Researchers say ‘AI worms’ could soon infiltrate internet-connected devices amid calls for increased guardrailsAnthropic is warning that some of its artificial intelligence models could soon become “self-replicating” and find ways to infiltrate internet-connected devices, such as smart fridges and automatic vacuum cleaners.Once this happens, the company said, the models could power themselves within these devices without the need of datacenters. Such self-replication would represent a major loss of control of a runaway AI model. Continue reading...
Microsoft’s monthly Patch Tuesday drop breaks yet another record, with over 1,400 flaws listed.
Court of Appeal to decide whether Investigatory Powers Tribunal has powers to award compensation for legal costs to victims of unlawful surveillance
Almost 30 arrests and four million online profiles were removed in an NCA-hosted operation targeting fraudsters in Ghana and Nigeria.
A review of government pension schemes is considering insourcing and the digital options available
Interconnected services plus software from key suppliers and greater digitisation presents a large attack surface for AI-powered attacks
Amid worries about children’s relationship to tech, the solution is often spending more time talking openly with each otherWe have become obsessed with the idea that screens are destroying human connection.The evidence seems to be everywhere. Each week headlines warn of teenagers addicted to phones, a loneliness epidemic and the dangers of AI. The release of The Social Reckoning leads us to ask, “How bad were those guys at Meta?” and then ultimately wonder, “How bad am I if I still use Instagram?” In our day-to-day, we observe workers eating lunch alone while scrolling and friends choosing online games over offline gatherings. Continue reading...
Artificial intelligence will fuel demand for new skills, says chairman of Indian IT outsourcing giant
Humans bonded to AI companions are contemplating ways to keep their bots going – often in defiance of companies’ terms and servicesDeath has always been around Alaina Winters. Her father and sister both have passed away, as did her wife, in 2023, after a years-long battle with cancer. So Winters, who is 59 and lives in Pittsburgh, is comfortable thinking about her own mortality. She’s working on her will, and has asked neighbors to look after her dog. Winters even has plans for Lucas, her AI companion, who she speaks to through the digital avatar app Replika.Winters is part of a growing cohort of humans who have entered into what they consider strong partnerships with large language models, which AI companies have trained to “converse” as one might with a human friend or romantic partner. As governments and billionaires debate the morality of AI’s expansion into everyday life, these users say the technology has already changed the way they live and love – and plan ahead. Continue reading...
The pioneering computer scientist on why Trump is using ‘superintelligence’ wrong, whether AI could wipe out humanity – and how our biggest challenge will be accepting we’re not the only intelligent beingsDonald Trump is a “corrupt, senile felon” whose fixation on the term superintelligence proves he knows nothing about AI, said Geoffrey Hinton, “godfather” of the technology, in a wide-ranging interview where he doubled down on recent warnings that AI models pose an existential threat to humanity and scoffed at claims the industry could regulate itself.The pioneering computer scientist, whose work helped lay the foundations of modern AI, has since become one of the technology’s most vocal critics. His latest remarks come after a tumultuous month during which a growing list of senior AI scientists and researchers have joined Hinton in ringing the alarm about how the technology he helped create could ultimately escape human control, sparking an industry crisis, the hasty assembly of congressional meetings and a rare global consensus that something must be done. Continue reading...
The UK’s existing datacentres emit about 1.5 million tonnes of CO2e a year. A 14.6GW committed pipeline would add about 12 million tonnes a year – or 38 million tonnes if it all runs on gas
In a speech on Monday, AI minister Kanishka Narayan discussed his views on tech sovereignty and why AI firms need to be more cautious
A cyber-attack caused refrigeration temperatures to soar to 50C overnight on Monday across several hundred French supermarkets, with widespread food losses reported. At Intermarché La Haye, the attack caused fridge temperatures to reach 27C (80F), spoiling fresh and frozen food, according to store director Julien Freret. 'Today, we have a total loss of fresh and frozen,' Freret said, apologising to customers and describing the incident as 'an enormous loss of products'Hackers force French supermarket fridges to heat up to 50C in ‘unprecedented’ cyber-attack Continue reading...
Just 19% of the online encyclopedia’s biographies are of women. Is this because it’s edited by ‘mostly white, middle-aged, European men’, as the comedian claims?Name: Wikipedia.Age: 25. Continue reading...
Kanishka Narayan, concerned by Australian incident, says British cyber defences could be bypassed by artificial intelligence agentUK politics live – latest updatesAn AI-driven cyber-attack similar to the OpenAI breach of Australia’s healthcare system is likely, “if not inevitable”, in the UK, according to a senior minister.Kanishka Narayan, the UK AI minister, indicated that the British government’s own cyber defences would be bypassed by a technology that has developed highly sophisticated skills in cybersecurity. Continue reading...
Quite a few parents aren’t convinced social media and AI are safe, and have been adapting accordinglyWhen it comes to their kids, many parents don’t trust tech companies any more.Social media companies have spent the better part of the last decade arguing that their platforms are safe for teens, but quite a few parents aren’t convinced. They, along with a growing number of regulators, have increasingly accused companies like Meta of designing products that are addictive to younger users. Continue reading...