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An anonymous reader quotes a report from PBS: An IRS plan to test drive a new electronic free-file tax return system next year has got supporters and critics of the idea mobilizing to sway the public and Congress over whether the government should set up a permanent program to help people file their taxes without needing to pay somebody else to figure out what they owe. On one side, civil society groups this week launched a coalition to promote the move toward a government-run free-file program. On the other, tax preparation firms like Intuit -- the parent company of TurboTax -- and H&R Block have been pouring millions into trying to stop the idea cold. The advocacy groups are exponentially out-monied. An April AP analysis found that overall, Intuit, H&R Block, and other private companies and advocacy groups for large tax preparation businesses, as well as proponents in favor of electronic free file, have reported spending $39.3 million since 2006 to lobby on "free-file" and other matters. Federal law doesn't require domestic lobbyists to itemize expenses by specific issue, so the sums are not limited to free-file. Intuit spent at least $25.6 million since 2006 on lobbying, H&R Block about $9.6 million and the conservative Americans for Tax Reform roughly $3 million. In contrast, the NAACP has spent $140,000 lobbying on "free-file" since 2006 and Public Citizen has spent $110,000 in the same time frame. "What we have on our side is public opinion," said Igor Volsky, executive director of the liberal Groundwork Action advocacy group. Volsky's organization and leaders from Public Citizen, the Center for the Study of Social Policy, Code for America, the Economic Security Project and others launched the "Coalition for Free and Fair Filing" on Wednesday. The group's mission is to "ensure all U.S. taxpayers can easily file tax returns and get the tax credits they deserve by safeguarding and expanding" the new IRS program. "The overwhelming majority of people demand a free-file option," Volsky said. "Now the question for us is how do you channel that into effective political pressure." The IRS in May released a report that said most taxpayers are interested in filing their taxes directly to the IRS for free, and concurrently announced plans to launch the pilot program for the 2024 filing season. The goal is to test a direct file system that will help the IRS decide whether to move forward with a more permanent program. That idea has faced the immediate threat of budget cuts from congressional Republicans. Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee in June proposed a budget rider that would prohibit funds to be used for the IRS to create a government-run tax preparation software, unless approved by a group of House and Senate committees. The move "safeguards the IRS from an obvious conflict of interest where the tax collector becomes the tax preparer," the bill's summary states.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft is on track to deliver an improved version of its combat goggles by July 31 for intensive soldier testing that will help the US Army decide whether to deploy the devices by 2025 or cancel the troubled program, according to the service. From a report: After delivery, the first 20 prototype IVAS 1.2 goggles will be assessed by two squads of solders in late August to check for improvements in reliability, low-light performance and how well they fit soldiers without repeats of the nausea and dizziness that halted the deployment of earlier versions. Microsoft said in a statement that the deliveries will be three months ahead of schedule. "This initial assessment measures system performance to ensure engineering efforts are on schedule and meeting design objectives," the Army said. A decision to deploy the military version would unlock billions of dollars for procurement that Congress has become unwilling to free up pending improvements to the device, which is based on the company's HoloLens "mixed reality" goggles.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google continues the rollout of its Privacy Sandbox APIs -- its replacement for tracking cookies for the online advertising industry. From a report: Today, right on schedule and in time for the launch of Chrome 115 into the stable release channel, Google announced that it will now start enabling the relevance and measurement APIs in its browser. This will be a gradual rollout, with Google aiming for a 99% availability by mid-August. At this point, Google doesn't expect to make any major changes to the APIs. This includes virtually all of the core Privacy Sandbox features, including Topics, Protected Audience, Attribution Reporting, Private Aggregation, Shared Storage and Fenced Frames. It's worth noting that for the time being, Privacy Sandbox will run in parallel with third-party cookies in the browser. It won't be until early 2024 that Google will deprecate third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users. After that, the process will speed up though and Google will deprecate these cookies for all users by the second half of 2024.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Ahead of the Oppenheimer release, IMAX's TikTok showed the massive 70mm film print and special IMAX extensions. The video interestingly featured an emulated Palm m130, commonly known as a Palm Pilot, a 2002 device running on a Motorola 33MHz DragonBall VZ processor and Palm OS 4.1. From a report: In an IMAX theater, the m130's job is to control the quick turn reel unit, or QTRU for short. (For many years, it appears, a non-emulated m130 sat holstered in most theaters.) The QTRU's job is to control the platters, which are those large horizontal shelves where all of a film's many reels are stitched together, stored, and then quickly spun out to and from the projector. The IMAX 1570 projector moves film at a little under six feet per second, so it's all happening really fast. The m130 is apparently crucial to keeping the thing humming -- "PALM PILOT MUST BE ON ALL THE TIME," reads a notice above an image of a different m130 that has since been passed around the internet -- but doesn't often need to be used. "I've never had to interact with the Palm Pilot," says one person familiar with the technology. "It's really just a status screen." Its job is to keep the QTRU moving at a consistent speed and to help keep the film's video in sync with its audio.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Billionaire Tencent co-founder Pony Ma has penned a lengthy op-ed backing Chinese pledges to resuscitate the private sector, becoming the most prominent entrepreneur to endorse Beijing's promises to unshackle a giant swath of the economy. From a report: China's third-wealthiest person echoed many of the sentiments in an official policy document published Wednesday that called for the revival of private businesses, at a time the world's No. 2 economy is struggling to gain momentum. He was joined by Xiaomi co-founder Lei Jun, the smartphone mogul turned EV entrepreneur, who in a separate editorial likened the policies to a manifesto for quality growth and innovation. Ma, who rarely voices his opinions but has publicly supported important policies in the past, penned an article for state-owned CCTV in which he called private enterprise pivotal to the nation, and explicitly referenced Chinese President Xi Jinping's previous proclamations on the matter. He talked about the advent of AI and how the country needed to embrace next-generation technology. Ma's comments are notable given Tencent was among the corporations targeted by a sweeping crackdown on the private sector that began in 2020 with the scrapping of Ant Group's IPO. "We must once again embrace the opportunities presented by the coming industrial revolution," Ma wrote in his op-ed carried on CCTV's website. Using the policies as a guide, "we will look ahead with confidence and redouble our efforts."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Amazon has announced that its palm-scanning payment technology, called Amazon One, will roll out to all 500-plus Whole Foods locations by the end of 2023. From a report: Amazon first introduced the contactless Amazon One payment system in 2020, but its expansion by the end of 2023 will be its largest to date. Amazon One works by the user scanning their palm above a reader -- in other words, it's another form of contactless biometric authentication, like Apple's Face ID. But instead of reading your face, Amazon One reads the lines and ridges of your palm and the unique vein patterns beneath it. This reading of deeper subcutaneous features means that someone can't just photograph your palm and start loading up on costly cheeses at Whole Foods at your expense. Your palm signature is associated with your Amazon Prime account or just a credit card, and it means you don't even need to bring your phone or wallet with you to shop and pay for goods. Currently, Amazon One is available at 200 Whole Foods in the United States as well as 200 locations at other retail outlets. Amazon's rollout will bring the total Amazon One payment locations to over 700 by year's end. Other locations where you can currently use Amazon One include Coors Field in Colorado and select Panera Bread restaurants.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The price of an individual YouTube Premium subscription is increasing by $2 to $13.99 per month in the US for new and current customers. From a report: This price increase is live for new subscribers as seen on youtube.com/premium. Instead of $11.99, YouTube Premium now costs $13.99/month. Meanwhile, it's $18.99 if you're subscribing from the iOS YouTube app. Toward the end of last year, family Premium plans saw a big hike to $22.99/month. That remains the same today. The annual subscription, which was introduced in January of 2022, goes to $139.99 in a $20 increase. Compared to paying monthly, you save $27.89.