ACM TechNews, Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Welcome to the November 13, 2024 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

U.S. to Support U.N. Cyber Treaty

The Biden administration is expected to support the first legally binding United Nations agreement on cybersecurity, despite concerns it could be used by authoritarian states to obtain data from political opponents or track dissidents overseas. The agreement could become a global legal framework for cooperation on preventing and investigating cybercriminals.
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Japan’s $65-Billion Plan to Aid Domestic Chip Industry

Under a plan announced by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the Japanese government will provide at least ¥10 trillion ($65 billion) in subsidies and financial incentives to bolster the nation's AI and chip industries by fiscal 2030. The plan, which will be submitted to the next parliament session, will target chip foundry venture Rapidus and other AI chip suppliers, and call for public and private-sector investments totaling ¥50 trillion over the next decade.
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Robotaxis Open for Business in Los Angeles

People in Los Angeles can now hail a Waymo robotaxi. Waymo said it began Waymo One service in Los Angeles County yesterday, limiting its vehicles to surface streets. The Alphabet-owned startup has been testing the sensor-laden cars for months with a limited group of passengers.
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Google DeepMind Releases Code Behind Protein Prediction Model

Google DeepMind has released the code underlying AlphaFold3, an AI model that predicts the structure of proteins and how they interact with DNA, RNA, and other proteins. Upon AlphaFold3's release in May, the researchers had provided only pseudocode and a link to an online portal allowing its use for a limited number of predictions per day. The computational model now is publicly available on GitHub with a noncommercial license.
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The Beatles' Final Song, Completed with AI, Earns Grammy Nomination

The Beatles' "Now and Then" is the first AI-assisted song to receive a Grammy nomination. Advanced machine-learning software isolated the late John Lennon's voice from an unreleased recording of him singing and playing piano. Lennon's voice, incorporated into the final version of the song, was not AI-generated, thus complying with Grammy rules that "only human creators are eligible" and that work featuring "elements of AI material" is permitted in certain categories.
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Robot Watches How-to Videos, Becomes a Surgeon

An AI model developed by Johns Hopkins University researchers enables robots to successfully perform complex surgeries after watching how-to videos. The imitation learning model was trained on a vast amount of footage captured by wrist-mounted cameras on da Vinci Surgical System robots. The AI model helped robots perform on par with human surgeons in needle manipulation, tissue lifting, and suturing.
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Facebook’s Algorithms Pick on Small English Community

Coulsdon, England, was censored by Facebook's content moderation algorithms, apparently because of the “LSD” in the town's name. According to a local news blog, business owners and neighborhood associations in the town have had content removed from their Facebook pages because of the algorithmic censorship. A spokesperson for Facebook parent Meta said, “This was an error that has now been fixed.”
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Machine Learning Might Save Time on Chip Testing

A machine learning algorithm developed by engineers at Netherlands-based NXP is intended to save companies time and money on chip testing. The algorithm analyzes the patterns of test results to identify which tests fail together, and then determines which tests actually are necessary. In tests of seven microcontrollers and applications processors built using advanced chipmaking processes, each subjected to 41 to 164 tests depending on the chip involved, the algorithm recommended eliminating up to 74% of those tests.
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Vatican, Microsoft Create AI-Generated St. Peter's Basilica

The Vatican and Microsoft have rolled out a digital twin of St. Peter's Basilica that offers online visitors an interactive experience. The 3D replica leverages AI and advanced photogrammetry to let virtual visitors tour the church and learn its history. The digital twin was created using 400,000 high-resolution digital photographs captured by drones, cameras, and lasers.
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Hackers Target People Who Type These Six Words into Google Search

Researchers at cybersecurity firm Sophos found that users inputting "Are Bengal cats legal in Australia?" into Google's search engine could fall prey to a cyberattack. The phrase reportedly generates fraudulent links near the top of the search results listings, and clicking on what appears to be a legitimate link could result in users having their personal information stolen or being locked out of their computers via the Gootloader malware.
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iPhones Reboot Themselves, Locking Police Out

Law enforcement officials in Detroit said Apple iPhones stored for forensic examination are rebooting themselves and entering the Before First Unlock state, which makes it difficult to obtain data from the devices. While the reason for the reboot remains unknown, cybersecurity researcher Jiska Naehrdine found code hosted on GitHub indicating Apple's iOS 18.1 included an "inactivity reboot."
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Java Proposals Would Boost Resistance to Quantum Computing Attacks

Two Java proposals aim to boost resistance to quantum computing attacks. The Quantum-Resistant Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Algorithm (ML-DSA) proposal calls for using digital signatures to detect unauthorized modifications to data and to authenticate the identity of signatories. The Quantum-Resistant Module-Lattice-Based Key Encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM) proposal calls for the use of KEMs to secure symmetric keys over insecure communication channels using public key cryptography.
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Amazon Offers Computing Power to AI Researchers

Amazon Web Services (AWS) will offer computing power to researchers who want to use its custom AI chips. AWS said Tuesday it will provide credits to use its cloud datacenters to researchers who want to tap Trainium, its chip for developing AI models. AWS said researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California, Berkeley, are taking part in the program.
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