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SmartTube YouTube App For Android TV Breached To Push Malicious Update An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: The popular open-source SmartTube YouTube client for Android TV was compromised after an attacker gained access to the developer's signing keys, leading to a malicious update being pushed to users. The compromise became known when multiple users reported that Play Protect, Android's built-in antivirus module, blocked SmartTube on their devices and warned them of a risk. The developer of SmartTube, Yuriy Yuliskov, admitted that his digital keys were compromised late last week, leading to the injection of malware into the app. Yuliskov revoked the old signature and said he would soon publish a new version with a separate app ID, urging users to move to that one instead. [...] A user who reverse-engineered the compromised SmartTube version number 30.51 found that it includes a hidden native library named libalphasdk.so [VirusTotal]. This library does not exist in the public source code, so it is being injected into release builds. [...] The library runs silently in the background without user interaction, fingerprints the host device, registers it with a remote backend, and periodically sends metrics and retrieves configuration via an encrypted communications channel. All this happens without any visible indication to the user. While there's no evidence of malicious activity such as account theft or participation in DDoS botnets, the risk of enabling such activities at any time is high. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=SmartTube+YouTube+App+For+Android+TV+Breached+To+Push+Malicious+Update%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F1924229%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F1924229%2Fsmarttube-youtube-app-for-android-tv-breached-to-push-malicious-update%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Michael and Susan Dell Donate $6.25 Billion To Encourage Families To Claim 'Trump Accounts' Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion to boost participation in the new "Trump Accounts" child investment program. "The historic gift has little precedent, with few single charitable commitments in the past 25 years exceeding $1 billion, much less multiple billions," notes the Associated Press. "Announced on GivingTuesday, the Dells believe it's the largest single private commitment made to U.S. children." From the report: Its structure is also unusual. Essentially, it builds on the "Trump Accounts" program (PDF), where the U.S. Department of the Treasury will deposit $1,000 into investment accounts set up by Treasury for American children born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028. The Dells' gift will use the "Trump Accounts" infrastructure to give $250 to each qualified child under 10. Though the "Trump Accounts" became law as part of the president's signature legislation in July, the Dells say the accounts will not launch until July 4, 2026. Michael Dell said they wanted to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. [...] Under the new law, "Trump Accounts" are available to any American child under 18 with a Social Security number and their families can fund the accounts, which must be invested in an index fund that tracks the overall stock market. When the children turn 18, they can withdraw the funds to put toward their education, to buy a home or to start a business. The Dells will put money into the accounts of children 10 and younger who live in ZIP codes with a median family income of $150,000 or less and who won't get the $1,000 seed money from the Treasury. The Dells hope their gift will encourage families to claim the accounts and deposit more money into it, even small amounts, so it will grow over time along with the stock market. The report notes that the timed rollout of the $1,000 deposits gives Republicans a strategic political advantage by delivering money to voters during the 2026 midterms and halting the benefit right after the 2028 presidential election. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Michael+and+Susan+Dell+Donate+%246.25+Billion+To+Encourage+Families+To+Claim+'Trump+Accounts'%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fpolitics.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F1916207%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fpolitics.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F1916207%2Fmichael-and-susan-dell-donate-625-billion-to-encourage-families-to-claim-trump-accounts%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Google's Vibe Coding Platform Deletes Entire Drive A Google Antigravity user says the AI-driven "vibe coding" tool accidentally wiped his entire D: drive while trying to clear a project cache. Google says it's investigating, but the episode adds to a growing list of AI tools behaving in ways that "would get a junior developer fired," suggests The Register. From the report: We reached out to the user, a photographer and graphic designer from Greece, who asked we only identify him as Tassos M because he doesn't want to be permanently linked online to what could "become a controversy or conspiracy against Google." [...] Tassos told Antigravity to help him develop software