Category: Technology

In a year with over 60 national elections worldwide, concerns are high that individuals and entities are using deepfake images and recordings to contribute to the flood of election misinformation. VOA’s Rio Tuasikal reports on some potentially dangerous videos made using generative AI. ...

U.S. federal prosecutors are stepping up their pursuit of suspects who use artificial intelligence tools to manipulate or create child sex abuse images, as law enforcement fears the technology could spur a flood of illicit material. The U.S. Justice Department has brought two criminal cases this year against defendants accused of using generative AI systems, which create text or images in response to user prompts, to produce explicit images of children. "There's more to come," said James Silver, the chief of the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, predicting further similar cases. "What we're concerned about is the normalization of this," Silver said in an interview. "AI makes it easier to generate these kinds of images, and the more that are out there, the more normalized this becomes.…

Meta's independent content watchdog said Thursday there were "serious questions" about how the social media giant deals with anti-immigrant content, particularly in Europe.  The Oversight Board, established by Meta in 2020 and sometimes called its "supreme court," launched a probe after seeing a "significant number" of appeals over anti-immigrant content.  The board has chosen two symbolic cases -- one from Germany and the other from Poland -- to assess whether Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is following human rights law and its own policies on hate speech.  Helle Thorning-Schmidt, co-chair of the board and a former Danish prime minister, said it was "critical" to get the balance right between free speech and protection of vulnerable groups.  "The high number of appeals we get on immigration-related content from across the…

BEIJING — China's state security ministry said that a foreign company had been found to have illegally conducted geographic mapping activities in the country under the guise of autonomous driving research and outsourcing to a licensed Chinese mapping firm. The ministry did not disclose the names of either company in a statement on its WeChat account on Wednesday. The foreign company, ineligible for geographic surveying and mapping activities in China, "purchased a number of cars and equipped them with high-precision radar, GPS, optical lenses and other gear," read the statement. In addition to directly instructing the Chinese company to conduct surveying and mapping in many Chinese provinces, the foreign company appointed foreign technicians to give "practical guidance" to mapping staffers with the Chinese firm, enabling the latter to transfer its acquired…

BEIJING — Intel products sold in China should be subject to a security review, the Cybersecurity Association of China (CSAC) said on Wednesday, alleging the U.S. chipmaker has "constantly harmed" the country's national security and interests.  While CSAC is an industry group rather than a government body, it has close ties to the Chinese state and the raft of accusations against Intel, published in a long post on its official WeChat group, could trigger a security review from China's powerful cyberspace regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).  "It is recommended that a network security review is initiated on the products Intel sells in China, so as to effectively safeguard China's national security and the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese consumers," CSAC said.  Last year, the CAC barred domestic operators…

LONDON — The world is on the brink of a new age of electricity with fossil fuel demand set to peak by the end of the decade, meaning surplus oil and gas supplies could drive investment into green energy, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. But it also flagged a high level of uncertainty as conflicts embroil the oil and gas-producing Middle East and Russia and as countries representing half of global energy demand have elections in 2024. “In the second half of this decade, the prospect of more ample – or even surplus – supplies of oil and natural gas, depending on how geopolitical tensions evolve, would move us into a very different energy world,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a release alongside its annual report. Surplus…

LONDON — Some of the most prominent artificial intelligence models are falling short of European regulations in key areas such as cybersecurity resilience and discriminatory output, according to data seen by Reuters. The EU had long debated new AI regulations before OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public in late 2022. The record-breaking popularity and ensuing public debate over the supposed existential risks of such models spurred lawmakers to draw up specific rules around "general-purpose" AIs. Now a new tool designed by Swiss startup LatticeFlow and partners, and supported by European Union officials, has tested generative AI models developed by big tech companies like Meta and OpenAI across dozens of categories in line with the bloc's wide-sweeping AI Act, which is coming into effect in stages over the next two years. Awarding…

