NerdNews

Microsoft is developing its own AI models to compete with OpenAI and is testing models from xAI and Meta, signaling a potential end to their partnership. Microsoft's Copilot has received poor reception due to high costs and limited results, leading the company to explore alternative AI solutions.

The article discusses how AI is changing the nature of knowledge work, shifting skills from creation to oversight and evaluation. It draws parallels with historical technological advancements, such as the printing press and GPS, to argue that while AI may disrupt certain skills, it will also unlock new capabilities and enable humans to focus on higher-level tasks.

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, and Drexel University have found that cheap stickers stuck on stop and speed limit signs can trick self-driving cars into doing the wrong thing. The team used existing academic attacks and evaluated them against commercial systems used in cars, finding that low-cost methods can make signs undetectable or add fake signs. The study highlights the vulnerability of self-driving cars to physical-world adversarial attacks.

A massive botnet called Eleven11bot, comprising around 30,000 webcams and video recorders, has been delivering record-size DDoS attacks, with the largest concentration of infected devices in the US. The botnet is believed to be a variant of the Mirai malware and has been observed delivering attacks of up to 6.5 terabits per second.

A new report by SoSafe found that 87% of security professionals reported AI-driven cyber-attacks in the last year, with 91% expecting a surge in AI-driven threats over the next three years. The report highlights the challenges in detecting these attacks, with only 26% of respondents expressing high confidence in their detection abilities. AI is being used to scale the sophistication and personalization of cyber-attacks, making it harder for organizations to detect and react to these threats.

ReadySet is a streaming dataflow system for operational workloads, providing a transparent SQL caching solution with automated cache invalidation, reducing latency and improving performance. It uses a dataflow-based approach to represent SQL queries as computational graphs, allowing for incremental updates and efficient cache management.

Vercel Fluid is a new compute model that allows a single worker to handle multiple requests, preserving serverless elasticity. It maximizes compute time, optimizes footprint, and reduces costs. Fluid Compute introduces an API for tasks after HTTP responses and provides an observability dashboard.

OpenAI's 'PhD-level AI' refers to models that perform tasks requiring doctoral-level expertise, such as advanced research and complex code debugging. The company's o3 models have shown strong capabilities on benchmarks, but questions remain about their real-world value and potential for introducing errors. A rumored $20,000 monthly tier has sparked debate about the cost and value of such AI systems.

A federal judge has denied Elon Musk's request to halt OpenAI's transition to a for-profit, but expressed concerns about the company's planned conversion. Musk's lawsuit accuses OpenAI of abandoning its nonprofit mission to ensure AI research benefits all humanity. The judge's decision has given Musk and others who oppose OpenAI's for-profit conversion reasons to be hopeful, with a potential expedited trial in the fall of 2025.

Anthropic has released Claude 3.7 Sonnet, a hybrid AI model, and Claude Code, an agentic coding tool. The model combines standard and extended thinking modes, allowing for rapid responses and in-depth reasoning. Claude Code enables engineers to delegate tasks in their terminal, with capabilities such as explaining codebases, implementing functionality, and testing code. The tools have impressed users with their power and potential, but also require careful prompting and context to avoid hallucinations.

MWC 2025 has seen announcements from Samsung, Nothing, Lenovo, Xiaomi, and more, including new laptops, phones, and concept devices. Lenovo revealed upgraded ThinkPads and concept models, while Samsung showed off its latest midrange and budget phones. Nothing debuted its Phone 3a Pro and Phone 3a, and Xiaomi introduced the Leica-powered Xiaomi 15 Ultra. Google also announced new AI-powered features for Android.

The Justice Department has ruled that Google will have to break up its business, including selling the Chrome browser, due to its monopoly over the search industry. However, the company will be allowed to continue investing in artificial intelligence. The decision is part of an antitrust case against Google, which has been accused of abusing its market power.

The DARE project, backed by €240 million in funding, aims to develop three RISC-V chiplets for high-performance computing and AI workloads. The project is supported by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and coordinated by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. The goal is to achieve digital sovereignty in Europe by developing indigenous processor designs.

Broadcom's Q1 FY2025 results show 25% year-on-year growth, with 70% of its top 10,000 customers adopting its Cloud Foundation stack. The company is also working with seven hyperscalers on custom AI silicon and has seen a 77% year-on-year growth in AI-related products.

Microsoft discovered a malvertising campaign that downloaded malware hosted on GitHub, exposing nearly a million devices to information thieves. The campaign used pirate video streaming websites to embed malvertising redirectors, which led to GitHub-hosted malware. The malware gathered system configuration info and stole stored browser credentials. Additionally, phone cleaner apps are collecting and selling user data, and Singapore is considering caning scammers.

A newly discovered botnet, tracked as Eleven11bot, comprising an estimated 30,000 webcams and video recorders, has been delivering record-size DDoS attacks, with the largest concentration in the US. The botnet is likely a variant of the Mirai malware and has been observed delivering attacks of up to 6.5 terabits per second.

Apple's plans for a smart display have been delayed due to the postponement of its Siri AI upgrade. The device, which was rumored to be released early this year, relies on the delayed Siri capabilities and is expected to run on tvOS with support for native Apple apps.

Apple's smart home hub, which relies on new Siri features, has been delayed due to challenges with the virtual assistant. The device was expected to be released in March 2025, but its launch has been postponed to the 'coming year'. The hub will feature a 6-inch touchscreen and will be controlled by voice.

New Zealand's Health Department, with a $16 billion budget, relies on a single Excel spreadsheet for financial management, leading to errors and inefficiencies. A report highlights five major issues with the spreadsheet, including hard-coded financial information and susceptibility to human error. The department is considering implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to replace the spreadsheet.

Apple is working on AirPods with cameras to enhance Apple Intelligence features, potentially using infrared sensors for depth mapping and navigation, with a possible release in 2-3 years.