Author name: Shannon Garcia

electric-eels-inspire-novel-“jelly”-batteries-for-soft-robotics,-wearables

Electric eels inspire novel “jelly” batteries for soft robotics, wearables

batteries, biomimicry, electric eels, Science / /

Soft and stretchy —

Another team built a lithium-ion battery with electrolyte layer that expands by 5,000%.

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closeup of colorful strand held between fingers being stretched

Enlarge / Researchers have developed soft, stretchable “jelly batteries” that could be used for wearable devices or soft robotics.

University of Cambridge

Inspired by the electric shock capabilities of electric eels, scientists have developed a soft, stretchable “jelly” battery ideal for wearable devices or soft robotics, according to a new paper published in the journal Science Advances. With further testing in living organisms, the batteries might even be useful as brain implants for targeted drug delivery to treat epilepsy, among other conditions.

As previously reported, the electric eel produces its signature electric discharges—both low and high voltages, depending on the purpose for discharging—via three pairs of abdominal organs composed of modified muscle cells called electrocytes, located symmetrically along both sides of the eel. The brain sends a signal to the electrocytes, opening ion channels and briefly reversing the polarity. The difference in electric potential then generates a current, much like a battery with stacked plates.

Vanderbilt University biologist and neuroscientist Kenneth Catania is one of the most prominent scientists studying electric eels these days. He has found that the creatures can vary the degree of voltage in their electrical discharges, using lower voltages for hunting purposes and higher voltages to stun and kill prey. Those higher voltages are also useful for tracking potential prey, akin to how bats use echolocation. One species, Volta’s electric eel (Electrophorus voltai), can produce a discharge of up to 860 volts. In theory, if 10 such eels discharged at the same time, they could produce up to 8,600 volts of electricity—sufficient to power 100 light bulbs.

Mimicking Mother Nature

For soft robotics or wearable electronics applications, soft and stretchy devices with tissue-like electronic properties are required. However, “It’s difficult to design a material that is both highly stretchable and highly conductive since those two properties are normally at odds with one another,” said co-author Stephen O’Neill of the University of Cambridge. “Typically, conductivity decreases when a material is stretched.” So he and his colleagues decided to model their jelly battery design on the layered structure of the electric eel’s electrocytes. Whereas conventional electronics employ rigid materials with electrons to carry the charges, this battery would use ions as charge carriers, like the electric eels.

The self-healing jelly batteries can stretch to over 10 times their original length without affecting their conductivity.

Enlarge / The self-healing jelly batteries can stretch to over 10 times their original length without affecting their conductivity.

University of Cambridge

Hydrogels—3D polymer networks composed of 60 percent water—were the obvious choice since they confer the ability to precisely control mechanical properties and can mimic human skin. They are usually made of neutrally charged polymers, but O’Neill et al. added a charge to their polymers, altering the salt component to make them sticky enough to squish together into multiple layers. This builds up a larger energy potential.

The stickiness of the hydrogels comes from the reversible bonds that form between the different layers, thanks to barrel-shaped molecules that act a bit like “molecular handcuffs,” per the authors. So, the jelly batteries can stretch without separating the layers and without any loss of conductivity. Furthermore, “We can customize the mechanical properties of the hydrogels so they match human tissue,” said co-author Oren Scherman. “Since they contain no rigid components such as metal, a hydrogel implant would be much less likely to be rejected by the body or cause the build-up of scar tissue.” That makes them promising for future biomedical applications.

Another stretchy battery

This lithium-ion battery has entirely stretchable components and stable charging and discharging capacity over time.

Enlarge / This lithium-ion battery has entirely stretchable components and stable charging and discharging capacity over time.

Shi Wang et al., ACS Energy Letters, 2024

In related research, a new paper published in the journal ACS Energy Letters described the fabrication of a lithium-ion battery with stretchable components, including an electrolyte layer that can expand by 5,000 percent. The battery can retain its charge storage capacity after nearly 70 charge/discharge cycles. Rather than using a liquid electrolyte, a team of Chinese scientists incorporated the electrolyte into a polymer layer fused between two flexible electrode films.

The electrodes consisted of a thin film of conductive paste embedded with silver nanowires, carbon black, and lithium-based cathode or anode materials onto a plate. They applied a layer of flexible polydimethylsiloxane (used in contact lenses) on top of the paste, followed by a lithium salt, highly conductive liquid, and stretchy polymer ingredients. When zapped with light, all those components formed a solid rubber-like stretchy layer that could still transport lithium ions. This was topped with another electrode film, and the entire device was then sealed in a protective coating. This battery had a roughly six times higher average charge capacity at a fast-charging rate than a similar device with a traditional liquid electrolyte.

Science Advances, 2024. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn5142  (About DOIs).

ACS Energy Letters, 2024. DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.4c01254  (About DOIs).

Electric eels inspire novel “jelly” batteries for soft robotics, wearables Read More »

streaming’s-bundling-obsession-ignores-the-real-problem-with-subscription-costs

Streaming’s bundling obsession ignores the real problem with subscription costs

streaming, Tech / /
scrambled tv TV with human hand with TV remote control

Video streaming providers have a big churn problem. While many streaming companies are not profitable yet, the entire industry is grappling with high and fast cancellation rates.

