oh, dear Human versus autonomous car race ends before it begins A2RL admits that this is a hard problem, and that's refreshing. Roberto Baldwin Dec 22, 2024 7:05 am | 14 A2RL chose the Super Formula chassis to install its autonomous driving tech. Recently, an A2RL car went to Suzuka in Japan to try and race against a human-driven version. Credit: Roberto Baldwin A2RL chose the Super Formula chassis to install its autonomous driving tech. Recently, an A2RL car went to Suzuka in Japan to try and race against a human-driven version. Credit: Roberto Baldwin Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreA2RL provided flights from San Francisco to Tokyo and accommodation so Ars could attend its race. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.TOKYORacing is hard. It's hard on the teams, it's hard on the owner's bank account, it's hard on the cars, and it's especially hard on the drivers. Driving at the edge for a few hours in a vehicle cockpit that's only slightly wider than your frame can take a toll.The A2RL (Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League) removes one of those elements from its vehicles but, in doing so, creates a whole new list of complexities. Say goodbye to the human driver and hello to 95 kilograms of computers and a whole suite of sensors. That setup was poised to be part of a demonstration "race" against former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat at Suzuka Circuit in Japan during the Super Formula season finale.But again, racing is hard, and replacing humans doesn't change that. The people who run and participate in A2RL are aware of this, and while many organizations have made it a sport of overselling AI, A2RL is up-front about the limitations of the current state of the technology. One example of the technology's current shortcomings: The vehicles can't swerve back and forth to warm up the tires. The A2RL team and former F1 racer Daniil Kvyat (center) smile for the media at Suzuka. Credit: Roberto Baldwin Giovanni Pau, Team Principal of TII Racing, stated during a press briefing regarding the AI system built for racing, "We don't have human intuition. So basically, that is one of the main challenges to drive this type of car. It's impossible today to do a correct grip estimation. A thing my friend Daniil (Kvyat) can do in a nanosecond."Technology Innovation Institute (TII) develops the hardware and software stack for all the vehicles. Hardware-wise, the eight teams receive the same technology. When it comes to software, the teams need to build out their own system on TII's software stack to get the vehicles to navigate the tracks.Not quite learning but not quite not learningIn April, four teams raced on the track in Abu Dhabi. As we've noted before, how the vehicles navigate the tracks and world around them isn't actually AI. It's programmed responses to an environment; these vehicles are not learning on their own. Frankly, most of what is called "AI" in the real world is also not AI.Vehicles driven by the systems still need years of research to come close to the effectiveness of a human beyond the wheel. Kvyat has been working with A2RL since the beginning. In that time, the former F1 driver has been helping engineers understand how to bring the vehicle closer to their limit.The speed continues to increase as the development progresses. Initially, the vehicles were three to five minutes slower than Kvyat around a lap; now, they are about eight seconds behind. That's a lifetime in a real human-to-human race, but an impressive amount of development for vehicles with 90 kg of computer hardware crammed into the cockpit of a super formula car. Credit: Roberto Baldwin Currently, the vehicles are capable of recreating 9095 percent of the speed of a human driver, according to Pau. Those capabilities are reduced when a human driver is also on the track, particularly for safety reasons. When asked by Ars what his biggest concern was being on the track with a vehicle that doesn't have a human behind the wheel, Kvyat said he has to "try to follow the car first to see what line it chooses and to understand where it is safe to race it. Some places here [at Suzuka] are quite narrowon the contrary from the Abu Dhabi trackand there are a lot of long corners. So I really need to be alert and give respect and space to the AI car," Kvyat said.Kvyat also noted that the AI car is traveling at a more respectable speed, so he really needs to know what's going on.The predictability of a human driver both on a track and in the real world is one of the issues surrounding AI. As we drive, walk, or bike around a city, we rely on eye contact from drivers, and there are certain behavioral expectations. It's the behavioral outliers that cause issues. Examples include things like running a stop sign, weaving into a lane already occupied by another vehicle, or stopping in the middle of the road for no discernible reason. On the track, an autonomous vehicle might choose to deviate from the racing line around a corner because of a signal input that a human driver would ignore or fold into their driving based on their real-world experience. The context of the rest of a lived life is just as important as what's learned on the track. Life and racing are hard and chaotic.The raceOn the Saturday of the race weekend, a demonstration of two A2RL vehicles raced around the circuit. The vehicles were moving quickly down the straight. The corners, though? We were told that they were still a bit tricky for the vehicles to navigate.Down in the pits, the team watched a bank of monitors. Sensor data came in from the vehicleszeros and ones representing the track translated into a sea of graphs. To help parse the data quickly, the system shows a green flag when everything is going well and red flags when the values are out of whack with what's supposed to happen. In addition to how the vehicle is moving, information about fuel consumption, brake wear, and tire temperature is shared with the team. Former F1 driver Kvyat was drafted in to compete against the AI. Roberto Baldwin Former F1 driver Kvyat was drafted in to compete against the AI. Roberto Baldwin The A2RL team at their battle station. Roberto Baldwin The A2RL team at their battle station. Roberto Baldwin Former F1 driver Kvyat was drafted in to compete against the AI. Roberto Baldwin The A2RL team at their battle station. Roberto Baldwin All of this data lets the team know how hard it is pushing the vehicle. If everything looks good, the team can push the vehicle to go a little quicker, to push a little harder for a better lap time. Humans elsewhere in the pits will soon tell their human drivers the same thing. Push harder, be quicker; the car can handle it. The data coming in predicts what will happen in the next few seconds.Hopefully.The individual teams will try to find the optimal line, just like the human team, but it doesn't always follow what humans have done before on a track. They work to create an optimal line for the autonomous car instead of just copying what humans are doing.This team has been at Suzuka for weeks ahead of this race. The HD map they bought from a third party was off by meters. In that time the team had to remap the track for the vehicles and teach them how to drive on a circuit that's narrower than the track at Abu Dhabi.The car is outfitted with Sony 4K cameras, radars, lidar, high-definition GPS, and other sensors. The electric steering can handle up to five Gs. The hydraulic brakes on each wheel could be triggered individually, but currently, they are not, according to Pau. However, Pau did note that enabling this function would open up new possibilities, especially in cornering. On the grid at Suzuka. Credit: Roberto Baldwin Pau took a moment while walking us around the vehicle to point to the laser that measures the external temperature of the tire. That, along with the ability to track the tire's pressure, are key to ensuring the vehicle stays on the track.The next morning, the main event was gearing up. Man versus machine. A modern-day John Henry tale without the drama of the song about a steel-driving man. We all knew Kvyat would win. A2RL was very up-front that the system is not nearly as quick as a human. At least not yet. But it had decided to bring the race to Japan, a country known to be on the cutting edge of technology. The "race" was to be held ahead of the season finale of the Super Formula season.It was cooler that morning than the previous day. The cars were pushed out to the grid. Kvyat was stationed behind the driverless vehicle. The time between leaving the pits and the race starting felt longer than the day before. The tires were cooling off.The A2RL vehicle took off approximately 22 seconds ahead of Kvyat, but the race ended before the practice lap was completed. Cameras missed the event, but the A2RL car lost traction and ended up tail-first into a wall. A rather anti-climatic end to weeks of work by the team. In the pits, people gathered around the monitors trying to determine exactly what went wrong.Khurram Hassan, commercial director of A2RL, told Ars that the cold tires on the cold track caused a loss of traction. A press release sent out later in the day noted that one of the rear tires suddenly lost pressure, causing the vehicle to lose traction and slide into the wall. The cameras missed the spin, but caught the aftermath. Roberto Baldwin The cameras missed the spin, but caught the aftermath. Roberto Baldwin The telemetry tells it all. Roberto Baldwin The telemetry tells it all. Roberto Baldwin No one wants to see their car come back to the garage like this. Roberto Baldwin No one wants to see their car come back to the garage like this. Roberto Baldwin The telemetry tells it all. Roberto Baldwin No one wants to see their car come back to the garage like this. Roberto Baldwin Hassan reminded us that the vehicle does not know how to swerve back and forth yet to warm up its tires. But more importantly, he said that the gap between simulation and the real world is very real. "You could do things on a computer screen, but this is so important. Because you have to be on the track," Hassan said.The reality is that reality is chaos and always changing. When a company notes that it's doing millions of miles of simulated testing, it's vital to remember that a computer-generated world does not equal the one we inhabit.Reality and intelligenceA2RL doesn't want to replace human-to-human racing. It understands the emotional attachment humans have to watching other humans compete. It also realizes that as these vehicles improve, what the teams learn will not be directly pulled from the track and put on self-driving cars. But by pushing these vehicles to the limit and letting AI determine the best course of action to keep from slamming into a wall or other vehicle, that information could be used in the future as a safety feature in vehiclesa way to keep a collision from happening used in conjunction with other safety features.The day before the human versus AI race, Super Formula had its penultimate race of the season. During that race, two cars left the pits only to have one of their rear wheels come off. Also, another two cars collided with each another. Racing is hard, and accidents happen.For A2RL, failure is always an option. It may break the hearts of everyone in the pits that have prepped for weeks for an event, but it's important to remember that it's a controlled environment. A2RL seems to understand and talks about the complications of aiming for an AI-powered vehicle. It would be nice if those companies testing on our streets did the same. 14 Comments

Best of the best Ars Technicas top 20 video games of 2024 A relatively light year still had its fair share of interactive standouts. Kyle Orland Dec 22, 2024 7:00 am | 0 Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWhen we introduced last year's annual list of the best games in this space, we focused on how COVID delays led to a 2023 packed with excellent big-name blockbusters and intriguing indies that seemed to come out of nowhere. The resulting flood of great titles made it difficult to winnow the year's best down to our traditional list of 20 titles.In 2024 we had something close to the opposite problem. While there were definitely a few standout titles that were easy to include on this year's list (Balatro, UFO 50, and Astro Bot likely chief among them), rounding out the list to a full 20 proved more challenging than it has in perhaps any other year during my tenure at Ars Technica (way back in 2012!). The games that ended up on this year's list are all strong recommendations, for sure. But many of them might have had more trouble making a Top 20 list in a packed year like 2023.We'll have to wait to see if the release calendar seesaws back to a quality-packed one in 2025, but the forecast for big games like Civilization 7, Avowed, Doom: The Dark Ages, Grand Theft Auto 6, and many, many more has us thinking that it might. In the meantime, here are our picks for the 20 best games that came out in 2024, in alphabetical order.Animal WellBilly Basso; Windows, PS5, Xbox X/S, SwitchThe Metroidvania genre has started to feel a little played out of late. Go down this corridor, collect that item, go back to the wall that can only be destroyed by said item, explore a new corridor for the next item, etc. Repeat until you've seen the entire map or get too bored to continue.Animal Well eschews this paint-by-numbers design and brings back the sense of mystery inherent to the best games in the genre. This is done in part by some masterful pixel-art graphics, which incorporate some wild 2D lighting effects and detailed, painterly sprite world. The animationsfrom subtle movements of the lowliest flower to terrifying, screen-filling actions from the game's titular giant animalsare handled with equal aplomb.But Animal Well really shines in its often inscrutable map and item design. Many key items in the game have multiple uses that aren't fully explained in the game itself, requiring a good deal of guessing, checking, and observation to figure out how to exploit fully. Uncovering the arcane secrets of the game's multiple environmental blocks is often far from obvious and rewards players who like to experiment and explore.Those arcane secrets can sometimes seem too obtuse for their own gooddon't be surprised if you have to consult an outside walkthrough or work with someone to bust past some of the most inscrutable barriers put in your way. If you soldier through, though, you'll have been on one of the most memorable journeys of its type.-Kyle OrlandAstro BotTeam Asobi; PS5Astro Bot is an unlikely success story. The team that made it, Studio Asobi, was for years dedicated to making small-scale projects that were essentially glorified tech demos for Sony's latest hardware. First there was The Playroom, which was just a collection of small experiences made to show off the features of the PlayStation 4's camera peripheral. Then there was Astro Bot Rescue Mission, which acted as a showcase for the first PlayStation VR headset.But momentum really picked up with Astro's Playroom, the bite-size 2020 3D platformer that was bundled with every PlayStation 5again to show off the hardware features. When I played it, my main thought was, "I really wish this team would make a full-blown game."That's exactly what Astro Bot is: a 15-hourlong 3D platformer with AAA production values, with no goal other than just being an excellent game. Like its predecessors, it fully leverages all the hardware features of the PlayStation 5, and it's loaded with Easter eggs and fan service for players who've been playing PlayStation consoles for three decades.Like many 3D platformers, it's a collect-a-thon. In this case, you're gathering more than 300 little robot friends. All of them are modeled after characters from other games that defined the PlayStation platform, from Resident Evil to Ico to The Last of Us, from the obscure to the well-known.Between those Easter eggs, the tightly designed gameplay, and the upbeat music, there's an ever-present air of joy and celebration in Astro Botespecially for players who get the references. But even if you've never played any of the games it draws on, it's an excellent 3D platformerperhaps the best released on any platform in the seven years since 2017's Super Mario Odyssey.The PlayStation 5 will arguably be best remembered for beefy open-world games, serious narrative titles, and multiplayer shooters. Amid all that, I don't think anybody expected one of the best games ever released for the console to be a platformer that in some ways would feel more at home on the PlayStation 2but that's what happened, and I'm grateful for the time I spent with it.The only negative thing I have to say about it is that because of how it leverages the specific features of the DualSense controller, it's hard to imagine it'll ever be playable for anyone who doesn't own that device.Is it worth buying a PS5 just to play Astro Bot? Probably notas beefy as it is compared to Astro's Playroom, there's not enough here to justify that. But if you have one and you haven't played it yet, get on it, because you're missing out.-Samuel AxonBalatroLocalThunk; Windows, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, Switch, MacOS, iOS, AndroidAt first glance, video poker probably seems a bit too random to serve as the basis of yet another rogue-like deck-builder experience. As anyone who's been to Atlantic City can tell you, video poker's hold-and-draw hand-building involves only the barest hint of strategy and is designed so the house always wins.The genius of Balatro, then, is in the layers of strategy it adds to this simple, easy-to-grasp poker hand base. The wide variety of score or hand-modifying jokers that you purchase in between hands can be arranged in literally millions of combinations, each of which can change the way a particular run goes in ways both large and small. Even the most powerful jokers can become nearly useless if you run into the wrong debuffing Boss Blind, forcing you to modify your strategy mid-run to keep the high-scoring poker hands coming.Then you add in a complex in-game economy, powerful deck-altering arcana cards, dozens of Deck and Stake difficulty options, and a Challenge Mode whose hardest options have continued to thwart me even after well over 100 hours of play. The result is a game that's instantly compelling and as addictive as a heater at a casino, only without the potential to lose your mortgage payment to a series of bad bets.-Kyle OrlandThe Crimson DiamondJulia Minamata; Windows, MacWould you like to spend some time in a rural vacation town in Ontario, Canada, doing mineralogy fieldwork in the off-season? A better question, then: Would you like to go there in 16-color EGA, wandering through a classic adventure game, text parser and all?The Crimson Diamond is one of the most intriguing gaming trips I took this year. Its an achievement in creative constraints, a cozy mystery, and an ear-catching soundtrack. It was made by a solo Canadian developer, inside Adventure Game Studio, with some real work put into upgrading the text parser and (optional) mouse experience with reasonable quality-of-life concessions. The charming but mysterious plot gently pulls you along from one wonderfully realized 1980s-era IBM backdrop to the next. It feels like playing a game you forgot to unbox, except this one actually plays without a dozen compatibility tricks.We are awash in game remasters and light remakes that toy with our memories of old systems and forgotten genres (and having a lot more time to play games). The Crimson Diamond does something much more interesting, finding just the right new story and distinct style to port backward to a bygone era. Its worth the clicks for any fan of pointing, clicking, and investigating.-Kevin PurdyElden Ring: Shadow of the ErdtreeFrom Software; Windows, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series Credit: Bandai Namco You can tell downloadable content has come a long way when we deign to put a piece of DLC on our best-games-of-the-year list in 2024.Released two years after the megaton zeitgeist hit that was the original Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree bucks just as many modern gaming conventions as its base game did. Yes, it's DLC because it's digitally distributed add-on content, but while most AAA games get DLC that adds about 510 hours of stuff to do, Shadow of the Erdtree's scope actually fell somewhere between a full sequel and the expansions you'd buy in separate retail boxes for PC games in the 1990s and 2000s. It adds a large new landmass to explore, with multiple additional "legacy dungeons" and tentpole bosses, plus new mechanics and weapons aplenty.Additionally, the game's designers cleverly mapped a whole new system on top of the base game's player levels and equipment, ensuring that you could still get the same satisfying sense of power progression, regardless of how deeply you'd gotten into the Elden Ring base game previously. Shadow of the Erdtree attracted some criticism for its sharp difficultyeven more so than the base gamebut the same satisfying progression from hopelessness to triumph through perseverance as we enjoyed in 2022 is in play here.As such, everything that was great about Elden Ring is also great about Shadow of the Erdtree. You could cynically call it more of the same, but when what we're getting more of is so delicious, it's hard to complainespecially given that this expansion includes some of the most compelling and original bosses in From Software history.It didn't convert anyone who didn't dig the original, but fortunately that still left it with an audience of millions of people who were excited for a new challenge. Its impressive polish and scope land it on this list.-Samuel AxonFrostpunk 211 bit studios; Windows, Mac (ARM-based); PlayStation, Xbox (coming in 2025) Credit: 11 Bit Studios The first Frostpunk asked if you could make the terrible decisions necessary for survival in a never-ending blizzard. Frostpunk 2 asks you to manage something different, but no less dire: helping these people who managed to hold on keep their nascent civilization together. You can go deep with the fascists, the mystics, the hard-nosed realists, or the science nerds or try to play them all off one another to keep the furnace going.Its stressful, and its not at all easy, and the developers may have done too good a job of recreating the insane demands and interplay of human factions. The interface and navigation, sore spots on launch, have received a lot of attention, and the roadmap for the game into 2025 looks intriguing. Id probably recommend starting with the first game before diving into this, but Frostpunk 2 is an accomplished, confident game in its own right. Human failings amidst an unfeeling snowpocalypse make for some engaging scenes.-Kevin PurdyHalls of TormentChasing Carrots; Windows, Linux, iOS, Android Credit: Chasing Carrots The isometric demon-killing of the old-school Diablo games has endured over the decades, especially among those who remember playing in their youth. But the whole concept has been in need of a bit of an update now that we're in the age of Vampire Survivors and its "Bullet Heaven" auto-shooter ilk.Enter Halls of Torment, a game that is probably as close as it comes to aping old-school Diablo's visual style without being legally actionable. Here, though, all the lore and story and exploration of the Diablo games has been replaced by a lot more enemies, all streaming toward your protagonist at the rate of up to 50,000 per hour. Much like Vampire Survivors, the name of the game here is dodging through those small holes in those swarms of enemies while your character automatically fills the screen with devastating attacks (that slowly level up as you play).The wide variety of different playable classeseach with their own distinct strengths, weaknesses, and unique attack patternshelp each run feel distinct, even after you've smashed through the game's limited set of six environments. But there's plenty of cathartic replay value here for anyone who just wants to cause as much on-screen carnage as possible in a very short period of time.-Kyle OrlandHelldivers 2Arrowhead Game Studios; Windows, PS5 Credit: PlayStation/Arrowhead Every so often, a multiplayer game releases to almost universal praise, and for a few months, seemingly everyone is talking about it. This year, that game was Helldivers 2. The game converted the 2015 originals top-down shoot-em-up gameplay into third-person shooter action, and the switch-up was enough to bring in tons of players. Taking more than a few cues from Starship Troopers, the game asks you to "spread democracy" throughout the galaxy by mowing down hordes of alien bugs or robots during short-ish missions on various planets. Work together with your team, and the rest of the player base, to slowly liberate the galaxy.I played Helldivers 2 mostly as a hang out game, something to do with my hands and eyes as I chatted with friends. You can play the game seriously, I guess, but that would be missing the point for me. My favorite part of Helldivers 2 is just blowing stuff upbugs, buildings, and, yes, even teammates. Friendly fire is a core part of the experience, and whether by accident or on purpose, you will inevitably end up turning your munitions on your friends. My bad!Some controversial balance patches put the game into a bit of an identity crisis for a while, but things seem to be back on track. Ill admit the game didnt have the staying power for me that it seemed to for others, but it was undeniably a highlight of the year.-Aaron ZimmermanIndiana Jones and the Great CircleMachineGames; Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X/S Credit: Bethesda / MachineGames A new game based on the Indiana Jones license has a lot to live up to, both in terms of the films and TV shows that inspired it and the well-remembered games that preceded it. The Great Circle manages to live up to those expectations, crafting the most enjoyable Indy adventure in years.The best part of the game is contained in the main storyline, captured mainly in exquisitely madcap cut scenes featuring plenty of the pun-filled, devil-may-care quipiness that Indy is known for. Voice actor Troy Baker does a great job channeling Harrison Ford (by way of Jeff Goldblum) as Indy, while antagonist Emmerich Voss provides all the scenery-chewing Nazi shenanigans you could want from the ridiculous, magical-realist storyline.The stealth-action gameplay is a little more pedestrian but still manages to distinguish itself with suitably crunchy melee combat and the enjoyable improvisation of attacking Nazis with everyday items, from wrenches to plungers. And while the puzzles and side-quests can feel a bit basic at times, there are enough hidden trinkets in out-of-the-way corners to encourage completionists to explore every inch of the game's intricately detailed open-world environments.It's just the kind of light-hearted, escapist, exploratory fun we need in these troubled times. Welcome back, Indy! We missed you!-Kyle OrlandThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdomNintendo; SwitchAfter decades and decades of Zelda games where you don't actually play as Zelda, there was a lot of pressure on a game where you finally get to control the princess herself as the protagonist (those CD-i monstrosities from the '90s are best forgotten). Fortunately, Zelda's turn in full control of her own series captures the franchise's old-school, light-hearted adventuring fun with a few modern twists.The main draw here is the titular "echo" abilities, which let Zelda copy enemies and objects that can be summoned in multiple copies with a special wand. This eventually opens up to allow for a number of inventive ways to solve some intricate puzzles in what feels like a heavily simplified version of Tears of the Kingdom's more complex crafting tools.My favorite bit in Echoes of Wisdom, though, might be summoning copies of defeated enemies to fight new enemies in a kind of battle royale. As much as I love Link's sword-swinging antics (which are partially captured here), just watching these magical minions do my combat for me is more than half of the fun in Echoes of Wisdom.Even without those twists, though, Echoes of Wisdom provides all the old-school 2D Zelda dungeon exploring you could hope for, and the lighthearted storyline to match. Here's hoping this isn't the last time we'll see Zelda taking a starring role in her own legends.-Kyle OrlandLlamasoft: The Jeff Minter StoryDigital Eclipse; Windows, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, SwitchI went into this latest Digital Eclipse playable museum as someone who had only a passing familiarity with Jeff Minter. I knew him mainly as a revered game development elder with a penchant for psychedelic graphics and an association with Tempest 2000. Then I spent hours devouring The Jeff Minter Story on my Steam Deck during a long flight, soaking in the full history of a truly unique character in the annals of gaming history.The emulated games on this collection are actually pretty hit or miss, from a modern game design perspective. But the collection of interviews and supporting material on offer here are top-notch, putting each game into the context of the time and of Minter's personal journey through an industry that was still in its infancy. I especially liked the scanned versions of Minter's newsletter, sent to his early fans, which included plenty of diatribes and petty dramas about his game design peers and the industry as a whole.There are few other figures in the early history of games that would merit this kind of singular focuseven early games were too often the collaborative product of larger companies with a more corporate focus (as seen in Digital Eclipse's previous Atari 50. But I reveled in this opportunity to get to know Minter better for his unique and quixotic role in early gaming history.-Kyle OrlandLorelei and the Laser EyesSimogo; Windows, PS4/5, SwitchYou'd be forgiven for finding Lorelei and the Laser Eyes at least a little pretentious. Everything from the black-and-white presentationlaced with only the occasional flash of red for emphasis to the Twin Peaks-style absurdist writing to the grand pronouncements on the Importance and Beauty of Art make for a game that feels like it's trying a little too hard, at points.Push past that surface, though, and you'll find one of the most intricately designed interactive puzzle boxes ever committed to bits and bytes. Lorelei goes well beyond the simple tile-pushing and lock-picking tasks that are laughably called "puzzles" in most other adventure games. The mind-teasers here require real out-of-the-box thinking, careful observation of the smallest environmental details, and multi-step deciphering of arcane codes.This is a game that's not afraid to cut you off from massive chunks of its content if you're not able to get past a single near-inscrutable locked door puzzledon't feel bad if you need to consult a walkthrough at some point to move on. It's also a game that practically requires a pen and paper notes to keep track of all the moving piecesyour notebook will look like the scribblings of a madman by the time you're done.And you may actually feel a little mad as you try to unravel the meaning of the game's multiple labyrinthine layers and self-aware, time-bending, magical-realist storyline. When it all comes together at the end, you may just find yourself surprisingly moved not just by the intricate design, but by that oft-pretentious plot as well.-Kyle OrlandMetal Slug TacticsLeikir Studio; Windows, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, Switch Credit: Dotemu Good tactics games are all about how the game plays in your mind. How many ways can you overcome this obstacle, maximize this turn, and synergize your squads abilities? So its a very nice bonus when such a well-made pile of engaging decisions also happens to look absolutely wonderful and capture the incredibly detailed sense of motion of a legendary run-and-gun franchise.Thats Metal Slug Tactics, and its one of the most surprising successes of 2024. It delivers the look and feel of a franchise that isnt easy to get right, and it translates those games feeling of continuous motion into turn-based tactics. The more you move, shoot, and team up each turn, the better youll do. You can do a level or two on a subway ride, crank out a rogue-ish run on a lunch break, and keep getting rewarded with new characters, unlocks, and skill tree branches.If youre always contemplating a replay of Final Fantasy Tactics, but might like a new challenge, consider giving this unlikely combination of goofy arcade revival and deep strategy a go.-Kevin PurdyParking Garage Rally CircuitWalaber Entertainment; WindowsThe rise of popular, ultra-detailed racing sims like Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport has coincided with a general decline in the drift-heavy, arcadey side of the genre. Titles like Ridge Racer Sega Rally or even Crazy Taxi now belong more in the industry's nostalgic memories than its present top-sellers.Parking Garage Rally Circuit is doing its best to bring the arcade racer genre back single-handedly. The game's perfectly tuned drifting controls make every turn a joyful sliding experience, complete with chainable post-drift boosts for those who want to tune that perfect speedy line. It captures that great feeling of being just on the edge of losing control, while still holding onto the edge of that perfect drift.It all takes place, as the name implies, winding up, down, over, and through some well-designed parking garages. Each track's short laps (which take a minute or less) ensure you can practically memorize the best paths after just a little bit of play. But the stopped cars and large traffic dividers provide for some hilarious physics-based crashes when your racing line does go wrong.The game earns extra nostalgia points for a variety of visual effects and graphics options that accurately mimic Dreamcast-era consoles and/or emulation-era PC hardware. But the game's extensive online leaderboards and ghost-racers help it feel like a decidedly modern take on a classic genre.-Kyle OrlandPepper GrinderAhr Ech; Windows, MacOS, Linux, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, SwitchIt's amazing how far a platform game can get on nothing more than a novel control scheme. Pepper Grinder is a case in point here, based around a tiny, blue-haired protagonist who uses an oversized drill to tunnel through soft ground like some kind of human-machine-snake hybrid.Navigating through the dirt in large, undulating curves is fun enough, but the game really shines when Pepper bursts out through the top layer of dirt in large, arcing jumps. Chaining these together, from dirt clump to dirt clump, is the most instantly compelling new 2D navigation scheme we've seen in years and creates some beautiful, almost balletic curves through the levels once you've mastered it.The biggest problem with Pepper Grinder is that the game is over practically before it really gets going. And while some compelling time-attack and item-collection challenges help to extend the experience a bit, we really hope some new DLC or a proper sequel is coming soon to give us a new excuse to wind our way through the dirt.-Kyle OrlandThe Rise of the Golden IdolColor Gray Games; Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, SwitchIn 2022, The Case of the Golden Idol proved that details like a controllable protagonist or elaborate cut scenes are unnecessary for a good murder mystery-solving puzzle adventure. All you need is a series of lightly animated vignettes, a way to uncover the smallest hidden details in those vignettes, and a fill-in-the-blanks interface to let you piece together the disparate clues.As a follow-up, Rise moves the 18th-century setting of the original into the 20th century, bringing the mysterious, powerful idol to the attention of both academic scientists and mass media executives who seek to exploit its mind-altering powers. From your semi-omniscient perspective, you have to figure out not just the names and motivations of those pulled into the idol's orbit, but the somewhat inscrutable powers of the idol itself.Rise adds a few interesting new twists, like the ability to scrub through occasional video animations for visual clues and the ability to track certain scenes throughout multiple times of day. At its core, though, this is an extension of the best-in-class, pure deductive reasoning gameplay we saw in the original game, with a slightly more modern twist. This is yet another 2024 favorite that requires strong attention to detail and logical inference from very small hints.It all comes together in a satisfying conclusion that leaves the door wide open for a sequel that we can't wait for.-Kyle OrlandSatisfactoryCoffee Stain Studios; WindowsDanish publisher Coffee Stain makes gaming success seem so simple. Put a game with a goofy feel, a corporate dystopia, and complex systems into early access. Iterate, cultivate feedback and a sense of ownership with the community. Take your time, refine, and then release the game, without any revenue-grabbing transactions or add-ons, beyond fun cosmetics. They did it with Deep Rock Galactic, and theyve done it again with Satisfactory. By the time the game hit 1.0, the only thing left to add was Premium plumbing.Its remarkably fun to live on the bad-guy side of The Lorax, exploiting a planets natural resources to create a giant factory system producing widgets for corporate wellbeing. The first-person perspective might seem odd for game with such complex systems, but it heightens your sense of accomplishment. You didnt just choose to put a conveyor belt between that ore extractor and that fabricator; you personally staked out that deposit, and your ran the track yourself.The systems are incredibly deep, but it can be quite relaxing to wander around your planet-sized industrial park, thinking up ways that things might run better, faster, with no interruptions. Its the kind of second job youre happy to buy into, giving you a deep sense of accomplishment for learning the ins and outs of this system, even as it gently mocks you for engaging with it. Satisfactory has itself worked for years to refine the most efficient gameplay for its bravest fans, and now its ready to employ the rest of us.-Kevin PurdySixty FourOleg Danilov; Windows, MacI try not to think about, or write about, games in the manner of dollars to enjoyment ratio. Games often get cheaper over time, everybody enjoys them differently, and theyre art, too, as well as commerce. But, folks, come on: $6 for Sixty Four? If you play it for one hour and just smile a few times at its oddities and tiny cubes, that was less than a big-city latte or beer.But you will almost certainly play Sixty Four for more than one hour, and maybe many more hours than that if you enjoy games with systems, building, and resources. You build and place machines to extract resources, use those resources to fund new and better machines, rearrange your machines, and eventually create beautiful workflows that are largely automated. Why do you do this? Its a fun, dark mystery.The game looks wonderful in its SimCity 2000/3000-esque style. It can be mentally taxing, but you cant really lose; you can even leave the game window open in the background while you convince your boss or remote work software that youre otherwise productive. Its a fever dream Id recommend to most anybody, unless they dread a repeat of the many lost days to games like Factorio, Satisfactory, or even Universal Paperclips. Just wishlist it, in that case; what could go wrong?-Kevin PurdyTactical Breach WizardsSuspicious Developments; Windows Credit: Suspicious Developments What can you do to spice up turn-based tactics, a rather mature genre?Tactical Breach Wizards adds future-seeing, time-bending, hex-placing wizards, for one thing. It refines the heck out of grid combat, for another, adding window-tossing and door-sealing into the mix, and giving enemies a much wider array of attacks than area-of-effect variations. Finally, it wraps this all up in an inventive sci-fi narrative, one with an engaging plot, characters that reveal themselves one quip at a time, and an overall sense of wonderment at a charming, bizarre world of militarized magic.In other words, you could put some joy into your turn-based combat, while still offering intricate challenges and clever levels.Tom Francis unique sense of humor, seen previously in Gunpoint and Heat Signature, is given space here to shine, and its a wonderful wrapper for all the missions and upgrade decisions. Its pretty ridiculous to be a wizard, wielding a laser-scoped rifle that fires crystal energy, plotting how to hit three guards at once with your next blast. Tactical Breach Wizards knows this, jokes about it, and then celebrates with you when you pull it off. Its both a hoot, and a very good shoot.-Kevin PurdyUFO 50Mossmouth; WindowsIn recent years, modern games have started evoking the blocky polygons and smeary textures of early 3D games to appeal to nostalgic 20- and 30-somethings. UFO 50 has its nostalgic foot placed firmly in an earlier generation of '80s and '90s console gaming, with a bit of early '00s Flash game design thrown in for good measure.Flipping your way through the extremely wide variety of games on offer here is like an eminently enjoyable trip through random titles in an emulator's (legally obtained) classic ROMs folderjust set in an alternate universe. There are plenty of shmups and platform games befitting the ostensible gaming era being recreatedbut you also get full-fledged strategy, puzzle, arcade, racing, adventure, and RPG titles, on top of a few so unique that I can't find any real historical genre analog for. These well-designed titles evoke the classicseverything from Bad Dudes and Bubble Bobble to Super Dodge Ball and Smash TVwithout ever feeling like a simple rehash of games you remember from your youth.While there's the usual spread of quality you'd expect from such a wide-ranging collection, even the worst-made title in UFO 50 shows a level of care and attention to detail that will delight anyone with even a passing interest in game design and/or history. Not every game in UFO 50 will be one of your all-time favorites, but I'd be willing to wager that any gamer of a certain age will find quite a few that will eat away plenty of pleasant, nostalgic hours.-Kyle OrlandKyle OrlandSenior Gaming EditorKyle OrlandSenior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 0 Comments

