news aggregator

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A bill focused on maintaining long-term playable access to online games has passed out of the California Assembly's appropriations committee, setting up a floor vote by the full legislative body. The advancement is a major win for Stop Killing Games' grassroots game preservation movement and comes over the objections of industry lobbyists at the Entertainment Software Association. California's Protect Our Games Act, as currently written, would require digital game publishers who cut off support for an online game to either provide a full refund to players or offer an updated version of the game "that enables its continued use independent of services controlled by the operator." The act would also require publishers to notify players 60 days before the cessation of "services necessary for the ordinary use of the digital game." As currently amended, the act would not apply to completely free games and games offered "solely for the duration of [a] subscription. Any other game offered for sale in California on or after January 1, 2027, would be subject to the law if it passes. [...] In a formal statement of support for the bill sent to the California legislature, SKG wrote that "there is no other medium in which a product can be marketed and sold to a consumer and then ripped away without notice As live service games rise in popularity for game developers and gamers alike, end-of-life procedures are essential tools to ensure prolonged access to the games consumers pay to enjoy." The Entertainment Software Association, which helps represent the interests of major game publishers, publicly told the California Assembly last month that the bill misrepresents how modern game distribution actually works. "Consumers receive a license to access and use a game, not an unrestricted ownership interest in the underlying work," the ESA wrote. The eventual shutdown of outdated or obsolete games is "a natural feature of modern software," the group added, especially when that software requires online infrastructure maintenance. The ESA also said the bill would impose unreasonable expectations on publishers regarding licensing rights for music or IP rights, which are often negotiated on a time-limited basis. "A legal requirement to keep games playable indefinitely could place publishers in an impossible position -- forcing them to renegotiate licenses indefinitely or alter games in ways that may not be legally or technically feasible," they wrote.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

OpenAI is previewing a feature that lets ChatGPT Pro users connect bank and investment accounts through Plaid, allowing the chatbot to analyze spending, subscriptions, balances, portfolios, debt, and major financial decisions. "More than 200 million people are already going to ChatGPT every month with finance questions -- from budgeting to tips on how to cut back on spending," OpenAI said in its announcement. "Now, users can securely connect their financial accounts with Plaid to get the full view of their financial picture in the context of their personal goals, lifestyle, and priorities that they've shared with ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI's advanced reasoning capabilities." The Verge reports: When financial accounts are connected, OpenAI says that ChatGPT users can view a dashboard that details their spending history, including any active subscriptions. Users can also ask it to help with financial decisions like buying a house or signing up for credit cards and flag any changes in spending habits. This financial feature will be initially available to users in the US who subscribe to ChatGPT's $200-per-month Pro tier. "We'll learn and improve from early use before rolling it out to Plus, with the goal of making it available to everyone," says OpenAI. To assuage concerns, OpenAI promises users "control over their data," including the ability to disconnect their bank accounts from ChatGPT at any time, though the company has up to 30 days to delete your data from its systems. You can also view and delete "financial memories" like goals or financial obligations saved by the chatbot. User control extends to whether your data is fed back into AI models -- users can enable the option to "Improve the model for everyone" to allow financial data in their ChatGPT conversations to be used for training AI, for example. OpenAI also says ChatGPT can't make any changes to your bank accounts or see "full account numbers."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft has laid out plans for how it and its partners will deal with iffy drivers causing stability problems in the company's flagship operating system. Dubbed the Driver Quality Initiative (DQI), Microsoft has outlined four pillars to support the program. These are Architecture – hardening kernel-mode drivers and enabling third-party kernel-mode drivers to transition to user mode; Trust – raising the bar for trusted partners and drivers; Lifecycle – addressing outdated and low-quality drivers; and Quality Measures – going beyond simple crash counts to measure driver quality. It's all very laudable, although, aside from references in the architecture pillar, Microsoft's WinHEC 2026 announcement said little about how Redmond ended up in a situation where drivers can run at a privilege level that allows a failure to leave the operating system hopelessly borked. The infamous CrowdStrike incident of 2024, which crashed millions of Windows devices, ably demonstrated the dangers of drivers running around in the Windows kernel. Microsoft later blamed a 2009 undertaking with the European Commission for how that situation came to be, although it skipped over the whole not-creating-an-API-so-security-vendors-didn't-need-kernel-access part. In the months after the CrowdStrike incident (or "learnings", as Microsoft delicately put it), the Windows Resiliency Initiative was announced. According to Microsoft, "DQI builds on the learnings and infrastructure established through the Windows Resiliency Initiative." Drivers are the bane of many Windows users. A faulty driver can make the entire operating system unstable. Sure, a customer might wonder how such a situation has been allowed to happen. Still, we are where we are, and dealing with it requires Microsoft to harden the operating system and provide ways for vendors to work with Windows that don't involve breaking down the kernel's doors. Those same vendors need to ensure that drivers are high-quality and reliable. "Driver and platform quality," wrote Microsoft, "is central to the customer experience." The company has espoused much in recent months about how it intends to "fix" Windows after a disastrous few years that have taken a hatchet to consumer confidence. Fripperies like moving the taskbar and rethinking Redmond's relentless pushing of Copilot are one thing. Dealing with driver-related crashes is quite another. WinHEC 2026 has shown that at least some within Microsoft are determined to deal with the fundamentals, and that requires taking the Windows maker's hardware partners along for the ride. ®

