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Travel scams are on the rise - from fake tour guides to AI voice clones, these are the dangers holidaymakers need to spot

Daily Mail - Science & tech

You're viewing the US edition You can switch to the UK or AU homepage at any time using this menu. Queen Elizabeth's in-flight requests revealed - from a favourite drink to her secret weapon to fight jet lag The down-to-earth Cotswolds pub - serving pizzas and Negronis - that has its much fancier rivals truly'Stumped' Here's how to book with confidence and make the most of your package holiday Austria's 007 heaven: As the unveiling of the next Bond edges closer, how the film franchise's coolest attraction lets fans relive Daniel Craig's thrilling Spectre chase at 3,000M Would YOU go on a first date abroad? Singletons reveal what happened when they agreed to holiday with someone they'd just met The tiny European island with incredible beaches set for a tourism boost from The Odyssey - and it's not in Greece Is this the five-bed'secret' retreat - boasting its own pool, terrace and 60 acres - that Tom Holland and Zendaya stayed in on the lavish Beaverbrook estate after tying the knot (again)? The secret UK getaways where you can escape Britain's summer crowds, from glorious Welsh mountains to sleepy Norfolk villages Forget the overcrowded Canary Islands, this is why GREECE is the best place to visit this summer: Delicious food, gorgeous beaches, the friendliest locals. I've stayed in countless Greek hotels over the past 40 years - here are my top ten... Is this the world's most luxurious cruise ship?


Google's new Ask Maps features may be more exciting than the upcoming Pixel drop

ZDNet

I wore the world's first HDR10 smart glasses TCL's new E Ink tablet beats the Remarkable and Kindle Anker's new charger is one of the most unique I've ever seen I wore the world's first HDR10 smart glasses TCL's new E Ink tablet beats the Remarkable and Kindle Anker's new charger is one of the most unique I've ever seen Google's new Ask Maps features may be more exciting than the upcoming Pixel drop Google announced several upgrades to Ask Maps, allowing users to order food and find hotels with fewer clicks. Google expanded Ask Google capabilities. Users can more easily order food, book hotels, and find attractions. Ask Maps rolls out in English to 150+ countries. Earlier this year, Google announced Ask Maps, a Gemini-powered feature allowing users to search in Maps with complex, conversational queries.


Now you can chat with Google Maps to order food, reserve hotels and more

Engadget

This past March, Google introduced a chatbot inside of Maps as part of its overhaul of the software's navigation suite. The company pitched the feature, Ask Maps, as a way to give users a way to obtain information no traditional map can provide. Today, Google is expanding what Ask Maps can do, starting with the addition of new agentic capabilities. The next time you feel like ordering food, you can do so directly through Ask Maps. In a press briefing, Amanda Leicht-Moore, senior product director of Google Maps, demoed the feature by telling the chatbot she wanted recommendations for avocado toast and an oat milk latte near her home.


A hotel leaked my data to hackers. You could be next

PCWorld

PCWorld highlights essential privacy tools after a hotel data breach exposed the author's personal information including name, email, and stay dates. Virtual credit card numbers from banks like Capital One and Citi protect against financial theft, while email masks prevent phishing attacks. Using virtual phone numbers or Google Voice helps avoid data broker profiling and protects your real contact information from future breaches. I was on vacation when I got the ping. It was an email that started: " " I actually couldn't even read it at first--the text was in the hotel's native language. Turns out, hackers had gotten into the guest database of a place I'd booked for later in the trip. The data leaked included my name, email address, and dates of stay. Reading the brief, curt overview made me mad.


Safe from AI: which jobs will help you thrive in the future?

The Guardian

Some view solely AI as a threat - but experts say there are jobs that can help offer a more secure future (and even get ahead). Some view solely AI as a threat - but experts say there are jobs that can help offer a more secure future (and even get ahead). Safe from AI: which jobs will help you thrive in the future? Entering the world of work often brings some uncertainty, but now there is another question: how can I AI-proof my career? We asked people from across various industries what they think the impact of AI will be on careers, and which jobs may be less affected.


AI summaries of Tripadvisor hotel reviews downplay serious complaints, investigation finds

The Guardian

Travel, said users should'scroll past these summaries and look at guest reviews'. Travel, said users should'scroll past these summaries and look at guest reviews'. AI-generated overview found to gloss over allegations of sexual harassment and describes hotel being sued over hygiene as'spotless' A hotel being sued for mass food poisonings was described as "spotless" and a resort where guests complained of sexual harassment by staff was praised for "friendly" service by an AI intended to summarise millions of Tripadvisor reviews. The overviews of customer feedback downplayed serious complaints, ranging from the stench of mould to a lack of mains water, according to an investigation by the consumer campaign organisation Which? The AI-generated reviews appear on the travel website's hotel webpages to help holidaymakers decide where to book.


Transferring Causal Effects using Proxies

Neural Information Processing Systems

We consider the problem of estimating a causal effect in a multi-domain setting. The causal effect of interest is confounded by an unobserved confounder and can change between the different domains. We assume that we have access to a proxy of the hidden confounder and that all variables are discrete or categorical. We propose methodology to estimate the causal effect in the target domain, where we assume to observe only the proxy variable. Under these conditions, we prove identifiability (even when treatment and response variables are continuous). We introduce two estimation techniques, prove consistency, and derive confidence intervals. The theoretical results are supported by simulation studies and a real-world example studying the causal effect of website rankings on consumer choices.


Tourist dies in Dominican Republic luxury resort fire

BBC News

A huge fire at a luxury beach resort in the Dominican Republic killed one woman and forced nearly 1,700 guests to be evacuated on Friday. In a statement to local media, the DAEH emergency services said that a 46-year-old Italian tourist died, three people were taken to medical facilities and six others were treated on site. Drone footage shows how widespread the fire was, with buildings spanning the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach in Bayahibe on fire and thick black smoke billowing into the air. What sparked the early-morning blaze is not yet known, but an initial investigation found the flames spread quickly due to wind conditions and the flammable nature of the thatched roofs on some buildings. The country's Emergency Operations Center (COE) said the fire had been brought under control and guests had been moved to other hotels. It added that tourist activities in the town and surrounding area have been unaffected and can continue as normal.



Wide-Horizon Thinking and Simulation-Based Evaluation for Real-World LLMPlanning with Multifaceted Constraints

Neural Information Processing Systems

Unlike reasoning, which often entails a deep sequence of deductive steps, complex real-world planning is characterized by the need to synthesize a broad spectrum of parallel and potentially conflicting information and constraints. For example, in travel planning scenarios, it requires the integration of diverse real-world information and user preferences.