As energy-hungry computer data centers and artificial intelligence programs place ever greater demands on the U.S. power grid, tech companies are looking to a technology that just a few years ago appeared ready to be phased out: nuclear energy.  After several decades in which investment in new nuclear facilities in the U.S. had slowed to a crawl, tech giants Microsoft and Google have recently announced investments in the technology, aimed at securing a reliable source of emissions-free power for years into the future.   Earlier this year, online retailer Amazon, which has an expansive cloud computing business, announced it had reached an agreement to purchase a nuclear energy-fueled data center in Pennsylvania and that it had plans to buy more in the future.  However, the three companies' strategies rely on…

Israel has become the top target of Iranian cyberattacks since the start of the Gaza war last year, while Tehran had focused primarily on the United States before the conflict, Microsoft said Tuesday. "Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Iran surged its cyber, influence, and cyber-enabled influence operations against Israel," Microsoft said in an annual report. "From October 7, 2023, to July 2024, nearly half of the Iranian operations Microsoft observed targeted Israeli companies," said the Microsoft Digital Defense Report. From July to October 2023, only 10 percent of Iranian cyberattacks targeted Israel, while 35 percent aimed at American entities and 20 percent at the United Arab Emirates, according to the US software giant. Since the war started Iran has launched numerous social media operations with the aim of…

NAIROBI, KENYA — More than 400 delegates and organizations working in Africa’s farming sector are in Nairobi, Kenya, this week to discuss how digital agriculture can improve the lives of farmers and the continent's food system. Tech innovators discussed the need for increased funding, especially for women. In past decades, African farmers have struggled to produce enough food to feed the continent. DigiCow is one of the tech companies at the conference that says it has answers to the problem. The Kenya-based company says it provides farmers with digital recordkeeping, education via audio on an app, and access to financing and marketing. Maureen Saitoti, DigiCow’s brand manager, said the platform has improved the lives of at least half a million farmers. "Other than access to finance, it is also able to…

WASHINGTON — Russia, China and Iran are increasingly relying on criminal networks to lead cyberespionage and hacking operations against adversaries such as the United States, according to a report on digital threats published Tuesday by Microsoft. The growing collaboration between authoritarian governments and criminal hackers has alarmed national security officials and cybersecurity experts. They say it represents the increasingly blurred lines between actions directed by Beijing or the Kremlin aimed at undermining rivals and the illicit activities of groups typically more interested in financial gain. In one example, Microsoft's analysts found that a criminal hacking group with links to Iran infiltrated an Israeli dating site and then tried to sell or ransom the personal information it obtained. Microsoft concluded the hackers had two motives: to embarrass Israelis and make money. In…

london — Britain's aviation regulator said Tuesday that it would allow drones to inspect infrastructure such as power lines and wind turbines, a move the authority has described as a significant milestone.  The U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had said earlier this year that it wanted to permit more drone flying for such activities as well as for deliveries and emergency services. It selected in August six projects to test it.  Drones inspecting infrastructure will now be able to fly distances beyond remote flyers' ability to see them.  "While some drones have been flying beyond visual line of sight in the U.K. for several years, these flights are primarily trials under strict restrictions," the CAA said.  Under the CAA's new policy, some drones will be able to remain at low heights…

Paris — The Auto manufacturers competing to persuade drivers to go electric are rolling out cheaper, more tech-rich models at the Paris Motor Show, targeting everyone from luxury clients to students yet to receive their driving licenses.  The biennial show has long been a major industry showcase, tracing its history to 1898.  Chinese manufacturers are attending in force, despite European Union threats to punitively tax imports of their electric vehicles in a brewing trade war with Beijing. Long-established European manufacturers are fighting back with new efforts to win consumers who have balked at high-priced EVs.  Here's a look at the show's opening day on Monday.  More new models from China  Chinese EV startups Leapmotor and XPeng showcased models they said incorporate artificial intelligence technology.  Leapmotor, founded in 2015, unveiled a compact…

