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AI Safety Meets the War Machine

WIRED

Anthropic doesn't want its AI used in autonomous weapons or government surveillance. Those carve-outs could cost it a major military contract. When Anthropic last year became the first major AI company cleared by the US government for classified use--including military applications--the news didn't make a major splash. But this week a second development hit like a cannonball: The Pentagon is reconsidering its relationship with the company, including a $200 million contract, ostensibly because the safety-conscious AI firm objects to participating in certain deadly operations. The so-called Department of War might even designate Anthropic as a "supply chain risk," a scarlet letter usually reserved for companies that do business with countries scrutinized by federal agencies, like China, which means the Pentagon would not do business with firms using Anthropic's AI in their defense work.


iPhone users are amazed to discover a secret design element hidden in the clock app

Daily Mail - Science & tech

Bed-bound Lindsey Vonn reveals pain is'hard to manage' as she speaks out for the first time after FIFTH surgery on her broken leg'Fergie might end up having to tell her story to the police': 'Toxic' Sarah Ferguson is'broke and in a bad way' after Andrew's arrest...and looking to UAE for cash because'everyone is out to get her' The tide of sleaze rolling over Beatrice, Eugenie and Fergie is going to capsize them all. Moment Kate and William revealed their'true feelings' towards Andrew and Fergie: Princess'ignoring' Sarah and Prince'secretly scolding' his uncle... how Duchess of Kent's funeral said it all Kurt Cobain's uncle insists Nirvana legend was murdered and calls on cops to investigate clues that haunt him Kristi Noem's secret escape plan to ditch DHS revealed amid ICE raid fallout and'culture of fear' rumors Winter Olympics chiefs reach verdict on Jutta Leerdam's '$1m underwear-flashing gesture' after Jake Paul's fiancée faced covert marketing claims Country singer Conner Smith's charges DROPPED after he hit and killed a woman, 77, with his truck I ditched weight-loss shots for the new Wegovy pill and am astonished by the difference. The pounds are falling off, I have no side effects and it's cheaper The subtle early warning sign that revealed Eric Dane's illness - as Grey's Anatomy star dies of motor neurone disease Johnny Depp let Eric Dane live'rent-free in one of his LA homes' as he tried to ease Grey's Anatomy star's financial worries in the months before his death from ALS aged 53 Uproar as NYC's'communist' mayor announces crippling tax for ALL homeowners after promising to only go after billionaires Wall Street panics as America's growth stalls while everyday prices refuse to fall I stumbled across my wife's Pornhub search history and it's broken me. She told me it's'just a fantasy lots of women have' but now I fear I'll never be enough Non-binary activist wins compensation after taking year-and-a-half off work with stress because hair salon's online booking form only offered male or female cuts Courtney Love caught on camera fleeing shocking car collision... days after bombshell Kurt Cobain'homicide investigation' Trump-bashing Winter Olympics star Hunter Hess whines about'hardest weeks of his life' after being called a'real loser' by the president In a viral post on X, user @ShishirShelke1 shared their strange discovery about the clock app icon. Normally, the icon on the home screen shows the second hand smoothly gliding around the clock face.


Leading US Research Lab Appears to Be Squeezing Out Foreign Scientists

WIRED

House Democrats are demanding answers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and urging it to halt rumored changes they say could undermine its mission. One of the US government's top scientific research labs is taking steps that could drive away foreign scientists, a shift lawmakers and sources tell WIRED could cost the country valuable expertise and damage the agency's credibility. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) helps determine the frameworks underpinning everything from cybersecurity to semiconductor manufacturing. Some of NIST's recent work includes establishing guidelines for securing AI systems and identifying health concerns with air purifiers and firefighting gloves. Many of the agency's thousands of employees, postdoctoral scientists, contractors, and guest researchers are brought in from around the world for their specialized expertise.


Gen Z are scared of DRIVING: Car phobias are leaving youngsters terrified of basic tasks including parallel parking, hill starts, and merging onto a motorway, study finds

Daily Mail - Science & tech

Eric Dane dead at 53: Grey's Anatomy star dies after courageous battle with ALS... less than a year after announcing diagnosis RICHARD KAY: Andrew's fall may now be complete. The question is... Will he bring down the House of Windsor with him? Alysa Liu finally ends America's 24-year wait for a Winter Olympics figure skating gold medal as she wins nerve-shredding final The tide of sleaze rolling over Beatrice, Eugenie and Fergie is going to capsize them all. My stalker said he'd rape and dismember me. Then he turned his depraved sights on my seven-year-old daughter, says EVA LARUE.


