ACM TechNews, Friday, September 6, 2024

Welcome to the September 6, 2024 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

EU, U.K., U.S. Sign International AI Treaty

The EU, U.S., and U.K. on Thursday signed an international AI treaty on Thursday, along with Andorra, Georgia, Iceland, Norway, Moldova, San Marino, and Israel. The treaty was opened for signature at a conference of Council of Europe justice ministers in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. The Council of Europe hailed the agreement as the "first international legally binding treaty" on the use of AI systems, noting it was an open treaty that could be signed by more countries.
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U.S. Tightens Export Controls on Quantum, Chip Tech

An interim final rule published by the U.S. on Thursday details new export controls on quantum computing and semiconductor technology to address national defense and foreign policy concerns posed by foes including China, Iran, and Russia. The restrictions cover quantum computing, related components, and software; advanced semiconductor manufacturing; Gate All-Around Field-Effect Transistor (GAAFET) technology used to develop high-performance chips for supercomputers and other high-end gear; and additive manufacturing tools designed to fabricate metal or metal alloy components.
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India, Singapore Ink Chip Deal

The governments of India and Singapore signed an agreement to foster chip design and manufacturing talent. The countries also agreed to increase collaboration in cybersecurity, fifth-generation mobile networks, supercomputing, and AI. Bolstering India's semiconductor ecosystem is an important part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to transform the country into a tech superpower, and Singapore is known for its memory chips and matured logic processors.
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Google Unveils Heat Resilience Tool for Cities

Google on Wednesday unveiled a tool to help city-based decision-makers take steps to lower the impacts from extreme heat. The tool uses satellite-based, high-resolution land surface temperature data and employs machine-learning algorithms to identify buildings, trees, and other factors critical to determining how much heat a portion of land absorbs. It also incorporates indicators of social vulnerability to identify areas most in need of heat relief.
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$100-Million Computer Will Boost NOAA's Weather Forecasting

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the addition of a new $100-million high-performance computer (HPC) will boost its computing capacity, allowing it to expand research efforts on weather, climate, and ocean and ecosystem prediction. U.S. Assistant Commerce Secretary Michael C. Morgan said the Rhea HPC "will strengthen NOAA's exploration and application of AI and machine-learning capabilities."
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Pen Transforms Braille into English Text

A pen-like device developed by researchers at the U.K.'s University of Bristol demonstrated an 84.5% accuracy in converting Braille to spoken English text. The “Braille-tip” device features a sensor that transmits tactile information from 19 sensitive areas beneath a silicone membrane to a camera. An algorithm translates the data in real time without relying on deep learning or extensive training, making it predictable, explainable, and adaptable to other tactile sensors.
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Inside the Rise of Bitcoin-Powered Pools and Bathhouses

Efforts are increasing to harness the massive and growing amounts of energy consumed by intensive computing for greater societal use. Bathhouse, a spa in Manhattan, for example, uses a Bitcoin-mining operation to heat its pools. In Paris, a datacenter is using its hot-air waste to heat water and pipe it into a local energy system, where it is routed to buildings including the Olympic Aquatics Center.
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China Needs More Factory Robots. Can It Build Its Own?

Industrial robots have gained popularity as China increases factory automation to address the aging population and rising wages. MIR Databank reported that Chinese producers accounted for more than half of the nation's industrial robot market during the first half of 2024, up from about 36% in 2022. Although Chinese firms have gained market share in the production of collaborative robots, the higher-end robotics market continues to be dominated by foreign companies.
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Mohror to Receive ACM SIGHPC Award

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Kathryn Mohror was named to receive the ACM SIGHPC Emerging Woman Leader in Technical Computing (EWLTC) award for her leadership in the high performance computing (HPC) community and her contributions to HPC I/O and programming models and tools. Among other things, Mohror is known for leading the Scalable Checkpoint/Restart Framework effort and for co-leading the development of UnifyFS as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Exascale Computing Project.
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Port Workers May Strike over Automation

A potential strike at ports along the East and Gulf coasts this fall would center on the use of technology at a gate in Mobile, AL. The International Longshoremen's Association union ended contract talks with the U.S. Maritime Alliance in June after learning technology had been deployed at the gate to check trucks without union workers. Under the current contract, equipment "devoid of human interaction" is prohibited, but "semi-automated" machinery is allowed.
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AI Developers Break Into Top 10 Highest-Paid IT Positions

AI developers are among the top 10 highest-paid IT positions for the first time with annual compensation averaging $160,000, ranking seventh in a survey of more than 11,000 U.S. developers conducted by Stack Overflow. The survey found mobile developer salaries averaged $185,000, while back-end developers averaged $170,000. Site reliability engineers earn on average $166,500, followed closely by cloud infrastructure engineers at $165,000, according to the survey.
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China Buys More Chip Tools Than South Korea, Taiwan, U.S. Combined

Chinese semiconductor manufacturers invested $25 billion in chip-making equipment during the first half of 2024, outpacing the collective investments of South Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S. over the same period. China's full-year investment is expected to hit $50 billion. With a dozen fabs coming online by 2025, China is the only major market to boost spending on fab tools amid a global economic slowdown.
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