Number 296
Why Your Wi-Fi Router Doubles As an Apple AirTag
In essence, Google’s WPS computes the user’s location and shares it with the device. Apple’s WPS gives its devices a large enough amount of data about the location of known access points in the area that the devices can do that estimation on their own.
== yjc, expect there are other locations with similar problems
Mercury poisoning near Grassy Narrows First Nation worsened by ongoing industrial pollution, study suggests
New research shows sulfate, organic matter are exacerbating methylmercury levels.
People With Commonly Autocorrected Names Call For Tech Firms To Fix Problem
‘I am not a typo’ campaign is calling for technology companies to make autocorrect less ‘western and white-focused’.
Spyware Found on US Hotel Check-in Computers
The check-in computers at several hotels around the US are running a remote access app, which is leaking screenshots of guest information to the internet.
== hope the same will be true in Canada
CFPB Says Buy Now, Pay Later Firms Must Comply With US Credit Card Laws
The agency unveiled what it called an “interpretive rule” that deemed BNPL lenders essentially the same as traditional credit card providers under the decades-old Truth in Lending Act.
Undisclosed WhatsApp Vulnerability Lets Governments See Who You Message
Engineers warned Meta that nations can monitor chats; staff fear Israel is using this trick to pick assassination targets in Gaza.
OpenAI will reportedly pay $250 million to put News Corp’s journalism in ChatGPT
The deal gives OpenAI more than a dozen publications to train its AI models on.
New research places the sun’s magnetic field close to the surface, upending decades of theories
This could eventually improve solar storm forecasts, which is a very good thing.
== seen something on this before, but…, paywall?
This deadly fungus is hitchhiking its way across the world
Death cap mushrooms are exploiting our interconnected world to start popping up in unexpected, new places. And it’s not the only fungus taking advantage.
‘Never-Ending’ UK Rain Made 10 Times More Likely By Climate Crisis, Study Says
Winter downpours also made 20% wetter and will occur every three years without urgent carbon cuts, experts warn.
Austrian man discovers mammoth bones in wine cellar
The find has been called an “archaeological sensation” by researchers.
UK breakthrough could slash emissions from cement
It exploits the fact that you can reactivate used cement by exposing it to high temperatures again.
Meta AI Chief Says Large Language Models Will Not Reach Human Intelligence
Yann LeCun is not too concerned about AI reaching human levels of intelligence, so he and his 500-person team are full steam ahead on developing new tech that moves beyond LLMs.
== primarly UK perspective
EVs More Likely To Hit Pedestrians Than Petrol Vehicles, Study Finds
Electric and hybrid vehicles are quieter than cars with combustion engines, making them harder to hear, especially in urban areas.
California Exceeds 100% of Energy Demand With Renewables Over a Record 45 Days
In a major clean energy benchmark, wind, solar, and hydro exceeded 100% of demand part of each day on California’s main grid for 69 of the past 75 days.
The world’s most common cockroach is ‘a monster of our own creation,’ study finds
The German cockroach evolved alongside humans, and its only natural habitat is inside our buildings.
== yjc
‘Unlucky in love’ flamingo lays first egg aged 70
Flamingos tend to only live for about 40 years in the wild.
== yjc, paywall?
Bringing the lofty ideas of pure math down to earth
There is no shortage of popular books and lectures on math—but they can only teach us so much.
== but they don’t want you and I using it?
US Government Urges Federal Contractors To Strengthen Encryption
Department of Commerce to issue new cryptographic standards. Large banks already working to protect transaction data.
B.C. orca calf’s extended family spotted near Vancouver Island
The calf’s great-grandmother’s pod was seen swimming in ocean waters near Alert Bay.
Small island states hail ocean court victory on greenhouse gases
Ruling says countries’ targets for cutting greenhouse emissions must be set based on best available science.
Top Oil Firms’ Climate Pledges Failing on Almost Every Metric, Report Finds
Oil Change International says plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions do not stand up to scrutiny.