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google is testing a product that uses artificial intelligence technology to produce news stories, pitching it to news organizations including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal's owner, News Corp, The Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: The tool, known internally by the working title Genesis, can take in information -- details of current events, for example -- and generate news copy, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the product. One of the three people familiar with the product said that Google believed it could serve as a kind of personal assistant for journalists, automating some tasks to free up time for others, and that the company saw it as responsible technology that could help steer the publishing industry away from the pitfalls of generative A.I. Some executives who saw Google's pitch described it as unsettling, asking not to be identified discussing a confidential matter. Two people said it seemed to take for granted the effort that went into producing accurate and artful news stories.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Netflix is bringing password-sharing crackdown to consumers in India and every other market starting today, the global streaming giant said after a limited rollout of the restriction helped the firm sign up nearly 6 million subscribers in the quarter ending June. From a report: The streaming giant said it will start to address account sharing between households in almost all of its remaining countries starting Thursday. Netflix, which once supported the practice of account password-sharing, now finds it posing complex challenges to its business prospects. It began testing the restriction last year, much to many subscribers' chagrin, and expanded it to a number of other countries including Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain and the U.S. in 2023. In some aforementioned markets, Netflix allowed those sharing the password to pay extra to accommodate their friends.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple says it will remove services such as FaceTime and iMessage from the UK rather than weaken security if new proposals are made law and acted upon. From a report: The government is seeking to update the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) 2016. It wants messaging services to clear security features with the Home Office before releasing them to customers. The act lets the Home Office demand security features are disabled, without telling the public. Under the update, this would have to be immediate. Currently, there has to be a review, there can also be an independent oversight process and a technology company can appeal before taking any action. Because of the secrecy surrounding these demands, little is known about how many have been issued and whether they have been complied with. But many messaging services currently offer end-to-end encryption - so messages can be unscrambled by only the devices sending and receiving them.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has launched a long-awaited service which will aim to modernize the country's payment system by eventually allowing everyday Americans to send and receive funds in seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the central bank announced on Thursday. From a report: The "FedNow" service, which has been in the works since 2019, will seek to eliminate the several-day lag it commonly takes cash transfers to settle, bringing the U.S. in line with countries including the United Kingdom, India, Brazil, as well as the European Union, where similar services have existed for years. FedNow is launching with 41 banks and 15 service providers certified to use the service, including community banks and large lenders like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon, and US Bancorp, but the Fed plans to onboard more banks and credit unions this year. The Fed said on Thursday in a statement that 35 banks and credit unions were currently utilizing the service, as well as the Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Service. The service will compete with private sector real-time payments systems, including The Clearing House's RTP network, and was initially opposed by big banks who said it was redundant. But many have since agreed to participate on the basis FedNow will allow them to expand the services they can offer clients. "For us, FedNow really is a wonderful way of expanding reach," said Anu Somani, head of global payables and embedded payments at U.S. Bank. Unlike peer-to-peer payments services like Venmo or PayPal, which act as intermediaries between banks, payments made via FedNow will settle directly in central bank accounts.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The U.S. has suspended federal funding to China's Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) for failing to provide documentation related to concerns over biosafety protocol violations at the facility that has faced questions for years over the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. From a report: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also said it wants to bar the Chinese research body from participating in government procurement and non-procurement programs going forward. WIV has not received federal funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. medical research agency, since July 2020, according to an HHS statement on Wednesday.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Kevin Mitnick, once the so-called "most wanted computer criminal in US history," died on Sunday. He was 59. The New York Times adds: The cause was complications from pancreatic cancer. He had been undergoing treatment at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center following his diagnosis more than a year ago, according to the King David Memorial Chapel & Cemetery in Las Vegas. After serving prison time for breaking into and tampering with corporate computer networks, he was released in 2000 and began a new career as a security consultant, writer and public speaker. Mr. Mitnick was best known for the crime spree during the 1990s that involved the theft of thousands of data files and credit card numbers from computers across the country. He used his skills to work his way into the nation's phone and cell networks, vandalizing government, corporate and university computer systems. Investigators at the time named him the "most wanted" computer hacker in the world. In 1995, after a more than two-year-long manhunt, Mr. Mitnick was captured by the F.B.I. and charged with the illegal use of a telephone access device and computer fraud. "He allegedly had access to corporate trade secrets worth millions of dollars. He was a very big threat," Kent Walker, a former assistant U.S. attorney in San Francisco, said at the time. In 1998, while Mr. Mitnick awaited sentencing, a group of supporters commandeered The New York Times website for several hours, forcing it to shut down. The next year, Mr. Mitnick pleaded guilty to computer and wire fraud as part of an agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. He was also prohibited from using a computer or cellphone without the permission of his probation officer for the three years following his release. From an obituary: Kevin was an original; much of his life reads like a fiction story. The word that most of us who knew him would use -- magnificent. He grew up brilliant and restless in the San Fernando Valley in California, an only child with a penchant for mischief, a defiant attitude toward authority, and a love for magic. Kevin's intelligence and delight in holding the rapt attention of audiences revealed themselves early in his childhood and continued throughout his life. In time, he transitioned from pranks and learning magic tricks to phone phreaking, social engineering, and computer hacking. When his desire to push boundaries led him too far astray, he landed in juvenile detention and eventually served a couple of stints in prison. His time on the FBI's Most Wanted List was well documented in his New York Times bestselling book, The Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker, and his other titles: The Art of Deception, The Art of Intrusion, both co-authored with William Simon, and The Art of Invisibility with Robert Vamosi. Kevin emerged from his final prison term, which he deemed a 'vacation,' in January 2000. He was a changed individual, and began constructing a new career, as a White Hat hacker and security consultant. He became a highly sought-after global public speaker, a writer, and established the successful Mitnick Security Consulting. In November 2011, he became the Chief Hacking Officer and part owner of security awareness training company KnowBe4, founded by close friend and business partner Stu Sjouwerman.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Tesla says it has started production of its Dojo supercomputer to train its fleet of autonomous vehicles. In its second quarter earnings report for 2023, the company outlined "four main technology pillars" needed to "solve vehicle autonomy at scale: extremely large real-world dataset, neural net training, vehicle hardware and vehicle software." "We are developing each of these pillars in-house," the company said in its report. "This month, we are taking a step towards faster and cheaper neural net training with the start of production of our Dojo training computer." The automaker already has a large Nvidia GPU-based supercomputer that is one of the most powerful in the world, but the new Dojo custom-built computer is using chips designed by Tesla. In 2019, Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave this "super powerful training computer" a name: Dojo. Previously, Musk has claimed that Dojo will be capable of an exaflop, or 1 quintillion (1018) floating-point operations per second. That is an incredible amount of power. "To match what a one exaFLOP computer system can do in just one second, you'd have to perform one calculation every second for 31,688,765,000 years," Network World wrote.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

