Category: Uncategorized

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer: Cloudflare says it mitigated a 26M requests per second DDoS attack, the largest HTTPS DDoS attack detected to date, surpassing a 17.2M rps attack in August 2021  —  Internet infrastructure firm Cloudflare said today that it mitigated a 26 million request per second distributed denial-of-service …

The bigger problem is what happens when we act as if AIs are conscious, and how that could be used against us.

Arguments over whether Google’s large language model has a soul distract from the real-world problems that plague artificial intelligence.

For centuries, zoological law taught that sexual inequality was inevitable. Then women began studying Darwin for themselves.

Alan Turing first proposed a test for machine intelligence in 1950, but now researchers at Google and their partners have created a suite of 204 tests to replace it, covering subjects such as mathematics, linguistics and chess

Kellen Browning / New York Times: A Massachusetts court rules that a proposed ballot measure, backed by Uber and Lyft, to classify gig drivers as independent contractors, violates state law  —  The ruling ends a $17.8 million campaign by companies like Uber and Lyft that would have led to the classification of their drivers as […]

Ash Parrish / The Verge: Twitch expands its ad incentive program to more partners and promises bigger ad payouts by shifting from a fixed CPM to a percentage-based revenue share model  —  The ad incentive program will also open up to more partnered streamers  —  Twitch is expanding its ad incentive program to include more […]

The Center for International Studies (CIS) has long been valued as one of the world’s premier, university-based global research and education centers. A hallmark of the center’s many programs is the opportunity for academics and practitioners to work together on policy-relevant problems. The Robert E. Wilhelm Fellows Program is among the center’s most prestigious fellowships […]

Researchers are pushing to outpace hackers and develop stronger protections that keep data safe from malicious agents who would steal information by eavesdropping on smart devices. Much of the work done to prevent these “side-channel attacks” has focused on the vulnerability of digital processors. For instance, hackers can measure the electric current drawn by a […]

A conversation with Just Work CEO Trier Bryant on the “last mile” of promoting equity and inclusion at work.

Immersing yourself in possible futures allows you to be creative and open to unexpected possibilities.

The current practice of “bundling” care makes it less accessible, affordable, effective, and pleasant.

WIRED’s editor in chief shares thoughts on the ongoing evolutionary battle between humans and SARS-CoV-2, plus more from the next issue.

Retailers bamboozled by the pandemic now find themselves staring at mountains of unwanted stock. Here’s what happened and how it can be fixed.

Forget the tie and surprise Dad this year. From mechanical keyboards to electric scooters, we’ve got the best gifts right here.

Dawn Chmielewski / Reuters: Spotify announces a Safety Advisory Council to provide non-binding third-party input on issues such as hate speech, disinformation, and extremism  —  Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) on Monday announced it has formed a Safety Advisory Council to provide third-party input on issues such as hate speech …

Amelia Isaacs / AltFi: Berlin-based Airbank, an all-in-one banking service to manage data and payments that integrates HSBC and others, raised a $20M Series A led by Molten Ventures  —  The fundraise comes a year after the startup’s initial seed round of $3m.  —  Finance management platform for SMEs Airbank has closed a $20m Series […]

Kate Park / TechCrunch: Indonesia-based consumer payment service Flip announces a $55M Series B extension led by Tencent, bringing the round to $103M and its total raised to $120M  —  Flip, an Indonesia-based consumer payment platform, has closed a $55 million Series B extension round led by Tencent with participation from Block …

The company’s future owner, Microsoft, has entered into a labor neutrality agreement, making it easier for workers to unionize.

Maria Deutscher / SiliconANGLE: Qualcomm acquires Cellwize, a software service that helps carriers operate their networks more efficiently, reportedly for $350M; Cellwize has raised $56.5M  —  Qualcomm Inc. has acquired Cellwize Wireless Technologies Pte.  Ltd., a startup with a software platform that helps carriers operate their networks more efficiently.

Tage Kene-Okafor / TechCrunch: Nigeria releases a draft Code of Practice to regulate internet companies like Meta and Google, which would require establishing a local legal entity and more  —  Nigeria has announced plans to regulate internet companies like Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram (all owned by Meta) …

Brody Ford / Bloomberg: Oracle Q4: revenue grew 5.5% YoY to $11.84B, vs $11.7B est., with total cloud revenue up 19% YoY to $2.9B and net income down 21% YoY to $3.2B; stock jumps 10%+  —  Oracle Corp. reported results and gave a forecast suggesting the effort to move its customers to the cloud is […]

SpaceX must address dozens of environmental issues before it can upgrade Starbase in Boca Chica. The launch license needed for the Starship program remains pending.

Testing, vaccinating, and contact tracing can control the virus in Europe and North America—unless complacency allows it to take hold.

