Author: esimantiras

AI’s new power: Persuasion

Posted on by esimantiras

AI’s new power: Persuasion

source: axios.com | image: pexels.com

 

AI startup Anthropic says its language models have steadily and rapidly improved their “persuasiveness,” Axios’ Ryan Heath writes.

  • Why it matters: Persuasion can foster disinformation and push people to act against their own interests, according to new research the company posted yesterday.

There’s relatively little research on how the latest models compare to humans when it comes to their persuasiveness — a skill with widespread social, commercial and political applications.

  • The researchers found that the most capable Anthropic model, Claude 3 Opus, “produces arguments that don’t statistically differ” from arguments written by humans.

 

RESEARCH

Measuring the Persuasiveness of Language Models

While people have long questioned whether AI models may, at some point, become as persuasive as humans in changing people’s minds, there has been limited empirical research into the relationship between model scale and the degree of persuasiveness across model outputs. To address this, we developed a basic method to measure persuasiveness, and used it to compare a variety of Anthropic models across three different generations (Claude 1, 2, and 3), and two classes of models (compact models that are smaller, faster, and more cost-effective, and frontier models that are larger and more capable). Continue reading “AI’s new power: Persuasion” →

Brute Force Password Cracking Takes Longer, But Celebration May Be Premature

Posted on by esimantiras

Brute Force Password Cracking Takes Longer, But Celebration May Be Premature

source: technewsworld.com | image: pexels.com

 

Brute force cracking of passwords takes longer now than in the past, but the good news is not a cause for celebration, according to the latest annual audit of password cracking times released Tuesday by Hive Systems.

Depending on the length of the password and its composition — the mix of numbers, letters, and special characters — a password can be cracked instantly or take half a dozen eons to decipher.

For example, four-, five-, or six-number-only passwords can be cracked instantly with today’s computers, while an 18-character password consisting of numbers, upper- and lower-case letters, and symbols would take 19 quintillion years to break.

Last year, Hive’s research found that some 11-character passwords could be cracked instantaneously using brute force. This year’s findings revealed the effectiveness of newer industry-standard password hashing algorithms — like bcrypt — for encrypting passwords in databases. Now, that same 11-character password takes 10 hours to crack.

Continue reading “Brute Force Password Cracking Takes Longer, But Celebration May Be Premature” →

Is the ‘Dead Internet’ theory suddenly coming true?

Posted on by esimantiras

Is the ‘Dead Internet’ theory suddenly coming true?

This could be a sign

source: fastcompany.com  |  image: pexels.com

No, not shrimp Jesus—though that’s noteworthy, too. We’re talking about what TikTok could be planning with AI influencers.

 

There’s been a popular theory floating around conspiracy circles for about seven or eight years now. It’s called the “Dead Internet” theory, and its main argument is that the organic, human-created content that powered the early web in the 1990s and 2000s has been usurped by artificially created content, which now dominates what people see online. Hence, the internet is “dead” because the content most of us consume is no longer created by living beings (humans).

But there’s another component to the theory—and this is where the conspiracy part comes into play. The Dead Internet theory states that this move from human-created content to artificially generated content was purposeful, spearheaded by governments and corporations in order to exploit control over the public’s perception. 

Continue reading “Is the ‘Dead Internet’ theory suddenly coming true?” →

AI could be as consequential to the economy as electricity

Posted on by esimantiras

AI could be as consequential to the economy as electricity

source: cnn.com (contributed by FAN, Bill Amshey)  |  image: pexels.com

 

Jamie Dimon believes artificial intelligence will have a huge impact on global business this year.

Dimon, one of the world’s most influential business leaders, said in his annual shareholder letter Monday that while he doesn’t yet know the full effect AI will have on business, the economy or society, he knows its influence will be significant.

“We are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary and possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet, among others,” the JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO wrote in the letter.

The AI explosion has already transformed workplaces across the world and nearly 40% of global employment could be disrupted by AI, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Continue reading “AI could be as consequential to the economy as electricity” →

“Convince us to stay”: U.S.-China ties see head-spinning shift

Posted on by esimantiras

“Convince us to stay”:

U.S.-China ties see head-spinning shift

source: axios.com (contributed by FAN, Steve Page) |  image: pexels.com

 

For decades, Corporate America has raced to cash in on China‘s economy. Now China officials are in sell-mode, a stunning reversal from years past.

Why it matters: CEOs know the two nations are economically intertwined in a way that can’t easily be undone. But executives are more cautious, a subtle yet significant sign of a power dynamic shift underway between the U.S. and China.

What they’re saying: “Often foreign companies were on the solicitous side, like ‘can you please let us in?,'” Kurt Tong, the former U.S. envoy to Hong Kong, tells Axios.