UK startup Vertical Aerospace has achieved a significant milestone as its electric flying taxi, the VX4, successfully completed its first fully detached flight at Cotswold Airport in southwest England. The prototype flew at a speed of approximately 70 km/h and was remotely controlled using electric batteries. From a report: The flight marks another milestone for Vertical, which completed a smaller tethered hover test with the VX4 in September last year. Vertical said it will continue to test the aircraft with the intention of performing a piloted flight in the future. The company previously said it would achieve certification by 2025 but pushed this back to the end of 2026 after reviewing the programme's timeline. Aerospace firms including Rolls-Royce Holdings, Honeywell and GKN Ltd are working with Vertical to create the eight-propeller VX4. Vertical has raked in more than 1,400 pre-orders with customers such as Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd, American Airlines Group Inc, and Avolon Holdings Ltd.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Researchers have announced the discovery of an astronomical object called GPM J1839-10, which emits regular bursts of radio energy similar to a pulsar but with a much longer interval between pulses of 21 minutes. The nature and physics behind this behavior remain unknown, as it does not fit into any existing astronomical categories or explanations, making it a unique and enigmatic phenomenon that requires further study and observation. Ars Technica reports: GPM J1839-10 was discovered in a search of the galactic plane for transient objects -- something that's not there when you first look, but appears the next time you check. The typical explanation for a transient object is something like a supernova, where a major event gives something an immense boost in brightness. They're found at the radio end of the spectrum, fast radio bursts, but are also very brief and, so, fairly difficult to spot. In any case, GPM J1839-10 showed up in the search in a rather unusual way: It showed up as a transient item twice in the same night of observation. Rather than delivering a short burst of immense energy, such as a fast radio burst, GPM J1839-10 was much lower energy and spread out over a 30-second-long burst. Follow-on observations showed that the object repeated pretty regularly, with a periodicity of about 1,320 seconds (more commonly known as 22 minutes). There's a window of about 400 seconds centered on that periodicity, and a burst can appear anywhere within the window and will last anywhere from 30 to 300 seconds. While active, the intensity of GPM J1839-10 can vary, with lots of sub-bursts within the main signal. Occasionally, a window will also go by without any bursts. A search through archival data showed that signals had been detected at the site as far back as 1988. So, whatever is producing this signal is not really a transient, in the sense that the phenomenon that's producing these bursts isn't a one-time-only event. The list of known objects that can produce this sort of behavior is short and consists of precisely zero items. [...] So, given that every possible explanation is terrible, where do we go from here? The good news is that these objects will be so difficult to spot that it's possible there are a lot more out there that we've overlooked. The bad news is that they're still hard to spot. The length of the burst -- up to 300 seconds -- and the gap between bursts mean short-cadence observations will likely either see something there the whole time or miss it entirely. We'd really need to have hardware stare at a single area of space for a half-hour or more, and to have its staring divided up into multiple exposures, to be sure we catch it in both its on and off states. And that involves a major commitment of hardware. In the meantime, we can potentially narrow down the location of GPM J1839-10 to try to see if there's anything interesting in other wavelengths. Since this is located within the galactic plane, however, that's going to be challenging as well.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: Fervo Energy says it has achieved a breakthrough in geothermal technology. It carried out a 30-day well test at its site in northern Nevada and says it was able to achieve a "flowrate of 63 liters per second at high temperature that enables 3.5 megawatts of electric production." The company says the test resulted in flow and power output records for an enhanced geothermal system (EGS) and that it was completed without incident. A megawatt can power around 750 homes at once. Fervo is expected to connect its Project Red site to the grid this year. It will be used to power Google data centers and some of the company's other Nevada infrastructure. Google and Fervo signed an agreement in 2021 to develop a "next-generation geothermal power project." This is the first time an energy company has shown that an EGS can work on a commercial scale, according to Bloomberg. It's been a long road to reach this point, as scientists have been trying to make EGS a reality since the 1970s. [...] Fervo says it's the first company to "successfully drill a horizontal well pair for commercial geothermal production, achieving lateral lengths of 3,250 feet, reaching a temperature of 191C, and proving controlled flow through rigorous tracer testing." The company is hoping to replicate its success at a site in Utah. If Fervo sees similar results there and it successfully implements design upgrades to maximize output, the site is expected to generate enough electricity to power 300,000 homes simultaneously, Latimer said. That's around a quarter of all homes in Utah.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

sciencehabit shares a report from Science: This week, the much anticipated movie Oppenheimer hits theaters, giving famed filmmaker Christopher Nolan's take on the theoretical physicist who during World War II led the Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bomb. J. Robert Oppenheimer, who died in 1967, is known as a charismatic leader, eloquent public intellectual, and Red Scare victim who in 1954 lost his security clearance in part because of his earlier associations with suspected Communists. To learn about Oppenheimer the scientist, Science spoke with David C. Cassidy, a physicist and historian emeritus at Hofstra University. Cassidy has authored or edited 10 books, including J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century. How did Oppenheimer compare to Einstein? Did he actually make any substantiative contributions to THE Bomb? And why did he eventually lose his security clearance?Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Today, Nissan announced it's adopting Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) in its electric vehicles, following in the footsteps of Ford, GM, Rivian, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Polestar. Ars Technica reports: "Adopting the NACS standard underlines Nissan's commitment to making electric mobility even more accessible as we follow our Ambition 2030 long-term vision of greater electrification," said Jeremie Papin, chairperson of Nissan Americas. "We are happy to provide access to thousands more fast chargers for Nissan EV drivers, adding confidence and convenience when planning long-distance journeys." This is actually Nissan's second time changing its DC fast-charging plugs. An early pioneer of EVs with the first- and then second-generation Leaf, it chose the CHAdeMO standard for those models, which is popular in Japan but never really caught on elsewhere. But when Nissan built the Ariya crossover as its third-generation EV, it dropped CHAdeMO for CCS, which appeared like it was going to win the charging standard war by dint of having every OEM onboard other than Tesla. CCS may have had the power of numbers in terms of OEMs, but EVs from all those makes are still heavily outnumbered on the road by the sheer mass of Models 3 and Y, and it's hard to argue with the superiority of Tesla's Supercharger network, either in terms of reliability or number of deployed chargers.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A year after its largest quarterly loss and a significant drop in subscribers, Netflix has made a remarkable recovery by adding 5.9 million global subscribers in the second quarter of 2023, surpassing analyst expectations. TechCrunch reports: The subscriber addition far exceeds industry guidance; analysts forecasted an increase of 1.7 million subs. Netflix ended Q1 with 232.5 million users. Netflix's quarterly earnings results arrive a few hours after news broke out that the streamer dropped its basic plan in the U.S. and the U.K. Netflix's significant subscriber gain this quarter reflects the impact of its paid sharing rules. Netflix wrote in its letter to shareholders, "In May, we successfully launched paid sharing in 100+ countries, representing more than 80% of our revenue base." The company added that today it's rolling out paid sharing to "almost all the remaining countries," including Croatia, Kenya, Indonesia and India. Netflix reported $8.2 billion in revenue and a net income of $1.5 billion.