An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: AI has made it vastly easier for malicious hackers to identify anonymous social media accounts, a new study has warned. In most test scenarios, large language models (LLMs) — the technology behind platforms such as ChatGPT — successfully matched anonymous online users with their actual identities on other platforms, based on the information they posted. The AI researchers Simon Lermen and Daniel Paleka said LLMs make it cost effective to perform sophisticated privacy attacks, forcing a “fundamental reassessment of what can be considered private online”.

In their experiment, the researchers fed anonymous accounts into an AI, and got it to scrape all the information it could. They gave a hypothetical example of a user talking about struggling at school, and walking their dog Biscuit through a “Dolores park.” In that hypothetical case, the AI then searched elsewhere for those details and matched @anon_user42 to the known identity with a high degree of confidence. While this example was fictional, the paper’s authors highlighted scenarios in which governments use AI to surveil dissidents and activists posting anonymously, or hackers are able to launch “highly personalized” scams.

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To keep Ticketmaster, Live Nation is going to have to make some major changes. As first reported by Politico, Live Nation reached a settlement with the Department of Justice in its antitrust case that accused the live entertainment giant of monopolistic practices. Live Nation will reportedly pay at least $200 million in damages to states that were part of the lawsuit filed in May 2024, but avoid selling off Ticketmaster.

Live Nation will also be required to make a few changes to its business practices. According to NBC News, Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of Live Nation, will be required to create a “standalone ticketing system” that allows third-party competitors like SeatGeek and Eventbrite to sell tickets on.

The settlement aims to loosen some of Live Nation’s control over venues as well. According to NBC News, the company will have to divest up to 13 amphitheaters and be prohibited from retaliating against venues that choose another ticket seller over Ticketmaster.

The settlement comes less than a week after the case went to trial. While the matter may be concluded with the Justice Department, many of the states’ attorneys general who were part of the lawsuit will be continuing their legal action separately.

“The settlement recently announced with the U.S. Department of Justice fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case and would benefit Live Nation at the expense of consumers,” New York State Attorney General Letitia James wrote in a press release. “We will continue our lawsuit to protect consumers and restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry.” 26 other attorneys general signed onto continuing the lawsuit with James.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/live-nation-settlement-avoids-breakup-with-ticketmaster-155031214.html?src=rss

Formula 1’s 2026 season got underway this past weekend in Melbourne, Australia. Formula 1 has undergone a radical transformation during the short off-season, with new technical rules that have created cars that are smaller and lighter than before, with new hybrid systems that are more powerful than anything since the turbo era of the 1980s—but only if the battery is fully charged.

The changes promised to upend the established pecking order of teams, with the introduction of several new engine manufacturers and a move away from the ground-effect method of generating downforce, which was in use from 2022. For at least a year, paddock rumors have suggested that Mercedes might pull off a repeat of 2014, when it started the first hybrid era with a power unit far ahead of anyone else.

That wasn’t entirely clear after six days of preseason testing in Bahrain, nor really after Friday’s two practice sessions in Melbourne, topped by Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, respectively. The Mercedes team didn’t look particularly worried, and on Saturday we found out why when George Russell finally left off the sandbags and showed some true pace, lapping more than six-tenths faster by the end of free practice than the next-quickest car, the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton.

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According to Reuters, Anthropic has filed a lawsuit to prevent the Pentagon from adding the company it a national security blocklist. This comes days after the Department of Defense sent a letter to Anthropic confirming the company was labeled a supply chain risk; at the time CEO Dario Amodei had all but guaranteed Anthropic would fight back with legal action.

The lawsuit claims the designation is unlawful and violated free speech and due process rights. “These actions are unprecedented and unlawful. The Constitution does not allow ​the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech,” Anthropic said in a statement published by Reuters.

Engadget received the following statement from an Anthropic spokesperson:

 “Seeking judicial review does not change our longstanding commitment to harnessing AI to protect our national security, but this is a necessary step to protect our business, our customers, and our partners. We will continue to pursue every path toward resolution, including dialogue with the government.” 

The lawsuit states that the government’s actions “are unprecedented and unlawful.” It goes on to say that “the Constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech. No federal statute authorizes the actions taken here. Anthropic turns to the judiciary as a last resort to vindicate its rights and halt the Executive’s unlawful campaign of retaliation.”

Today’s legal action comes after several weeks of back-and-forth between the AI company and the government. In late February, news broke that the Department of Defense and Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth were pressuring Anthropic to remove certain safeguards from its AI systems, but Amodei made it clear the company would refuse to allow its model to be used for mass surveillance or development of autonomous weapons.

