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174760704 story


MICROSOFT TWEAKS FINE PRINT TO WARN EVERYONE NOT TO TAKE ITS AI SERIOUSLY
(THEREGISTER.COM) 3

Posted by msmash on Thursday August 15, 2024 @02:09PM from the how-about-that
dept.
Microsoft is notifying folks that its AI services should not be taken too
seriously, echoing prior service-specific disclaimers. From a report: In an
update to the IT giant's Service Agreement, which takes effect on September 30,
2024, Redmond has declared that its Assistive AI isn't suitable for matters of
consequence. "AI services are not designed, intended, or to be used as
substitutes for professional advice," Microsoft's revised legalese explains. The
changes to Microsoft's rules of engagement cover a few specific services, such
as noting that Xbox customers should not expect privacy from platform partners.

"In the Xbox section, we clarified that non-Xbox third-party platforms may
require users to share their content and data in order to play Xbox Game Studio
titles and these third-party platforms may track and share your data, subject to
their terms," the latest Service Agreement says. There are also some
clarifications regarding the handling of Microsoft Cashback and Microsoft
Rewards. But the most substantive revision is the addition of an AI Services
section, just below a passage that says Copilot AI Experiences are governed by
Bing's Terms of Use. Those using Microsoft Copilot with commercial data
protection get a separate set of terms. The tweaked consumer-oriented rules
won't come as much of a surprise to anyone who has bothered to read the
contractual conditions governing Microsoft's Bing and associated AI stuff. For
example, there's now a Services Agreement prohibition on using AI Services for
"Extracting Data."



174760444 story


GERMAN CYBER AGENCY WANTS CHANGES IN MICROSOFT, CROWDSTRIKE PRODUCTS AFTER TECH
OUTAGE (WSJ.COM) 12

Posted by msmash on Thursday August 15, 2024 @01:25PM from the
somebody's-gotta-pay dept.
An anonymous reader shares a report: Since last month's blue-screen deluge,
CrowdStrike has published analyses of what went wrong and said it hired
third-party security companies to review its product. Now, Germany's powerful
cybersecurity agency is seizing the moment and hoping to rattle tech and cyber
companies into altering their products to head off another mega-meltdown. In
particular, the Bonn-based Federal Office for Information Security is taking aim
at the access Microsoft gives security providers to its Windows kernel, a core
part of its operating system. As well, the German agency is looking for
fundamental changes in the way CrowdStrike and other cyber firms design their
tools, in hopes of curbing that access.

"The most important thing is to prevent [that] this can happen again," said
Thomas Caspers, director general for technology strategy at the BSI, as the
agency is known. Leveraging the dread that filled Silicon Valley following the
July outage, the BSI is planning to organize a conference this year gathering
major tech firms, where it hopes they will commit to restricting access to the
kernel, a change Caspers says is crucial to stopping similar failures. "We
expect each company to be very specific about what they will do based on what we
agreed on," he said.



174760234 story


REDBOX APP AXED, DASHING PEOPLE'S HOPES OF KEEPING PURCHASED CONTENT
(ARSTECHNICA.COM) 23

Posted by msmash on Thursday August 15, 2024 @12:48PM from the end-of-road dept.
Roku has removed the Redbox app from its platform, effectively cutting off
users' access to purchased content following Redbox parent company Chicken Soup
for the Soul Entertainment's bankruptcy filing. The move signals the likely end
of Redbox's digital streaming service, which launched in 2017 to complement its
DVD rental kiosks. Customers attempting to use the Redbox app on Roku devices
now receive an error message directing them to other streaming services. While
the app remains downloadable on some platforms, including Apple's App Store and
Google Play, its functionality is severely limited. The shutdown raises
questions about the fate of content purchased through Redbox's streaming service
and the company's remaining 24,000 physical kiosks.