Under the sea Green sea turtle gets relief from bubble butt syndrome thanks to 3D printing Boat collision left Charlotte stranded at the surface and in danger of predation. Jacek Krywko Dec 21, 2024 7:25 am | 5 Charlotte the turtle Credit: Laura Shubel Charlotte the turtle Credit: Laura Shubel Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreCharlotte, a green sea turtle, was hit by a boat back in 2008. This left it with an affliction colloquially referred to as the bubble butt, a kind of floating syndrome that makes it impossible for a turtle to dive. Most sea turtles suffering from issues like this simply die at sea, since the condition leaves them stranded at the surface where they cant forage, sleep, and avoid predators like sharks. But fate had other plans for Charlotte.Charlotte didnt end up as a sharks lunch and didnt starve to death floating helplessly in the ocean. Instead, it got rescued shortly after the boat accident and eventually found a home at Mystic Aquarium in Stonington, Connecticut, where it received professional care. That was the first time Charlotte got lucky. The second time came when a collaboration formed: Adia, a company specializing in 3D-printing solutions; Formlabs, one of the worlds leading manufacturers of 3D printers; and New Balance Athletic, a sportswear giant based in Boston. This team chose Charlotte as a technology showcase, which basically turned the turtle into an Oscar Pistorius of the seajust without the criminal conviction.Weights and dietSea turtles are marine reptiles, which means they dont have gills like fishthey need air to breathe. The lungs also play a key role in their buoyancy regulation system, which allows them to rest for extended periods of time at the sea floor or float at a precisely chosen depth. A sea turtle can precisely choose the depth at which it achieves neutral buoyancy by inhaling the exactly right volume of air.Their lungs therefore serve a dual-purposethey are an oxygen storage, but they also enable a turtle to maintain a chosen position under water. The issue with Charlotte and many other turtles is a bubble butt syndrome, where there are gas pockets causing added buoyancy, says Alex Pestana, a Formlabs manager involved in helping Charlotte.Two main reasons those gas pockets appear in turtles are plastics and boat strikes.When a turtle consumes something it cant digestlike parts of fishing nets, plastic bottles, or even rubber gloves (yes, there was a sea turtle found with a rubber glove in its intestines)it sometimes gets stuck somewhere along its gastrointestinal tract. This, in turn, causes gases to gather there, which throws the turtles buoyancy out of balance.Those gases usually gather in the parts of the gastrointestinal tract located near the rear of the turtle, so the animal is left floating bum-up at an unnatural angle. Conditions like that are sometimes curable with dietary modifications, assisted feeding, fluid therapy, and other non-invasive means to the point where afflicted animals can be safely released back into the wild. Boat strikes, on the other hand, often lead to permanent damage.Sea turtles shells are tough but not tough enough to withstand a boat impact, especially when the shell gets hit by a propeller blade. This often leaves a shell deformed, with air bubbles trapped underneath it. In more severe cases, the spinal cord under the shell also gets damaged, which leads to complete or partial paralysis.The most popular approach to rehabilitating these injuries relies on gluing Velcro patches to the shell at carefully chosen spots and attaching weights to those patches to counteract the buoyancy caused by the air bubbles. This is a pretty labor-intensive task that has to be done repeatedly every few months for the rest of the turtles life. And green sea turtles can live as long as 80 years. Charlotte swimming with the harness on. Credit: Laura Shubel Charlotte swimming with the harness on. Credit: Laura Shubel Harnessing advanced manufacturingCharlotte, as a boat strike victim with air bubbles trapped under its deformed shell, was considered non-releasable and completely dependent on human care. Since full recovery was not an option, Mystic Aquarium wanted to make everyday functioning more bearable for both the turtle and its caretakers. It got in touch with Adia, which in turn got New Balance and Formlabs onboard. Their idea was to get rid of the Velcro and replace them with a harness fitted with slots for weights.The work started with a 3D scan of Charlottes shell. The scan was the starting point for a New Balance computational design team. And the task proved quite hard.For starters, turtles, as all reptiles, grow all their lifetheir growth rate slows down dramatically when they reach mature sizes, but it never stops. Turtle shells also change over time, with individuals shedding some features and replacing them with new ones. So permanently attaching weights was out of the question.The air bubbles beneath Charlottes shell also shifted at times, which meant the harness had to make repositioning the weights possible. Finally, through years of swimming at an awkward 45-degree angle, the turtle mostly used its fore flippers, which led to atrophy of the hind limbs.The goal then was to gradually get Charlotte used to using its hind flippers again by leveling its position gradually using small weights at the start and moving to larger weights later on.When New Balance finally designed a harness that checked all the boxes, the CAD files went to Formlabs for 3D printing. Pestanas team prepared those files for 3D printing in a process called slicing, where a digital model is divided into very thin layers. Those sliced models were then fed into the Formlabs Fuse 1 SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) 3D printer. In this process, we take powderized plastic, finer than sand, and we are heating that powder to just about its melting point, Pestana explained. Then we are using a laser to melt itthe laser kind of draws the layers image on the powder, starting from the bottom of the model. Then we recoat the powder for the next layer, and we do that over and over, till the model is printed. To get the right mix of flexibility, stiffness, and impact-resistance, Formlabs made Charlottes harness with carbon fiber-reinforced nylon. And it worked.Future turtle careCharlotte got the harness in December 2024 and, according to its handlers, it is doing great, making progress toward getting its hind flippers moving. But Aida, New Balance, and Formlabs are already thinking about applying this approach at a broader scale. There are definitely several cases like this one. I dont know the exact number, but I know Adia was reached out to by at least four other aquariums that have similar issues. There are many turtles like Charlotte out there in the US and several more across the world, Pestana says.He said 3D printing is particularly useful in helping afflicted animals because it offers a relatively inexpensive, low-volume manufacturing option where each design can be heavily customized. Were talking about designs that are very complex that need to be very specific to the animal and to the injury or trauma the animal suffered, Pestana told Ars. Traditionally you would make designs like that by hand. It would be very labor-intensive, and you probably wouldnt get them quite as optimized to the loads they need to withstand.Adia and New Balance have a vision for helping turtles with floating syndromes that relies on seeking collaborators who can assist in getting the process of manufacturing harnesses as simple and automated as possible. We need workflows that are more streamlined. People are usually not adept in CAD design and all that. Our goal is a system where you could just use a scan data of the shell to generate a harness design we could directly transfer to the SLS system and produce end-use parts, Pestana says. Thats like an end-state. We are trying to get that done.Jacek KrywkoAssociate WriterJacek KrywkoAssociate Writer Jacek Krywko is a freelance science and technology writer who covers space exploration, artificial intelligence research, computer science, and all sorts of engineering wizardry. 5 Comments

Sea of ash Exploring an undersea terrain sculpted by glaciers and volcanoes Researchers found a fossilized seascape while studying the impact of a volcanic eruption. Ashley Balzer Vigil Dec 21, 2024 6:09 am | 0 This May 26, 2008 photo shows the Chaitn lava dome with lava spilling out the left side and agiant plume of ash blasting into the sky. The eruption lasted several months and blanketedsurrounding farmland in ash. Credit: United States Geological Survey This May 26, 2008 photo shows the Chaitn lava dome with lava spilling out the left side and agiant plume of ash blasting into the sky. The eruption lasted several months and blanketedsurrounding farmland in ash. Credit: United States Geological Survey Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOn May 2, 2008, the Chaitn volcano in Chile awoke with unexpected fury after more than 9,000 years of dormancy. The eruption blasted rocks and ash a dozen miles into the air, and then heavy rainfall swept the fallen debris up in immense mudflows. A river of rubble carved a destructive path through the nearby town of Chaitn before surging into the sea. The town, practically split in two by the torrent that cut through its middle, was evacuated as ash blanketed over 200,000 square kilometers of surrounding land.While the terrestrial aftermath was plain to see, captured by both the local media and satellites, the impact on the sea was unknown. Mists shroud the hillsides at the entrance to Chaitn Bay, as seen from aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institutes Falkor (too) research vessel. Credit: Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute The eruption released over 750 billion liters of lavaenough to fill more than 300,000 Olympic-sized swimming poolsmainly in the form of rock fragments. The debris flowed through rivers into the Northern Patagonian Sea, just six miles away.An international team of scientists set sail on the Schmidt Ocean Institutes Falkor (too) research vessel in September to trace the volcanic ashs flow and assess its effects. Along the way, they found an underwater valley carved out by ancient glaciers. Its hardly been altered in the 17,000 years or so since those glaciers retreated. Heavy rain following the eruption swept fallen ash into the sea, as seen in this satellite image. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory They wanted to explore how volcanoes impact the sea, its inhabitants, and underwater infrastructure.Our observations will allow us to explore how active volcanoes affect marine environments and infrastructure, ranging from fisheries to communication cables, the expeditions chief scientist, Sebastian Watt, an associate professor in Earth sciences at the University of Birmingham, said in a press release. The town of Chaitn is very rural, and the area itself lacks submarine cables, but the teams work could help assess whether volcanic activity might damage those cables at other locations across the globe.Because of how they form, volcanoes are nearly always found in or near the ocean, yet scientists have hardly studied how eruptions affect marine ecosystems. A range of hazards can impact communities in the aftermath of volcanic eruptions, Watt said, and the information we gather from studying the 2008 Chaitn eruption is relevant for coastal and island volcanoes globally. The remotely operated vehicle SuBastian is recovered onto the research vessel after an exploratory dive. Credit: Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) called SuBastian served as the teams underwater eyes. Fitted with a suite of lights, cameras, and sensors, the ROV explored the areas where volcanic debris had washed into the ocean.We used the ROV SuBastian to gather samples that would otherwise be impossible to obtain, said Rodrigo Fernndez, an assistant professor at the Universidad de Chile, who co-led the expedition. And the ability to see the sampling sites with our own eyes and select the very best targets is a game changer. We usually sample the seafloor blind, selecting targets based on geophysics data acquired from the vessel and then deploying equipment hundreds or thousands of meters down.The team collected samples that contain both sediment and shells, which theyll analyze to help determine the samples ages and to study microbial and geochemical changes. Comparing lower layers (from before the eruption) with higher ones will let them see how the eruption affected the marine ecosystem. Silhouetted against screens, remotely operated vehicle pilots take sediment samples using ROV SuBastian. Credit: Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute The ROVs lights in the ocean shine like a candle in the night, casting an eerie glow on its immediate surroundings but unable to provide a big-picture view. For that, the team used sonar instruments on the ship to make a high-resolution 3D map of the seafloor. Underwater dunes offshore the Rayas River delta, mapped in 3D by the Schmidt Ocean Institute-funded CODEX project, extend for well over 10 kilometers. They indicate the presence of strong currents through the area, which transported the volcanic material carried into the ocean by rivers following the eruption. Credit: Rodrigo Fernndez / CODEX Project That map revealed underwater giantstowering mega-dunes made of volcanic ash. The dunes are an imprint that hints at the forces that sculpt the seafloor, allowing scientists to trace the transport of volcanic material after it was swept into the sea. The team mapped over 1,000 square miles, collected data on what lies more than six stories beneath the seafloor, and found ash more than 15 miles from the volcano. Macarena Prez (a PhD student at the University of Playa Ancha) and Sion Moraga (a student at the University of Chile) inspect a core sample. Credit: Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute The ROV was equipped with a vibrating coring device, a straw-like instrument that gathered sediment samples by plunging into the seafloor. The layers of sediment collected in the core samples preserve evidence of the areas past geological and biological activity.Perhaps counterintuitively, sediment layers are more likely to remain intact on the seafloor than on land, so they can provide a better record of the regions history. The seafloor is a more stable, oxygen-poor environment, reducing erosion and decomposition (two reasons scientists find far more fossils of marine creatures than land dwellers) and preserving finer details. A close-up view of a core sample taken by a vibracorer. Scientists mark places they plan to inspect more closely with little flags. Credit: Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute Samples from different areas vary dramatically in time coverage, going back only to 2008 for some and back potentially more than 15,000 years for others due to wildly different sedimentation rates. Scientists will use techniques like radiocarbon dating to determine the ages of sediment layers in the core samples. ROV SuBastian spotted a helmet jellyfish during the expedition. These photophobic (light avoidant) creatures glow via bioluminescence. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute Microscopic analysis of the sediment cores will also help the team analyze the way the eruption affected marine creatures and the chemistry of the seafloor.Theres a wide variety of life and sediment types found at the different sites we surveyed, said Alastair Hodgetts, a physical volcanologist and geologist at the University of Edinburgh, who participated in the expedition. The oldest place we visitedan area scarred by ancient glacier movementis a fossilized seascape that was completely unexpected. In a region beyond the dunes, ocean currents have kept the seafloor clear of sediment. That preserves seabed features left by the retreat of ice sheets at the end of the last glaciation. Credit: Rodrigo Fernndez / CODEX Project This feature, too, tells scientists about the way the water moves. Currents flowing over an area that was eroded long ago by a glacier sweep sediment away, keeping the ancient terrain visible.Im very interested in analyzing seismic data and correlating it with the layers of sediment in the core samples to create a timeline of geological events in the area, said Giulia Matilde Ferrante, a geophysicist at Italys National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, who co-led the expedition. Reconstructing the past in this way will help us better understand the sediment history and landscape changes in the region. In this post-apocalyptic scene, captured June 20, 2008, a thick layer of ash covers the town of Chaitn as the volcano continues to erupt in the background. Around 5,000 people evacuated, and resettlement efforts didnt begin until the following year. Credit: Javier Rubilar The team has already gathered measurements of the amount of sediment the eruption delivered to the sea. Now theyll work to determine whether older layers of sediment record earlier, unknown events similar to the 2008 eruption.Better understanding past volcanic events, revealing things like how far away an eruption reached, and how common, severe, and predictable eruptions are, will help to plan for future events and reduce the impacts they have on local communities, Watt said.Ashley writes about space for a contractor for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center by day and freelances as an environmental writer. She holds master's degrees in space studies from The University of North Dakota and science writing from The Johns Hopkins University. She writes most of her articles with a baby on her lap. 0 Comments

OpenMoxie Startup set to brick $800 kids robot is trying to open source it first Most owners still won't be refunded for the emotional support toy. Scharon Harding Dec 20, 2024 2:10 pm | 45 Credit: Embodied Credit: Embodied Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreEarlier this month, startup Embodied announced that it is going out of business and taking its Moxie robot with it. The $800 robots, aimed at providing emotional support for kids ages 5 to 10, would soon be bricked, the company said, because they cant perform their core features without the cloud. Following customer backlash, Embodied is trying to create a way for the robots to live an open sourced second life.Embodied CEO Paolo Pirjanian shared a document via a LinkedIn blog post today saying that people who used to be part of Embodieds technical team are developing a potential and open source way to keep Moxies running. The document reads:This initiative involves developing a local server application (OpenMoxie) that you can run on your own computer. Once available, this community-driven option will enable you (or technically inclined individuals) to maintain Moxies basic functionality, develop new features, and modify her capabilities to better suit your needswithout reliance on Embodieds cloud servers.The notice says that after releasing OpenMoxie, Embodied plans to release all necessary code and documentation for developers and users.Pirjanian said that an over-the-air (OTA) update is now available for download that will allow previously purchased Moxies to support OpenMoxie. The executive noted that Embodied is still seeking long-term answers but claimed that the update is a vital first step to keep the door open for the robot's continued functionality.At this time, OpenMoxie isnt available and doesnt have a release date. Embodieds wording also seems careful to leave an opening for OpenMoxie to not actually release; although, the company seems optimistic.However, theres also a risk of users failing to update their robots in time and properly. Embodied noted that it wont be able to support users who have trouble with the update or with OpenMoxie post-release. Updating the robot includes connecting to Wi-Fi and leaving it on for at least an hour.It is extremely important that you update your Moxie with this OTA as soon as possible because once the cloud servers stop working you will not be able to update your robot, the document reads. Embodied hasn't said when exactly its cloud servers still stop working.Good, not great, newsMoxie's story is similar to that of Spotify's CarThing, a gadget that mounted to car dashboards and auxiliary outlets so driveres could easily access Spotify. In May, Spotify said it would brick CarThings in December and wouldn't open source them. However, in November, YouTuber Dammit Jeff explained how to repurpose CarThings so that they could still be of value to people who spent up to $90 to own one.Moxies bricking is more "unsettling," as Pirjanian put it, because Embodied said most people wouldnt get refunds (only those who bought it within 30 days of the closure announcement have a chance of maybe getting their money back). At $800, Moxies were also much more expensive than CarThings.Embodied says it's shuttering due to failed funding, meaning it likely has thin resources for keeping Moxies alive. So, it's nice to see the startup make this effort to try to compensate customers, especially after parents have complained of heart-wrenching conversations with children about how their favorite toy would soon stop speaking to them.Still, this isnt an ideal solution for parents who invested in an emotional support toy for their kid and may not have the know-how or time to keep it alive after Embodied closes. While Embodied is doing better than other firms that have bricked or otherwise changed smart device capabilities after release, it remains a disappointing and possibly illegal trend among tech companies pushing products only to alter their functionality or stop supporting their software after taking people's money.Scharon HardingSenior Technology ReporterScharon HardingSenior Technology Reporter Scharon is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer gadgets and services. She's been reporting on technology for over 10 years, with bylines at Toms Hardware, Channelnomics, and CRN UK. 45 Comments

