A recent survey by tech giant IBM came to a conclusion that could send shockwaves through Wall Street and the tech sector writ large. The survey asked whether or not company leaders were reporting that their AI initiatives delivered the expected return on investment.A shockingly small proportion of the surveyed CEOs reported that the tech was delivering on its promises, with only a quarter of the 2,000 respondents answering in the affirmative, while only 16 percent scaled AI across the entire enterprise.A mere half of the CEO respondents indicated they were realizing value from generative AI investments, indicating the tech may be falling far short of some sky-high expectations and billions of dollars spent.Tech leaders have long rung the alarm bells about the dangers of fueling an AI bubble, investing in an unproven tech that's still suffering from widespread hallucinations and a propensity to leak potentially sensitive data. As AI models become more powerful, they're also becoming more prone to hallucinating, not less, highlighting that the industry is heading in the wrong direction.However, company executives are seemingly unperturbed. A whopping 85 percent of the CEOs IBM surveyed expected their investments in AI efficiency and cost savings to return a positive ROI by 2027.The general fear of being left behind by missing the boat on AI is still rampant."At this point, leaders who aren’t leveraging AI and their own data to move forward are making a conscious business decision not to compete," IBM vice chairman Gary Cohn wrote in the report. "As AI adoption accelerates, creating greater efficiency, and productivity gains, the ultimate pay-off will only come to CEOs with the courage to embrace risk as opportunity."But how to leverage AI meaningfully — and convey that vision to workers — is proving extremely difficult.According to a 2024 Gallup poll, only 15 percent of US employees felt that "their organization has communicated a clear AI strategy." Only 11 percent said they feel "very prepared" to work with AI, a drop of six percent from Gallup's 2023 survey.Despite pouring tens of billions of dollars into AI investments and supporting infrastructure expansions, companies are still many years out from turning a profit. When, or if, they'll ever get to the point where AI pays for itself remains to be seen."Are we using GenAI to solve real problems, or just optimizing slide decks?" Curioser.AI CEO Stephen Klein told Forbes.In a study commissioned by Microsoft last year, researchers claimed that for every $1 invested in generative AI, companies would realize an average of $3.70 in return, claims that were never externally validated.How long investors will be willing to prop up an enormous money-burning operation is anybody's guess.More on generative AI: The US Copyright Chief Was Fired After Raising Red Flags About AI AbuseShare This Article Source: https://futurism.com/ceos-return-ai-investments #executives #are #pouring #money #into #why #they #saying #it039s #not #paying #off