174759916 story


GOOGLE SOLD ANDROID PHONES WITH HIDDEN INSECURE FEATURE, COMPANIES FIND
(WASHINGTONPOST.COM) 16

Posted by msmash on Thursday August 15, 2024 @12:04PM from the grave-concerns
dept.
Google's master software for some Android phones includes a hidden feature that
is insecure and could be activated to allow remote control or spying on users,
according to a security company that found it inside phones at a U.S.
intelligence contractor. From a report: The feature appears intended to give
employees at stores selling Pixel phones and other models deep access to the
devices so they can demonstrate how they work, according to researchers at
iVerify who shared their findings with The Washington Post. The discovery and
Google's lack of explanation alarmed the intelligence contractor, data analysis
platform vendor Palantir Technologies, to the extent that it has stopped issuing
Android phones to employees, Palantir told The Post.

"Mobile security is a very real concern for us, given where we're operating and
who we're serving," Palantir Chief Information Security Officer Dane Stuckey
said. "This was very deleterious of trust, to have third-party, unvetted
insecure software on it. We have no idea how it got there, so we made the
decision to effectively ban Androids internally." The security company said it
contacted Google about its findings more than 90 days ago and that the tech
giant has not indicated whether it would remove or fix the application. On
Wednesday night, Google told The Post that it would issue an update to remove
the application. "Out of an abundance of precaution, we will be removing this
from all supported in-market Pixel devices with an upcoming Pixel software
update," said company spokesperson Ed Fernandez. He said distributors of other
Android phones would also be notified.



174759192 story


ERIC SCHMIDT WALKS BACK CLAIM GOOGLE IS BEHIND ON AI BECAUSE OF REMOTE WORK
(MSN.COM) 41

Posted by msmash on Thursday August 15, 2024 @11:20AM from the tough-luck dept.
Eric Schmidt, ex-CEO and executive chairman at Google, walked back remarks in
which he said his former company was losing the AI race because of its
remote-work policies. From a report: "I misspoke about Google and their work
hours," Schmidt said Wednesday in an email to The Wall Street Journal. "I regret
my error." Schmidt, who left Google parent Alphabet's board more than five years
ago, spoke earlier at a wide-ranging discussion at Stanford University. He
criticized Google's remote-work policies in response to a question about Google
competing with OpenAI. "Google decided that work-life balance and going home
early and working from home was more important than winning," Schmidt said at
Stanford. "The reason startups work is because the people work like hell."

Video of Schmidt's talk was posted on YouTube this week by Stanford Online, a
division of the university that offers online courses. The video, which had more
than 40,000 views as of Wednesday afternoon, has since been set to private.
Schmidt said he asked for the video to be taken down.



174759148 story


KIM DOTCOM TO BE EXTRADITED FROM NEW ZEALAND TO US (THEGUARDIAN.COM) 61

Posted by msmash on Thursday August 15, 2024 @10:45AM from the how-about-that
dept.
EmagGeek writes: Kim Dotcom, who is facing criminal charges relating to the
defunct filesharing website Megaupload, is to be extradited to the US, the New
Zealand justice minister says, which could end more than a decade of legal
wrangling. German-born Dotcom has New Zealand residency and has been fighting
extradition to the US since 2012 after an FBI-ordered raid on his Auckland
mansion. The high court in New Zealand first approved his extradition in 2017,
with an appeal court reaffirming the finding the year after. In 2020, the
country's supreme court again affirmed the finding but opened the door for a
fresh round of judicial review.

Now, the justice minister, Paul Goldsmith, has signed an extradition order for
Dotcom, a spokesperson said on Thursday. "I considered all of the information
carefully, and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to
face trial," Goldsmith said. "As is common practice, I have allowed Mr Dotcom a
short period of time to consider and take advice on my decision. I will not,
therefore, be commenting further at this stage."



174758968 story


EPIC JUDGE SAYS HE'LL 'TEAR THE BARRIERS DOWN' ON GOOGLE'S APP STORE MONOPOLY
(THEVERGE.COM) 45

Posted by msmash on Thursday August 15, 2024 @10:04AM from the how-about-that
dept.
Judge James Donato just made it crystal clear: Google will pay. From a report:
Eight months after a federal jury unanimously decided that Google's Android app
store is an illegal monopoly in Epic v. Google, Donato held his final hearing on
remedies today. While we don't yet know what will happen, he repeatedly shut
down any suggestion that Google shouldn't have to open up its store to rival
stores, that it'd be too much work or cost too much, or that the proposed
remedies go too far.