ArXiv says it will ban authors for one year if they submit papers containing AI-generated slop, such as hallucinated citations, placeholder text, or chatbot meta-comments left in the manuscript. "If generative AI tools generate inappropriate language, plagiarized content, biased content, errors, mistakes, incorrect references, or misleading content, and that output is included in scientific works, it is the responsibility of the author(s)," said Thomas Dietterich, chair of the computer science section of ArXiv, on X. "We have recently clarified our penalties for this. If a submission contains incontrovertible evidence that the authors did not check the results of LLM generation, this means we can't trust anything in the paper." 404 Media reports: Examples of incontrovertible evidence, he wrote, include "hallucinated references, meta-comments from the LLM ('here is a 200 word summary; would you like me to make any changes?'; 'the data in this table is illustrative, fill it in with the real numbers from your experiments.'" "The penalty is a 1-year ban from arXiv followed by the requirement that subsequent arXiv submissions must first be accepted at a reputable peer-reviewed venue," Dietterich wrote. Dietterich told [404 Media] in an email on Friday morning that this is a one-strike rule -- meaning authors caught just once including AI slop in submissions will be banned -- but that decisions will be open to appeal. "I want to emphasize that we only apply this to cases of incontrovertible evidence," he said. "I should also add that our internal process requires first a moderator to document the problem and then for the Section Chair to confirm before imposing the penalty."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google is testing a storage reduction for new accounts unless a phone number is provided. The change the Chocolate Factory is trialing affects new accounts, reducing the free storage from 15 GB to a miserly 5 GB unless the user provides a telephone number. Not all new users are impacted. We created a Gmail account today, and were given the full 15 GB of storage without being required to provide a phone number (although it did ask for one for activation code purposes). The test is also regional and, it must be emphasized, is just that at this stage – a test. However, it could point to a future where tech vendors demand more data in return for using a 'free' service. Arguably, we're living in that future right now. A Google spokesperson told The Register: "We're testing a new storage policy for new accounts created in select regions that will help us continue to provide a high quality storage service to our users, while encouraging users to improve their account security and data recovery." A Reddit thread on the matter contained all manner of theories regarding what the data might be used for, including nefarious commercial purposes. Judging by the screenshot, Google is trying to curb people who create multiple accounts to gain more storage. 15 GB is not a lot of storage these days, particularly given the relentless growth in media file sizes. That said, a drop to 5 GB would bring Google into line with Apple, which gives customers the same amount unless they upgrade to iCloud+. Microsoft gives users 15 GB of free Outlook.com storage, and Proton Mail's free tier gives users 1 GB (initially 500 MB until a starting checklist is completed). Should the test become reality, it could be seen as yet another step on a worrying path. Sure, you can have more free storage: sign here and agree to hand over these bits of your personal information. As demand for storage increases, vendor offerings are looking ever more miserly, and a cut from Google, even with the best of intentions, will rankle. Then again, if you are concerned about privacy and your personal information being used for commercial purposes, it could be that, for all its convenience, Gmail might not be the right tool for you. Reducing storage to 5 GB for new users (existing users aren't affected) unless a telephone number is handed over might be the nudge that some users need to look elsewhere for their email needs. ®

