AI. Under a new enforcement rule from the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s office, Clearview must cease the collection and use of publicly available U.K. data and delete all data of U.K. residents from their database. The order, which will also require the company to pay Read more about Clearview AI Ordered to Purge U.K. Face Scans, Pay GBP 7.5m Fine[…]

Hashed Takes $3.5B Hit, Delphi Digital Discloses Loss After Terra’s LUNA Collapse

The collapse of the tokens linked to the Terra ecosystem, stablecoin terraUSD (UST) and Luna (LUNA), has led to some major investors coming clean and detailing their losses. Two more backers of Terra are disclosing exactly how their balance sheets have been affected. Delphi Digital, a research firm and boutique investor, said in a blog Read more about Hashed Takes $3.5B Hit, Delphi Digital Discloses Loss After Terra’s LUNA Collapse[…]

Boeing’s Starliner successfully docks to the International Space Station for the first time

This evening, Boeing’s new passenger spacecraft, the CST-100 Starliner, successfully docked itself to the International Space Station — demonstrating that the vehicle can potentially bring humans to the ISS in the future. It’s a crucial capability that Starliner has finally validated in space after years of delays and failures. Starliner is in the midst of Read more about Boeing’s Starliner successfully docks to the International Space Station for the first time[…]

Acer Debuts External Monitors With Stereoscopic 3D

[…] Two products revealed today, the SpatialLabs View and SpatialLabs View Pro, are standalone external monitors with 15.6-inch, 4K displays with glasses-free stereoscopic 3D technology. We’ve seen this tech from Acer before when it debuted in ConceptD notebooks where it was meant for designers, but never in this format. Acer SpartialLabs View Image: Acer Distinguishing Read more about Acer Debuts External Monitors With Stereoscopic 3D[…]

Your data’s auctioned off up to 987 times a day, NGO reports

The average American has their personal information shared in an online ad bidding war 747 times a day. For the average EU citizen, that number is 376 times a day. In one year, 178 trillion instances of the same bidding war happen online in the US and EU. That’s according to data shared by the Read more about Your data’s auctioned off up to 987 times a day, NGO reports[…]

Melvin Capital shutters down after trying to kill Gamestop

Melvin Capital, once one of Wall Street’s most successful hedge funds which then lost billions in the meme stock saga, will shut down after it was hit again by this year’s market slump. Gabe Plotkin, widely regarded as one of the industry’s best traders after posting years of double digit returns, told investors that the Read more about Melvin Capital shutters down after trying to kill Gamestop[…]

Apple will allow some apps to automatically charge you higher subscription prices

Apple has announced an update to its subscription policy that’s supposed to make auto-renews seamless but could also lead to surprise charges. Under the old policy, the tech giant will ask users to opt in before they’re charged for a subscription that has recently raised its price. Going forward, however, it will allow developers to Read more about Apple will allow some apps to automatically charge you higher subscription prices[…]