Users who sign up for streaming services only to cancel a few months later, likely because they watched what they wanted to already or are trying to save money, has created huge churn concerns for streaming companies. Those companies are largely responding with packages that bundle their services with other services, including rival streaming platforms. But with streaming subscribers already pushed to their financial limits, it’s time for streaming providers to earn their keep, not piggyback on others.

This week, media research firm Hub Entertainment Research published its 2024 Monetization of Video report with findings from June interviews of 1,600 TV viewers ages 16 to 74. The respondents reportedly each watch at least one hour of TV weekly, and the sample is “US census balanced,” per Hub. When Hub asked respondents if they will “still have/use” their video streaming services a year from now, 85 percent of those using ad-free services said they definitely or probably will, compared to 74 percent of subscribers of streaming services with ads. Further suggesting that ad-free subscription tiers garner more loyalty, 15 percent of ad-free subscribers said they “might/might not” or “probably/definitely won’t” have their subscription next year versus 26 percent of ad subscribers.

Hub Entertainment Research

“Those paying extra for ad-free services say they are more likely to keep that service than cheaper ad-supported plans,” the report says. “The act of paying more potentially increases perceived loyalty to that expense.”

Streaming providers charge less for subscriptions that show commercials because they’re able to make up the lost revenue through ad sales. Streaming firms like Netflix say they get higher monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) from ad subscribers than those who pay more for commercial-free plans. Despite the lower prices, Hub’s research found that 25 percent of respondents associate “excellent” value with paid streaming video on demand (SVOD) services with ads compared to 22 percent who think the same of SVOD without ads.

Churn troubles

Hub’s report also highlighted high streaming cancellation rates, noting that 50 percent of respondents “sign up, cancel, then re-subscribe to the same service.” Earlier this month Ampere Analysis also detailed high churn rates, saying that 42 percent of US streaming subscribers “regularly subscribe, cancel, and resubscribe” (Ampere said it examined “anonymized subscription receipt data from a panel of 3 million opted-in US email users” between February and March 2024 for its survey).

“As the SVOD market in the US has become increasingly saturated, new subscribers are harder to find, which makes retention all the more important,” said Daniel Monaghan, research manager at Ampere Analysis, said in a statement accompanying the findings.

Streaming providers have largely adopted bundling to combat high cancellation rates, with the idea being that people are less likely to pull the plug on one service if it’s tied to others. In Hub’s report, 37 percent of respondents said they’re “less likely to cancel and then resubscribe to a bundle of multiple services compared to an individual service.”

Bundles also carry price savings, a key driver for streaming subscriptions. Per Hub’s report and following a slew of streaming price hikes, people are approaching the limit of what they’re willing to spend on streaming subscriptions:

Hub Entertainment Research

But streaming services could better prove their value if they went beyond pricing and tried building loyalty through improved selection and features.

Streaming’s bundling obsession ignores the real problem with subscription costs Read More »

the-2025-lucid-air-is-now-the-most-efficient-ev-on-sale

The 2025 Lucid Air is now the most efficient EV on sale

Cars, Lucid, Lucid Air / /

weird maths —

A standard heat pump has made an already-efficient car even more so.

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A blue metallic Lucid Air seen head-on

Enlarge / The Lucid Air was already the most efficient EV on sale in the US, but for model year 2025 it goes even farther on a single charge.

Lucid

Lucid has just revealed the details of its model-year 2025 updates, and among the tweaks to its handsome electric sedan is an impressive bump in range efficiency. The entry-level Lucid Air Pure, which starts at $69,900, can now travel 420 miles on a single charge of its 84 kWh battery. That equates to 5 miles/kWh (12.4 kWh/100 km), making the Air Pure the most efficient electric vehicle for sale today.

The range bump is mostly thanks to Lucid making a heat pump standard across the range, after first adding one to the ultra-powerful, ultra-expensive Air Sapphire.

Lucid has also upgraded the computer hardware that oversees the Air’s various subsystems. The automaker says it has tripled processing power and doubled the system’s memory, which should translate to faster and better infotainment. And Lucid has made its advanced driver assistance system standard across the lineup, too.

While the Air Pure might be the first production EV being sold to reach 5 miles/kWh, it isn’t the longest-range Lucid Air for sale. That remains the $110,900 Grand Touring, which can go 512 miles (824 km) on a single charge. The 2025 Lucid Air Touring, which slots between them, has a range of 406 miles (654 km) and starts at $78,900.

While still a relative minnow compared to Rivian, Lucid has been on something of an upward trajectory of late. Price cuts have undoubtedly helped it have a record Q2, delivering 2,394 cars for its best three months so far.

Who did this math?

In addition to claiming 5 miles/kWh for the Air Pure, Lucid also notes in its press release that it has achieved “a record 146 MPGe rating” for the car.

Lucid’s model-year 2025 data isn’t in the EPA’s online fuel economy database yet, so Ars can’t check the slightly more detailed information there (which should break out the MPGe figure into city, highway, and combined figures), but 146 MPGe is only equivalent to 4.3 miles/kWh; 5 miles/kWh is 169 MPGe.

We asked Lucid about the difference, and the company told Ars that with EVs, losses in the charging process from resistance in the cables and from heating the battery make a difference.