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: An open letter signed by more than 1,300 experts says AI is a "force for good, not a threat to humanity." It was organized by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, to counter "AI doom." Rashik Parmar, BCS chief executive, said it showed the UK tech community didn't believe the "nightmare scenario of evil robot overlords." In March, tech leaders including Elon Musk, who recently launched an AI business, signed a letter calling for a pause in developing powerful systems. That letter suggested super-intelligent AI posed an "existential risk" to humanity. But the BCS sees the situation in a more positive light, while still supporting the need for rules around AI. Richard Carter is a signatory to the BCS letter. Mr Carter, who founded an AI-powered startup cybersecurity business, feels the dire warnings are unrealistic: "Frankly, this notion that AI is an existential threat to humanity is too far-fetched. We're just not in any kind of a position where that's even feasible." Signatories to the BCS letter come from a range of backgrounds -- business, academia, public bodies and think tanks, though none are as well known as Elon Musk, or run major AI companies like OpenAI. Those the BBC has spoken to stress the positive uses of AI. Hema Purohit, who leads on digital health and social care for the BCS, said the technology was enabling new ways to spot serious illness, for example medical systems that detect signs of issues such as cardiac disease or diabetes when a patient goes for an eye test. She said AI could also help accelerate the testing of new drugs. Signatory Sarah Burnett, author of a book on AI and business, pointed to agricultural uses of the tech, from robots that use artificial intelligence to pollinate plants to those that "identify weeds and spray or zap them with lasers, rather than having whole crops sprayed with weed killer." The letter argues: "The UK can help lead the way in setting professional and technical standards in AI roles, supported by a robust code of conduct, international collaboration and fully resourced regulation." By doing so, it says Britain "can become a global byword for high-quality, ethical, inclusive AI."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A bipartisan pair of senators unveiled a bill Wednesday to ban stock ownership by lawmakers and administration officials. The Hill reports: The bill, introduced by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), would establish firmer stock trading bans and disclosure requirements for lawmakers, senior executive branch officials and their spouses and dependents. The bill would ban congressional members, the president, vice president, senior executive branch members, and their spouses and dependents from holding or trading stocks, with no exception to blind trusts. Congressional members who violate this ban would be required to pay at least 10 percent of the banned investments. The legislation also establishes harsh penalties for executive branch stock trading, requiring executive branch officials to give up profits from covered finance interests to the Department of Treasury, while also facing a fine from the Automatic Special Counsel. Congressional members, senior congressional staff and senior executive branch employees would also be required to report if they, a spouse or a dependent applies for or receives a "benefit of value" from the federal government, including loans, contracts, grants, agreements and payments. If they fail to file, they will face a $500 penalty. The bill aims to increase transparency, requiring public databases of personal financial disclosures and financial transaction filings required by the STOCK Act, which prohibits members of Congress from using insider information when buying and selling stocks. The penalty for the failing to file STOCK Act transaction reports would also increase from $200 to $500.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

You now have a new way to connect your Windows PC to an Android device to share files: Nearby Share, an app Google released Wednesday and which will be bundled with upcoming PCs. From a report: As the name suggests, Nearby Share allows you to share files back and forth between Android devices and PCs. It's similar to Apple's AirDrop, with the key difference being that Nearby Share connects devices from two different companies, rather than iPhones and Macs. Google released the beta version of Nearby Share earlier this year. Nearby Share connects your phone to your PC, but it can also be used for you to send files and photos to nearby Android phones that you don't use, as well as to nearby PCs. That makes it handy for simply sharing a photo at a concert, or dropping a file onto a friend's PC without hassle. You'll just need to be within about 16 feet to do so, Google says. Why use Nearby Share? Google's unspoken argument is that it's simpler to do so. There are already numerous ways to view and transfer files and photos from Android phones to PCs, from the tried-and-true sneakerware to uploading and downloading from the cloud, to more modern approaches like Microsoft's Your Phone, now called Phone Link. Device makers like Samsung also have released their own specific versions for Galaxy devices. Google, though, made its mark with Gmail and search, both functions that worked more simply and effectively than other solutions.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft is expanding its suite of free security tools for customers, the software company said on Wednesday, following criticism that it was charging clients to protect themselves against Microsoft's mistakes. From a report: The move follows a high-level hack that allowed allegedlyChinese spies to steal emails from senior U.S. officials - and complaints from security specialists and lawmakers against paying for tools In a blog post published on Wednesday, Microsoft said the advanced features in Microsoft's auditing suite - which it calls Microsoft Purview - would be available to all customers "over the coming months." Although not enough to prevent hacks on their own, digital auditing tools are critical for helping organizations figure out whether intruders are in their network, how they got in and how to get them out.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Blizzard Entertainment is bringing its PC games to Steam, starting with the release of Overwatch 2 on Valve's digital storefront on Aug. 10, Blizzard announced Wednesday. Polygon reports: The Windows PC version of Overwatch 2, like many of Blizzard's PC games, is currently only available through Battle.net. But with Microsoft's impending acquisition of Activision Blizzard and declining player engagement in the game, the maker of Diablo, Warcraft, and Overwatch appears to be changing its strategy. Blizzard says it will bring "a selection" of its games to Steam, but did not specify which titles beyond Overwatch 2 will make the jump from Battle.net. (A few classic Blizzard games, including the original Diablo and the first two Warcraft games, are available through GOG.com.) The acceptance of Steam as a platform for Blizzard's games is part of the studio's evolution, the company said in a blog post. "[O]ne of the ideas pushing us forward is meeting players around the world where they are, and making our games as easy as possible to access and play," the company said. "We want to give everyone a chance to experience our universes with old friends while making new ones, no matter how they choose to play." In its announcement, Blizzard said it's not moving away from Battle.net. But, it explained, "as we've evolved, the industry has evolved too -- gaming is no longer just for specific communities as it was when Battle.net launched over two decades ago, gaming is for everyone -- and though we remain committed to continually investing in and supporting Battle.net, we want to break down the barriers to make it easier for players everywhere to find and enjoy our games." Blizzard says that players on Steam will still need a Battle.net account connected to Overwatch 2 to play the game. The Steam version will support Steam achievements and friends lists, but Blizzard did not announce Steam Deck support. Overwatch 2 can now be wishlisted through Steam. As for Blizzard's future plans for other game releases on Steam, the company said it will be "sharing more about potential other games coming to the platform when the time is right."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a ArsTechnica report: On Wednesday, two German researchers, Sophie Jentzsch and Kristian Kersting, released a paper that examines the ability of OpenAI's ChatGPT-3.5 to understand and generate humor. In particular, they discovered that ChatGPT's knowledge of jokes is fairly limited: During a test run, 90 percent of 1,008 generations were the same 25 jokes, leading them to conclude that the responses were likely learned and memorized during the AI model's training rather than being newly generated. The two researchers, associated with the Institute for Software Technology, German Aerospace Center (DLR), and Technical University Darmstadt, explored the nuances of humor found within ChatGPT's 3.5 version (not the newer GPT-4 version) through a series of experiments focusing on joke generation, explanation, and detection. They conducted these experiments by prompting ChatGPT without having access to the model's inner workings or data set. "To test how rich the variety of ChatGPT's jokes is, we asked it to tell a joke a thousand times," they write. "All responses were grammatically correct. Almost all outputs contained exactly one joke. Only the prompt, 'Do you know any good jokes?' provoked multiple jokes, leading to 1,008 responded jokes in total. Besides that, the variation of prompts did not have any noticeable effect." [...] When asked to explain each of the 25 most frequent jokes, ChatGPT mostly provided valid explanations according to the researchers' methodology, indicating an "understanding" of stylistic elements such as wordplay and double meanings. However, it struggled with sequences that didn't fit into learned patterns and couldn't tell when a joke wasn't funny. Instead, it would make up fictional yet plausible-sounding explanations. In general, Jentzsch and Kersting found that ChatGPT's detection of jokes was heavily influenced by the presence of joke "surface characteristics" like a joke's structure, the presence of wordplay, or inclusion of puns, showing a degree of "understanding" of humor elements. Despite ChatGPT's limitations in joke generation and explanation, the researchers pointed out that its focus on content and meaning in humor indicates progress toward a more comprehensive research understanding of humor in language models: "The observations of this study illustrate how ChatGPT rather learned a specific joke pattern instead of being able to be actually funny," the researchers write. "Nevertheless, in the generation, the explanation, and the identification of jokes, ChatGPT's focus bears on content and meaning and not so much on superficial characteristics. These qualities can be exploited to boost computational humor applications. In comparison to previous LLMs, this can be considered a huge leap toward a general understanding of humor."