Longtime Slashdot reader sinij shares a report from Car and Driver: A group of Michigan lawmakers has introduced a bill in Congress that would effectively place a permanent ban on Chinese connected vehicles from being sold in the United States. While an executive order signed by Joe Biden in early 2025 already imposed heavy restrictions, the new bill would codify and expand on the ban, as first reported by Autoweek and explained in a release by the House of Representatives Select Committee on China. The bill, titled the Connected Vehicle Security Act, was co-signed by John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican, and Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat. It joins a companion version of the same Connected Vehicle Security Act introduced last month to the Senate by Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat. While the wording is similar to that found in former President Biden's January 2025 executive order, the new bill would codify the language into law, as well as determine rules for compliance and enforcement. Specifically, the new bill would restrict Chinese automakers from selling passenger cars in the United States if those vehicles contain any China-developed connectivity software. Officially, the bill covers the sale of vehicles from states deemed "foreign adversary countries," which include China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. The proposed legislation arrives as Chinese automakers including Chery, Geely, and BYD (maker of the 2026 BYD Dolphin Surf, shown above), continue to rise in prominence in foreign markets around the world. "Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons," comments sinij. "Connected cars that spy on consumers are not a uniquely Chinese problem and should be addressed for all vehicles."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Electrek: Honda is waving the white flag. The Japanese automaker previewed two new hybrids set to launch by 2028 after taking an over $9 billion hit over its failed EV bet, leading to its biggest loss in company history. Honda admitted it was "unable to deliver products that offer value for money better than that of new EV manufacturers, resulting in a decline in competitiveness," after suddenly announcing plans to cancel three new EVs in the US in March, warning restructuring costs could reach 2.5 trillion yen ($15.7 billion). After posting its first annual loss since it became a publicly traded company in 1957 on Thursday, Honda's CEO Toshihiro Mibe revealed the company's comeback plans. Honda is no longer planning to phase out gas-powered vehicles by 2040. Instead, Honda now aims "to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050," including a mix of EVs, hybrids, carbon-neutral fuels, and carbon-offset tech. Starting next year, Honda plans to begin introducing its next-gen hybrids, underpinned by a new hybrid system and platform. Honda said it aims to improve fuel economy by over 10% in its upcoming hybrids. The new system is expected to help cut costs by over 30% compared to Honda's current hybrid system. By the end of the decade, Honda plans to launch 15 new hybrid models globally. In North America, its most important market, the company will introduce larger hybrids in the D-segment or above. Honda previewed two of the new hybrids during the business update: the Honda Hybrid Sedan Prototype and the Acura Hybrid SUV Prototype, which the company said will go on sale within the next two years.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

More than two years after launch, NASA's Psyche mission will whizz past Mars on May 15, using the planet's gravity to tweak its trajectory and accelerate on to its asteroid destination. The spacecraft, which was launched on October 13, 2023, will pass just 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) above the surface of the red planet at 12,333 mph (19,848 kph) on its way to the metal-rich asteroid, Psyche. In February, the spacecraft's thrusters were fired for 12 hours to refine its approach to Mars. That refinement played its part in today's flyby. However, it won't be until a Doppler shift is recorded in the signals from the spacecraft as it passes Mars that scientists will be able to definitively confirm its new speed and trajectory. These techniques are not new. Gravity assist maneuvers have been a thing since the dawn of the space age, and were theorized long before. One of the most famous beneficiaries is the Voyager mission, which took advantage of a rare planetary alignment to undertake a "Grand Tour" of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The trajectory allowed significant propellant to be saved. And, of course, the use of gravity assists highlights the work undertaken by boffins in trajectory planning to calculate exactly how a spacecraft should be launched and what corrections are needed to achieve the required precision. Psyche is due to reach its destination in 2029, and the Mars flyby will allow scientists to check out the spacecraft's payload. For example, the multispectral imager will capture thousands of observations of Mars. According to NASA, Sarah Bairstow, Psyche's mission planning lead at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said: "This is our first opportunity in flight to calibrate Psyche's imager with something bigger than a few pixels, and we’ll also make observations with the mission's other science instruments." A bit of bonus science is always welcome, as well as a rehearsal for the main event, when Psyche reaches its destination. "Ultimately, though, the only reason for this flyby is to get a little help from Mars to speed us up and tilt our trajectory in the direction of the asteroid Psyche," said Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator for Psyche at the University of California, Berkeley. "But if all our instruments are powered up, and we can do important testing and calibration of the science instruments, that would be the icing on the cake." ®

AI monger Anthropic wants America and its allies to tighten measures aimed at curbing China's AI progress, warning of the consequences if "authoritarian governments" take the lead rather than Uncle Sam. In a lengthy missive posted on its website, the San Francisco-based org says it expects AI to deliver "transformational economic and societal impacts" in the coming years, and whether the transition goes well depends on where the most capable systems are built first. Since the technology is advancing swiftly, democratic countries have only a limited time in which to act, Anthropic believes. The measures it wants to see are nothing new: enforcing tighter export controls on chips used for AI development, such as Nvidia's GPUs, and cutting off access to American AI models. Recent history suggests these controls "have been incredibly successful," it says. But if Chinese researchers are only several months behind the US in AI capabilities, as many experts estimate, how successful can those efforts have been? AI labs in China have only built models that come close to those in America because of their talent and their knack for exploiting loopholes to get around export controls, Anthropic claims, along with distillation attacks that "illicitly extract the innovations of American companies." Many will suspect this is Anthropic's chief motivation in calling for action against China. Back in February, the Claude model maker accused China-based rivals including DeepSeek of using distillation to train their models by siphoning knowledge from Anthropic's own. As The Register pointed out at the time, accusing China of copying, while using content created by others to train your own models, shows a staggering lack of self-awareness from the AI industry. Anthropic's sermon also shows blinkered thinking. It implies that China can only advance by riding on America's coattails, and is incapable of innovating. This is despite the shockwaves generated by the release of the DeepSeek R1 model early in 2025, believed to be on a par with the best US models. Numerous reports also indicate that Chinese organizations have made huge strides with domestically developed AI silicon, and Beijing even tried to discourage tech companies in the country from buying and using Nvidia chips. Anthropic sets out two scenarios for what the world could look like in 2028, a date when it expects "transformative AI systems" to have emerged. In the first scenario, America has "successfully defended its compute advantage," and "democracies set the rules and norms around AI." The second has China overtaking the US, leading to AI norms and rules being shaped by authoritarian regimes, with the best models enabling "automated repression at scale." Another problem with Anthropic's plan is that many countries, especially in Europe, view both American and Chinese AI supremacy as a threat to democracy. There is a concerted push in Europe for "digital sovereignty" to minimize reliance on US technology, for example. Others warn it could erode democracy in America itself. Anthropic can draw little comfort from the Trump administration, which has a constantly shifting attitude to China. Export controls were said not to be high on the agenda during the President's trip to Beijing this week, and it was reported that the US has now cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia's second-most powerful AI chip, the H200. ®