WASHINGTON — Online hate against Americans of South Asian ancestry has risen steadily in 2023 and 2024 with the rise of politicians from that community to prominence, according to a report released Wednesday by nonprofit group Stop AAPI Hate. Why it's important Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris is of Indian descent, as are former Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance's wife, Usha Vance, is also Indian American. Harris faces Republican former President Donald Trump in the 2024 U.S. elections. There has been a steady rise in anti-Asian hate in extremist online spaces from January 2023 to August 2024, the report said. The nonprofit group blamed the rise on a "toxic political climate in which a growing number of leaders and…

STOCKHOLM — Meta Platforms said on Friday that it had removed a network of group accounts targeting Russian speakers in Moldova ahead of the country's October 20 election, for violation of the company's policy on fake accounts. Authorities in Moldova, an ex-Soviet state lying between Romania and Ukraine, said they had blocked dozens of Telegram channels and chat bots linked to a drive to pay voters to cast "no" ballots in a referendum on European Union membership held alongside the presidential election. Pro-European President Maia Sandu is seeking a second term in the election and called the referendum on joining the 27-member bloc as the cornerstone of her policies. The fake Meta accounts posted criticism of Sandu, pro-EU politicians and close ties between Moldova and Romania, and supported pro-Russia parties in…

washington — As China pursues tit-for-tat actions against the European Union in response to tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, Beijing's drive for global dominance in the automotive sector continues unabated. Over the past year, companies such as EV giant BYD and others have made inroads in markets from Southeast Asia to Latin America and Africa, even as they face tariffs of up to 100% in Canada and the United States, and up to 45% in the European Union. Chinese EV companies have announced plans to invest millions to build new factories in Thailand and Brazil, and they have opened showrooms in Zambia, Kenya and South Africa. And while most Chinese EV makers say they will continue to sell cars in Europe and not boost prices to offset the tariffs, analysts say…

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers asked AT&T, Verizon Communications, and Lumen Technologies on Friday to answer questions after a report that Chinese hackers accessed the networks of U.S. broadband providers.  The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday hackers obtained information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized wiretapping, and said the three companies were among the telecoms whose networks were breached.  House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, and the top Democrat on the committee Representative Frank Pallone along with Representatives Bob Latta and Doris Matsui asked the three companies to answer questions. They are seeking a briefing and detailed answers by next Friday.  "There is a growing concern regarding the cybersecurity vulnerabilities embedded in U.S. telecommunications networks," the lawmakers said. They are asking…

This month, [October 8] the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History opened "NASA’s Earth Information Center" an exhibition that gives visitors a firsthand look at the forces shaping our planet. Andrei Dziarkach has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Artem Kohan ...

LONDON — That long-held Wimbledon tradition of line judges dressed in elegant uniforms is no more.  The All England Club announced Wednesday that artificial intelligence will be used to make the "out" and "fault" calls at the championships from 2025.  Wimbledon organizers said the decision to adopt live electronic line calling was made following extensive testing at the 2024 tournament and "builds on the existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology that has been in place for many years."  "We consider the technology to be sufficiently robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating," said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club. "For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other…

...

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON — TikTok faces new lawsuits filed by 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday, accusing the popular social media platform of harming and failing to protect young people. The lawsuits, filed separately in New York, California, the District of Columbia and 11 other states, expand Chinese-owned TikTok's legal fight with U.S. regulators and seek new financial penalties against the company. Washington is located in the District of Columbia. The states accuse TikTok of using intentionally addictive software designed to keep children watching as long and often as possible and misrepresenting its content moderation effectiveness. "TikTok cultivates social media addiction to boost corporate profits," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. "TikTok intentionally targets children because they know kids do not yet have the defenses…