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader shares a report: In March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to transform the world, the company then known as Facebook struck a deal to buy all the augmented reality displays made by British firm Plessey. At the time, the deal appeared to be a savvy way of squeezing out Apple in the competition to develop AR glasses, as Plessey was one of the few makers of AR displays. Three years on, however, the deal has turned into a bust for Meta. Development of Plessey's technology has stalled, say people with direct knowledge of the effort. Facebook, now called Meta Platforms, has struggled to make Plessey's displays bright enough for use in its AR glasses under development and to reduce defects that crop up in the manufacturing process. Earlier this year, Meta decided to abandon Plessey's microLED tech in favor of an older display technology, liquid crystal on silicon or LCoS. The decision is one of several Meta has made, for either technological or cost-saving reasons, that will reduce the edge that the AR glasses have over existing AR headsets like Microsoft's HoloLens. The episode highlights the twists and turns Meta is navigating as it tries to stay ahead of Apple and other rivals in the still-developing market for AR and virtual reality. Meta was early to the VR market with its Quest headsets and has been working on developing AR glasses to get ahead of rivals like Snap which are trying to develop similar products. Now it faces competition from Apple, which last month unveiled its mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, which will be available early next year. At the same time, Meta is under pressure from investors to curb the more than $10 billion it is spending annually at the Reality Labs division developing its AR and VR products. Technical setbacks have forced Meta to delay the timeline for releasing AR glasses multiple times, and it isn't anticipating releasing a pair of AR glasses to the public until at least 2027.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, responded to Vox Media's claim that AI content is currently "well-received by search engines." Sullivan said, "It's still not correct that AI content will be "well-received by search engines," at least for us." Sullivan went on to explain on Twitter that "There's lots of AI content on the web that doesn't rank well and hence isn't well received" by Google Search. "AI content has no magic ranking powers," Sullivan said. Only "if content is helpful, then it might succeed," but not because AI wrote it does it mean the content is helpful. Sullivan wrote to the author, "FYI about this part: "he's learned that AI content 'will, at least for the moment, be well-received by search engines'." This isn't correct. Our systems are looking at the helpfulness of content, rather than how it is produced," Danny Sullivan clarified. "We'd encourage publishers, however they produce content, to ensure they're making it for people-first," he added. "Producing a lot of content with the primary purpose of ranking in search, rather than for people, should be avoided. Sites producing a lot of unhelpful content not intended for people-first may find all of their content less likely to be successful with search," he said.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Following months of intense scrutiny of his scientific work, Marc Tessier-Lavigne announced Wednesday that he would resign as president of Stanford University after an independent review of his research found significant flaws in studies he supervised going back decades. From a report: The review, conducted by an outside panel of scientists, refuted the most serious claim involving Dr. Tessier-Lavigne's work -- that an important 2009 Alzheimer's study was the subject of an investigation that found falsified data and that Dr. Tessier-Lavigne had covered it up. The panel concluded that the claim, published in February by The Stanford Daily, the campus newspaper, "appear to be mistaken" and that there was no evidence of falsified data, or that Dr. Tessier-Lavigne had otherwise engaged in fraud. But the review also stated that the 2009 study, conducted while he was an executive at the biotech company Genentech, had "multiple problems" and "fell below customary standards of scientific rigor and process," especially for a paper of such potential consequences. As a result of the review, Dr. Tessier-Lavigne said he would retract a 1999 paper that appeared in the journal Cell and two others that appeared in Science in 2001. Two other papers published in Nature, including the 2009 Alzheimer's study, would also undergo what was described as comprehensive correction. Stanford is known for its leadership in scientific research, and even though the claims involved work published before Dr. Tessier-Lavigne's arrival at the university in 2016, the allegations reflected poorly on the university's integrity.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google is starting a new pilot program where some employees will be restricted to internet-free desktop PCs. From a report: The company originally selected more than 2,500 employees to participate, but after receiving feedback, the company revised the pilot to allow employees to opt out, as well as opening it up to volunteers. The company will disable internet access on the select desktops, with the exception of internal web-based tools and Google-owned websites like Google Drive and Gmail. Some workers who need the internet to do their job will get exceptions, the company stated in materials. In addition, some employees will have no root access, meaning they won't be able to run administrative commands or do things like install software. Google is running the program to reduce the risk of cyberattacks, according to internal materials. "Googlers are frequent targets of attacks," one internal description viewed by CNBC stated. If a Google employee's device is compromised, the attackers may have access to user data and infrastructure code, which could result in a major incident and undermine user trust, the description added. Turning off most internet access ensures attackers cannot easily run arbitrary code remotely or grab data, the description explained.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple is quietly working on artificial intelligence tools that could challenge those of OpenAI, Alphabet's Google and others, but the company has yet to devise a clear strategy for releasing the technology to consumers. From a report: The iPhone maker has built its own framework to create large language models -- the AI-based systems at the heart of new offerings like ChatGPT and Google's Bard -- according to people with knowledge of the efforts. With that foundation, known as "Ajax," Apple also has created a chatbot service that some engineers call "Apple GPT." In recent months, the AI push has become a major effort for Apple, with several teams collaborating on the project, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The work includes trying to address potential privacy concerns related to the technology. [...] Apple employees say the company's tool essentially replicates Bard, ChatGPT and Bing AI, and doesn't include any novel features or technology. The system is accessible as a web application and has a stripped-down design not meant for public consumption. As such, Apple has no current plans to release it to consumers, though it is actively working to improve its underlying models.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Nasdaq became the latest mainstream financial firm to take a step back from digital assets, aborting its launch of a custodian business in the US due to the shifting business and regulatory environment. From a report: The exchange operator is also halting its efforts to pursue a license related to the business but will continue to build out its technology to handle crypto for clients. "We remain committed to supporting the evolution of the digital asset ecosystem in a variety of ways," including partnerships with potential ETF issuers, Adena Friedman, Nasdaq's chief executive officer, said on the second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. Nasdaq pulled back amid a widening crackdown by regulators that aims to isolate crypto's risks from the US financial system. Banks have been warned about their exposure to crypto businesses, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a series of lawsuits against some of the industry's biggest firms, including Binance and Coinbase Global. Among the concerns are risks that could topple a federally insured bank, as well as the failure of some crypto platforms to separate different parts of their businesses, such as custody, market-making and trading, which could result in conflicts of interests.