"We're going to tear the barriers down, it's just the way it's going to happen,"
said Donato. "The world that exists today is the product of monopolistic
conduct. That world is changing." Donato will issue his final ruling in a little
over two weeks.



174755512 story


CISCO SLASHES THOUSANDS OF WORKERS AS IT ANNOUNCES YEARLY PROFIT OF $10.3
BILLION (SFGATE.COM) 36

Posted by BeauHD on Thursday August 15, 2024 @09:00AM from the cost-cutting
dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from SFGATE: Cisco Systems is laying off 7%
of its workforce, the company announced in a filing with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on Wednesday. It's the San Jose tech giant's second time
slashing thousands of jobs this year. The networking and telecommunications
company is vast, reporting to have 84,900 employees in July 2023 before it
chopped at least 4,000 in February. That means the new 7% cut will likely affect
at least 5,500 workers. Cisco spokesperson Robyn Blum said in an email to SFGATE
that the layoff is meant to allow the company to invest in "key growth
opportunities and drive more efficiency in our business." [...]

More hints about the layoff's potential reasoning showed up in a Wednesday blog
post from CEO Chuck Robbins. The executive wrote that Cisco plans to consolidate
its networking, security and collaboration teams into one organization and said
the company is still integrating Splunk; Cisco closed its $28 billion
acquisition of San Francisco-based data security and management company in
March. Cisco also announced its earnings for its last fiscal year on Wednesday.
Total revenue was slightly down year over year, to $53.8 billion, but the
company still reported a $10.3 billion profit during the same period.



174755448 story


MAGIC: THE GATHERING COMMUNITY FEARS GENERATIVE AI WILL REPLACE TALENTED ARTISTS
(SLATE.COM) 84

Posted by BeauHD on Thursday August 15, 2024 @06:00AM from the uncertain-future
dept.
Slate's Derek Heckman, an avid fan of Magic: The Gathering since the age of 10,
expresses concern about the potential replacement of the game's distinctive
hand-drawn art with generative AI -- and he's not alone. "I think we're all
pretty afraid of what the potential is, given what we've seen from the
generative image side," Sam, a YouTube creator who runs the channel Rhystic
Studies, told him. "It's staggeringly powerful. And it's only in its infancy."

"Magic's greatest asset has always been its commitment to create a new
illustration for every new card," he said. He adds that if we sacrifice that
commitment for A.I., "you'd get to a point pretty fast where it just
disintegrates and becomes the ugliest definition of the word product." Here's an
excerpt from his report: So far, Magic's parent company, Wizards of the Coast,
has outwardly agreed with Sam, saying in an official statement in 2023 that
Magic "has been built on the innovation, ingenuity, and hard work of talented
people" and forbidding outside creatives from using A.I. in their work. However,
a number of recent incidents -- from the accidental use of A.I. art in a Magic
promotional image to a very intentional LinkedIn post for a "Principal AI
Engineer," one that Wizards had to clarify was for the company's video game
projects -- have left many players unsure whether Wizards is potentially
evolving their stance, or merely trying to find their footing in an
ever-changing A.I. landscape.

In response to fan concerns, Wizards has created an "AI art FAQ" detailing,
among other things, the new technologies it's invested in to detect A.I. use in
art. Still, trust in the company has been damaged by this year's incidents.
Longtime Magic artist David Rapoza even severed ties with the game this past
January, citing this seeming difference between Wizards' words and actions when
it comes to the use of A.I. Sam says the larger audience has likewise been left
"cautiously suspicious," hoping to believe Wizards' official statements while
also carefully noting the company's moves and mistakes with the technology. "I
think what we want is for Wizards to commit hard to one lane and stay [with]
what is tried and true," Sam says. "And that is prioritizing human work over
shortcuts."