Microsoft has confirmed a vulnerability in on-premises Exchange Server that could result in surprise script execution in victims' browsers. Tracked as CVE-2026-42897, the flaw affects Outlook Web Access (OWA) and can be triggered by a specially crafted email opened in OWA, assuming "certain interaction conditions are met." The prize for attackers is arbitrary JavaScript execution in the mark's browser context. The advisory describes the flaw as a spoofing vulnerability stemming from cross-site scripting, which will set alarm bells ringing for administrators, and it appears the vulnerability is being exploited. The bug was assigned a CVSS score of 8.1. Exchange Server 2016, 2019, and the latest version, Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE), are all affected regardless of their update level. A mitigation has been released via the Exchange Emergency Mitigation (EM) Service. However, Microsoft warned the mitigation might break other things – inline images might stop working in the recipient's OWA reading pane (use attachments instead) and the OWA Print Calendar functionality might not work (use a screenshot or the Outlook Desktop client). Finally, OWA Light might not work properly. Microsoft deprecated this in 2024, so affected users should consider an upgrade. The mitigation can also be applied manually in scenarios where customers are not using the EM service. These might be disconnected or air-gapped environments – exactly the sort of environments where on-premises Exchange tends to linger. Microsoft is working on a full security update, although only the Exchange SE version will be publicly available. Exchange 2016 and 2019 customers will receive it only if enrolled in Period 2 of the Exchange Server Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. The second period of Exchange Server ESU kicked off this month, with Microsoft sternly warning that there would be no extensions past its end. The vulnerability does not affect Exchange Online. Microsoft has not given any details on how the exploit works, nor how widely it is being exploited. ®

Cisco admins face emergency patch duty after Switchzilla disclosed a max-severity make-me-admin bug affecting Catalyst SD-WAN Controller and Manager. Switchzilla dropped an advisory for CVE-2026-20182 (10.0) on Thursday, saying that both components, formerly known as vSmart and vManage, were vulnerable in all deployment types, and that fixes were available. The bug allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain admin privileges on an affected system. According to Rapid7, whose researchers Stephen Fewer and Jonah Burgess found the vulnerability, attackers exploiting CVE-2026-20182 could then start issuing arbitrary NETCONF commands. It means they could steal data, intercept traffic, manipulate an organization's firewall rules, or just bring the network down, opening up opportunities for attackers of all stripes: state-backed, financially motivated, hacktivists – you name it. Offering a high-level overview of the vulnerability, Cisco said: "This vulnerability exists because the peering authentication mechanism in an affected system is not working properly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted requests to the affected system. "A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to an affected Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller as an internal, high-privileged, non-root user account. Using this account, the attacker could access NETCONF, which would then allow the attacker to manipulate network configuration for the SD-WAN fabric." Cisco confirmed that, in May 2026, it became aware that CVE-2026-20182 had been exploited as a zero-day, although it did not attribute the activity. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) also added CVE-2026-20182 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, which is reserved for the security flaws that are both actively being exploited and threaten federal agencies. The US cyber agency gave Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies just three days to apply Cisco's patches. While CISA has set similarly short deadlines before, they are rare and typically reserved for vulnerabilities deemed especially urgent. There was no word of the bug being exploited in ransomware attacks. Cisco said in its advisory there are no workarounds available, and it "strongly recommends" applying the available fixes. Any admin responsible for their org's Cisco SD-WAN system should hunt through their logs, Cisco said, and be aware that indicators of compromise may appear among otherwise normal-looking operational logs. Specifically, they should be auditing the auth.log file at /var/log/auth.log for entries related to Accepted publickey for vmanage-admin from unknown or unauthorized IP addresses. Then, check those IP addresses against the configured System IPs that are listed in the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager web UI, the vendor said. Cisco thanked the Rapid7 researchers, who first reported the vulnerability in early March after looking into a separate authentication bypass zero-day in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller (CVE-2026-20127, 10.0) from February. ®