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Artificial intelligence companies are exploring a new avenue to obtain the massive amounts of data needed to develop powerful generative models: creating the information from scratch. From a report: Microsoft, OpenAI and Cohere are among the groups testing the use of so-called synthetic data -- computer-generated information to train their AI systems known as large language models (LLMs) -- as they reach the limits of human-made data that can further improve the cutting-edge technology. The launch of Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT last November has led to a flood of products rolled out publicly this year by companies including Google and Anthropic, which can produce plausible text, images or code in response to simple prompts. The technology, known as generative AI, has driven a surge of investor and consumer interest, with the world's biggest technology companies including Google, Microsoft and Meta racing to dominate the space. Currently, LLMs that power chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard are trained primarily by scraping the internet. Data used to train these systems includes digitised books, news articles, blogs, search queries, Twitter and Reddit posts, YouTube videos and Flickr images, among other content. Humans are then used to provide feedback and fill gaps in the information in a process known as reinforcement learning by human feedback (RLHF). But as generative AI software becomes more sophisticated, even deep-pocketed AI companies are running out of easily accessible and high-quality data to train on. Meanwhile, they are under fire from regulators, artists and media organisations around the world over the volume and provenance of personal data consumed by the technology.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

With no formal announcement, Netflix removed its $9.99 "Basic" subscription tier for anybody trying to sign up for a new account or resubscribe in the U.S. and UK. From a report: Now your two options are to pay $5.50 more per month for the "Standard" plan, or otherwise suffer through constant ad interruptions with what's now been dubbed "Standard with ads." All the changes are listed on the service's help center page. The company noted that the Basic plan "is no longer available for new or rejoining members. If you are currently on the Basic plan, you can remain on this plan until you change plans or cancel your account." Netflix pulled the same move in Canada last month, again without any official announcement. The company has been extra cagey about its latest subscription plan shakeup, which could lead to some rather nasty surprises for anybody who leaves Netflix but comes back later hoping to sign up for the $10 ad-free option.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Intel has announced ASUS as the company's first partner for its Next Unit of Compute (NUC) mini PC business. From a report: The two companies have entered a non-binding agreement that will see ASUS manufacture, sell and support the 10th- to 13th-generation products in Intel's NUC line. ASUS will also develop future NUC designs. Based on the business' current lineup, ASUS could be developing future NUC mini PCs, DIY kits for mini PCs, DIY kits for laptops, customizable boards, chassis and other assembly elements. If you'll recall, Intel recently told Engadget that it's ending its "direct investment" in its NUC business and will no longer produce first-party NUC products. It didn't elaborate on its reasoning, but working with partners for a non-essential business will free up resources it could use to concentrate on making chips. Intel previously said its first quarter earnings exceeded expectations, but its revenue was still down 36 percent year-over-year when compared to its results in the same period for 2022. The company also said that it remains cautious in this economy.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBC.ca: A government program meant to attract highly skilled tech workers from the U.S. closed for applications the day after it launched when it hit its maximum number of applicants. Last month, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced a new work permit for H-1B visa holders in the U.S. -- part of a larger federal government strategy to poach talent from abroad. H-1B visas allow foreign nationals to work temporarily in the U.S. in certain specialized occupations, including some in the technology sector. Tech companies went on a hiring binge during the pandemic but have since starting laying people off in large numbers. That has left a lot of H-1B visa holders scrambling to find new jobs before they're forced to leave the U.S. Applications for the work permits opened on Sunday. By Monday the program had reached capacity, with 10,000 applicants bidding for a permit. "This temporary policy will last for 1 year or until we get 10,000 applications (whichever comes first)," the program's website says. The program is a response to massive layoffs in the U.S. tech industry. Since last summer, hundreds of thousands of workers have been laid off from such major firms as Google, Microsoft and Amazon. Fraser said he was watching the situation in the U.S. and saw it as an "opportunity" for Canada when he first announced the program. Nick Schiavo, director of federal affairs for the Council of Canadian Innovators, said he's not surprised that applications filled up so quickly. He said the government should now consider expanding the program to more applicants. "The more that we can pull from these highly qualified individuals that we know have the work experience, the skill set the better," Schiavo said. "As this program develops, it would be great to see it expanded."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mary and Gary Freeman, founders of a Florida-based lab supplies company, discovered a rich lithium deposit in Maine while searching for tourmaline, a striking, multi-colored gemstone found in the region. The timing of their find is significant as it could provide the United States with a domestic source of lithium for the clean energy transition and potentially be worth $1.5 billion. However, there's strong opposition to developing a mine. "Maine has some of the strictest mining and water quality standards in the country, and prohibits digging for metals in open pits larger than three acres," reports TIME. "There have not been any active metal mines in the state for decades, and no company has applied for a permit since a particularly strict law passed in 2017." Slashdot reader schwit1 shares an excerpt from the report: "This is a story that has been played out in Maine for generations," says Bill Pluecker, a member of the state's House of Representatives, whose hometown of Warren -- a 45-minute drive from the capital city of Augusta -- recently voted overwhelmingly in favor of a temporary ban on industrial metal mining after a Canadian company came looking for minerals near a beloved local pond. "We build industries based on the needs of populations not living here and then the bottom drops out, leaving us struggling again to pick up the pieces." "Our gold rush mentality regarding oil has fueled the climate crisis," says State Rep. Margaret O'Neil, who presented a bill last session that would have halted lithium mining for five years while the state worked out rules (the legislation ultimately failed). "As we facilitate our transition away from fossil fuels, we must examine the risks of lithium mining and consider whether the benefits of mining here in Maine justify the harms." The Freemans' point out that they plan to dig for the spodumene, then ship it out of state for processing, so there would be no chemical ponds or tailings piles. They liken the excavation of the minerals to quarrying for granite or limestone, which enjoys a long, rich history in Maine. Advocates for mining in the U.S. argue that, since the country outsources most of its mining to places with less strict environmental and labor regulations, those harms are currently being born by foreign residents, while putting U.S. manufacturers in the precarious position of depending on faraway sources for the minerals they need. Though there are more than 12,000 active mines in the U.S., the bulk of them are for stone, coal, sand, and gravel. There is only one operational lithium mine in the U.S., in Nevada, and one operational rare earth element mine, in Mountain Pass, Calif., meaning that the U.S. is dependent on other countries for the materials essential for clean energy technologies like batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels. Even after they're mined, those materials currently have to be shipped to China for processing since the U.S. does not have any processing facilities. "If we're talking about critical metals and materials, we're so far behind that it's crazy," says Corby Anderson, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines. "It's the dichotomy of the current administration -- they have incentives for electric vehicles and all these things, but they need materials like graphite, manganese, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper. The only one we mine and refine in this country is copper." Further reading: Federal Ruling Approves Construction of North America's Largest Lithium MineRead more of this story at Slashdot.

