AI-Operated F-16 Jet Carries Air Force Official Into 550-MPH Aerial Combat Test
The Associated Press reports that an F-16 performing aerial combat tests at 550 miles per hour was “controlled by artificial intelligence, not a human pilot.”
And riding in the front seat was the U.S. Secretary of the Air Force…

AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of st … ⌘ Read more

Will Calls to Scrutinize Digital-Currency Purchases of Oil Bring New Regulations For Crypto?
Last month Reuters reported that Venezuela’s state-run oil company “plans to increase digital currency usage in its crude and fuel exports as the U.S. reimposes oil sanctions on the country, three people familiar with the plan said.”

[The oil company] since last year had been slowly moving o … ⌘ Read more

Is Mastodon’s Link-Previewing Overloading Servers?
The blog Its FOSS has 15,000 followers for its Mastodon account — which they think is causing problems:

When you share a link on Mastodon, a link preview is generated for it, right? With Mastodon being a federated platform (a part of the Fediverse), the request to generate a link preview is not generated by just one Mastodon instance. There are many instances connected to it … ⌘ Read more

Plato’s Final Hours Recounted In Scroll Found In Vesuvius Ash
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Guardian:

Newly deciphered passages from a papyrus scroll that was buried beneath layers of volcanic ash after the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius may have shed light on the final hours of Plato, a key figure in the history of western philosophy. In a groundbreaking discovery, the ancient scroll was fo … ⌘ Read more

Breakthrough Achieved In Nanometer-Resolution Imaging of 3D Chemistry
“A leap in our ability to see the chemistry of matter in three-dimensions at the nanoscale was achieved, allowing scientists to understand how nanomaterials are chemically arranged,” writes Slashdot reader Hovden:

Traditionally, seeing matter at the smallest sizes requires too many high-energy electrons for 3D chemical imaging. The … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Details How It’s Developing AI Responsibly
Thursday the Verge reported that a new report from Microsoft “outlines the steps the company took to release responsible AI platforms last year.”

Microsoft says in the report that it created 30 responsible AI tools in the past year, grew its responsible AI team, and required teams making generative AI applications to measure and map risks throughout the development cycle. Th … ⌘ Read more

The US Just Mandated Automated Emergency Braking Systems By 2029
Come 2029, all cars sold in the U.S. “must be able to stop and avoid contact with a vehicle in front of them at speeds up to 62 mph,” reports Car and Driver.

“Additionally, the system must be able to detect pedestrians in both daylight and darkness. As a final parameter, the federal standard will require the system to apply the brakes automatical … ⌘ Read more

AI-Powered ‘HorseGPT’ Fails to Predict This Year’s Kentucky Derby Winner
In 2016, an online “swarm intelligence” platform generated a correct prediction for the Kentucky Derby — naming all four top finishers, in order. (But the next year their predictions weren’t even close, with TechRepublic suggesting 2016’s race had an unusual cluster of just a few top racehorses.)

So this year Decrypt.co tried crafti … ⌘ Read more

U.S. Seeks to Build World Pressure on Russia Over Space Nuclear Weapon
An anonymous reader shared this report from the New York Times:

American officials are trying to increase international pressure on Russia not to deploy an antisatellite nuclear weapon in space, and have obtained information that undermines Moscow’s explanation that the device it is developing is for peaceful scientific purposes, a s … ⌘ Read more

Multinational ISP Offers $206M In Secured Notes Backed By IPv4 Addresses
CircleID reports that Multinational internet service provider Cogent recently announced that it was offering $206 million in secured notes (a corporate bond backed by assets). “The unusual part is what it’s using as security: some of its IPv4 addresses and the leases on those IPv4 addresses.”

All internet service providers (ISPs) … ⌘ Read more

Ubuntu Criticized For Bug Blocking Installation of .Deb Packages
The blog It’s FOSS is “pissed at the casual arrogance of Ubuntu and its parent company Canonical….. The sheer audacity of not caring for its users reeks of Microsoft-esque arrogance.”
If you download a .deb package of a software, you cannot install it using the official graphical software center on Ubuntu anymore. When you doubl … ⌘ Read more

NASA’s Moon Capsule Suffered Extensive Damage During 2022’s Test Flight
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Washington Post:

The heat shield of the Orion spacecraft intended one day to carry astronauts to the moon under NASA’s Artemis program suffered unexpected damage in more than 100 places as the spacecraft returned to Earth during an uncrewed test flight in 2022, according to a watchdog … ⌘ Read more

Finding Land for US Wind Farms Might Be Easier Than We Thoughth
The Washington Post reports that wind turbines “only take up five percent of the land where they’ve been built, new research shows.”