174755352 story


RESEARCHERS FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP CLOCKS ON THE EARTH, MOON IN SYNC 48

Posted by BeauHD on Thursday August 15, 2024 @03:00AM from the
timing-is-everything dept.
Ars Technica's John Timmer reports: [T]he International Astronomical Union has a
resolution that calls for a "Lunar Celestial Reference System" and "Lunar
Coordinate Time" to handle things there. On Monday, two researchers at the
National institute of Standards and Technology, Neil Ashby and Bijunath Patla,
did the math to show how this might work. [...] Ashby and Patla worked on
developing a system where anything can be calculated in reference to the center
of mass of the Earth/Moon system. Or, as they put it in the paper, their
mathematical system "enables us to compare clock rates on the Moon and cislunar
Lagrange points with respect to clocks on Earth by using a metric appropriate
for a locally freely falling frame such as the center of mass of the Earth-Moon
system in the Sun's gravitational field." What does this look like? Well, a lot
of deriving equations. The paper's body has 55 of them, and there are another 67
in the appendices. So, a lot of the paper ends up looking like this.

Things get complicated because there are so many factors to consider. There are
tidal effects from the Sun and other planets. Anything on the surface of the
Earth or Moon is moving due to rotation; other objects are moving while in
orbit. The gravitational influence on time will depend on where an object is
located. So, there's a lot to keep track of. Ashby and Patla don't have to take
everything into account in all circumstances. Some of these factors are so small
they'll only be detectable with an extremely high-precision clock. Others tend
to cancel each other out. Still, using their system, they're able to calculate
that an object near the surface of the Moon will pick up an extra 56
microseconds every day, which is a problem in situations where we may be relying
on measuring time with nanosecond precision. And the researchers say that their
approach, while focused on the Earth/Moon system, is still generalizable. Which
means that it should be possible to modify it and create a frame of reference
that would work on both Earth and anywhere else in the Solar System. Which,
given the pace at which we've sent things beyond low-Earth orbit, is probably a
healthy amount of future-proofing. The findings have been published in the
Astronomical Journal. A National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
press release announcing the work can be found here.


174754138 story


SCIENTISTS FIND HUMANS AGE DRAMATICALLY IN TWO BURSTS: AT 44, THEN 60
(THEGUARDIAN.COM) 99

Posted by BeauHD on Wednesday August 14, 2024 @11:30PM from the
anything-but-slow-and-steady dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The study, which tracked
thousands of different molecules in people aged 25 to 75, detected two major
waves of age-related changes at around ages 44 and again at 60. The findings
could explain why spikes in certain health issues including musculoskeletal
problems and cardiovascular disease occur at certain ages. [...] The research
tracked 108 volunteers, who submitted blood and stool samples and skin, oral and
nasal swabs every few months for between one and nearly seven years. Researchers
assessed 135,000 different molecules (RNA, proteins and metabolites) and
microbes (the bacteria, viruses and fungi living in the guts and on the skin of
the participants).

The abundance of most molecules and microbes did not shift in a gradual,
chronological fashion. When the scientists looked for clusters of molecules with
the largest shifts, they found these transformations tended to occur when people
were in their mid-40s and early 60s. The mid-40s aging spike was unexpected and
initially assumed to be a result of perimenopausal changes in women skewing
results for the whole group. But the data revealed similar shifts were happening
in men in their mid-40s, too. "This suggests that while menopause or
perimenopause may contribute to the changes observed in women in their mid-40s,
there are likely other, more significant factors influencing these changes in
both men and women," said Dr Xiaotao Shen, a former postdoctoral scholar at
Stanford medical school and first author of the study who is now based at
Nanyang Technological University Singapore.

The first wave of changes included molecules linked to cardiovascular disease
and the ability to metabolize caffeine, alcohol and lipids. The second wave of
changes included molecules involved in immune regulation, carbohydrate
metabolism and kidney function. Molecules linked to skin and muscle ageing
changed at both time points. Previous research suggested that a later spike in
aging may occur around the age of 78, but the latest study could not confirm
this because the oldest participants were 75. The pattern fits with previous
evidence that the risk of many age-related diseases does not increase
incrementally, with Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease risk showing a steep
uptick after 60. It is also possible that some of the changes could be linked to
lifestyle or behavioral factors. For instance, the change in alcohol metabolism
could result from an uptick in consumption in people's mid-40s, which can be a
stressful period of life. The findings have been published in the journal Nature
Aging.



