Tag: technology

Gates proposes using AI to stifle free speech; the UN is aiming to be in control of AI, globally

Bill Gates wants to use artificial intelligence (“AI)” for real-time censorship of vaccine-related “misinformation,” sparking a heated debate about free speech rights, mind control and the rewriting of history by the so-called “elite.”

According to Bill Gates, online misinformation is the No. 1 unsolvable problem facing today’s young people.   Gates spends a lot of his time and money pushing global climate change mitigation measures and vaccines but, as CNBC noted, one problem has him stumped –  what he refers to as “misinformation.”

Recently, Gates proposed AI for real-time censorship of what he deems “vaccine misinformation,” arguing that while free speech is important, it should have limitations, especially when it incites violence or discourages vaccination.

Gates, a prominent advocate for vaccines through his “philanthropic” organisations, believes that those who advise against vaccines are “inciting violence” and hindering public health. He envisions AI as a tool to establish and enforce speech “boundaries” to control the narrative surrounding vaccines.

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LinkedIn is training its AI using your posts and articles without your permission

LinkedIn has been using user-generated content, including posts and articles, to train its generative AI models without obtaining consent from users.

The platform updated its privacy policy and FAQ section to reflect this practice, indicating that data collection for AI training had already begun before the announcement.

Users can opt out of having their data used for AI training by toggling a setting called “Data for Generative AI Improvement” under “Data Privacy” in their settings.

LinkedIn has quietly implemented a new setting that automatically opts users into contributing their personal data, including posts, towards the training of generative AI models. This means that users’ posts are being harvested for AI training without their explicit consent.

LinkedIn’s generative AI models are used for features like writing assistants, and the scraped data will be used to train these models. The company claims to employ privacy-enhancing technologies to anonymise or redact personal data from its AI training sets.  However, considering what Larry Ellison,  co-founder of Oracle and Chairman of the Board and Chief Technology Officer, said last week about data captured by surveillance cameras we shouldn’t take LinkedIn’s word for it.

During an investor Q&A session at the ‘Oracle Financial Analyst Meeting 2024’ event, Ellison said: “The police … body cameras … our [Oracle’s] body cameras are simply two lenses attached to a vest [and] attached to the smartphone that you’re wearing … the camera is always on, you don’t turn it on and off, you can’t turn it off to go to the bathroom – ‘Oracle, I need two minutes to take a bathroom break,” then we’ll turn it off.  The truth is, we don’t really turn it off.  What we do is, we record it so no one can see it [so] that no one can get into that recording without a court order.” (see timestamp 1:08:27 HERE.)

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New “thinking” AI chatbot capable of terrorizing humans, stealing cash from “huge numbers” of people

Move out of the way, Nigerian princes, because there is a new cash-stealing scam that is sweeping the globe: artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots that are capable of “reasoning” and “thinking” up endless ways to cheat people out of their money.

OpenAI recently showed off its new o1 ChatGPT model that the company says is much “smarter” than existing AI chatbots. The o1 model has the ability “to spend more time thinking before they respond,” the company revealed.

“They can reason through complex tasks and solve harder problems than previous models in science, coding, and math.”

OpenAI’s o1 model of ChatGPT is the first major advancement to the system since it was first launched in late 2022. Currently, it is only available for paying ChatGPT members.

According to cybersecurity expert Dr. Andrew Bolster, the o1 ChatGPT AI model is a dream come true for cyber-criminals who are sure to dream up all kinds of scams that even the savviest internet users will be unable to detect before it bilks them out of their hard-earned cash.

“Large Language Models (LLMs) continue to improve over time, and OpenAI’s release of their ‘o1’ model is no exception to this trend,” Dr. Bolster says.

“Where this generation of LLM’s excel is in how they go about appearing to ‘reason.’ Where intermediate steps are done by the overall conversational system to draw out more creative or ‘clever’ appearing decisions and responses.”

