Month: March 2023

GitHub Copilot now integrates way better into Visual Studio (?=.* Code)

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Introduced last summer after a year-long technical trial, Copilot offers coding suggestions, though not always good ones, to developers using GitHub with supported text editors and IDEs, like Visual Studio Code. As of last month, according to GitHub, Copilot had a hand in 46 percent of the code being created on Microsoft’s cloud repo Read more about GitHub Copilot now integrates way better into Visual Studio (?=.* Code)[…]

EU right to repair law could see fixes for up to 10 years for more goods, still offers ways out though

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The European Commission has adopted a new set of right to repair rules that, among other things, will add electronic devices like smartphones and tablets to a list of goods that must be built with repairability in mind. The new rules [PDF] will need to be need to be negotiated between the European Parliament and Read more about EU right to repair law could see fixes for up to 10 years for more goods, still offers ways out though[…]

“Click-to-cancel” rule would penalize companies that make you cancel by phone

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Canceling a subscription should be just as easy as signing up for the service, the Federal Trade Commission said in a proposed “click-to-cancel” rule announced today. If approved, the plan “would put an end to companies requiring you to call customer service to cancel an account that you opened on their website,” FTC commissioners said. Read more about “Click-to-cancel” rule would penalize companies that make you cancel by phone[…]

Is a penguin heavy? New study explores why we disagree so often

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Is a dog more similar to a chicken or an eagle? Is a penguin noisy? Is a whale friendly? Psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley, say these absurd-sounding questions might help us better understand what’s at the heart of some of society’s most vexing arguments. Research published online Thursday in the journal Open Mind shows Read more about Is a penguin heavy? New study explores why we disagree so often[…]

Planting Undetectable Backdoors in Machine Learning Models

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] 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 Read more about Planting Undetectable Backdoors in Machine Learning Models[…]

Whistleblowers Take Note: Don’t Trust Cropping Tools – you can often uncrop them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] It is, in fact, possible to uncrop images and documents across a variety of work-related computer apps. Among the suites that include the ability are Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Acrobat. Being able to uncrop images and documents poses risks for sources who may be under the impression that cropped materials don’t contain Read more about Whistleblowers Take Note: Don’t Trust Cropping Tools – you can often uncrop them[…]

Amazon Warns Staff Not to Share Confidential Information With ChatGPT

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Soon, an Amazon corporate lawyer chimed in. She warned employees not to provide ChatGPT with “any Amazon confidential information (including Amazon code you are working on),” according to a screenshot of the message seen by Insider. The attorney, a senior corporate counsel at Amazon, suggested employees follow the company’s existing conflict of interest and Read more about Amazon Warns Staff Not to Share Confidential Information With ChatGPT[…]

A persistent influence of supernovae on biodiversity

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The number of exploding stars (supernovae) has significantly influenced marine life’s biodiversity during the last 500 million years. This is the essence of a new study published in Ecology and Evolution by Henrik Svensmark, DTU space.   Extensive studies of the fossil record have shown that the diversity of life forms has varied significantly over Read more about A persistent influence of supernovae on biodiversity[…]

Ubisoft Ghostwriter: AI to write NPC dialogue

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] As games grow bigger in scope, writers are facing the ratcheting challenge of keeping NPCs individually interesting and realistic. How do you keep each interaction with them – especially if there are hundreds of them – distinct? This is where Ghostwriter, an in-house AI tool created by Ubisoft’s R&D department, La Forge, comes in. Read more about Ubisoft Ghostwriter: AI to write NPC dialogue[…]

Dashcam App is driving nazi informer wet dream, Sends Video of You Speeding and other infractions Directly to Police

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Speed cameras have been around for a long time and so have dash cams. The uniquely devious idea of combining the two into a traffic hall monitor’s dream device was not a potential reality until recently, though. According to the British Royal Automobile Club, such a combination is coming soon. The app, which is reportedly Read more about Dashcam App is driving nazi informer wet dream, Sends Video of You Speeding and other infractions Directly to Police[…]

TSA Confirms Biometric Scanning Soon Won’t Be Optional Even For Domestic Travelers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] In 2017, the DHS began quietly rolling out its facial recognition program, starting with international airports and aimed mainly at collecting/scanning people boarding international flights. Even in its infancy, the DHS was hinting this was never going to remain solely an international affair. It made its domestic desires official shortly thereafter, with the TSA Read more about TSA Confirms Biometric Scanning Soon Won’t Be Optional Even For Domestic Travelers[…]

Roblox launches its first generative AI game creation tools

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last month, Roblox outlined its vision for AI-assisted content creation, imagining a future where Generative AI could help users create code, 3D models and more with little more than text prompts. Now, it’s taking its first steps toward allowing “every user on Roblox to be a creator” by launching its first AI tools: Code Assist Read more about Roblox launches its first generative AI game creation tools[…]

Big Four publishers move to crush the Internet Archive

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On Monday four of the largest book publishers asked a New York court to grant summary judgment in a copyright lawsuit seeking to shut down the Internet Archive’s online library and hold the non-profit organization liable for damages. The lawsuit was filed back June 1, 2020, by the Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley Read more about Big Four publishers move to crush the Internet Archive[…]

