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Submission + - Generative AI doesn't have a coherent understanding of the world (mit.edu)

Submitted by Geoffrey.landis
Geoffrey.landis writes: Despite its impressive output, a recent study from MI suggests generative AI doesn’t have a coherent understanding of the world. While the best-performing large language models have surprising capabilities that make it seem like the models are implicitly learning some general truths about the world, that isn’t necessarily the case. The recent paper showed that Large Language Models and game-playing AI implicitly model the world, but the models are flawed and incomplete. An example study showed that a popular type of generative AI model accurately provided turn-by-turn driving directions in New York City, without having formed an accurate internal map of the city. Despite the model can navigating effectively, when the researchers closed some streets and added detours, its performance plummeted. When they dug deeper, the researchers found that the New York maps the model implicitly generated had many nonexistent streets curving between the grid and connecting far away intersections.

Submission + - New evidence for Planet 9 at fringes of our solar system (earthsky.org) 3

Submitted by Tablizer
Tablizer writes: The case is growing that a Neptune-sized planet – Planet 9 – hides deep in the outskirts of our solar system. Researchers from Caltech, Universite Cote d'Azur and Southwest Research Institute shared a pre-print paper on April 17, 2024. In it, they argue that a group of little bodies beyond Neptune bunch together due to Planet 9’s gravitational influence.

These distant solar system bodies aren’t spread equally in their orbit like the rocky boulders of the asteroid belt. Instead, they form clumpy groups. So, the researchers think that a larger, more distant, object is gravitationally herding them into this pattern. And, in fact, that’s how planet eight – Neptune – was discovered. Neptune was yanking on Uranus’ orbit.

Two of the four authors on the new paper, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown of Caltech, are the originators of the theory of Planet 9. In fact, Mike Brown wrote a book about his life and research in the far edges of our solar system, including the re-classification of Pluto. The book is titled How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming. But these researchers believe there’s an object much larger than Pluto farther out in our solar neighborhood. This planet would be the size of five Earths (about the size of Neptune) and lie 400 to 800 times farther from the sun than Earth.

Submission + - AMD's new Ryzen 7 9800X3D gets reviewed, finally a faster gaming CPU (techspot.com)

Submitted by jjslash
jjslash writes: AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D debuts with impressive performance gains, powered by advanced 3D V-Cache technology and improved thermal efficiency. While the CPU shines as a top choice right out of the gate, AMD’s history of quick price cuts suggests waiting could yield even better value for savvy buyers. TechSpot reports:

Today we're finally able to show you how AMD's new Ryzen 7 9800X3D performs, and spoiler alert – it's a real weapon that solves the issues we encountered with the non-3D Zen 5 chips before this. Without question, this is the best CPU released since the 7800X3D, making this launch particularly exciting.

Like all X3D CPUs, the 9800X3D leverages AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, now featuring a second-gen version that reorients the cache placement. In previous models, the large 64MB L3 cache was layered on top of the cores, but with this new version, it is now positioned below the cores.

Submission + - Google CEO Forbids Political Talk After Firing 28 Over Israeli Contract Protest (yahoo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Google CEO Sundar Pichai has weighed in on the debate over the relative values of political expression and workplace coexistence by ordering employees to leave their political opinions at home. A day after firing 28 workers for participating in a sit-in protest of the tech giant’s cloud contract with Israel, Pichai warned staff that the office is not a place “to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics” in a company blog post.

Although Pichai didn’t specifically mention the protests or the Israel–Hamas war, he concluded that the $1.92 trillion company “is a business, and not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers or makes them feel unsafe, to attempt to use the company as a personal platform.” “We have a duty to be an objective and trusted provider of information that serves all of our users globally,” Pichai continued. “When we come to work, our goal is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. That supersedes everything else and I expect us to act with a focus that reflects that.”