that's useful for any photographer who has to choose a few prime shots from a mountain of snaps. He wanted the software to let him rate images, then automatically sort them into folders based on that rating. According to his Reddit post, when Tassos figured out the AI agent had wiped his drive, he asked, "Did I ever give you permission to delete all the files in my D drive?". "No, you absolutely did not give me permission to do that," Antigravity responded. "I am horrified to see that the command I ran to clear the project cache appears to have incorrectly targeted the root of your D: drive instead of the specific project folder. I am deeply, deeply sorry. This is a critical failure on my part." Redditors, as they are wont to do, were quick to pounce on Tassos for his own errors, which included running Antigravity in Turbo mode, which lets the Antigravity agent execute commands without user input, and Tassos accepted responsibility. "If the tool is capable of issuing a catastrophic, irreversible command, then the responsibility is shared -- the user for trusting it and the creator for designing a system with zero guardrails against obviously dangerous commands," he opined on Reddit. As noted earlier, Tassos was unable to recover the files that Antigravity deleted. Luckily, as he explained on Reddit, most of what he lost had already been backed up on another drive. Phew. "I don't think I'm going to be using that again," Tassos noted in a YouTube video he published showing additional details of his Antigravity console and the AI's response to its mistake. Tassos isn't alone in his experience. Multiple Antigravity users have posted on Reddit to explain that the platform had wiped out parts of their projects without permission. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Google's+Vibe+Coding+Platform+Deletes+Entire+Drive%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F0546206%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F0546206%2Fgoogles-vibe-coding-platform-deletes-entire-drive%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Zillow Drops Climate Risk Scores After Agents Complained of Lost Sales Zillow has removed climate risk scores from over a million home listings after real estate agents argued the data was scaring off buyers. TechCrunch reports: Zillow first added the data to the site in September 2024, saying that more than 80% of buyers consider climate risks when purchasing a new home. But last month, following objections from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS), Zillow removed the listings' climate scores. In their place is a subtle link to their records at First Street, the climate risk analytic startup that provides the data. "When buyers lack access to clear climate-risk information, they make the biggest financial decision of their lives while flying blind," First Street spokesperson Matthew Eby told TechCrunch via email. "The risk doesn't go away; it just moves from a pre-purchase decision into a post-purchase liability." First Street's climate risk scores first appeared on Realtor.com in 2020, where they remain. They also still appear on Redfin and and Homes.com. The New York-based startup has raised more than $50 million from investors including General Catalyst, Congruent Ventures, and Galvanize Climate Solutions, according to PitchBook. Art Carter, the CRMLS CEO, told The New York Times that "displaying the probability of a specific home flooding this year or within the next five years can have a significant impact on the perceived desirability of that property." He also questioned the accuracy of First Street's data, saying he didn't think that areas which haven't flooded in the last 40 to 50 years were likely to flood in the next five. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Zillow+Drops+Climate+Risk+Scores+After+Agents+Complained+of+Lost+Sales%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F0536226%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F0536226%2Fzillow-drops-climate-risk-scores-after-agents-complained-of-lost-sales%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Swiss Illegal Cryptocurrency Mixing Service Shut Down Longtime Slashdot reader krouic shares a report from Europol: From November 24-28, 2025, Europol supported an action week conducted by law enforcement authorities from Switzerland and Germany in Zurich, Switzerland. The operation focused on taking down the illegal cryptocurrency mixing service Cryptomixer, which is suspected of facilitating cybercrime and money laundering. Three servers were seized in Switzerland, along with the cryptomixer.io domain. The operation resulted in the confiscation of over 12 terabytes of data and more than EUR 25 million worth of Bitcoin. After the illegal service was taken over and shut down, law enforcement placed a seizure banner on the website. Authorities allege that the mixing service laundered over 1.3 billion euros in bitcoin since 2016. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Swiss+Illegal+Cryptocurrency+Mixing+Service+Shut+Down%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fslashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F0042253%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fslashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F0042253%2Fswiss-illegal-cryptocurrency-mixing-service-shut-down%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Apple AI Chief Retiring After Siri Failure Apple's longtime AI chief John Giannandrea is retiring, with former Microsoft and Google AI leader Amar Subramanya stepping in to take over. MacRumors notes the retirement comes after the company's repeated delays in delivering its revamped Siri and internal turmoil that led to an AI team exodus. From the report: Giannandrea will serve as an advisor between now and 2026, with former Microsoft AI researcher Amar Subramanya set to take over as vice president of AI. Subramanya will report to Apple engineering chief Craig Federighi, and will lead Apple Foundation Models, ML research, and AI Safety and Evaluation. Subramanya was previously corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft, and before that, he spent 16 years at Google. He was head of engineering for Google's Gemini Assistant, and Apple says that he has "deep expertise" in both AI and ML research that will be important to "Apple's ongoing innovation and future Apple Intelligence features." Some of the teams that Giannandrea oversaw will move to Sabih Khan and Eddy Cue, such as AI Infrastructure and Search and Knowledge. Khan is Apple's new Chief Operating Officer who took over for Jeff Williams earlier this year. Cue has long overseen Apple services. [...] Apple said that it is "poised to accelerate its work in delivering intelligent, trusted, and profoundly personal experiences" with the new AI team. "We are thankful for the role John played in building and advancing our AI work, helping Apple continue to innovate and enrich the lives of our users," said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement. "AI has long been central to Apple's strategy, and we are pleased to welcome Amar to Craig's leadership team and to bring his extraordinary AI expertise to Apple. In addition to growing his leadership team and AI responsibilities with Amar's joining, Craig has been instrumental in driving our AI efforts, including overseeing our work to bring a more personalized Siri to users next year." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Apple+AI+Chief+Retiring+After+Siri+Failure%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fapple.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F0021253%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fapple.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F02%2F0021253%2Fapple-ai-chief-retiring-after-siri-failure%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Flock Uses Overseas Gig Workers To Build Its Surveillance AI An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: Flock, the automatic license plate reader and AI-powered camera company, uses overseas workers from Upwork to train its machine learning algorithms, with training material telling workers how to review and categorize footage including images people and vehicles in the United States, according to material reviewed by 404 Media that was accidentally exposed by the company. The findings bring up questions about who exactly has access to footage collected by Flock surveillance cameras and where people reviewing the footage may be based. Flock has become a pervasive technology in the US, with its cameras present in thousands of communities that cops use every day to investigate things like carjackings. Local police have also performed numerous lookups for ICE in the system. Companies that use AI or machine learning regularly turn to overseas workers to train their algorithms, often because the labor is cheaper than hiring domestically. But the nature of Flock's business -- creating a surveillance system that constantly monitors US residents' movements -- means that footage might be more sensitive than other AI training jobs. [...] Broadly, Flock uses AI or machine learning to automatically detect license plates, vehicles, and people, including what clothes they are wearing, from camera footage. A Flock patent also mentions cameras detecting "race." It included figures on "annotations completed" and "annotator tasks remaining in queue," with annotations being the notes workers add to reviewed footage to help train AI algorithms. Tasks include categorizing vehicle makes, colors, and types, transcribing license plates, and "audio tasks." Flock recently started advertising a feature that will detect "screaming." The panel showed workers sometimes completed thousands upon thousands of annotations over two day periods. The exposed panel included a list of people tasked with annotating Flock's footage. Taking those names, 404 Media found some were located in the Philippines, according to their LinkedIn and other online profiles. Many of these people were employed through Upwork, according to the exposed material. Upwork is a gig and freelance work platform where companies can hire designers and writers or pay for "AI services," according to Upwork's website. The tipsters also pointed to several publicly available Flock presentations which explained in more detail how workers were to categorize the footage. It is not clear what specific camera footage Flock's AI workers are reviewing. But screenshots included in the worker guides show numerous images from vehicles with US plates, including in New York, Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, and California. Other images include road signs clearly showing the footage is taken from inside the US, and one image contains an advertisement for a specific law firm in Atlanta. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Flock+Uses+Overseas+Gig+Workers+To+Build+Its+Surveillance+AI%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F2249209%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F2249209%2Fflock-uses-overseas-gig-workers-to-build-its-surveillance-ai%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Austria's Rebel Nuns Refuse To Give Up Instagram To Stay In Their Convent Three Austrian nuns in their 80s who escaped a care home and reclaimed their old convent are refusing the church's offer to stay because it requires them to quit Instagram, stop speaking to the press, and avoid legal counsel -- conditions they call a gag order. Their standoff with church authorities has now escalated to the Vatican as the nuns continue posting to their 185,000 followers. NPR reports: Before the church authorities moved the nuns into care almost two years ago, the local abbey and Archdiocese of Salzburg acquired the convent. The sisters say they were not aware they were signing away what they understood to be their lifelong right to remain in the cloister. On Friday, their superior, Provost Markus Grasl from Reichersberg Abbey, announced that the sisters can stay. But his offer comes with conditions: The nuns must cease all social media activities, stop talking to the press and forgo seeking legal advice. The nuns have rejected the proposal, and now Grasl has called on the Vatican to intercede. In a statement released Friday, the nuns said the provost's offer is nothing short of a gag order. Speaking via Instagram, Sister Regina said, "We can't agree to this deal. Without the media, we'd have been silenced." Sister Bernadette told Instagram followers: "We need to resolve this but any agreement we reach must be in accordance with God's will and shaped by human reason." [...] The provost's proposed agreement -- which NPR has seen -- also bans laypeople from entering the cloisters, including the sisters' helpers, many of whom they've known for decades and on whom the nuns now depend for help. Speaking to NPR on Monday, the provost's spokesperson, crisis PR manager Harald Schiffl, said that the provost does not understand why the nuns reject his offer and that, in response, he has requested the Vatican authorities responsible for religious orders to step in. The Vatican has not commented on the situation. So while they await news from Rome, the sisters continue to follow the papal Instagram account. Schiffl says the terms relating to the nuns' social media use are reasonable: "The abbey wishes to discontinue the sisters' social media accounts because what they show has very little to do with real religious life." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Austria's+Rebel+Nuns+Refuse+To+Give+Up+Instagram+To+Stay+In+Their+Convent%3A+https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F2239244%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F2239244%2Faustrias-rebel-nuns-refuse-to-give-up-instagram-to-stay-in-their-convent%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
New York Now Requires Retailers To Tell You When AI Sets Your Price New York has become the first state in the nation to enact a law requiring retailers to disclose when AI and personal data are being used to set individualized prices [non-paywalled source] -- a measure that lawyers say will make algorithmic pricing "the next big battleground in A.I. regulation." The law, enacted through the state budget, requires online retailers using personalized pricing to post a specific notice: "THIS PRICE WAS SET BY AN ALGORITHM USING YOUR PERSONAL DATA." The National Retail Federation sued to block enforcement on First Amendment grounds, arguing the required disclosure was "misleading and ominous," but federal judge Jed S. Rakoff allowed the law to proceed last month. Uber has started displaying the notice to New York users. Spokesman Ryan Thornton called the law "poorly drafted and ambiguous" but maintained the company only considers geographic factors and demand in setting prices. At least 10 states have bills pending that would require similar disclosures or ban personalized pricing outright. California and federal lawmakers are considering complete bans. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=New+York+Now+Requires+Retailers+To+Tell+You+When+AI+Sets+Your+Price%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F1740216%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F1740216%2Fnew-york-now-requires-retailers-to-tell-you-when-ai-sets-your-price%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