The rest of the space can be used for other purposes, such as agriculture, according to a study published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Technology. This means developers could f … ⌘ Read more

Jack Dorsey’s Block Is Investing 10% Of Its Bitcoin Profits Into Monthly Bitcoin Purchases
An anonymous reader shared this report from the blog Bitcoinist:

Jack Dorsey’s financial services and digital payments company, Block Inc., announced it will begin investing 10% of its monthly Bitcoin-related gross profits into BTC purchases. This announcement was made following the release of Block’s … ⌘ Read more

When a Politician Sues a Blog to Unmask Its Anonymous Commenter
Markos Moulitsas is the poll-watching founder of the political blog Daily Kos. Thursday he wrote that in 2021, future third-party presidential candidate RFK Jr. had sued their web site.

“Things are not going well for him.”

Back in 2021, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sued Daily Kos to unmask the identity of a community member who posted a critical story ab … ⌘ Read more

The Highest Observatory On Earth Is Now Open
The world’s highest astronomical site is officially open for business after being in the works for 26 years. Space.com reports: The Japanese University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory, or TAO, which was first conceptualized 26 years ago to study the evolution of galaxies and exoplanets, is perched on top of a tall mountain in the Chilean Andes at 5,640 meters (18,500 feet) above sea lev … ⌘ Read more

Geek-Friendly ‘Free Comic Book Day’ Titles Include Two Star Wars Books for May the Fourth
This year’s Free Comic Book Day coincided with Star Wars Day. So there’s two new free Star Wars titles being handed out today in comic shops around the world.

They’re among several geek-friendly titles among the 48 free comics that fans will get to choose from during this once-a-year event … ⌘ Read more

Extremist Militias Are Coordinating In More Than 100 Facebook Groups
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Join your localMilitia or III% Patriot Group,” a post urged the more than 650 members of a Facebook group called the Free American Army. Accompanied by the logo for the Three Percenters militia network and an image of a man in tactical gear holding a long rifle, the post continues: “Now more … ⌘ Read more

Lithium-Free Sodium Batteries Exit the Lab, Enter US Production
Natron Energy, a pioneer in sodium-ion battery technology, has officially commenced mass production of its lithium-free sodium batteries in its Holland, Michigan facility, offering an alternative energy storage solution with benefits such as faster cycling, longer lifespan, and safer usage compared to lithium-ion batteries. New Atlas reports: No … ⌘ Read more

Star Wars Day 2024 Celebrated With Videogames, Movie Marathons, Cartoons, and Mark Hamill
“It all started with the fans,” says 72-year-old actor Mark Hamill, in a montage of fans and actors in a newly-released video commemorating this year’s Star Wars day.

Or, as Tom’s Guide writes, “It’s such a nice feeling to be a part of a huge community since fans are the ones who created th … ⌘ Read more

Methane Emissions From Gas Flaring Being Hidden From Satellite Monitors
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Oil and gas equipment intended to cut methane emissions is preventing scientists from accurately detecting greenhouse gases and pollutants, a satellite image investigation has revealed. Energy companies operating in countries such as the US, UK, Germany and Norway appear to have … ⌘ Read more

US Official Urges China, Russia To Declare AI Will Not Control Nuclear Weapons
Senior Department arms control official Paul Dean on Thursday urged China and Russia to declare that artificial intelligence would never make decisions on deploying nuclear weapons. Washington had made a “clear and strong commitment” that humans had total control over nuclear weapons, said Dean. Britain and France have m … ⌘ Read more

Apple Announces Largest-Ever $110 Billion Share Buyback As iPhone Sales Drop
Apple reported fiscal second-quarter earnings that topped estimates, despite a 10% drop in iPhone sales. The company also announced that its board had authorized $110 billion in share repurchases, “a 22% increase over last year’s $90 billion authorization,” notes CNBC. “It’s the largest buyback in history, ahead of Apple’s … ⌘ Read more

Humans Now Share the Web Equally With Bots, Report Warns
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Independent, published last month: Humans now share the web equally with bots, according to a major new report – as some fear that the internet is dying. In recent months, the so-called “dead internet theory” has gained new popularity. It suggests that much of the content online is in fact automatically generated, and … ⌘ Read more

Sony Will Soon Require ‘Helldivers 2’ PC Gamers To Link Their Steam Accounts To PSN, Angering Users
“Players who made Steam purchases of Helldivers 2 are now, months after the fact, being told by Sony that their games will be useless unless linked to a PSN account,” writes longtime Slashdot reader Baron_Yam. From a report: Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment announced tod … ⌘ Read more

