CNET – “When I was an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I decided to add a concentration in film studies as part of my English degree. This choice exposed me to the marvelous world of film scholarship, adding to my already fervent love for movies since I had been… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
Gmail Account Takeover: Super Realistic AI Scam Call
New Gmail Security Alert For 2.5 Billion Users As AI Hack Confirmed – Sam Mitrovic: “This is a story of a super realistic AI scam call that could trick a vast number of people. Don’t be one of them. Read on. The Scam: How It Works. Recently I received a notification to approve a Gmail account… Continue Reading
What If Google’s Biggest Problem Isn’t AI?
New York – Intelligencer [unpaywalled]: “Let’s say you represent the most powerful government on Earth and would like to convey some information to the citizens of your country in a moment of crisis. We’re talking pretty basic stuff: How to apply for federal assistance after a series of massive natural disasters, the general state of… Continue Reading
Zendesk fumbles software vulnerability
“hi, i’m daniel. i’m a 15-year-old with some programming experience and i do a little bug hunting in my free time. here’s the insane story of how I found a single bug that affected over half of all Fortune 500 companies: say hello to zendesk – If you’ve spent some time online, you’ve probably come… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 12, 2024
Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 12, 2024 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on… Continue Reading
‘Alarming’ decline of seed-dispersing animals threatens Europe’s plants
Science: “When hunters wiped out most fruiteating birds in the tropical forest of Lambir Hills National Park on western Borneo by the 1990s, the skies grew duller—and in a few years so did the forest. Without birds to spread their seeds, the diversity of fruit-producing plants declined, illuminating the critical importance of seed dispersal for… Continue Reading
What Do Climate Risk Indices Measure?
Liberty Street Economics, New York Fed, October 7, 2024: “As interest in understanding the economic impacts of climate change grows, the climate economics and finance literature has developed a number of indices to quantify climate risks. Various approaches have been employed, utilizing firm-level emissions data, financial market data (from equity and derivatives markets), or textual… Continue Reading
What’s happening in America today is something darker than a misinformation crisis.
The Atlantic [no paywall]: ” I’m Running Out of Ways to Explain How Bad This Is What’s happening in America today is something darker than a misinformation crisis. By Charlie Warzel. The truth is, it’s getting harder to describe the extent to which a meaningful percentage of Americans have dissociated from reality. As Hurricane Milton… Continue Reading
LLMs don’t do formal reasoning and that is a HUGE problem
Marcus on AI: “A superb new article on LLMs from six AI researchers at Apple who were brave enough to challenge the dominant paradigm has just come out. Everyone actively working with AI should read it, or at least this terrific X thread by senior author, Mehrdad Farajtabar, that summarizes what they observed. One key… Continue Reading
Forums Are Still Alive, Active, And A Treasure Trove Of Information
Aftermath: “When I want information, like the real stuff, I go to forums. Over the years, forums did not really get smaller, so much as the rest of the internet just got bigger. Reddit, Discord and Facebook groups have filled a lot of that space, but there is just certain information that requires the dedication… Continue Reading
FTC Findings on Commercial Surveillance Can Lead to Better Alternatives
EFF: “On September 19, the FTC published a staff report following a multi-year investigation of nine social media and video streaming companies. The report found a myriad of privacy violations to consumers stemming largely from the ad-revenue based business models of companies including Facebook, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter) which prompted unbridled consumer surveillance practices.… Continue Reading
How to send messages via satellite on your iPhone or Pixel
The Verge – In the aftermath of a natural disaster, when power and cellphone service are out, connecting to 911 and friends and family from your smartphone via satellite can be a literal lifeline. How to use satellite messaging How to use Emergency SOS messaging on an iPhone How to use Satellite SOS messaging on… Continue Reading