Jeffrey Epstein's Ties to CBP Agents Sparked a DOJ Probe

WIRED

Documents say customs officers in the US Virgin Islands had friendly relationships with Epstein years after his 2008 conviction, showing how the infamous sex offender tried to cultivate allies. United States prosecutors and federal law enforcement spent over a year examining ties between Jeffrey Epstein and Customs and Border Protection officers stationed in the US Virgin Islands (USVI), according to documents recently released by the Department of Justice. As The Guardian and New York Times have reported, emails, text messages, and investigative records show that Epstein cultivated friendships with several officers, entertaining them on his island and offering to take them for whale-watching trips in his helicopter. He even brought one cannolis for Christmas Eve. In turn, Epstein would bring certain officers his complaints about his treatment at the hands of other CBP and federal agents.


A 10K Bounty Awaits Anyone Who Can Hack Ring Cameras to Stop Sharing Data With Amazon

WIRED

The Fulu Foundation, a nonprofit that pays out bounties for removing user-hostile features, is hunting for a way to keep Ring cameras from sending data to Amazon--without breaking the hardware. Usually, when you see a feel-good story about finding a lost dog, you don't immediately react with fear and revulsion. But that was indeed the case in response to a Super Bowl commercial from Amazon-owned security camera company Ring. There's now a group offering to dole out a $10,000 bounty to wrest back control of the user data Ring controls. The ad showed off a new feature from Ring called Search Party.


Donald Trump Jr.'s Private DC Club Has Mysterious Ties to an Ex-Cop With a Controversial Past

WIRED

Donald Trump Jr.'s Private DC Club Has Mysterious Ties to an Ex-Cop With a Controversial Past The Executive Branch has a reported membership list that includes Trumpworld elites like David Sacks. A WIRED review of corporate filings reveals an under-the-radar player: a notorious former DC police officer. When the Executive Branch soft-launched in Washington, DC, last spring, the private club's initial buzz centered on its starry roster of backers and founding members. The president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is one of the club's several co-owners, according to previous reporting. Founding members reportedly include Trump administration AI czar David Sacks and his podcast cohost Chamath Palihapitiya, as well as crypto bigwigs Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.


Inside the Rolling Layoffs at Jack Dorsey's Block

WIRED

Workers describe a deteriorating culture at Block, the company behind Square and Cash App, where layoffs continue and employees are expected to use AI tools daily. After hundreds of workers were laid off in early February from Jack Dorsey's Block, some of the people remaining at the company say the internal culture has devolved to a point where performance anxiety is running rampant, using generative AI is required, and overall morale is rapidly deteriorating. Block is the parent company behind the merchant payment processor Square and the payment app Cash App. "Morale is probably the worst I've felt in four years," reads an employee complaint submitted to Dorsey in a recent all-hands meeting, a transcript of which was seen by WIRED. "The overarching culture at Block is crumbling."


DHS Opens a Billion-Dollar Tab With Palantir

WIRED

"If you are interested in helping shape and deliver the next chapter of Palantir's work across DHS, please reach out," a Palantir executive wrote to employees about the massive purchasing agreement. The Department of Homeland Security struck a $1 billion purchasing agreement with Palantir last week, further reinforcing the software company's role in the federal agency that oversees the nation's immigration enforcement . According to contracting documents published last week, the blanket purchase agreement (BPA) awarded "is to provide Palantir commercial software licenses, maintenance, and implementation services department wide." The agreement simplifies how DHS buys software from Palantir, allowing DHS agencies like Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to essentially skip the competitive bidding process for new purchases of up to $1 billion in products and services from the company. Palantir did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Ring denies being 'mass surveillance' but AI dog tracking will continue

PCWorld

Ring faces privacy backlash over its AI-powered'Search Party' feature, which uses outdoor cameras to track lost dogs and is enabled by default. PCWorld reports that Ring ended its Flock partnership but remains committed to expanding'Search Party' despite surveillance concerns from its Super Bowl ad. A leaked email from Ring founder Jamie Siminoff suggests the AI tracking feature may extend beyond pets to broader applications. Ring's been in damage-control mode ever since its now-infamous "lost dog" Super Bowl ad, furiously spinning the sinister imagery of digital "bounding boxes" locking in on a wayward pooch and a simulated aerial view of dozens of homes scanning the neighborhood. Rather than giving off warm fuzzies--your Ring camera can help find lost dogs!--the Super Bowl ad gave off serious "big brother" vibes to many viewers.