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How EA-18G Growler’s Next Generation Jammer Actually Works And The Future Of Offensive Electronic Warfare

Electronic warfare (EW) has taken on new prominence as the threat from near-peer adversaries has ballooned in recent. Who can best dominate the radio frequency spectrum and take the electronic fight directly to the enemy will have a massive advantage in tomorrow battles.

To find out more about the state of play in offensive EW, we sat down with Chuck Angus, director of business development in Naval Power at Raytheon. He oversees the company’s cutting-edge offensive electronic warfare (EW) portfolio. Angus talked with The War Zone about the latest in offensive EW, his company’s new AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer-Mid Band (NGJ-MB) electronic warfare pods (currently installed on EA-18G Growlers aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln) and the applicability of such systems on sixth-generation fighters and loyal wingman drones. This conversation, which took place on the sidelines of the Air & Space Forces Air, Space & Cyber conference in National Harbor, Maryland, has been slightly edited for clarity.

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Constellation Energy to restart Three Mile Island nuclear plant, sell the power to Microsoft for AI

Constellation Energy plans to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant and will sell the power to Microsoft, demonstrating the immense energy needs of the tech sector as they build out data centers to support artificial intelligence.

Constellation expects the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island near Middletown, Pennsylvania, to come back online in 2028, subject to approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the company announced Friday. Constellation also plans to apply to extend the plant’s operations to at least 2054.

Constellation stock jumped about 15% in morning trading. Its shares have more than doubled year to date.

Microsoft will purchase electricity from the plant in a 20-year agreement to match the energy its data centers consume with carbon-free power. Constellation described the agreement with Microsoft as the largest power purchase agreement that the nuclear plant operator has ever signed.

“The decision here is the most powerful symbol of the rebirth of nuclear power as a clean and reliable energy resource,” Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez told investors on a call Friday morning.

Unit 1 ceased operations in 2019 as nuclear power struggled to compete economically with cheap natural gas and renewables. It is separate from the reactor that partially melted down in 1979 in the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history.

Constellation will rename the plant the Crane Clean Energy Center. The facility is named after Chris Crane, who was CEO of Constellation’s former parent company and died in April.

Constellation will invest $1.6 billion in restarting the plant through 2028, including on nuclear fuel, Chief Financial Officer Dan Eggers told investors during the call.

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How Israel Turned Hezbollah’s Pagers Into Exploding Trojan Horses

Details are starting to come to light about how Israel apparently orchestrated two days of coordinated explosions targeting thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah in Lebanon. You can read our reporting of the first wave of explosions here, and the second wave here.

At this point, it’s worth remembering that Israel has not admitted responsibility for the blasts, but it is now widely acknowledged that was behind them. Moreover, as we have discussed before, it would be entirely in keeping with what appears to be a developing plan for a full-scale military operation launched against Hezbollah.

Addressing the first wave of explosions, on Tuesday, this targeted pagers used by Hezbollah.

At 3:30 p.m. local time, it seems the pagers were triggered simultaneously, by a specific message. The message was one that looks, at least, as if it was sent by Hezbollah leadership.

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Home Solar Systems Explode in Beirut, Lebanon Following Walkie-Talkie and Pager Blasts, Officials Say

Lebanon officials are now reporting that multiple home solar energy systems have reportedly exploded in various neighborhoods across Beirut.

This attack follows closely on the heels of Tuesday’s pager blasts, which claimed the lives of 12 and left nearly 4,000 wounded in what is rapidly becoming an unparalleled security nightmare for the terrorist organization.

On Wednesday, walkie-talkies exploded simultaneously at various Hezbollah-controlled locations across the country.

Now, reports emerged from Lebanon’s Official News Agency detailing how home solar systems—often touted as the solution to climate change—were also going up in flames.

Al Jazeera reported, “Several blasts took place simultaneously, Hashem said, similar to what happened on Tuesday. “But this time, it was mostly walkie-talkies or radios [that exploded],” he said, adding that reports suggested that solar devices and some batteries in cars also exploded. Lebanon’s official news agency reported that home solar energy systems exploded in several areas of Beirut.”