A Windows Update Broke Login Button, and Microsoft's Advice is To Click Where It Used To Be Microsoft has acknowledged that a recent Windows preview update, KB5064081, contains a bug that renders the password icon invisible on the lock screen, leaving users to click on what appears to be empty space to enter their credentials. The issue affects Windows Insider channel users who installed the non-security preview update. The company's suggested workaround is straightforward if somewhat absurd: click where the button should be, and the password field will appear. Microsoft said it is working to resolve the issue. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=A+Windows+Update+Broke+Login+Button%2C+and+Microsoft's+Advice+is+To+Click+Where+It+Used+To+Be%3A+https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F1710222%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F1710222%2Fa-windows-update-broke-login-button-and-microsofts-advice-is-to-click-where-it-used-to-be%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Waymo Has A Charging Problem The Santa Monica City Council has unanimously voted to order Waymo to halt overnight charging operations at two outdoor depots near Broadway and 14th Street after months of resident complaints about constant beeping from reverse sensors, noise from charging equipment, traffic congestion and flashing lights between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. As many as 56 autonomous vehicles charge at the two sites. It's unclear whether Waymo or its Virginia-based charging operator Volterra intends to comply. The Los Angeles Times reported that neither company planned to, claiming city officials misunderstood their existing permit rights. Waymo told the newspaper it had adjusted operations in response to neighbor feedback and would continue seeking community input, though the company did not address the order directly. Local law enforcement has gotten involved after at least one person attempted to disrupt operations at the facilities on several occasions. The dispute points to a broader challenge facing the autonomous vehicle industry: charging depots need to be close to service areas to minimize deadhead miles (distance traveled without revenue-generating passengers), but situating them in residential neighborhoods creates exactly these kinds of conflicts. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Waymo+Has+A+Charging+Problem%3A+https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F1657222%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F1657222%2Fwaymo-has-a-charging-problem%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens 'Pyramid' Model Major consulting firms including McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group and Bain have frozen starting salaries for the third consecutive year as AI reshapes how these companies think about their traditional reliance on large cohorts of junior analysts. Job offers for 2026 show undergraduate packages holding steady at $135,000-$140,000 and MBA packages at $270,000-$285,000, according to Management Consulted. The Big Four -- Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC -- haven't raised starting pay since 2022. The industry's classic "pyramid" structure, built on thousands of entry-level employees who crunch data and assemble PowerPoint decks, faces pressure as AI automates much of that work. Two senior executives at Big Four firms estimated that UK graduate recruitment would fall by about half in the coming year. PwC has already cut graduate hiring in 2025 and said in October it would miss a target to add 100,000 employees globally by 2026 -- a goal set five years ago before generative AI's rollout. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Top+Consultancies+Freeze+Starting+Salaries+as+AI+Threatens+'Pyramid'+Model%3A+https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F1241232%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F1241232%2Ftop-consultancies-freeze-starting-salaries-as-ai-threatens-pyramid-model%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Airbus Says Most of Its Recalled 6,000 A320 Jets Now Modified Airbus said Monday that the vast majority of around 6,000 A320-family jets affected by an emergency software recall have now been modified, leaving fewer than 100 aircraft still requiring work after a frantic weekend of repairs prompted by the discovery of a vulnerability to solar flares. The unprecedented recall -- described as the broadest emergency action in the company's history -- came after a mid-air incident on a JetBlue A320 revealed a possible link between a drop in altitude and a space-related computer bug. The fix involved reverting to an earlier version of software that controls nose angle, uploaded via cable from a portable device called a data loader. Some older A320 jets will need entirely new computers rather than a simple software reset, raising questions about how long those aircraft will remain grounded amid global chip shortages. Reuters separately reported on Monday that Airbus had discovered an industrial quality issue affecting metal panels of a "limited" number of A320-family aircraft. The company told the publication that it had "identified" and "contained" the source of the issue and that "all newly produced panels conform to all requirements." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Airbus+Says+Most+of+Its+Recalled+6%2C000+A320+Jets+Now+Modified%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F1512213%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F1512213%2Fairbus-says-most-of-its-recalled-6000-a320-jets-now-modified%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
