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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An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: New Zealand’s Institute of IT Professionals has discovered it is insolvent and advised members it has no alternative but to enter liquidation. The Institute (ITP) wrote to members on Thursday and posted a document titled “Important Update on ITP’s Future” that reveals it has “reached a point where the organization cannot continue. After a full review of our finances, the Board has confirmed that ITP is insolvent.”

Insolvency seems to have come as something of a surprise. “These debts are historic. They go back over many years. While some of the issues were worked on in more recent times, the full scale of the problem only became visible during the leadership change in 2025,” the Update states. “Once the Board understood the full picture, it was clear that there was no responsible way forward other than liquidation.” […]

ITP’s constitution requires its members to formally resolve to wind up the organization, so as one of its final acts the group has called a Special General Meeting (SGM) for 23 October 2025 to confirm liquidation and appoint a liquidator. This situation impacts more than ITP’s ~10,000 members, because the organization offers assessment services that assess whether IT professionals’ skills and qualifications make them eligible to move to New Zealand for work. ITP also certifies IT degrees at New Zealand universities, and oversees the NZ Cloud Computing Code of Practice. ITP also conducted educational and advocacy activities aimed at growing New Zealand’s tech workforce.

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At this point, you sort of expect Donald Trump’s big-picture assaults on free speech, foreigners, and the rule of law. (Sometimes, as in the case of the new outright assault on US higher ed, all three are packaged in one convenient wrapper.) Although troubling and dangerous, these kinds of attacks are all at least predictably unhinged; most are drawn from the standard authoritarian playbook or its more recent “illiberal democracies” update.

It’s when you look into the details, though, that one is constantly reminded: Nothing is too petty to be corrupted in Trumpworld.

Not even “out of office” auto-replies.

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“Your AMD chips may have Intel Inside soon,” writes longtime Slashdot reader DesScorp. “Discussions are underway between the two companies to move an undisclosed amount of AMD’s chip business to Intel foundries. (AMD currently does their production through TSMC.) The talks come hot on the heels of a flurry of other Intel investments.” Tom’s Hardware reports: In the past several weeks, Intel has seen a flurry of activity and investments. The United States announced a 9.9% ownership stake in Intel, while Softbank bought $2 billion worth of shares. Alongside Nvidia, Intel announced new x86 chips using Nvidia graphics technology, with the graphics giant also purchasing $5 billion in Intel shares. There have also been reports that Intel and Apple have been exploring ways to work together. The article notes that there is a trade/political dimension to an AMD-Intel deal as well: It makes sense for Intel’s former rivals — especially American companies — to consider coming to the table. The White House is pushing for 50% of chips bound for America to be built domestically, and tariffs on chips aren’t off the table. Additionally, doing business with Intel could make the US government, Intel’s largest shareholder, happy, which can be good for business. AMD faced export restrictions on its GPUs earlier this year as the US attempted to throttle China’s AI business.

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Two Amazon Prime Air drones collided with a crane in Tolleson, Arizona near 96th Avenue and Roosevelt Street. Amazon confirmed the incident and is working with authorities to determine what happened, though no injuries have been reported. CNBC reports: The incident occurred on Wednesday around 1 p.m. EST in Tolleson, Arizona, a city west of Phoenix. Two MK30 drones crashed into the boom of a stationary construction crane that was in a commercial area just a few miles away from an Amazon warehouse. One person was evaluated on the scene for possible smoke inhalation, said Sergeant Erik Mendez of the Tolleson Police Department.

Both drones sustained “substantial” damage from the collision on Wednesday, which occurred when the aircraft were mid-route, according to preliminary FAA crash reports. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident. The drones were believed to be flying northeast back-to-back when they collided with the crane that was being used for roof work on a distribution facility, Tolleson police said in a release. The drones landed in the backyard of a nearby building, according to the release.

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Microsoft may have made the unfortunate decision to raise the price of a Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to $30 a month, but you don’t have to live by the company’s rules — at least not yet. Most online retailers are still selling codes for prepaid Game Pass subscriptions at the original $20 a month price. That means you can pay $60 for three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, stack your codes and keep your subscription without having to downgrade or cancel.

As the highest tier in Game Pass, an Ultimate subscription gives you the ability to download and play a library of over 200 games on your PC or Xbox. With Xbox Cloud Gaming, you can also stream the majority of those games to other devices, too, whether it’s a smartphone, LG TV or in-car display. It’s worth noting, though, the benefits of Ultimate did change with the introduction of the higher price. Microsoft shared that Ultimate subscribers will now also receive the benefits of an Ubisoft+ subscription at no additional cost, a $16 a month value that unlocks access to a back catalog of Ubisoft games from franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. Starting in November, the new Ultimate subscription also includes access to Fortnite Crew, Epic’s $12 a month plan that gives you V-Bucks, battle passes and more in Fortnite.

While those new benefits might justify a higher price monetarily, whether that’s a convincing reason to stay subscribed is a separate question. This likely won’t be the last time Microsoft will raise the price of its subscription service. Avoiding those fees by buying pre-paid Game Pass codes seems like an excellent way to try out the new Ultimate before committing to cancelling your subscription, downgrading your plan or sticking with Microsoft’s new price. You can purchase three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $60 a month. Stacking four three-month codes should come out to around $240.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/game-pass-ultimate-is-still-20-a-month-if-you-buy-pre-paid-codes-222333258.html?src=rss

There’s a good bit riding on the second launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.

Most directly, the fate of a NASA science mission to study Mars’s upper atmosphere hinges on a successful launch. The second flight of Blue Origin’s heavy-lifter will send two NASA-funded satellites toward the red planet to study the processes that drove Mars’s evolution from a warmer, wetter world to the cold, dry planet of today.