May 13, 2025Ravie LakshmananVulnerability / Threat Intelligence A recently disclosed critical security flaw impacting SAP NetWeaver is being exploited by multiple China-nexus nation-state actors to target critical infrastructure networks. "Actors leveraged CVE-2025-31324, an unauthenticated file upload vulnerability that enables remote code execution (RCE)," EclecticIQ researcher Arda Büyükkaya said in an analysis published today. Targets of the campaign include natural gas distribution networks, water and integrated waste management utilities in the United Kingdom, medical device manufacturing plants oil and gas exploration and production companies in the United States, and government ministries in Saudi Arabia that are responsible for investment strategy and financial regulation. The findings are based on a publicly exposed directory uncovered on attacker-controlled infrastructure ("15.204.56[.]106") that contained event logs capturing the activities across multiple compromised systems. The Dutch cybersecurity company has attributed the intrusions to Chinese threat activity clusters tracked as UNC5221, UNC5174, and CL-STA-0048, the last of which was linked to attacks targeting high-value targets in South Asia by exploiting known vulnerabilities in public-facing IIS, Apache Tomcat, and MS-SQL servers to drop web shells, reverse shells, and the PlugX backdoor. It also noted that an uncategorized China-nexus threat actor is conducting a widespread internet scanning and exploitation campaign against SAP NetWeaver systems. The server hosted at the IP address "15.204.56[.]106" has been found to contain multiple files, including - "CVE-2025-31324-results.txt," which has recorded 581 SAP NetWeaver instances compromised and backdoored with a web shell "服务数据_20250427_212229.txt," which lists 800 domains running SAP NetWeaver likely for future targeting "The exposed open-dir infrastructure reveals confirmed breaches and highlights the group's planned targets, offering clear insight into both past and future operations," Büyükkaya noted. The exploitation of CVE-2025-31324 is followed by the threat actor deploying two web shells that are designed to maintain persistent remote access to the infected systems and execute arbitrary commands. In addition, three different Chinese hacking groups have been observed exploiting the SAP NetWeaver vulnerability as part of efforts to maintain remote access, conduct reconnaissance, and drop malicious programs - CL-STA-0048, which has attempted to establish an interactive reverse shell to "43.247.135[.]53," an IP address previously identified as used by the threat actor UNC5221, which has leveraged a web shell to deploy KrustyLoader, a Rust-based malware that can used to serve second-stage payloads like Sliver, set up persistence, and execute shell commands UNC5174, which has leveraged a web shell to download SNOWLIGHT, a loader that initiates a connection with a hard-coded server to fetch a Go-based remote access trojan named VShell and a backdoor known as GOREVERSE "China-linked APTs are highly likely to continue targeting internet-exposed enterprise applications and edge devices to establish long-term strategic and persistence access to critical infrastructure networks globally," Büyükkaya said. "Their focus on widely used platforms like SAP NetWeaver is a strategic move, as these systems are deeply integrated into enterprise environments and often host unpatched vulnerabilities." SAP Patches New NetWeaver Flaw in May 2025 Patch The disclosure comes days after another China-linked unnamed threat actor dubbed Chaya_004 has also been attributed to the exploitation of CVE-2025-31324 to deploy a Go-based reverse shell called SuperShell. SAP security firm Onapsis said it is "seeing significant activity from attackers who are using public information to trigger exploitation and abuse web shells placed by the original attackers, who have currently gone dark." Further analysis of these attacks has led to the discovery of another critical defect in NetWeaver's Visual Composer Metadata Uploader component. Tracked as CVE-2025-42999 (CVSS score: 9.1), it has been described as a deserialization vulnerability that could be exploited by a privileged user to upload untrusted or malicious content. In light of ongoing active exploitation, customers of SAP NetWeaver are recommended to update their instances to the latest version as soon as possible. Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter  and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post. SHARE     Source: https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/china-linked-apts-exploit-sap-cve-2025.html #chinalinked #apts #exploit #sap #cve202531324 #breach #critical #systems #worldwide

A Brave New World is coming to streaming.Marvel announced today that Captain America: Brave New World will debut on Disney+ in a matter of weeks. The film, the fourth in the Captain America series and the first with Anthony Mackie in the title role, premiered in theaters back in February.In the movie, the remains of the giant Celestial from Eternals sparks an international crisis, as various nations fight over its invaluable resources. If that’s not bad enough, the new President of the United States, “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford) occasionally turns into a rampaging radiation monster. Mackie’s Sam Wilson needs to defuse a brewing global war and chill the Red Hulk out if he’s going to save the day.READ MORE: Every MCU Movie, Ranked From Worst to BestMackie is a really good Captain America in my opinion, and Ford looks like he’s having a lot of fun as Ross/Red Hulk. The guy really goes for it. But I thought Brave New World fell on the lower end of Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. As I wrote in my review back in February...Searching for a word to best describe Captain America: Brave New World, the one that keeps coming to mind is inconsistent. Some of the hand-to-hand fighting is way above average for a Marvel film; some of the green screen backgrounds and visual effects are about as clunky as the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever produced. Sometimes characters from elsewhere in the MCU pop up in unexpected places, and the film makes no attempt to explain who they are or what they are doing; at other times the dialogue is so expository and blunt it feels like the verbal equivalent of getting pummeled in the face by a Red Hulk. For every good moment, there’s a bad one. Or two.Then again, streaming was made for inconsistent movies, where the cost is a lot lower and you don’t need to drag yourself all the way to a theater, get a babysitter, and so on. What do you have to lose watching a couple minutes of Harrison Ford going “RARGH! BLARRRR! GRRRRR!” while you fold your laundry?Captain America: Brave New World premieres on Disney+ on May 28 — 15 days from now.Sign up for Disney+ here.Get our free mobile appGuilty Pleasure Movies From the ’90sThese ’90s films do not have good reputations. Most are cheesy and a few are really dated. We love them anyway.Categories: Movie News, Superheroes Source: https://screencrush.com/watch-captain-america-brave-new-world-online/ #marvel #announces #captain #america #streaming #premiere #date