Justice for Rost Horizon: Zero Dawn gets the graphical remaster a modern classic deserves This is how to do a remaster. Nate Anderson Dec 20, 2024 3:10 pm | 47 Just look at that fog! Credit: Sony Just look at that fog! Credit: Sony Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAt their best, "remastered" video games keep terrific older titles viable on new generations of hardware and for new generations of fans. At their worst, they can feel like a cash-in.So it was with some trepidation that I recently fired up the "remastered" Horizon: Zero Dawn, a game which won me over years ago with its PS4 version due to the simple fact that it was ONE OF THE BEST VIDEO GAMES OF ALL TIME and featured ONE OF THE BEST PROTAGONISTS OF ALL TIME in one of the BEST STORIES OF ALL TIME. (Yes, I like superlatives, which are some of the BEST WORDS OF ALL TIME. But the game world really was terrific.) Even my kids were won over, playing through the game and its sequel multiple times.The game tells the story of a future Earth long after catastrophein the form of an autonomous robotic swarmhas ruined the planet. But it's not mere dystopia, though one does come across many wrecked and overgrown spaces from that earlier age. Horizon instead focuses on how humans, having lost most of their past knowledge, rebuilt a world in tribal fashion, a world populated by animal-inspired machines. The game's story operates ambitiously in two timelines and features massive killer robots, cults, and mad Sun Kings, all set against the gorgeous background of the American West.If the original Horizon had a flaw, it was long load times. As one redditor succinctly put it, "These load times are butt, huh?" Indeed they were. Extremely butt, in fact.The payoff was a gorgeous open world with such distinctive art direction that the developer put out a hardcover book showcasing the design work that went into the game. (Yes, I bought it, because it was about ONE OF THE BEST GAMES OF ALLwell, you get it.)But that amazing graphic design, as good as it looked when it appeared on the PS4, was a tiny bit dated as the years passed, especially when its just-as-gorgeous sequel came out on the PS5. The story and gameplay in the first title were still amazing, but it was disappointing not to be able to play both parts of ONE OF THE BEST GAMES..., etc, in identical visual glory.So when Sony put out the recent "remaster" of Zero Dawn, I was cautiously optimistic. Any sort of non-half-assed PS5 reworking ought to reduce load times, right? Machines make it hard to enjoy the view. Machines make it hard to enjoy the view. So many more people in the towns. It's starting to feel a bit crowded! So many more people in the towns. It's starting to feel a bit crowded! Everything about the game looks good. Everything about the game looks good.So many more people in the towns. It's starting to feel a bit crowded!Everything about the game looks good.I meant to dip into the world of Zero Dawn only for a few hours, but I ended up playing through the whole game and its expansion, The Frozen Wilds, over the last few weeks. The arrow-based gameplay, complex story, and voice acting were still terrific, and the remastered elements were far more than a simple cash-in. Even little things, like the way the adaptive triggers on the PS5 controllers mimic the tension of a bowstring, felt perfect.I didn't expect to get sucked back into the game's world for so many hours, but I had a great time doing it and wanted to spread the good word for those who might be looking for an engaging single-player experience over the holidays.Big changesWhen it comes to major changes, the remaster has three.First, the game loads fast. It feels like a ground-up PS5 title. Deathand its attendant reloadsno longer makes me want to throw my controller across the room during difficult battles. It's great.Second, the game looks unbelievable. This is not a case of just upping the resolution to 4K and calling it a day. Sony claims that the game features "over 10 hours of re-recorded conversation, mocap and countless graphical improvements that bring the game to the same visual fidelity as its critically acclaimed sequel." Also, the game's characters have "been upgraded, bringing them in line with current generation advances in character models and rendering."This is not just marketing fluff. The faces look incredible, even in close-up cinematic interludes, but what really caught my eye was the lighting. From the moment a young Aloy spelunks into a cave and finds an electronic gadget attached to a skeleton lying peacefully in a sunbeam, the revamped lighting engine makes its presence clear. No, it's not "realistic"everything looks like a postcard shot. But I found myself pausing the game just to look at the sunlight scattered by a snowstorm or dawn breaking over a mountain range. The lighting interacts with a volumetric set of effects that bring fog and dust devils to life like few other games I've seen. When Aloy tramps through a winter squall, leaving footsteps in the mountain snow as she walks, the effect is magical. (Until a Glinthawk swoops in, screaming, and attacks.)The populated areas, especially the major town of Meridian, also feel vastly improved. The game engine appears to have far more power available to it now, and that power has been devoted to populating towns and villages with double or triple the number of non-player characters. This goes some way toward making the world feel more alive, and I found the effect immediately noticeable.In other words, this is not just some "upscaled" PS4 title; this thing looks like a modern PS5 game, and a good one at that. The incredible art design of the world and its inhabitants are more immersive than ever before. (And you really need to see the game in motion; screenshots look good, but it's the way facial expressions move or how light plays through trees or hit a dust bowl that are truly stunning.)Third, the game improved its audio. According to Sony, audio "has been significantly enhanced. Weve completely revamped the sound mix, now supporting PS5 Tempest 3D Audio Tech2 for higher-order ambisonics and Atmos rendering for an immersive soundscape. Our sound design has also seen major improvements, with hundreds of improvements both in-game and in the cinematics." I take their word for it, but I didn't personally notice a major difference. I don't have an Atmos system, but the audio (still) sounded great.If you love the Horizon series, this is the best way to experience the first title on console. (I haven't tried the PC versions. Also, the less said about the new LEGO version of the game, called LEGO Horizon Adventures, the better.)And if you previously bought the game, you can upgrade for ten bucks (though note that if you bought a PS4 disc version, you'll need to have the game disc inserted both to upgrade and to run the game; and if you have a disc-less PS5, you're out of luck on that front.)Nate AndersonDeputy EditorNate AndersonDeputy Editor Nate is the deputy editor at Ars Technica. His most recent book is In Emergency, Break Glass: What Nietzsche Can Teach Us About Joyful Living in a Tech-Saturated World, which is much funnier than it sounds. 47 Comments

DASH AWAY ALL 12 days of OpenAI: The Ars Technica recap Did OpenAI's big holiday event live up to the billing? Benj Edwards Dec 20, 2024 5:01 pm | 0 Credit: J Studios via Getty Images Credit: J Studios via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOver the past 12 business days, OpenAI has announced a new product or demoed an AI feature every weekday, calling the PR event "12 days of OpenAI." We've covered some of the major announcements, but we thought a look at each announcement might be useful for people seeking a comprehensive look at each day's developments.The timing and rapid pace of these announcementsparticularly in light of Google's competing releasesillustrates the intensifying competition in AI development. What might normally have been spread across months was compressed into just 12 business days, giving users and developers a lot to process as they head into 2025.Humorously, we asked ChatGPT what it thought about the whole series of announcements, and it was skeptical that the event even took place. "The rapid-fire announcements over 12 days seem plausible," wrote ChatGPT-4o, "But might strain credibility without a clearer explanation of how OpenAI managed such an intense release schedule, especially given the complexity of the features."But it did happen, and here's a chronicle of what went down on each day.Day 1: Thursday, December 5On the first day of OpenAI, the company released its full o1 model, making it available to ChatGPT Plus and Team subscribers worldwide. The company reported that the model operates faster than its preview version and reduces major errors by 34 percent on complex real-world questions.The o1 model brings new capabilities for image analysis, allowing users to upload and receive detailed explanations of visual content. OpenAI said it plans to expand o1's features to include web browsing and file uploads in ChatGPT, with API access coming soon. The API version will support vision tasks, function calling, and structured outputs for system integration.OpenAI also launched ChatGPT Pro, a $200 subscription tier that provides "unlimited" access to o1, GPT-4o, and Advanced Voice features. Pro subscribers receive an exclusive version of o1 that uses additional computing power for complex problem-solving. Alongside this release, OpenAI announced a grant program that will provide ChatGPT Pro access to 10 medical researchers at established institutions, with plans to extend grants to other fields.Day 2: Friday, December 6Day 2 wasn't as exciting. OpenAI unveiled Reinforcement Fine-Tuning (RFT), a model customization method that will let developers modify "o-series" models for specific tasks. The technique reportedly goes beyond traditional supervised fine-tuning by using reinforcement learning to help models improve their reasoning abilities through repeated iterations. In other words, OpenAI created a new way to train AI models that lets them learn from practice and feedback.OpenAI says that Berkeley Lab computational researcher Justin Reese tested RFT for researching rare genetic diseases, while Thomson Reuters has created a specialized o1-mini model for its CoCounsel AI legal assistant. The technique requires developers to provide a dataset and evaluation criteria, with OpenAI's platform managing the reinforcement learning process.OpenAI plans to release RFT to the public in early 2024 but currently offers limited access through their Reinforcement Fine-Tuning Research Program for researchers, universities, and companies.Day 3: Monday, December 9On day 3, OpenAI released Sora, its text-to-video model, as a standalone product now accessible through sora.com for ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers. The company says the new version operates faster than the research preview shown in February 2024, when OpenAI first demonstrated the model's ability to create videos from text descriptions.The release moved Sora from research preview to a production service, marking OpenAI's official entry into the video synthesis market. The company published a blog post detailing the subscription tiers and deployment strategy for the service.Day 4: Tuesday, December 10On day 4, OpenAI moved its Canvas feature out of beta testing, making it available to all ChatGPT users, including those on free tiers. Canvas provides a dedicated interface for extended writing and coding projects beyond the standard chat format, now with direct integration into the GPT-4o model.The updated canvas allows users to run Python code within the interface and includes a text-pasting feature for importing existing content. OpenAI added compatibility with custom GPTs and a "show changes" function that tracks modifications to writing and code. The company said Canvas is now on chatgpt.com for web users and also available through a Windows desktop application, with more features planned for future updates.Day 5: Wednesday, December 11On day 5, OpenAI announced that ChatGPT would integrate with Apple Intelligence across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices. The integration works on iPhone 16 series phones, iPhone 15 Pro models, iPads with A17 Pro or M1 chips and later, and Macs with M1 processors or newer, running their respective latest operating systems.The integration lets users access ChatGPT's features (such as they are), including image and document analysis, directly through Apple's system-level intelligence features. The feature works with all ChatGPT subscription tiers and operates within Apple's privacy framework. Iffy message summaries remain unaffected by the additions.Enterprise and Team account users need administrator approval to access the integration.Day 6: Thursday, December 12On the sixth day, OpenAI added two features to ChatGPT's voice capabilities: "video calling" with screen sharing support for ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers and a seasonal Santa Claus voice preset.The new visual Advanced Voice Mode features work through the mobile app, letting users show their surroundings or share their screen with the AI model during voice conversations. While the rollout covers most countries, users in several European nations, including EU member states, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein, will get access at a later date. Enterprise and education users can expect these features in January.The Santa voice option appears as a snowflake icon in the ChatGPT interface across mobile devices, web browsers, and desktop apps, with conversations in this mode not affecting chat history or memory. Don't expect Santa to remember what you want for Christmas between sessions.Day 7: Friday, December 13OpenAI introduced Projects, a new organizational feature in ChatGPT that lets users group related conversations and files, on day 7. The feature works with the company's GPT-4o model and provides a central location for managing resources related to specific tasks or topicskinda like Anthropic's "Projects" feature.ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team subscribers can currently access Projects through chatgpt.com and the Windows desktop app, with view-only support on mobile devices and macOS. Users can create projects by clicking a plus icon in the sidebar, where they can add files and custom instructions that provide context for future conversations.OpenAI said it plans to expand Projects in 2024 with support for additional file types, cloud storage integration through Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, and compatibility with other models like o1. Enterprise and education users will receive access to Projects in January.Day 8: Monday, December 16On day 8, OpenAI expanded its search features in ChatGPT, extending access to all users with free accounts while reportedly adding speed improvements and mobile optimizations. Basically, you can use ChatGPT like a web search engine, although in practice it doesn't seem to be as comprehensive as Google Search at the moment.The update includes a new maps interface and integration with Advanced Voice, allowing users to perform searches during voice conversations. The search capability, which previously required a paid subscription, now works across all platforms where ChatGPT operates.Day 9: Tuesday, December 17On day 9, OpenAI released its o1 model through its API platform, adding support for function calling, developer messages, and vision processing capabilities. The company also reduced GPT-4o audio pricing by 60 percent and introduced a GPT-4o mini option that costs one-tenth of previous audio rates.OpenAI also simplified its WebRTC integration for real-time applications and unveiled Preference Fine-Tuning, which provides developers new ways to customize models. The company also launched beta versions of software development kits for the Go and Java programming languages, expanding its toolkit for developers.Day 10: Wednesday, December 18On Wednesday, OpenAI did something a little fun and launched voice and messaging access to ChatGPT through a toll-free number (1-800-CHATGPT), as well as WhatsApp. US residents can make phone calls with a 15-minute monthly limit, while global users can message ChatGPT through WhatsApp at the same number.OpenAI said the release is a way to reach users who lack consistent high-speed internet access or want to try AI through familiar communication channels, but it's also just a clever hack. As evidence, OpenAI notes that these new interfaces serve as experimental access points, with more "limited functionality" than the full ChatGPT service, and still recommends existing users continue using their regular ChatGPT accounts for complete features.Day 11: Thursday, December 19On Thursday, OpenAI expanded ChatGPT's desktop app integration to include additional coding environments and productivity software. The update added support for Jetbrains IDEs like PyCharm and IntelliJ IDEA, VS Code variants including Cursor and VSCodium, and text editors such as BBEdit and TextMate.OpenAI also included integration with Apple Notes, Notion, and Quip, while adding Advanced Voice Mode compatibility when working with desktop applications. These features require manual activation for each app and remain available to paid subscribers, including Plus, Pro, Team, Enterprise, and Education users, with Enterprise and Education customers needing administrator approval to enable the functionality.Day 12: Friday, December 20On Friday, OpenAI concluded its twelve days of announcements by previewing two new simulated reasoning models, o3 and o3-mini, while opening applications for safety and security researchers to test them before public release. Early evaluations show o3 achieving a 2727 rating on Codeforces programming contests and scoring 96.7 perecent on AIME 2024 mathematics problems.The company reports o3 set performance records on advanced benchmarks, solving 25.2 percent of problems on EpochAI's Frontier Math evaluations and scoring above 85 percent on the ARC-AGI test, which is comparable to human results. OpenAI also published research about "deliberative alignment," a technique used in developing o1. The company has not announced firm release dates for either new o3 model, but CEO Sam Altman said o3-mini might ship in late January.So what did we learn?OpenAI's December campaign revealed that OpenAI had a lot of things sitting around that it needed to ship, and it picked a fun theme to unite the announcements. Google responded in kind, as we have covered.Several trends from the releases stand out. OpenAI is heavily investing in multimodal capabilities. The o1 model's release, Sora's evolution from research preview to product, and the expansion of voice features with video calling all point toward systems that can seamlessly handle text, images, voice, and video.The company is also focusing heavily on developer tools and customization, so it can continue to have a cloud service business and have its products integrated into other applications. Between the API releases, Reinforcement Fine-Tuning, and expanded IDE integrations, OpenAI is building out its ecosystem for developers and enterprises. And the introduction of o3 shows that OpenAI is still attempting to push technological boundaries, even in the face of diminishing returns in training LLM base models.OpenAI seems to be positioning itself for a 2025 where generative AI moves beyond text chatbots and simple image generators and finds its way into novel applications that we probably can't even predict yet. We'll have to wait and see what the company and developers come up with in the year ahead.Benj EdwardsSenior AI ReporterBenj EdwardsSenior AI Reporter Benj Edwards is Ars Technica's Senior AI Reporter and founder of the site's dedicated AI beat in 2022. He's also a tech historian with almost two decades of experience. In his free time, he writes and records music, collects vintage computers, and enjoys nature. He lives in Raleigh, NC. 0 Comments

deep thoughts OpenAI announces o3 and o3-mini, its next simulated reasoning models o3 matches human levels on ARC-AGI benchmark, and o3-mini exceeds o1 at some tasks. Benj Edwards Dec 20, 2024 2:31 pm | 10 Credit: Benj Edwards / Andriy Onufriyenko via Getty Images Credit: Benj Edwards / Andriy Onufriyenko via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOn Friday, during Day 12 of its "12 days of OpenAI," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced its latest AI "reasoning" models, o3 and o3-mini, which build upon the o1 models launched earlier this year. The company is not releasing them yet but will make these models available for public safety testing and research access today.The models use what OpenAI calls "private chain of thought," where the model pauses to examine its internal dialog and plan ahead before responding, which you might call "simulated reasoning" (SR)a form of AI that goes beyond basic large language models (LLMs).The company named the model family "o3" instead of "o2" to avoid potential trademark conflicts with British telecom provider O2, according to The Information. During Friday's livestream, Altman acknowledged his company's naming foibles, saying, "In the grand tradition of OpenAI being really, truly bad at names, it'll be called o3."According to OpenAI, the o3 model earned a record-breaking score on the ARC-AGI benchmark, a visual reasoning benchmark that has gone unbeaten since its creation in 2019. In low-compute scenarios, o3 scored 75.7 percent, while in high-compute testing, it reached 87.5 percentcomparable to human performance at an 85 percent threshold.OpenAI also reported that o3 scored 96.7 percent on the 2024 American Invitational Mathematics Exam, missing just one question. The model also reached 87.7 percent on GPQA Diamond, which contains graduate-level biology, physics, and chemistry questions. On the Frontier Math benchmark by EpochAI, o3 solved 25.2 percent of problems, while no other model has exceeded 2 percent.During the livestream, the president of the ARC Prize Foundation said, "When I see these results, I need to switch my worldview about what AI can do and what it is capable of."The o3-mini variant, also announced Friday, includes an adaptive thinking time feature, offering low, medium, and high processing speeds. The company states that higher compute settings produce better results. OpenAI reports that o3-mini outperforms its predecessor, o1, on the Codeforces benchmark.Simulated reasoning on the riseOpenAI's announcement comes as other companies develop their own SR models, including Google, which announced Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental on Thursday. In November, DeepSeek launched DeepSeek-R1, while Alibaba's Qwen team released QwQ, what they called the first "open" alternative to o1.These new AI models are based on traditional LLMs, but with a twist: They are fine-tuned to produce a type of iterative chain of thought process that can consider its own results, simulating reasoning in an almost brute-force way that can be scaled at inference (running) time, instead of focusing on improvements during AI model training, which has seen diminishing returns recently.OpenAI will make the new SR models available first to safety researchers for testing. Altman said the company plans to launch o3-mini in late January, with o3 following shortly after.Benj EdwardsSenior AI ReporterBenj EdwardsSenior AI Reporter Benj Edwards is Ars Technica's Senior AI Reporter and founder of the site's dedicated AI beat in 2022. He's also a tech historian with almost two decades of experience. In his free time, he writes and records music, collects vintage computers, and enjoys nature. He lives in Raleigh, NC. 10 Comments

244 and counting Rocket Report: ULA has a wild idea; Starliner crew will stay in orbit even longer ULA's Vulcan rocket is at least several months away from flying again, and Stoke names its engine. Stephen Clark Dec 20, 2024 2:40 pm | 0 Stoke Space's Zenith booster engine fires on a test stand at Moses Lake, Washington. Credit: Stoke Space Stoke Space's Zenith booster engine fires on a test stand at Moses Lake, Washington. Credit: Stoke Space Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWelcome to Edition 7.24 of the Rocket Report! This is the last Rocket Report of the year, and what a year it's been. So far, there have been 244 rocket launches to successfully reach orbit this year, a record for annual launch activity. And there are still a couple of weeks to go before the calendar turns to 2025. Time is running out for Blue Origin to launch its first heavy-lift New Glenn rocket this year, but if it flies before January 1, it will certainly be one of the top space stories of 2024.As always, we welcome reader submissions. If you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.Corkscrew in the sky. A Japanese space startup said its second attempt to launch a rocket carrying small satellites into orbit had been terminated minutes after liftoff Wednesday and destroyed itself again, nine months after the companys first launch attempt in an explosion, the Associated Press reports. The startup that developed the rocket, named Space One, launched the Kairos rocket from a privately owned coastal spaceport in Japan's Kansai region. Company executive and space engineer Mamoru Endo said an abnormality in the first stage engine nozzle or its control system is likely to have caused an unstable flight of the rocket, which started spiraling in mid-flight and eventually destroyed itself about three minutes after liftoff, using its autonomous safety mechanism.0-for-2 ... The launch failure this week followed the first attempt to launch the Kairos rocket in March, when the launcher exploded just five seconds after liftoff. An investigation into the failed launch in March concluded the rocket's autonomous destruct system activated after detecting its solid-fueled first stage wasn't generating as much thrust as expected. The Kairos rocket is Japan's first privately funded orbital-class rocket, capable of placing payloads up to 550 pounds (250 kilograms) into l0w-Earth orbit. (submitted by Jay500001, Ken the Bin, and EllPeaTea)A fit check for Themis. ArianeGroup has brought the main elements of the Themis reusable booster demonstrator together for the first time in France during a "full-fit check," European Spaceflight reports. This milestone paves the way for the demonstrators inaugural test, which is expected to take place in 2025. Themis, which is funded by the European Space Agency, is designed to test vertical launch and landing capabilities with a new methane-fueled rocket engine.According to ESA, the full-fit check is one of the final steps in the development phase of Themis.Slow progress ... ESA signed the contract with ArianeGroup for the Themis program in 2020, and at that time, the program's schedule called for initial low-altitude hop tests in 2022. It's now taken more than double the time officials originally projected to get the Themis rocket airborne. The first up-and-down hops will be based at the Esrange Space Center in Sweden, and will use the vehicle ArianeGroup is assembling now in France. A second Themis rocket will be built for medium-altitude tests from Esrange, and finally, a three-engine version of Themis will fly on high-altitude tests from the Guiana Space Center in South America. At the rate this program is proceeding, it's fair to ask if Themis will complete a full-envelope launch and landing demonstration before the end of the decade, if it ever does. (submitted by Ken the Bin) The Ars Technica Rocket Report The easiest way to keep up with Eric Berger's and Stephen Clark's reporting on all things space is to sign up for our newsletter. We'll collect their stories and deliver them straight to your inbox.Sign Me Up!Baguette One is going critical.French launch startup HyPrSpace has announced that it has completed preliminary design reviews for its Baguette One and Orbital Baguette One (OB-1) rockets, European Spaceflight reports. Baguette One will be a suborbital demonstrator for the OB-1 rocket, designed to use a hybrid propulsion system that combines liquid and solid propellants and doesn't require a turbopump. With the preliminary design complete, HyPrSpace said it is moving on to the critical design phase for both rockets, a stage of development where detailed engineering plans are finalized and components are prepared for manufacturing.Heating the oven ... HyPrSpace has previously stated the Orbital Baguette One rocket will be capable of delivering a payload of up to 550 pounds (250 kilograms) to low-Earth orbit. Last year, the startup announced it raised 35 million euros in funding, primarily from the French government, to complete the critical design phase of the OB-1 rocket and launch the Baguette One on a suborbital test flight. HyPrSpace has not provided an updated schedule for the first flight of either rocket. (submitted by Ken the Bin)A new player on the scene. RTX weapons arm Raytheon and defense startup Ursa Major Technologies have completed two successful test flights of a missile propelled by a new solid rocket motor, Breaking Defense reports. The two test flights, held at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California, involved a Raytheon-made missile propelled by an Ursa Major solid rocket motor measuring less than 10 inches in diameter, according to Dan Jablonsky, Ursa Major's CEO. Details about the missile are shrouded in mystery, and Raytheon officials referred questions on the matter to the Army.Joining the club ... The US military is interested in fostering the development of a third supplier of solid rocket propulsion for weapons systems. Right now, only Northrop Grumman and L3Harris's Aerojet Rocketdyne are available as solid rocket vendors, and they have struggled to keep up with the demand for weapons systems, especially to support the war in Ukraine. Ursa Major is one of several US-based startups entering the solid rocket propulsion market. "There is a new player on the scene in the solid rocket motor industry," Jablonsky said. "This is an Army program that weve been working on with Raytheon. In this particular program, we went from concept and design to firing and flight on the range in just under four months, which is lightning fast." (submitted by Ken the Bin)SpaceX's rapid response. In a mission veiled in secrecy, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Monday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, sending a military Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite to a medium orbit about 12,000 miles above Earth, Space News reports.Named Rapid Response Trailblazer-1 (RRT-1), this mission was a US national security space launch and was also intended to demonstrate military capabilities to condense a typical two-year mission planning cycle to less than six months.The payload, GPS III SV-07, is the seventh satellite of the GPS III constellation, built by Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft was in storage awaiting a launch on United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket.Tightening the timeline ... "We decided to pull SV-07 out of storage and try to get it to the launch pad as quickly as possible," Col. James Horne, senior material leader for launch execution at the US Space Forces Space Systems Command, told Space News. "Its our way of demonstrating that we can be responsive to operator needs." Rather than the typical mission cycle of two years, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and the Space Force worked together to prep this GPS satellite for launch in a handful of months. Military officials decided to launch SV-07 with SpaceX as ULA's Vulcan rocket faced delays in becoming certified to launch national security payloads. According to Space News, Horne emphasized that this move was less about Vulcan delays and more about testing the boundaries of the NSSL programs flexibility. This is a way for us to demonstrate to adversaries that we can be responsive, he said. Because SV-07 was switched to SpaceX, ULA will get to launch GPS III SV-10, originally assigned to SpaceX. (submitted by Ken the Bin and EllPeaTea)An update on Butch and Suni. NASA has announced that it is delaying the SpaceX Crew-10 launch, a move that will keep astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williamswho already had their stay aboard the International Space Station unexpectedly extendedin orbit even longer, CNN reports. Williams and Wilmore launched to space in June, piloting the first crewed test flight of Boeings Starliner spacecraft. Their trip, expected to last about a week, ballooned into a months-long assignment after their vehicle experienced technical issues en route to the space station and NASA determined it would be too risky to bring them home aboard the Starliner.Nearly 10 months in orbit ... The astronauts stayed aboard the space station as the Starliner spacecraft safely returned to Earth in September, and NASA shuffled the station's schedule of visiting vehicles to allow Wilmore and Williams to come home on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with two crewmates to end the Crew-9 mission in February, soon after the arrival of Crew-10.Now, Crew-10 will get off the ground at least a month later than expected because NASA and SpaceX teams need "time to complete processing on a new Dragon spacecraft for the mission," the space agency said. (submitted by Ken the Bin)Stoke Space names its engine. Stoke Space, the only other company besides SpaceX developing a fully reusable orbital rocket, has revealed the name of the methane-fueled engine that will power the vehicle's booster stage. "Say hello to Zenith, our full-flow staged-combustion booster engine, built to power Nova to orbit," Stoke Space wrote in a post on X. The naming announcement came a few days after Stoke Space said it hot-fired the "Block 2" or "flight layout" version of the main engine on a test stand in Moses Lake, Washington.Stoked by the progress ... "As we build towards the future of space mobility, were building on top of the pinnaclethe zenithof rocket engine cycles: full-flow staged combustion," Stoke Space said. Only a handful of rocket engines have been designed to use the full-flow staged combustion cycle, and only one has actually flown on a rocket: SpaceX's Raptor. Seven Zenith engines will power the first stage of the Nova rocket when it takes off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. A hydrogen-fueled propulsion system will power the second stage of Nova, which is designed to launch up to 5 metric tons (11,000 pounds) of payload to low-Earth orbit.Upgrades coming for Vega. The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed 350 million euros in contracts with Avio to further evolve the Vega launcher family," Aviation Week & Space Technology reports. The contracts cover the development of the Vega-E and upgrades to the current Vega-Cs ground infrastructure to increase the launch cadence. Vega-E, scheduled to debut in 2027, will replace the Vega-C rocket's third and fourth stages with a single methane-fueled upper stage under development by Avio. It will also offer a 30 percent increase in Vega's payload lift capability, and will launch from a new complex to be built on the formed Ariane 5 launch pad at the European-run Guiana Space Center in South America.Adaptations ... The fresh tranche of funding from ESA will also pay for Avio's work to "adapt" the former Ariane 5 integration building at the spaceport in French Guiana, according to ESA. "This will allow technicians to work on two rockets being assembled simultaneouslyone on the launch pad and one in the new assembly buildingand run two launch campaigns in parallel," ESA said.(submitted by Ken the Bin and EllPeaTea)New Glenn coming alive. In a widely anticipated test, Blue Origin will soon ignite the seven main engines on its New Glenn rocket at Launch Complex-36 in Florida, Ars reports. Sources indicated this hot-fire test might occur as soon as Thursday, but it didn't happen. Instead, Blue Origin's launch team loaded cryogenic propellants into the New Glenn rocket on the launch pad, but stopped short of igniting the main engines.Racing the clock The hot-fire is the final test the company must complete before verifying the massive rocket is ready for its debut flight, and it is the most dynamic. This will be the first time Blue Origin has ever test-fired the BE-7 engines altogether. Theoretically, at least, it remains possible that Blue Origin could launch New Glenn this yearand the company's urgency certainly speaks to this. On social media this week, some Blue Origin employees noted that they were being asked to work on Christmas Day this year in Florida.China begins building a new megaconstellation. The first batch of Internet satellites for China's Guowang megaconstellation launched Monday on the country's heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket, Ars reports.The satellites are the first of up to 13,000 spacecraft a consortium of Chinese companies plans to build and launch over the next decade. The Guowang fleet will beam low-latency high-speed Internet signals in an architecture similar to SpaceX's Starlink network, although Chinese officials haven't laid out any specifics, such as target markets, service specifications, or user terminals.No falling debris, this time China used its most powerful operational rocket, the Long March 5B, for the job of launching the first 10 Guowang satellites this week. The Long March 5B's large core stage, which entered orbit on the rocket's previous missions andtriggered concerns about falling space debris, fell into a predetermined location in the sea downrange from the launch site. The difference for this mission was the addition of the Yuanzheng 2 upper stage, which gave the rocket's payloads the extra oomph they needed to reach their targeted low-Earth orbit.(submitted by Ken the Bin and EllPeaTea)Elon Musk's security clearance under review. A new investigationfrom The New York Times suggests that SpaceX founder Elon Musk has not been reporting his travel activities and other information to the Department of Defense as required by his top-secret clearance, Ars reports. According to the newspaper, concerns about Musk's reporting practices have led to reviews by three different bodies within the military: the Air Force, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and the Defense Department Office of Inspector General. However, none of the federal agencies cited in the Times article has accused Musk of disclosing classified material.It won't matter Since 2021, Musk has failed to self-report details of his life, including travel activities, people he has met, and drug use, according to the Times. The government is also concerned that SpaceX did not ensure Musk's compliance with the reporting rules. Musk's national security profile has risen following his deep-pocketed and full-throated support of Donald Trump, who won the US presidential campaign in November and will be sworn into office next month. After this inauguration, Trump will have the power to grant security clearance to whomever he wishes.ULA's CEO has a pretty wild idea. Ars published a feature story last week examining the US Space Force's new embrace of offensive weapons in space. In the story, Ars discusses concepts for different types of space weapons, including placing roving "defender" satellites into orbit, with the sole purpose of guarding high-value US satellites against an attack. Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance, wrote about the defender concept in aMedium post earlier this month. He added more detail in a recent conversation with reporters, describing the defender concept as "a lightning-fast, long-range, lethal, if necessary, vehicle to defend our assets on orbit." And guess what? The Centaur upper stage for ULA's own Vulcan rocket could do the job just fine, according to Bruno.Death throes or a smart pivot? A space tug or upper stage like the Centaur could be left in orbit after a launch to respond to threats against US or allied satellites, Bruno said. These wouldn't be able to effectively defend a spacecraft against a ground-based anti-satellite missile, which can launch without warning. But a space-based attack might involve an enemy satellite taking days or weeks to move close to a US satellite due to limitations in maneuverability and the tyranny of orbital mechanics. Several launch companies have recently pitched their rockets as solutions for weapons testing, including Rocket Lab and ABL. But the concept proposed by Bruno would take ULA far from its core business, where its efforts to compete with SpaceX have often fallen short. However, the competition is still alive, as shown by a comment from SpaceX's vice president of Falcon launch vehicles, Jon Edwards. In response to Ars's story, Edwards wrote on X: "The pivot to 'interceptor' or 'target vehicle' is a common final act of a launch vehicle in its death throes." (submitted by Ken the Bin)Vulcan is months away from flying again. Speaking of ULA, here's an update on the next flight of the company's Vulcan rocket. The first national security mission on Vulcan might not launch until April 2025 at the earliest, Spaceflight Now reports. This will be the third flight of a Vulcan rocket, following two test flights this year to gather data for the US Space Force to certify the rocket for national security missions. On the second flight, the nozzle fell off one of Vulcan's solid rocket boosters shortly after liftoff, but the rocket successfully continued its climb into orbit. The anomaly prompted an investigation, and ULA says it is close to determining the root cause.Stretching the timeline The Space Force's certification review of Vulcan is taking longer than anticipated. "The government team has not completed its technical evaluation of the certification criteria and is working closely with ULA on additional data required to complete this evaluation," a Space Force spokesperson told Spaceflight Now. "The government anticipates completion of its evaluation and certification in the first quarter of calendar year 2025." The spokesperson said this means the launch of a US military navigation test satellite on the third Vulcan rocket is now slated for the second quarter of next year. (submitted by Ken the Bin and EllPeaTea)Next three launchesDec. 21: Falcon 9 | "Astranis: From One to Many" | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida | 03:39 UTCDec. 21: Falcon 9 | Bandwagon 2 | Vandenberg Space Force Base, California | 11:34 UTCDec. 21: Electron | "Owl The Way Up" | Mhia Peninsula, New Zealand | 13:00 UTCStephen ClarkSpace ReporterStephen ClarkSpace Reporter Stephen Clark is a space reporter at Ars Technica, covering private space companies and the worlds space agencies. Stephen writes about the nexus of technology, science, policy, and business on and off the planet. 0 Comments

