Enlarge / The California State Capitol Building in Sacramento. (credit: Getty Images) California’s “Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act” (a.k.a. SB-1047) has led to a flurry of headlines and debate concerning the overall “safety” of large artificial intelligence models. But critics are concerned that the bill’s overblown focus on existential threats...
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How Do You Solve a Problem Like Elon?
Linda Yaccarino, the C.E.O. of X, has worked hard to bring back advertisers and fix the platform’s business. But its owner, Elon Musk, is always one whim away from undoing her work.
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Memecoins, Cryptocurrencies Based on Internet Memes, Roar Back
One of the wildest, most scam-ridden corners of the cryptocurrency industry — memecoins, which are rooted in internet memes — has roared back.
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Justice Dept. Defends TikTok Law That Forces App’s Sale or Ban
In its first detailed response to a legal challenge, the agency said TikTok’s proposed changes wouldn’t prevent China from using it to collect U.S. users’ data or spread propaganda.
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Automakers Sold Driver Data for Pennies, Senators Say
Ron Wyden and Edward Markey urged the F.T.C. to investigate how car companies handled the data from millions of car owners.
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When A.I. Fails the Language Test, Who Is Left Out of the Conversation?
The use of artificial intelligence is exploding around the world, but the technology’s language models are primarily trained in English, leaving many speakers of other languages behind.
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97% of CrowdStrike systems are back online; Microsoft suggests Windows changes
Enlarge / A bad update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon security software crashed millions of Windows PCs last week. (credit: CrowdStrike) CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said Thursday that 97 percent of all Windows systems running its Falcon sensor software were back online, a week after an update-related outage to the corporate security software delayed flights and took...
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At the Olympics, AI is watching you
Enlarge / Police observe the Eiffel Tower from Trocadero ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 22, 2024. (credit: Hector Vivas/Getty Images) On the eve of the Olympics opening ceremony, Paris is a city swamped in security. Forty thousand barriers divide the French capital. Packs of police officers wearing stab vests patrol pretty,...
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Hang out with Ars in San Jose and DC this fall for two infrastructure events
Enlarge / Infrastructure! Howdy, Arsians! Last year, we partnered with IBM to host an in-person event in the Houston area where we all gathered together, had some cocktails, and talked about resiliency and the future of IT. Location always matters for things like this, and so we hosted it at Space Center Houston and had...
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How US Chips Continue to End Up in Russian Missiles
Defying sanctions, Russia has obtained nearly $4 billion in restricted chips since the war began in Ukraine. Many were shipped through a cluster of shell companies in Hong Kong.