A new Gallup survey found that 71% of Americans oppose having an AI data center built near them, making the facilities even less popular than nearby nuclear plants, which 53% oppose. The Register reports: When it comes to the reasons for opposing AI campuses, half of all respondents cite the effect on resources, with excess water usage and potential power grid constraints topping the list. Concern about loss of farmland and nature was surprisingly low, with just 7 percent mentioning this, but it is possible the scores are higher in rural areas. Quality-of-life concerns such as increased traffic were put forward by nearly a quarter, while a fifth mentioned higher utility bills. Many were worried about AI specifically: that it would replace human workers, that they don't trust it, that it is moving too fast, and that the industry needs regulating. Perhaps the latter sentiment is why President Trump appears to have shifted his own position on the need for AI regulations. Conversely, those in favor of datacenters cite economic benefits, with 55 percent mentioning increased job opportunities, and 13 percent saying it is because of increased tax revenues. [...] This being America in 2026, Gallup looked at how attitudes stack up depending on political affiliation. It found that Democrats, at 56 percent, are much more likely than Republicans to be strongly opposed to a server farm in their vicinity. But 39 percent of Republicans are also strongly opposed, while another 24 percent are somewhat averse to it, and only about a third are in favor. Gallup points out the contradiction: for AI usage to expand in the US, facilities that can handle the necessary computing power will have to be built. But most Americans appear to take a "not in my backyard" attitude to new bit barns, and that attitude has grown in strength.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Britain's media regulator has extracted a set of promises from X over illegal hate speech and terrorist content, suggesting that even "free speech absolutism" eventually meets a compliance department. Under commitments accepted by Ofcom, X said it will review and assess reports of suspected illegal terrorist and hate content from UK users within an average of 24 hours, with at least 85 percent handled within 48 hours through its dedicated UK reporting channel. The company also committed to engaging with external experts on how its reporting systems work, following several organizations' complaints that they were unclear whether reports submitted to X were even being received, let alone acted on. X also said it would withhold access in the UK to accounts operated by or on behalf of terrorist organizations proscribed in Britain if the accounts are reported for posting illegal terrorist content. Ofcom said X will now submit quarterly performance data over a 12-month period so the regulator can monitor whether the company is actually sticking to those promises. "Following intensive engagement carried out by Ofcom's online safety team, X have committed to implementing stronger protections for UK users, which we will now monitor closely," said Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom's Online Safety Group Director. "We have evidence that terrorist content and illegal hate speech is persisting on some of the largest social media sites. We are challenging them to tackle the problem and expect them to take firm action." The regulator launched a compliance investigation in December to examine whether major social media platforms have adequate systems to address illegal hate and terrorist material. Ofcom said evidence gathered alongside organizations including Tech Against Terrorism, Tell MAMA, and the Antisemitism Policy Trust pointed to illegal hate and terror content remaining visible across some of the internet's largest platforms. Ofcom said the issue was of "particular concern" following several recent antisemitic incidents and attacks on Jewish sites in Britain, including attacks in Manchester, Golders Green, and recent arson attempts in London. The watchdog also made clear this is not the end of its scrutiny of X, reminding the platform that Ofcom's separate investigation including issues related to Grok is ongoing and that it will continue to probe X's broader illegal content compliance systems. ®