LOST AND FOUND New AA-powered AirTag case promises 10-year lifespan Aluminum AirTag case replaces coin cell with 2 AA Lithium batteries for extended lifespan. Benj Edwards Dec 20, 2024 12:23 pm | 24 A photo of the TimeCapsule, which purportedly extends AirTag battery life with AA batteries. Credit: Elevation Lab A photo of the TimeCapsule, which purportedly extends AirTag battery life with AA batteries. Credit: Elevation Lab Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOn Wednesday, a startup announced TimeCapsule, a new $20 battery case purported to extend Apple AirTag battery life from one year to 10 years. The product replaces the standard CR2032 coin cell battery in the Bluetooth-based location tracker with two AA batteries to provide extended power capacity.The TimeCapsule case, created by Elevation Lab, requires users to remove their AirTag's original back plate and battery, then place the Apple device onto contact points inside the waterproof enclosure. The company recommends using Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries, which it claims provide 14 times more power capacity than the stock coin cell battery configuration.The CNC-machined aluminum case is aimed at users who place AirTags in vehicles, boats, or other applications where regular battery changes prove impractical. The company sells the TimeCapsule through its website and Amazon. A photo of the TimeCapsule, which purportedly extends AirTag battery life with AA batteries. Credit: Elevation Lab As related on the TimeCapsule's product page, the add-on case reportedly emerged after its inventor lost camera equipment to theft, discovering their AirTag had died months earlier due to a depleted battery. This experience led to the development of a longer-lasting power solution for the tracking devices.It's important to note that we cannot verify these battery life claims without independent testing, but using larger lithium batteries to extend lifespan makes technical sense. The company has not released detailed technical specifications about power consumption rates or testing methodology, but we've ordered a unit to test ourselves.Build your own battery extension?On an interesting Hacker News thread, the TimeCapsule device sparked discussion about balancing convenience with size. While the TimeCapsule's larger form factor makes it impractical for keys or pet tags, some users pointed out specific use cases where the extended battery life may outweigh size concerns (such as in bags or vehicles). A photo of the TimeCapsule, which purportedly extends AirTag battery life with AA batteries. Credit: Elevation Lab Some worried that TimeCapsule might make stalking easier, while multiple commenters questioned the anti-theft applications, noting that AirTags alert nearby iPhones when separated from their ownera privacy feature that also serves as an anti-stalking measure. Android phones also now detect nearby AirTags by default after a 2023 system update.Other commenters pointed out that handy do-it-yourself types could potentially build a similar device using dummy CR2032 extensions that lead to external battery packs. Either way, it's an interesting hack that could potentially make AirTags more useful in some scenarios.Benj EdwardsSenior AI ReporterBenj EdwardsSenior AI Reporter Benj Edwards is Ars Technica's Senior AI Reporter and founder of the site's dedicated AI beat in 2022. He's also a tech historian with almost two decades of experience. In his free time, he writes and records music, collects vintage computers, and enjoys nature. He lives in Raleigh, NC. 24 Comments

Kickoff The next two FIFA Womens World Cups will only air on Netflix Let's hope Netflix fixes its live buffering problems beforehand. Scharon Harding Dec 20, 2024 12:50 pm | 2 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - 2023/08/20: Salma Paralluelo of Spain (R) and Keira Walsh of England (L) seen in action during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Final match between Spain and England at Australia Stadium, Sydney. Credit: Getty SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - 2023/08/20: Salma Paralluelo of Spain (R) and Keira Walsh of England (L) seen in action during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Final match between Spain and England at Australia Stadium, Sydney. Credit: Getty Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIf you want to watch the next two FIFA Womens World Cups in the US, youll need a Netflix subscription.FIFA confirmed the news today, marking an unexpected change for the sports event, which has historically played on free-to-air broadcast channels. The shift to a streaming platform inevitably makes it more costly and hurts viewer accessibility, while likely injecting FIFA with a lot of cash.Netflix and FIFA havent said how much Netflix is paying for exclusive airing rights. But Netflix and other streaming services have been paying out hefty, sometimes record-setting sums to air live sporting events as the company seeks to earn more revenue from commercials and draw more viewers. Netflix, for example, paid $5 billion to swipe the World Wrestling Entertainments weekly RAW program from the USA cable network for 10 years, starting next month.While FIFA runs the risk of isolating some fans, it seems that its made a favorable deal with Netflix after complaining in 2022 about low bids for the 2023 Womens World Cup and resistance from broadcasters to pay what the women's game deserves, as chief business officer Romy Gai told Bloomberg in October 2022.This agreement sends a strong message about the real value of the FIFA Womens World Cup and the global womens game," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement today.FIFAs announcement suggested that it expects to reach a larger audience and increase US engagement by airing on Netflix. FIFA said that 1.2 billion people watched the 2019 Women's World Cup, ESPN noted. Netflix has already demonstrated the ability to lure a massive amount of viewers to exclusive sports matches. In November, Netflix claimed the most-streamed sporting event ever when it streamed a boxing event centered on a Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight and reportedly garnered 65 million live concurrent streams.Per FIFAs announcement, Netflix will stream the tournaments in English and Spanish via a dual telecast. Under the deal, Netflix will also release a documentary series about the biggest players ahead of both tournaments. Brazil will host the 2027 event, while the host country for the 2031 Women's World Cup has yet to be announced.The news comes as streaming platforms continue battling over sports. Currently, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox are in a legal battle over plans to launch a joint sports streaming app, Venu, which is being challenged by sports streamer Fubo over antitrust allegations. The case is set to go to trial in October.Meanwhile, fans are adjusting to changes in how sports events are aired, learning to bounce between channels and streaming services to find their events and dealing with buffering and other technical problems. At times, some of the biggest fans, like NFL player Tariq Woolen, have resorted to illegal pirating to avoid complications and fees, underscoring pressure for streaming services to perfect and simplify the streaming of the live events that they're eagerly snatching up.Scharon HardingSenior Product ReviewerScharon HardingSenior Product Reviewer Scharon is Ars Technicas Senior Product Reviewer writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer technology, including laptops, mechanical keyboards, and monitors. Shes based in Brooklyn. 2 Comments

Dingus behavior Louisiana bars health dept. from promoting flu, COVID, mpox vaccines: Report Staff worried they were no longer helping people and the ban would lead to deaths. Beth Mole Dec 20, 2024 10:58 am | 12 A healthcare worker prepares a flu shot during a drive-thru clinic at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds in Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S., on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. Shreveport recently completed a test run for distributing an eventual coronavirus vaccine, using a community drive-thru clinic for flu shots. Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images Credit: Getty | Bloomberg A healthcare worker prepares a flu shot during a drive-thru clinic at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds in Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S., on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. Shreveport recently completed a test run for distributing an eventual coronavirus vaccine, using a community drive-thru clinic for flu shots. Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images Credit: Getty | Bloomberg Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreLouisiana's health department has been barred from advertising or promoting vaccines for flu, COVID-19, and mpox, according to reporting by NPR, KFF Health News, and New Orleans Public Radio WWNO.Their investigative reportbased on interviews with multiple health department employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliationrevealed that employees were told of the startling policy change in meetings in October and November and that the policy would be implemented quietly and not put into writing.Ars Technica has contacted the health department for comment and will update this post with any new information.The health department provided a statement to NPR saying that it has been "reevaluating both the state's public health priorities as well as our messaging around vaccine promotion, especially for COVID-19 and influenza." The statement described the change as a move "away from one-size-fits-all paternalistic guidance" to a stance in which "immunization for any vaccine, along with practices like mask wearing and social distancing, are an individual's personal choice."According to employees, the new policy cancelled standard fall flu vaccination events this year and affects every other aspect of the health department's work, as NPR explained:"Employees could not send out press releases, give interviews, hold vaccine events, give presentations or create social media posts encouraging the public to get the vaccines. They also could not put up signs at the department's clinics that COVID, flu or mpox vaccines were available on site."We're really talking about deathsThe change comes amid a dangerous swell of anti-vaccine sentiment and misinformation in Louisiana and across the country. President-elect Trump has picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr.a high-profile anti-vaccine advocate and one of the most prolific spreaders of vaccine misinformationto head the US Department of Health and Human Services.Louisiana's health department has not updated its web page on influenza since last year. It has also noticeably refrained from mentioning vaccines on social media posts. A post earlier this month warned of flu season, but only urged people to wash their hands, cover coughs and sneezes, avoid touching their faces, and improve indoor air quality. There was no mention of flu vaccines.The shift has disheartened and shaken staff. "I mean, do they want to dismantle public health?" one employee at the health department told NPR."We're really talking about deaths," said another. "Even a reduction in flu and COVID vaccines can lead to increased deaths.""We've never felt so unsure of our future," an employee added. "Like, why am I here? Why am I doing this anymore? Because you're just so stifled and you are not helping people."Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 12 Comments

holiday homework Senators blast carmakers over right-to-repair opposition OEMs also called out for selling data they collect on drivers. Jonathan M. Gitlin Dec 20, 2024 11:09 am | 0 Credit: Getty Images Credit: Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreYesterday, US Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Joshua Hawley (R-MO) sent letters to the heads of Ford, General Motors, and Tesla, as well as the US heads of Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Stellantis, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen, excoriating them over their opposition to the right-to-repair movement."We need to hit the brakes on automakers stealing your data and undermining your right-to-repair," said Senator Merkley in a statement to Ars. "Time and again, these billionaire corporations have a double standard when it comes to your privacy and security: claiming that sharing vehicle data with repair shops poses cybersecurity risks while selling consumer data themselves. Oregon has one of the strongest right-to-repair laws in the nation, and thats why Im working across the aisle to advance efforts nationwide that protect consumer rights."Most repairs arent at dealershipsThe Senators point out that 70 percent of car parts and services currently come from independent outlets, which are seen as trustworthy and providing good value for money, "while nearly all dealerships receive the worst possible rating for price."OEMs and their tier-one suppliers restricting the supply of car parts to within their franchised dealership networks also slows down the entire repair process for owners as well as increasing the cost of getting one's car fixed, the letter states.As Ars noted recently, more than one in five automotive recalls are now fixed with software patches, and increasingly the right-to-repair fight has centered on things digitalaccess to diagnostics, firmware, and connected services. The percentage of non-hardware recall fixes will surely grow in the coming years as more and more automakers replace older models with software-defined vehicles.But proponents of the right to repair have faced stiff opposition from automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on cybersecurity grounds. In 2023, NHTSA went as far as telling OEMs not to comply with an expanded state law in Massachusetts that requires an open data platform for telematics, something the voters of Mass. were overwhelmingly in favor of.The Senators argue that in fact, allowing third-party access "is consistent with the FTC's data security guidance," and point out that an attempt by Mercedes-Benz to use the same argument against independent repairs in Germany was shot down by the German court, which told the company that it was no "excuse to restrict data access to suppliers."Shoddy software is the risk, not third-party accessRather than the availability of diagnostic tools and repair information, the cybersecurity threat instead comes from "the poor quality of deployed software and the poor state of device security," according to expert testimony given to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023.The Senators also highlight the dichotomy of automakers claiming in one breath to be concerned about the risks of data leakage as a result of allowing access to vehicle software while at the same time packaging and sharing driving data, collected by their connected cars, with third parties like data brokers, and insurance companies, often without the driver's consent.The automakers that received the letter are going to have a busy holiday season collating data, for they have been tasked with answering a series of questions by January 6, including: how much income each makes from car repairs, what user and driving data it collects, whether and how it obtains consent for that data collection, with whom it shares that data with (including specifics), as well as data protection and cybersecurity practices to protect its customer's sensitive information. Additionally, each automaker is asked about its lobbying activities against the right-to-repair movement.Jonathan M. GitlinAutomotive EditorJonathan M. GitlinAutomotive Editor Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC. 0 Comments

Scaling problems Why AI language models choke on too much text Compute costs scale with the square of the input size. That's not great. Timothy B. Lee Dec 20, 2024 8:00 am | 9 Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreLarge language models represent text using tokens, each of which is a few characters. Short words are represented by a single token (like "the" or "it"), whereas larger words may be represented by several tokens (GPT-4o represents "indivisible" with "ind," "iv," and "isible").When OpenAI released ChatGPT two years ago, it had a memoryknown as a context windowof just 8,192 tokens. That works out to roughly 6,000 words of text. This meant that if you fed it more than about 15 pages of text, it would forget information from the beginning of its context. This limited the size and complexity of tasks ChatGPT could handle.Todays LLMs are far more capable:OpenAIsGPT-4o can handle 128,000 tokens (about 200 pages of text).AnthropicsClaude 3.5 Sonnet can accept 200,000 tokens (about 300 pages of text).GooglesGemini 1.5 Pro allows 2 million tokens (about 2,000 pages of text).Still, its going to take a lot more progress if we want AI systems with human-level cognitive abilities.Many people envision a future where AI systems are able to do manyperhaps mostof the jobs performed by humans. Yet many human workers read and hear hundreds of millions of words during our working yearsand we absorb even more information from sights, sounds, and smells in the world around us. To achieve human-level intelligence, AI systems will need the capacity to absorb similar quantities of information.Right now the most popular way to build an LLM-based system to handle large amounts of information is called retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). These systems try to find documents relevant to a users query and then insert the most relevant documents into an LLMs context window.This sometimes works better than a conventional search engine, but todays RAG systems leave a lot to be desired. They only produce good results if the system puts the most relevant documents into the LLMs context. But the mechanism used to find those documentsoften, searching in avector databaseis not very sophisticated. If the user asks a complicated or confusing question, theres a good chance the RAG system will retrieve the wrong documents and the chatbot will return the wrong answer.And RAG doesnt enable an LLM to reason in more sophisticated ways over large numbers of documents:A lawyer might want an AI system to review and summarize hundreds of thousands of emails.An engineer might want an AI system to analyze thousands of hours of camera footage from a factory floor.A medical researcher might want an AI system to identify trends in tens of thousands of patient records.Each of these tasks could easily require more than 2 million tokens of context. Moreover, were not going to want our AI systems to start with a clean slate after doing one of these jobs. We will want them to gain experience over time, just like human workers do.Superhuman memory and stamina have long been key selling points for computers. Were not going to want to give them up in the AI age. Yet todays LLMs are distinctly subhuman in their ability to absorb and understand large quantities of information.Its true, of course, that LLMs absorb superhuman quantities of information at training time. The latest AI models have been trained on trillions of tokensfar more than any human will read or hear. But a lot of valuable information is proprietary, time-sensitive, or otherwise not available for training.So were going to want AI models to read and remember far more than 2 million tokens at inference time. And that wont be easy.The key innovation behind transformer-based LLMs is attention, a mathematical operation that allows a model to think about previous tokens. (Check out our LLM explainerif you want a detailed explanation of how this works.) Before an LLM generates a new token, it performs an attention operation that compares the latest token to every previous token. This means that conventional LLMs get less and less efficient as the context grows.Lots of people are working on ways to solve this problemIll discuss some of them later in this article. But first I should explain how we ended up with such an unwieldy architecture.GPUs made deep learning possibleThe brains of personal computers are central processing units (CPUs). Traditionally, chipmakers made CPUs faster by increasing the frequency of the clock that acts as its heartbeat. But in the early 2000s, overheating forced chipmakers to mostly abandon this technique.Chipmakers started making CPUs that could execute more than one instruction at a time. But they were held back by a programming paradigm that requires instructions to mostly be executed in order.A new architecture was needed to take full advantage of Moores Law. Enter Nvidia.In 1999, Nvidia started selling graphics processing units (GPUs) to speed up the rendering of three-dimensional games like Quake III Arena. The job of these PC add-on cards was to rapidly draw thousands of triangles that made up walls, weapons, monsters, and other objects in a game.This isnota sequential programming task: triangles in different areas of the screen can be drawn in any order. So rather than having a single processor that executed instructions one at a time, Nvidiasfirst GPUhad a dozen specialized coreseffectively tiny CPUsthat worked in parallel to paint a scene.Over time, Moores Law enabled Nvidia to make GPUs with tens, hundreds, and eventually thousands of computing cores. People started to realize that the massive parallel computing power of GPUs could be used for applications unrelated to video games.In 2012, three University of Toronto computer scientistsAlex Krizhevsky, Ilya Sutskever, and Geoffrey Hintonused a pair ofNvidia GTX 580 GPUsto train a neural network for recognizing images. The massive computing power of those GPUs, which had 512 cores each, allowed them to train a network with a then-impressive 60 million parameters. Theyentered ImageNet, an academic competition to classify images into one of 1,000 categories, andset a new record for accuracyin image recognition.Before long, researchers were applying similar techniques to a wide variety of domains, including natural language.Transformers removed a bottleneck for natural languageIn the early 2010s, recurrent neural networks (RNNs) were a popular architecture for understanding natural language. RNNs process language one word at a time. After each word, the network updates its hidden state, a list of numbers that reflects its understanding of the sentence so far.RNNs worked fairly well on short sentences, but they struggled with longer onesto say nothing of paragraphs or longer passages. When reasoning about a long sentence, an RNN would sometimes forget about an important word early in the sentence. In 2014, computer scientists Dzmitry Bahdanau, Kyunghyun Cho, and Yoshua Bengiodiscoveredthey could improve the performance of a recurrent neural network by adding an attention mechanism that allowed the network to look back at earlier words in a sentence.In 2017, Google publishedAttention Is All You Need,one of the most important papers in the history of machine learning. Building on the work of Bahdanau and his colleagues, Google researchers dispensed with the RNN and its hidden states. Instead, Googles model used an attention mechanism to scan previous words for relevant context.This new architecture, which Google called the transformer, proved hugely consequential because it eliminated a serious bottleneck to scaling language models.Heres an animation illustrating why RNNs didnt scale well:This hypotheticalRNN tries to predict the next word in a sentence, with the prediction shown in the top row of the diagram. This network has three layers, each represented by a rectangle. It is inherently linear: it has to complete its analysis of the first word, How, before passing the hidden state back to the bottom layer so the network can start to analyze the second word, are.This constraint wasnt a big deal when machine learning algorithms ran on CPUs. But when people started leveraging the parallel computing power of GPUs, the linear architecture of RNNs became a serious obstacle.The transformer removed this bottleneck by allowing the network to think about all the words in its input at the same time:The transformer-based model shown here does roughly as many computations as the RNN in the previous diagram. So it might not run any faster on a (single-core) CPU. But because the model doesnt need to finish with How before starting on are, you, or doing, it can work on all of these words simultaneously. So it can run alotfaster on a GPU with many parallel execution units.How much faster? The potential speed-up is proportional to the number of input words. My animations depict a four-word input that makes the transformer model about four times faster than the RNN. Real LLMs can have inputs thousands of words long. So, with a sufficiently beefy GPU, transformer-based models can be orders of magnitude faster than otherwise similar RNNs.In short, the transformer unlocked the full processing power of GPUs and catalyzed rapid increases in the scale of language models. Leading LLMs grew fromhundreds of millions of parametersin 2018 tohundreds of billions of parametersby 2020. Classic RNN-based models could not have grown that large because their linear architecture prevented them from being trained efficiently on a GPU.Transformers have a scaling problemEarlier I said that the recurrent neural network in my animations did roughly the same amount of work as the transformer-based network. But they dont do exactlythe same amount of work. Lets look again at the diagram for the transformer-based model:See all those diagonal arrows between the layers? They represent the operation of the attention mechanism. Before a transformer-based language model generates a new token, it thinks about every previous token to find the ones that are most relevant.Each of these comparisons is cheap, computationally speaking. For small contexts10, 100, or even 1,000 tokensthey are not a big deal. But the computational cost of attention grows relentlessly with the number of preceding tokens. The longer the context gets, the more attention operations (and therefore computing power) are needed to generate the next token.This means that the total computing power required for attention grows quadratically with the total number of tokens. Suppose a 10-token prompt requires 414,720 attention operations. Then:Processing a 100-token prompt will require 45.6 million attention operations.Processing a 1,000-token prompt will require 4.6 billion attention operations.Processing a 10,000-token prompt will require460 billionattention operations.This is probably why Google charges twice as much, per token, for Gemini 1.5 Pro once the context gets longer than 128,000 tokens. Generating token number 128,001 requires comparisons with all 128,000 previous tokens, making it significantly more expensive than producing the first or 10th or 100th token.Making attention more efficient and scalableA lot of effort has been put into optimizing attention. One line of research has tried to squeeze maximum efficiency out of individual GPUs.As we saw earlier, a modern GPU contains thousands of execution units. Before a GPU can start doing math, it must move data from slow shared memory (called high-bandwidth memory) to much faster memory inside a particular execution unit (called SRAM). Sometimes GPUs spend more time moving data around than performing calculations.In aseriesofpapers, Princeton computer scientist Tri Dao and several collaborators have developed FlashAttention, which calculates attention in a way that minimizes the number of these slow memory operations. Work like Daos has dramatically improved the performance of transformers on modern GPUs.Another line of research has focused on efficiently scaling attention across multiple GPUs. One widely cited paper describesring attention, which divides input tokens into blocks and assigns each block to a different GPU. Its called ring attention because GPUs are organized into a conceptual ring, with each GPU passing data to its neighbor.I once attended a ballroom dancing class where couples stood in a ring around the edge of the room. After each dance, women would stay where they were while men would rotate to the next woman. Over time, every man got a chance to dance with every woman. Ring attention works on the same principle. The women are query vectors (describing what each token is looking for) and the men are key vectors (describing the characteristics each token has). As the key vectors rotate through a sequence of GPUs, they get multiplied by every query vector in turn.In short, ring attention distributes attention calculations across multiple GPUs, making it possible for LLMs to have larger context windows. But it doesnt make individual attention calculations any cheaper.Could RNNs make a comeback?The fixed-size hidden state of an RNN means that it doesnt have the same scaling problems as a transformer. An RNN requires about the same amount of computing power to produce its first, hundredth and millionth token. Thats a big advantage over attention-based models.Although RNNs have fallen out of favor since the invention of the transformer, people have continued trying to develop RNNs suitable for training on modern GPUs.In April, Googleannounced a new modelcalled Infini-attention. Its kind of a hybrid between a transformer and an RNN. Infini-attention handles recent tokens like a normal transformer, remembering them and recalling them using an attention mechanism.However, Infini-attention doesnt try to remember every token in a models context. Instead, it stores older tokens in a compressive memory that works something like the hidden state of an RNN. This data structure can perfectly store and recall a few tokens, but as the number of tokens grows, its recall becomes lossier.Machine learning YouTuber Yannic Kilcherwasnt too impressedby Googles approach.Im super open to believing that this actually does work and this is the way to go for infinite attention, but Im very skeptical, Kilcher said. It uses this compressive memory approach where you just store as you go along, you dont really learn how to store, you just store in a deterministic fashion, which also means you have very little control over what you store and how you store it.Could Mamba be the future?Perhaps the most notable effort to resurrect RNNs is Mamba, an architecture that was announced in aDecember 2023 paper. It was developed by computer scientists Dao (who also did the FlashAttention work I mentioned earlier) and Albert Gu.Mamba does not use attention. Like other RNNs, it has a hidden state that acts as the models memory. Because the hidden state has a fixed size, longer prompts do not increase Mambas per-token cost.When I started writing this article in March, my goal was to explain Mambas architecture in some detail. But then in May, the researchers released Mamba-2, which significantly changed the architecture from the original Mamba paper. Ill be frank: I struggled to understand the original Mamba and have not figured out how Mamba-2 works.But the key thing to understand is that Mamba has the potential to combine transformer-like performance with the efficiency of conventional RNNs.In June, Dao and Guco-authored a paperwith Nvidia researchers that evaluated a Mamba model with 8 billion parameters. They found that models like Mamba were competitive with comparably sized transformers in a number of tasks, but they lag behind Transformer models when it comes to in-context learning and recalling information from the context.Transformers are good at information recall because they remember every token of their contextthis is also why they become less efficient as the context grows. In contrast, Mamba tries to compress the context into a fixed-size state, which necessarily means discarding some information from long contexts.The Nvidia team found they got the best performance from a hybrid architecture that interleaved 24 Mamba layers with four attention layers. This worked better than either a pure transformer model ora pure Mamba model.A model needssomeattention layers so it can remember important details from early in its context. But a few attention layers seem to be sufficient; the rest of the attention layers can be replaced by cheaper Mamba layers with little impact on the models overall performance.In August, an Israeli startup called AI21 announced itsJamba 1.5 familyof models. The largest version had 398 billion parameters, making it comparable in size to Metas Llama 405B model.Jamba 1.5 Large has seven times more Mamba layers than attention layers. As a result, Jamba 1.5 Large requires far less memory than comparable models from Meta and others. For example, AI21 estimates that Llama 3.1 70B needs 80GB of memory to keep track of 256,000 tokens of context. Jamba 1.5 Large only needs 9GB, allowing the model to run on much less powerful hardware.The Jamba 1.5 Large model gets an MMLU score of 80, significantly below the Llama 3.1 70Bs score of 86. So by this measure, Mamba doesnt blow transformers out of the water. However, this may not be an apples-to-apples comparison. Frontier labs like Meta have invested heavily in training data and post-training infrastructure to squeeze a few more percentage points of performance out of benchmarks like MMLU. Its possible that the same kind of intense optimization could close the gap between Jamba and frontier models.So while the benefits of longer context windows is obvious, the best strategy to get there is not. In the short term, AI companies may continue using clever efficiency and scaling hacks (like FlashAttention and Ring Attention) to scale up vanilla LLMs. Longer term, we may see growing interest in Mamba and perhaps other attention-free architectures. Or maybe someone will come up with a totally new architecture that renders transformers obsolete.But I am pretty confident that scaling up transformer-based frontier models isnt going to be a solution on its own. If we want models that can handle billions of tokensand many people dowere going to need to think outside the box.Tim Lee was on staff at Ars from 2017 to 2021. Last year, he launched a newsletter,Understanding AI,that explores how AI works and how it's changing our world. You can subscribehere.Timothy B. LeeSenior tech policy reporterTimothy B. LeeSenior tech policy reporter Timothy is a senior reporter covering tech policy and the future of transportation. He lives in Washington DC. 9 Comments

Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition Home Assistants Voice Preview Edition is a little box with big privacy powers Home Assistants voice device is a $60 box thats both focused and evolving. Kevin Purdy Dec 19, 2024 4:00 pm | 53 Credit: Home Assistant Foundation Credit: Home Assistant Foundation Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreHome Assistant announced today the availability of the Voice Preview Edition, its own design of a living-room-friendly box to offer voice assistance with home automation. Having used it for a few weeks, it seems like a great start, at least for those comfortable with digging into the settings. That's why Home Assistant is calling it a "Preview Edition."Using its privacy-minded Nabu Casa cloudor your own capable computerto handle the processing, the Voice Preview Edition (VPE) ($60/60 euros, available today) has the rough footprint of a modern Apple TV but is thinner. It works similarly to an Amazon Echo, Google Assistant, or Apple Siri device, but with a more focused goal. Start with a wake wordthe default, and most well-trained version, is "Okay, Nabu," but "Hey, Jarvis" and "Hey, Mycroft" are available. Follow that with a command, typically something that targets a smart home device: "Turn on living room lights," "Set thermostat to 68," "Activate TV time." And then, that thing usually happens. Home Assistant's Voice Preview Edition, doing what it does best. I had to set a weather service to an alias of "the weather outside" to get that response worked out. "That thing" is primarily controlling devices, scenes, and automations around your home, set up in Home Assistant. That means you have to have assigned them a name or alias that you can remember. Coming up with naming schemes is something you end up doing in big-tech smart home systems, too, but it's a bit more important with the VPE.You won't need to start over with all your gear if you've got a Google Home, Alexa, or Apple Home ecosystem, at least. Home Assistant has good "bridge" options built into it for connecting all the devices you've set up and named inside those ecosystems.It's important to have a decently organized smart home set up with a VPE box, because it doesn't really do much else, for better or worse. Unless you hook it up to an AI model.The voice device that is intentionally not very chattyThe VPE box can run timers (with neat LED ring progress indicators), and with a little bit of settings tweaking, you can connect it to Home Assistant's built-in shopping lists and task lists or most any other plug-in or extension of your system. If you're willing to mess with LLMslike ChatGPT or Google's Geminilocally or through cloud subscriptions, you could trigger prompts with your voice, though performance will vary. Home Assistant's Voice Preview Edition, not quite sure what to do with non-home-related questions. What else does Home Assistant's hardware do? Nothing, at least by default. It listens for its prompt, it passes them onto a Home Assistant server, and that's it. You can't ask it how tall Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is or how many consecutive Super Bowls the Bills lost. It won't do simple math calculations or metric conversions. It cannot tell you whether you should pack an umbrella tomorrow or a good substitute if you're out of eggs.For some people either hesitant to bring a voice device into their home or fatigued by the failures of supposedly "smart" assistants that can seem quite dumb, this might be perfect. When the Home Assistant VPE hears me clearly (more on that in a moment), it almost always understands what I'm saying, so long as I remember what I named everything.There were times during the month-long period when I muted Google Assistant and stuck with Home Assistant that I missed the ability to ask questions I would normally just look up on a search engine. The upside is that I didn't have to sit through 15 seconds of Google explaining at length something I didn't ask for.If you want the VPE to automatically fall back to AI for answering non-home-specific questions, you can set that up. And that's something we'll likely dig into for a future post.The hardware Home Assistant's Voice Preview Edition device, with Apple TV (4K, 2022) for scale. Kevin Purdy Home Assistant's Voice Preview Edition device, with Apple TV (4K, 2022) for scale. Kevin Purdy Tape measure, for scale. Kevin Purdy Tape measure, for scale. Kevin Purdy Three-quarters product image with mute switch showing. Home Assistant Foundation Three-quarters product image with mute switch showing. Home Assistant Foundation Tape measure, for scale. Kevin Purdy Three-quarters product image with mute switch showing. Home Assistant Foundation The side speakers on the Voice Preview Edition. Do not tuck this thing into a corner. Home Assistant Foundation A Grove port on the bottom of the VPE offers hardware tinkerers intriguing access. Home Assistant Foundation As a product you want to keep somewhere it can hear you, the Home Assistant VPE blends in, is reasonably small, and has more useful buttons and switches than the competition. It looks entirely innocuous sitting on a bookshelf, entertainment center, kitchen counter, or wall mount. It's quite nice to pay for a functional device that has absolutely no branding visible.There are four neat things on top. First is two microphone inputs, which are pretty important. There's an LED ring that shows you the VPE is listening by spinning, then spinning the other way to show that it's "thinking" and reversing again when responding. A button in the middle can activate the device without speech or cancel a response.Best of all, there is a physically rotating dial wheel around the button. It feels great to spin, even if it's not something you'll need to do very often.Around the sides is clear plastic, with speaker holes on three sides. The speakers are built specifically for voice clarity, according to Home Assistant, and I agree. I can always hear what the VPE is trying to tell me, at any distance in my living room.There's a hardware mute switch on one side, with USB-C inputs (power and connection) and a stereo headphone/speaker jack. On the bottom is a grove port for deeper development.Hearing is still the challengeThe last quasi-official way to get a smart speaker experience with Home Assistant was the ESP32 S3 Box 3, which was okay or decent in a very quiet room or at dining room table distance. The VPE is a notable improvement over that device in both input and output. If I make a small effort to speak clearly and enunciate, it catches me pretty much everywhere in my open-plan living room/dining room/kitchen. It's not too bad at working around music or TV sound, either, so long as that speaker is not between me and the VPE box. It is best with its default wake phrase, "Okay, Nabu," because that's the most trained and sampled by the Open Wake Word community.And yet, every smart speaker I've had in my home at some pointa Google Home/Nest Mini, Amazon Echo (full-size or Dot), Apple HomePod (original), the microphones on Sonos speakershas seemed better at catching its wake word, given similar placement as the VPE. After all, Home Assistant, a not-for-profit foundation, cannot subsidize powerful microphone arrays with advertising, Prime memberships, or profitable computer hardware ecosystems. I don't have lab tests to prove this, just my own experienceswith my particular voice, accent, phrasing, room shape, and noise levels.Ive been using this device with pre-release firmware and software, and its under active development, so it will almost certainly get better. But as a device you can buy and set up right now, its very closebut not quiteto the level of the big ecosystems. It is notably better than the hodgepodge of other devices you can technically use with Home Assistant voice prompts.Is it better for my privacy that the VPE is not great at being triggered by ambient speech in the room? Maybe. At the same time, I'm more likely to switch away from said big-tech voice devices only if I don't feel like I have to say everything twice or three times.Its fun to craft your own voice systemI've been able to use the VPE on a bookshelf in my living room for weeks, asking it to turn on lights, adjust thermostats, set scenes with blinds and speakers, and other automations, and the successes are far more common than failures. I still want to test some different placements and try out local hardware processing (requiring an Intel N100 or better for common languages), since I've only tested it with Home Assistant's cloud servers, the generally faster solution.The best things about the VPE are not the things you'll notice by looking at or speaking to it. It's a smart speaker that seems a lot more reasonable for private places, especially if you're running on local hardware. It's not a smart speaker that is going to read you an entire Wikipedia page when it misunderstands what you want. And it doesn't demand you to use an app tied into an ecosystem to use, other than the web app running off your Home Assistant server.Paulus Schoutsen said on the VPE's launch stream that the VPE might not be the best choice for someone switching over from an established Google/Amazon/Apple ecosystem. That might be true, but I think the VPE also works as a single-user device at a desk, or for anyone who's been waiting to step into voice but concerned about privacy, ecosystem lock-in, or their kids' demands to play Taylor Swift songs on repeat.This post was update at 5 p.m. to note the author's wake word experience may relate to his voice and room characteristics.Kevin PurdySenior Technology ReporterKevin PurdySenior Technology Reporter Kevin is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering open-source software, PC gaming, home automation, repairability, e-bikes, and tech history. He has previously worked at Lifehacker, Wirecutter, iFixit, and Carbon Switch. 53 Comments

ponder me this Not to be outdone by OpenAI, Google releases its own reasoning AI model Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking is Google's take on so-called AI reasoning models. Benj Edwards Dec 19, 2024 4:49 pm | 21 Credit: Alan Schein via Getty Images Credit: Alan Schein via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIt's been a really busy month for Google as it apparently endeavors to outshine OpenAI with a blitz of AI releases. On Thursday, Google dropped its latest party trick: Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental, which is a new AI model that uses runtime "reasoning" techniques similar to OpenAI's o1 to achieve "deeper thinking" on problems fed into it.The experimental model builds on Google's newly released Gemini 2.0 Flash and runs on its AI Studio platform, but early tests conducted by TechCrunch reporter Kyle Wiggers reveal accuracy issues with some basic tasks, such as incorrectly counting that the word "strawberry" contains two R's.These so-called reasoning models differ from standard AI models by incorporating feedback loops of self-checking mechanisms, similar to techniques we first saw in early 2023 with hobbyist projects like "Baby AGI." The process requires more computing time, often adding extra seconds or minutes to response times. Companies have turned to reasoning models as traditional scaling methods at training time have been showing diminishing returns.Google DeepMind's chief scientist, Jeff Dean, says that the model receives extra computing power, writing on X, "we see promising results when we increase inference time computation!" The model works by pausing to consider multiple related prompts before providing what it determines to be the most accurate answer.Since OpenAI's jump into the "reasoning" field in September with o1-preview and o1-mini, several companies have been rushing to achieve feature parity with their own models. For example, DeepSeek launched DeepSeek-R1 in early November, while Alibaba's Qwen team released its own "reasoning" model, QwQ earlier this month.While some claim that reasoning models can help solve complex mathematical or academic problems, these models might not be for everybody. While they perform well on some benchmarks, questions remain about their actual usefulness and accuracy. Also, the high computing costs needed to run reasoning models have created some rumblings about their long-term viability. That high cost is why OpenAI's ChatGPT Pro costs $200 a month, for example.Still, it appears Google is serious about pursuing this particular AI technique. Logan Kilpatrick, a Google employee in its AI Studio, called it "the first step in our reasoning journey" in a post on X.Benj EdwardsSenior AI ReporterBenj EdwardsSenior AI Reporter Benj Edwards is Ars Technica's Senior AI Reporter and founder of the site's dedicated AI beat in 2022. He's also a tech historian with almost two decades of experience. In his free time, he writes and records music, collects vintage computers, and enjoys nature. He lives in Raleigh, NC. 21 Comments

Some like it hot Were about to fly a spacecraft into the Sun for the first time "Quite simply, we want to find the birthplace of the solar wind." Eric Berger Dec 19, 2024 6:02 pm | 31 A rendering of the Parker Solar Probe with a Santa hat. Credit: NASA/Aurich Lawson A rendering of the Parker Solar Probe with a Santa hat. Credit: NASA/Aurich Lawson Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreTwas the night before Christmas, when all through the Solar cycle,Not a sunspot was stirring, not even a burst;The stockings were all hung by the corona with care,In hopes that the Parker Solar Probe would soon be there.Almost no one ever writes about the Parker Solar Probe anymore.Sure, the spacecraft got some attention when it launched. It is, after all, the fastest moving object that humans have ever built. At its maximum speed, goosed by the gravitational pull of the Sun, the probe reaches a velocity of 430,000 miles per hour, or more than one-sixth of 1 percent the speed of light. That kind of speed would get you from New York City to Tokyo in less than a minute.And the Parker Solar Probe also has the distinction of being the first NASA spacecraft named after a living person. At the time of its launch, in August 2018, physicist Eugene Parker was 91 years old.But in the six years since the probe has been zipping through outer space and flying by the Sun? Not so much. Let's face it, the astrophysical properties of the Sun and its complicated structure are not something that most people think about on a daily basis.However, the smallish probeit masses less than a metric ton, and its scientific payload is only about 110 pounds (50 kg)is about to make its star turn. Quite literally. On Christmas Eve, the Parker Solar Probe will make its closest approach yet to the Sun. It will come within just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) of the solar surface, flying into the solar atmosphere for the first time.Yeah, it's going to get pretty hot. Scientists estimate that the probe's heat shield will endure temperatures in excess of 2,500 Fahrenheit (1,371 C) on Christmas Eve, which is pretty much the polar opposite of the North Pole.Going straight to the sourceI spoke with the chief of science at NASA, Nicky Fox, to understand why the probe is being tortured so. Before moving to NASA headquarters, Fox was the project scientist for the Parker Solar Probe, and she explained that scientists really want to understand the origins of the solar wind.This is the stream of charged particles that emanate from the Sun's outermost layer, the corona. Scientists have been wondering about this particular mystery for longer than half a century, Fox explained."Quite simply, we want to find the birthplace of the solar wind," she said.Way back in the 1950s, before we had satellites or spacecraft to measure the Sun's properties, Parker predicted the existence of this solar wind. The scientific community was pretty skeptical about this ideamany ridiculed Parker, in factuntil the Mariner 2 mission started measuring the solar wind in 1962.As the scientific community began to embrace Parker's theory, they wanted to know more about the solar wind, which is such a fundamental constituent of the entire Solar System. Although the solar wind is invisible to the naked eye, when you see an aurora on Earth, that's the solar wind interacting with Earth's magnetosphere in a particularly violent way.Only it isexpensive to build a spacecraft that can get to the Sun. And really difficult, too.Now, you might naively think that it's the easiest thing in the world to send a spacecraft to the Sun. After all, it's this big and massive object in the sky, and it's got a huge gravitational field. Things should want to go there because of this attraction, and you ought to be able to toss any old thing into the sky, and it will go toward the Sun. The problem is that you don't actually want your spacecraft to fly into the Sun or be going so fast that it passes the Sun and keeps moving. So you've got to have a pretty powerful rocket to get your spacecraft in just the right orbit.Thats a dynamic spacecraftAnd then you've got to have a pretty sophisticated spacecraft that can survive flying into the atmosphere of a star. Because it's super hot and there's this hellish radiation all around, not to mention plasma.But you can't get around the fact that to observe the origin of the solar wind, you've got to get inside the corona. Fox explained that it's like trying to understand a forest by looking in from the outside. One actually needs to go into the forest and find a clearing. However, we can't really stay inside the forest very longbecause it's on fire.So, the Parker Solar Probe had to be robust enough to get near the Sun and then back into the coldness of space. Therein lies another challenge. The spacecraft is going from this incredibly hot environment into a cold one and then back again multiple times."If you think about just heating and cooling any kind of material, they either go brittle and crumble, or they may go like elastic with a continual change of property," Fox said. "Obviously, with a spacecraft like this, you can't have it making a major property change. You also need something that's lightweight, and you need something that's durable."The science instruments had to be hardened as well. As the probe flies into the Sun there's an instrument known as a Faraday cup that hangs out to measure ion and electron fluxes from the solar wind. Unique technologies were needed. The cup itself is made from sheets of Titanium-Zirconium-Molybdenum, with a melting point of about 4,260 Fahrenheit (2,349 C). Another challenge came from the electronic wiring, as normal cables would melt. So, the team at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and NASA grew sapphire crystal tubes to suspend the wiring and made the wires from niobium.Anyway, all that is to say, it took a lot of time, money, and technological breakthroughs in exotic materials to get a spacecraft that was up to the task. And on Christmas Eve, we're finally going to see what the Parker Solar Probe has got.Eric BergerSenior Space EditorEric BergerSenior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 31 Comments

That bill doesn't look right $2 per megabyte: AT&T mistakenly charged customer $6,223 for 3.1GB of data Texas police officer switched to AT&T FirstNet and got a horrible surprise. Jon Brodkin Dec 18, 2024 5:19 pm | 33 Credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg Credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAn AT&T customer who switched to the company's FirstNet service for first responders got quite the shock when his bill came in at $6,223.60, instead of the roughly $260 that his four-line plan previously cost each month.The Texas man described his experience in a now-deleted Reddit post three days ago, saying he hadn't been able to get the obviously incorrect bill reversed despite calling AT&T and going to an AT&T store in Dallas. The case drew plenty of attention and the bill was finally wiped out several days after the customer contacted the AT&T president's office.The customer said he received the billing email on December 11. An automatic payment was scheduled for December 15, but he canceled the autopay before the money was charged. The whole mess took a week to straighten out."I have been with AT&T for over a decade and I have always had unlimited plans so I knew this was a mistake," he wrote. "The only change I have made to my account is last month I moved my line over to FirstNet. I am a first responder and I was told my price per month would actually go down a few dollars a month."We have apologized for the inconvenienceAT&T confirmed to Ars today that it "straightened out the customers bill.""We understand how frustrating this must have been for [the customer] and we have apologized for the inconvenience. We have resolved his concerns about his bill and are investigating to determine what caused this system error," an AT&T spokesperson told Ars.The customer posted screenshots of his bill, which helpfully pointed out, "Your bill increased $5,956.92" since the previous month. It included a $5.73 "discount for first responder appreciation," but that wasn't enough to wipe out a $6,194 line item listed as "Data Pay Per use 3,097MB at $2.00 per MB."Two dollars per megabyte is obviously a shockingly high price for mobile data and would make standard wireless service unobtainable for most people if it was routinely charged. AT&T does have an international travel rate of $2.05 per megabyte, and a $2-per-megabyte charge for domestic data that we found on a page describing certain business and government plans, but neither should have been applied to the Texas man's bill. We asked AT&T for more detailed information on the $2 charge and why it was applied but only received the general statement.We reached out to the customer, who used the Reddit name "Usual-Guava-8899." The customer told us he is a police officer in Texas and prefers to remain anonymous. He confirmed that AT&T fixed the mistake by reducing his balance to $0 and giving him "a $205 credit for my troubles."The customer told Ars that he "was never told how or why" the $6,000-plus pay-per-use charge was applied. "The customer service over the phone and at the store level was pretty bad," he told us. "They all seemed to have a pretty nonchalant attitude about it. I am definitely looking at moving carriers pretty soon." Support from the AT&T president's office was much better, but "it took almost a week for them to contact me," he said.A huge amount of stress on me and my familyThe man's Reddit post, which was made about four days into his billing nightmare, described the suboptimal customer service."Once I calmed down a bit I called AT&T customer service and spent over an hour on the phone with customer service," he wrote. "The agents and supervisor I spoke with on the phone could not find the bill! I was told my bill was $205 even though I was logged into my account and could see my bill due was $6,223.60. After an hour on the phone I gave up and decided to go to a physical store in person the next day."At the corporate store in Dallas, an employee "was able to find my $6,223.60 bill immediately and he and the other employees were stunned at the amount due!" he wrote. "I still am not sure how the customer service agents and supervisor could not locate my bill when I called the night before. I was told when my account was migrated to FirstNet there was a mistake made by AT&T and for one day (11/25) I was accidentally put on a pay per use plan."That partially explains how the charge appeared, though it doesn't give any indication of why. The store associate recommended that the customer contact the office of AT&T's president."I can't understand how this was not remedied immediately at the store level as this is an obvious error on AT&T's end. This has caused a huge amount of stress on me and my family around the holidays," he wrote. The customer wondered if he would be charged a late fee for not paying or have his service cut off, and asked people on Reddit for advice."I am left with so many worrisome questions," he wrote. "What if AT&T does not fix this? How can this even happen to a customer? Shouldn't there be some kind of red flags raised before this bill gets sent to a customer? How many people has this happened to? I am at a loss and very worried."Today, the customer was feeling greatly relieved. "I am so happy this has been fixed," he told Ars. "It was a scary week."Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 33 Comments

