Snapchat will start charging users who exceed 5GB of saved Memories, with paid plans starting at $1.99/month for 100GB. “If your memories exceed this limit, you’ll need to subscribe to one of its new Memories Storage plans,” reports TechCrunch. From the report: The company told TechCrunch in an email that the introductory storage plan offers up to 100GB of storage for $1.99 per month. Snapchat+ users will get up to 250GB of storage as part of their $3.99 monthly subscription, while Snapchat Platinum users will get 5TB as part of their $15.99 monthly subscription. Snapchat explains that when it first launched Memories, it didn’t expect it to grow to what it has today, as users have saved more than 1 trillion Memories on the platform.

Snapchat will provide 12 months of temporary Memories storage for any Memories that exceed the 5GB storage limit. The company notes that users can download Memories directly to their devices. If you’re over the limit, but don’t sign up for a plan, your oldest Snaps will be saved, while the most recent ones that are over the storage limit will be deleted. Snapchat says the change won’t affect most users, as the vast majority have under 5GB of Memories. It will mainly impact those with “thousands of Snaps,” the company notes. “It’s never easy to transition from receiving a service for free to paying for it, but we hope the value we provide with Memories is worth the cost,” Snapchat wrote in a blog post. “These changes will allow us to continue to invest in making Memories better for our entire community.”

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Audiobook fans can get three months of Audible for $3 for a limited time ahead of the fall edition of Amazon Prime Day. Users will be charged $0.99 per month for the first three months, after which it will auto-renew at $14.95 per month.

Audible features thousands of titles in its catalog, including podcasts and Audible Originals. Subscribers will also get to choose one audiobook each month to keep in their collection for free, including best-sellers or new releases. Amazon Prime members will receive two credits the first month of their trial.

Amazon has been bringing Prime Day back in the fall for a few years now, and this year it returns October 7 and 8. Great deals tend to start rolling out in the days ahead of the event and this year is no exception. There are already sales on Apple devices, smart doorbells and most importantly, Lego sets.

If you’re a book lover but don’t have the time to sit down and read a hard copy, or you just prefer listening to the latest novel while on the go, then take advantage of this sale. It’s a limited-time offer and will only be available through December 16.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/you-can-get-3-months-of-audible-for-just-3-right-now-090052477.html?src=rss

An anonymous reader quotes a report from MIT Technology Review: A team at Microsoft says it used artificial intelligence to discover a “zero day” vulnerability in the biosecurity systems used to prevent the misuse of DNA. These screening systems are designed to stop people from purchasing genetic sequences that could be used to create deadly toxins or pathogens. But now researchers led by Microsoft’s chief scientist, Eric Horvitz, says they have figured out how to bypass the protections in a way previously unknown to defenders.The team described its work today in the journalScience.

Horvitz and his team focused on generative AI algorithms that propose new protein shapes. These types of programs are already fueling the hunt for new drugs at well-funded startups like Generate Biomedicines and Isomorphic Labs, a spinout of Google. The problem is that such systems are potentially “dual use.” They can use their training sets to generate both beneficial molecules and harmful ones. Microsoft says it began a “red-teaming” test of AI’s dual-use potential in 2023 in order to determine whether “adversarial AI protein design” could help bioterrorists manufacture harmful proteins.

The safeguard that Microsoft attacked is what’s known as biosecurity screening software. To manufacture a protein, researchers typically need to order a corresponding DNA sequence from a commercial vendor, which they can then install in a cell. Those vendors use screening software to compare incoming orders with known toxins or pathogens. A close match will set off an alert. To design its attack, Microsoft used several generative protein models (including its own, called EvoDiff) to redesign toxins — changing their structure in a way that let them slip past screening software but was predicted to keep their deadly function intact. “This finding, combined with rapid advances in AI-enabled biological modeling, demonstrates the clear and urgent need for enhanced nucleic acid synthesis screening procedures coupled with a reliable enforcement and verification mechanism,” says Dean Ball, a fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, a think tank in San Francisco.

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alternative_right shares a report from the Smoking Gun: Minutes after vandalizing 17 cars in a Missouri college parking lot, a 19-year-old sophomore had a lengthy ChatGPT conversation during which he confessed to the crime, asked about the possibility of getting caught, and wondered, “is there any way they could know it was me,” according to a police probable cause statement. Ryan Schaefer was arrested yesterday and charged with felony property damage for a rampage early Sunday at a Missouri State University parking lot. Investigators allege that Schaefer shattered car windows, ripped off side mirrors, dented hoods, and broke windshield wipers during the 3 AM spree.

When confronted with surveillance footage and other evidence, Schaefer said that he could see the resemblance between the suspect and himself. At that point, Schaefer reportedly consented to a search of his iPhone. A subsequent review of the device revealed location data placing Schaefer “at or near the scene of the crime,” as well as a “troubling dialogue exchange this defendant seems to have had with artificial intelligence software installed on his phone,” prosecutors reported. The incriminating ChatGPT conversation can be found here.

