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That is right this moment’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a each day dose of what’s happening on the planet of expertise.
How ubiquitous keyboard software program places tons of of hundreds of thousands of Chinese language customers in danger
For hundreds of thousands of Chinese language folks, the primary software program they obtain onto gadgets is all the time the identical: a keyboard app. But few of them are conscious that it might make every part they kind weak to spying eyes.
QWERTY keyboards are inefficient as many Chinese language characters share the identical latinized spelling. In consequence, many swap to good, localized keyboard apps to avoid wasting time and frustration. Immediately, over 800 million Chinese language folks use third-party keyboard apps on their PCs, laptops, and cellphones.
However a latest report by the Citizen Lab, a College of Toronto–affiliated analysis group, revealed that Sogou, some of the widespread Chinese language keyboard apps, had an enormous safety loophole. Learn the total story.
—Zeyi Yang
Why we must always all be rooting for boring AI
Earlier this month, the US Division of Protection introduced it’s organising a Generative AI Job Power, geared toward “analyzing and integrating” AI instruments akin to massive language fashions throughout the division. It hopes they might enhance intelligence and operational planning.
However these may not be the fitting use circumstances, writes our senior AI reporter Melissa Heikkila. Generative AI instruments, akin to language fashions, are glitchy and unpredictable, and so they make issues up. In addition they have large safety vulnerabilities, privateness issues, and deeply ingrained biases.
Making use of these applied sciences in high-stakes settings might result in lethal accidents the place it’s unclear who or what needs to be held accountable, and even why the issue occurred. The DoD’s finest guess is to use generative AI to extra mundane issues like Excel, e-mail, or phrase processing. Learn the total story.
This story is from The Algorithm, Melissa’s weekly publication providing you with the within monitor on all issues AI. Signal as much as obtain it in your inbox each Monday.
The ice cores that may allow us to look 1.5 million years into the previous
To raised perceive the position atmospheric carbon dioxide performs in Earth’s local weather cycles, scientists have lengthy turned to ice cores drilled in Antarctica, the place snow layers accumulate and compact over tons of of 1000’s of years, trapping samples of historic air in a lattice of bubbles that function tiny time capsules.
By analyzing these cores, scientists can join greenhouse-gas concentrations with temperatures going again 800,000 years. Now, a brand new European-led initiative hopes to ultimately retrieve the oldest core but, relationship again 1.5 million years. However that spectacular feat remains to be solely step one. As soon as they’ve executed that, they’ll have to determine how they’re going to extract the air from the ice. Learn the total story.
—Christian Elliott
This story is from the most recent version of our print journal, set to go dwell tomorrow. Subscribe right this moment for as little as $8/month to make sure you obtain full entry to the brand new Ethics situation and in-depth tales on experimental medicine, AI assisted warfare, microfinance, and extra.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you right this moment’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 How AI received dragged into the tradition warsFears about ‘woke’ AI essentially misunderstand the way it works. But they’re gaining traction. (The Guardian) + Why it’s inconceivable to construct an unbiased AI language mannequin. (MIT Know-how Evaluate) 2 Researchers are racing to grasp a brand new coronavirus variant It’s unlikely to be trigger for concern, nevertheless it reveals this virus nonetheless has loads of methods up its sleeve. (Nature)+ Covid hasn’t completely gone away—right here’s the place we stand. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)+ Why we are able to’t afford to cease monitoring it. (Ars Technica) 3 How Hilary grew to become such a monster stormMuch of it’s all the way down to unusually sizzling sea floor temperatures. (Wired $)+ The period of simultaneous local weather disasters is right here to remain. (Axios)+ Persons are donning cooling vests to allow them to work via the warmth. (Wired $) 4 Mind privateness is ready to grow to be essential Scientists are getting higher at decoding our mind information. It’s certainly solely a matter of time earlier than others need a peek. (The Atlantic $)+ How your mind information may very well be used towards you. (MIT Know-how Evaluate) 5 How Nvidia constructed such a giant aggressive benefit in AI chipsToday it accounts for 70% of all AI chip gross sales—and a fair larger share for coaching generative fashions. (NYT $)+ The chips it’s promoting to China are much less efficient attributable to US export controls. (Ars Technica)+ These easy design guidelines might flip the chip trade on its head. (MIT Know-how Evaluate) 6 Contained in the complicated world of dissociative id dysfunction on TikTok Decreasing stigma is nice, however docs concern individuals are self-diagnosing and even imitating the dysfunction. (The Verge) 7 What TikTok may need to surrender to maintain working within the USThis reveals simply how hole the authorities’ purported data-collection considerations actually are. (Forbes) 8 Troopers in Ukraine are taking part in World of Tanks on their phonesIt’s eerily much like the warfare they’re themselves combating, however they are saying it helps them to dissociate from the horror. (NYT $) 9 Conspiracy theorists are sharing mad concepts on what causes wildfiresBut it’s all only a convoluted option to attempt to keep away from having to sort out local weather change. (Slate $) 10 Christie’s unintentionally leaked the placement of tons of useful artwork Seemingly due to the metadata that usually robotically attaches to smartphone pictures. (WP $)
Quote of the day
“Is it going to take folks dying for one thing to maneuver ahead?”
—An nameless air visitors controller warns that staffing shortages of their trade, plus different components, are beginning to threaten passenger security, the New York Instances stories.
The large story
Inside efficient altruism, the place the far future counts much more than the current
VICTOR KERLOW
October 2022
Since its beginning within the late 2000s, efficient altruism has aimed to reply the query “How can these with means have probably the most impression on the world in a quantifiable method?”—and provided strategies for calculating the reply.
It’s no shock that efficient altruisms’ concepts have lengthy confronted criticism for reflecting white Western saviorism, alongside an avoidance of structural issues in favor of summary math. And as believers pour even larger quantities of cash into the motion’s more and more sci-fi beliefs, such fees are solely intensifying. Learn the total story.
—Rebecca Ackermann
We are able to nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction in these bizarre instances. (Acquired any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ Watch Andrew Scott’s electrifying studying of the 1965 graduation handle ‘Select One in every of 5’ by Edith Sampson.+ Right here’s how Metallica makes certain its dwell performances ROCK. ($)+ Can’t take care of this totally ludicrous wood car. + Find out about a bizarre new instrument referred to as a harpejji.
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