RTO-no Amazons RTO delays exemplify why workers get so mad about mandates Amazon lacks space to accommodate its entire workforce. Scharon Harding Dec 18, 2024 5:51 pm | 48 Credit: Getty Credit: Getty Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAmazon announced in September that it will require workers to be in the office five days a week starting in January. Employee backlash ensued, not just because return-to-office (RTO) mandates can be unpopular but also because Amazon is using some of the worst strategies for issuing RTO mandates.Ahead of the mandate, Amazon had been letting many employees work remotely for two days a week, with a smaller number of workers being totally remote. But despite saying that employees would have to commute five days per week, the conglomerate doesnt have enough office space to accommodate over 350,000 employees. Personnel in at least seven cities, including Phoenix and Austin, Texas, have had their RTO dates delayed until after January, Bloomberg reported today, citing people familiar with the situation." Employees in Dallas wont have enough space until March or April, and an office in New York City wont have sufficient space until May, per Bloomberg's sources.RTO dates are also delayed in Atlanta, Houston, and Nashville, Tennessee, Business Insider reported this week,citing internal Amazon notifications.An Amazon spokesperson told Ars Technica that the majority of Amazon employees will have office space by January 2, and workers in locations that wont be ready will be informed directly. Ars asked for more information and will update this article if we hear back.An Amazon rep also claimed to Bloomberg that most of the pushed-back RTO dates are related to buildings being laid out differently for part-time workers rather than insufficient physical space.Amazons rough RTO rolloutThe differing messaging around workers returning to offices full-time represents another hiccup around a debated policy. Amazons approach thus far seems to align with what some research suggests irks employees about RTO mandates.A November study of over 3 million "high-tech and financial" workers at 54 companies on the S&P 500 index (PDF) concluded that RTO mandates could lead to employees doubting leaderships ability to lead and make decisions. Amazon workers were already questioning the non-data-driven explanation provided to them for the RTO policy, as over 500 Amazon employees wrote to Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman in October. Issuing a strict, widespread mandate only to share three months later that the self-proposed deadline is unfeasible in some places likely exacerbates concern about Amazon's ability to effectively manage an exodus from hybrid work and the necessity of returning to offices full-time in January at all.Concern about RTO planning is underscored by Amazon reportedly lacking enough space for its current in-office policy. Bloomberg said that in recent interviews, employees complained of working from shared desks, crowded corporate canteens, and a lack of conference rooms for confidential calls or team meetings."The publication also pointed to employee displeasure with having to work in an office full-time when other tech firms have more lax policies. This could result in Amazon losing some of its best talent. Per the study from the University of Pittsburgh, Baylor University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business researchers, senior, skilled workers are more likely to depart a company over an RTO mandate because they have "more connections with other companies.Employees eyeing greener pastures could put Amazon at risk of losing some of its most experienced employees. That also reportedly happened to Apple, Microsoft, and SpaceX following their RTO mandates, per a May study from University of Chicago and University of Michigan researchers (PDF). Following Amazon's RTO announcement, 73 percent of 2,285 workers that Blind surveyed said they were considering looking for another job due to the rule change.Finally, banning remote work while giving workers a few months to figure out how to adjust resulted in a lot of negative discourse, including Garman reportedly telling workers that if they dont work well in offices, that's okay; there are other companies around. As the November RTO study put it:An RTO announcement can be a big and sudden event that is distasteful to most employees, especially when the decision has not been well communicated, potentially triggering an immediate response of employees searching for and switching to new jobs.If Amazon had communicated RTO dates with greater accuracy once office plans were finalized, it could have alleviated some of the drama that followed the announcement and the negative impact that had on employee morale.For its part, Amazon has instituted a tool for reserving conference rooms, which requires workers to commit to using the space so its not wasted, Bloomberg reported.But with companies now having had years to plot their RTO approaches, employees are expecting more accurate communication and smooth transitions that align with their respective department's culture. Amazon's approach missed those marks.Scharon HardingSenior Product ReviewerScharon HardingSenior Product Reviewer Scharon is Ars Technicas Senior Product Reviewer writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer technology, including laptops, mechanical keyboards, and monitors. Shes based in Brooklyn. 48 Comments

Unintended features Nvidias new app is causing large frame rate dips in many games Fully disabling optional, AI-powered filters seems to fix the problem. Kyle Orland Dec 17, 2024 4:43 pm | 20 "Frame rate decrease" is pointedly not listed under the "New Features" Credit: Nvidia "Frame rate decrease" is pointedly not listed under the "New Features" Credit: Nvidia Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWhen Nvidia replaced the longstanding GeForce Experience App with a new, unified Nvidia App last month, most GPU owners probably noted the refresh and rebranding with nothing more than bemusement (though the new lack of an account login requirement was a nice improvement). Now, testing shows that running the new app with default settings can lead to some significant frame rate dips on many high-end games, even when the app's advanced AI features aren't being actively used.Tom's Hardware noted the performance dip after reading reports of related problems around the web. The site's testing with and without the Nvidia App installed confirms that, across five games running on an RTX 4060, the app reduced average frame rates by around 3 to 6 percent, depending on the resolution and graphical quality level.The site's measured frame rate drop peaked at 12 percent for Assassin's Creed Mirage running at 1080p Ultra settings; other tested games (including Baldur's Gate 3, Black Myth: Wukong, Flight Simulator 2024, and Stalker 2) showed a smaller drop at most settings.UnfilteredThis is a significant performance impact for an app that simply runs quietly in the background for most users. The impact is roughly comparable to that of going from a top-of-the-line RTX 4070 Ti Super to an older RTX 4070 Ti or 4070 Super, based on our earlier testing of those cards. A promotional video highlighting some of the benefits of the Nvidia App. The problem, it seems, stems from the Nvidia app's integration of new, optional Game Filters. The company says these "AI-powered" filters can provide "dynamic vibrance" to "better distinguish in-game elements" or virtual HDR color support in games not coded with HDR in mind.Apparently, merely having these optional filters enabled in the app takes its toll on game performance whenever the app is running, even if the filters aren't actively being used in a running game. To fix the problem, you have to turn off the Game Filters feature completely in the Nvidia App itself ("Nvidia App Settings > Features > Overlay > Game Filters and Photo Mode").In a statement to Tom's Hardware, Nvidia acknowledged that it was "aware of a reported performance issue related to Game Filters and are actively looking into it." Hopefully they'll quickly figure out why this inert feature is causing such a noticeable impact on many games. In the meantime, those who don't want to worry about this kind of thing can still manually install the latest GPU drivers by downloading them directly from Nvidia's website.Kyle OrlandSenior Gaming EditorKyle OrlandSenior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 20 Comments

Silver linings Unprecedented decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts Kids who were in 8th grade at pandemic's start have ushered in an era of abstaining. Beth Mole Dec 17, 2024 5:15 pm | 8 Rear view of a multiracial group of students walking in school corridor Credit: Getty | Rafa Fernandez Torres Rear view of a multiracial group of students walking in school corridor Credit: Getty | Rafa Fernandez Torres Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreTeen drug use continued to fall in 2024, extending a dramatic decline spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic that experts expected would reverse now that the acute phase of the global crisis is well over.But, according to data released Tuesday, the number of eighth, 10th, and 12th graders who collectively abstained from the use of alcohol, marijuana, or nicotine hit a new high this year. Use of illicit drugs also fell on the whole and use of non-heroin narcotics (Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet) hit an all-time low."Many experts in the field had anticipated that drug use would resurge as the pandemic receded and social distancing restrictions were lifted," Richard Miech, team lead of the Monitoring the Future survey at the University of Michigan, said in a statement. "As it turns out, the declines have not only lasted but have dropped further."The Monitoring the Future studywhich has been running for 50 years and is funded by the National Institutes of Healthsurveys a nationally representative group of teens each year on their involvement with the ever-evolving drug landscape. This year, the survey collected data from over 24,000 students at more than 270 public and private schools.The initial drop in drug use between 2020 and 2021 was among the largest ever recorded. And researchers like Miech expected the rates would bounce back, at least partially. But now, the data suggests the pandemic has started a wave of abstention that is still rippling through grade levels.A new era"Kids who were in eighth grade at the start of the pandemic will be graduating from high school this year, and this unique cohort has ushered in the lowest rates of substance use weve seen in decades," Miech noted.For alcohol, use in the past 12 months among eighth graders was at 12.9 percent in 2024, similar to 2023 levels, which are all-time lows. For 10th graders, the rate dropped significantly from 30.6 percent in 2023 to 26.1 percent, and for 12th graders, from 45.7 percent to 41.7 percentboth record lows.For nicotine vaping, rates fell for 10th graders (from 17.5 percent to 15.4 percent) and remained at low levels for eighth and 12th graders. For marijuana, use remained low for eighth and 10th graders and fell significantly for 12th graders (from 29 percent to 25.8 percent). All three grades are at lows not seen since 1990.For abstainers from alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine, the rate among eighth graders hit 90 percent, up from 87 percent in 2017, when it was first measured. The rate was 80 percent among 10th graders, up from 69 percent in 2017, and 67 percent for 12th graders, up from 53 percent in 2017."This trend in the reduction of substance use among teenagers is unprecedented," Nora Volkow, director of NIHs National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), said. "We must continue to investigate factors that have contributed to this lowered risk of substance use to tailor interventions to support the continuation of this trend."Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 8 Comments

Who, what, where, when? Report: Elon Musk failed to report movement required by security clearance No federal agencies have accused Musk of disclosing classified information. Eric Berger Dec 17, 2024 5:30 pm | 83 Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO, President-elect Donald Trump, and Gen. Chance Saltzman of the US Space Force watch the sixth launch of Starship Tuesday. Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO, President-elect Donald Trump, and Gen. Chance Saltzman of the US Space Force watch the sixth launch of Starship Tuesday. Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreA new investigation from The New York Times suggests that SpaceX founder Elon Musk has not been reporting his travel activities and other information to the Department of Defense as required by his top-secret clearance.According to the newspaper, concerns about Musk's reporting practices have led to reviews by three different bodies within the military; the Air Force, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and the Defense Department Office of Inspector General.However, none of the federal agencies cited in the Times article has accused Musk of disclosing classified material.The Times reports that Musk had a mid-level security clearance until 2018, at which point SpaceX applied for a top-secret clearance for its chief executive. SpaceX performs a number of functions for the US government, both civil and military branches. Among its most secretive activities are launching classified satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office and providing encrypted communications and observational activities with its Starshield satellites.Why didnt he?As part of the screening process, federal officials gather financial information and examine personal relationships. It took two years to process Musk's security clearance, the newspaper reports, which is more than double the average time. During the time this security clearance was pending, Musk violated security clearance rules by smoking pot on Joe Rogans podcast, and his business interests in China deepened.Musk ultimately received the security clearance, but since 2021, he has failed to self-report details of his life, including travel activities, persons with whom he has met, and drug use, according to the Times. The government is also concerned that SpaceX did not ensure Musk's compliance with the reporting rules.Government agencies "want to ensure the people who have clearances dont violate rules and regulations," Andrew Bakaj, a former CIA official and lawyer who works on security clearances, told the Times. "If you dont self-report, the question becomes: Why didnt you? And what are you trying to hide?'"According to the report, Musk's handling of classified information has raised questions in diplomatic meetings between the United States and some of its allies, including Israel.Musk's national security profile has risen following his deep-pocketed and full-throated support of Donald Trump, who won the US presidential campaign in November and will be sworn into office next month. After this inauguration, Trump will have the power to grant security clearance to whomever he wishes.Eric BergerSenior Space EditorEric BergerSenior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 83 Comments

Speech police Trump FCC chair wants to revoke broadcast licensesthe 1st Amendment might stop him Brendan Carr backs Trump's war against media, but revoking licenses won't be easy. Jon Brodkin Dec 17, 2024 7:00 am | 95 President-elect Donald Trump speaks to Brendan Carr, his intended pick for Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, as he attends a SpaceX Starship rocket launch on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. Credit: Getty Images | Brandon Bell President-elect Donald Trump speaks to Brendan Carr, his intended pick for Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, as he attends a SpaceX Starship rocket launch on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. Credit: Getty Images | Brandon Bell Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn morePresident-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, wants the FCC to crack down on news broadcasters that he perceives as being unfair to Trump or Republicans in general.Carr's stated goals would appear to mark a major shift in the FCC's approach to broadcasters. Carr's predecessors, including outgoing Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Republican Ajit Pai, who served in the first Trump administration, both rejected Trump's calls to punish news networks for alleged bias.Carr has instead embraced Trump's view that broadcasters should be punished for supposed anti-conservative bias. Carr has threatened to revoke licenses by wielding the FCC's authority to ensure that broadcast stations using public airwaves operate in the public interest, despite previous chairs saying the First Amendment prevents the FCC from revoking licenses based on content.Revoking licenses or blocking license renewals is difficult legally, experts told Ars. But Carr could use his power as FCC chair to pressure broadcasters and force them to undergo costly legal proceedings, even if he never succeeds in taking a license away from a broadcast station."Look, the law is very clear," Carr told CNBC on December 6. "The Communications Act says you have to operate in the public interest. And if you don't, yes, one of the consequences is potentially losing your license. And of course, that's on the table. I mean, look, broadcast licenses are not sacred cows."Carr fights Trumps battlesCarr has said his FCC will take a close look at a complaint regarding a CBS 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris before the election. Trump criticized the editing of the interview and said that "CBS should lose its license."In an interview with Fox News, Carr said there is "a news distortion complaint at the FCC still, having to do with CBS, and CBS has a transaction before the FCC." He was referring to a pending deal involving Skydance and Paramount, which owns and operates 28 local broadcast TV stations of the CBS Television Network."I'm pretty confident that news distortion complaint over the CBS 60 Minutes transcript is something that is likely to arise in the context of the FCC's review of that transaction," Carr said.Carr also alleged that NBC putting Harris on Saturday Night Live before the election was "a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC's Equal Time rule," even though NBC gave Trump two free 60-second messages in order to comply with that rule. In Carr's CNBC interview on December 6, he raised the specter of imposing new rules for broadcasters and taking action against NBC over the Saturday Night Live episode."I don't want to be the speech police," Carr told CNBC. "But there is something that's different about broadcasters than, say, podcasters, where you have to operate in the public interest. So right now, all I'm saying is maybe we should start a rulemaking to take a look at what that means. There's other issues as well. Look, there's a news distortion complaint that's still hanging out there involving CBS, with NBC and SNL, we had some issues potentially with the Equal Time provision. I just think we need to sort of reinvigorate the FCC's approach to these issues, as Congress has envisioned."We emailed Carr with questions about his specific plans for challenging broadcasters' licenses and whether he still believes that NBC attempted to evade the Equal Time rule, but we did not receive a response.Carrs tough taskThe Carr FCC and Trump administration "can hassle the living daylights out of broadcasters or other media outlets in annoying ways," said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, who is senior counselor for the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and previously led the nonprofit Media Access Project, a public interest telecommunications law firm. At the FCC, "you can harass, you can kind of single some broadcasters out, and you can hold up some of their applications," Schwartzman said in a phone interview with Ars.But that doesn't mean Carr can put broadcasters out of business. "They're not going to revoke licenses. It's just legally just not doable. He can't change the precedents and the statute on that," Schwartzman said.Schwartzman explained in a recent memo that "under the Communications Act, revocation of a license, which means taking it away in the middle of a license term, is essentially impossible. The legal standard is so high that the only time that the FCC tries to revoke a license is when a station (typically a mom-and-pop AM) goes dark." Schwartzman wrote the memo in response to Trump's demand that the FCC punish CBS.The FCC doesn't license TV networks such as CBS, NBC, or ABC, but the FCC could punish individual stations owned by those companies. The FCC's licensing authority is over broadcast stations, many of which are owned and operated by a big network. Other stations are affiliated with the networks but have different ownership.Although revoking a license in the middle of a license term is effectively impossible, the FCC can go after a license when it's up for renewal, Schwartzman said. But Carr will have to go through most of the next four years without any opportunity to challenge a broadcast TV license renewal. According to the FCC's list of renewal dates, there are no TV station licenses up for renewal until 2028.That won't give Carr enough time to reject a renewal and win in court, Schwartzman said. "A license renewal litigation that would take years can't even begin until Trump is out of office," he told Ars.Light years away from previous Republican chairCarr would face a high legal standard even if there were licenses up for renewal in 2025. Schwartzman's memo said that "the First Amendment bars denial of renewal based on program content, and certainly not based on the political views expressed.... The only way that a broadcaster could theoretically get into trouble on renewal would be a character problem based on being found to have lied to the government or conviction of major felonies."A license renewal isn't the FCC's only avenue for challenging broadcasters. As noted earlier in this article, Carr has discussed investigating bias allegations during proceedings on license transfers that happen in connection with mergers and acquisitions. Carr can "hold up a transfer" when a company tries to sell broadcast stations and "hassle people that way," Schwartzman told Ars.It's clear from his public statements that Carr sees the FCC's responsibility over broadcasters much differently than Pai, Trump's first FCC chair. Pai, a Republican who teamed up with Carr on deregulating the broadband industry and many other conservative priorities, rejected the idea of revoking broadcast licenses in 2017 despite Trump's complaints about news networks. Pai said that the FCC "under my leadership will stand for the First Amendment" and that "the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast."More recently, Rosenworcel rejected Trump's call to revoke licenses from CBS. "As Ive said before, the First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy," she said in October this year. "The FCC does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.On this topic, Carr's views are "light-years" away from Pai's, Schwartzman said. But Schwartzman also sees several of Carr's statements as being toothless. While Carr repeatedly points to the public interest standard for broadcasters, Schwartzman noted that the FCC must apply the public interest standard to all matters."All he's saying is, 'I'm going to enforce the statute as it's existed since 1934.' It's meaningless, and it's therefore easy for him to say," Schwartzman said.Carr was wrong about NBC violating the Equal Time Rule by putting Harris on Saturday Night Live, Schwartzman said. To comply with the rule, NBC only had to honor a request from Trump for "equal opportunities," he said. This is a routine process that broadcasters have known how to handle for a long time, he said."The burden is on the opposing candidate to ask for it. Having a candidate on... is not only not a violation, it's actually encouraged because broadcasters are supposed to stimulate discussion of issues and ideas," he said. Carr's main purpose in making his Saturday Night Live complaint, in Schwartzman's opinion, was "to fulminate. It's just grandstanding. He was running for chair."Conservative group urges limits on FCCJeffrey Westling, a lawyer who is the director of technology and innovation policy at the conservative American Action Forum, is concerned about the FCC acting on Trump's calls to punish networks. After Trump called for ABC licenses to be revoked because of its handling of a debate, Westling wrote that "it is indeed possible for the federal government to revoke a broadcast license, even in response to what is essentially a political offense."Westling urged Congress to "limit or revoke the FCC's authority to impose content-based restrictions on broadcast television," specifically through the FCC rule on broadcast news distortion.Proving distortion is difficult, with requires elements including "deliberate intent to distort the news" and "extrinsic evidence to the broadcast itself, such as that a reporter had received a bribe or that the report was instructed by management to distort the news," Westling wrote. The distortion also must be "initiated by the management of the station" and involve "a significant event.""While these standards are fairly stringent, the FCC must investigate complaints when a station seeks to renew its license, adding risk and uncertainty even if the station never truly violated the policy," Westling wrote.When contacted by Ars, Westling pointed out that the high standard for proving news distortion "only matter[s] if the administration's goal is to revoke a broadcaster's license. As much as I personally disagree with the rule, the courts have made clear that if a complaint has asserted the necessary elements, the Commission must thoroughly review it when considering a license transfer or renewal."The FCC "review is costly, and adds uncertainty for the broadcaster that quite literally relies on the license to operate," Westling said. "As a result, it is possible that even a threat from the president could influence how a broadcaster chooses to air the news, knowing that news distortion review could be in its future."Westling also said it's possible "that the FCC's use of the news distortion rule to deny a transfer or renewal of a license could be approved by the courts. The actual bounds of the rule are not well tested, and theoretically, a sympathetic court could be favorable to more loose enforcement of the rule."Carr, who described how he would run the FCC in a chapter for the conservative Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, also wants the agency to crack down on social media websites for alleged anti-conservative bias. He has said he wants to "smash" a "censorship cartel" that he claims includes social media platforms, government officials, advertising and marketing agencies, and fact-checkers.Other factors might stop Carrs blusterWhen it comes to broadcasting, Schwartzman said there are several reasons to think Carr's statements are mostly bluster that won't result in major consequences for TV stations.Broadcasters have a lot of political power that's wielded through the National Association of Broadcasters and relationships with members of Congress. Broadcasting, despite being less influential than it used to be, "is still among the most powerful industries in Congress and in the country... there is not a member of Congress alive who doesn't know the general manager of every TV station in their district," Schwartzman said.The FCC taking action against left-leaning broadcasters could lead to similar actions against conservative broadcasters during future administrations. Schwartzman questioned whether Carr actually wants "to set a precedent that's going to put Fox in jeopardy the next time there's a Democrat in the FCC."Another factor that could constrain Carr is how recent Supreme Court rulings limit the power of federal agencies. The FCC's other Republican member, Nathan Simington, has vowed to vote against any fine imposed by the commission until its legal powers are clear."Under new and controlling Supreme Court precedent, the Commission's authority to assess monetary forfeitures as it traditionally has done is unclear," Simington said in August. "Until the Commission formally determines the bounds of its enforcement authority under this new precedent, I am obligated to dissent from any decision purporting to impose a monetary forfeiture. I call on the Commission to open a Notice of Inquiry to determine the new constitutional contours of Commission enforcement authority."The Supreme Court's June 2024 ruling in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy held that "when the SEC seeks civil penalties against a defendant for securities fraud, the Seventh Amendment entitles the defendant to a jury trial." This ruling could impact the ability of other agencies to issue fines.Besides all of those reasons, Schwartzman offered another potential problem for Carr's plansthe incoming chair's post-FCC employment prospects, particularly if Carr wants to go back to practicing law. Before becoming an FCC commissioner, Carr was the agency's general counsel."He's not going to have a career as a communications lawyer in private practice after he's on the FCC if he starts saying that broadcasters don't have First Amendment rights," Schwartzman said.Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 95 Comments

setright would approve Heres the new hybrid Honda Prelude, on sale late 2025 This version will feature something called Honda S+ Shift, to boost engagement. Jonathan M. Gitlin Dec 17, 2024 10:00 am | 52 There's something very Toyota Prius-y about the new Honda Prelude's headlights. Credit: Honda There's something very Toyota Prius-y about the new Honda Prelude's headlights. Credit: Honda Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe fact that Honda was working on a new Prelude coupe was not entirely secretnot after the automaker unveiled a show car at this year's Long Beach Grand Prix. This morning, the Japanese automaker confirmed that the new Prelude will go on sale here in the US late in 2025."The return of the Honda Prelude as a hybrid-electric sports model demonstrates our continued commitment to offer a variety of exhilarating products to meet the needs of our customers," said Jessika Laudermilk, assistant vice president of Honda Auto Sales. "The first three products in the Honda lineup in the 1970s were Civic, Accord, and Prelude, and soon all three will be back together again in our passenger car lineup as hybrids."Honda has often used the two-door Prelude coupe as a testbed for new technologies, including torque vectoring and four-wheel steering, and was praised by the late automotive writer LJK Setright, who owned several Preludes across the years.An innovation in the next Prelude will be a new drive mode, called Honda S+ Shift, which it says "advances linear shift control to deliver maximum levels of driver engagement." But as the Prelude will use a hybrid powertrain, there won't be an option for a manual transmission in this generation.Beyond that, Honda is keeping quiet on Prelude details until closer to the car's arrival on sale next year.Jonathan M. GitlinAutomotive EditorJonathan M. GitlinAutomotive Editor Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC. 52 Comments

