Notices by Ars Technica (arstechnica@mastodon.social), page 16

The lines between streaming and cable continue blurring

Disney+ to offer 24/7 channels to play Star Wars content, commercials.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/the-lines-between-streaming-and-cable-continue-blurring/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Google kills “One” VPN service, says “people simply weren’t using it”

Did anyone want a VPN from the Internet's largest data collector?

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/google-is-killing-off-its-one-vpn-service/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

AT&T takes 2+ years to confirm leaked data belongs to millions of customers

When the data was published in 2021, the company said it didn't belong to its customers.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/04/att-takes-2-years-to-confirm-leaked-data-belongs-to-millions-of-customers/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Elon Musk: AI will be smarter than any human around the end of next year

While Musk says superintelligence is coming soon, one critic says prediction is "batsh*t crazy."

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/04/elon-musk-ai-will-be-smarter-than-any-human-around-the-end-of-next-year/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Elon Musk just gave another Mars speech—this time the vision seems tangible

"These are unthinkable numbers, but we’re not breaking any physics to achieve this."

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/04/elon-musk-just-gave-another-mars-speech-this-time-the-vision-seems-tangible/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

How insect blood stops bleeding fast

Their blood equivalent, hemolymph, forms a viscoelastic fluid that covers wounds.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/04/how-insect-blood-stops-bleeding-fast/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Elon Musk threatens to disobey court order over banned profiles

Brazil threatens to regulate social media owned by "billionaires domiciled abroad."

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/04/elon-musk-threatens-to-disobey-court-order-over-banned-profiles/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

$158,000 ALS drug pulled from market after failing in large clinical trial

The drug is now unavailable to new patients; its maker to lay off 70% of employees.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/04/158000-als-drug-pulled-from-market-after-failing-in-large-clinical-trial/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

After a one-year delay, Google might finally launch its “Find My” network

Google promised to wait for Apple to launch cross-platform "unwanted tag" detection.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/after-a-one-year-delay-google-might-finally-launch-its-find-my-network/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Texas Secretary of State debunks election-fraud claim spread by Elon Musk

On X, Musk shared false claim that is easily disproven by voter registration data.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/04/texas-secretary-of-state-debunks-election-fraud-claim-spread-by-elon-musk/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Google might make users pay for AI features in search results

Plan would represent a first for what has been a completely ad-funded search engine.

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/04/google-might-make-users-pay-for-ai-features-in-search-results/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Billie Eilish, Pearl Jam, 200 artists say AI poses existential threat to their livelihoods

Artists say AI will "set in motion a race to the bottom that will degrade the value of our work."

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/04/billie-eilish-pearl-jam-200-artists-say-ai-poses-existential-threat-to-their-livelihoods/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Amazon kills “Just Walk Out” shopping tech—it never really worked

"AI" checkout was actually powered by 1,000 human video reviewers in India.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/amazon-ends-ai-powered-store-checkout-which-needed-1000-video-reviewers/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Jails banned family visits to make more money on video calls, lawsuits claim

Civil rights group sues two counties, says hundreds more have banned visits.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/jails-banned-family-visits-to-make-more-money-on-video-calls-lawsuits-claim/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

NYC’s government chatbot is lying about city laws and regulations

You can be evicted for not paying rent, despite what the "MyCity" chatbot says.

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/03/nycs-government-chatbot-is-lying-about-city-laws-and-regulations/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Playboy image from 1972 gets ban from IEEE computer journals

Use of "Lenna" image in computer image processing research stretches back to 1973.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/03/playboy-image-from-1972-gets-ban-from-ieee-computer-journals/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Backdoor found in widely used Linux utility breaks encrypted SSH connections

Malicious code planted in xz Utils has been circulating for more than a month.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/03/backdoor-found-in-widely-used-linux-utility-breaks-encrypted-ssh-connections/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

OpenAI holds back wide release of voice-cloning tech due to misuse concerns

Voice Engine can clone voices with 15 seconds of audio, but OpenAI is warning of potential misuse.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/03/openai-holds-back-wide-release-of-voice-cloning-tech-due-to-misuse-concerns/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

SBF had asked for sentence of just 5 or 6 years. Prosecutors sought 40 to 50.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/ftx-fraudster-sam-bankman-fried-sentenced-to-25-years-in-prison/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Thousands of servers hacked in ongoing attack targeting Ray AI framework

Researchers say it's the first known in-the-wild attack targeting AI workloads.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/03/thousands-of-servers-hacked-in-ongoing-attack-targeting-ray-ai-framework/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social