“The reason we don’t love MPGe is that batteries are the real expense for EVs—not electricity. If you can be more energy efficient when actually driving, you can reduce the capacity of the battery pack in the vehicles you build—reducing cost, reducing weight, and reducing the natural resources you need per vehicle. On the other hand, it’s nice to minimize energy lost during charging, but if you get only 2.5 mi/kWh on the road, you still are stuck with the big expensive battery pack,” Lucid told Ars.

(This does not change the fact that MPGe is derived by multiplying miles/kWh by 33.7, the amount of energy in a gallon of gasoline, but when the EPA calculates that number it includes charging losses.)

Despite the incongruent math, the 2025 Air Pure still beats the 2024 model, which makes do with a combined 140 MPGe and 410 miles of range, according to the EPA.

The 2025 Lucid Air is now the most efficient EV on sale Read More »

porsche-expands-the-macan-ev-range-with-two-new-models

Porsche expands the Macan EV range with two new models

Cars, porsche macan / /

now there are four —

The entry-level Macan starts at $75,300 and goes on sale in Q4 2024.

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A green Porsche Macan 4S

Enlarge / Porsche has doubled the number of Macan EV models it offers, with the Macan 4S (pictured) and an entry-level Macan. This one also wears an optional off-road kit.

Porsche

The first deliveries of Porsche’s new Macan EV are still a few weeks away, but today the automaker announced it is already expanding that lineup. When the car broke cover in January, we were shown a pair of variants: the all-wheel drive Macan 4, and the powerful Macan Turbo. The two new versions slot around those cars—there’s a rear-wheel drive, single-motor Macan as the new entry-level car, and a Macan 4S that fills the gap between the two already-revealed cars.

Macan

The entry-level Macan uses the same rear drive unit as the Macan 4 we tested in April. Doing without a front motor means a weight savings of 243 lbs (110 kg) from the front of the car, which should have a positive benefit on handling, even if this will be the slowest Macan in the range.

Slow being a relative term here, for we are discussing both a Porsche and also an electric car. A nominal output of 335 hp (250 kW) is more than sufficient for day-to-day driving, and the motor can overboost to 355 hp (265 kW) and 415 lb-ft (562 Nm) for standing starts in launch mode. Do so, and you can hurl the basic Macan down the road to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds.

The single-motor Macan uses the same 800 V, 100 kWh battery pack as the other models in the range, which can fast-charge at up to 270 kW. Porsche hasn’t released an EPA range estimate for this model yet, but it should be well in excess of the 300-plus miles that range tests have returned for the all-wheel drive Macan 4S.

  • The rear-wheel drive Taycan was a great EV to drive, and I am prepared to bet the RWD Macan will be too.

    Porsche

  • The entry-level Macan should be eligible for the federal tax credit if you lease one.

    Porsche

The Macan will start at $75,300, and Porsche expects deliveries to begin in Q4 2024.

Macan 4S

The all-wheel Macan 4S uses the same front-drive unit as the Macan 4 and Macan S, but it gets a different rear-drive unit with a 600 A silicon carbide inverter. Overall power output is 442 hp (330 kW), but launch control increases that to 509 hp (380 kW) and 578 lb-ft (784 Nm). That drops the 0–60 mph time to 3.9 seconds.

Porsche fits adaptive air suspension as standard to the Macan 4S (as well as the RWD Macan), and rear-axle steering and torque-vectoring is an option for the 4S. Like the Macan, the Macan 4S should start arriving in Q4, with a starting price of $84,900.

  • The Macan 4S exists for someone who thinks the 4 isn’t quite enough, but the Turbo is just a bit too much.

    Porsche

  • The Macan is quite handsome when you see it in person.

  • The Macan 4S interior.

    Porsche

  • Off-road mode gives the Macan a little lift.

    Porsche

There’s also an off-road package available for people who think their Macan, Macan 4, Macan 4S, or Macan Turbo needs to look a little more rugged. This changes the front bumper to a design that allows for a greater approach angle (17.5 degrees). The air suspension also increases the maximum ride height by 0.4 inches (10 mm). And the new bumper (as well as side skirts, diffuser, and roof rails) can be painted gray, to make them stand out, or body color.

Porsche expands the Macan EV range with two new models Read More »

report:-alphabet-close-to-$23-billion-deal-for-cybersecurity-startup-wiz

Report: Alphabet close to $23 billion deal for cybersecurity startup Wiz

alphabet, antitrust, syndication, Tech, Wiz / /

buy all the things —

Deal of this size would draw scrutiny from antitrust regulators around the world.

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wiz logo

Timon Schneider/Dreamstime

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is in talks to buy cybersecurity start-up Wiz for about $23 billion, in what would be the largest acquisition in the tech group’s history, according to people familiar with the matter.

Alphabet’s discussions to acquire Wiz are still weeks away from completion, said one person with direct knowledge of the matter, while people briefed about the transaction said there was still a chance the deal would fall apart, with a number of details still needing to be addressed in talks.

If a deal were to be reached it would be a test case for antitrust regulators, which in recent years have been cracking down on tech groups buying out emerging companies in the sector. Alphabet’s last big deal came more than a decade ago with the $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility.

The acquisition of Wiz would mark a further big push into cyber security for Alphabet, two years after it acquired Mandiant for $5.4 billion.

