Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Spies hack Wi-Fi networks in far-off land to launch attack on target next door

 

at 11/22/24 7:03pm

“Nearest Neighbor Attack” finally lets Russia’s Fancy Bear into target’s Wi-Fi network.

[Category: Biz & IT, Security, advanced persistent threats, hacking, tradecraft]

— Amazon pours another $4B into Anthropic, OpenAI’s biggest rival

 

at 11/22/24 12:32pm

Amazon has now committed $8 billion to AI startup that makes a key ChatGPT competitor.

[Category: AI, Biz & IT, Amazon, Anthropic, ChatGPT, chatgtp, Dario Amodei, large language models, LLMs, machine learning]

— 5 charged in “Scattered Spider,” one of the most profitable phishing scams ever

 

at 11/21/24 6:00am

Phishing attacks were so well-orchestrated that they fooled some of the best in the business.

[Category: Biz & IT, Security, courts, department of justice, phishing]

— Google stops letting sites like Forbes rule search for “Best CBD Gummies“

 

at 11/20/24 12:47pm

If you've noticed strange sites on "Best" product searches, so has Google.

[Category: Biz & IT, Google, Tech, affiliate, affiliate marketing, forbes, forbes marketplace, google, guest posts, parasite seo, SEO, site reputation]

— A year after ditching waitlist, Starlink says it is “sold out” in parts of US

 

at 11/19/24 3:11pm

SpaceX's Starlink doesn't have enough capacity for everyone who wants it.

[Category: Biz & IT, Policy, starlink]

— Niantic uses Pokémon Go player data to build AI navigation system

 

at 11/19/24 1:34pm

Visual scans of the world have helped Niantic build what it calls a "Large Geospatial Model."

[Category: AI, Biz & IT, AI ethics, ChatGPT, chatgtp, large geospatial model, large language model, machine learning, mobile games, niantic, pokemon, pokemon go, smartphones, video games, Visual Positioning System]

— Join us today for Ars Live: Our first encounter with manipulative AI

 

at 11/19/24 8:40am

At 4PM ET, join Benj Edwards and Simon Willison's live YouTube chat about the "Great Bing Chat Fiasco of 2023."

[Category: AI, Biz & IT, 2023, AI ethics, ars live, Ars Live Conversations, Benj Edwards, Bing Chat, GPT-4, large language models, machine learning, manipulative AI, microsoft, Microsoft Copilot, openai, prompt injection, prompt injections, Simon Willison]

— AI-generated shows could replace lost DVD revenue, Ben Affleck says

 

at 11/18/24 3:49pm

AI won't replace human artistry, says actor, but it will wildly drive down costs.

[Category: AI, Biz & IT, AI visual effects, AI-generated video, Ben Affleck, filmmaking, machine learning, movies, Special Effects, TV shows, video synthesis]

— ChatGPT’s success could have come sooner, says former Google AI researcher

 

at 11/14/24 10:00am

A co-author of Attention Is All You Need reflects on ChatGPT's surprise and Google's conservatism.

[Category: AI, Biz & IT, AI technology, Attention is all you need, biotechnology, ChatGPT, chatgtp, google, GPT-3, GPT-4, Inceptive, Jakob Uszkoreit, large language models, openai, RNA, RNA vaccines, Transformers]

— IBM boosts the amount of computation you can get done on quantum hardware

 

at 11/13/24 3:42pm

Incremental improvements across the hardware and software stacks add up.

[Category: Biz & IT, Science, Computer science, computing quantum computing, ibm, Physics, quantum mechanics]

— New secret math benchmark stumps AI models and PhDs alike

 

at 11/12/24 3:49pm

FrontierMath's difficult questions remain unpublished so that AI companies can't train against it.

[Category: AI, Biz & IT, AI benchmarks, Anthropic, benchmarks, Claude 3.5, Epoch AI, FrontierMath, google, GPT-4o, large language models, machine learning, o1-preview, openai, research papers, vibemarks]

— Is “AI welfare” the new frontier in ethics?

 

at 11/11/24 8:51am

Anthropic's new hire is preparing for a future where advanced AI models may experience suffering.

[Category: AI, Biz & IT, AI consiousness, AI ethics, AI sentience, AI welfare, Anthropic, consciousness, Kyle Fish, machine learning, marker method, openai]

— Claude AI to process secret government data through new Palantir deal

 

at 11/8/24 3:08pm

Critics worry Anthropic is endangering its "ethical" AI stance due to defense associations.

[Category: AI, Biz & IT, AI ethics, Amazon, Anthropic, ChatGPT, chatgtp, Claude, Claude 3, Claude 3.5, confabulation, ethical ai, futurism, government contracts, large language models, LLaMA, machine learning, meta, military AI, openai, palantir, US Defense Department, US intelligence agencies, Victor Tangermann]

— New SMB-friendly subscription tier may be too late to stop VMware migrations

 

at 11/8/24 2:59pm

Broadcom acquisition was a "wake-up call" for VMware-dependent SMBs.

[Category: Biz & IT, Broadcom, vmware]

— Matter 1.4 has some solid ideas for the future home—now let’s see the support

 

at 11/8/24 1:08pm

Can you get one speaker on Alexa, Google, and Apple's home apps all at once?

[Category: Biz & IT, Tech, alexa, apple home, connectivity standards alliance, csa, EVSE, Google Home, home automation, matter, matter 1.4, smart home, Thread]

— Law enforcement operation takes down 22,000 malicious IP addresses worldwide

 

at 11/7/24 4:12pm

Operation Synergia II took aim at phishing, ransomware, and information stealing.

[Category: Biz & IT, Security, cybercrime, Interpol, police]

— ChatGPT has a new vanity domain name, and it may have cost $15 million

 

at 11/7/24 8:32am

Speculator swapped pricey domain for OpenAI shares instead of taking cash payment.

[Category: AI, Biz & IT, chat.com, ChatGPT, chatgtp, Dharmesh Shah, domain names, large language models, machine learning, openai, sam altman]

— Trump plans to dismantle Biden AI safeguards after victory

 

at 11/6/24 2:18pm

Trump plans to repeal Biden's 2023 order and levy tariffs on GPU imports.

[Category: AI, Biz & IT, Policy, AI regulation, Biden, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, large language models, machine learning, US government, White House]

— Corning faces antitrust actions for its Gorilla Glass dominance

 

at 11/6/24 12:25pm

European Commission looks into alleged exclusivity, pricing, and patent demands.

[Category: Biz & IT, Tech, antitrust, apple, Corning, European Commission, Gorilla Glass, iphone]

— Anthropic’s Haiku 3.5 surprises experts with an “intelligence” price increase

 

at 11/5/24 3:50pm

Anthropic’s smallest AI model now beats its older largest LLM, Opus, at some tasks.

[Category: AI, Biz & IT, AI pricing, Anthropic, Anthropic Claude, API, chatbots, ChatGPT, chatgtp, Claude, Claude 3.5, Claude 3.5 Haiku, Claude Haiku, large language models, machine learning]

— Suspect arrested in Snowflake data-theft attacks affecting millions

 

at 11/5/24 3:03pm

Threat actor exploited account credentials swept up by infostealers years earlier.

[Category: Biz & IT, Security, Data breaches, infostealers]

As of 11/23/24 12:05am. Last new 11/22/24 8:06pm.