Canada-based University of Waterloo is racing to remove M&M-branded smart vending machines from campus after outraged students discovered the machines were covertly collecting face recognition data without their consent. The scandal started when a student using the alias SquidKid47 posted an image on Reddit showing a campus vending machine error message, “Invenda.Vending.FacialRecognitionApp.exe,” displayed after the… Continue reading A Vending Machine Error Revealed Secret Face Recognition Tech
Author: Wired Magazine
7 Best Theragun-Alternative Massage Guns (2024): Portable, Affordable, and Heat Therapy
Massage guns, also known as percussive therapy devices, help relax and soothe sore muscles and decrease recovery time, whether you’re an athlete or just hunching over a desk all day. Some even include heat and cold therapy. We’ve tested several across price ranges, and here you’ll find our favorites, plus some fun extras like a… Continue reading 7 Best Theragun-Alternative Massage Guns (2024): Portable, Affordable, and Heat Therapy
A Mysterious Leak Exposed Chinese Hacking Secrets
While the documents have now been removed from GitHub, where they were first posted, the identity and motivations of the person, or people, who leaked them remains a mystery. However, Chang says the documents appear to be real, a fact confirmed by two employees working for i-Soon, according to the Associated Press, which reported that… Continue reading A Mysterious Leak Exposed Chinese Hacking Secrets
Odysseus Marks the First US Moon Landing in More Than 50 Years
For the first time in more than half a century, a US-built spacecraft has made a soft landing on the moon. There was high drama and plenty of intrigue on Thursday evening as Intuitive Machines attempted to land its Odysseus spacecraft in a small crater not all that far from the south pole of the… Continue reading Odysseus Marks the First US Moon Landing in More Than 50 Years
Reddit Is Letting Power Users In on Its IPO. Not Everyone’s Buying
Reddit didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. Unwanted Offer Reddit’s investment offer to users is known as the Directed Share Program. “Because you have helped make Reddit what it is today, you now have the opportunity to become Reddit owners at the same price as institutional investors,” the company wrote… Continue reading Reddit Is Letting Power Users In on Its IPO. Not Everyone’s Buying
Here Are the Secret Locations of ShotSpotter Gunfire Sensors
Finding shell casings can be extremely difficult. A Los Angeles Police Department officer not authorized to speak to the media tells WIRED they’ve spent “hours” searching for bullet casings. Just because officers don’t find evidence of gunfire, they say, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. While SoundThinking says its alerts are reviewed by its Incident Review… Continue reading Here Are the Secret Locations of ShotSpotter Gunfire Sensors
Reddit’s IPO Filing Is Missing Something: Cofounder Alexis Ohanian
Advance, the owner of Condé, owns 30 percent of Reddit with other investors, board members, and employees holding the rest. Among them, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, an early user and investor in Reddit, has 8.7 percent of the company, according to Thursday’s filing. Some of Reddit’s power users in the US could join the ranks… Continue reading Reddit’s IPO Filing Is Missing Something: Cofounder Alexis Ohanian
Why Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ Has Taken Over TikTok
In her delightfully cheeky Verizon Super Bowl commercial, Beyoncé swore to do one thing: Break the internet. As the commercial demonstrated, she could not—at least not in the literal sense. Instead, after the commercial ended, she did something else: She hacked the internet, dropping two new songs, “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages,” the former… Continue reading Why Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ Has Taken Over TikTok
Intel’s AI Reboot Is the Future of US Chipmaking
Call it a comeback—with consequences not just for Intel but also the US government’s hopes of maintaining a lead in artificial intelligence. The troubled chipmaker’s CEO Pat Gelsinger announced today that Intel is relaunching and expanding its foundry business, which manufactures chip designs for other companies. Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella also appeared at the Intel… Continue reading Intel’s AI Reboot Is the Future of US Chipmaking
Gab’s Racist AI Chatbots Have Been Instructed to Deny the Holocaust
The prominent far-right social network Gab has launched almost 100 chatbots—ranging from AI versions of Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump to the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski—several of which question the reality of the Holocaust. Gab launched a new platform, called Gab AI, specifically for its chatbots last month, and has quickly expanded the number of “characters”… Continue reading Gab’s Racist AI Chatbots Have Been Instructed to Deny the Holocaust