Number 333
Microsoft Research: AI Systems Cannot Be Made Fully Secure
The models amplify existing security risks and create new ones.
‘Once-in-a-century’ discovery reveals spectacular luxury of Pompeii
Private thermal complex decorated with mosaics has room for about 30 people.
The caterpillars that can kill you
Some species make venoms that are deadly. With more research, those toxic compounds could yield useful medicines.
AI Mistakes Are Very Different Than Human Mistakes
We need new security systems designed to deal with their weirdness.s
== the future?
Replit CEO on AI Breakthroughs: ‘We Don’t Care About Professional Coders Anymore’
New product called “Agent,” a tool that can write a working software application with nothing but a natural language prompt.
== lengthy and a touch like an ad, section covers the progress they have made
Startup Raises $200 Million To ‘De-Extinct’ the Woolly Mammoth, Thylacine and Dodo
Colossal employs over 170 scientists and partners with labs in Boston, Dallas, and Melbourne, Australia.
FTC sues John Deere over ‘unfair corporate tactics’ and ‘high repair costs’
The lawsuit comes after years of the equipment manufacturer locking farmers out of making basic repairs to their equipment.
Couple’s fire-resistant LA home survives amid destruction
Owners of a fire-resistant house in LA hope city rebuilds smarter.
Ransomware Crew Abuses AWS Native Encryption, Sets Data-Destruct Timer for 7 Days
‘Codefinger’ criminals on the hunt for compromised keys.
Do We Live in a Special Part of the Universe?
According to a tenet scientists call the cosmological principle, our place in space is in no way exceptional. But recent observations could overturn this long-held assumption.
Here are five ways the Universe could end
Need a pick-me-up? Consider these cheery possibilities.
OpenAI’s AI Reasoning Model ‘Thinks’ In Chinese Sometimes, No One Really Knows Why
The model would sometimes begin “thinking” in Chinese, Persian, or some other language — even when asked a question in English.
== seen previous articles on this subject
How Research Credibility Suffers in a Quantified Society
To address research credibility issues, we must reform the role of metrics, rankings, and incentives in universities.
Double-keyed Browser Caching Is Hitting Web Performance
Cache partitioning represents a necessary evolution in web privacy, but it comes with real performance costs.
Nearly Three-Quarters of All Known Bacterial Species Have Never Been Studied
Model microbes such as Escherichia coli hog scientists’ attention, leaving most known bacteria with few publications devoted to them.
== yjc, somewhat repetitive, but…
Black hole myth busted: they don’t suck anything in
Many of us look at black holes as cosmic vacuum cleaners: sucking in everything in their vicinity. But it turns out they don’t suck at all.
== expect this is more or less the same in most western countries, and I believe China
US Employee Engagement Sinks To 10-Year Low
Employee engagement and disengagement reflects 2014 levels.
161 Years Ago, a New Zealand Sheep Farmer Predicted AI Doom
Butler’s “Darwin among the machines” warned of a future mechanical race that could subjugate humanity.
== yjc
Does your cacio e pepe turn out lumpy?
Physicists say they have a ‘foolproof’ recipe for a ‘consistently flawless execution’.
“It probably would’ve ripped me in half.”
A pink powder is being used to fight California fires. It’s getting everywhere.
ousands of gallons of fire retardant have been dropped over southern California this past week.
== a bit of a repeat + politics, but…
FBI Chief Warns China Poised To Wreak ‘Real-World Harm’ on US Infrastructure
Christopher Wray’s term was among the most politically fraught in the bureau’s 116 years, with investigations targeting Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
== yup I want one too
Will Nvidia Spark a New Generation of Linux PCs?
I know, I know: “Year of the Linux desktop … yadda, yadda.” You’ve heard it all before.
‘Snowball Earth’ Evolution Hypothesis Gains New Momentum
Why did a frozen Earth coincide with an evolutionary spurt?
== a deeper explanation of the evolutionary concept, rather lengthy
The Physics of Cold Water May Have Jump-Started Complex Life
When seawater gets cold, it gets viscous. This fact could explain how single-celled ocean creatures became multicellular when the planet was frozen during “Snowball Earth,” according to experiments.
New LLM Jailbreak Uses Models’ Evaluation Skills Against Them
The method is based on the Likert scale, which is typically used to gauge the degree to which someone agrees or disagrees with a statement in a questionnaire or survey.
Google Wants to Track Your Digital Fingerprints Again
The tech company makes a U-turn in its privacy promises.
Foreign Cybercriminals Bypassed Microsoft’s AI Guardrails, Lawsuit Alleges
Service used undocumented APIs and other tricks to bypass safety guardrails.
== yjc
Barking sea lions on Bowen Island are music to the ears of this conservationist
Presence of marine mammals a sign of a ‘Great Howe Sound Recovery,’ says conservationist and former mayor.
OpenAI’s Bot Crushes Seven-Person Company’s Website ‘Like a DDoS Attack’
If a site isn’t properly using robot.txt, OpenAI and others take that to mean they can scrape to their hearts’ content.
Wikipedia Searches Reveal Differing Styles of Curiosity
Mapping explorers of Wikipedia rabbit holes revealed three different styles of human inquisitiveness.
Spacecraft Buzzes Mercury’s North Pole and Beams Back Stunning Photos
Top three images from BepiColombo’s sixth Mercury flyby.
Early ‘Forever Chemicals’ Exposure Could Impact Economic Success in Adulthood, Study Says
Those who lived in regions with firefighting training areas earned about 1.7% less later in life, research shows.
Rational or Not? This Basic Math Question Took Decades To Answer.
It’s surprisingly difficult to prove one of the most basic properties of a number: whether it can be written as a fraction. A broad new method can help settle this ancient question.
== a slightly different assessment
Did we surpass 1.5 C of warming in 2024? It depends on who you ask
Overall, the message is the same: Earth continues to warm, resulting in dangerous climate disasters.
The world has to wake up to the imminent peril we face as a species.
Inger Andersen, the executive director of the UN Environment Program, warns that countries' carbon-cutting pledges still fall far short of what's needed to avert catastrophic climate change.