New York-headquartered Wiz has raised about $2 billion from investors since its founding four years ago, according to data provider PitchBook. The start-up, led by Israeli founder and former Microsoft executive Assaf Rappaport, was most recently valued at $12 billion. Its backers include venture capital firms Sequoia and Thrive.

Wiz, which counts multinational groups including Salesforce, Mars, and BMW as customers, helps companies secure programs in the cloud. That has led to a surge in revenue as corporations increasingly operate their software and store data online—Wiz has said it has hit about $350 million in annual recurring revenue, a metric often used by software start-ups.

A deal would be among the largest acquisitions of a company backed by venture capital.

Wiz declined to comment on the talks, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

© 2024 The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be redistributed, copied, or modified in any way.

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arduino’s-plug-and-make-kit-lets-your-hacking-imagination-run-wild,-sans-solder

Arduino’s Plug and Make Kit lets your hacking imagination run wild, sans solder

Arduino, arduino plug and make kit, circuit programming, programming kit, sbc, Tech / /

Little boards bolted together toward a better future —

Daisy-chain tiny boards into weather stations, game controllers, and way more.

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A hand adjusting a button or knob on an Arduino plug and make kit, mounted to a white whall on a yellow bread-board-like backing.

Enlarge / Having this on the wall, right by your front door, would serve the purpose of informing guests where your priorities lie.

Arduino

I know how to solder, but I do not always want to solder, and I think there are a lot of folks like me. Even if the act itself can be done (and undone, and redone), the friction of hauling out the gear, preparing a space, and fine-motor-skilling a perfect shiny blob can put a halt to one’s tinkering ambitions.

Arduino’s Plug and Make Kit official release video.

Arduino, the building block of many off-hours projects, has put the challenge to you, your kids, or anyone you know who just needs the right kit to fall down a rabbit hole, minus a dangerously hot iron. The Arduino Plug and Make Kit has at its core an Arduino UNO R4 board with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a built-in 12×8 LED matrix display. That board gets screwed into the prime lot on a yellow board, and then you pick from among seven other “Modulino” boards to attach. By “attach,” I mean running one of those little push-in-with-your-fingers cables from the main board to a little board, and maybe daisy-chaining from there. All your boards fit onto the larger base with M3 screws and nuts, and the whole thing is powered by a USB-C cable (with USB A or C on the other end).

  • The contents of Arduino’s Plug and Make Kit.

  • The “Modulino” nodes.

  • The wonderful board for the Arduino experiments.

What can you plug in? A knob, eight LEDs, a proximity sensor, a motion sensor, a simple buzzer/speaker, a temperature/humidity sensor, and three simple buttons. With those things, the newcomer can make a low-key weather station, an 8-bit-style synthesizer, a smart lamp controller, and a few other things (registration required). Of course, those are just the starter projects put together by Arduino; on the web, in the corners of GitHub, and inside the curious mind, there are loads of other things to be built.

There’s a little shell case for the main Arduino board included with the kit, which could help with weather-proofing a bit. But whatever project you make with this kit is going to look like a lightly spiffed-up breadboard object. That can be a great thing. The timer I use to try to keep myself working in 25-minute segments is an Adafruit Circuit Playground Express, programmed to light up in a clock-ish ring and then play the Legend of Zelda “discovery” tune after every sprint. There are lots of timers, even Pomodoro-technique-specific models, that are cheaper, smaller, and purpose-built. But I like my goofy little timer specifically because I can see the guts of it.

The Arduino Plug and Make Kit costs $87 at the moment and is still in stock as of this writing.

Arduino’s Plug and Make Kit lets your hacking imagination run wild, sans solder Read More »

partial-automated-driving-systems-don’t-make-driving-safer,-study-finds

Partial automated driving systems don’t make driving safer, study finds

ADAS, advanced driver assistance systems, Autosteer, Cars, IIHS, lane departure, lane keeping, partial automation, partially automated driving, road safety / /

hands on the wheel, eyes on the road —

Many driver assists do increase safety, but little evidence lane keeping is one.

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A Nissan steering wheel with ProPILOT assist buttons on it

Enlarge / Nissan’s ProPilot Assist was one of two partially automated driving systems to be studied for crash safety improvements.

Nissan

Driver assists that help steer for you on the highway haven’t contributed much to road safety, according to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute. That’s in contrast to other features often bundled together as “advanced driver assistance systems,” or ADAS, many of which have shown a marked reduction in crash and claim rates.

“Everything we’re seeing tells us that partial automation is a convenience feature like power windows or heated seats rather than a safety technology,” said David Harkey, IIHS president.

However, we should note that, as a follow-up to a pair of earlier studies published in 2021, the new research by IIHS and HLDI focused on two older partially automated driving systems, model-year 2017–2019 Nissan Rogues with ProPilot Assist and model year 2013–2017 BMWs with Driving Assistant Plus.

Those earlier studies found plenty of benefits to some ADAS features. Of BMW’s various collision avoidance systems, many reduced the claim frequency for various types of vehicle damage, property liability, and injury claims.

Crash rates

But when IIHS’s senior vice president of research, Jessica Cicchino, analyzed crash rate data for this population of cars, she found that despite an apparent modest reduction, there was no significant difference in lane departure crashes between BMWs equipped with lane departure warning and prevention and cars fitted with both systems plus partial automation, versus cars without any steering assist, after controlling for variables like driver age, gender, model year, and so on.