A successful launch would also nudge Blue Origin closer to winning certification from the Space Force to begin launching national security satellites.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: The operator of a popular pirate sports streaming site in Argentina has gone from spending time in jail with murderers to landing a new high-profile job a month later. Alejo “Shishi” Warles, the 25-year-old operator of Al Angulo TV, was arrested on August 20 in a LaLiga-backed crackdown. After his release on bail, he was hired by professional esports team 9z Globant, a partnership involving Argentine tech unicorn Globant. […] The team is the result of a partnership between 9z Team and Argentinian tech unicorn Globant. Somewhat ironically, Globant previously worked with LaLiga to monitor the live-streaming user experience. Warles welcomed himself to 9z Globant via the team’s social media account, referring to himself as an idol, genius, and GOAT.

Lucia Quinteros, the main social media manager at the esports team, informed Entre Rios that after considering their new hire’s history, they believe that he can add value to the team. “We hired Alejo, not the person who set up that project (Al Angulo TV). Of course, we evaluated what happened, but we believe that, from now on, Alejo can pursue a different career path,” Quinteros said. According to Warles himself, he was hired because he’s the best. Like many of his comments, this bravado should not be taken too seriously, but nevertheless sits in stark contrast to the typical pirate site operator facing criminal charges.

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Note: Photo above is a lie, does not use finger lightning.

This is a video of Nate From The Internet (I thought I recognized him from somewhere!) attempting to bake edgeless brownies (plus bread and angel food cake) using electricity. The concept is simple: place the batter between two conductive steel sheets and run electricity to them, allowing the batter’s electrical resistance heat and cook the brownies. His first attempt leaves something to be desired, but he produces a decent brownie the second time. Me? I would have just eaten the batter raw. My girlfriend was making cookies the other night but stepped away to take a phone call before they went in the oven. BIG MISAKE. Long story short she was still able to make a cookie, and I got to sleep on the couch.

Fitness tech appears to be having a strange spat. Earlier this week, Strava filed a lawsuit alleging that Garmin infringed on its patents for two features related to tracking exercise routes: segments and heatmaps. It’s also claiming that Garmin violated a Master Cooperation Agreement by developing its own heat map feature. The complaint (via The Verge) is seeking a permanent injunction to stop Garmin from selling any items with segments or a heat map features, which would amount to a majority of Garmin’s hardware products as well as its Connect tracking program.

The lawsuit on its own is a surprise. Strava and Garmin are two major players in fitness tech that have worked together for about a decade, the pair have a number of integrations between their platforms. It also seems unlikely that Strava will make much headway with the case. DC Rainmaker, which first picked up on the lawsuit, has a thorough timeline of the companies’ patent filings that strongly suggests the arguments won’t hold water in court. It’s also strange that these alleged infringements, by Strava’s own assertions, began a long time ago and yet the company is only taking issue with them now.

But the situation got even stranger when Strava Chief Product Officer Matt Salazar took to Reddit today to give some insight into why the company is taking such aggressive action against a frequent partner. According to Salazar’s post, Strava is invoking the lawyers because Garmin is adopting new developer guidelines for API partners “that required the Garmin logo to be present on every single activity post, screen, graph, image, sharing card etc.” Although he frames it as a move to protect users’ data, the argument sounds more like a petty complaint that Garmin is putting its brand on the data its products are used to collect.

It’s a weird lawsuit, and hopefully one that won’t cause any disruptions for either company’s customers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/strava-sues-garmin-in-bizarre-patent-infringement-lawsuit-213300227.html?src=rss

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on January 15, 2022. The pyroclastic flow severed both of Tonga’s underwater internet cables. The eruption cut sixty-five miles from the domestic cable and fifty-five miles from the international link to Fiji. Tonga lost all internet access. The cables sit on the ocean floor and carry 95% of the world’s international internet traffic.

The Guardian has a long read on what happened in the aftermath. A.T.M.s (cash machines) stopped working because banks could not verify account balances. Businesses could not file export paperwork. Foreign remittances made up 44% of the country’s G.D.P. The government found old satellite phones. Three or four days later, officials restored a hundred and twenty megabytes per second of bandwidth for essential work. A month after the eruption, SpaceX donated fifty Starlink terminals. SubCom’s repair ship Reliance took five weeks to restore the international cable. Vava’u did not get broadband back until August, 2023. Another earthquake in the summer of 2024 severed the domestic cable again.

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When a robotics pioneer who has spent decades building humanoid machines recommends that you stand at least nine feet away from any full-sized walking robot, you should probably listen.

“My advice to people is to not come closer than 3 meters to a full-size walking robot,” Rodney Brooks writes in a technical essay titled “Why Today’s Humanoids Won’t Learn Dexterity” published on his blog last week. “Until someone comes up with a better version of a two-legged walking robot that is much safer to be near, and even in contact with, we will not see humanoid robots get certified to be deployed in zones that also have people in them.”

Brooks, the MIT professor emeritus who co-founded iRobot (of Roomba fame) and Rethink Robotics, believes companies pouring billions into humanoid development are chasing an expensive fantasy. Among other problems yet to be addressed, he warns that today’s bipedal humanoids are fundamentally unsafe for humans to be near when they walk due to the massive kinetic energy they generate while maintaining balance. That stored-up energy can cause severe injury if the robot falls or its limbs strike someone.

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This is a video of climber Domen Škofic attempting a climbing route underneath the wings of a flying plane, using handholds made by his father. He falls on his first two attempts (he has a parachute or there only would have been one attempt), but manages to complete the route on his third. And you know what my old mentor used to say about the third time. “It’s the charm?” What? No — why even bother trying again? You failed twice, just give up already. He was a real inspiration.