A robotic arm with an attached microphone learned to locate objects in a bag based on the sound they make, including a ring of keys and a bag of crisps

Blake Lemoine, an engineer at Google, has claimed that the firm’s LaMDA artificial intelligence is sentient, but the expert consensus is that this is not the case

Many different types of bacteria and viruses can cause pneumonia, but there is no easy way to determine which microbe is causing a particular patient’s illness. This uncertainty makes it harder for doctors to choose effective treatments because the antibiotics commonly used to treat bacterial pneumonia won’t help patients with viral pneumonia. In addition, limiting […]

The MIT Press has announced the relaunch of the Software Studies series, a book series committed to exploring the vast possibilities, histories, relations, and harms that software encompasses. The revamped series will move beyond broad statements about software and integrate a wide range of disciplines, including mathematics, critical race theory, software art, and queer theory. […]

MIT Provost Cynthia Barnhart has announced three Professor Amar G. Bose Research Grants to support bold research projects across diverse areas of study including biology, engineering, and the humanities.  The three grants honor the visionary and bold thinking in the winning proposals of the following nine researchers: John J. and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health […]

To stand out, look for areas where your competitors aren’t investing.

The development of Covid-19 vaccines illustrates how public-private partnerships can rapidly accelerate progress.

A leader who feels pigeon-holed as a subject matter expert learns how to move to general leadership role.

These little wearables reduce your reliance on a phone while keeping you connected.

From Avis-Budget to Hertz, traditional rental companies are struggling to restock their fleets. Now peer-to-peer upstarts are scrambling to fill the gap.

Matt Turner / Bloomberg: As crypto tumbles, MicroStrategy, which owns 129K+ bitcoins, drops as much as 23%, while Coinbase, Riot Blockchain, and Marathon Digital each drop 14%+  —  Cryptocurrency-related stocks plunged in premarket trading Monday as Bitcoin tumbled to its lowest level in 18 months amid a deepening selloff …

The true-crime tale lends itself to the fact-fiction danse macabre.

Molly White: A skeptical look at crypto as a foundation for self-sovereign identity and some likely dystopian outcomes, as Buterin, Dorsey, and others explore the idea  —  Anonymity and trustlessness are central to the crypto world.  People don’t have to attach real-world identities to crypto wallets …

Gary Marcus / The Road to AI We Can Trust: Despite differences within the AI community, pretty much all AI experts find the notion that Google’s LaMDA might be sentient completely ridiculous  —  No, LaMDA is not sentient.  Not even slightly. … Blaise Aguera y Arcas, polymath, novelist, and Google VP, has a way with […]

Robert Burnson / Bloomberg: Google agrees to pay $118M to settle a gender pay discrimination lawsuit with about 15,500 female employees, according to the law firms representing the women  —  Alphabet Inc.’s Google agreed to pay $118 million to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit with about 15,500 female employees …

Don’t get caught without the necessary equipment in an emergency. Prepare your home now with WIRED-tested water purification, camp stoves, and more.

Don’t overpay for Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T. It might make sense for you to go with one of these smaller providers instead.

Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch: Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America: startups in the region have raised $2.8B in Q1 2022, up 67% YoY and up 375% compared to Q1 2020  —  Welcome to The Interchange, a take on this week’s fintech news and trends.  To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.

The rainforest’s lush genetic diversity may be due in part to the dynamics of branching rivers, which serve as invisible fences between bird populations.

Wall Street Journal: Study: some streaming devices keep playing content when TVs are off, leading to ~17% of ads being shown when users can’t see them, costing brands $1B+ per year  —  Lack of communication between TV sets and streaming devices causes estimated waste of over $1 billion in ad dollars

A pair of ransomware attacks crippled parts of the country—and rewrote the rules of cybercrime.

Furniture 3D-printed from lemons and flat-pack concrete furniture are just some highlights from the Salone del Mobile trade show in Italy.

As American sports betting accelerates, a similar reckoning is sure to follow.

Tom Matsuda / The Block: Atlanta-based Ledgible, which develops crypto tax and accounting software to determine tax liabilities for consumers and enterprises, has raised a $20M Series A  —  Crypto tax and accounting startup Ledgible has closed a $20 million Series A led by asset management firm EJF Capital.

Zeyi Yang / MIT Technology Review: All three of China’s top livestreaming influencers on Taobao have gone dark in recent months amid increasing government scrutiny on e-commerce livestreaming  —  Three top livestreaming personalities on the platform Taobao commanded legions of fans who bought billions of dollars’ worth of goods—until they suddenly went dark.

AnnaMaria Andriotis / Wall Street Journal: Sources: Apple will use Apple ID data for identity verification and fraud prevention, rely on credit reports and FICO scores for its buy now, pay later service  —  Tech giant will approve borrowers and fund loans itself rather than rely on a bank  —  Apple Inc. tiptoed into finance […]