ACM TechNews, Monday, October 7, 2024

Welcome to the October 7, 2024 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

Taiwan, Maker of Most the World’s Computer Chips, is Running Out of Electricity

Dependent on imported fossil fuels, set to shutter its last nuclear plant, and slow to build out renewable energy sources, Taiwan, the world’s largest producer of advanced computer chips, faces an energy crunch. Collectively, Taiwan’s companies produce 68% of the world's computer chips. Alone, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company produces at least 90% of the world’s most advanced computer chips. It also consumes about 9% of Taiwan’s electricity.
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U.S. Wiretap Systems Targeted in China-Linked Hack

China-linked hacker group Salt Typhoon penetrated the networks of U.S. broadband providers to access information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized network wiretapping requests. For months or longer, the hackers might have held access to network infrastructure used to cooperate with lawful U.S. requests for communications data, say sources. The breach appeared to be geared toward intelligence collection.
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Texas Regulator Wants Datacenters to Build Power Plants

The Public Utility Commission of Texas said developers of AI datacenters looking to co-locate with a power plant and connect to the grid within 12 to 15 months will have to build the power plant as well. Commission chair Thomas Gleeson said datacenters would be welcome to build power plants that generate more electricity than needed and sell the excess to the grid.
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Bees Tracked with Radar Chips, Drones

Harmonic radar chips are being attached to bees to track their movements with the help of drones. A team at the U.K.'s University of Oxford invented "the smallest harmonic radar tag ever," according to Oxford's Tonya Lander, so the insects could carry it without affecting their behavior. The tag is enabling research by a team from Oxford into how to stem declines in insect and bird populations.
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Civilization 7 Makers Work with Shawnee to Bring Representation of Tribe to Game

Game studio Firaxis, maker of the popular Civilization computer game series, engaged with members of the Shawnee tribal nation for its upcoming Civilization 7 game. Developers knew that to properly represent a Shawnee leader in its latest game, they would need the input and blessing of the Shawnee people, so they reached out to Shawnee Tribe Chief Ben Barnes (pictured), who saw the collaboration as a way to promote the tribe's language and history in a new way.
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Software Engineers In for Rough Ride as AI Adoption Ramps Up

Gartner reports that to keep up with rising demand for generative AI, 80% of the software engineering workforce will have to upskill by 2027. Gartner found AI tools will support developers' existing work in the short term and provide small productivity gains, but in the medium term, AI-native software engineering will emerge, in which most code is generated by AI.
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Brain-Controlled Bionic Limbs Inch Closer to Reality

An “anatomics” approach is bringing brain-controlled bionic prostheses closer to reality. In anatomics, bones are used to provide stable anchors for prostheses, nerves are rerouted to create control signals for robotic limbs or transmit sensory feedback, and muscles serve as biological amplifiers or signal sources. A recent trial using reconstructed muscles to control robotic joints allowed users with below-knee amputations to walk more naturally.
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23andMe Is on the Brink. What Happens to Its DNA Data?

As personal genomics and biotechnology company 23andMe struggles to survive, customers are wondering about its plans for the DNA it has collected since it was founded in 2006, impacting around 15 million customers. American Civil Liberties Union's Vera Eidelman said the patchwork of state laws governing DNA data makes the generic data of millions potentially vulnerable to being sold off or mined by law enforcement.
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Most Popular Coding Languages, According to U.K. Developers

A Stack Overflow survey of more than 3,000 U.K. developers revealed the most popular programming languages at present are JavaScript, HTML/CSS, SQL, and Python. Rounding out the top 10 are Bash/Shell, TypeScript, C#, Java, C++, and PowerShell. Just 40% of the developers polled said they would continue using JavaScript, while 43% said their top choice in the coming year would be Python.
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European Cyber Teams Can’t Keep Up with Attack Volumes

Data from IT governance-focused association ISACA indicates 61% of European cybersecurity professionals think their teams are understaffed, while around half (52%) think their teams are underfunded, leaving them unable to keep pace with the threat environment. About 68% of respondents said they feel their work was more stressful today that it was in 2019, with 79% of those respondents attributing the increase in stress to an increasingly complex threat landscape.
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U.S. Sets Pace for Implantable Brain–Computer Interfaces

The U.S. is home to a majority of the individuals who have received implantable brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and the world's most established implantable BCI companies. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's pathway to market is viewed favorably, there are concerns about the lack of global representation in BCI development hindering patient access. U.K. researchers and companies hope to address such concerns with the recently established National Consortium for Neurotechnology Regulation.
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NYC Schools Reverse Course on Cell-Phone Ban

New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks said "now is not the time" to ban cellphones in schools, acknowledging the distractions associated with them in classrooms as well as the need for parents to contact their children in case of an emergency. New York Governor Kathy Hochul plans to propose a statewide ban on cellphones in schools in the upcoming legislative session.
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