Do What's Right.
This is a 1 hour introduction to Large Language Models (LLM), the core technical component behind systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Google’s Bard.
What they are, where they are headed, comparisons and analogies to present-day operating systems, and some of the security-related challenges of this new computing paradigm.
via The Guardian »
Speaking at the UN on 24 October, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres alleges “clear violations of international law” in Gaza and urges an immediate ceasefire as Israel pounds the Palestinian territory in response to Hamas attacks.
Appeals for a cease-fire dominated a UN Security Council meeting yesterday.
Israel has legal obligations under international law to abide by during its campaign against Hamas. Israel must not use starvation of Palestinian civilians as a weapon of war or for any reason.
Yet, Israeli officials called on the UN chief to resign after he said that Israel is responsible for “clear violations of international law” and that the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 “did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”
More » Financial Times
The UN chief Antonio Guterres’ unedited and full addresses to the Security Council on situation in the Middle East is also available.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said Palestinian civilians ‘must be protected’ during a speech to the UN security council on Tuesday.
Updated 2023.10.25
UN secretary general António Guterres said he was shocked by ‘misrepresentations’ of the speech he made on Tuesday at the UN security council in which he said Hamas’s attack on Israel ‘did not happen in a vacuum’. Israel called for his resignation after he made the speech and its ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, accused him of ‘justifying terrorism’.
Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) seeks to promote a more stable, peaceful, and just world by focusing on the important role women play in preventing conflict and building peace, growing economies, and addressing global threats like climate change and violent extremism.
This fourth edition of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index ranks and scores 177 countries on women’s status. The results show that countries where women are doing well are also more peaceful, democratic, prosperous, and better
prepared to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
This year, nine of the top ten best countries to be women are European, with Scandinavian countries leading the rankings. Denmark leads the 2023 rankings, scoring more than three times higher than Afghanistan.
1 Denmark
2 Switzerland
3 Sweden
4 Finland
4 Iceland
4 Luxembourg
7 Norway
8 Austria
9 Netherlands
10 New Zealand
The Five Eyes is a coalition of five countries » Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It grew from the 1946 BRUSA agreement, shortly after the end of World War II, to share intelligence and coordinate security efforts. The five member countries have a long history of trust and cooperation, and they share a commitment to common values.
More » FBI | Toronto Star | The Guardian | Globe & Mail | CBC | ABC (Australia) | AFR
EFF »
Knowing where you shop, just by itself, can reveal a lot about who you are. Mastercard takes this a step further, as U.S. PIRG reported, by analyzing the amount and frequency of transactions, plus the location, date, and time to create categories of cardholders and make inferences about what type of shopper you may be. In some cases, this means predicting who’s a “big spender” or which cardholders Mastercard thinks will be “high-value”—predictions used to target certain people and encourage them to spend more money …
Wired »
[Cybersecurity firm] Human Security researchers found seven Android TV boxes and one tablet with the backdoors installed, and they’ve seen signs of 200 different models of Android devices that may be impacted, according to a report shared exclusively with WIRED. The devices are in homes, businesses, and schools across the US. Meanwhile, Human Security says it has also taken down advertising fraud linked to the scheme, which likely helped pay for the operation.
Human Security | Human Security’s technical report [pdf] | The Register | Malware Bytes | EFF | Trend Micro | Ars Technica
The new toll beginning in spring 2024, is expected to be between US$9 and $23 per day for passenger vehicles. Commercial vehicles will be charged upon each entry and exit to the zone.
Regional planners believe the toll will nudge some drivers onto transit. The MTA plans to use the proceeds from congestion pricing to shore up its aging infrastructure.
Local men rushed to search the rubble of collapsed houses in rural areas of Afghanistan’s Zindah Jan district in Herat Province following a series of earthquakes.
For decades, throngs of cars clogged the cobblestone streets of Pontevedra’s downtown, making this seaside city on Spain’s northwestern tip a hard place to live. Smog, loud noise and narrow walkways drove young families away from a region struggling with a shrinking and aging population.
Family physician turned mayor Miguel Fernandez Lores managed to halt the bleeding by closing many streets to car traffic. Now Pontevedra is a model of success in a growing global movement that’s trying to reclaim streets for pedestrians.
“We have to be truthful, not neutral,” she urged. “I would make sure that you don’t just give a platform … to those who want to crash down the constitution and democracy.”
It’s an important call to action. But so far, the American press is failing to meet its responsibility to adequately emphasize the stakes of the coming election.
54% of the 2,063 adults in a Mitre-Harris Poll survey in July said they were more concerned about the risks of AI than they were excited about the potential benefits, reports Axios.
It’s not just talk. Hard evidence is now emerging that all the discussions of strained international relations and more than a decade of warnings over the end of an era of globalization are finally spurring corporations to pick sides with their capital. Western multinationals that for years have avoided geopolitics in favor of pursuing profits in less mature markets are increasingly building the factories of the future in like-minded nations.
…
“This is a historic change,” said Yeo Han-koo, a former South Korean trade minister, who sees a world entering an era of upheaval. “A new economic order is being formulated and that will cause uncertainty and unpredictability.”
This is scary. This is too easy and will be used for no good.
After unanimous votes in the state Assembly and Senate, the bill passed yesterday is expected to move through a concurrence vote and be signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, reports Ars Technica.
Google »
Security is our number one priority. Chromebooks get automatic updates every four weeks that make your laptop more secure and help it last longer. And starting next year, we’re extending those automatic updates so your Chromebook gets enhanced security, stability and features for 10 years after the platform was released. »
The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Riyadh until 25 September, decided today to inscribe the sites of “The Saint Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings and Lavra of Kyiv-Pechersk” and “L’viv – the ensemble of the historic centre” on the List of World Heritage in Danger, due to the threat of destruction the Russian offensive poses.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee considers that “optimal conditions are no longer met to fully guarantee the protection of the Outstanding Universal Value of the property and that it is threatened by potential danger due to the war”. Faced with the risk of direct attack, these sites are also vulnerable to the shockwaves caused by the bombing of the two cities.
While noting the many actions taken by the Ukrainian authorities to protect their cultural property, the Committee stated that these two heritage sites of outstanding universal value have remained under permanent threat since the start of the invasion on 24 February 2022.
CNBC »
- The child poverty rate surged to 12.4% in 2022, up from 5.2% in the year prior, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- The bureau attributed the increase in child poverty to the expiration of expanded child tax credits and the end of stimulus checks.
- The U.S. had made historic gains in fighting child poverty during the Covid-19 pandemic due in large part to the expanded tax credits. »
China drafts new security law that makes it a crime to wear, or force others to wear, clothing that “undermines the spirit or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation.” Wearing clothes authorities consider insufficiently Chinese could land you a 15 day jail sentence and a heavy fine. (BBC)
A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.8 has struck central Morocco, killing at least 820 2000 people.
The epicentre was in the province of Al Haouz, in the High Atlas Mountains, 71km (44 miles) south-west of Marrakesh, at a depth of 18.5km, the US Geological Survey said.
The quake struck at 23:11 local time (22:11 GMT) on Friday, September 8, 2023. There was a magnitude 4.9 aftershock 19 minutes later.
Rescuers were searching for survivors. Casualty figures are expected to rise as the search continues and as rescuers reach remote areas.
NY Times | BBC | North Africa Post | The East African | Euronews | France 24 | Le Monde | Al Jazeera
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