The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

AI cannot be patent ‘inventor’, UK Supreme Court rules in landmark case – but a company can

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A U.S. computer scientist on Wednesday lost his bid to register patents over inventions created by his artificial intelligence system in a landmark case in Britain about whether AI can own patent rights. Stephen Thaler wanted to be granted two patents in the UK for inventions he says were devised by his “creativity machine” called Read more about AI cannot be patent ‘inventor’, UK Supreme Court rules in landmark case – but a company can[…]

apple pay phone

Apple Pay, Apple Card and Wallet were down for some users this morning – again

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple’s financial services, including Apple Pay, Apple Cash, Apple Card and Wallet, experienced service disruptions for some users between 6:15 AM and 6:49 AM Eastern this morning, according to the company’s System Status page. As AppleInsider notes, it’s unclear how widespread the issues were, but the company has experienced intermittent Apple Pay issues earlier this Read more about Apple Pay, Apple Card and Wallet were down for some users this morning – again[…]

windows mixed reality

Microsoft is killing Windows mixed reality platform

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Windows Mixed Reality is heading to a farm upstate. Microsoft is shutting down the platform, according to an official list of deprecated Windows features. This includes the garden variety Windows Mixed Reality software, along with the Mixed Reality Portal app and the affiliated Steam VR app. The platform isn’t gone yet, but Microsoft says it’ll Read more about Microsoft is killing Windows mixed reality platform[…]

champagne gas and pressure simulations

Clarified at last: The physics of popping champagne

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It sounds like a simple, well-known everyday phenomenon: there is high pressure in a champagne bottle, the stopper is driven outwards by the compressed gas in the bottle and flies away with a powerful pop. But the physics behind this is complicated. […] Using complex computer simulations, it was possible to recalculate the behavior of Read more about Clarified at last: The physics of popping champagne[…]

lawrence livermore national laboratory NFT chamber

Nuclear fusion net gain experiment replicated three times.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last year on a December morning, scientists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California (LLNL) managed, in a world first, to produce a nuclear fusion reaction that released more energy than it used, in a process called “ignition.” Now they say they have successfully replicated ignition at least three Read more about Nuclear fusion net gain experiment replicated three times.[…]

france ai politicians giving each other money

AI Act: French govt accused of being influenced by lobbyist with conflict of interests by senators in the pockets of copyright giants. Which surprises no-one watching the AI act process.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

French senators criticised the government’s stance in the AI Act negotiations, particularly a lack of copyright protection and the influence of a lobbyist with alleged conflicts of interests, former digital state secretary Cédric O. The EU AI Act is set to become the world’s first regulation of artificial intelligence. Since the emergence of AI models, Read more about AI Act: French govt accused of being influenced by lobbyist with conflict of interests by senators in the pockets of copyright giants. Which surprises no-one watching the AI act process.[…]

The UK Government Should Not Let Copyright Stifle AI Innovation

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As Walled Culture has often noted, the process of framing new copyright laws is tilted against the public in multiple ways. And on the rare occasions when a government makes some mild concession to anyone outside the copyright industry, the latter invariably rolls out its highly-effective lobbying machine to fight against such measures. It’s happening again in Read more about The UK Government Should Not Let Copyright Stifle AI Innovation[…]

VW with touch controls interior

Volkswagen brings back physical buttons for all new cars

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Future Volkswagen interiors will all draw inspiration from the ID 2all concept car and bring back physical buttons and controls. The touchscreen-heavy approach taken for the Mk8 Golf and ID 3 has proven unpopular with customers, prompting a complete about-turn by the company in the way it approaches design. VW interior designer Darius Watola said the ID2all concept “showed Read more about Volkswagen brings back physical buttons for all new cars[…]

documents scattered

Internet Archive: Digital Lending is Fair Use, Not Copyright Infringement – a library is a library, whether it’s paper or digital