Partner Content ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a global leading provider of integrated information and communication technology solutions, participated in GSMA M360 LATAM 2026. Ms. Chen Zhiping, Chief International Ecosystem Representative of ZTE, delivered a keynote speech entitled "Driving Future Business Model Restructuring — AI & Network Two-Way Integration" at the conference. Ms. Chen provided an in-depth analysis of the industrial value of the two-way integration of AI and networks, sharing ZTE's achievements in the Latin American market over the past two decades, its AI-Native network innovation practices, and its full-scenario intelligent solutions, helping Latin American operators complete their strategic upgrade from "connectivity providers" to "digital economy enablers". Facing the AI industry wave, ZTE released its global strategic vision in 2025: "All in AI, AI for All, Becoming a Leader in Connectivity and Intelligent Computing". Ms. Chen stated that this strategy is highly aligned with the core concepts of this GSMA Summit. In the future, ZTE will move beyond traditional network connectivity services, continuously upgrade its basic network capabilities, and comprehensively expand its AI and intelligent computing business layout. Through a two-way integration model of AI empowering the network and the network supporting AI, ZTE will reconstruct a new business model adapted to the AI era and activate new growth momentum for the Latin American digital economy. In terms of AI-enabled network upgrades, ZTE has pioneered the AI-Native network concept, deeply embedding AI capabilities into all network layers and processes to maximize network efficiency and optimize costs. In the wireless network field, ZTE's new 5G BBU integrates native intelligent computing capabilities, effectively improving the overall efficiency of hardware and software resources and increasing cell throughput by 20%. Simultaneously, by combining Super-N high-performance power amplifiers and AI intelligent optimization technology, equipment energy consumption is reduced by 38%. Currently, AAU and RRU products equipped with this technology have been deployed on a large scale in several Latin American countries, including Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru, with over 37,000 units deployed to date, saving local operators millions of dollars in electricity costs annually and achieving efficient, green, and intelligent network upgrades. Built upon AI-Native technology, the AIR Net advanced intelligent network solution enables commercial deployment of "autonomous driving" for networks, comprehensively revolutionizing operator operation and maintenance models and reducing overall TCO. This solution has already been commercially deployed in multiple locations globally. Currently, ZTE's intelligent network capabilities have obtained authoritative L4-level certification from the TM Forum, and its self-developed Co-Claw enterprise-level intelligent agent has been fully implemented internally, continuously improving network automation and intelligence levels and helping operators move towards advanced intelligent networks. In response to the complex and diverse network environment in Latin America, ZTE continues to implement scenario-based coverage solutions to bridge the regional digital divide. In indoor scenarios, ZTE has partnered with Chilean company Millicom to deploy the Qcell solution, achieving stable gigabit coverage throughout buildings. In remote rural scenarios, ZTE collaborates with Brazilian company Claro to implement the RuralPilot simplified rural network solution, addressing network coverage challenges in the vast Amazon region with its low cost and ease of maintenance. ZTE also offers a wide range of home coverage solutions, precisely matching the networking needs of different regions and scenarios in Latin America. Ms. Chen Zhiping stated that ZTE will continue to be rooted in the Latin American market, deepen the two-way integration and innovation of AI and networks, and continue to implement green, efficient, and intelligent full-stack ICT solutions to help local operators complete their strategic transformation, upgrade from traditional connectivity service providers to digital economy enablers, comprehensively meet the intelligent needs of industries and families in all scenarios, and work together to build a smart, inclusive, and sustainable new digital ecosystem in Latin America. Contributed by ZTE.

OpenAI says attackers behind the TanStack npm supply chain compromise stole internal credentials after reaching two employee devices, forcing the company to rotate signing certificates for several desktop products. The company disclosed this week that it had been caught up in the wider "Mini Shai-Hulud" campaign targeting npm ecosystems and developer infrastructure, though it said there was no evidence that customer data, production systems, or deployed software were compromised. OpenAI said the incident happened during a phased rollout of new supply chain security controls introduced after a previous Axios-related incident. According to the company, the two compromised employee devices had not yet received updated package management protections that would have blocked the malicious dependency. The attackers carried out "credential-focused exfiltration activity" against a limited set of internal repositories reachable from the affected employee machines, according to OpenAI. It said "only limited credential material was successfully exfiltrated from these code repositories." That was apparently enough to trigger a precautionary reset across multiple products. OpenAI is rotating the certificates used to sign macOS versions of ChatGPT Desktop, Codex App, Codex CLI, and Atlas, and is requiring users to update the affected software by June 12. The incident ties OpenAI to the increasingly messy supply chain campaign that has spent the past several weeks worming through npm ecosystems, CI/CD infrastructure, and GitHub Actions workflows. Security firm Socket linked the TanStack compromise to the broader "Mini Shai-Hulud" operation, which abused poisoned automation workflows and stolen publishing credentials to push malicious package updates into trusted software pipelines. Researchers tracking the wider Mini Shai-Hulud campaign have connected the activity to a threat group known as TeamPCP, which appears to have developed an unhealthy interest in poisoning npm ecosystems and rifling through developer credentials. TanStack confirmed this week that 84 malicious package versions spanning 42 @tanstack/* packages had been published after attackers compromised parts of its release infrastructure. The poisoned packages were designed largely to steal credentials, including GitHub tokens, cloud secrets, npm credentials, and CI/CD authentication material. The campaign appears linked to earlier Mini Shai-Hulud attacks involving SAP-related npm packages, suggesting the same credential-stealing operation is spreading across multiple developer ecosystems. OpenAI said it is continuing to investigate the incident and monitor for any downstream abuse tied to the stolen credentials. The reassuring news is that OpenAI says no production systems were breached. The less reassuring news is that attackers keep getting deeper into the software assembly line before anybody notices. ®

Partner Content In Indonesia, the magic of “Bumbu”, that perfect spice blend, creates unforgettable flavors. Today, in the digital world, an even grander "fusion" is taking place. Facing the challenge of unifying seperate networks across Indonesia's diverse geography, XLSMART partnered with ZTE on a landmark dual-network convergence project, integrating over 20,000 4G base stations and deploying more than 7,000 new 5G sites in just eight months. The initiative has launched the country's first nationwide 5G blanket coverage network, validated by Ookla as the fastest 5G network in H2 2025. Leveraging digital-intelligent tools and ecosystem collaboration, the project significantly enhanced coverage, capacity, and user experience for 73 million subscribers — turning complex delivery challenges into measurable gains in speed and efficiency. Fusion for the Future. Watch how the converged network is powering Indonesia's digital growth. Contributed by ZTE.