However, BMWs with lane departure warning and prevention did have significantly fewer lane departure crashes during daylight hours than cars without such systems.

The ADAS in Nissan Rogues did significantly lower rear-end and lane departure crash rates, with the greatest benefit being in the cars with the most assists (partial automation as well as forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane departure prevention) versus Rogues without such systems.

But Cicchino found those effects persisted on surface streets and roads with speed limits lower than 35 mph (56 km/h), speeds at which ProPilot Assist won’t keep centered in a lane unless following another car. That suggests some other factor at work here—possibly the fact that the better-equipped Rogues also had more effective headlights, IIHS says. (This year, IIHS started requiring an automaker to fit all trim levels in a model with the best headlights in order to be eligible for a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ rating.)

Not the first time lane-keeping has claimed credit

This isn’t the first time that a different bit of equipment bundled together under a specific trim package or option has confounded attempts to determine the safety of lane-keeping systems. In 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Ars that Tesla misattributed the safety benefit of its Autopilot partially automated driving system when in fact, the safety impact was likely due to automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning.

Testing for the safety of lane-keeping systems is more challenging than other crash-avoidance systems, because it must be actively engaged by the driver as opposed to constantly monitoring for danger, like an imminent forward crash. Not everyone with lane-keeping systems engages them, and even those who do don’t engage them on every journey.

Studies that look at actual telematics data from cars, which would accurately record when such systems are turned on, would help better answer this question, according to the study. And even then, the benefit is likely to be small—only 6 percent of police-reported crashes in the US “were run-off-road or same-direction sideswipes resulting from unintentional lane departures, or rear-ends, that occurred on interstate highways,” Cicchino wrote.

“With no clear evidence that partial automation is preventing crashes, users and regulators alike should not confuse it for a safety feature,” Cicchino said in a press release. “At a minimum, safeguards like those IIHS promotes through its rating program are essential to reduce the risks that drivers will zone out or engage in other distracting activities while partial automation is switched on.”

Partial automated driving systems don’t make driving safer, study finds Read More »

exim-vulnerability-affecting-1.5-million-servers-lets-attackers-attach-malicious-files

Exim vulnerability affecting 1.5 million servers lets attackers attach malicious files

Biz & IT, email, exim, exploits, Security, vulnerabilities / /

GIRD YOUR LOINS —

Based on past attacks, It wouldn’t be surprising to see active targeting this time too.

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Exim vulnerability affecting 1.5 million servers lets attackers attach malicious files

More than 1.5 million email servers are vulnerable to attacks that can deliver executable attachments to user accounts, security researchers said.

The servers run versions of the Exim mail transfer agent that are vulnerable to a critical vulnerability that came to light 10 days ago. Tracked as CVE-2024-39929 and carrying a severity rating of 9.1 out of 10, the vulnerability makes it trivial for threat actors to bypass protections that normally prevent the sending of attachments that install apps or execute code. Such protections are a first line of defense against malicious emails designed to install malware on end-user devices.

A serious security issue

“I can confirm this bug,” Exim project team member Heiko Schlittermann wrote on a bug-tracking site. “It looks like a serious security issue to me.”

Researchers at security firm Censys said Wednesday that of the more than 6.5 million public-facing SMTP email servers appearing in Internet scans, 4.8 million of them (roughly 74 percent) run Exim. More than 1.5 million of the Exim servers, or roughly 31 percent, are running a vulnerable version of the open-source mail app.

While there are no known reports of active exploitation of the vulnerability, it wouldn’t be surprising to see active targeting, given the ease of attacks and the large number of vulnerable servers. In 2020, one of the world’s most formidable hacking groups—the Kremlin-backed Sandworm—exploited a severe Exim vulnerability tracked as CVE-2019-10149, which allowed them to send emails that executed malicious code that ran with unfettered root system rights. The attacks began in August 2019, two months after the vulnerability came to light. They continued through at least May 2020.

CVE-2024-39929 stems from an error in the way Exim parses multiline headers as specified in RFC 2231. Threat actors can exploit it to bypass extension blocking and deliver executable attachments in emails sent to end users. The vulnerability exists in all Exim versions up to and including 4.97.1. A fix is available in the Release Candidate 3 of Exim 4.98.

Given the requirement that end users must click on an attached executable for the attack to work, this Exim vulnerability isn’t as serious as the one that was exploited starting in 2019. That said, social engineering people remains among the most effective attack methods. Admins should assign a high priority to updating to the latest version.

Exim vulnerability affecting 1.5 million servers lets attackers attach malicious files Read More »

to-help-with-climate-change,-carbon-capture-will-have-to-evolve

To help with climate change, carbon capture will have to evolve

carbon capture, climate change, Science, syndication / /

gotta catch more —

The technologies are useful tools but have yet to move us away from fossil fuels.

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Image of a facility filled with green-colored tubes.

Enlarge / Bioreactors that host algae would be one option for carbon sequestration—as long as the carbon is stored somehow.

More than 200 kilometers off Norway’s coast in the North Sea sits the world’s first offshore carbon capture and storage project. Built in 1996, the Sleipner project strips carbon dioxide from natural gas—largely made up of methane—to make it marketable. But instead of releasing the CO2 into the atmosphere, the greenhouse gas is buried.

