At a tech forum in Beijing last week, a Chinese company unveiled a “homegrown” brain-computer interface that allowed a monkey to seemingly control a robotic arm just by thinking about it. In a video shown at the event, a monkey with its hands restrained uses the interface to move a …
Read More »Why China Is So Bad at Disinformation
The headlines sounded dire: “China Will Use AI to Disrupt Elections in the US, South Korea and India, Microsoft Warns.” Another claimed, “China Is Using AI to Sow Disinformation and Stoke Discord Across Asia and the US.” They were based on a report published earlier this month by Microsoft’s Threat …
Read More »Elon Musk Can’t Solve Tesla’s China Crisis With His Desperate Asia Visit
Elon Musk will be pleased that his surprise jaunt to China on Sunday garnered many glowing headlines. The trip was undoubtedly equally a surprise to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who had been scheduled to offer Musk the red carpet on a long-arranged visit. The billionaire blew off India at …
Read More »Russia Vetoed a UN Resolution to Ban Space Nukes
Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution Wednesday that would have reaffirmed a nearly 50-year-old ban on placing weapons of mass destruction into orbit, two months after reports Russia has plans to do just that. Russia's vote against the resolution was no surprise. As one of the five permanent …
Read More »School Employee Allegedly Framed a Principal With Racist Deepfake Rant
Controversial gunshot-detection company ShotSpotter has deployed more than 25,000 microphones across 170 cities worldwide. This week, WIRED and South Side Weekly revealed the company may continue to provide gunshot data to police in cities even after contracts have ended. Internal emails seen by the publications suggest ShotSpotter sensors may have …
Read More »Cyberspies Hacked Cisco Firewalls to Access Government Networks
Network security appliances like firewalls are meant to keep hackers out. Instead, digital intruders are increasingly targeting them as the weak link that lets them pillage the very systems those devices are meant to protect. In the case of one hacking campaign over recent months, Cisco is now revealing that …
Read More »President Biden Signs Bill That Could Ban TikTok
President Joe Biden signed a bill on Wednesday that could ban TikTok from operating within the United States as early as next year. After years of trying, the US House of Representatives and the Senate managed to pass a measure that would force TikTok to divest from ByteDance, its Chinese …
Read More »A National Security Insider Does the Math on the Dangers of AI
Jason Matheny is a delight to speak with, provided you’re up for a lengthy conversation about potential technological and biomedical catastrophe. Now CEO and president of Rand Corporation, Matheny has built a career out of thinking about such gloomy scenarios. An economist by training with a focus on public health, …
Read More »Semiconductor Giant ASML Has a New Boss, and a Big Problem
When Christophe Fouquet takes over as CEO of Europe’s most valuable tech company on April 24, he will inherit not only a single firm, but also the leadership of an entire industry responsible for a critical ingredient of modern life: chips. Netherlands-based ASML makes one of the world’s most complex …
Read More »The House Passes a TikTok Ban Bill That’s on the Fast Track
A TikTok ban is back on the table after the House approved a new bill on Saturday addressing the issues that stalled it out in the Senate. The bill would allow the Biden administration to ban TikTok nationwide if it doesn’t divest from its China-based owner, ByteDance, within a year. …
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