The British Army is to get 72 next-gen mobile artillery units, in the shape of a remote-controlled howitzer (RCH) module that mounts onto the Boxer armored vehicle already in service. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced a £1 billion ($1.35 billion) contract to provide the Army with a modern mobile system capable of providing artillery support against targets up to 70 km (44 miles) away. First deliveries of the RCH 155 units are expected in 2028, with a "minimum deployable capability" expected before the end of the decade. It follows a £52 million early capability demonstrator contract signed in December 2025. The RCH 155 is basically a 155 mm gun housed in a turreted artillery module mounted on the Boxer drive module. It is an auto-loading weapon, capable of firing eight rounds per minute. The unit features a fire control computer with integrated ballistics calculation, plus radio data transmission to a remote artillery control system. Boxer is an eight-wheeled (8x8), all-terrain vehicle designed to take a number of different bolt-on mission modules allowing it to fulfill various roles. The British Army has initially chosen just a few of these types, primarily the troop carrier variant, but also the ambulance module and command vehicle unit. According to the MoD, the barrel, breech, recoil system, and trunnions will be manufactured by German defense biz Rheinmetall at its large-caliber production facility in Telford, using British steel supplied by Sheffield Forgemasters. The Boxer drive modules/chassis, engine, and drivetrain that the weapon system sits on will be manufactured by the UK division of pan-European defense firm KNDS in Stockport. The Army is to receive a total of 623 of these. A new mobile artillery platform was needed to replace the UK's aging fleet of AS-90 self-propelled howitzers. These could easily be mistaken for a tank, thanks to their tracked chassis and turret-mounted gun. The last of these were donated to Ukraine over the past few years to help it fight Russia. The UK also procured a small number (14) of Archer mobile artillery systems as a stop-gap while a successor for AS-90 was selected. This is an automated 155 mm gun mounted on a 6x6 articulated truck chassis. "This major investment is defence delivering for the battlefield and for Britain's economy," said Defence Secretary John Healey MP. "By securing next-generation artillery with Germany, not only are we rearming to strengthen NATO against growing Russian aggression but also creating highly skilled jobs here in Britain." Ironically, Britain was one of the earliest partners in the Boxer joint venture, but withdrew from it in 2003 to focus on a different program, the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES). One strand of FRES eventually led to what is now known as the Ajax family of armored vehicles. You may have heard of it. The UK government announced it was rejoining the Boxer program in 2018 in order to meet its Mechanized Infantry Vehicle (MIV) requirement. ®

After years of turning public services into a maze of dead links, phone queues, and eligibility calculators, the UK government has unveiled the inevitable next step: an AI chatbot. The UK government on Friday announced the launch of "GOV.UK Chat," a generative AI assistant bolted into the GOV.UK app and trained on tens of thousands of pages of official guidance that Whitehall is boldly pitching as the "most comprehensive government-built chat tool in the world." Ministers say the system will help people navigate everything from maternity pay and retirement benefits to driving licenses and startup grants without having to dig through the bureaucratic swamp that is modern Britain. According to the government, some public sector call centers handle around 100,000 calls a day, which helps explain why ministers are suddenly very enthusiastic about citizens talking to software instead. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said people fed up with being stuck on hold should not have to spend hours wading through online guidance either, which sounds suspiciously like somebody inside government has finally used GOV.UK. "For too long, navigating government has felt like a full-time job," she said. "Whether you're a parent trying to find out what childcare you're entitled to, a first-time buyer working out which schemes you can access, or someone approaching retirement, you shouldn't have to spend time trawling through hundreds of web pages to get a straight answer." The rollout comes just months after polling showed plenty of Brits are already uneasy about AI spreading through public services. Concerns ranged from privacy and job losses to fears that dealing with the government will eventually mean getting stuck in an automated support maze when something important goes wrong. The government said human support will still be available alongside the chatbot, at least for the time being. Ministers are keen to stress that GOV.UK Chat is not deciding who gets benefits or owes tax. Right now, the system mostly pulls together existing guidance, calculators, and links from across GOV.UK rather than making decisions itself. Given Whitehall's uneven history with large technology projects, that's probably a wise decision. Still, it is not hard to see where this is heading. Today, the chatbot helps you find childcare support. A few years from now, it will probably be explaining why an algorithm flagged your wheelie bin for suspicious behavior. ®

