September 14, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

🤖 Tech leaders meet senators for 'historic' talks on AI

🖥️ Dangerous new Mac malware steals credit card info

⚠️ Mysterious yellow line on highway confuses driver-assist tech

📱 Apple totally wasted the iPhone 15's biggest design change

UP FIRST

Tech leaders meet with U.S. senators for 'historic' talks on AI

The gathering on Capitol Hill was described as the 'first-of-its-kind closed-door summit on AI'

The bosses of big tech descended on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to discuss the issue of artificial intelligence with lawmakers, with a particular focus on the best way to regulate the technology without stifling innovation.

In attendance were notable names such as SpaceX and Tesla chief Elon Musk, who recently launched an AI-focused firm called xAI.

Also there were the leaders of Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta, as well as Sam Altman of OpenAI, which generated global interest in generative AI with the launch of its powerful ChatGPT chatbot in November.

The closed session was hosted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who welcomed other contributors such as lawmakers, and labor and civil rights leaders.

Reports suggested the meeting produced mixed results, though as he left, Musk said that the rare gathering “may go down in history as being very important for the future of civilization" ...

CYBERCRIME

Dangerous new Mac malware steals credit card info and more

This year has seen an 'explosion' of infostealer malware targeting the macOS platform, security firm SentinelOne said

A new malware strain has been discovered that’s designed to steal passwords, credit card data, and other sensitive information from those using Apple's Mac computers.

SentinelOne, the security firm that discovered the malware, has named it MetaStealer and said it's been tracking it for the last few months.

Research into the malware suggests those behind it appear to be targeting business owners using macOS operating systems. The ruse begins with the perpetrators posing as potential clients in order to earn trust before tricking the target into installing the malware.

SentinelOne said that MetaStealer often disguises itself as a PDF file, despite actually being a DMG installer. Its file names have included “AnimatedPoster.dmg,” “AdobeOfficialBriefDescription.dmg,” and “Advertising terms of reference (MacOS presentation).dmg,” all in an attempt to appear legitimate ...

AUTONOMOUS CARS

Mysterious yellow line on U.S. highway confuses driver-assist tech

Fully autonomous cars will have to safely manage unusual situations like this

Many cars on the road these days offer some degree of driver-assist technology, though the person behind the wheel still needs to remain aware of how that technology is responding to conditions on the road.

Take this yellow line that mysteriously appeared along a 22-mile stretch of Florida’s I-95 recently. It’s the same color as the one used for lines that split the shoulder from the lane of travel – but this one crosses the lanes several times.

Florida’s First Coast News tested the driver assist tech of a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek and had the lane departure alert beep seven times, with the system attempting to take control of the vehicle on one of those occasions.

Florida’s Department of Transportation is telling owners of cars with driver assist to turn it off when traveling along that stretch of highway until the line is cleaned up.

As for the paint – it's believed to have leaked out of the back of a truck ...

OPINION by Andy Boxall

Apple totally wasted the iPhone 15's biggest design change

The new iPhones come with a USB-C connector, so what new features did it bring? Sadly, not the one we wanted

The Apple iPhone 15, regardless of which model you buy, has a USB-C connector and not the old Lightning cable connector on the bottom.

This huge design change could have brought with it a truly new and exciting feature to the latest iPhone. But it’s as dreary and uninteresting as you’d expect a new cable and port to be, and that makes it a truly wasted opportunity.

When most people plug a cable into the port on the bottom of a phone, it’s to recharge the battery. When you do that with some Android phones, such as the OnePlus 11, it fires enough power into the cell to fully recharge it in less than 30 minutes.

Fast charging is the only reason the majority of people will ever care about the cable and port on a smartphone, and Apple had an amazing opportunity to introduce this transformative feature on the iPhone 15 models, but it decided not to do that ...

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