Submission + - Google Asked To Remove 10 Billion 'Pirate' Search Results (torrentfreak.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Rightsholders have asked Google to remove more than 10 billion 'copyright infringing' URLs from its search results. The search engine doesn't celebrate the milestone in any way, but the takedown notices document intriguing shifts in volume over time, as well as shifting takedown interests. [...] The path to 10 billion was turbulent. When Google first made DMCA details public it was processing a few million DMCA takedown requests in a year. That number swiftly increased to hundreds of millions and eventually reached a billion DMCA requests in 2016.

The exponential growth curve eventually flattened out and around 2017, the takedown volume started to decline. The decrease was in part due to various anti-piracy algorithms making pirated content less visible in search results. By downranking pirate sites, infringing content became harder to find. As a result, Google processed fewer takedown notices, a welcome change for both rightsholders and the search engine. Today, Google continues to make pirate sites less visible in search, but the reduction in takedown notices didn’t last. On the contrary, over the past several months, Google search processed a record number of DMCA notices.

Last summer, the search giant recorded the 7 billionth takedown request and after that the numbers shot up, adding billions more in the year that followed. The company is now handling removal requests at a rate of roughly 2.5 billion per year; a new record. This represents more than 50 million takedown requests per week and roughly 5,000 every minute. [...] While the 10 billionth reported URL is undoubtedly a milestone, this number is largely driven by a few rightsholders, reporting outfits, and domain names. The aforementioned takedown outfit Link-Busters, for example, accounts for roughly 15% of all reported links, nearly 1.5 billion. Similarly, the ten most prolific rightsholders, including the BPI, HarperCollins, and VIZ Media, are responsible for 40% of all reported links. These ten companies are only a tiny fraction of the 600,000 rightsholders that reported pirated links, however. A small group of domains also receives a disproportionate amount of attention. In total, 5,400,061 domains have been reported, with the top domains having dozens of millions of flagged URLs each. However, most domains have only a few flagged links, some of which are erroneous.

Submission + - Romans made 'self-healing' concrete, and now we know how (sciencealert.com) 2

Submitted by Rick Schumann
Rick Schumann writes: The method used by ancient Romans to make their concrete has apparently been misunderstood, but now modern researchers have unraveled the mystery of how structures, like the Pantheon, for instance, has survived all these centuries without collapsing: the method they used to mix their 'pozzolanic' concrete yielded a 'self-healing' type, in which, if cracks developed and later got water in them, would through an inherent chemical process fill and seal the cracks.
The researchers are currently exploring ways to commercially produce this type of concrete as a more environmentally-friendly type for modern use.

Submission + - Sweden Scraps Plans For 13 Offshore Windfarms Over Russia Security Fears (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Sweden has vetoed plans for 13 offshore windfarms in the Baltic Sea, citing unacceptable security risks. The country’s defence minister, Pål Jonson, said on Monday that the government had rejected plans for all but one of 14 windfarms planned along the east coast. The decision comes after the Swedish armed forces concluded last week that the projects would make it more difficult to defend Nato’s newest member.

The proposed windfarms would have been located between Åland, the autonomous Finnish region between Sweden and Finland, and the Sound, the strait between southern Sweden and Denmark. The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is only about 310 miles (500km) from Stockholm. Wind power could affect Sweden’s defence capabilities across sensors and radars and make it harder to detect submarines and possible attacks from the air if war broke out, Jonson said. The only project to receive the green light to was Poseidon, which will include as many as 81 wind turbines to produce 5.5 terawatt hours a year off Stenungsund on Sweden’s west coast.

Submission + - Perplexity CEO Offers To Replace Striking NYT Staff With AI (techcrunch.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The CEO of AI search company Perplexity, Aravind Srinivas, has offered to cross picket lines and provide services to mitigate the effect of a strike by New York Times tech workers. The NYT Tech Guild announced its strike Monday, after setting November 4 as its deadline months earlier. The workers represented provide software support and data analysis for the Times, on the business side of the outlet. They have been asking for an annual 2.5% wage increase and to cement a current two days per week in-office expectation, among other things. [...] Picketers demonstrated in front of the NYT building in New York as negotiations continued. Meanwhile, on X, formerly known as Twitter, Perplexity’s CEO offered to step in for the striking workers.