The effort stores around 1 million metric tons of CO2 per year—and is praised by many as a pioneering success in global attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Last year, total global CO2 emissions hit an all-time high of around 35.8 billion tons, or gigatons. At these levels, scientists estimate, we have roughly six years left before we emit so much CO2 that global warming will consistently exceed 1.5° Celsius above average preindustrial temperatures, an internationally agreed-upon limit. (Notably, the global average temperature for the past 12 months has exceeded this threshold.)

Phasing out fossil fuels is key to cutting emissions and fighting climate change. But a suite of technologies collectively known as carbon capture, utilization and storage, or CCUS, are among the tools available to help meet global targets to cut CO2 emissions in half by 2030 and to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. These technologies capture, use or store away CO2 emitted by power generation or industrial processes, or suck it directly out of the air. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body charged with assessing climate change science, includes carbon capture and storage among the actions needed to slash emissions and meet temperature targets.

Carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies often capture CO2 from coal or natural gas power generation or industrial processes, such as steel manufacturing. The CO2 is compressed into a liquid under high pressure and transported through pipelines to sites where it may be stored, in porous sedimentary rock formations containing saltwater, for example, or used for other purposes. The captured CO2 can be injected into the ground to extract oil dregs or used to produce cement and other products.

Enlarge / Carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies often capture CO2 from coal or natural gas power generation or industrial processes, such as steel manufacturing. The CO2 is compressed into a liquid under high pressure and transported through pipelines to sites where it may be stored, in porous sedimentary rock formations containing saltwater, for example, or used for other purposes. The captured CO2 can be injected into the ground to extract oil dregs or used to produce cement and other products.

Governments and industry are betting big on such projects. Last year, for example, the British government announced 20 billion pounds (more than $25 billion) in funding for CCUS, often shortened to CCS. The United States allocated more than $5 billion between 2011 and 2023 and committed an additional $8.2 billion from 2022 to 2026. Globally, public funding for CCUS projects rose to $20 billion in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which works with countries around the world to forge energy policy.

Given the urgency of the situation, many people argue that CCUS is necessary to move society toward climate goals. But critics don’t see the technology, in its current form, shifting the world away from oil and gas: In a lot of cases, they point out, the captured CO2 is used to extract more fossil fuels in a process known as enhanced oil recovery. They contend that other existing solutions such as renewable energy offer deeper and quicker CO2 emissions cuts. “It’s better not to emit in the first place,” says Grant Hauber, an energy finance adviser at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a nonpartisan organization in Lakewood, Ohio.

What’s more, fossil fuel companies provide funds to universities and researchers—which some say could shape what is studied and what is not, even if the work of individual scientists is legitimate. For these reasons, some critics say CCUS shouldn’t be pursued at all.

“Carbon capture and storage essentially perpetuates fossil fuel reliance. It’s a distraction and a delay tactic,” says Jennie Stephens, a climate justice researcher at Northeastern University in Boston. She adds that there is little focus on understanding the psychological, social, economic, and political barriers that prevent communities from shifting away from fossil fuels and forging solutions to those obstacles.

According to the Global CCS Institute, an industry-led think tank headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, of the 41 commercial projects operational as of July 2023, most were part of efforts that produce, extract, or burn fossil fuels, such as coal- and gas-fired power plants. That’s true of the Sleipner project, run by the energy company Equinor. It’s the case, too, with the world’s largest CCUS facility, operated by ExxonMobil in Wyoming, in the United States, which also captures CO2 as part of the production of methane.

Granted, not all CCUS efforts further fossil fuel production, and many projects now in the works have the sole goal of capturing and locking up CO2. Still, some critics doubt whether these greener approaches could ever lock away enough CO2 to meaningfully contribute to climate mitigation, and they are concerned about the costs.

Others are more circumspect. Sally Benson, an energy researcher at Stanford University, doesn’t want to see CCUS used as an excuse to carry on with fossil fuels. But she says the technology is essential for capturing some of the CO2 from fossil fuel production and usage, as well as from industrial processes, as society transitions to new energy sources. “If we can get rid of those emissions with carbon capture and sequestration, that sounds like success to me,” says Benson, who codirects an institute that receives funding from fossil fuel companies.

To help with climate change, carbon capture will have to evolve Read More »

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Court ordered penalties for 15 teens who created naked AI images of classmates

AI, ai child sex images, ai deepfakes, AI image generators, Artificial Intelligence, child sexual abuse materials, csam, face swapping, fake AI images, generative ai, nudity apps, Policy / /

Real consequences —

Teens ordered to attend classes on sex education and responsible use of AI.

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Court ordered penalties for 15 teens who created naked AI images of classmates

A Spanish youth court has sentenced 15 minors to one year of probation after spreading AI-generated nude images of female classmates in two WhatsApp groups.

The minors were charged with 20 counts of creating child sex abuse images and 20 counts of offenses against their victims’ moral integrity. In addition to probation, the teens will also be required to attend classes on gender and equality, as well as on the “responsible use of information and communication technologies,” a press release from the Juvenile Court of Badajoz said.