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Company Behind Walkie-Talkie Devices Transformed into Bombs Also Supplies the U.S. Military

One day after pagers detonated across Lebanon, reportedly killing twelve people, including at least two children and four healthcare workers, a second wave of explosions has been reported across the country. Today’s detonations were reportedly through the manipulation of walkie-talkies made by ICOM, a Japanese firm whose American branch also serves as a significant supplier to the U.S. military. The combined confirmed death toll has already reached 26, and roughly 3,000 people have been reported injured.

The Wednesday explosions are primarily linked to the ICOM IC-V82, an electronic receiver with both military and civilian uses.

ICOM, based in Osaka, Japan, has a global footprint. U.S. government disclosures show that the company’s American affiliate has received at least $8.2 million in contracts with the U.S. federal government since 2008.

This includes an “urgent order” contract with the U.S. General Services Administration which was updated twelve days ago, a spot alongside Motorola Solutions in a potentially $495 million contract selling “land mobile radio supplies” to the U.S. Army in June 2018, and subcontracts through both the weapons giant Lockheed Martin and the controversial defense contractor Atlantic Diving Supply (ADS).

The series of explosions in Lebanon have raised concerns about the future of war that includes infiltration of supply chains and limitless exploits through electronically connected devices.

The attacks will likely fuel increased scrutiny over military and civilian supply chain security, which has long been a potential vulnerability.

The Pentagon and ICOM were contacted for comment but were not immediately available to respond. If a statement is provided, this post will be updated.

In addition to its sales to the U.S. military, ICOM America is also a significant contractor with the U.S. Coast Guard, including through a $2.2 million sub-award under General Dynamics in 2015. ICOM also sold its radios to the civilian Federal Aviation Administration as recently as October.

Other governments worldwide purchase ICOM equipment. United Kingdom records show that the British government purchased radio communication devices from the firm last year.

The exploding walkie-talkies were first reported by several Lebanese outlets, NBC News, and the Associated Press. The AP reported that its journalists heard the exploding walkie-talkies at a funeral today for four people killed by pagers yesterday. Other outlets noted that devices detonated in the hands of individuals who were not yet named.

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MORE Tech Devices Exploding Across Residential Areas Of Lebanon As Israeli Terror Attack Continues

After thousands of people were injured and many were killed by a wave of exploding pager devices on Tuesday, another attack was launched Wednesday.

Senior U.S. officials and Hezbollah leadership have both concluded Israel was obviously behind the deadly bombardment.

The first set of explosions appeared to only trigger beepers or pagers to detonate, but Wednesday’s bombings are reportedly coming from walkie-talkies, vehicles and even home solar energy systems.

Some of the devices were reportedly set off during a funeral for some of the people who were killed in Tuesday’s attack.

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ALS Patient Uses Synchron Brain-Chip Interface to Control Smart Devices Through Thought

From gaming to learning new languages, brain-computer interface (BCI) technology is rapidly entering everyday life, making tasks like online shopping and streaming as simple as a thought. On September 17, Synchron, a competitor to Neuralink, announced that a clinical patient named Mark, who has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is now able to stream shows, shop online, and control devices using only his mind, thanks to the Synchron brain chip implant.

So how does this work? According to the company, a tiny chip implant was placed in a blood vessel on the brain’s surface, enabling the Synchron patient to mentally “tap” icons on an Amazon Fire tablet, giving him access to Alexa’s many features. 

“Synchron’s brain-computer interface (BCI) device, also known as the Stentrode, is a minimally invasive device that detects brain signals related to movement intention,” said Kimberly Ha, Communications Lead at Synchron, in an email to The Debrief. “Once implanted in a blood vessel near the motor cortex, it translates these neural signals into digital commands.”

“For ALS patients, who often lose motor function, this technology allows them to control, enabling control of devices like Amazon Alexa or Apple Vision Pro, through thought alone,” Ha explained.

According to the New York-based company, Mark could also make video calls, play music, control smart home devices like lights, and read books by using his mind to control Alexa.

This is a significant first for Synchron and a development that has given them a platform to showcase their advanced brain interface technology. 

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