Need Wordle help? Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle No. 1,424 for May 13. Source: https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/todays-wordle-hints-answer-and-help-for-may-13-1424/#ftag=CAD590a51e #today039s #wordle #hints #answer #and #help #for #may

May 13, 20253 min readDisasters Displaced a Record 46 Million People Last YearIn 2024 disasters displaced a record number of people both globally and in the U.S. About 11 million U.S. residents had to relocate to another part of the country because of hurricanes, floods and wildfiresBy Chelsea Harvey & E&E News Aerial view of destroyed houses in Port St Lucie, Florida, after a tornado hit the area and caused severe damage as Hurricane Milton swept through Florida on October 11, 2024. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | Natural disasters and human conflict forced about 66 million people to flee within their own countries last year, and the United States led all nations with 11 million of these internal displacements, new research finds.That’s a record for the United States. And last year broke a global record, too, as 2024 saw the largest number of disaster-related internal displacements since experts began tracking the issue in 2008. About 46 million people worldwide had to relocate domestically last year because of natural disasters; another 20 million had to flee because of conflict or violence.Those are the latest statistics from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, an international nongovernmental organization that keeps tabs on the number of people forced to flee within their countries each year because of natural disasters, extreme weather, conflict and violence.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.IMDC publishes the previous year’s findings in an annual report each spring; its latest analysis was released Tuesday.The 46 million people forced to relocate domestically because of natural disasters last year represents a big jump from 2023, which saw 26 million people internally displaced because of events such as storms, floods, wildfires and droughts. In the United States, natural disasters were the sole reason 11 million residents had to relocate domestically.Cyclones triggered more than half of disaster-related movements worldwide last year. That includes Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which both caused tens of billions of dollars of damage in the United States. Floods accounted for another 42 percent of the disaster displacements, with events occurring on every continent last year.At least 8.3 million disaster-related movements occurred in the form of preemptive evacuations, the report found. Evacuations were reported in 53 of the 163 countries and territories reporting weather and disaster displacements in 2024. Many of these occurred in the United States; Hurricane Milton alone triggered around 6 million evacuations in Florida.Climate change is causing extreme weather events to intensify globally. At the same time, the report notes, other human factors are worsening the impact of these disasters, including inadequate infrastructure and urban expansion in disaster-prone areas.Low- and middle-income countries, on the whole, continue to be disproportionately affected by disaster displacements. And vulnerable communities within these countries tend to experience the worst outcomes.For instance, catastrophic flooding in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul last spring killed more than 180 people and triggered at least 775,000 displacements. Most occurred in the state capital of Porto Alegre, according to the IDMC report, and disproportionately affected Black and Indigenous communities.At the same time, conflict zones are increasingly overlapping with areas hit hard by natural disasters, many made worse by climate change. According to the report, the number of countries reporting both disaster and conflict displacements has tripled since 2009.The rise of these compounding crises points to the need for better preparation and resilience efforts, the report suggests.“Resolving displacement requires both immediate efforts to help people who have lost everything and investments to address underlying vulnerabilities, so people don't become displaced in the first place,” said IDMC Director Alexandra Bilak in a statement.More than 20 million people across 49 countries were internally displaced by conflict and violence last year, the report found. All but four of these countries reported disaster displacements as well.More than 5 million conflict displacements occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the most of any country worldwide. Heavy rainfall also triggered intense floods in the DRC last year, and many roads became blocked by water or by armed groups. The combination of these issues prevented aid organizations from assisting hundreds of thousands of displaced people, the report found.The report also notes that while some people are able to return home after disasters or conflict subside, many remain displaced for years. Around 65.8 million people were newly displaced in 2024 by both conflict and disasters. But millions of others already were living in displacement at the start of the year.At the end of 2024, about 83.4 million people were living in displacement worldwide. The vast majority, around 73.5 million, had been forced to move because of conflict — a 10 percent increase over the previous year.Still, disaster-related displacement is rising even faster. About 9.8 million people worldwide were living in displacement from disasters at the end of 2024 — a 29 percent increase over 2023.Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals. Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hurricanes-wildfires-and-other-disasters-displaced-a-record-46-million/ #hurricanes #wildfires #and #other #disasters #displaced #record #million #people #last #year

