
Crypto lender BlockFi emerges from bankruptcy
(Reuters) -Cryptocurrency lender BlockFi emerged from bankruptcy on Tuesday, clearing the way to repay its creditors 11 months after it
1970-01-01 08:00

Apple announces surprise event: ‘Scary fast’
Apple has announced a surprise event, at which it is expected to unveil new Macs. The event is unusual in a number of ways, including its much later start than Apple’s regular events: it will begin at 5pm local pacific time, or midnight in the UK. Apple events almost always begin at 10am local time, and it did not give any indication of why it had changed its time. It will also take place notably late in the year, on 30 October. Apple appeared to reference the proximity to Hallowe’en in its invitation, which used the title “Scary fast”. It will also be entirely virtual, with no in-person attendance. Apple switched to fully virtual events during the pandemic, but has since opened up physical attendance as restrictions have lifted. Unlike many recent Apple events, it is unclear what exactly the company is planning – though Apple’s website used the “Finder” icon from the Mac operating system, all but confirming a focus on its computers. Apple seems likely to introduce a new version of its iMac, which was last updated in April 2021 and is now far behind all of the rest of Apple’s line-up. It still uses Apple’s M1 chip, and the event will presumably at least bring it up to speed with the existing M2 processors. The company might unveil its first M3 processors, however. Apple’s first M2 computers arrived last summer, inside updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, and so those computers could also be updated with the latest generation. Some reports have also suggested that Apple could be planning an update for its most high-end and expensive 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, too. Those were overhauled earlier this year, however, with the introduction of the M2 Pro and M2 Max, meaning that any new update might be less likely or could be more minor. Recent weeks brought rumours that Apple was planning to update at least some of its iPads. The rumoured launch day only brought a new Apple Pencil, however – which may mean that the iPads were delayed for the upcoming event, or may mean that Apple opted not to make any changes to the iPad and released the Apple Pencil to clear the way for its new Macs. The latest launch comes the month after Apple held another live event – at its usual time – to launch the new iPhone 15 and other products. Read More Apple ‘is planning surprise Mac announcement soon’ Apple just released a new Pencil after days of excitement Sadiq Khan, Met Commissioner to ask phone companies to ‘design out’ theft
1970-01-01 08:00

Who is playing college football tonight, Oct. 24?
Who is playing college football tonight, Oct. 24?
1970-01-01 08:00

Instagram linked to depression, anxiety, insomnia in kids - US states' lawsuit
Dozens of U.S. states are suing Meta Platforms and its Instagram unit, accusing them of contributing to a
1970-01-01 08:00

Apple to hold special event on Oct. 30 dubbed 'Scary Fast'
IPhone maker Apple said on Tuesday it will hold a special event named "Scary Fast" on Oct. 30.
1970-01-01 08:00

Meta Sued by California, States Over Harmful Youth Marketing
Meta Platforms Inc. was sued by California and a group of more than 30 states over claims that
1970-01-01 08:00

Greta Thunberg hit with deepfake showing her calling for 'sustainable weapons'
Climate activist Greta Thunberg has become the latest victim of deepfakes, after a video of her appearing on the BBC in November 2022 was digitally edited to show her supporting "sustainable" war tanks and weaponry. A video was shared on Twitter/X that originated from the YouTube channel Snicklink - which posts edited video for satire - and was titled "Greta Thunberg: VEGAN WARS #satire." The video had 'SATIRE' in the bottom right hand corner. In the edited clip Thunberg seemingly says: "War is always bad, specifically for the planet. If we want to continue fighting battles like environmentally conscious humans, we must make the change to sustainable tanks and weaponry. "If you use hand grenades, please use vegan grenades. No animal should have to give their life for this mayhem and chaos. They have a special sticker on them. You really can't miss them in the grenade market, or wherever you buy them. Yeah, I cover all this and more in my new book Vegan Wars." The video which has been viewed over 3 million times according to Twitter/X has a community note attached to it letting viewers know that "Greta's mouth and her voice were deepfaked". Whilst it is fairly easy to tell the video is edited when looking close enough, or even simply noticing the massive 'SATIRE' sign in the corner, many were seemingly fooled. "This can only come from a moron in the west [with] no actual real life problems," wrote one riled up user: "Why is anybody listening to this deluded clown girl?" wrote another. The deepfake used genuine footage of the 20-year-old appearing on the BBC to promote her book The Climate Book, where she spoke about climate anxiety and her activism. You can watch the original clip here: Greta Thunberg on how to tackle climate anxiety | The One Show - BBC www.youtube.com Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
1970-01-01 08:00

Dozens of states sue Instagram-parent Meta over 'addictive' features and youth mental health harms
Dozens of states sued Instagram-parent Meta on Tuesday, accusing the social media giant of harming young users' mental health through allegedly addictive features such as infinite news feeds and frequent notifications that demand users' constant attention.
1970-01-01 08:00

