Shameless Plug

'Why the World Needs Lazier Robots' Published on January 05, 2025 at 02:11AM "Robots and AI models share one crucial characteristic," writes the Washington Post. "Whether to move around, conduct conversations or solve problems, they function by constantly taking in and computing increasingly vast quantities of data. It's a brute-force approach to automation. Processing all that data makes them such energy guzzlers that their planet-warming pollution could outweigh any benefits they offer." But then the article visits the robot soccer team of René van de Molengraft (chair of robotics at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands). "One solution, Molengraft thinks, might lie in 'lazy robotics,' a cheeky term to describe machines doing less and taking shortcuts..." There may be ceilings for laziness: limits to how much superfluous energy use can be stripped away before robots stop functioning as they should. Still, Molengraft ...

'Starlink Mini': High-Speed Internet, Fits in a Backpack, Now Available in the US Published on January 05, 2025 at 01:11AM It's weighs less than 15 pounds. It's 17 inches wide. And in June Elon Musk said it was "easily carried in a backpack. This product will change the world." And now, CNET reports: Calling all digital nomads and van-lifers: SpaceX's Starlink Mini is now available everywhere in the US. The small antenna costs $599 and requires a monthly subscription of either $50 or $165, depending on which plan you choose. Thanks to thousands of low Earth orbit satellites, Starlink has the unique ability to send high-speed internet just about anywhere. Standard service is great for home internet in rural areas, while the provider's Roam service and new portable dish are ideal for staying connected on the go... The Mini is a satellite dish and Wi-Fi router all in one that's about the size of a laptop. According to Starlink's website, it uses...

Dire Predictions for 2025 Include 'Largest Cyberattack in History' Published on January 05, 2025 at 12:11AM Politico asked an "array of thinkers — futurists, scientists, foreign policy analysts and others — to lay out some of the possible 'Black Swan' events that could await us in the new year: What are the unpredictable, unlikely episodes that aren't yet on the radar but would completely upend American life as we know it?" Here's one from Gary Marcus, a cognitive scientist and author of the book Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works For Us: 2025 could easily see the largest cyberattack in history, taking down, at least for a little while, some sizeable piece of the world's infrastructure, whether for deliberate ransom or to manipulate people to make money off a short on global markets. Cybercrime is already a huge, multi-trillion dollar problem, and one that most victims don't like to talk about. It is said to be bigger than...

Microsoft Expects To Spend $80 Billion on AI-Enabled Data Centers in Fiscal 2025 Published on January 04, 2025 at 01:51AM Microsoft plans to spend $80 billion in fiscal 2025 on the construction of data centers that can handle AI workloads, the company said in a Friday blog post. From a report: Over half of the expected AI infrastructure spending will take place in the U.S., Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith wrote. Microsoft's 2025 fiscal year ends in June. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Marvel Game Developer Reverses Century-Long Bans on Linux, Mac Users Published on January 04, 2025 at 01:10AM NetEase has reversed 100-year bans imposed on "Marvel Rivals" players using Linux and Mac compatibility tools in December 2024, following intervention from CodeWeavers' CEO and player complaints. The game's anti-cheat system had banned players until 2124 for using Proton and CrossOver software on Steam Deck and Apple devices. The company stated on Discord it "will not ban players who are playing fairly and without cheating" but has made no broader commitments regarding compatibility tools. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Moviegoers Dealt Originality a Setback in 2024 Published on January 04, 2025 at 12:30AM Box office returns have started to stabilize. But nine of the top 10 box office hits this year were sequels [non-paywalled link]. And the 10th was "Wicked." From a report: A year ago, Hollywood's creative community was celebrating the apparent decline of corporate, paint-by-numbers sequels and remakes. Blockbuster ticket sales for movies like "Oppenheimer," "Sound of Freedom" and "Barbie" had shown -- or so it seemed -- that audiences were finally hungry for fresh stories. You could almost hear the relief emanating from franchise-fatigued writers, directors and producers. "Everything Everywhere All at Once," the wildly inventive Oscar-winning art film that broke out in cinemas in 2022, had not been a fluke! Alas. Mass moviegoing swung squarely back to the predictable this past year, with sequels filling nine of the top 10 slots at the North Ame...

Meta's AI Profiles Are Indistinguishable From Terrible Spam That Took Over Facebook Published on January 03, 2025 at 11:50PM Meta's AI-generated social media profiles, which sparked controversy this week following comments by executive Connor Hayes about plans to expand AI characters across Facebook and Instagram, have largely failed to gain user engagement since their 2023 launch, 404 Media reported Friday. The profiles, introduced at Meta's Connect event in September 2023, stopped posting content in April 2024 after widespread user disinterest, with 15 of the original 28 accounts already deleted, Meta spokesperson Liz Sweeney told 404 Media. The AI characters, including personas like "Liv," a Black queer mother, and "Grandpa Brian," a retired businessman, generated minimal engagement and were criticized for posting stereotypical content. Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah reported that one AI profile admitted its purpose was "data collection...