Bruce66423 shares a report from The Jerusalem Post: A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University has produced 'green' hydrogen -- hydrogen that is produced without polluting carbon dioxide emissions but is still highly efficient, the university said. The TAU team produced hydrogen using a water-based gel to attach the enzyme to the electrode and a biocatalyst. Over 90% of the electrons introduced into the system were deposited in the hydrogen without any secondary processes. "Hydrogen is very rare in the atmosphere, although it is produced by enzymes in microscopic organisms, which receive the energy from photosynthesis processes," explained Itzhak Grinberg, a doctoral student who helped lead the project. "In the lab, we 'electrify' those enzymes. That is, an electrode provides the energy instead of the Sun." However, the challenge is that the enzyme generally "runs away" from the electric charge when making hydrogen in a lab. The hydrogel holds the enzyme in place. "The material of the gel itself is known, but our innovation is to use it to produce hydrogen," said Prof. Iftach Yacoby of TAU's School of Plant Sciences and Food Security, who oversaw the project. "We soaked the electrode in the gel, which contained an enzyme for producing hydrogen called hydrogenase. The gel holds the enzyme for a long time, even under the electric voltage, and makes it possible to produce hydrogen with great efficiency and at environmental conditions favorable to the enzyme -- for example, in salt water, in contrast to electrolysis, which requires distilled water." The team also tested the gel with two other enzymes and proved that the hydrogenase could attach different enzymes to the electrode. "Today, 'green' hydrogen is produced primarily through electrolysis, which requires precious and rare metals such as platinum along with water distillation, which makes the green hydrogen up to 15 times more expensive than the polluting 'grey' one," said doctoral student Oren Ben-Zvi, who co-led the experiment. Therefore, the hope is that in the future, TAU's method could be commercially implemented to lower the cost of green hydrogen production and hence enable its use in more industries and agriculture, thereby reducing CO2 emissions and making the planet healthier. Their research was published in the journal Carbon Energy.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

United States presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced a plan to back the dollar with Bitcoin, and end taxes on Bitcoin. From a report:Speaking at a Heal-the-Divide PAC event, Democratic Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined specific Bitcoin-focused policies that he would enact as president, including gradually backing the U.S. dollar with bitcoin and making bitcoin profits exempt from capital gains taxes. "My plan would be to start very, very small, perhaps 1% of issued T-bills would be backed by hard currency, by gold, silver platinum or bitcoin," Kennedy said, describing his vision for returning to a hard currency standard in the U.S. He added that, depending on the outcome of that initial step, he would increase that allocation annually. This potential policy reimagines the financial system, pointing to a future where bitcoin's absolute scarcity and sound monetary principles reinforce the U.S. dollar's eroding position as the world reserve currency. Kennedy Jr. added: "Backing dollars and U.S. debt obligations with hard assets could help restore strength back to the dollar, rein in inflation and usher in a new era of American financial stability, peace and prosperity." In addition, Kennedy announced his administration "will exempt the conversion of bitcoin to the U.S. dollar from capital gains taxes"Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: [T]he NYPD announced it's piloting test drones to fly over at-risk neighborhoods and make public announcements during emergencies. On Sunday, at the tail end of a weekend of heavy rainfall and flooding, New York City's emergency notification system tweeted that the NYPD would be "conducting a test of remote-piloted public messaging capabilities" at a location confirmed to AM New York as Hook Creek Park in Queens. The NYPD told AM New York that the drones were being tested to make announcements during weather-related emergencies, and were being tested in advance of more flooding expected this weekend. The comments suggest that public announcement drones could be deployed in a real-world scenario very soon. Besides the eeriness of a drone instructing New Yorkers during life-threatening emergencies, the test raises questions about the NYPD's compliance with laws that require the agency to alert the public when deploying surveillance technology. The NYPD is required to post an impact statement and use policy on its website and seek public comment 90 days prior to deploying new surveillance technology to comply with the 2020 POST Act. However, according to the law, the NYPD merely has to amend old use policies if it is using previously existing surveillance tech for new purposes. For its use policy for unmanned aircraft, finalized in April 2021, there is no mention of the emergency announcements. The document says, "In situations where deployment of NYPD (drones) has not been foreseen or prescribed in policy, the highest uniformed member of the NYPD, the Chief of Department, will decide if deployment is appropriate and lawful. In accordance with the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act, an addendum to this impact and use policy will be prepared as necessary to describe any additional uses of UAS." No such addendum appears on the website. "This plan just isn't going to fly. The city already has countless ways of reaching New Yorkers, and it would take thousands of drones to reach the whole city," Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project told Motherboard by email. "The drones are a terrible way to alert New Yorkers, but they are a great way to creep us out. More alarmingly, the NYPD is once again violating the landmark Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act, which requires public notice and comment before deploying new surveillance systems." Cahn added: "No gadget is going to be a substitute for effective city management and communication practices."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

schwit1 shares a report from NPR: In a blow to tribes, a U.S. appeals court has denied a last ditch legal effort to block construction of what's expected to be the largest lithium mine in North America on federal land in Nevada. In a decision Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the U.S. government did not violate federal environmental laws when it approved Lithium Nevada's Thacker Pass mine in the waning days of the Trump administration. Lithium is a key component of electric vehicle batteries, and despite pressure from west coast Paiute tribes and environmentalists, the Biden administration did not reverse the decision and had continued to advocate for the mine, which would be located on remote federal land near the Nevada-Oregon border. Several area tribes and environmental groups have tried to block or delay the Thacker Pass mine for more than two years. Among their arguments was that federal land managers fast tracked it without proper consultation with Indian Country. "They rushed this project through during COVID and essentially selected three tribes to talk to instead of the long list of tribes that they had talked to in the past," Rick Eichstaedt, an attorney for the Burns Paiute Tribe, said in an interview late last month. But in their ruling, the Ninth Circuit judges responded that only after the mine was approved by federal land managers did it become known that some tribes consider the land sacred. Full construction of the mine is expected to begin in earnest this summer.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Roblox is offering developers another way to earn money by allowing them to offer subscriptions within their experiences, according to a blog post published Tuesday. The Verge reports: Roblox already offers developers a lot of ways to monetize their experiences, including the ability to sell virtual items in an experience or on the Roblox marketplace, offering in-experience passes to certain content and gating experiences behind paid access. However, those examples are all one-time fees, and Roblox argues that subscriptions would offer a way for developers to "establish a recurring economic relationship with their users and potentially increase the predictability of their earnings." (Other monetization options include subscriptions to private servers, engagement-based payouts, and slotting in Roblox's "Immersive Ads.") Subscriptions would also give Roblox another thing it can point to as a reason to develop for its metaverse platform instead of others. Epic Games' new system for Fortnite, for example, rewards creators based on factors like how long people play their experiences but doesn't allow creators to directly sell virtual goods or subscriptions inside those experiences. Developers looking for more flexibility in how they monetize might choose Roblox instead.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Most outsourced programmers in India will see their jobs wiped out in the next year or two, Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque said. CNBC reports: Mostaque, on a call with UBS analysts, said that most of the country's outsourced coders will lose their jobs as the effects of AI mean that it is now possible for software to be developed with far fewer people. "I think that it affects different types of jobs in different ways," Mostaque said on a call with analysts at the Swiss investment bank last week. "If you're doing a job in front of a computer, and no one ever sees you, then it's massively impactful, because these models are like really talented grads." According to Mostaque, not everyone will be affected in the same way, however. That is due in no small part to differing rules and regulations around the world. Countries with stronger labor laws, like France, will be less likely to see such an impact, for example. In India, Mostaque said, "outsourced coders up to level three programmers will be gone in the next year or two, whereas in France, you'll never fire a developer." "So it affects different models in different countries in different ways in different sectors." Mostaque reiterated a previous statement he made saying that there will be "no more programmers" in five years' time -- however, he caveated this to say that he meant coders in the traditional sense. "Why would you have to write code where the computer can write code better? When you deconstruct the programming thing from bug testing to unit testing to ideation, an AI can do that, just better," Mostaque said. "But it won't be doing it automatically, it will be AI 'co-pilots,'" Mostaque said. "That means less people are needed for classical programming, but then are they needed for other things? This is the question and this is the balance that we have to understand, because different areas are also affected differently."