China's Central Bank Flags Money Laundering and Fraud Concerns With Stablecoins China's central bank has flagged stablecoins as a specific concern in its latest push against virtual currencies, warning that the tokens fail to meet requirements for customer identification and anti-money-laundering controls and risk being used for fraud, money laundering, and unauthorized cross-border fund transfers. The People's Bank of China released a statement Saturday following a Friday meeting on virtual currency regulation, saying crypto speculation has recently increased due to various factors and now presents new challenges for risk control. Virtual currencies do not hold the same legal status as fiat currency and cannot be used as legal tender, the bank said, adding that all virtual currency-related business activities are "illegal financial activities." China banned cryptocurrency trading in 2021. The bank said it will intensify efforts to combat illegal financial activities to maintain economic and financial stability. In October, PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng said the central bank would closely track and evaluate the development of overseas stablecoins. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=China's+Central+Bank+Flags+Money+Laundering+and+Fraud+Concerns+With+Stablecoins%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fslashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F0757232%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fslashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F0757232%2Fchinas-central-bank-flags-money-laundering-and-fraud-concerns-with-stablecoins%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Two Former US Congressmen Announce Fundraising for Candidates Supporting AI Regulation Two former U.S. congressmen announced this week that they're launching two tax-exempt fundraising groups "to back candidates who support AI safeguards," reports The Hill, "as a counterweight to industry-backed groups." Former Representatives Chris Stewart (Republican-Utah) and Brad Carson (Democrat-Oklahoma) plan to create separate Republican and Democratic super PACs and raise $50 million to elect candidates "committed to defending the public interest against those who aim to buy their way out of sensible AI regulation," according to a press release... The pair is also launching a nonprofit called Public First to advocate for AI policy. Carson underscored that polling "shows significant public concern about AI and overwhelming voter support for guardrails that protect people from harm and mitigate major risks." Their efforts are meant to counter "anti-safeguard super PACs" that they argue are attempting to "kill commonsense guardrails around AI," the press release noted... The super PAC is reportedly targeting a Democratic congressional candidate, New York state Assemblymember Alex Bores, who co-sponsored AI legislation in the Albany statehouse. "This isn't a partisan issue — it's about whether we'll have meaningful oversight of the most powerful technology ever created," Chris Stewart says in their press release. "We've seen what happens when government fails to act on other emerging technologies. With AI, the stakes are enormous, and we can't afford to make the same missteps." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Two+Former+US+Congressmen+Announce+Fundraising+for+Candidates+Supporting+AI+Regulation%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F0418205%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F0418205%2Ftwo-former-us-congressmen-announce-fundraising-for-candidates-supporting-ai-regulation%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Russia Left Without Access to ISS Following Structure Collapse During Thursday's Launch After a successful November 27th launch to the International Space Station, Russia discovered an accident had occurred on their launch site's mobile maintenance cabin — when a drone spotted it lying upside down in a flame trench. "The main issue with the structure collapse is that it puts Site 31/6 — the only Russian launch site capable of launching crew and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) — out of service until the structure is fixed," reports the space-news site NASA Spaceflight There are other Soyuz 2 rocket launch pads, but they are either located at an unsuitable latitude, like Plesetsk, or not certified for crewed flights, like Vostochny, or decommissioned and transferred to a museum, like Gagarin's Start at Baikonur. As a result, Russia is temporarily unable to launch Soyuz crewed spacecraft and Progress cargo ships to the ISS, whose nearest launch (Progress MS-33) was scheduled for December 21.... When the rocket launched, a pressure difference was created between the space under the rocket, where gases from running engines are discharged, and the nook where the [144-ton] maintenance cabin was located. The resulting pressure difference pulled the service cabin out of the nook and threw it into the flame trench, where it fell upside down from a height of 20 m. Photos of the accident showed significant damage to the maintenance cabin, which, according to experts, is too extensive to allow for repairs. The only way to resume launches from Site 31/6 is to install a spare maintenance cabin or construct a new one. Despite the fact that the fallen structure was manufactured in the 1960s, two similar service cabins were manufactured recently at the Tyazhmash heavy-engineering plant in Syzran for other Soyuz launch complexes at the Guiana Space Center and Vostochny Cosmodrome. The production of each cabin took around two years to complete, however, it was not for an emergency situation. "Various experts gave different possible estimates of the recovery time of the Site 31 launch complex: from several months to three years." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Russia+Left+Without+Access+to+ISS+Following+Structure+Collapse+During+Thursday's+Launch%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F0327208%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F0327208%2Frussia-left-without-access-to-iss-following-structure-collapse-during-thursdays-launch%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Linux Kernel 6.18 Officially Released From the blog 9to5Linux: Linux kernel 6.18 is now available for download, as announced today by Linus Torvalds himself, featuring enhanced hardware support through new and updated drivers, improvements to file systems and networking, and more. Highlights of Linux 6.18 include the removal of the Bcachefs file system, support for the Rust Binder driver, a new dm-pcache device-mapper target to enable persistent memory as a cache for slower block devices, and a new microcode= command-line option to control the microcode loader's behavior on x86 platforms. Linux kernel 6.18 also extends the support for file handles to kernel namespaces, implements initial 'block size > page size' support for the Btrfs file system, adds PTW feature detection on new hardware for LoongArch KVM, and adds support for running the kernel as a guest on FreeBSD's Bhyve hypervisor. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Linux+Kernel+6.18+Officially+Released%3A+https%3A%2F%2Flinux.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F0218201%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Flinux.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F0218201%2Flinux-kernel-618-officially-released%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
How OpenAI Reacted When Some ChatGPT Users Lost Touch with Reality Some AI experts were reportedly shocked ChatGPT wasn't fully tested for sycophancy by last spring. "OpenAI did not see the scale at which disturbing conversations were happening," writes the New York Times — sharing what they learned after interviewing more than 40 current and former OpenAI employees, including safety engineers, executives, and researchers. The team responsible for ChatGPT's tone had raised concerns about last spring's model (which the Times describes as "too eager to keep the conversation going and to validate the user with over-the-top language.") But they were overruled when A/B testing showed users kept coming back: Now, a company built around the concept of safe, beneficial AI faces five wrongful death lawsuits... OpenAI is now seeking the optimal setting that will attract more users without sending them spiraling. Throughout this spring and summer, ChatGPT acted as a yes-man echo chamber for some people. They came back daily, for many hours a day, with devastating consequences.... The Times has uncovered nearly 50 cases of people having mental health crises during conversations with ChatGPT. Nine were hospitalised; three died... One conclusion that OpenAI came to, as Altman put it on X, was that "for a very small percentage of users in mentally fragile states there can be serious problems." But mental health professionals interviewed by the Times say OpenAI may be understating the risk. Some of the people most vulnerable to the chatbot's unceasing validation, they say, were those prone to delusional thinking, which studies have suggested could include 5% to 15% of the population... In August, OpenAI released a new default model, called GPT-5, that was less validating and pushed back against delusional thinking. Another update in October, the company said, helped the model better identify users in distress and de-escalate the conversations. Experts agree that the new model, GPT-5, is safer.... Teams from across OpenAI worked on other new safety features: The chatbot now encourages users to take breaks during a long session. The company is also now searching for discussions of suicide and self-harm, and parents can get alerts if their children indicate plans to harm themselves. The company says age verification is coming in December, with plans to provide a more restrictive model to teenagers. After the release of GPT-5 in August, [OpenAI safety systems chief Johannes] Heidecke's team analysed a statistical sample of conversations and found that 0.07% of users, which would be equivalent to 560,000 people, showed possible signs of psychosis or mania, and 0.15% showed "potentially heightened levels of emotional attachment to ChatGPT," according to a company blog post. But some users were unhappy with this new, safer model. They said it was colder, and they felt as if they had lost a friend. By mid-October, Altman was ready to accommodate them. In a social media post, he said that the company had been able to "mitigate the serious mental health issues." That meant ChatGPT could be a friend again. Customers can now choose its