ChatGPT and other chatbots ‘can be tricked into making code for cyber attacks’
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT can be tricked into producing malicious code which could be used to launch cyber attacks, according to research. A study by researchers from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Computer Science found that it was possible to manipulate chatbots into creating code capable of breaching other systems. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can create content based on user commands or prompts and are expected to have a substantial impact on daily life as they become more widely used in industry, education and healthcare. But the researchers have warned that vulnerabilities exist, and said their research found they were able to trick the chatbots into helping steal sensitive personal information, tamper with or destroy databases, or bring down services using denial-of-service attacks. In reality many companies are simply not aware of these types of threats and due to the complexity of chatbots, even within the community, there are things that are not fully understood Xutan Peng, University of Sheffield PhD student In all, the university study found vulnerabilities in six commercial AI tools – of which ChatGPT was the most well-known. On Chinese platform Baidu-Unit, the scientists were able to use malicious code to obtain confidential Baidu server configurations and tampered with one server node. In response, the research has been recognised by Baidu, which addressed and fixed the reported vulnerabilities and financially rewarded the scientists, the university said. Xutan Peng, a PhD student at the University of Sheffield, who co-led the research, said: “In reality many companies are simply not aware of these types of threats and due to the complexity of chatbots, even within the community, there are things that are not fully understood. “At the moment, ChatGPT is receiving a lot of attention. It’s a standalone system, so the risks to the service itself are minimal, but what we found is that it can be tricked into producing malicious code that can do serious harm to other services.” The risk with AIs like ChatGPT is that more and more people are using them as productivity tools, rather than a conversational bot, and this is where our research shows the vulnerabilities are Xutan Peng, University of Sheffield PhD student The researchers also warned that people using AI to learn programming languages was a danger, as they could inadvertently create damaging code. “The risk with AIs like ChatGPT is that more and more people are using them as productivity tools, rather than a conversational bot, and this is where our research shows the vulnerabilities are,” Peng said. “For example, a nurse could ask ChatGPT to write an (programming language) SQL command so that they can interact with a database, such as one that stores clinical records. “As shown in our study, the SQL code produced by ChatGPT in many cases can be harmful to a database, so the nurse in this scenario may cause serious data management faults without even receiving a warning.” The UK will host an AI Safety Summit next week, with the Government inviting world leaders and industry giants to come together to discuss the opportunities and safety concerns around artificial intelligence. Read More Tinder adds Matchmaker feature to let friends recommend potential dates Google and Meta withdraw from upcoming Web Summit ‘Game-changing’ facial recognition technology catches prolific shoplifters Facial recognition firm Clearview AI overturns UK data privacy fine Sadiq Khan, Met Commissioner to ask phone companies to ‘design out’ theft Microsoft gets go-ahead to buy Call of Duty maker Activision
1970-01-01 08:00

Bitcoin soars to near 18-month high as ETF speculation mounts
By Tom Wilson and Tom Westbrook LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Bitcoin rose 6% on Tuesday to to $35,198, its highest in nearly
1970-01-01 08:00

Rare moments captures python engaging in cannibalism
A species of snake has been seen engaging in cannibalistic behaviour after the incident was captured on camera. In Far North Queensland, Australia, a coastal region in the north of Queensland, a black-headed python was witnessed eating another member of the same species. The rare scene was witnessed at the Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s (AWC) Piccaninny Plains Wildlife Sanctuary where the manager, Nick Stock, was in for quite a shock. In fact, Stock had to get closer to the snakes to realise that what he was witnessing was a scene of cannibalism, as he saw a black-headed python that had constricted another smaller one and was eating it, tail first. In a statement about the incident, Stock explained: “Fortunately for me but not-so-fortunately for the python being consumed, it took around 15 minutes from when I first witnessed the initial constriction to the python finishing its meal and returning to its burrow which was only about 10 feet away.” Stock revealed he grabbed his camera and documented the rare event. While experts have witnessed pythons eating other species of snake, capturing a species eating one of its own kind on camera is unusual. “I have previously witnessed Black-headed Pythons eating an Eastern Brown Snake and a Yellow Spotted Monitor, however, this was the first time I witnessed a Black-headed Python eating another Black-headed Python,” Stock said. The behaviour is rarely caught on camera outside of captivity, but ecologist Helena Stokes says the phenomenon is not as uncommon as people might think. She explained: “Black-headed Pythons prefer to eat reptiles over mammals and are known to eat larger reptiles including goannas, and even venomous snakes, so I’m not surprised that they would consume another python if the opportunity arose.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00

The battery test race to work out what used EVs are really worth
(This Oct. 23 story has been corrected to mention that Driverama is a unit of Aures Holdings in paragraph 15)
1970-01-01 08:00