Many of the victims were too ashamed to speak up when the inappropriate fake images began spreading last year. Prior to the sentencing, a mother of one of the victims told The Guardian that girls like her daughter “were completely terrified and had tremendous anxiety attacks because they were suffering this in silence.”

The court confirmed that the teens used artificial intelligence to create images where female classmates “appear naked” by swiping photos from their social media profiles and superimposing their faces on “other naked female bodies.”

Teens using AI to sexualize and harass classmates has become an alarming global trend. Police have probed disturbing cases in both high schools and middle schools in the US, and earlier this year, the European Union proposed expanding its definition of child sex abuse to more effectively “prosecute the production and dissemination of deepfakes and AI-generated material.” Last year, US President Joe Biden issued an executive order urging lawmakers to pass more protections.

In addition to mental health impacts, victims have reported losing trust in classmates who targeted them and wanting to switch schools to avoid further contact with harassers. Others stopped posting photos online and remained fearful that the harmful AI images will resurface.

Minors targeting classmates may not realize exactly how far images can potentially spread when generating fake child sex abuse materials (CSAM); they could even end up on the dark web. An investigation by the United Kingdom-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) last year reported that “20,254 AI-generated images were found to have been posted to one dark web CSAM forum in a one-month period,” with more than half determined most likely to be criminal.

IWF warned that it has identified a growing market for AI-generated CSAM and concluded that “most AI CSAM found is now realistic enough to be treated as ‘real’ CSAM.” One “shocked” mother of a female classmate victimized in Spain agreed. She told The Guardian that “if I didn’t know my daughter’s body, I would have thought that image was real.”

More drastic steps to stop deepfakes

While lawmakers struggle to apply existing protections against CSAM to AI-generated images or to update laws to explicitly prosecute the offense, other more drastic solutions to prevent the harmful spread of deepfakes have been proposed.

In an op-ed for The Guardian today, journalist Lucia Osborne-Crowley advocated for laws restricting sites used to both generate and surface deepfake pornography, including regulating this harmful content when it appears on social media sites and search engines. And IWF suggested that, like jurisdictions that restrict sharing bomb-making information, lawmakers could also restrict guides instructing bad actors on how to use AI to generate CSAM.

The Malvaluna Association, which represented families of victims in Spain and broadly advocates for better sex education, told El Diario that beyond more regulations, more education is needed to stop teens motivated to use AI to attack classmates. Because the teens were ordered to attend classes, the association agreed to the sentencing measures.

“Beyond this particular trial, these facts should make us reflect on the need to educate people about equality between men and women,” the Malvaluna Association said. The group urged that today’s kids should not be learning about sex through pornography that “generates more sexism and violence.”

Teens sentenced in Spain were between the ages of 13 and 15. According to the Guardian, Spanish law prevented sentencing of minors under 14, but the youth court “can force them to take part in rehabilitation courses.”

Tech companies could also make it easier to report and remove harmful deepfakes. Ars could not immediately reach Meta for comment on efforts to combat the proliferation of AI-generated CSAM on WhatsApp, the private messaging app that was used to share fake images in Spain.

An FAQ said that “WhatsApp has zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation and abuse, and we ban users when we become aware they are sharing content that exploits or endangers children,” but it does not mention AI.

Court ordered penalties for 15 teens who created naked AI images of classmates Read More »

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Three betas in, iOS 18 testers still can’t try out Apple Intelligence features

AI, Apple, ios 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15, macos sequoia, Sequoia, Tech / /

intel inside? —

Apple has said some features will be available to test “this summer.”

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Three betas in, iOS 18 testers still can’t try out Apple Intelligence features

Apple

The beta-testing cycle for Apple’s latest operating system updates is in full swing—earlier this week, the third developer betas rolled out for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15 Sequoia, and the rest of this fall’s updates. The fourth developer beta ought to be out in a couple of weeks, and it’s reasonably likely to coincide with the first betas that Apple offers to the full public (though the less-stable developer-only betas got significantly more public last year when Apple stopped making people pay for a developer account to access them).

Many of the new updates’ features are present and available to test, including cosmetic updates and under-the-hood improvements. But none of Apple’s much-hyped Apple Intelligence features are available to test in any form. MacRumors reports that Settings menus for the Apple Intelligence features have appeared in the Xcode Simulator for current versions of iOS 18 but, as of now, those settings still appear to be non-functional placeholders that don’t actually do anything.

That may change soon; Apple did say that the first wave of Apple Intelligence features would be available “this summer,” and I would wager a small amount of money on the first ones being available in the public beta builds later this month. But the current state of the betas does reinforce reporting from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that suggested Apple was “caught flat-footed” by the tech world’s intense interest in generative AI.

Even when they do arrive, the Apple Intelligence features will be rolled out gradually. Some will be available earlier than others—Gurman recently reported that the new Siri, specifically, might not be available for testing until January and might not actually be ready to launch until sometime in early 2025. The first wave of features will only work in US English, and only relatively recent Apple hardware will be capable of using most of them. For now, that means iPads and Macs with an M-series chip, or the iPhone 15 Pro, though presumably this year’s new crop of Pro and non-Pro iPhones will all be Apple Intelligence-compatible.