174753968 story


NIST FINALIZES TRIO OF POST-QUANTUM ENCRYPTION STANDARDS (THEREGISTER.COM) 18

Posted by BeauHD on Wednesday August 14, 2024 @10:02PM from the
just-a-decade-away dept.
"NIST has formally accepted three algorithms for post-quantum cryptography,"
writes ancient Slashdot reader jd. "Two more backup algorithms are being worked
on. The idea is to have backup algorithms using very different maths, just in
case a flaw in the original approach is discovered later." The Register reports:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today released the
long-awaited post-quantum encryption standards, designed to protect electronic
information long into the future -- when quantum computers are expected to break
existing cryptographic algorithms. One -- ML-KEM (PDF) (based on CRYSTALS-Kyber)
-- is intended for general encryption, which protects data as it moves across
public networks. The other two -- ML-DSA (PDF) (originally known as
CRYSTALS-Dilithium) and SLH-DSA (PDF) (initially submitted as Sphincs+) --
secure digital signatures, which are used to authenticate online identity. A
fourth algorithm -- FN-DSA (PDF) (originally called FALCON) -- is slated for
finalization later this year and is also designed for digital signatures.

NIST continued to evaluate two other sets of algorithms that could potentially
serve as backup standards in the future. One of the sets includes three
algorithms designed for general encryption -- but the technology is based on a
different type of math problem than the ML-KEM general-purpose algorithm in
today's finalized standards. NIST plans to select one or two of these algorithms
by the end of 2024. Despite the new ones on the horizon, NIST mathematician
Dustin Moody encouraged system administrators to start transitioning to the new
standards ASAP, because full integration takes some time. "There is no need to
wait for future standards," Moody advised in a statement. "Go ahead and start
using these three. We need to be prepared in case of an attack that defeats the
algorithms in these three standards, and we will continue working on backup
plans to keep our data safe. But for most applications, these new standards are
the main event." From the NIST: This notice announces the Secretary of
Commerce's approval of three Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS):
- FIPS 203, Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism Standard
- FIPS 204, Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard
- FIPS 205, Stateless Hash-Based Digital Signature Standard

These standards specify key establishment and digital signature schemes that are
designed to resist future attacks by quantum computers, which threaten the
security of current standards. The three algorithms specified in these standards
are each derived from different submissions in the NIST Post-Quantum
Cryptography Standardization Project.



174754080 story


ARTISTS CLAIM 'BIG' WIN IN COPYRIGHT SUIT FIGHTING AI IMAGE GENERATORS
(ARSTECHNICA.COM) 36

Posted by BeauHD on Wednesday August 14, 2024 @09:25PM from the
latest-developments dept.
Ars Technica's Ashley Belanger reports: Artists defending a class-action lawsuit
are claiming a major win this week in their fight to stop the most sophisticated
AI image generators from copying billions of artworks to train AI models and
replicate their styles without compensating artists. In an order on Monday, US
district judge William Orrick denied key parts of motions to dismiss from
Stability AI, Midjourney, Runway AI, and DeviantArt. The court will now allow
artists to proceed with discovery on claims that AI image generators relying on
Stable Diffusion violate both the Copyright Act and the Lanham Act, which
protects artists from commercial misuse of their names and unique styles.

"We won BIG," an artist plaintiff, Karla Ortiz, wrote on X (formerly Twitter),
celebrating the order. "Not only do we proceed on our copyright claims," but
"this order also means companies who utilize" Stable Diffusion models and
LAION-like datasets that scrape artists' works for AI training without
permission "could now be liable for copyright infringement violations, amongst
other violations." Lawyers for the artists, Joseph Saveri and Matthew Butterick,
told Ars that artists suing "consider the Court's order a significant step
forward for the case," as "the Court allowed Plaintiffs' core
copyright-infringement claims against all four defendants to proceed."