British MPs are urging the government to tighten online safety laws, arguing social media companies should face the same kind of scrutiny as other products linked to serious harm. In a letter to Liz Kendall and Kanishka Narayan, shared with The Register, the UK's Science, Innovation and Technology Committee said there is now "strong and consistent evidence" linking social media use to harms affecting young people and warned that "no action is not an option." The committee, chaired by Chi Onwurah, said the current system leaves social media companies free to grow their youth user bases while avoiding meaningful responsibility for the subsequent fallout. "The status quo, where social media companies are neither accountable nor responsible for preventing harms, isn't acceptable," Onwurah said. "If any other consumer product caused these harms, it would've been recalled or changed." The intervention forms part of the government's "Growing up in the online world" consultation and follows a March evidence session examining arguments for and against restricting social media access for under-16s. The committee said it heard evidence from clinicians, bereaved parents, academics, child safety groups, and experts studying Australia's social media age limits, as well as accounts from young people and families concerned about harmful content and the effect social media is having on children's wellbeing. While the MPs stopped short of explicitly endorsing a blanket social media ban for teenagers, the letter makes clear the committee thinks ministers have spent too long relying on voluntary action from platforms whose business models still reward engagement above pretty much everything else. The committee said existing age restrictions should be properly enforced using "effective and privacy-preserving" age verification systems – rather than checks that can be bypassed by a drawn-on mustache – and called for stronger legal obligations requiring companies to filter illegal content and to block children from viewing harmful material. The letter also revisits the committee's earlier concerns about recommendation algorithms and how platforms deal with harmful and illegal posts, areas where MPs say previous proposals for reform went nowhere. MPs are now urging ministers to revisit those recommendations and bring forward fresh online safety legislation in the next parliamentary session. Particular attention was paid to algorithms and addictive design features. The committee argued that infinite scrolling and similar engagement mechanics should be designed out of platforms entirely, and warned that social media companies cannot keep pretending they are passive hosts while their recommendation systems actively shape what users see. The letter also warned that gaps in the UK's Online Safety Act mean some AI chatbots operating on closed databases currently fall outside the regime, something MPs said must be fixed before the next generation of online platforms disappears into yet another regulatory blind spot. ®

SpaceX has detailed major Starship V3 upgrades ahead of a launch targeted as early as May 19. The changes are meant to move Starship closer to its core goals: rapid reuse, Starlink deployment, orbital refueling, and eventually Moon and Mars missions. Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Teslarati: Here is an explicit, broken-down list of the key changes, first starting with the changes to Super Heavy V3: - Grid Fin Redesign: Reduced from four fins to three. Each fin is now 50% larger and stronger, repositioned for better catching and lifting performance. Fins are lowered on the booster to reduce heat exposure during hot staging, with hardware moved inside the fuel tank for protection. - Integrated Hot Staging: Eliminates the old disposable interstage shield. The booster dome is now directly exposed to upper-stage engine ignition, protected by tank pressure and steel shielding. Interstage actuators retract after separation. - New Fuel Transfer System: Massive redesign of the fuel transfer tube -- roughly the size of a Falcon 9 first stage -- enables simultaneous startup of all 33 Raptors for faster, more reliable flip maneuvers. - Engine Bay/Thermal Protection: Engine shrouds removed entirely; new shielding added between engines. Propulsion and avionics are more tightly integrated. CO? fire suppression system deleted for a simpler, lighter aft section. - Propellant Loading Improvements: Switched from one quick disconnect to two separate systems for added redundancy and reduced pad complexity. Next, we have the changes to Starship V3: - Completely Redesigned Propulsion System: Clean-sheet redesign supports new Raptor startup, larger propellant volume, and an improved reaction control system while reducing trapped or leaked propellant risk. - Aft Section Simplification: Fluid and electrical systems rerouted; engine shrouds and large aft cavity deleted. - Flap Actuation Upgrade: Changed from two actuators per flap to one actuator with three motors for better redundancy, mass efficiency, and lower cost. - Faster Starlink Deployment: Upgraded PEZ dispenser enables quicker satellite release. - Long-Duration Spaceflight Capability: New systems for long orbital coasts, orbital refueling, cryogenic fluid management, vacuum-insulated header tanks, and high-voltage cryogenic recirculation. - Ship-to-Ship Docking + Refueling: Four docking drogues and dedicated propellant transfer connections added to support in-space refueling architecture. - Avionics Upgrades: 60 custom avionics units with integrated batteries, inverters, and high-voltage systems (9 MW peak power). New multi-sensor navigation for precision autonomous flight. RF sensors measure propellant in microgravity. ~50 onboard camera views and 480 Mbps Starlink connectivity for low-latency communications. "Believe it or not, there's more," writes schwit1. "Two years ago, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever flown was Starship V1. Last year, it was Starship V2. V3 is about to become the biggest and most powerful rocket ever flown -- but don't worry, the company already has plans for V4."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.