Accessibility leader accused of employee abuse and waste of charity's funds AbleGamers founder Mark Barlet denies claims. Image credit: AbleGamers News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on May 13, 2025 Mark Barlet, founder of high-profile gaming accessibility charity AbleGamers, has been accused of fostering abuse at the non-profit for more than two decades. In a wide-ranging report published today by IGN, former colleagues claim Barlet used sexist, racist and misogynistic language in the workplace, including about other employees, and made comments offensive to other disabled people. One source claimed Barlet repeatedly referred to her as the company's HR representative, as she was the only woman in the business. The source claimed Barlet would then also make offensive remarks regarding her breasts in front of colleagues. Barlet, who left the charity last September following an investigation by an external law firm, denies all claims of abuse and harassment. "After thoroughly being investigated by an independent third-party, it was determined that none of that was true," Barlet said in a statement. Other claims involve wasteful spending of the charity's funds by Barlet, involving first class air travel and extended hotel stays following business trips, and an expensive office charger for his Tesla. In response, Barlet said his travel was justified by company policies, his extended trips were to cover additional business meetings, and his Tesla charger was just a "plug". Regardless, it's claimed that an April 2024 investigation by external payroll and HR firm ADP advised AbleGamers' board to part ways with Barlet, after concerns over his spending. This advice was reportedly ignored, prompting multiple employees to file Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaints, prompting the latter invesigation that did then result in Barlet leaving the charity in September 2024 - albeit reportedly with a severance package. Since his departure, Barlet has started a new accessibility firm, AccessForge, while employees who spoke out about him claim they were subsequently forced out of AbleGamers by its board in retaliation. Meanwhile, employees still at AbleGamers claim they have been repeatedly dissuaded from sharing their experiences for IGN's report. It's alleged that the charity's Steven Spohn has told staff not to speak out, for fear of "ruining the charity's reputation". Neither Spohn or AbleGamers responded to IGN's requests for comment. Source: https://www.eurogamer.net/accessibility-leader-accused-of-employee-abuse-and-waste-of-charitys-funds #accessibility #leader #accused #employee #abuse #and #waste #charity039s #funds

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide Marvel Rivals developer NetEase games is bringing back the game’s very first battle pass from the game’s launch alongside its new Galacta’s Gift event. In an upcoming update on May 15, 2025, players will be able to pick up the older battle pass with a discounted price. Marvel Rivals brings back Season 0 pass Announced in a surprise update, NetEase explained that the community has been “buzzing with requests to bring back previous season passes – especially the one that started it al”. To satiate fan demand, the studio is bringing back the Season 0 battle pass with a “limited time price of 590 lattice”. “Some of you missed out during that epic Season 0, while others who joined later have been eager for a chance to experience it,” the studio explained. “We’ve heard your call, and we’re answering it! With that said, after the May 15th update, we’re excited to announce a limited-time return of the S0 Battle Pass! “ The Season 0 Battle Pass will return to the game on May 15, 2025 and will be available until May 29, 2025. Like all battle passes in the game, players who pick up the battle pass will keep it going forward as the pass never expires. Galacta’s Gift event Alongside the returning battle pass, NetEase is also introducing a new event on May 15: Galacta’s Gift. This event will give players a host of new, free cosmetics for simply “playing the game” as intended. The new event will reward players with nameplates, sprays and “ Chrono Shield Cards to a Costume Coin that lets you redeem the debut costume for any one of the 33 heroes featured in Season 0”. Marvel Rivals Platform(s): macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X Genre(s): Fighting, Shooter Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share Source: https://www.videogamer.com/news/marvel-rivals-brings-back-season-0-battle-pass-alongside-new-galactas-gift-event/ #marvel #rivals #brings #back #season #battle #pass #alongside #new #galactas #gift #event #with #free #goodies

