Technology

OpenAI, a non-profit AI company that will lose anywhere from $4 billion to $5 billion this year, will at some point in the next six or so months convert into a for-profit AI company, at which point it will continue to lose money in exactly the same way. Shortly after this news broke, Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati resigned, followed by Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and VP of Research, Post Training Barret Zoph, leaving OpenAI with exactly three of its eleven cofounders remaining.

This coincides suspiciously with OpenAI's increasingly-absurd fundraising efforts, where (as I predicted in late July) OpenAI has raised the largest venture-backed fundraise of all time $6.6 billion— at a valuation of $157 billion.

Over the weekend, Google removed Kaspersky's Android security apps from the Google Play store and disabled the Russian company's developer accounts.

Users have been reporting over the last week that Kaspersky's products (including Kaspersky Endpoint Security and VPN & Antivirus by Kaspersky) are no longer available on Google Play in the United States and other world regions.

Kaspersky confirmed the issue on the company's official forums on Sunday and said that it's currently investigating why its software is no longer available on Google's app store.

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-removes-kasperskys-antivirus-software-from-play-store-disables-developer-accounts/

Dozens of neo-Nazis are fleeing Telegram and moving to a relatively unknown secret chat app that has received funding from Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.

In a report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue published on Friday morning, researchers found that in the wake of the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov and charges against leaders of the so-called Terrorgram Collective, dozens of extremist groups have moved to the app SimpleX Chat in recent weeks over fears that Telegram’s privacy policies expose them to being arrested. The Terrorgram Collective is a neo-Nazi propaganda network that calls for acolytes to target government officials, attack power stations, and murder people of color.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/neo-nazis-head-to-encrypted-simplex-chat-app-bail-on-telegram/

China’s demand that the public sector step up use of domestic semiconductors can best be seen within Huawei’s Qingyun L540 laptop.

The “safe and reliable” device features a self-designed processor and a Chinese-made operating system, having stripped out foreign-made components and software as much as possible.

The computer, which is being snapped up by governments and state groups across the country, has become the signature model of China’s localization campaign known as Xinchuang, or “IT application innovation.”

Source: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/09/huawei-laptop-teardown-shows-chinas-steps-towards-tech-self-sufficiency/

https://archive.ph/Pg9mT

https://archive.ph/sjngt

Despite its emphasis on protecting privacy, Mozilla is moving towards integrating ads, backed by new infrastructure from their acquisition of Anonym. They claim this will maintain a balance between user control and online ad economics, using privacy-preserving tech. However, this shift appears to contradict Mozilla's earlier stance of protecting users from invasive advertising practices, and it signals a change in their priorities.

Why are we letting algorithms rewrite the rules of art, work, and life?

https://archive.is/G3z05

cross-posted from: https://feditown.com/post/705775

BYD has informed the Chinese regulator it is recalling nearly 97,000 electric vehicles (EVs) for a manufacturing fault involving a steering control unit that could lead to fire risks, the market regulator said on Sunday.

The Chinese automaker is recalling Dolphin and Yuan Plus EVs manufactured in China between November 2022 and December 2023, according to a statement from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).

BYD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company would ask its dealers to install a physical fix in the recalled cars, the SAMR statement added.

The recall is a rare one by BYD of its pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars as the Chinese company grew rapidly to become the world's biggest seller of such vehicles.

It recalled a small batch of Tang plug-in hybrids in 2022 due to a defect in the battery pack that could cause fires.