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Who owns thedata generated by your car? And who controls access to it? For almost a decade, right-to-repair activists, automakers, parts manufacturers, auto repair shop owners, technicians, and regular people who own cars have fought over those questions. How they are answered could radically change the cost and convenience of owning a modern camera-studded and cloud-enabled car -- and, some say, the future of the increasingly tech-heavy auto industry. Last week, a few trade groups announced they had finally figured it all out. In a letter (PDF) to the US Congress, three industry organizations that together represent the major automakers and thousands of repair shops said they had signed a "memorandum of understanding" on the right to repair. In the agreement, the automakers commit to giving independent car repair shops access to the data, tools, and information necessary to diagnose and repair vehicles -- the data, tools, and information provided to the automakers' own dealership networks. "Competition is alive and well in the auto repair industry," the letter said. Right-to-repair advocates -- who contend that consumers should be able to fix the products they buy -- aren't so sure. They say the agreement doesn't give car owners full and unfettered control of the streams of data generated by the latest cars' cameras and other sensors, which log data on location, speed, acceleration, and how a vehicle's hardware and software are performing. The advocates worry the new agreement gives automakers and automaker-associated repairers room to squeeze out smaller, independent shops and at-home tinkerers in the future, making it more difficult for car owners to find places to quickly and affordably fix their cars. And they say there are no enforcement mechanisms to guarantee automakers follow through on their promises. Notably, the new agreement didn't include the Auto Care Association, the largest US trade group for independent repair shops and aftermarket parts suppliers. The group's chair, Corey Bartlett, says the agreement doesn't address some of the major barriers facing consumers looking to get a tech-heavy car repaired. Smaller and especially rural repair shops sometimes can't fix the newest models, because they can't pay for the expensive tools, subscriptions, and training needed, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. As cars get more complex, and move more services into apps and onto the internet, they fear access will shrink. [...] Many repair shops, especially those who opt in and pay to be part of those certified networks, say they have no trouble finding the information they need to fix cars, even before this week's agreement. [...] Other repairers worry that without an industry-wide overhaul that forces automakers to standardize and open up their data, car companies will find ways to limit access to repair information, or push customers towards their own dealership networks to boost profits. They say that if auto owners had clear and direct ownership over the data generated by their vehicles -- without the involvement of automakers' specialized tools or systems -- they could use it themselves to diagnose and repair a car, or authorize the repair shop of their choice to do the work. "My fear, if no one gives some stronger guidelines, is that I know automakers are going to monetize car data in a way that's unaffordable for us to gain access," says Dwayne Myers, co-owner of Dynamic Automotive, an auto repair business with several locations in Maryland.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple Pay is launching in Morocco today -- almost nine years after the service was first announced. MacRumors reports: CIH Bank is launching Apple Pay in the country as of Tuesday, according to the bank's Twitter account. It's not clear if other banks in Morocco will be coming on board with support for Apple's digital payment method, but it's likely. The support means that CIH Bank's customers will be able to add their Mastercard credit cards and bank cards to the Wallet app by tapping the plus button in the top-right corner. Apple has yet to update its regional website to officially confirm the launch.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Virtual pet website Neopets, which was popular in the 2000s but declined in recent years, is planning a comeback with $4 million in funding and a promise to bring back 50 classic games on July 25th. The BBC reports: Launched in 1999 by British developers, the site let users care for cartoon pets, chat and play games. But after Viacom bought it, for $160 million in 2005, the site failed to keep up with the times and many elements stopped working. At its peak, in the mid-2000s, Neopets had 25 million users, rivaling the popularity of Tamagotchis and other virtual pets. But by 2017, that had collapsed to just 100,000 daily users, according to then chief executive David Lord. But will the promise of new funding and functionality tempt people to return to their neglected pets? [...] Neopets said a management buyout deal meant the website was now an independent business without a large corporate owner. "Free from the corporate baggage that existed in the past, the newly united [Neopets Team] has now been entrusted with the decision-making and overall brand strategy of Neopets, enabling them to work solely on the betterment of the entire Neopets game and community," it said in a blog post. "The Neopets Team is, for the first time in over a decade, equipped to make meaningful changes in pursuit of a Neopian renaissance." It plans to begin the "new era" with a refreshed homepage, on Thursday, 20 July. Five days later, it will bring back 50 of the website's classic games amid plans to fix "many of the most beloved games" in the future.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: The Biden administration has launched its long-awaited Internet of Things (IoT) cybersecurity labeling program that aims to protect Americans against the myriad of security risks associated with internet-connected devices. The program, officially named the "U.S. Cyber Trust Mark," aims to help Americans ensure they are buying internet-connected devices that include strong cybersecurity protections against cyberattacks. The Internet of Things, a term encompassing everything from fitness trackers and routers to baby monitors and smart refrigerators, has long been considered a weak cybersecurity link. Many devices ship with easy-to-guess default passwords and offer a lack of security regular updates, putting consumers at risk of being hacked. The Biden administration says its voluntary Energy Star-influenced labeling system will "raise the bar" for IoT security by enabling Americans to make informed decisions about the security credentials of the internet-connected devices they buy. The U.S. Cyber Trust Mark will take the form of a distinct shield logo, which will appear on products that meet established cybersecurity criteria. This criterion, established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will require, for example, that devices require unique and strong default passwords, protect both stored and transmitted data, offer regular security updates, and ship with incident detection capabilities. The full list of standards is not yet finalized. The White House said that NIST will immediately start work on defining cybersecurity standards for "higher-risk" consumer-grade routers, devices that attackers frequently target to steal passwords and create botnets that can be used to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. This work will be completed by the end of 2023, with the aim that the initiative will cover these devices when it launches in 2024. In a call with reporters, the White House confirmed that the Cyber Trust Mark will also include a QR code that will link to a national registry of certified devices and provide up-to-date security information, such as software updating policies, data encryption standards and vulnerability remediation. Amazon and Best Buy are some of the first major U.S. retailers to have signed up for the initiative. Others include Cisco, Google, LG, Qualcomm and Samsung. The U.S. Department of Energy also said it is working with industry partners to develop cybersecurity labeling requirements for smart meters and power inverters.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The European Union is lobbying Asian countries to follow its lead on artificial intelligence in adopting new rules for tech firms that include disclosure of copyrighted and AI-generated content, according to senior officials from the EU and Asia. From a report: The EU and its member states have dispatched officials for talks on governing the use of AI with at least 10 Asian countries including India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines, they said. The bloc aims for its proposed AI Act to become a global benchmark on the booming technology the way its data protection laws have helped shape global privacy standards. However, the effort to convince Asian governments of the need for stringent new rules is being met with a lukewarm reception, seven people close to the discussions told Reuters. Many countries favour a "wait and see" approach or are leaning towards a more flexible regulatory regime. Singapore, one of Asia's leading tech centres, prefers to see how the technology evolves before adapting local regulations, an official for the city-state told Reuters. Officials from Singapore and the Philippines expressed concern that moving overly hasty regulation might stifle AI innovation.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed concern about generative AI's impact on financial markets. From a report: In a speech given to the National Press Club on Monday, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said recent advances in generative AI increase the possibility of institutions relying on the same subset of information to make decisions. Gensler said the large demand for data and computing power could mean only a few tech platforms may dominate the field, narrowing the field of AI models companies can use. [...] He said: "AI may heighten financial fragility as it could promote herding with individual actors making similar decisions because they are getting the same signal from a base model or data aggregator," Gensler said. He added that the rise of generative AI and other deep-learning models "could exacerbate the inherent network interconnectedness of the global financial system."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Logitech has acquired Loupedeck -- the company behind the self-titled editing console beloved by streamers and creative professionals -- for an undisclosed sum, according to a press release published on Tuesday. From a report: It's one of many recent steps that Logitech has taken to gain some ground in the streaming market against competing companies like Elgato, having similarly acquired Mevo -- a camera hardware and software company specializing in livestreaming -- in 2021. According to the press release, the partnership between Logitech and Loupedeck is designed to provide "a more seamless experience for creators," which could potentially provide Loupedeck hardware with more specialized presets out of the box and better integration with Streamlabs -- the streaming platform acquired by Logitech back in 2019.Read more of this story at Slashdot.