Mozilla is now getting into the privacy game, Meta is pushing for labels on AI images on Facebook and other platforms, and IBM is pushing Linux mainframes and an “out-of-this-world” new cancer treatment is being introduced. literally.
All this and more is discussed in Hashtag Trends: You Know These Photos Aren't Real. I'm your host, Jim Love. He is his CIO for IT World in Canada and TechNewsDay in the US.
Mozilla is stepping up its privacy strategy with a new subscription service aimed at tackling the pervasive problem of personal data being sold on the web. Through its Mozilla Monitor platform, the tech giant offers a way for users to not only discover but also automatically remove sensitive information from data broker sites. The service is an extension of the previously free Firefox Monitor designed to simplify the complex and opaque process of reclaiming digital footprints.
For a monthly fee, Mozilla Monitor Plus looks at more than 190 data broker sites for personal information, such as phone numbers, emails, and home addresses, and initiates deletion requests on your behalf. This proactive approach is a game-changer in the fight against data brokers who profit from selling personal information without a person's explicit consent.
The importance of this service cannot be overstated. In an era where data breaches are all too common and affect millions of people each year, the ability to automatically remove personal information from potentially harmful sites can improve your online privacy and security. This is a big step towards strengthening it. Mozilla's commitment to privacy is further emphasized through encryption and compliance with our privacy policy, ensuring that your data is treated with the utmost care.
In conclusion, Mozilla Monitor Plus represents a significant advance in personal data protection, giving users peace of mind and control over their online presence. As we enter the digital age, tools like this are essential to protecting your personal information from unauthorized use and sale.
Source: TechCrunch [https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/06/mozilla-monitors-new-service-removes-your-personal-info-from-data-broker-sites-automatically/](https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/06/mozilla-monitors-new-service-removes-your-personal-info-from-data-broker-sites-automatically/).
Meta is taking an important step in the field of digital authenticity by announcing plans to label AI-generated images across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The move comes in response to growing concerns about the prevalence of “deepfakes” and other realistically altered media, which pose challenges to discerning truth in the digital age.
This initiative is particularly timely given the number of global elections expected in 2024, where information integrity is of paramount importance. Meta's approach involves using metadata to identify AI-generated content from major technology companies such as Google, OpenAI, and Adobe. This is a stopgap measure until Meta's technology solution for automated labeling is up and running in the coming months.
Meta's decision is in line with the recommendations of the company's oversight board, which recently criticized the company's manipulated media policies as lacking in consistency and legitimacy. The Board's feedback highlights the need for policies that transparently address content manipulation, regardless of the technology used to create it.
By requiring users to disclose when they share photorealistic, AI-generated or digitally altered content, Meta is establishing a new standard for content authenticity online. This policy not only aims to increase transparency, but also holds users accountable for the content they share, and comes at a pivotal moment in the fight against digital misinformation.
Sources include: Axios
IBM is democratizing enterprise-grade Linux capabilities with its latest LinuxONE 4 Express, targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in every way but price.
The basic hardware configuration of these little beauties costs a hefty $135,000, but for that price you get the robustness of IBM's mainframe technology, especially the Telum processors used in the z16 family, in a more compact and accessible way. You can get it in an easy format.
Despite high deployment costs that do not include maintenance, operating system, or additional software, LinuxONE 4 Express boasts an impressive 99.999999 percent availability. This level of reliability equates to less than one second of downtime per year, for businesses with critical workloads that require unparalleled resiliency.
IBM's pitch will highlight the system's AI and hybrid cloud capabilities, leveraging on-chip acceleration of AI inference to support growing AI use cases within small and medium-sized businesses. LinuxONE 4 Express is designed to scale with your business, offering up to 16 configurable cores and 1 TB of memory, potentially making it the smallest LinuxONE system ever.
Support from major Linux distributions such as Canonical, Red Hat, and SUSE, as well as endorsements from organizations such as University College London, highlight this system's suitability for high-performance, scalable research computing environments. I am.
IBM also highlighted the cost savings potential of LinuxONE 4 Express, suggesting that customers migrating Linux workloads from x86 server configurations could reduce their total cost of ownership by more than 52% over five years. His LinuxONE 4 Express, scheduled to be available starting February 20, represents his IBM commitment to extending enterprise-grade performance and reliability to a broader market.
Source: The Register
Meta's decision to suspend third-party access to its Facebook groups shocked the developer and business communities.
On January 23, Meta announced the deprecation of the Facebook Groups API, a critical tool for scheduling posts to Facebook Groups, in parallel with the release of Facebook Graph API v19.0. This change is scheduled to go into effect within 90 days, and many developers and businesses are scrambling to adapt.
The Groups API is useful for businesses that want to automate and schedule social media posts, especially small businesses and social media marketers who want to use these features to engage with their communities and effectively manage their online presence. The API shutdown could disrupt the operations of companies like VipeCloud, which serves about 5,000 Facebook accounts, many of which belong to women entrepreneurs. For these companies, API shutdowns not only impact their ability to communicate within private groups, but also pose a significant threat to their revenue and operating models.
The ripple effects extend beyond individual companies to the broader ecosystem of developers and service providers who are building services around Facebook's APIs. Companies like PostMyParty, which facilitates online party scheduling and automation, face an existential threat with the potential loss of years of work and thousands of customers.
The situation highlights the risks inherent in building services that rely on third-party platforms, as companies and developers voice concerns and seek clarity. Meta's decision to cut off access to the Facebook Groups API serves as a stark reminder of the volatile nature of digital platforms and the need for businesses to remain adaptable in the face of changing technological landscapes. I am.
Source: TechCrunch
California scientists are partnering with Axiom 3 astronauts to pioneer cancer research in the microgravity environment of space. This collaboration led to the discovery of a potential cancer “kill switch” that takes advantage of the unique conditions of space to accelerate cell aging and, as a result, cancer progression.
The mission, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on January 18, carried not only a crew of four, but also a small tumor organoid. These organoids were derived from cells from cancer patients, cultured by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and exposed to the stress of microgravity. This stress accelerates cellular aging, allowing scientists to more quickly monitor cancer growth and the effectiveness of treatments.
Principal investigator Dr. Catriona H.M. Jamison, head of the hematology and stem cell research field, has previously observed pre-leukemic changes in stem cells sent into space. This raised the question: would cancer get worse under the same conditions? The answer was a resounding “yes,'' and the ADAR1 gene plays a vital role in the accelerated growth of cancer.
The latest mission tested the experimental drug revecinib, which is designed to block ADAR1 activation and thereby inhibit cancer's ability to clone itself. Preliminary results from space show that revecinib significantly suppresses cancer growth and outperforms other treatments, suggesting its potential as a cancer “kill switch.”
This research not only opens new avenues for cancer treatment, but also exemplifies the innovative use of space for medical advances. There are plans to bring revecinib into clinical trials around the globe by the end of the year, and the team is not slowing down, driven by the responsibility to turn breakthrough discoveries into real-world solutions.
Sources of information are:fortune
Gun kill switch based on research in space. Out of this world.
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