Senators Want Limits On TSA Use of Facial Recognition Technology For Airport Screening
A bipartisan group of senators, led by Jeff Merkley, John Kennedy, and Roger Marshall, is advocating for limitations on the Transportation Security Administration’s use of facial recognition technology due to concerns about privacy and civil liberties. PBS reports: In a letter on Thursday, the group of 1 … ⌘ Read more

AI Engineers Report Burnout, Rushed Rollouts As ‘Rat Race’ To Stay Competitive Hits Tech Industry
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: Late last year, an artificial intelligence engineer at Amazon was wrapping up the work week and getting ready to spend time with some friends visiting from out of town. Then, a Slack message popped up. He suddenly had a deadline to delive … ⌘ Read more

Germany Says Russia Will Face Consequences For ‘Intolerable’ Cyberattack
An anonymous reader shares a report: Relations between Russia and Germany were already tense, with Germany providing military support to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russian state hackers were behind a cyberattack last year that targeted the Social Democrats, the leading party i … ⌘ Read more

Florida Bans Lab-Grown Meat
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill this week banning and criminalizing the manufacture and sale of lab-grown meat in the state. From a report: The legislation joins similar efforts from three other states – Alabama, Arizona and Tennessee – that have also looked to stop the sale of lab-grown meat, which is believed to still be years away from commercial viability. “Florida is fighting back against the global elit … ⌘ Read more

Britain’s Climate Action Plan Unlawful, High Court Rules
The UK government’s climate action plan is unlawful, the high court has ruled, as there is not enough evidence that there are sufficient policies in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. From a report: The energy secretary, Claire Coutinho, will now be expected to draw up a revised plan within 12 months. This must ensure that the UK achieves its legally bindin … ⌘ Read more

China Launches Moon Probe
China launched an uncrewed lunar mission Friday that aims to bring back samples from the far side of the moon for the first time, in a potentially major step forward for the country’s ambitious space program. From a report: The Chang’e-6 probe – China’s most complex robotic lunar mission to date – blasted off on a Long March-5 rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China’s Hainan island, where space fan … ⌘ Read more

Firefox Power User Keeps 7,400+ Browser Tabs Open for 2 Years
An anonymous reader shares a report: A software engineer has been keeping nearly 7,500 Firefox tabs open on her Mac computer for over two years – and doesn’t plan on closing them anytime soon. The Firefox power user, who goes by the pseudonym “Hazel” online, posted a screenshot showing 7,470 tabs open earlier this week after finding the browser initiall … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Overhaul Treats Security as ‘Top Priority’ After a Series of Failures
Microsoft is making security its number one priority for every employee, following years of security issues and mounting criticisms. The Verge: After a scathing report from the US Cyber Safety Review Board recently concluded that “Microsoft’s security culture was inadequate and requires an overhaul,” it’s doing just that … ⌘ Read more

German Police Bust Europe’s ‘Largest’ Scam Call Center
Plumpaquatsch writes: Investigators teamed up with colleagues from the Balkans and Lebanon in raids set up by months of intense surveillance. Authorities say the operation thwarted over 10 million euro in damages and led to 21 arrests.

Dubbed ‘Operation Pandora,’ the sting began in Germany in December 2023, after a suspicious bank teller contacted police when a 76-year- … ⌘ Read more

An Open Database Leaked Submissions To Utah’s ‘Bathroom Bill’ Snitch Form
samleecole writes: Utah set up an online form for people to accuse other citizens and public establishments of violating the state’s recently-enacted transphobic “bathroom bill.” The submission form is being flooded with memes and troll comments, and the auditor also left the submissions database open to the public – without a passw … ⌘ Read more

Google Defends App Store, Fighting Epic Games’ Bid For Major Reforms
Google has asked a U.S. judge not to impose sweeping changes to the Alphabet unit’s app store Play that were proposed by “Fortnite” maker Epic Games in the companies’ closely-watched antitrust fight. From a report: Google made its filing late on Thursday in San Francisco federal court, where Epic last year persuaded a jury that the tech gia … ⌘ Read more

Individual Gets 6 Years in Prison for Selling Fake Cisco Gear on Amazon, eBay
A Miami-based CEO will serve over six years in prison for selling counterfeit Cisco equipment to numerous buyers on Amazon and eBay, with some of the shoddy hardware ending up in sensitive US government systems. From a report: On Wednesday, 40-year-old Onur Aksoy was sentenced to six years and six months in prison for rak … ⌘ Read more