Nick Clegg Is Leaving Meta After 7 Years Overseeing Its Policy Decisions Published on January 03, 2025 at 04:30AM Nick Clegg, former British Deputy Prime Minister and Meta's President of Global Affairs, is stepping down after seven years, with longtime policy executive Joel Kaplan set to replace him. Engadget reports: Clegg will be replaced by Joel Kaplan, a longtime policy executive and former White House aide to George W. Bush known for his deep ties to Republican circles in Washington. As Chief Global Affairs Officer, Kaplan -- as Semafor notes -- will be well-positioned to run interference for Meta as Donald Trump takes control of the White House. In a post on Threads, Clegg said that "this is the right time for me to move on from my role as President, Global Affairs at Meta." "My time at the company coincided with a significant resetting of the relationship between 'big tech' and the societal pressures manifested in new laws, institutions and norms aff...

Putin Orders Russian Government and Top Bank To Develop AI Cooperation With China Published on January 03, 2025 at 03:50AM President Vladimir Putin has directed Russia's government and the country's biggest bank, Sberbank, to strengthen AI cooperation with China, aiming to overcome Western sanctions and challenge U.S. dominance in AI innovation. Reuters reports: Putin's instructions were published on the Kremlin's website on Wednesday, three weeks after he announced that Russia would team up with BRICS partners and other countries to develop AI. He told the government and Sberbank, which is spearheading Russia's AI efforts, to "ensure further co-operation with the People's Republic of China in technological research and development in the field of artificial intelligence." Western sanctions intended to restrict Moscow's access to the technologies it needs to sustain its war against Ukraine have resulted in the world's major producers of micro...

US Appeals Court Blocks Biden Administration Effort To Restore Net Neutrality Rules Published on January 03, 2025 at 01:37AM A U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday the Federal Communications Commission did not have legal authority to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules. From a report: The decision is a blow to the outgoing Biden administration that had made restoring the open internet rules a priority. President Joe Biden signed a 2021 executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate the rules. A three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the FCC lacked authority to reinstate the rules initially implemented in 2015 by the agency under Democratic former President Barack Obama, but then repealed by the commission in 2017 under Republican former President Donald Trump. The rules also forbid special arrangements in which ISPs give improved network speeds or access to favored users. The court cited the Supreme Court's June decision in a case k...

Morgan Stanley Latest Major US Bank To Desert Global Climate Alliance Published on January 03, 2025 at 12:20AM Morgan Stanley withdrew from the UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance on Thursday, becoming the fifth major U.S. bank to abandon the climate coalition in recent weeks. The departure follows similar moves by Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. While maintaining its commitment to net-zero goals and 2030 emissions targets, Morgan Stanley joins a broader retreat from environmental initiatives by financial institutions. The bank's exit from the alliance, established in 2021 to reduce lending-related emissions, comes amid mounting Republican scrutiny of Wall Street's climate policies and legal challenges from state attorneys general targeting financial firms' environmental stances. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

People Are Playing a New DOOM-Themed CAPTCHA Published on January 02, 2025 at 05:29AM An anonymous reader writes: Guillermo Rauch, CEO of Vercel, a frontend-as-a-service product, just used the company's AI site builder to come up with a new twist on CAPTCHAs, one that invites users to play the classic single-player game DOOM and killing at least three monsters. You can check it out here. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

How AI is Unlocking Ancient Texts Published on January 02, 2025 at 04:30AM AI is unlocking ancient texts previously thought unreadable, potentially revolutionizing historical research, according to a Nature article. Neural networks have successfully decoded burned Roman scrolls from Herculaneum, deciphered ancient Chinese oracle bones, and translated vast Korean royal archives. In a breakthrough achievement, researchers used AI to reveal 16 columns of Greek philosophical text from a charred Herculaneum scroll that had been unreadable for 2,000 years. The technology could help scholars access hundreds more unopened scrolls from Herculaneum and other historical collections worldwide. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Belgium Becomes First EU Country To Ban Sale of Disposable Vapes Published on January 02, 2025 at 02:00AM Belgium has become the EU first country to ban the sale of disposable vapes in an effort to stop young people from becoming addicted to nicotine and to protect the environment. From a report: The sale of disposable electronic cigarettes is banned in Belgium on health and environmental grounds from 1 January. A ban on outdoor smoking in Milan came into force on the same day, as EU countries discuss tighter controls on tobacco. Announcing the ban last year, Belgium's health minister, Frank Vandenbroucke, described electronic cigarettes as an "extremely harmful" product that damages society and the environment. "Disposable e-cigarettes is a new product simply designed to attract new consumers," he told the Associated Press. "E-cigarettes often contain nicotine. Nicotine makes you addicted to nicotine. Nicotine is bad for your health." Read more of...

India Again Delays Rules To Break Payments Duopoly Published on January 02, 2025 at 12:30AM India has once again pushed back a contentious plan to limit major technology companies' control of the nation's digital payments system, extending a regulatory uncertainty that has weighed on the sector for years. From a report: The National Payments Corporation of India said on Tuesday it would extend the deadline for implementing a 30% cap on any individual app's share of transactions on the Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, the country's ubiquitous digital payments network, to December 31, 2026. The decision provides temporary relief to Walmart-backed PhonePe and Google Pay, which together handle more than 85% of transactions on UPI. The network, which processes over 13 billion transactions monthly, has become the backbone of India's digital economy since its launch eight years ago. Read more of this story at Slashdot.