Apple’s relatively slow rollout of generative AI features isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Look at Microsoft, which has been repeatedly burned by its desire to rush AI-powered features into its Bing search engine, Edge browser, and Windows operating system. Windows 11’s Recall feature, a comprehensive database of screenshots and text tracking everything that users do on their PCs, was announced and then delayed multiple times after security researchers and other testers demonstrated how it could put users’ personal data at risk.

Three betas in, iOS 18 testers still can’t try out Apple Intelligence features Read More »

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Elon Musk beats one lawsuit seeking severance for laid-off Twitter employees

musk twitter severance, Policy / /

Xed out —

Losing plaintiffs may be able to join one of the other lawsuits against X Corp.

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A large X placed on top of the building used by the company formerly known as Twitter.

Enlarge / An X sign at company headquarters in San Francisco.

Getty Images | Bloomberg

A federal judge yesterday granted Elon Musk’s motion to dismiss a class-action complaint alleging that laid-off Twitter employees were wrongfully denied the severance they were entitled to under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

The employees may be able to latch onto another lawsuit against Twitter that alleges different severance-related violations, but their claim under ERISA was denied by US District Judge Trina Thompson in the Northern District of California.

“Plaintiffs are not without recourse,” Thompson wrote, noting that they may benefit from similar cases ongoing against the Musk-owned firm. “Indeed, there are other cases brought against Twitter for the failure to pay wages or provide employee severance benefits during the same or overlapping period that Plaintiffs allege Defendants denied them and the putative class sufficient severance benefits under the severance plan at issue here.”

The putative class action that was denied yesterday was filed last year by former Twitter employees Courtney McMillian and Ronald Cooper, who were offered one month of severance pay. They claim that the “severance Twitter has offered to date is a fraction of what employees are entitled to as Plan participants,” and they wanted to represent a class defined as all participants in the severance plan who were terminated from Twitter after Musk bought the company in October 2022. They alleged that “terminated employees remain entitled to no less than $500 million.” That would be the total amount allegedly due to thousands of ex-employees laid off after the Musk buyout.

Twitter, now X Corp., claimed that the company did not maintain a severance plan governed by ERISA. Plaintiffs claimed that for several years before the Musk takeover, there was a “formalized policy” and pointed to “documents that provide a uniform and detailed policy framework for the numerous post-termination benefits Twitter provided to employees.” Plaintiffs said employees were promised severance based on the reason of departure, length of tenure, job level, department, issuance of stock units, and other factors.

No discretion

To be governed by ERISA, a severance plan must be an “ongoing administrative program for processing claims and paying benefits.” The Twitter plan doesn’t qualify, Thompson wrote in an order granting Musk’s motion to dismiss.

A severance plan with a single lump sum payment can be governed by ERISA under certain conditions, Thompson wrote. Under a precedent cited by plaintiffs, a severance plan can be covered by ERISA if lump-sum payments are based on a discretionary analysis performed on a case-by-case basis.

“Here, by contrast, Twitter paid and offered to pay severance payments based on basic employment criteria that involved mathematical calculations, which does not involve a ‘case-by-case’ analysis or ‘discretionary application’ of the Twitter severance benefits’ terms,” Thompson wrote. “Twitter’s payments were ‘fixed, due at known times, and [did] not depend on contingencies outside the employee’s control.'”

Thompson found that the relevant severance plan is the one applied after the Musk takeover. She wrote that “the operative complaint’s facts do not show that there was any discretion required in determining which employees were eligible because all employees qualified for the severance plan upon termination due to the acquisition and subsequent merger.”

There was also no discretion in bonuses for laid-off employees “because there was a formula for calculating severance payments that staff could apply before issuing payment.” Thompson dismissed the ERISA claims and said that any attempt to amend those claims “would be futile.”

Other severance lawsuits still alive

Plaintiffs can file an amended complaint but only for non-ERISA claims, such as breach of contract or promissory estoppel. An amended complaint may “state claims based on the deficient severance benefits offered or provided to terminated employees pursuant to the severance plan that applied due to the 2022 and 2023 mass layoffs,” Thompson wrote.

If plaintiffs go that route, “this Court will consider issuing an Order finding this case related to one of the cases currently pending, such as Cornet,” Thompson wrote. If the case is found to be related to Cornet, it could be transferred to the District of Delaware, where Cornet is being heard.

The Cornet v. Twitter lawsuit alleges violations of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The lawsuit says that Twitter did not give all employees the required 60 days’ advance written notice before layoffs and that Twitter did not give payments in lieu of the notice.

Both cases concern Twitter’s allegedly “deficient severance payments following mass layoffs in November 2022, December 2022, February 2023, and September 2023,” Thompson noted.

In addition to alleged WARN Act violations, the Cornet suit claims that Twitter violated promises made during the months before Musk completed the acquisition. As Thompson wrote, the “Cornet plaintiffs assert contract-based claims for severance benefits on behalf of a nationwide putative class of X Corp employees and former employees that had been promised that ‘if there were layoffs, employees would receive benefits and severance at least as favorable as the benefits and severance that Twitter previously provided to employees.'”

In September 2023, Musk’s X Corp. agreed to settlement talks on arbitration claims from about 2,000 employees laid off after the sale. However, the talks didn’t end in a deal, and the severance lawsuits continue.

Elon Musk beats one lawsuit seeking severance for laid-off Twitter employees Read More »