Your home should be the place where you feel the most relaxed, but you might be in need of some privacy fence ideas if your exposed backyard is making it hard to truly unwind. “Privacy fencing, either along a property line or around a specific area in your garden, creates a sense of sanctuary, seclusion, and peacefulness,” says Janice Parker, a landscape architect based in Greenwich, Connecticut. “A garden should, at its best, connect us to nature, and this is simpler to do when you can relax in a peaceful setting. Hidden areas, made with privacy screening, create a sense of mystery, as you do not see all of the garden at once. Mystery makes a great garden!”Luckily, clever retaining wall ideas and privacy fence ideas (some are even DIY landscaping designs) can ensure your backyard is the secluded oasis you want it to be. “A privacy fence does all the work of a typical fence—indicating boundaries and keeping people and animals in or out—while also blocking views into the yard,” says Kevin Lenhart, a landscape designer and design director at Yardzen, one of the nation’s largest online landscape platforms.Here, a guide to building backyard landscaping and a privacy fence—whether you use a pergola or a trellis—to keep onlookers out and a peace of mind in.Are privacy fences a good idea?“From an ecological and natural point of view, privacy fences are the least desirable element in the landscape,” says Jonathan Fargion, a landscape designer based in New York City. This doesn’t mean privacy fences are necessarily a bad idea, just that there are a few considerations to take into account before getting started.Privacy fences cut the land into lots, which can be problematic for the bugs, insects, and other wildlife that live there. “As a rule of thumb, fences should be at least two inches off the ground to let critters the freedom to move between properties,” Fargion explains. In general, he says privacy fences make the most sense on small properties, like town house gardens. For larger yards, he suggests making use of natural greenery, like trees, to keep unwanted eyes from infiltrating your space.How tall can I make my privacy fence?Fences that are six feet tall should block most views from the ground level. “I’d advise not going any taller than you have to, both to save on expenses and to limit the shrinking, enclosing effect fences can have on a space,” Lenhart says. If you do need extra height, he suggests adding 12 to 18 inches of lattice on the top of a fence, which will add privacy while minimizing the visual impact of a taller fence. If you opt for a natural privacy hedge, these can be much taller and often go up to 12 feet.What is the best type of privacy fence?The best privacy fence will depend on each homeowner’s goals for the fence and their yard. “By necessity, privacy fences must obscure sight lines,” Lenhart says. For this reason, many privacy fences are made from solid wood and designed to be completely opaque. If the goal is to have complete seclusion, something solid without any gaps would likely be the best choice. Source: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/privacy-fence-ideas #privacy #fence #ideas #stylishly #seclude #your #outdoor #sanctuary

Blender at Annecy 2025 May 13th, 2025 Press Releases Fiona Cohen html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" As it is now tradition, a small delegation of the Blender team will attend the Annecy festival, June 9-13. This year though, no booth but a bigger gathering for people who want to connect. Blender for Breakfast – new formula Following the success of the last two years, Blender is going to host a “studios” breakfast session (Birds of a Feather-style), this time as part of the official program and in a bigger venue within the Festival-MIFA. Focused on connecting producers, developers, TDs and artists working in studios where Blender is part of the pipeline, the goal is to share ongoing Blender development, Blender Studio pipeline insights, and give visibility to teams who wish to share their experience using Blender in production. All while being treated some delicious croissant and coffee! The event will take place on Tuesday, June 10 at 09:00 at Le Campus Mifa – Salle 1. Limited spots are available and you need an accreditation to enter the Campus – make sure you register if you are interested, and we’ll send confirmations closer to the event. See you there! Source: https://www.blender.org/press/blender-at-annecy-2025/ #blender #annecy

submitted by /u/Puginator [link] [comments] Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/13/microsoft-is-cutting-3percent-of-workers-across-the-software-company.html #microsoft #cutting #all #workers