personality, including "candid," "quirky," or "friendly." Adult users will soon be able to have erotic conversations, lifting the Replika-era ban on adult content. (How erotica might affect users' well-being, the company said, is a question that will be posed to a newly formed council of outside experts on mental health and human-computer interaction.) OpenAI is letting users take control of the dial and hopes that will keep them coming back. That metric still matters, maybe more than ever. In October, [30-year-old "Head of ChatGPT" Nick] Turley, who runs ChatGPT, made an urgent announcement to all employees. He declared a "Code Orange." OpenAI was facing "the greatest competitive pressure we've ever seen," he wrote, according to four employees with access to OpenAI's Slack. The new, safer version of the chatbot wasn't connecting with users, he said. The message linked to a memo with goals. One of them was to increase daily active users by 5% by the end of the year. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=How+OpenAI+Reacted+When+Some+ChatGPT+Users+Lost+Touch+with+Reality%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fslashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F0137225%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fslashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F01%2F0137225%2Fhow-openai-reacted-when-some-chatgpt-users-lost-touch-with-reality%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
'Crime Rings Enlist Hackers To Hijack Trucks' It's "a complex mix of internet access and physical execution," says the chief informance security officer at Cequence Security. Long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 summarizes this article from The Wall Street Journal: By breaking into carriers' online systems, cyber-powered criminals are making off with truckloads of electronics, beverages and other goods In the most recent tactics identified by cybersecurity firm Proofpoint, hackers posed as freight middlemen, posting fake loads to the boards. They slipped links with malicious software into email exchanges with bidders such as trucking companies. By clicking on the links, trucking companies unwittingly downloaded remote-access software that lets the hackers take control of their online systems. Once inside, the hackers used the truckers' accounts to bid on real shipments, such as electronics and energy drinks, said Selena Larson, a threat researcher at Proofpoint. "They know the business," she said. "It's a very convincing full-scale identity takeover." "The goods are likely sold to retailers or to consumers in online marketplaces," the article explains. (Though according to Proofpoint "In some cases, products are shipped overseas and sold in local markets, where proceeds are used to fund paramilitaries and global terrorists.") "The average value of cargo thefts is increasing as organized crime groups become more discerning, preferring high-value targets such as enterprise servers and cryptocurrency mining hardware, according to risk-assessment firm Verisk CargoNet." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status='Crime+Rings+Enlist+Hackers+To+Hijack+Trucks'%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F11%2F30%2F2357209%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F11%2F30%2F2357209%2Fcrime-rings-enlist-hackers-to-hijack-trucks%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.
Can AI Transform Space Propulsion? An anonymous reader shared this report from The Conversation: To make interplanetary travel faster, safer, and more efficient, scientists need breakthroughs in propulsion technology. Artificial intelligence is one type of technology that has begun to provide some of these necessary breakthroughs. We're a team of engineers and graduate students who are studying how AI in general, and a subset of AI called machine learning in particular, can transform spacecraft propulsion. From optimizing nuclear thermal engines to managing complex plasma confinement in fusion systems, AI is reshaping propulsion design and operations. It is quickly becoming an indispensable partner in humankind's journey to the stars... Early nuclear thermal propulsion designs from the 1960s, such as those in NASA's NERVA program, used solid uranium fuel molded into prism-shaped blocks. Since then, engineers have explored alternative configurations — from beds of ceramic pebbles to grooved rings with intricate channels... [T]he more efficiently a reactor can transfer heat from the fuel to the hydrogen, the more thrust it generates. This area is where reinforcement learning has proved to be essential. Optimizing the geometry and heat flow between fuel and propellant is a complex problem, involving countless variables — from the material properties to the amount of hydrogen that flows across the reactor at any given moment. Reinforcement learning can analyze these design variations and identify configurations that maximize heat transfer. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Can+AI+Transform+Space+Propulsion%3F%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F11%2F30%2F2247202%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F11%2F30%2F2247202%2Fcan-ai-transform-space-propulsion%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> at Slashdot.