Missed a zero Huge math error corrected in black plastic study; authors say it doesnt matter Correction issued for black plastic study that had people tossing spatulas. Beth Mole Dec 16, 2024 5:23 pm | 87 Close-up view of cooking utensils in container on kitchen counter Credit: Getty | Grace Cary Close-up view of cooking utensils in container on kitchen counter Credit: Getty | Grace Cary Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreEditors of the environmental chemistry journal Chemosphere have posted an eye-catching correction to a study reporting toxic flame retardants from electronics wind up in some household products made of black plastic, including kitchen utensils. The study sparked a flurry of media reports a few weeks ago that urgently implored people to ditch their kitchen spatulas and spoons. Wirecutter even offered a buying guide for what to replace them with.The correction, posted Sunday, will likely take some heat off the beleaguered utensils. The authors made a math error that put the estimated risk from kitchen utensils off by an order of magnitude.Specifically, the authors estimated that if a kitchen utensil contained middling levels of a key toxic flame retardant (BDE-209), the utensil would transfer 34,700 nanograms of the contaminant a day based on regular use while cooking and serving hot food. The authors then compared that estimate to a reference level of BDE-209 considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA's safe level is 7,000 ngper kilogram of body weightper day, and the authors used 60 kg as the adult weight (about 132 pounds) for their estimate. So, the safe EPA limit would be 7,000 multiplied by 60, yielding 420,000 ng per day. That's 12 times more than the estimated exposure of 34,700 ng per day.However, the authors missed a zero and reported the EPA's safe limit as 42,000 ng per day for a 60 kg adult. The error made it seem like the estimated exposure was nearly at the safe limit, even though it was actually less than a tenth of the limit."[W]e miscalculated the reference dose for a 60 kg adult, initially estimating it at 42,000 ng/day instead of the correct value of 420,000 ng/day," the correction reads. "As a result, we revised our statement from 'the calculated daily intake would approach the U.S. BDE-209 reference dose' to 'the calculated daily intake remains an order of magnitude lower than the U.S. BDE-209 reference dose.' We regret this error and have updated it in our manuscript."Unchanged conclusionWhile being off by an order of magnitude seems like a significant error, the authors don't seem to think it changes anything. "This calculation error does not affect the overall conclusion of the paper," the correction reads. The corrected study still ends by saying that the flame retardants "significantly contaminate" the plastic products, which have "high exposure potential."Ars has reached out to the lead author, Megan Liu, but has not received a response. Liu works for the environmental health advocacy group Toxic-Free Future, which led the study.The study highlighted that flame retardants used in plastic electronics may, in some instances, be recycled into household items."Companies continue to use toxic flame retardants in plastic electronics, and that's resulting in unexpected and unnecessary toxic exposures, Liu said in a press release from October. "These cancer-causing chemicals shouldn't be used to begin with, but with recycling, they are entering our environment and our homes in more ways than one. The high levels we found are concerning."BDE-209, aka decabromodiphenyl ether or deca-BDE, was a dominant component of TV and computer housings before it was banned by the European Union in 2006 and some US states in 2007. China only began restricting BDE-209 in 2023. The flame retardant is linked to carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, and reproductive harm.Uncommon contaminantThe presence of such toxic compounds in household items is important for noting the potential hazards in the plastic waste stream. However, in addition to finding levels that were an order of magnitude below safe limits, the study also suggested that the contamination is not very common.The study examined 203 black plastic household products, including 109 kitchen utensils, 36 toys, 30 hair accessories, and 28 food serviceware products. Of those 203 products, only 20 (10 percent) had any bromine-containing compounds at levels that might indicate contamination from bromine-based flame retardants, like BDE-209. Of the 109 kitchen utensils tested, only nine (8 percent) contained concerning bromine levels."[A] minority of black plastic products are contaminated at levels >50 ppm [bromine]," the study states.But that's just bromine compounds. Overall, only 14 of the 203 products contained BDE-209 specifically.The product that contained the highest level of bromine compounds was a disposable sushi tray at 18,600 ppm. Given that heating is a significant contributor to chemical leaching, it's unclear what exposure risk the sushi tray poses. Of the 28 food serviceware products assessed in the study, the sushi tray was only one of two found to contain bromine compounds. The other was a fast food tray that was at the threshold of contamination with 51 ppm.Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 87 Comments

blow that whistle In IT? Need cash? Cybersecurity whistleblowers are earning big payouts. The US government now relies on whistleblowers to bring many cases. Nate Anderson Dec 16, 2024 5:38 pm | 20 Credit: Getty Images | spxChrome Credit: Getty Images | spxChrome Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreMatthew Decker is the former chief information officer for Penn State Universitys Applied Research Laboratory. As of October, he's also $250,000 richer.In his Penn State position, Decker was well placed to see that the university was not implementing all of the cybersecurity controls that were required by its various contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD). It did not, for instance, use an external cloud services provider that met the DoD's security guidelines, and it fudged some of the self-submitted "scores" it made to the government about Penn State's IT security.So Decker sued the school under the False Claims Act, which lets private individuals bring cases against organizations on behalf of the government if they come across evidence of wrongdoing related to government contracts. In many of these cases, the government later "intervenes" to assist with the case (as it did here), but whether it does so or not, whistleblowers stand to collect a percentage of any fines if they win.In October, Penn State agreed to a $1.25 million settlement with the government; Decker got $250,000 of the money.On the regularThis now happens in IT with some regularity. In November, Dell, Dell Federal Systems, and Iron Bow Technologies settled with the government for $4.3 million over claims that they "violated the False Claims Act by submitting and causing the submission of non-competitive bids to the Army and thereby overcharging the Army under the Army Desktop and Mobile Computing 3 (ADMC-3) contract."But once again, this wasn't something the government uncovered on its own; a whistleblower named Brent Lillard, who was an executive at another company in the industry, brought the initial complaint. For his work, Lillard just made $345,000.In early December, Gen Digital (formerly Symantec) paid a much larger fee$55.1 millionafter losing a trial in 2022. Gen Digital/Symantec was found liable for charging the government higher prices than it charged to companies.Once again, the issue was brought to light by a whistleblower, Lori Morsell, who oversaw the contract for Gen Digital/Symantec. Morsell's award has not yet been determined by the court, but given the amount of the payout, it should be substantial.False Claims Act goes digitalDue to the complexity of investigatingor even finding out abouttechnical failures and False Claims Act cases from the outside of an organization, the government has increasingly relied on whistleblowers to kick-start these sorts of IT cases.The False Claims Act goes back to the Civil War, where it was used on unscrupulous vendors who sold poor-quality goods to the Union army. Today, it has become the tool of choice to prosecute cyber-failures regarding government contractors, largely because of the Act's robust whistleblower rules (technically known as its "qui tam" provisions).This was, even just a few years ago, a novel proposition. In 2020, the law firm Carlton Fields noted that "two significant whistleblower cases sent ripples through the False Claims Act (FCA) community by demonstrating the specter of FCA liability resulting from the failure to comply with cybersecurity requirements in government contracts."In one of these cases, Brian Markus earned $2.61 million for his False Claims Act case against Aerojet Rocketdyne.In the other, James Glenn sued Cisco over a video surveillance product that had known security flaws and yet was sold to numerous government agencies. Cisco eventually paid $8.6 million, of which Glenn walked away with more than $1 million.By 2021, however, False Claims Act cases to go after government contractors, especially in the IT sector, had become downright normal. The Department of Justice even stood up a special program called the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative to assist with such cases. In a late 2021 speech, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton said that the initiative would use whistleblowers and the False Claims Act to focus on three things:Knowing failures to comply with contractual cyber standardsKnowing misrepresentation of security controls and practicesKnowing failure to report suspected breaches in a timely fashionIn the last four years, the initiative has brought in judgments and settlements against many major companies like Boeing (which paid $8.1 million in 2023; several whistleblowers split $1.5 million), and it has gone after huge universities like Penn State (see above) and Georgia Tech (earlier this year, still tied up in court).Blowing a whistle for yearsThese cases all rely on insiders, and the payouts can be hefty, but the cases can also take years to reach their conclusions. The Cisco case, for instance, lasted eight years before the whistleblower got his money. The Penn State case was relatively speedy by contrasta mere two years from its filing in October 2022 to the university's payout earlier this year.To report fraud against the federal government, contact the Department of Justice here. But be aware that, if you're hoping to collect a share of any future payout, you generally need to retain a lawyer and file a whistleblower case first.Nate AndersonDeputy EditorNate AndersonDeputy Editor Nate is the deputy editor at Ars Technica. His most recent book is In Emergency, Break Glass: What Nietzsche Can Teach Us About Joyful Living in a Tech-Saturated World, which is much funnier than it sounds. 20 Comments

The final days of 2024 Rocket Report: Chinese national flies drone near Falcon 9, Trouble down under "I am convinced that a collaboration between Avio and MaiaSpace could be established." Eric Berger Dec 13, 2024 6:30 am | 117 SpaceX conducted a static fire test of its flight seven Super Heavy booster this week. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX conducted a static fire test of its flight seven Super Heavy booster this week. Credit: SpaceX Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWelcome to Edition 7.23 of the Rocket Report! We're closing in on the end of the year, with a little less than three weeks remaining in 2024. Can you believe it? I hardly can. The biggest question left in launch is whether Blue Origin will make its deadline for launching New Glenn by the end of this year. It's been a long-time goal of founder Jeff Bezos, but the clock is ticking. We wish them luck!As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.Virgin Galactic studies Italian spaceport. The US-based suborbital space tourism company said Thursday it has signed an "agreement of cooperation" with Italy's civil aviation authority to study the feasibility of Virgin Galactic conducting spaceflight operations from Grottaglie Spaceport in the Puglia region of Southern Italy. Phase one of the study, anticipated to be completed in 2025, will examine Grottaglies airspace compatibility with Virgin Galactics requirements and unique flight profile.Follows earlier flight ... The announcement comes 18 months after members of the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy conducted research aboard Virgin Galactics June 2023 Galactic 01 mission from Spaceport America in New Mexico. The flight marked the companys first commercial spaceflight. It's all well and good to be making such strategic announcements, but this is all dependent upon the company delivering on its new generation of Delta-class spaceships.For some reason, Avio and MaiaSpace may partner. MaiaSpace CEO Johann Leroy has suggested that a partnership with Italian rocket-builder Avio could benefit both companies and bolster Europes independent access to space, European Spaceflight reports. "The goal of MaiaSpace is to design, produce, and operate the mini-launcher, as well as to market the related launch services, and to stay focused and responsive to market developments," said Leroy. "However, I am convinced that a collaboration between Avio and MaiaSpace could be established. It would be an advantage for both companies and for Europe."But it's not clear why ... Founded in early 2022 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ArianeGroup, MaiaSpace is developing a 50-meter tall, two-stage, partially reusable rocket designed to deliver small satellites to orbit. Avio builds solid rocket motors and is best known for its Vega rockets. It's not clear why a reusable launch company would want to partner with a company that builds solids, which are not reusable. (submitted by Ken the Bin) The Ars Technica Rocket Report The easiest way to keep up with Eric Berger's and Stephen Clark's reporting on all things space is to sign up for our newsletter. We'll collect their stories and deliver them straight to your inbox.Sign Me Up!Australian space center shuts down. A spaceport in the Northern Territory of Australia will cease operations immediately, the Australian Broadcast Corporation reports. The company running the spaceport, Equatorial Launch Australia, said it was now in conversations with the Queensland government to relocate its operations to Cape York. The space center's claim to fame was the 2022 launch of three NASA sounding rockets from the facility.Disagreements over territory ... The company, Equatorial Launch Australia, had been planning a major expansion of the Arnhem Space Centre at its East Arnhem Land location. However that process apparently got bogged down, and the spaceport company blamed the delays on the Northern Land Council. This council pushed back and described those claims as a "falsehood." The wait for a renewal of orbital launches from Down Under continues. (submitted by Marzipan)Ukrainian launch company finds refuge in Maine. Promin Aerospace, a small launch company from Dnipro, Ukraine, opened its doors in Maine this month with a goal of hiring US engineers to complete development of its first rocket in time for a test launch in mid-2026, Payload reports. Promins goal of launching Ukraines first rocket from the coast of the Black Sea was put on hold after Russia invaded the country in February 2022.Lobsters and launches ... For the past two and a half years, Promin has been developing its unique rocket technology amid power outages, Internet connectivity problems, and sporadic attacks on Dnipro from Russian forces. The search started in Europe but quickly moved across the pond to take advantage of the speed and resources that US industry provides. "[Europe moves] very slow, so a lot of things that we expected would be done by our partners in 2022, theyre only going to be done in 2025," said Misha Rudominski, Promins co-founder and CEO. The Maine Space Corporation was more welcoming. (submitted by Ken the Bin)Long March-8A rocket set for debut. After successfully completing a wet dress rehearsal and other pre-launch tests, the first Long March-8A rocket is set for its debut launch in January 2025, China's state-run news service, Xinhua, reports. The news service adds that the rocket is "designed to serve as China's future primary launch vehicle for medium- and low-Earth orbit missions." The rocket is capable of lofting up to 7 metric tons to a 700-km Sun-synchronous orbit.Satellite workhorse ... The newer rocket offers increased performance over the Long March 8 rocket and a larger 5.2-meter payload fairing. As such, it is being counted on to help deploy one or more of China's planned satellite Internet megaconstellations. "The Long March-8A is an upgraded version of the Long March-8 rocket, specifically developed to meet the launch requirements of large-scale constellation networks in medium- and low-Earth orbits," said Song Zhengyu, chief designer of the Long March-8 rocket. (submitted by gizmo23)Chinese national arrested after flying drone near SpaceX pad. Federal police arrested Yinpiao Zhou on Monday after he was allegedly caught flying a drone over the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, The Telegraph reports. In a criminal complaint, the US Attorneys Office said Zhou flew a drone over the base and took photographs on November 30, the same day a Falcon 9 rocket launched a payload on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office. He has been accused of violating national defense air space and of failing to register an aircraft as required under US law.Is that a drone in your pocket? ... The complaint against Zhou, filed in California, says he admitted to installing software on his drone to evade limits on the height the device could fly at, and over a virtual fence around the Vandenberg base. The drone was allegedly in the air for 59 minutes and took photographs of SpaceX rocket pads and other sensitive areas. The flight was picked up by the bases security team, who traced Zhou to nearby Ocean Park, where he was standing with another man. After initially hiding the drone in his coat, Zhou admitted he had flown it over the base.Blue Origin says New Glenn is ready. Blue Origin said Tuesday that the test payload for the first launch of its new rocket, New Glenn, is ready for liftoff, Ars reports. The company published an image of the "Blue Ring" pathfinder nestled up against one half of the rocket's payload fairing. This week's announcementhistorically Blue Origin has been tight-lipped about new products but is opening up more as it nears the debut of its flagship New Glenn rocketappears to serve a couple of purposes.Still targeting 2024 for liftoff ... First of all, the relatively small payload contrasted with the size of the payload fairing highlights the greater volume the rocket offers over most conventional boosters. Additionally, the company appears to be publicly signaling the Federal Aviation Administration and other regulatory agencies that it believes New Glenn is ready to fly, pending approval to conduct a hot-fire test at Launch Complex-36, and then for a liftoff from Florida. This is a not-so-subtle message to regulators to please hurry up and complete the paperwork necessary for launch activities. A company official said the plan remains to launch New Glenn before the end of 2024.SpaceX static-fires booster for next Starship flight. Only three weeks after Flight 6, SpaceX has static-fired Booster 14 and rolled Ship 33 to Masseys to complete its own engine testing, NASASpaceflight.com reports. Once both vehicles are tested, SpaceX will begin the final drive to Flight 7, potentially launching in January. Booster 14 is more or less identical to Booster 13 on the outside except for the ship engine chill pipe extensions on previous boosters. These are no longer needed, as Block 2 of the ship has its engine chill pipes running through the aft flap fairing with a flare outward at the bottom. This simplifies the connection between the ship and the booster and reduces mass.Block 2 upgrades ... Ship 33 has many changes compared to past ships, as it is the first Block 2 ship. First and foremost for Block 2 are the extended propellant tanks. SpaceX added a ring on the ship, making it 21 rings tall, and moved around the common and forward domes to be able to load 300 more tons of propellant into the ship. This addition will allow SpaceX to increase its payload to orbit with Block 2. The sacrifice was a smaller payload bay section, which went from five rings to three rings. However, SpaceX retained most of its usable payload space, as the nose cone on Block 2 was completely redesigned. (submitted by Ken the Bin)ULA expects to be certified for national security launch soon. United Launch Alliance expects to gain Space Force certification for national security payloads within a few months, company chief executive Tory Bruno told Breaking Defense. He added that no further testing of the Vulcan Centaur will be needed to meet certification, saying the company has met all the requirements from the Pentagon. Two successful launches are requisite to achieve certification for carrying payloads under the Space Forces National Security Space Launch program.Seeking a higher cadence ... A January launch was deemed a success, but there was an anomaly during the second flight in October with one of Vulcans solid rocket boosters that currently is under investigation. Overall, he said, the company has 20 launches manifested for 2025, with 16 Vulcan rockets stored away for use and no worries that production wont be able to keep up with demand. Looking forward, Bruno said he hopes to have 20-30 Vulcan launches a year, about half of which would be for national security. (submitted by Ken the Bin)Super heavy lift is 'essential' to Europe. This week the European Space Agency has published a third iteration of a proposed pathfinder study for the development of a European reusable super heavy-lift rocket capable of delivering 60 metric tons to low-Earth orbit, European Spaceflight reports. Twice before, in November and early December, the space agency published and then deleted a call for a study.While the first and second iterations made no mention of Ariane 6, currently Europes only heavy-lift rocket, the third iteration highlights the limitations of the ArianeGroup-built rocket.A final decision may come next year ... The text states that the development of a European very-heavy launch system is essential for Europes future ambitions in space and represents a necessary step to ensure the continent remains competitive in the global launch market. Once the study is complete, ESA hopes to have a detailed end-to-end development roadmap with a well-defined business case that could be used to move forward with the project quickly. A decision on whether to adopt the program will likely be made at the ESA ministerial meeting in late 2025. (submitted by Ken the Bin)<h2>Next three launches</h2>Dec. 13: Falcon 9 | Starlink 11-2 | Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. | 19:28 UTCDec. 14: Electron | Stonehenge | Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia | 00:45 UTDec. 14: Falcon 9 | GPS-3 10 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida | 01:04 UTCEric BergerSenior Space EditorEric BergerSenior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 117 Comments

World record Americans spend more years being unhealthy than people in any other country The gap between US lifespan and healthspan was 12.4 years, the world's largest. Beth Mole Dec 13, 2024 8:19 am | 196 Credit: Getty | Blend Images - JGI/Tom Grill Credit: Getty | Blend Images - JGI/Tom Grill Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe gap of time between how long Americans live and how much of that time is spent in good health only grew wider in the last two decades, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.The study, which looked at global health data between 2000 and 2019prior to the COVID-19 pandemicfound the US stood out for its years of suffering. By 2019, Americans had a gap between their lifespan and their healthspan of 12.4 years, the largest gap of any of the 183 countries included in the study. The second largest gap was Australia's, at 12.1 years, followed by New Zealand at 11.8 years and the UK at 11.3 years.America also stood out for having the largest burden of noncommunicable diseases in the world, as calculated by the years lived with disease or disability per 100,000 people.The news is perhaps not shocking given the relatively poor quality of health care in the US. An analysis published in January by the Commonwealth Fund found that, compared to other high-income countries, the US has the highest rate of adults with multiple chronic conditions, and the highest rate of obesity. Among just those high-income countries, the US also has the shortest life expectancy at birth, the highest rate of avoidable deaths, the highest rate of newborn deaths, and the highest rate of maternal deaths. Thats all despite the fact that the US spends far more on health care than any other high-income country.For the new study, researchers at the Mayo Clinic analyzed health statistics collected by the World Health Organization. The resource included data from 183 countries, allowing the researchers to compare countries' life expectancy and healthspans, which are calculated by years of life weighted by health status.Longer, but not betterOverall, the researchers saw lifespan-healthspan gaps grow around the world, with the average gap rising from 8.5 years in 2000 to 9.6 years in 2019. Global life expectancy rose 6.5 years, to about 73 years, while healthspans only rose 5.4 years in that time, to around 63 years.But the US was a notable outlier, with its gap growing from 10.9 years to 12.4 years, a 29 percent higher gap than the global mean.The gap was most notable for womena trend seen around the world. Between 2000 and 2019, US women saw their life expectancy rise 1.5 years, from 79.2 to 80.7 years, but they saw no change in their healthspans. Women's lifespan-healthspan gap rose from 12.2 years to 13.7 years. For US men, life expectancy rose 2.2 years, from 74.1 to 76.3 years, and their healthspans also increased 0.6 years. Their lifespan-healthspan gap in 2019 was 11.1 years, 2.6 years shorter than women's.The conditions most responsible for US disease burden included mental and substance use disorders, plus musculoskeletal diseases. For women, the biggest contributors were musculoskeletal, genitourinary, and neurological diseases.While the US presented the most extreme example, the researchers note that the global trends seem to present a "disease paradox whereby reduced acute mortality exposes survivors to an increased burden of chronic disease."Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 196 Comments

The slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe Twirling body horror in gymnastics video exposes AIs flaws Nonsensical jabberwocky movements created by OpenAIs Sora are typical for current AI-generated video, and here's why. Benj Edwards Dec 13, 2024 9:12 am | 129 A still image from an AI-generated video of an ever-morphing synthetic gymnast. Credit: OpenAI / Deedy A still image from an AI-generated video of an ever-morphing synthetic gymnast. Credit: OpenAI / Deedy Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOn Wednesday, a video from OpenAI's newly launched Sora AI video generator went viral on social media, featuring a gymnast who sprouts extra limbs and briefly loses her head during what appears to be an Olympic-style floor routine.As it turns out, the nonsensical synthesis errors in the videowhat we like to call "jabberwockies"hint at technical details about how AI video generators work and how they might get better in the future.But before we dig into the details, let's take a look at the video. An AI-generated video of an impossible gymnast, created with OpenAI Sora. In the video, we see a view of what looks like a floor gymnastics routine. The subject of the video flips and flails as new legs and arms rapidly and fluidly emerge and morph out of her twirling and transforming body. At one point, about 9 seconds in, she loses her head, and it reattaches to her body spontaneously."As cool as the new Sora is, gymnastics is still very much the Turing test for AI video," wrote venture capitalist Deedy Das when he originally shared the video on X. The video inspired plenty of reaction jokes, such as this reply to a similar post on Bluesky: "hi, gymnastics expert here! this is not funny, gymnasts only do this when theyre in extreme distress."We reached out to Das, and he confirmed that he generated the video using Sora. He also provided the prompt, which was very long and split into four parts, generated by Anthropic's Claude, using complex instructions like "The gymnast initiates from the back right corner, taking position with her right foot pointed behind in B-plus stance.""I've known for the last 6 months having played with text to video models that they struggle with complex physics movements like gymnastics," Das told us in a conversation. "I had to try it [in Sora] because the character consistency seemed improved. Overall, it was an improvement because previously... the gymnast would just teleport away or change their outfit mid flip, but overall it still looks downright horrifying. We hoped AI video would learn physics by default, but that hasn't happened yet!"So what went wrong?When examining how the video fails, you must first consider how Sora "knows" how to create anything that resembles a gymnastics routine. During the training phase, when the Sora model was created, OpenAI fed example videos of gymnastics routines (among many other types of videos) into a specialized neural network that associates the progression of images with text-based descriptions of them.That type of training is a distinct phase that happens once before the model's release. Later, when the finished model is running and you give a video-synthesis model like Sora a written prompt, it draws upon statistical associations between words and images to produce a predictive output. It's continuously making next-frame predictions based on the last frame of the video. But Sora has another trick for attempting to preserve coherency over time. "By giving the model foresight of many frames at a time," reads OpenAI's Sora System Card, we've solved a challenging problem of making sure a subject stays the same even when it goes out of view temporarily." A still image from a moment where the AI-generated gymnast loses her head. It soon reattaches to her body. Credit: OpenAI / Deedy Maybe not quite solved yet. In this case, rapidly moving limbs prove a particular challenge when attempting to predict the next frame properly. The result is an incoherent amalgam of gymnastics footage that shows the same gymnast performing running flips and spins, but Sora doesn't know the correct order in which to assemble them because it's pulling on statistical averages of wildly different body movements in its relatively limited training data of gymnastics videos, which also likely did not include limb-level precision in its descriptive metadata.Sora doesn't know anything about physics or how the human body should work, either. It's drawing upon statistical associations between pixels in the videos in its training dataset to predict the next frame, with a little bit of look-ahead to keep things more consistent.This problem is not unique to Sora. All AI video generators can produce wildly nonsensical results when your prompts reach too far past their training data, as we saw earlier this year when testing Runway's Gen-3. In fact, we ran some gymnast prompts through the latest open source AI video model that may rival Sora in some ways, Hunyuan Video, and it produced similar twirling, morphing results, seen below. And we used a much simpler prompt than Das did with Sora. An example from open source Chinese AI model Hunyuan Video with the prompt, "A young woman doing a complex floor gymnastics routine at the olympics, featuring running and flips." AI models based on transformer technology are fundamentally imitative in nature. They're great at transforming one type of data into another type or morphing one style into another. What they're not great at (yet) is producing coherent generations that are truly original. So if you happen to provide a prompt that closely matches a training video, you might get a good result. Otherwise, you may get madness.As we wrote about image-synthesis model Stable Diffusion 3's body horror generations earlier this year, "Basically, any time a user prompt homes in on a concept that isn't represented well in the AI model's training dataset, the image-synthesis model will confabulate its best interpretation of what the user is asking for. And sometimes that can be completely terrifying."For the engineers who make these models, success in AI video generation quickly becomes a question of how many examples (and how much training) you need before the model can generalize enough to produce convincing and coherent results. It's also a question of metadata qualityhow accurately the videos are labeled. In this case, OpenAI used an AI vision model to describe its training videos, which helped improve quality, but apparently not enoughyet.Were looking at an AI jabberwocky in actionIn a way, the type of generation failure in the gymnast video is a form of confabulation (or hallucination, as some call it), but it's even worse because it's not coherent. So instead of calling it a confabulation, which is a plausible-sounding fabrication, we're going to lean on a new term, "jabberwocky," which Dictionary.com defines as "a playful imitation of language consisting of invented, meaningless words; nonsense; gibberish," taken from Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem of the same name. Imitation and nonsense, you say? Check and check.We've covered jabberwockies in AI video before with people mocking Chinese video-synthesis models, a monstrously weird AI beer commercial, and even Will Smith eating spaghetti. They're a form of misconfabulation where an AI model completely fails to produce a plausible output. This will not be the last time we see them, either.How could AI video models get better and avoid jabberwockies?In our coverage of Gen-3 Alpha, we called the threshold where you get a level of useful generalization in an AI model the "illusion of understanding," where training data and training time reach a critical mass that produces good enough results to generalize across enough novel prompts.One of the key reasons language models like OpenAI's GPT-4 impressed users was that they finally reached a size where they had absorbed enough information to give the appearance of genuinely understanding the world. With video synthesis, achieving this same apparent level of "understanding" will require not just massive amounts of well-labeled training data but also the computational power to process it effectively.AI boosters hope that these current models represent one of the key steps on the way to something like truly general intelligence (often called AGI) in text, or in AI video, what OpenAI and Runway researchers call "world simulators" or "world models" that somehow encode enough physics rules about the world to produce any realistic result.Judging by the morphing alien shoggoth gymnast, that may still be a ways off. Still, it's early days in AI video generation, and judging by how quickly AI image-synthesis models like Midjourney progressed from crude abstract shapes into coherent imagery, it's likely video synthesis will have a similar trajectory over time. Until then, enjoy the AI-generated jabberwocky madness.Benj EdwardsSenior AI ReporterBenj EdwardsSenior AI Reporter Benj Edwards is Ars Technica's Senior AI Reporter and founder of the site's dedicated AI beat in 2022. He's also a tech historian with almost two decades of experience. In his free time, he writes and records music, collects vintage computers, and enjoys nature. He lives in Raleigh, NC. 129 Comments

