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Meet the Gods of AI Warfare

WIRED

In its early days, the AI initiative known as Project Maven had its fair share of skeptics at the Pentagon. Today, many of them are true believers. The rise of AI warfare speaks to the biggest moral and practical question there is: Who--or what--gets to decide to take a human life? And who bears that cost? In 2018, more than 3,000 Google workers protested the company's involvement in "the business of war" after finding out the company was part of Project Maven, then a nascent Pentagon effort to use computer vision to rifle through copious video footage taken in America's overseas drone wars. They feared Project Maven's AI could one day be used for lethal targeting. In my yearslong effort to uncover the full story of Project Maven for my book,, I learned that is exactly what happened, and that the undertaking was just as controversial inside the Pentagon. Today, the tool known as Maven Smart System is being used in US operations against Iran . How the US military's top brass moved from skepticism about the use of AI in war to true believers has a lot to do with a Marine colonel named Drew Cukor. In early September 2024, during the cocktail hour at a private retreat for tech investors and defense leaders, Vice Admiral Frank "Trey" Whitworth found his way to Drew Cukor. Now Project Maven's founding leader and his skeptical successor were standing face-to-face. Three years earlier, Whitworth had been the Pentagon's top military official for intelligence, advising the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and running one of the most sensitive and potentially lethal parts of any military process: targeting.


Battlefield demand turning Taiwan into drone manufacturing hub

The Japan Times

A standard pick-up truck is mounted with a launching system for eight Cobra-3120 loitering munitions. TAIPEI - After years of sourcing drones from a wide range of international suppliers, including China, Ukraine has a new entrant supporting its battlefield needs: Taiwan. The self-ruled island has quietly been ramping up exports of domestically produced drones to war-torn Ukraine, underscoring how its homegrown industry has advanced in recent years, evolving from a largely experimental sector into a burgeoning supplier of battlefield-relevant technology. The move, which also helps expand Taiwan's defense-industrial base, has seen the island sell well over 100,000 drones to Ukraine since last year alone, mainly via Poland and the Czech Republic, according to data provided by the Taipei-based Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET). In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.


Mystery as Communion bread and wine 'miraculously' appear to turn into human tissue and blood

Daily Mail - Science & tech

Trump says he's'not afraid' of Vietnam-style ground combat in Iran Furious US troops erupt at CNN's $20m steak and lobster claims as grim photos expose reality Hollywood's top insider makes VERY catty observation about Kaitlan Collins Pam Bondi is formally subpoenaed by Congress as Trump's Epstein nightmare grows What the Jane Plan did to my body: The unfashionable retro diet's fans say it's life-changing, easy, better than fat jabs - and shifts weight fast. My husband tried a'cure' for his ALS... days later he went blind and couldn't move. The children screamed on video call as he died. Outrage after Pete Hegseth aide ousted for'leaks' lands new top secret intelligence job Everything JFK Jr told friends about his love affair with'sexual dynamo' Madonna... her unprintable pillow talk... and his perverse incest request that she couldn't go through with SARAH VINE: How telling that Meghan's joined the ranks of those peddling wellness and fake lifestyles to the gullible My chilling conversations with the Unabomber and America's worst serial killers when I ran a Supermax prison, revealed in The Crime Desk newsletter Oscars afterparty snitches reveal cringing details of how stars stopped talking to him... a brutal message from Kylie's gloating ex... and her'humiliating' admission to friends Joe Burrow cements his place as the NFL's most eligible bachelor as he is spotted cozying up to Tate McRae and Alix Earle at glitzy Oscars afterparty Dark secret past of husband killer Kouri Richins' Iraq war veteran lover revealed... and their toe-curling sex texts that helped convict her Mystery as Communion bread and wine'miraculously' appear to turn into human tissue and blood READ MORE: Scientists stunned as 500-year-old'miracle' image of Virgin Mary reveals impossible microscopic reflection Catholics believe that during Communion, bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, though they continue to appear unchanged to the human eye. But there have been a handful of rare and debated cases in which the sacred elements appeared to take on a far more literal, physical form.