  • “Now it’s a little bit more like ‘convince us to stay,'” Tong, who is currently at the Asia Group, adds.

Continue reading ““Convince us to stay”: U.S.-China ties see head-spinning shift” →

Apple Sued Over AirTags Privacy: Everything to Know

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Apple Sued Over AirTags Privacy: Everything to Know

source: cnet.com  |  image: pexels.com

AirTags digital trackers have raised privacy concerns since the beginning. But now, a lawsuit claims Apple didn’t implement sufficient safeguards.

A class-action lawsuit against Apple alleges the tech giant didn’t sufficiently resolve privacy issues raised by its AirTag digital tracking devices, leading to unwanted stalking and abuse.

The lawsuit, which was filed last year and given court approval to proceed earlier this month, says plaintiffs suffered “substantial” injuries from people who abused Apple’s $29 Bluetooth tracker in ways the company didn’t sufficiently work to address.

How to Protect Yourself (and Your Loved Ones) From AI Scam Calls

Posted on by esimantiras

How to Protect Yourself (and Your Loved Ones) From AI Scam Calls

 

source: wired.com  |  image: pexels.com

 
AI tools are getting better at cloning people’s voices, and scammers are using these new capabilities to commit fraud. Avoid getting swindled by following these expert tips.

YOU ANSWER A random call from a family member, and they breathlessly explain how there’s been a horrible car accident. They need you to send money right now, or they’ll go to jail. You can hear the desperation in their voice as they plead for an immediate cash transfer. While it sure sounds like them, and the call came from their number, you feel like something’s off. So, you decide to hang up and call them right back. When your family member picks up your call, they say there hasn’t been a car crash, and that they have no idea what you’re talking about.

Congratulations, you just successfully avoided an artificial intelligence scam call. Continue reading “How to Protect Yourself (and Your Loved Ones) From AI Scam Calls” →

Hacker Nation: The World’s Third-Largest Economy

Posted on by esimantiras

Hacker Nation: The World’s Third-Largest Economy

 

source: technewsworld.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

During the past 40 years, hackers have graduated from worm attacks in the 1980s to fully funded organizations tapping into some of the most lucrative industries in the world. Today, cybercrime is a significant threat to any company with a device attached to the internet and continues to cause substantial economic impact worldwide.

The modern-day cyberattack can trace its roots back to the 1988 Morris worm attack. Before the World Wide Web had made an impact, a small program launched from a computer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) propagated remarkably. It infected an estimated 6,000 of the approximately 60,000 computers connected to the internet at the time. Although it was difficult to calculate the exact damage caused by the Morris worm, estimates put it anywhere between US$100,000 and the millions.

Continue reading “Hacker Nation: The World’s Third-Largest Economy” →

How to fix the military’s software SNAFU

Posted on by esimantiras

How to fix the military’s software SNAFU

source: defenseone.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

Too many of its apps are built on code riddled with vulnerabilities—and distributed by the Pentagon itself.

The only institution more mired in acronyms than the U.S. military is, in my experience, the software industry. The former’s thorough embrace of the latter is reflected, for example, in this recent piece by serious commentators that includes a four-page glossary. To be sure, software’s ability to supercharge military operations make this alphabet soup palatable—but it also conceals a dangerous security SNAFU.  

If software is to be more of a benefit than a liability, its inevitable flaws must be spotted and fixed before they can be exploited by China, Russia, and other adversaries. Unfortunately, in an analysis I conducted of popular open source software made available by the Pentagon for its units and contractors to use, there is strong evidence that the U.S. military is shipping software that is insecure and contains many known software vulnerabilities—CVEs, in software-speak.

Continue reading “How to fix the military’s software SNAFU” →

‘Vultur’ Android Malware Gets Extensive Device Interaction Capabilities

Posted on by esimantiras

‘Vultur’ Android Malware Gets Extensive Device Interaction Capabilities

source: securityweek.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

The Android banking malware known as Vultur has been updated with new capabilities, allowing operators to interact with the infected devices and modify files, according to a report from security consulting outfit NCC Group.

Vultur was first documented in March 2021, when it stood out for the abuse of the legitimate applications AlphaVNC and ngrok for remotely accessing the VNC server on the victim device, and for automating screen recording and key-logging for credential harvesting.

The most recent version of the banking malware, however, packs significantly more capabilities, allowing attackers to control the infected device, prevent applications from running, display custom notifications, bypass lock-screen protections, and download, upload, install, search for, and delete files.

Continue reading “‘Vultur’ Android Malware Gets Extensive Device Interaction Capabilities” →