US hospital rolls out AI ‘copilot’ for doctors’ paperwork

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The technology, developed by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania startup Abridge, aims to reduce workloads for clinicians and improve care for patients. Shivdev Rao, the company’s CEO and a cardiologist, told The Register doctors can spend hours writing up notes from their previous patient sessions outside their usual work schedules. “That really adds up over time, and Read more about US hospital rolls out AI ‘copilot’ for doctors’ paperwork[…]

Microsoft Adds DALL-E AI Image Generator to Bing

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft on Tuesday announced that it is using an advanced version of Open AI’s DALL-E image generator to power its own Bing and Edge browser. Like DALL-E before it, the newly announced Bing Image Creator will generate a set of images for users based on a line of written text. The addition of image content Read more about Microsoft Adds DALL-E AI Image Generator to Bing[…]

Sign up to try the new AI Bard from Google

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Today we’re starting to open access to Bard, an early experiment that lets you collaborate with generative AI. This follows our announcements from last week as we continue to bring helpful AI experiences to people, businesses and communities. You can use Bard to boost your productivity, accelerate your ideas and fuel your curiosity. You might Read more about Sign up to try the new AI Bard from Google[…]

Purported Chinese warships interfering with passenger planes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Australian airline Qantas issued standing orders to its pilots last week advising them that some of its fleet experienced interference on VHF stations from sources purporting to be the Chinese Military. The Register has confirmed the reports. The interference has been noticed in the western Pacific and South China Sea. Qantas has advised its crew Read more about Purported Chinese warships interfering with passenger planes[…]

RGB on your PC – OEM bloatware alternatives tested (with an ASUS)

Posted on by Robin Edgar

RGB on your PC is cool, it’s beautiful and can be quite nuts but it’s also quite complex and trying to get it to do what you want it to isn’t always easy. This article is the result of many many reboots and much Googling. I set up a PC with 2×3 Lian Li Unifan Read more about RGB on your PC – OEM bloatware alternatives tested (with an ASUS)[…]

Qubits put new spin on magnetism: Boosting applications of quantum computers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] “With the help of a quantum annealer, we demonstrated a new way to pattern magnetic states,” said Alejandro Lopez-Bezanilla, a virtual experimentalist in the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Lopez-Bezanilla is the corresponding author of a paper about the research in Science Advances. “We showed that a magnetic quasicrystal lattice can host Read more about Qubits put new spin on magnetism: Boosting applications of quantum computers[…]

AI-generated art may be protected, says US Copyright Office – requires meaningful creative input from a human

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] AI software capable of automatically generating images or text from an input prompt or instruction has made it easier for people to churn out content. Correspondingly, the USCO has received an increasing number of applications to register copyright protections for material, especially artwork, created using such tools. US law states that intellectual property can Read more about AI-generated art may be protected, says US Copyright Office – requires meaningful creative input from a human[…]

SCOPE Europe becomes the accredited monitoring body for a Dutch national data protection code of conduct

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]SCOPE Europe is now accredited by the Dutch Data Protection Authority as the monitoring body of the Data Pro Code. On this occasion, SCOPE Europe celebrates its success in obtaining its second accreditation and looks forward to continuing its work on fostering trust in the digital economy. When we were approached by NLdigital, the creators Read more about SCOPE Europe becomes the accredited monitoring body for a Dutch national data protection code of conduct[…]

Civitai / stable diffusion

Posted on by Robin Edgar

CivitAI is an AI image generator that isn’t hosted in the US, allowing for much more freedom of creation. It’s a really amazing system that gives Midjourney and DALL-E a run for their money. https://civitai.com/models/4201/realistic-vision-v13 https://civitai.com/models/4384/dreamshaper Civitai is a platform that makes it easy for people to share and discover resources for creating AI art. Read more about Civitai / stable diffusion[…]

AI-imager Midjourney v5 stuns with photorealistic images—and 5-fingered hands

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On Wednesday, Midjourney announced version 5 of its commercial AI image-synthesis service, which can produce photorealistic images at a quality level that some AI art fans are calling creepy and “too perfect.” Midjourney v5 is available now as an alpha test for customers who subscribe to the Midjourney service, which is available through Discord. “MJ Read more about AI-imager Midjourney v5 stuns with photorealistic images—and 5-fingered hands[…]

Anker Eufy security cam ‘stored unique ID’ of everyone filmed in the cloud for other cameras to identify – and for anyone to watch

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A lawsuit filed against eufy security cam maker Anker Tech claims the biz assigns “unique identifiers” to the faces of any person who walks in front of its devices – and then stores that data in the cloud, “essentially logging the locations of unsuspecting individuals” when they stroll past. […] All three suits allege Anker Read more about Anker Eufy security cam ‘stored unique ID’ of everyone filmed in the cloud for other cameras to identify – and for anyone to watch[…]

‘Codon’ Compiles Python to Native Machine Code That’s Even Faster Than C

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Codon is a new “high-performance Python compiler that compiles Python code to native machine code without any runtime overhead,” according to its README file on GitHub. Typical speedups over Python are on the order of 10-100x or more, on a single thread. Codon’s performance is typically on par with (and sometimes better than) that of Read more about ‘Codon’ Compiles Python to Native Machine Code That’s Even Faster Than C[…]