Eugene Mymrin/Getty Images reader comments 120 with 0 posters participating Share this story For years, the cryptocurrency economy has been rife with black market sales, theft, ransomware, and money laundering—despite the strange fact that in that economy, practically every transaction is written into a blockchain’s permanent, unchangeable ledger. But new evidence suggests that years of […]
Monthly Archives: January 2023
#GermanyRIP. Kremlin-loyal hacktivists wage DDoSes to retaliate for tank aid
Enlarge / An iteration of what happens when your site gets shut down by a DDoS attack. reader comments 157 with 0 posters participating Share this story Threat actors loyal to the Kremlin have stepped up attacks in support of its invasion of Ukraine, with denial-of-service attacks hitting German banks and other organizations and the […]
BuzzFeed preps AI-written content while CNET fumbles
Enlarge / An AI-generated image of a robot typewriter-journalist hard at work. Ars Technica reader comments 144 with 0 posters participating Share this story On Thursday, an internal memo obtained by The Wall Street Journal revealed that BuzzFeed is planning to use ChatGPT-style text synthesis technology from OpenAI to create individualized quizzes and potentially other […]
The Download: watermarking AI text, and freezing eggs
That’s why the team behind a new decision-making tool hope it will help to clear up some of the misconceptions around the procedure—and give would-be parents a much-needed insight into its real costs, benefits, and potential pitfalls. Read the full story. —Jessica Hamzelou This story is from The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly newsletter giving […]
A watermark for chatbots can expose text written by an AI
For example, since OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT was launched in November, students have already started cheating by using it to write essays for them. News website CNET has used ChatGPT to write articles, only to have to issue corrections amid accusations of plagiarism. Building the watermarking approach into such systems before they’re released could help address […]
How do I know if egg freezing is for me?
The tool is currently being trialed in a group of research volunteers and is not yet widely available. But I’m hoping it represents a move toward more transparency and openness about the real costs and benefits of egg freezing. Yes, it is a remarkable technology that can help people become parents. But it might not […]
Deepfakes for scrawl: With handwriting synthesis, no pen is necessary
Enlarge / An example of computer-synthesized handwriting generated by Calligrapher.ai. Ars Technica reader comments 102 with 0 posters participating Share this story Thanks to a free web app called calligrapher.ai, anyone can simulate handwriting with a neural network that runs in a browser via JavaScript. After typing a sentence, the site renders it as handwriting […]
How Roomba tester’s private images ended up on Facebook
Jennifer: He says having employees work as beta testers is problematic… because they might not feel like they have a choice. Albert Fox Cahn: The reality is that when you’re an employee, oftentimes you don’t have the ability to meaningfully consent. You oftentimes can’t say no. And so instead of volunteering, you’re being voluntold to […]
The Download: ChatGPT workout plans, and cleaning up aviation
When I opened the email telling me I’d been accepted to run the London Marathon, I felt elated. And then terrified. Barely six months on from my last marathon, I knew how dedicated I’d have to be to keep running day after day, week after week, month after month, through rain, cold, tiredness, grumpiness, and […]
How new technologies could clean up air travel
Batteries could power planes, at least for short distances. Some companies have been trying out test flights of electric planes powered this way, mostly small eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft that can carry just a few people. Unlike combustion-powered aircraft, electric planes wouldn’t produce pollution, and they could reach zero emissions if charged […]