Replying to Semafor media editor Max Tani quoting the publisher, Srinivas wrote: “Hey AG Sulzberger @nytimes sorry to see this. Perplexity is on standby to help ensure your essential coverage is available to all through the election. DM me anytime here.” Many on X immediately castigated Srinivas for acting as a scab — a derogatory term for people willing to perform the jobs of striking workers. It is widely considered a disreputable behavior in matters of labor and equity. By undercutting collective action, scabs limit the ability of workers to bargain with those in positions of power. Srinivas may simply be trying to make sure people have the information they need on election day. The company has lately unveiled its own elections info hub and map. But to offer its services explicitly as a replacement for striking workers was bound to be an unpopular move.

Though TechCrunch asked Perplexity for comment, Srinivas responded to TechCrunch’s post on X saying that “the offer was *not* to ‘replace’ journalists or engineers with AI but to provide technical infra support on a high-traffic day.” The striking workers in question, however, are the ones who provide that service to the NYT. It’s not really clear what services other than AI tools Perplexity could offer, or why they would not amount to replacing the workers in question.

Submission + - Aomalous Android banking Trojan campaign

Submitted by Mirnotoriety
Mirnotoriety writes: ToxicPanda: a new banking trojan from Asia hit Europe and LATAM

“In October 2024, the Cleafy Threat Intelligence team identified an anomalous Android banking Trojan campaign. The campaign was initially associated with TgToxic, a banking trojan family reported to be spread in Southeast Asia. Subsequent analyses revealed significant differences in the campaign's code, and we started tracking this family as ToxicPanda.”

Submission + - Russia adds plane bombs to its grey zone warfare (wsj.com)

Submitted by seeker
seeker writes: Russia has been credited with assassination and attempted assassination using chemical weapons in the UK and with the assassination of US resident and former Russian citizen media czar Mikhail Lesin

More recently it was found to be plotting to assassinate the CEO of Reinmetal, the German arms maker.

Now it has upped it game: incendiaries on commercial aircraft.

Submission + - Microsoft Using Hour of Code to Pitch its 200-Hour Minecraft CS Curriculum

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: "Coding serves as a gateway to essential 21st-century thinking skills," Microsoft-owned Minecraft Education writes in a blog post announcing Hour of Code 2024: The Show Must Go On!, its flagship tutorial for the upcoming Hour of Code, which is run by Microsoft-bankrolled Code.org during Computer Science Education Week, which in turn is run by the Microsoft-backed Computer Science Teachers Association. "We're celebrating ten years of Minecraft coding challenges," begins the 'trailer' for the 2024 Minecraft based tutorial, which offers block-based (using teen influencer-promoted Microsoft MakeCode) and text-based (using Python) programming interfaces.

On the Minecraft Hour of Code page, Microsoft also makes a pitch for educators to go beyond an Hour of Code to prepare their students for the digital future: "Inspire STEM passion in K–12 learners with our Minecraft CS learning progression, 200 hours of curriculum, and professional development." In June, Minecraft Education announced its AP Computer Science Principles course with Minecraft and MakeCode Curriculum for high school students has been approved for college credit by The College Board.

"Minecraft has always been a powerful platform to unlock students' creativity, while teaching the basics of coding," wrote Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in 2018. "Over the past four years, there have been an incredible 130 million Minecraft Hour of Code sessions." The corporate-sponsored Hour of Code tutorials, a cynic might say, blur the lines between coding lessons and product infomercials.