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In 2020, publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, John Wiley and Penguin Random House sued the Internet Archive (IA) for copyright infringement, equating its ‘Open Library’ to a pirate site. IA’s library is a non-profit operation that scans physical books, which can then be lent out to patrons in an ebook format. Patrons can also borrow books that Read more about Internet Archive: Digital Lending is Fair Use, Not Copyright Infringement – a library is a library, whether it’s paper or digital[…]

apple and google as monopoly characters holding big bags of cash in front of a store

Google to pay $700 million and make tiny app store changes to settle with 50 states

Posted on by Robin Edgar

On December 11th, a jury decided that Google has an illegal monopoly with its Google Play app store, handing Epic Games a win. But Epic wasn’t the only one fighting an antitrust case. All 50 state attorneys general settled a similar lawsuit in September, and we’ve just now learned what Google agreed to give up Read more about Google to pay $700 million and make tiny app store changes to settle with 50 states[…]

lamborghini active wheel hub tech

Lamborghini Tests Active Camber and Toe Control for Better Handling

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It’s not often that we get to experience a new and completely novel piece of automotive technology for the first time. But that’s what Lamborghini seems to have created with its Active Wheel Carrier, which we have now sampled in prototype form. The system itself is both clever and complex, but the basic purpose is Read more about Lamborghini Tests Active Camber and Toe Control for Better Handling[…]

Magic: The Gathering Bans the Use of Generative AI in ‘Final’ Products – Wizards of the Coast cancelled themselves

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] a D&D artist confirmed they had used generative AI programs to finish several pieces of art included in the sourcebook Glory of the Giants—saw Wizards of the Coast publicly ban the use of AI tools in the process of creating art for the venerable TTRPG. Now, the publisher is making that clearer for its Read more about Magic: The Gathering Bans the Use of Generative AI in ‘Final’ Products – Wizards of the Coast cancelled themselves[…]

Internet Archive Files Opening Brief In Its Appeal Of Book Publishers’ wanton destruction of it

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A few weeks ago, publishing giant Penguin Random House (and, yes, I’m still confused why they didn’t call it Random Penguin House after the merger) announced that it was filing a lawsuit (along with many others) against the state of Iowa for its attempt to ban books in school libraries. In its announcement, Penguin Random Read more about Internet Archive Files Opening Brief In Its Appeal Of Book Publishers’ wanton destruction of it[…]

People discussing Assisted Dying (Euthanasia) in the UK – apparently it’s still illegal there

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Dame Esther Rantzen says a free vote on assisted dying would be top of the agenda if she were PM for a day. “I think it’s important that the law catches up with what the country wants,” the veteran broadcaster told Radio 4’s Today podcast. Earlier this year, the 83-year-old announced she had been diagnosed Read more about People discussing Assisted Dying (Euthanasia) in the UK – apparently it’s still illegal there[…]

Research team discovers how to sabotage antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The typical strategy when treating microbial infections is to blast the pathogen with an antibiotic drug, which works by getting inside the harmful cell and killing it. This is not as easy as it sounds, because any new antibiotic needs to be both water soluble, so that it can travel easily through the bloodstream, and Read more about Research team discovers how to sabotage antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’[…]

AI trained on millions of life stories can predict risk of early death

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An artificial intelligence trained on personal data covering the entire population of Denmark can predict people’s chances of dying more accurately than any existing model, even those used in the insurance industry. The researchers behind the technology say it could also have a positive impact in early prediction of social and health problems – but Read more about AI trained on millions of life stories can predict risk of early death[…]

Internet Architecture Board hits out at US, EU, UK client-side scanning (spying on everything on your phone and pc all the time) plans – to save (heard it before?) kids

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Apple brought widespread attention to this so-called client-side scanning in August 2021 when it announced plans to examine photos on iPhones and iPads before they were synced to iCloud, as a safeguard against the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Under that plan, if someone’s files were deemed to be CSAM, the user Read more about Internet Architecture Board hits out at US, EU, UK client-side scanning (spying on everything on your phone and pc all the time) plans – to save (heard it before?) kids[…]