How Invisalign Became the World's Biggest User of 3D Printers

WIRED

Joe Hogan, Align Technology's plastics-nerd CEO, says you shouldn't eat with your aligners and that you don't need to wear your retainers every night. Joe Hogan sees a lot of smiles. When people ask him where he works, he responds with "Align Technology," which inevitably prompts the follow up, "What's that?" After months, sometimes years, the discrete rival to braces promises to give people smiles they will want to show off. Hogan gets a look at them all. And he's eager to see more. Align is embarking on its biggest manufacturing overhaul since it was founded by two Stanford Graduate School of Business classmates 29 years ago. The company is preparing to begin directly 3D printing the aligners at the core of its business, ditching what Hogan describes as a longer, more wasteful process that involves making molds. A successful transition could lower costs and make treatment more affordable in the long run, bringing Invisalign to more customers and boosting Align's profits. It also, according to Hogan, would entrench Align as the world's biggest user of 3D printers .



These Musical Instruments of the Future Sound Weird, Wacky--and Are Easy for Anyone to Play

WIRED

A bicycle wheel with guitar strings, a touch-operated synth, and the "Demon Box" were just a few of the new instruments on show at Georgia Tech's Guthman Musical Instrument Competition this weekend. An open-source, touch-operated synth built to resemble a puzzle piece and keep accessibility at the forefront. A pressure-sensitive surface allows for polyphonic synthesis that can be triggered by hands, feet, textured fabrics, or even Play-Doh. Brand new sounds floated through a concert hall at Georgia Tech this weekend, as the 28th annual Guthman Musical Instrument Competition showcased an array of new instruments from around the world--and crowned one champion. Ten finalists, chosen from candidates who built all kinds of new music-making devices, converged in Atlanta, Georgia, to present their instruments to a panel of judges.


Iranian drone attacks strain US air defenses as Ukraine pitches low-cost interceptors

FOX News

As Iranian-designed Shahed drones spread from Ukraine to the Gulf, U.S. and allied forces are using multimillion-dollar air defenses to counter low-cost attacks, raising sustainability concerns.



Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads Bafta Games Awards nominations

BBC News

This year's Bafta Games Awards nominations have been released, and the unstoppable Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the front-runner once again. The role-playing adventure, made by French developer Sandfall Interactive, received 12 nominations in total, including best game, best music and best narrative. Having already swept the board at several video game award ceremonies, Expedition 33 was widely expected to feature heavily in this year's Bafta list. But, in a ceremony which aims to celebrate multimillion-dollar productions and independent games made by tiny teams, there are also some surprising inclusions and omissions. Expedition 33's 12 nominations is not a record for Bafta. In 2023, God of War Ragnarok was up for 14 awards - although it lost out on best game to independent game Vampire Survivors.


World's largest acidic geyser erupts in Yellowstone after years of silence - sparking fears the supervolcano could be next

Daily Mail - Science & tech

ROTC students at Old Dominion subdued and killed ISIS-linked gunman who left one dead, two wounded after shouting'Allahu Akbar' and opened fire Horrifying next twist in the Alexander brothers case: MAUREEN CALLAHAN exposes an unthinkable perversion that's been hiding in plain sight Kentucky mother and daughter turn down $26.5MILLION to sell their farms to secretive tech giant that wants to build data center there Hollywood icon who starred in Psycho after Hitchcock dubbed her'my new Grace Kelly' looks incredible at 95 Kylie Jenner's total humiliation in Hollywood: Derogatory rumor leaves her boyfriend's peers'laughing at her' behind her back Tucker Carlson erupts at Trump adviser as she hurls'SLANDER' claim linking him to synagogue shooting Ben Affleck'scores $600m deal' with Netflix to sell his AI film start-up Long hair over 45 is ageing and try-hard. I've finally cut mine off. Alexander brothers' alleged HIGH SCHOOL rape video: Classmates speak out on sickening footage... as creepy unseen photos are exposed Heartbreaking video shows very elderly DoorDash driver shuffle down customer's driveway with coffee order because he is too poor to retire Amber Valletta, 52, was a '90s Vogue model who made movies with Sandra Bullock and Kate Hudson, see her now Model Cindy Crawford, 60, mocked for her'out of touch' morning routine: 'Nothing about this is normal' World's largest acidic geyser erupts in Yellowstone after years of silence - sparking fears the supervolcano could be next The world's largest acidic geyser has'woken up', erupting for the first time since 2020. The Echinus Geyser is a hot spring located in Norris Geyser Basin at Yellowstone National Park, measuring around 660 feet (200 metres) across. During the 1970s it would erupt for up to 90 minutes at a time, blasting hot acidic water up to 75ft (23m) into the air roughly every hour.