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Apple has removed ICEBlock, the app which allowed users to put a pin on a map to show where ICE agents have recently been spotted, from the App Store. It has also pulled other apps that served a similar purpose. According to Fox Business, Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded their takedown, telling Apple that the apps were “designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs.” Bondi added that “violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed.” She also said that the “Department of Justice will continue making every effort to protect [its] brave federal law enforcement officers, who risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe.”

“We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps,” Apple told the publication in a statement. “Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store.” 

Bondi demanded the apps’ removal after the FBI and the administration reported that the gunman who attacked an ICE facility in Dallas used tracking apps, including ICEBlock, to open fire from a rooftop. The gunman killed two immigrants and injured a third, but he was allegedly targeting ICE agents. Joshua Aaron, the app’s developer, told Fox Business that he was “incredibly disappointed” by Apple’s actions. “Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right move,” he said. “Apple has claimed they received information from law enforcement that ICEBlock served to harm law enforcement officers. This is patently false.” Aaron added: “We are determined to fight this with everything we have. Our mission has always been to protect our neighbors from the terror this administration continues to reign down on the people of this nation.”

ICEBlock climbed to the top of the App Store charts in July after administration officials slammed it, making more people aware of its existence. At the time, officials warned Aaron that they were “looking at him, and he better watch out” because the app threatens the lives of law enforcement agents. NBC News reports that it was downloaded more than 1 million times since it was introduced. Tom Homan, the administration’s “border czar,” recently told Fox News that the government will investigate the “people who put these apps up” because they put “law enforcement at great risk.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apple-removes-iceblock-from-the-app-store-after-trump-administrations-demand-031659651.html?src=rss

Bruce66423 shares a report from The Guardian: Those diagnosed as small children typically have distinct genetic profile from those diagnosed later, [finds an international study based on genetic data from more than 45,000 autistic people in Europe and the U.S]. So, there’s more than one condition out there that’s being diagnosed as “autism.” This, of course, messes with the debate about causes; one version of autism may be caused by something for which the evidence is very weak overall. “The term ‘autism’ likely describes multiple conditions,” said Dr Varun Warrier, from Cambridge’s department of psychiatry, senior author of the research. “For the first time, we have found that earlier and later diagnosed autism have different underlying biological and developmental profiles.”

“It is a gradient,” added Warrier. “There are also many other factors that contribute to age of diagnosis, so the moment you go from averages to anything that is applicable to an individual, it’s false equivalency.”

The analysis has been published in the journal Nature.

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Ford’s push for a four-day in-office workweek hit turbulence when someone hijacked meeting room screens to display an anti-RTO protest image targeting CEO Jim Farley. The company quickly removed it and is investigating. The Detroit Free Press reports: According to photos employees took of the image, which were posted on social media and sent to the Detroit Free Press, it contained an image of CEO Jim Farley along with a big red circle with a slash through it over his face and the words “(Expletive) RTO.”

“We’re aware of an inappropriate use of Ford’s IT technology and we’re investigating it,” Dave Tovar, Ford spokesman, told the Detroit Free Press. Tovar said the image was up for “a short amount of time” and Ford was able to quickly remove it. He said the company is investigating whether the image appeared only in Dearborn offices or globally.

Farley mandated that employees return to the office four days a week earlier this year and it has been in place since Sept. 1, with no fallout such as people quitting over it, Tovar said. Therefore, Tovar said, “I wouldn’t be able to speculate on it, as to why someone would do this.”

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Colorado unveiled an autonomous crash-protection truck designed to absorb highway work zone collisions, removing human drivers from one of the most dangerous road maintenance roles. The Denver Gazette reports: At a press event in Falcon on Monday, the Colorado Department of Transportation demonstrated an autonomous truck-mounted attenuator — a driverless crash-protection vehicle designed to absorb impacts in roadside work areas. These trucks are already in the state’s fleet, but previously required a worker in the cab, leaving them exposed during crashes. “These vehicles are designed to get hit so people don’t have to,” said Kay Kelly, CDOT’s chief of innovative mobility. “We want to remove the human from that truck whenever possible.”

[…] Colorado pioneered this technology in 2017, becoming the first state to test it. Developed by San Diego-based defense contractor Kratos Defense, the company started on autonomous follower systems in 2012 and installed its initial version in Colorado in 2013, according to Maynard Factor, Kratos’ vice president of business development. The system uses sensors, actuators, and video links, allowing the unmanned crash truck to trail directly behind a paint-striping or maintenance vehicle. The lead vehicle records its route and transmits navigation data to the follower. Both are equipped with global positioning system and communication tools, with the lead driver monitoring via video feed.

“It’s a convoy system,” Factor said. “The leader does the work, while the driverless vehicle mirrors its path. This protects the operator with the crash truck instead of sitting inside it.” Sensors detect objects darting into the lane, triggering an automatic stop. Operators can pause or override via a user interface featuring forward-facing cameras on the autonomous truck and rear-facing ones on the work vehicle. The trucks, existing state assets, are driven to sites and then switched to autonomous mode. Outfitting each with the technology costs about $1 million, excluding the base vehicle and crash absorber.

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