Isle of Wight-size iceberg breaks from Antarctica
Another big iceberg has broken away from the Brunt Ice Shelf.
== paywall?
The Bird-Flu Host We Should Worry About
Pigs have a track record of hosting flu viruses that jump to humans.
Warm Water Melts ‘Doomsday Glacier’ Half a Mile Each Year, Finds Study
Thwaites is said to be the most unstable place in the Antarctic and contains the equivalent of 60 centimeters of sea level rise.
Scientists Develop New Technique To Thaw Frozen Brain Tissue Without Harm
Prior research has shown that the freezing and thawing process always causes tissue damage.
== I’d say many of them are already happening
Federal panel lists 35 ‘plausible’ future threats to Canada and the world
Topping the list is the threat to society posed by disinformation and artificial intelligence.
Eagles changed migration route to avoid Ukraine war
The researchers believe the Greater Spotted Eagles skirted around dangers including artillery fire, jets and tanks as well as buildups of troops.
Self-Proclaimed Bitcoin Inventor Lied ‘Repeatedly’ To Support Claim, Says UK Judge
All his lies and forged documents were in support of his biggest lie.
UK’s AI Safety Institute easily jailbreaks major LLMs
Tested leading AI models for cyber, chemical, biological, and agent capabilities and safeguards effectiveness.
== paywall?
Astronomers are enlisting AI to prepare for a data downpour
But after synching hundreds of thousands of dishes and antennas, astronomers will quickly face a new challenge.
China Uses Giant Rail Gun to Shoot a Smart Bomb Nine Miles Into the Sky
Winged projectile achieves Mach 5, reaching altitude of 15km in test but was sent off course by rotation speeds, investigation shows
Wildfires and tornadoes have a tangled relationship
Western University researchers investigate why wildfire smoke affects storm intensity.
Are Car Companies Sabotaging the Transition to Electric Vehicles?
New InfluenceMap analysis finds that negative lobbying by the world’s largest automakers is putting global climate targets at risk and threatening the transition to electric vehicles.
America Takes Its Biggest Step Yet to End Coal Mining
he United States is moving away from coal, which has struggled to compete economically with cheaper gas and renewable energy. U.S. coal output tumbled 36 percent from 2015 to 2023.
Study Confirms Einstein Prediction: Black Holes Have a ‘Plunging Region’
Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicted that so-called ‘plunging regions’ around black holes would accelerate matter into them at the speed of light.
Bruce Schneier Reminds LLM Engineers About the Risks of Prompt Injection Vulnerabilities
Generative AI comes with a lot of security baggage — in the form of prompt-injection attacks and other security risks.
== repeat?
Proteins In Blood Could Provide Early Cancer Warning ‘By More Than Seven Years’
Study identifies 618 proteins linked to 19 types of cancer, which could lead to much earlier detection
== I suppose one could argue democracies have to do this as their enemies are doing it
== but how could anyone believe this is about anything other than money
Palantir’s First-Ever AI Warfare Conference
America’s military-industrial complex took center stage at AI Expo for National Competitiveness, where a fire-breathing panel set the tone.
== yjc, I expect these people are going to become ever more important and needed – everywhere
Would you fight Alberta’s wildfires for $22/hour? And no benefits?
Poor compensation is making it hard to keep seasonal firefighters on the job, union says.
Deadly flooding shows developing countries not prepared to deal with extreme climate events, expert says.
What exactly are ‘zombie’ fires, and how are they affecting wildfires this spring?
‘You think they’re dead and then they’re back’: Fires that smouldered through the winter have re-emerged.
== yjc
Cuba laments collapse of iconic sugar industry
The men of the Yumuri sugar co-operative in Cuba have worked the cane fields around the city of Cienfuegos since they were old enough to wield a machete.
More Northern Lights soon as Sun storms strengthen
The huge sunspot cluster that hurled energy and gas towards Earth will rotate back towards us in around two weeks.
Feel it coming
It's knocking at the door
You know it's no good running