How To Build Your Own Custom ChatGPT Bot

Posted on by Robin Edgar

There’s something new and powerful for ChatGPT users to play around with: Custom GPTs. These bespoke bots are essentially more focused, more specific versions of the main ChatGPT model, enabling you to build something for a particular purpose without using any coding or advanced knowledge of artificial intelligence. The name GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Read more about How To Build Your Own Custom ChatGPT Bot[…]

MS Phi-2 small language model – outperforms many LLMs but fits on your laptop

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We are now releasing Phi-2 (opens in new tab), a 2.7 billion-parameter language model that demonstrates outstanding reasoning and language understanding capabilities, showcasing state-of-the-art performance among base language models with less than 13 billion parameters. On complex benchmarks Phi-2 matches or outperforms models up to 25x larger, thanks to new innovations in model scaling and Read more about MS Phi-2 small language model – outperforms many LLMs but fits on your laptop[…]

Ubisoft Just Delisted The Crew Game Without Warning – will be unplayable

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ubisoft’s The Crew, which was released in 2014 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, has been delisted without warning. Its servers will shut off next year, too. And because the game is an always-online experience, Ubisoft has confirmed that it will become unplayable once that happens. The Crew is a massive open-world Read more about Ubisoft Just Delisted The Crew Game Without Warning – will be unplayable[…]

Twitch Allows ‘Artistic Nudity’, But because US males are scared of seeing skin, rolls back the rules

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Streaming platform Twitch recently announced a change to its sexual content policies that allowed some forms of fictionalized nudity—such as digital characters, sculptures, or drawings—as long as it was properly labeled. But now, just a few days later, it’s rolling back these changes and has apologized to the community. Earlier this month, a new Twitch Read more about Twitch Allows ‘Artistic Nudity’, But because US males are scared of seeing skin, rolls back the rules[…]

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Google Will Stop Telling Law Enforcement Which Users Were Near a Crime, start saving location data on the mobile device instead of their servers. But not really though. And Why?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

So most of the breathless reporting on Googles “Updates to Location History and new controls coming soon to Maps” is a bit like this below. However Google itself in “Manage your Location History” says that if you have location history on, it will also save it to it’s servers. There is no mention of encryption. Read more about Google Will Stop Telling Law Enforcement Which Users Were Near a Crime, start saving location data on the mobile device instead of their servers. But not really though. And Why?[…]

Health misinformation is rampant on social media

Posted on by Robin Edgar

This article was originally featured on The Conversation. The global anti-vaccine movement and vaccine hesitancy that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic show no signs of abating. According to a survey of U.S. adults, Americans in October 2023 were less likely to view approved vaccines as safe than they were in April 2021. As vaccine confidence falls, health misinformation continues Read more about Health misinformation is rampant on social media[…]

Orbit Fab wants to create refueling stations in space, standardised fuel ports, refineries

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] humans have sent over 15,000 satellites into orbit. Just over half are still functioning; the rest, after running out of fuel and ending their serviceable life, have either burned up in the atmosphere or are still orbiting the planet as useless hunks of metal. […] That has created an aura of space junk around Read more about Orbit Fab wants to create refueling stations in space, standardised fuel ports, refineries[…]

Copyright Troll Porn Company Makes Millions By Shaming Potential Porn Consumers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In 1999 Los Angeles Times reporter Michael Hiltzik co-authored a Pulitzer Prize-winning story. Now a business columnist for the Times, he writes that a Southern California maker of pornographic films named Strike 3 Holdings is also “a copyright troll,” according to U.S. Judge Royce C. Lamberth: Lamberth cwrote in 2018, “Armed with hundreds of cut-and-pasted Read more about Copyright Troll Porn Company Makes Millions By Shaming Potential Porn Consumers[…]