174753790 story


FTC FINALIZES RULE BANNING FAKE REVIEWS, INCLUDING THOSE MADE WITH AI
(TECHCRUNCH.COM) 34

Posted by BeauHD on Wednesday August 14, 2024 @08:45PM from the long-time-coming
dept.
TechCrunch's Lauren Forristal reports: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
announced on Wednesday a final rule that will tackle several types of fake
reviews and prohibit marketers from using deceptive practices, such as
AI-generated reviews, censoring honest negative reviews and compensating third
parties for positive reviews. The decision was the result of a 5-to-0 vote. The
new rule will start being enforced 60 days after it's published in the official
government publication called Federal Register. [...]

According to the final rule, the maximum civil penalty for fake reviews is
$51,744 per violation. However, the courts could impose lower penalties
depending on the specific case. "Ultimately, courts will also decide how to
calculate the number of violations in a given case," the Commission wrote. [...]
The FTC initially proposed the rule on June 30, 2023, following an advanced
notice of proposed rulemaking issued in November 2022. You can read the
finalized rule here (PDF), but we also included a summary of it below:

- No fake or disingenuous reviews. This includes AI-generated reviews and
reviews from anyone who doesn't have experience with the actual product.
- Businesses can't sell or buy reviews, whether negative or positive.
- Company insiders writing reviews need to clearly disclose their connection to
the business. Officers or managers are prohibited from giving testimonials and
can't ask employees to solicit reviews from relatives.
- Company-controlled review websites that claim to be independent aren't
allowed.
- No using legal threats, physical threats or intimidation to forcefully delete
or prevent negative reviews. Businesses also can't misrepresent that the review
portion of their website comprises all or most of the reviews when it's
suppressing the negative ones.
- No selling or buying fake engagement like social media followers, likes or
views obtained through bots or hacked accounts.



174753688 story


'GEMINI IS REPLACING GOOGLE ASSISTANT ON PIXEL PHONES, AND IT'S A TRAINWRECK'
(FASTCOMPANY.COM) 61

Posted by BeauHD on Wednesday August 14, 2024 @08:02PM from the
ripping-the-bandage-off dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fast Company's Jared Newman: With its
new Pixel 9 phones, Google Assistant is getting a demotion. In its place,
Google's will ship Gemini as the default voice assistant on its flagship phones.
Gemini uses large language models to interpret questions and generate answers,
which means it can respond in a more conversational way. But while Google is
eager to showcase Gemini as an answer to OpenAI's ChatGPT, tossing out Assistant
is a mistake. Too often, Gemini fails at performing basic tasks, and it's going
to cause lots of frustration for folks who depend on their phone's voice control
features. Although Google says Gemini can now handle many of the same
instructions as Assistant, that hasn't been my experience at all. As evidence, I
submit a list of useful Google Assistant actions that either aren't possible or
don't work properly with Gemini. Here is a summary of the challenges Gemini
faces, as documented by Newman:

1. Local results are worse: Gemini provides less useful information for local
business queries compared to Google Assistant, lacking context and formatting.
2. Gemini can't take notes: Unlike Google Assistant, Gemini cannot take voice
notes or save them in an app like Google Keep.
3. No-can-do on to-do lists: Gemini does not support adding items to to-do
lists, a feature that Google Assistant handles efficiently.
4. Weather doesn't work right: Gemini struggles with weather forecasts, often
giving incorrect locations, unlike Google Assistant which works reliably.
5. Turn-by-turn directions don't load: Gemini fails to provide direct
turn-by-turn navigation, only offering a preview, whereas Google Assistant
launches navigation immediately.
6. Music and podcast requests are YouTube-only: Gemini only supports YouTube
Music, unlike Google Assistant which supports multiple streaming services.
7. Video (in)capabilities: Gemini cannot directly access streaming apps for
movies or shows, only suggesting content with no direct links.
8. No photo search: Gemini cannot search for photos in Google Photos, a task
that Google Assistant can easily handle.
9. Bye-bye to a useful news feature: Gemini fails to play or provide recent news
effectively, unlike Google Assistant's useful daily news briefing feature.
10. No Routines: Gemini does not support the automation of multiple actions
through Routines, a feature present in Google Assistant.
11. So much for Shortcuts: Gemini lacks the Shortcuts feature available in
Google Assistant, offering no replacement for quick actions in third-party apps.
12. A slower experience: Responses from Gemini are slower by a second or two
compared to Google Assistant when answering queries.



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