The Download: unraveling a demise risk thriller, and AI dispute recreation for musicians
Scam detection
In April 2024, a mysterious any individual using the fetch handles “Waifu” and “Judische” started posting demise threats on Telegram and Discord channels aimed at a cybersecurity researcher named Allison Nixon.
These anonymous personas focused Nixon on myth of she had change into a fearless risk: As chief analysis officer at the cyber investigations company Unit 221B, named after Sherlock Holmes’s house, she had built a profession monitoring cybercriminals and serving to salvage them arrested.
Although she’d performed this work for more than a decade, Nixon couldn’t worth why the particular person within the relief of the accounts became immediately threatening her. And though she had taken an interest within the Waifu persona in years past for crimes he boasted about committing, he hadn’t been on her radar for a whereas when the threats started, on myth of she became monitoring other targets.
Now Nixon resolved to unmask Waifu/Judische and others accountable for the demise threats—and draw shut them down for crimes they admitted to committing. Read the paunchy fable.
—Kim Zetter
This fable is from the following print order of MIT Abilities Review journal, which is all about crime. If you occur to haven’t already, subscribe now to receive future concerns when they land.
ALS stole this musician’s dispute. AI let him disclose again.
There are tears within the viewers as Patrick Darling’s song begins to play. It’s a heartfelt song written for his immense-grandfather, whom he never got the probability to fulfill. But this efficiency is emotional for yet any other reason: It’s Darling’s first time on stage with his bandmates since he lost the capacity to reveal two years ago.
The 32-twelve months-faded musician became identified with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) when he became 29 years faded. Cherish other forms of motor neuron disease, it impacts nerves that provide the physique’s muscle groups. Of us with ALS at final lose the capacity to govern their muscle groups, at the side of of us that enable them to pass, keep in touch, and breathe.
Darling’s final stage efficiency became over two years ago. By that point, he had already lost the capacity to face and play his devices and became struggling to reveal or keep in touch. But no longer too long ago, he became in a situation to re-impact his lost dispute using an AI instrument knowledgeable on snippets of faded audio recordings. One more AI instrument has enabled him to exercise this “dispute clone” to keep recent songs. Darling is prepared to form music again. Read the paunchy fable.
—Jessica Hamzelou
The must-reads
I’ve combed the fetch to fetch you latterly’s most fun/essential/horrifying/exciting tales about expertise.
1 The creator of OpenClaw is joining OpenAI Sam Altman became sufficiently impressed by Peter Steinberger’s solutions to salvage brokers to occupy interaction with one yet any other. (The Verge) + The pass demonstrates how severely OpenAI is taking brokers. (FT $) + Moltbook became peak AI theater. (MIT Abilities Review)
2 How North Korea is illegally funding its nuclear program A defector explains precisely how he duped some distance away IT workers into funneling money into its missiles.(WSJ $) + Nukes are a scorching subject across Europe horny now. (The Atlantic $)
3 Radio host David Greene is gratified Google stole his dispute He’s suing the corporate over similarities between his have confidence distinctive vocalizations and the AI dispute frail in its NotebookLM app. (WP $) + Of us are using Google gaze instrument to form AI podcasts. (MIT Abilities Review)
4 US automakers are unnerved by the prospect of a Chinese language invasion They dread Trump might perhaps well also greenlight Chinese language carmakers to invent vegetation within the US. (FT $) + China figured out promote EVs. Now it has to contend with their aging batteries. (MIT Abilities Review)
5 Google downplays safety warnings on its AI-generated clinical advice
It ideal shows extended warnings when a particular person clicks to ‘Show camouflage more.’ (The Guardian) + Here’s yet any other reason why you ought to maintain a shut eye on AI Overviews. (Wired $) + AI companies occupy stopped warning you that their chatbots aren’t doctors. (MIT Abilities Review)
6 Easy concepts to form Lidar cheap for all autos A compact gadget might perhaps well also be aware potentially the most essential. (IEEE Spectrum)
7 Robot war nights are the total rage in San Francisco Step apart, Wise Bowl! (Leisure of World) + Humanoid robots will draw shut to the stage for Chinese language New Yr celebrations. (Reuters)
8 Influencers and TikTokers are feeding their infants butter But there’s no scientific evidence to support up a couple of of their claims. (NY Mag $)
9 This couple can’t keep in touch the identical language Microsoft Translator has helped them to maintain a wedding. (NYT $) + AI romance scams are on the upward thrust. (Vox)
10 AI promises to form better, more immersive video games But those are lofty desires that might perhaps well also never be completed. (The Verge) + Google DeepMind is using Gemini to dispute brokers inside Goat Simulator 3. (MIT Abilities Review)
Quote of the day
“Upright now it’s some distance a tiny bit one model. But I mediate it’s incredibly relating to for the long gallop.”
—Scott Shambaugh, a instrument engineer who no longer too long ago grew to alter into the sphere of a scathing weblog submit written by an AI bot accusing him of hypocrisy and prejudice, tells the Wall Avenue Journal why this can also very effectively be the tip of the iceberg.
One more ingredient
Why keep so many people mediate the Fruit of the Loom logo had a cornucopia?Like a flash set a matter to: Does the Fruit of the Loom logo feature a cornucopia?
Many of us had been wearing the corporate’s T-shirts for a protracted time, and yet the set a matter to of whether there might perhaps be a woven brown horn of plenty on the emblem is surprisingly contentious.
Per a 2022 poll, 55% of American citizens think the emblem does consist of a cornucopia, 25% are no longer sure, and ideal 21% are assured that it doesn’t, although this final neighborhood is correct.
There’s a title for what’s going down here: the “Mandela end,” or collective unsuitable memory, so called on myth of many people misremember that Nelson Mandela died in prison. Yet whereas many fetch it easy to let their unconfirmable beliefs lunge, some exercise years on the lookout for solutions—and vindication. Read the paunchy fable.
—Amelia Tait
We are going to aloof occupy nice things
A plight for consolation, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Purchased any solutions? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ When dating apps and guide lovers collide, who knows what might perhaps well also occur. + It turns out people occupy a secret third living of teeth, which is fully wild. + We might perhaps well also never know the accurate shape of the universe. But why is that? + If your salad is lacking a definite something, some crispy lentils might perhaps well also very effectively be correct the be aware.