Submission + - US Lawmakers On EPA To Ban Pesticide Linked To Parkinson's Disease (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: More than 50 US lawmakers are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to join dozens of other countries in banning a widely used weedkiller linked to Parkinson’s disease and other health dangers. In a October 31 letter (PDF) to the agency, seven US senators said that paraquat, a weedkiller commonly applied on US farms, was a “highly toxic pesticide whose continued use cannot be justified given its harms to farmworkers and rural communities”. The call for a ban from the senators came after 47 members of the US House of Representatives sent a similar letter (PDF) to the EPA calling for a ban earlier in October.

The lawmakers cite scientific links between paraquat use and development of Parkinson’s and other “life threatening diseases” as well as “grave impacts on the environment”. “Health risks include a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, with some studies finding a 64% increase in the likelihood of developing Parkinson’s, non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, thyroid cancer, and other thyroid issues,” they wrote. The New Jersey senator Cory Booker, organizer of the Senate letter, said the risks of paraquat exposure were “well documented” and that it was “irresponsible” for the EPA to continue to allow its use. “I hope the EPA will follow the science and ban paraquat,” Booker said. The EPA has long maintained that there is no “clear link” between paraquat exposure and Parkinson’s disease, though the agency does have a number of restrictions on use of the chemical due to its acute toxicity. The agency issued a draft report earlier this year affirming its position. Still, the agency said at that time that it would be reviewing more scientific studies and would issue a final report by January 17, 2025.

Submission + - Nvidia To Join Dow Jones Industrial Average, Replacing Intel (cnbc.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Nvidia is replacing rival chipmaker Intel in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a shakeup to the blue-chip index that reflects the boom in artificial intelligence and a major shift in the semiconductor industry. Intel shares were down 1% in extended trading on Friday. Nvidia shares rose 1%. The switch will take place on Nov. 8. Also, Sherwin Williams will replace Dow Inc. in the index, S&P Dow Jones said in a statement (PDF).

With the addition of Nvidia, four of the six trillion-dollar tech companies are now in the index. The two not in the Dow are Alphabet and Meta. While Nvidia has been soaring, Intel has been slumping. Long the dominant maker of PC chips, Intel has lost market share to Advanced Micro Devices and has made very little headway in AI. Intel shares have fallen by more than half this year as the company struggles with manufacturing challenges and new competition for its central processors. Intel said in a filing this week that the board’s audit and finance committee approved cost and capital reduction activities, including lowering head count by 16,500 employees and reducing its real estate footprint. The job cuts were originally announced in August.

The Dow contains 30 components and is weighted by the share price of the individual stocks instead of total market value. Nvidia put itself in better position to join the index in May, when the company announced a 10-for-1 stock split. While doing nothing to its market cap, the move slashed the price of each share by 90%, allowing the company to become a part of the Dow without having too heavy a weighting. The switch is the first change to the index since February, when Amazon replaced Walgreens Boots Alliance. Over the years, the Dow has been playing catchup in gaining exposure to the largest technology companies. The stocks in the index are chosen by a committee from S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Submission + - Inventory Counts Air Pollution Cost of Space Launches and Re-Entries (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A new global inventory has catalogued air pollution from space activities from 2020 to 2022. The inventory includes time, position and pollution from 446 launchers as they ascended and the tracks of re-entries as objects are heated to extreme temperatures and break up or burn up in the upper atmosphere. It catalogues the pollution from 63,000 tons of rocket propellants used in 2022 and from 3,622 objects, including rocket parts and satellites, that re-entered the atmosphere between 2020 and 2023, amounting to about 12,000 tons. [...]

Types of launch pollutants depend on the propellent but can include particles of soot and aluminum oxides as well as nitrogen oxides, chlorine and water vapour and carbon dioxide. Extreme heat on re-entry causes atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen to combine to form more nitrogen oxides and also produces tiny metal-oxide particles as the objects break and burn up. Soot emitted high in the atmosphere can persist for several years, with a resulting climate warming impact that is up to 500 times greater than the same amount of soot from aviation or ground-level sources. Aluminum oxide particles, nitrogen oxides and chloride can consume the ozone in the stratosphere that protects us from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. These can remain in the atmosphere for decades.

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