STOCKHOLM — Two pioneers of artificial intelligence — John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton — won the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for helping create the building blocks of machine learning that is revolutionizing the way we work and live but also creates new threats to humanity, one of the winners said. Hinton, who is known as the "godfather of artificial intelligence," is a citizen of Canada and Britain who works at the University of Toronto. Hopfield is an American working at Princeton. "This year's two Nobel Laureates in physics have used tools from physics to develop methods that are the foundation of today's powerful machine learning," the Nobel committee said in a press release. Ellen Moons, a member of the Nobel committee at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said the…

washington — Spamouflage networks with connections to China are posting antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media, casting doubt on Washington's independence from alleged Jewish influence and the integrity of the two U.S. presidential candidates, a joint investigation by VOA Mandarin and Taiwan's Doublethink Lab, a social media analytics firm, has found. The investigation has so far uncovered more than 30 such X posts, many of which claim or suggest that core American political institutions, including the White House and Congress, have pledged loyalty to or are controlled by Jewish elites and the Israeli government. One post shows a graphic of 18 U.S. officials of Jewish descent, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and the head of the Homeland Security Department, Alejandro Mayorkas, and asks: "Jews only make…

MELBOURNE, Australia — A code of conduct will be enforced on the online dating industry to better protect Australian users after research found that three-in-four people suffer some form of sexual violence through the platforms, Australia's government said on Tuesday. Bumble, Grindr and Match Group Inc., a Texas-based company that owns platforms including Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid and Plenty of Fish, have agreed to the code that took effect on Tuesday, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said. The platforms, which account for 75% of the industry in Australia, have until April 1 to implement the changes before they are strictly enforced, Rowland said. The code requires the platforms' systems to detect potential incidents of online-enabled harm and demands that the accounts of some offenders are terminated. Complaint and reporting mechanisms are to be…

little rock, arkansas — Arkansas sued YouTube and parent company Alphabet on Monday, saying the video-sharing platform is made deliberately addictive and fueling a mental health crisis among youth in the state. Attorney General Tim Griffin's office filed the lawsuit in state court, accusing them of violating the state's deceptive trade practices and public nuisance laws. The lawsuit claims the site is addictive and has resulted in the state spending millions on expanded mental health and other services for young people. “YouTube amplifies harmful material, doses users with dopamine hits, and drives youth engagement and advertising revenue,” the lawsuit said. “As a result, youth mental health problems have advanced in lockstep with the growth of social media, and in particular, YouTube.” Alphabet's Google, which owns the video service and is also…

Sacramento, California — California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday. The decision is a major blow to efforts attempting to rein in the homegrown industry that is rapidly evolving with little oversight. The bill would have established some of the first regulations on large-scale AI models in the nation and paved the way for AI safety regulations across the country, supporters said. Earlier in September, the Democratic governor told an audience at Dreamforce, an annual conference hosted by software giant Salesforce, that California must lead in regulating AI in the face of federal inaction but that the proposal “can have a chilling effect on the industry.” The proposal, which drew fierce opposition from startups, tech giants and several…

SAO PAULO/BRASILIA BRAZIL — Brazil's Supreme Court said on Friday that social platform X still needs to pay just over $5 million in pending fines, including a new one, before it will be allowed to resume its service in the country, according to a court document.  Earlier this week, the Elon Musk-owned U.S. firm told the court it had complied with orders to stop the spread of misinformation and asked it to lift a ban on the platform.  But Judge Alexandre de Moraes responded on Friday with a ruling that X and its legal representative in Brazil must still agree to pay a total of $3.4 million in pending fines that were previously ordered by the court.  In his decision, the judge said that the court can use resources already frozen…

WASHINGTON — An executive at cybersecurity company CrowdStrike apologized in testimony to Congress for sparking a global technology outage over the summer.  "We let our customers down," said Adam Meyers, who leads CrowdStrike's threat intelligence division, in a hearing before a U.S. House cybersecurity subcommittee Tuesday.  Austin, Texas-based CrowdStrike has blamed a bug in an update that allowed its cybersecurity systems to push bad data out to millions of customer computers, setting off a global tech outage in July that grounded flights, took TV broadcasts off air and disrupted banks, hospitals and retailers.  "Everywhere Americans turned, basic societal functions were unavailable," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green said. "We cannot allow a mistake of this magnitude to happen again."  The Tennessee Republican likened the impact of the outage to an…