Hyundai Spending Nearly $1 Billion To Keep Self-Driving Startup ‘Motional’ Alive
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Hyundai has agreed to spend nearly $1 billion on Motional, an investment that will give the automaker a majority stake while providing the self-driving startup with the necessary capital to keep operating. The Korean automaker invested $475 million directly into Mot … ⌘ Read more

Back From the Dead: Amarok 3.0 Music Player Released
“Aamrok 3.0, ported to Qt5/KDE Frameworks 5, has been released,” writes Slashdot reader serafean. “With the heavy lifting being done, the Qt6/KF6 version is expected later in the year.” Originally developed for Linux as part of the KDE desktop environment, Amarok is a free, cross-platform music player that supports various audio formats and a user interface that … ⌘ Read more

Hubble Network Makes Bluetooth Connection With a Satellite For the First Time
Aria Alamalhodaei reports via TechCrunch: Hubble Network has become the first company in history to establish a Bluetooth connection directly to a satellite – a critical technology validation for the company, potentially opening the door to connecting millions more devices anywhere in the world. The Seattle-based start … ⌘ Read more

FDA Qualifies Apple Watch’s AFib History For Use In Clinical Studies
In a first for “digital health technology,” the Apple Watch’s atrial fibrillation (AFib) history feature has been approved by the FDA to join the FDA’s Medical Device Development Tools (MDDT) program. This means the wearable is now usable in clinical studies. The Verge reports: The FDA announcement describes using it as a noninvasive wa … ⌘ Read more

Pet Parrots Prefer Live Video-Calls Over Watching Pre-Recorded Videos
When given the choice, pet parrots prefer to video-call each other instead of watch pre-recorded videos of other birds. Those are the findings from a new paper (PDF) set to appear next week at a conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Hawaii. Phys.Org reports: The study, led by animal-computer interaction specialists at t … ⌘ Read more

Spotify Hides Song Lyrics Behind Paywall
Several users on Reddit have noticed that Spotify has started hiding song lyrics behind a paywall. “This means you won’t be able to sing along unless you know the lyrics already, or are willing to look them up in another app,” reports Android Police. From the report: Still, you lose the convenience of real-time sync with the track and automatic scrolling. Like skips per hour, it appears Spotif … ⌘ Read more

Nurses Say Hospital Adoption of Half-Cooked ‘AI’ Is Reckless
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Techdirt: Last week, hundreds of nurses protested the implementation of sloppy AI into hospital systems in front of Kaiser Permanente. Their primary concern: that systems incapable of empathy are being integrated into an already dysfunctional sector without much thought toward patient care: “No computer, no AI ca … ⌘ Read more

Sony, Apollo Offers To Buy Paramount For $26 Billion
Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management have made a bid to acquire Paramount for $26 billion and take it private. Variety reports: Sony and private-equity giant Apollo submitted a letter with the non-binding offer Wednesday to Paramount Global, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The bid, which would include the assumption of debt and c … ⌘ Read more

Maximum-Severity GitLab Flaw Allowing Account Hijacking Under Active Exploitation
Dan Goodin reports via Ars Technica: A maximum severity vulnerability that allows hackers to hijack GitLab accounts with no user interaction required is now under active exploitation, federal government officials warned as data showed that thousands of users had yet to install a patch released in January. A change … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Bans US Police Departments From Using Enterprise AI Tool
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Microsoft has changed its policy to ban U.S. police departments from using generative AI through the Azure OpenAI Service, the company’s fully managed, enterprise-focused wrapper around OpenAI technologies. Language added Wednesday to the terms of service for Azure OpenAI Service prohibits integ … ⌘ Read more

The Original Smart Thermostat, Unveiled 16 Years Ago, is About To Get Dumb
Ecobee, the company that pioneered smart thermostats with its Ecobee Smart in 2008, has announced it will end online support for the device and its commercial counterpart, the Ecobee Energy Management System, on July 31, 2024. The move will disable internet-dependent features such as web portal control, smart integrations, and wea … ⌘ Read more

The Last Thing the iPad Needs Is a Spec Bump
An anonymous reader shares a column: When Apple CEO Tim Cook and a bunch of his deputies take the virtual stage next week to announce new iPads, they’re going to spend a lot of time talking about specs. If the rumors are true, we’re going to get new iPad Pros with OLED screens and thinner bodies, new Airs with faster chips and a correctly placed front camera, and a couple of new acces … ⌘ Read more

Warrantless FBI Searches of American Communications Drop 50 Percent
The FBI cut its warrantless searches of American data in half in 2023, according to a government report released on Tuesday. From a report: According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s annual transparency report, the FBI conducted 57,094 searches of “US person” data under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveil … ⌘ Read more