Recent content by Cal Jeffrey

  1. Cal Jeffrey

    US Senate introduces ground-breaking bill to setup legal framework for ethical AI development

    <h5><strong>Better late than never:</strong> The AI boom has been anything but uncontroversial, with copyright lawsuits popping up everywhere. It has also elicited concerns from experts over its rapid growth and use to spread disinformation. Congress has finally stepped in to create a legal...
  2. Cal Jeffrey

    AT&T discloses another massive data breach containing phone records of "nearly all" its customers

    <h5><strong>In a nutshell:</strong> Hackers stole more than 100 million AT&amp;T customers' phone records from 2022. The information from a six-month period contained metadata, including phone numbers, call and text counts, durations, and, in some cases, tower ID numbers. However, the contents...
  3. Cal Jeffrey

    Study shows the best visual learning models fail at very basic visual identification tests

    <h5><strong>Bottom line:</strong> Recent advancements in AI systems have significantly improved their ability to recognize and analyze complex images. However, a new paper reveals that many state-of-the-art visual learning models struggle with simple visual tasks that humans find easy, like...
  4. Cal Jeffrey

    Airbnb continues to have a serious hidden camera problem

    <h5><strong>In brief:</strong> A CNN investigation found that despite being aware of the hidden camera problem, Airbnb has consistently failed to protect its guests. Thousands of images, including private moments such as guests changing clothes or being intimate, have been recovered from hidden...
  5. Cal Jeffrey

    Users challenge distracting Google Maps pop-up ads that suggest "quick detours"

    <h5><strong>The good old days:</strong> When I was a young whipper-snapper driving off into unfamiliar territory, I had to buy a paper map. Yes, maps used to be printed on large sheets of folded paper that you could never refold. I would plan out my route in advance, and turn-by-turn directions...
  6. Cal Jeffrey

    First-year Eton College students must trade their smartphones for school-provided "dumb" Nokias

    <h5><strong>What is Eton?</strong> Eton College, a boys boarding school located near Windsor just outside London, boasts an impressive list of notable alums, including Prince William, Prince Harry, Tom Hiddleston, and Eddie Redmayne. The school is also renowned for educating several future...
  7. Cal Jeffrey

    Even staunch fans are calling out Apple's less-than-transparent AI training data harvesting

    <h5><strong>Bottom line:</strong> Apple has been very slow and careful in jumping on the AI bandwagon. It even refused to call its model AI during WWDC, introducing Apple Intelligence instead to set itself apart. However, no matter what you call it, developers must still feed models with...
  8. Cal Jeffrey

    "Breakthrough" robot with lab-grown "human brain" promises advancement in brain-computer interfacing

    <h5><strong>In a nutshell:</strong> Interfacing brains with computers is challenging. It requires decoding complex neural signals, ensuring biocompatibility, and preventing immune responses, to name a few hurdles. Seamless communication between organic and inorganic systems requires advanced...
  9. Cal Jeffrey

    Redbox asks court for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and a DIP loan to cover payroll

    <h5><strong>The writing was on the wall:</strong> Physical entertainment media has been in a slow death spiral for years. It started with the closures of video rental outlets. Stores selling pre-owned games are also losing out to digital media. The trend was abundantly evident over a decade ago...
  10. Cal Jeffrey

    Microsoft partners with Amazon to bring Game Pass cloud gaming to Fire TV Sticks

    <h5><strong>Editor's take:</strong> Having the option to play without a console is an attractive incentive for subscribing to a gaming service. However, while cloud gaming has improved substantially in the last several years, the platform is still not ready to become the medium of choice for...
  11. Cal Jeffrey

    Remember when Sony released a Bravia TV with a built-in PlayStation 2?

    <h5><strong>Retro tech is cool:</strong> The YouTube channel Denki loves to collect and delve into old tech. Its most recent score is a Sony Bravia television with a PlayStation 2 built into its base that you probably only heard of if you lived in the UK in or around 2010. Although YouTubers...
  12. Cal Jeffrey

    European Commission finds Apple violated the DMA, threatens huge $38 billion fine

    <h5><strong>In context:</strong> The EU enacted the European Digital Markets Act last November, but companies like Google and Apple had until earlier this year to comply. Despite tweaking its policies and procedures, Apple may become the first Big Tech "gatekeeper" to get fined under the new...
  13. Cal Jeffrey

    How Bethesda and not Interplay ended up making Fallout 3

    <h5><strong>In context:</strong> In the early 2000s, Interplay was working on a sequel to its popular Fallout series. It was a time when developers were beginning to favor 3D game designs. So, instead of pulling out the old top-down 2D spite-based Fallout engine from 1997, Interplay decided to...
  14. Cal Jeffrey

    Patent troll files $480 million infringement lawsuit against Micron Technology in apparent "AI proxy war"

    <h5><strong>In brief:</strong> Patent trolls are companies that do not produce any products. Instead, they buy up and hold onto patents solely to sue for profit. It happens constantly, but a Korean publication points out that what we see as trolling is actually a war between rivals waged by...
  15. Cal Jeffrey

    Nintendo drops the official Metroid Prime 4 trailer fans have been waiting for the last 7 years

    <h5><strong>Highly anticipated:</strong> After a false start that cost two years of progress, Nintendo has finally dropped the first trailer for Metroid Prime 4, now subtitled "Beyond." Aside from a newly designed ship, which only ever plays a small role in the games, not much has changed since...
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