On the February 27 deadline, Amodei refused to budge, leading Hesgeth to threaten the company with the supply chain risk designation; he also said the US government would cancel its $200 million contract with the company. The same day, President Trump ordered all federal agencies to cease using Anthropic as well.

Despite the fact that, according to the lawsuit, Anthropic had agreed to “collaborate with the Department on an orderly transition to another AI provider willing to meet its demands,” the government followed up with “public castigation.”

Amidst all this, it was reported late last week that Anthropic was once again meeting with the Department of Defense to try and reach a solution — but it seems those talks were unsuccessful.

This story is developing, please refresh for further updates.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropic-sues-us-government-over-supply-chain-risk-designation-152838128.html?src=rss

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Charging multiple Apple devices often turns into a mess of cables. An iPhone charger here, an Apple Watch puck there, and another cable for AirPods. A single charging station like the Belkin MagSafe 3-in-1 Fast Wireless Charging Pad helps simplify things. It’s currently $39.99 at Woot, down from its original $149.99 price. The same charger is selling for about $100.58 on Amazon, and price trackers show it rarely dipping below $75.99. Shipping is free for Amazon Prime members—everyone else pays a $6 fee. Woot says the deal will stay live for 23 days or until it sells out, whichever happens first.

Belkin MagSafe Charging Pad

$39.99
at Woot

$149.99
Save $110.00

$39.99
at Woot

$149.99
Save $110.00

The appeal here is convenience: Instead of plugging in three separate chargers every night, this pad lets you place all your devices in one spot. It can charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods at the same time, which is helpful if you use Apple gear daily and want a simple bedside setup. The phone section uses MagSafe magnets, so compatible iPhones snap into place without much effort. Charging speeds reach up to 15W for iPhone 12 models and newer, which is Apple’s standard for fast wireless charging. The Apple Watch section also supports fast charging for newer models like the Series 9, so a quick top-up in the morning can add a useful amount of battery. AirPods with a wireless charging case sit on the third section of the pad.

This charger is clearly built with Apple devices in mind, so it doesn’t make much sense if you use Android phones or non-MagSafe accessories. You also need an iPhone 12 or newer to get the magnetic alignment and full 15W charging speeds. Older iPhones will still charge, but without the magnetic guidance. At $39.99, it costs less than many single-device MagSafe chargers.

Swiss voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to use physical cash. “The vote means Switzerland will join the likes of Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, which have already written the right to cold, hard cash in their constitutions,” reports Politico. From the report: Official results revealed that 73.4 percent of voters backed the legal amendment, which the government proposed as a counter to a similar initiative by a group called the Swiss Freedom Movement. The Swiss Freedom Movement triggered the national referendum after its initiative to protect cash collected more than 100,000 signatures, triggering a national referendum. Its initiative secured only 46 percent of the final vote after the government said some of the group’s proposed amendments went too far.

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Amazon’s self-driving subsidiary Zoox announced on Monday that it will begin testing its autonomous vehicles in Dallas and Phoenix. The company will initially deploy retrofitted Toyota Highlander SUVs with human safety drivers to map the new cities before eventually rolling out its purpose-built robotaxis.

Zoox says these two cities will offer a chance to test its sensors and battery performance in unique conditions its cars haven’t yet encountered in existing markets. Phoenix experiences extreme heat, dust and high-speed roads, while Dallas has more sprawling roads and varied weather compared to other cities where Zoox operates. The company is also opening new depots in both cities and a command hub in Scottsdale, Arizona which will handle fleet operations, remote guidance and rider support.

The move brings Zoox’s footprint (between actual launches and test markets) to 10 US cities. It’s other areas of operation are Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Washington, DC. Amazon acquired the self-driving startup for $1.3 billion in 2020 and has been steadily expanding its reach, with the company saying its fleet has driven over one million autonomous miles and served more than 300,000 riders to date.

Zoox’s expansion comes as competition in the robotaxi market intensifies. Alphabet-owned Waymo has continued its rapid spread across the US, while Tesla’s Robotaxis launched last year, though those are currently limited to parts of Austin, Texas. US regulators are set to hold a self-driving safety forum on Tuesday, with the CEOs of Waymo, Zoox and Aurora all expected to attend.

The regulatory framework has dragged behind the rapid rollout of these vehicles as companies test and iterate the technology on public streets. Just in the last year, autonomous vehicles have struck a child near a school, blocked emergency services responding to a mass shooting and, at least in the case of Teslas, appear to be crashing at higher rates than human drivers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazons-zoox-will-test-its-robotaxis-in-dallas-and-phoenix-143828899.html?src=rss