Deterrence The US military is now talking openly about going on the attack in space "We have to build capabilities that provide our leadership offensive and defensive options." Stephen Clark Dec 13, 2024 10:40 am | 157 Last year, Space Operations Command unveiled its first official painting, titled "High Ground Intercept," commissioned with artist Rick Herter. The painting illustrates a US military spaceplane intercepting an adversary's satellite, which in turn is positioning to disable a friendly satellite. Last year, Space Operations Command unveiled its first official painting, titled "High Ground Intercept," commissioned with artist Rick Herter. The painting illustrates a US military spaceplane intercepting an adversary's satellite, which in turn is positioning to disable a friendly satellite. Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreORLANDO, FloridaEarlier this year, officials at US Space Command released a list of priorities and needs, and among the routine recitation of things like cyber defense, communications, and surveillance was a relatively new term: "integrated space fires."This is a new phrase in the esoteric terminology the military uses to describe its activities. Essentially, "fires" are offensive or defensive actions against an adversary. The Army defines fires as "the use of weapon systems to create specific lethal and nonlethal effects on a target."The inclusion of this term in a Space Command planning document was another signal that Pentagon leaders, long hesitant to even mention the possibility of putting offensive weapons in space for fear of stirring up a cosmic arms race, see the taboo of talking about space warfare as a thing of the past."While we've held it close to the vest before, some of that was just kind of hand-wringing," said Gen. Chance Saltzman, the top general in the Space Force, who also serves on the joint chiefs of staff. "It wasn't really something we needed to protect."One reason for the change in how the military talks about warfare in space is that the nation's top two strategic adversariesChina and Russiaare already testing capabilities that could destroy or disable a US military satellite.The Space Force was established nearly five years ago, in December 2019, to protect US interests in space. Satellites provide the military with intelligence data, navigation, communications, and support missile defense, and in the next few years, they will become even more crucial for weapons targeting and battle management. Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force's chief of Space Operations, speaks Tuesday at the Space Force Association's Spacepower Conference in Orlando, Florida. Credit: Space Force Association This week, Saltzman laid out the military's view of offensive weapons in space in perhaps the plainest language yet.Space is a war-fighting domain," Saltzman said at the Space Force Association's Spacepower Conference in Orlando, Florida. "Ten years ago, I couldnt say that. Thats the starting point. Think about that. In 2014, we had senior leaders start to talk about space and war in the same sentence. They got kind of berated by the senior leadership. So this is still a relatively new condition when were talking about war-fighting in space. I don't think we should underestimate the power of that."An alert postureGen. Stephen Whiting, the four-star chief of US Space Command, identified "integrated space fires"again, these are actual offensive or defensive attacks against an enemy vehicleas his organization's most pressing need. These could be based in any domainland, air, sea, or spaceand aimed against targets within and above the atmosphere.So what would these weapons look like? They might be electronic or cyber in nature, allowing US forces to hack a satellite or its ground-based support network. Russia has already done this, when hackers launched a cyberattack on a commercial European satellite communications network in 2022, the same day the country began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.Then there's directed energy, which would use a laser beam to blind or dazzle satellite sensors in orbit. Directed energy weapons could be based on the ground or in space. There's another option that would involve one satellite sidling up next to an adversary's and using a claw or robotic arm to capture it and take control.Finally, there are the kinds of space weapons that can blow a satellite out of the sky. These antisatellite weapons (ASATs) are perhaps the most low-tech solutionthe United States, China, Russia, and India have openly demonstrated thembut they come with dangerous side effects.For example, a Chinese ASAT missile test in 2007 destroyed one of the country's own satellites, creating more than 3,000 trackable debris objects in low-Earth orbit, the largest cloud of space debris in history. The United States performed a similar ASAT missile test against a satellite in 1985.Destructive ASATs, like directed energy weapons, can be based on the ground or in space. In 2021, Russia launched a ground-based direct-ascent ASAT missile to take out one of its own satellites. The year before, Space Command reported Russia tested a space-based ASAT weapons system in which a Russian military satellite released a projectile moving fast enough to destroy another satellite if it made an impact. Anti-satellite weapons are nothing new. In this photo from 1994, a woman passes by a huge mural in Tehran, Iran, depicting satellite television networks as satans and enemies of Islam. Credit: Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images Most recently, news leaked from US government sources in February that Russia is developing a nuclear ASAT weapon. If used, this would render low-Earth orbit, a section of space stretching several hundred miles above Earth, unusable for a year or more, according to John Plumb, the former assistant secretary of defense for space policy.US officials said Russia hasn't placed a nuclear weapon in orbit yet, but if it did, the move would violate Article IV of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Russia is a party to the treaty, which bans weapons of mass destruction in space. Russia's representative at the UN Security Council vetoed a resolution in April to reaffirm this tenet of the Outer Space Treaty and instead proposed a resolution to ban all weapons in space, which the United States rejected. After all, US officials say Russia has already tested an ASAT weapon in orbit.And now, the US Space Force desires space weapons of its own."We need joint all-domain fires to be able to do that, everything from across the gamut of cyber, non-kinetic, kinetic, and those can come from any domain. But we need to have the ability to influence targets, just like every other domain does," Whiting said.Knowing what we haveAt the conference Tuesday, Ars asked Saltzman if the Space Force will talk more about the capabilities it is deploying in orbit. Can deterrence work if adversaries don't know how the Space Force might respond to a threat?In the film Dr. Strangelove, the titular character says that deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy the fear of attacking. At the end of the movie (spoiler alert if you haven't seen this 60-year-old film), a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union results in the automatic activation of a secret Russian "doomsday machine" that will destroy all life on Earth.According to the plot, Russia developed the machine to dissuade a US attack on its territory. Dr. Strangelove, a zany, mercurial military adviser in the film, aptly states: "The whole point of a doomsday machine is lost if you keep it a secret!"Saltzman made it clear that the Space Force can't stop at developing defensive countermeasures against an attack on a US satellite. One of these defensive measures is resiliency, where the Space Force puts up constellations of hundreds or thousands of satellites to provide the surveillance, communication, and missile-tracking functions previously the domain of smaller numbers of billion-dollar satellitesbig, juicy targets in the eyes of an enemy in conflict with the United States. The Pentagon is well on the way to deploying these mega-constellations, but military commands caution this is not enough."We have to build capabilities that provide our leadership offensive and defensive options," he said in response to a question from Ars. "Weapons systems aren't inherently offensive or defense. Is an aircraft carrier offensive or defense? Yes. Is an F-35 offensive or defense? Yes. So when we get in this fight about whether or not a spacecraftis this an offensive weapon? No, it's just a capability.""Then, the operations, as approved by the secretary of defense and the president, will decide the nature of those (capabilities)," Saltzman said. "It's our job to make sure that we think through the spectrum of operations, the spectrum of needs that are necessary." An operator inside the National Space Defense Center at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. Credit: US Space Force/Kathryn Damon These wartime scenarios in space range from a one-off cyberattack against a satellite systemlike Russia's move against a Viasat commercial satellite network in 2022to a destructive nuclear detonation in Earth orbit, something US officials fear Russia might be preparing to do. The Pentagon is also concerned with the ability of potential adversaries, particularly China, to use their satellites to bolster their land, air, and naval forces, similar to the way the US military leans on its space-based capabilities.One concept proposed by some government and industry officials is to launch roving "defender" satellites into orbit, with the sole purpose of guarding high-value US satellites against an attack. These wouldn't be able to effectively defend a spacecraft against a ground-based anti-satellite missile, which can launch without warning. But a space-based attack might involve an enemy satellite taking days or weeks to move close to a US satellite due to limitations in maneuverability and the tyranny of orbital mechanics.Any defender satellites deployed by the US military would need highly efficient propulsion or have a design that enables refueling in orbit. Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance, wrote about the defender concept in a Medium post earlier this month.Bruno added some context Thursday in a roundtable discussion with reporters, describing the defender concept as "a lightning fast, long-range, lethal, if necessary, vehicle to defend our assets on orbit."Essentially, the idea would take something like a space tug or upper stagean upgraded version of ULA's own Centaur V upper stage could do the job just fine, Bruno saidand leave it in orbit on alert to respond to any threats against US or allied satellites."You can move one of these vehicles in hours, interdict what might be an attack, and stop the attack," Bruno said. "So that becomes a very powerful deterrent because we move from what we are working toward right now, which is 'go ahead and attack me and disable several of my satellites, and I can still keep doing my job,' to a place where you say, 'Go ahead and attack. It's not going to work. You're not going to be able to disable anything.'"The case of ChinaBrig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, who leads US Space Forces in the Indo-Pacific region, has probably the closest eye on China's space program of any military commander. His area of responsibility includes the South China Sea, where China has expanded its military footprint and could one day threaten Taiwan, a US ally.Mastalir said China is "copying the US playbook" with the way it integrates satellites into more conventional military operations on land, in the air, and at sea. "Their specific goals are to be able to track and target US high-value assets at the time and place of their choosing," Mastalir said.China's strategy, known as Anti-Access/Area Denial, or A2AD, is centered on preventing US forces from accessing international waters extending hundreds or thousands of miles from mainland China. Some of the islands occupied by China within the last 15 years are closer to the Philippines, another treaty ally, than to China itself.The A2AD strategy first "extended to the first island chain (bounded by the Philippines), and now the second island chain (extending to the US territory of Guam), and eventually all the way to the West Coast of California," Mastalir said.US officials say China has based anti-ship, anti-air, and anti-ballistic weapons in the region, and many of these systems rely on satellite tracking and targeting. Mastalir said his priority at Indo-Pacific Command, headquartered in Hawaii, is to defend US and allied satellites, or "blue assets," and challenge "red assets" to break the Chinese military's "long-range kill chains and protect the joint force from space-enabled attack."What this means is the Space Force wants to have the ability to disable or destroy the satellites China would use to provide communication, command, tracking, navigation, or surveillance support during an attack against the US or its allies. Buildings and structures are seen on October 25, 2022, on an artificial island built by China on Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. China has progressively asserted its claim of ownership over disputed islands in the region. Credit: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images Mastalir said he believes China's space-based capabilities are "sufficient" to achieve the country's military ambitions, whatever they are. "The sophistication of their sensors is certainly continuing to increasethe interconnectedness, the interoperability. They're a pacing challenge for a reason," he said."We're seeing all signs point to being able to target US aircraft carriers... high-value assets in the air like tankers, AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System)," Mastalir said. "This is a strategy to keep the US from intervening, and that's what their space architecture is."That's not acceptable to Pentagon officials, so Space Force personnel are now training for orbital warfare. Just don't expect to know the specifics of any of these weapons systems any time soon."The details of that? No, you're not going to get that from any war-fighting organization'let me tell you precisely how I intend to attack an adversary so that they can respond and counter that'those aren't discussions we're going to have," Saltzman said. "We're still going to protect some of those (details), but broadly, from an operational concept, we are going to be ready to contest space."A new administrationThe Space Force will likely receive new policy directives after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. The Trump transition team hasn't identified any changes coming for the Space Force, but a list of policy proposals known as Project 2025 may offer some clues.Published by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, Project 2025 calls for the Pentagon to pivot the Space Force from a mostly defensive posture toward offensive weapons systems. Christopher Miller, who served as acting secretary of defense in the first Trump administration, authored the military section of Project 2025.Miller wrote that the Space Force should "reestablish offensive capabilities to guarantee a favorable balance of forces, efficiently manage the full deterrence spectrum, and seriously complicate enemy calculations of a successful first strike against US space assets."Trump disavowed Project 2025 during the campaign, but since the election, he has nominated several of the policy agenda's authors and contributors to key administration posts.Saltzman met with Trump last month while attending a launch of SpaceX's Starship rocket in Texas, but he said the encounter was incidental. Saltzman was already there for discussions with SpaceX officials, and Trump's travel plans only became known the day before the launch.The conversation with Trump at the Starship launch didn't touch on any policy details, according to Saltzman. He added that the Space Force hasn't yet had any formal discussions with the Trump transition team.Regardless of the direction Trump takes with the Space Force, Saltzman said the service is already thinking about what to do to maintain what the Pentagon now calls "space superiority"a twist on the term air superiority, which might have seemed equally as fanciful at the dawn of military aviation more than a century ago."Thats the reason were the Space Force," Saltzman said. "So administration to administration, thats still going to be true. Now, its just about resourcing and the discussions about what we want to do and when we want to do it, and were ready to have those discussions."Stephen ClarkSpace ReporterStephen ClarkSpace Reporter Stephen Clark is a space reporter at Ars Technica, covering private space companies and the worlds space agencies. Stephen writes about the nexus of technology, science, policy, and business on and off the planet. 157 Comments

Numbers don't lie Dont use crypto to cheat on taxes: Bitcoin bro gets 2 years Early bitcoin investor first to get prison time for crypto-related tax evasion. Ashley Belanger Dec 13, 2024 12:02 pm | 81 Credit: Cemile Bingol | DigitalVision Vectors Credit: Cemile Bingol | DigitalVision Vectors Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreA bitcoin investor who went to increasingly great lengths to hide $1 million in cryptocurrency gains on his tax returns was sentenced to two years in prison on Thursday.It seems that not even his most "sophisticated" tacticsincluding using mixers, managing multiple wallets, and setting up in-person meetings to swap bitcoins for cashkept the feds from tracing crypto trades that he believed were untraceable.The Austin, Texas, man, Frank Richard Ahlgren III, started buying up bitcoins in 2011. In 2015, he upped his trading, purchasing approximately 1,366 using Coinbase accounts. He waited until 2017 before cashing in, earning $3.7 million after selling about 640 at a price more than 10 times his initial costs. Celebrating his gains, he bought a house in Utah in 2017, mostly funded by bitcoins he purchased in 2015.Very quickly, Ahlgren sought to hide these earnings, the Department of Justice said in a press release. Rather than report them on his 2017 tax return, Ahlgren "lied to his accountant by submitting a false summary of his gains and losses from the sale of his bitcoins." He did this by claiming that the bitcoins he purchased in 2015 were much higher than his actual costs, even being so bold as to claim he as charged prices "greater than the highest price bitcoins sold for in the market prior to the purchase of the Utah house."First tax evasion prosecution centered solely on cryptoAhlgren's tax evasion only got bolder as the years passed after this first fraud, the DOJ said.In 2018 and 2019, he sold more bitcoins, earning more than $650,000 and deciding not to report any of it on his tax returns for those years. That meant that he needed to actively conceal the earnings, but he'd been apparently researching how mixers are used to disguise where bitcoins come from since at least 2014, the feds found, referencing a blog he wrote exhibiting his knowledge. And that's not the only step he took to try to trick the Internal Revenue Service."For these years, Ahlgren took several sophisticated steps to attempt to conceal his transactions on the bitcoin blockchain by moving his bitcoins through multiple wallets, meeting an individual in person to exchange bitcoins for cash, and using mixers, which are designed to conceal the individual who made the particular transaction," the DOJ said.Houston-based Lucy Tan, the acting special agent in charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation, said in the press release that Ahlgren's efforts to conceal a total of $1 million in cryptocurrency gains over several years were ultimately futile. His case became the first criminal tax evasion prosecution "centered solely" in the US.Ahlgren will serve time because he believed his cryptocurrency transactions were untraceable," Tan said. "This case demonstrates that no one is above the law."IRS reportedly training to find hidden crypto treasureWith bitcoin's price higher than ever as Donald Trump vows to be a "pro-crypto president," interest in the cryptocurrency is arguably at an all-time high.But around the same time that Trump began heavily campaigning to attract cryptocurrency enthusiast voters this summer, the Federal News Network reported that the IRS would be cracking down on tax evasion in the trillion-dollar cryptocurrency industry.That probe reportedly involved 400 cases, where the IRS recommended prosecution in more than half. And another effort, reportedly dubbed Operation Hidden Treasure, is currently focused on training IRS employees to "find taxpayers who leave digital assets off their tax returns."Tan confirmed that Ahlgren's sentencing "marks the first criminal tax evasion prosecution centered solely on cryptocurrency" and warned that he wouldn't be the last."As the prices for cryptocurrency are high, so is the temptation to not pay taxes on its sale," Tan said. "Avoid the temptation and avoid federal prison."Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 81 Comments

Musk vs. the government Elon Musk slams SEC as agency threatens charges in Twitter stock probe SEC offered settlement in stock probe and is investigating Neuralink, Musk says. Jon Brodkin Dec 13, 2024 12:20 pm | 112 Elon Musk leaves federal court in New York on Thursday, April 4, 2019 after a hearing in a case involving the SEC. Credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg Elon Musk leaves federal court in New York on Thursday, April 4, 2019 after a hearing in a case involving the SEC. Credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreElon Musk has at least one more battle to wage against Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who will be leaving the agency when President-elect Trump takes over in January.Musk yesterday posted a copy of a letter sent to Gensler by Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro. The letter dated December 12 says the SEC issued a settlement demand in its investigation into whether Musk violated federal securities laws in connection with 2022 purchases of Twitter stock, and that the SEC is investigating Neuralink. The Spiro letter said:Yesterday the Commission Staff issued a settlement demand that required Mr. Musk agree within 48 hours to either accept a monetary payment or face charges on numerous counts. They indicated that this demand was the result of a directive from their superiors and that charges would be brought imminently unless Mr. Musk acquiesced. This demand follows a multi-year investigation and more than six years of harassment of Mr. Musk by the Commission and its Staff. More recently, the Staff subpoenaed me, Mr. Musk's attorney, for testimony and threatened to send a process server if I did not immediately cooperate. I categorically refused. This week, the Commission has also reopened an investigation into Neuralink.Spiro accused the SEC of "an improperly motivated campaign" against Musk, his companies, and people associated with him. "We demand to know who directed these actionswhether it was you or the White House," Spiro wrote. "These tactics and misguided scheme will not intimidate us. We reserve all rights."Musk wrote in his post sharing the letter, "Oh Gary, how could you do this to me?" He wrote in an earlier post yesterday that "the SEC is just another weaponized institution doing political dirty work."Late disclosure of Twitter stock buyThe SEC began its investigation in April 2022 after Musk acquired a 9 percent stake in Twitter and failed to disclose it within 10 days as required under US law. He bought the company later that year.Musk previously tried to avoid giving a third round of testimony in the probe, but a federal judge ruled in December 2023 that he had to testify again. The SEC has said its investigation "relates to all of Musk's purchases of Twitter stock in 2022 and his 2022 statements and SEC filings."An SEC spokesperson told Ars today that the commission's policy is "to conduct investigations on a confidential basis to preserve the integrity of its investigative process. The SEC therefore does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation."A Reuters source confirmed the settlement offer. "The SEC sent Musk a settlement offer on Tuesday seeking a response in 48 hours, but extended it to Monday after a request for more time, the source said," according to a Reuters article today.The settlement offer was also confirmed by a source who spoke to The Washington Post. "One person familiar with the probe, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a confidential law enforcement proceeding, confirmed that Musk had been sent a settlement offer in recent days," the Post wrote last night. "But the person said they believed the tech billionaire had actually been given until Monday to evaluate the offeradding that rejecting a settlement still would not immediately trigger charges by the SEC, which typically sends formal notices before such cases are brought."Musk has had several legal battles with the SEC. In 2018, he and Tesla each agreed to $20 million payments in a settlement over the SEC's complaint that "Musk's misleading tweets" about taking Tesla private caused the stock price to jump "and led to significant market disruption." He has tried and failed to get out of that settlement, claiming that he was "forced" into signing the deal and that the SEC used the 2018 consent decree to "micro-manage" his social media activity.Musk to have influence in Trump adminMusk won't have to worry as much about government regulation once Trump takes over. Trump picked Musk to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, or "DOGE," which will make recommendations for eliminating regulations, cutting expenses, and restructuring federal agencies.As Reuters wrote today, Musk "is set to gain extraordinary influence after spending more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help Donald Trump win November's presidential election. His companies are expected to be well insulated from regulation and enforcement measures."The SEC's November announcement of Gensler's planned departure from the agency touted his work to adopt "several rules to ensure that investors get the disclosure they need from public companies and companies seeking to go public."Trump chose Paul Atkins to replace Gensler as SEC chair, calling Atkins an advocate "for common sense regulations." Atkins, a former SEC commissioner who founded the Patomak Global Partners consultancy firm, testified to Congress in 2019 that the SEC should reduce its disclosure requirements.Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 112 Comments

Beyond BCIs Werner Herzog muses on mysteries of the brain in Theater of Thought Auteur director's latest documentary runs the gamut from BCIs and how we construct reality to whether fish can dream. Jennifer Ouellette Dec 13, 2024 1:12 pm | 16 Credit: Argot Pictures Credit: Argot Pictures Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWerner Herzog has made more than 60 films over his illustrious career. His documentaries alone span an impressive topical range, from the life and death of bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell (Grizzly Man) to people who choose to live and work in Antarctica (the Oscar-nominated Encounters at the End of the World) or a haunting exploration of the oldest human paintings in France's Chauvet Cave (Cave of Forgotten Dreams). His latest offering, Theater of Thought, tackles what might be his most ambitious subject yet: the mysterious inner workings of the brain.Theater of Thought premiered in 2022 at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado and is now getting a theatrical release. Herzog's inspiration grew out of his conversations with Rafael Yuste, a Columbia University neurobiologist who also served as scientific advisor on the film. "How can we read thoughts?" he writes in his director's statement. "Can you implant a chip in your brain and in my brain, and see my new film without a camera? Why is it that some young people immerse themselves in video games and become addicted to completely artificial worlds? Sometimes mice even prefer invented cartoon worlds, so who is the ghost writer of our mind, of our reality?"The topic might be scientific in nature, but Theater of Thought is not really a science documentary, despite Herzog's use of the classic talking head format. It's more of a personal, almost quixotic quest, with plenty of random branching digressions along the way. "It was like a road movie, one Monument Valley and one Grand Canyon, then one Mount Everest after the other," Herzog told Ars. "You just couldn't stop wondering and enjoying." For the viewer, it's as much a journey through the eccentric workings of Herzog's endlessly curious, nimble mind.That mind is partly revealed through Herzog's running narration, such as when he muses about collective behavior and whether fish have soulsa digression sparked by his interview with Siri co-inventor Tom Gruber. "In the background, I saw his TV screen still on, we didn't switch it off, and I saw some very, very strange school of fish," said Herzog. "I asked him about the school of fish, which he had filmed himself. And all of a sudden, I'm only interested in the fish and common behavior. Why do they behave in big schools, in unison? Why do they do that? Do they dream? And if they think, what are they thinking about? I immerse the audience into a very strange form of underwater landscape and behavior of fish." Werner Herzog's inspiration for Theater of Thought arose from conversations with Columbia University neuroscientist Rafael Yuste, who served as science advisor on the film. Argot Pictures Werner Herzog's inspiration for Theater of Thought arose from conversations with Columbia University neuroscientist Rafael Yuste, who served as science advisor on the film. Argot Pictures Yuste (left) with Kernel founder Bryan Johnson (right). Argot Pictures Yuste (left) with Kernel founder Bryan Johnson (right). Argot Pictures The University of Washngton's Rajesh Rao specializes in human brain-to-brain communications. Argot Pictures The University of Washngton's Rajesh Rao specializes in human brain-to-brain communications. Argot Pictures Yuste (left) with Kernel founder Bryan Johnson (right). Argot Pictures The University of Washngton's Rajesh Rao specializes in human brain-to-brain communications. Argot Pictures University of Washington neuroscientist Eberhard Fetz Argot Pictures Herzog's camera captures a brain surgery in progress, Argot Pictures We glimpse the inner workings of Herzog's mind in the kinds of questions he asks his subjects, such as when he queries IBM's Dario Gil, who works on quantum computing, about his passion for fishing, eliciting an enthusiastic smile in response. He agrees to interview University of Washington neuroscientist Christof Koch after Koch's early-morning row on the Puget Sound and includes music from New York University neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux's band, the Amygdaloids, in the film's soundtrack. He asks married scientists Cori Bargmann and Richard Axel about music, their dinner conversations, and the linguistic capabilities of parrots. In so doing, he brings out their innate humanity, not just their scientific expertise."That's what I do. If you don't have it in you, you shouldn't be a filmmaker," said Herzog. "But you see, also, the joy of getting into all of this and the joy of meeting these scientists. We are talking about speaking parrots. What if two parrots learned a language that is already extinct and they would speak to each other? What would we make of it? So I'm asking, spontaneously, because I saw it, I sensed it, there was something I should depart completely from scientific quests. And yet there's a deep scientific background to it."This sense leads Herzog to make some unexpected connections. Case in point: He deftly segues from an interview with LeDoux on his work mapping the mechanisms of fear in the brain to a visit with veteran tightrope walker Philippe Petit. Petit famously performed a high-wire walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1974, so he knows something about confronting and conquering fear.At one point, he asks a subject whether it's possible to use brain-reading technology to ask someone who has just died if they are in heaven or hell. Herzog is a filmmaker, so this naturally leads him to a 1930 Soviet silent film called Earth. "It has to do with the joy of filmmaking," Herzog said of his decision to include a clip from Earth. "The beginning of the film, an old peasant is dying under an apple tree, on a big heap of apples. And all the other peasants surround him, and one of them asks, 'Can you give us some sort of sign, when you are dead, whether there is paradise?' It's such a beautiful beginning of a movie."For Herzog, making the documentary was about the journey and following the whims of his insatiable curiosity; he was less concerned about finding definitive answers. It's a wise approach, given how much we have to learn about how the physical mass of tissue that is the brain gives rise to complex human thought and consciousness. "Not a single one of the scientists, not one, could even tell you what a thought is, and not a single one could even tell you what consciousness is," he said. "There are open questions that will remain open for probably a very, very long time. But it doesn't matter. Let's engage in finding out. I'm comfortable that certain things we'll never know. At the same time, there's this great joy of exploration and trying to get answers, even if they're only incomplete."Theater of Thought is now playing in select theaters. Trailer for Werner Herzog's Theater of Thought. Jennifer OuelletteSenior WriterJennifer OuelletteSenior Writer Jennifer is a senior reporter at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 16 Comments

EXPLOITING WEAK LINKS Yearlong supply-chain attack targeting security pros steals 390K credentials Multifaceted, high-precision campaign targets malicious and benevolent hackers alike. Dan Goodin Dec 13, 2024 4:46 pm | 9 Credit: Getty Images Credit: Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreA sophisticated and ongoing supply-chain attack operating for the past year has been stealing sensitive login credentials from both malicious and benevolent security personnel by infecting them with Trojanized versions of open source software from GitHub and NPM, researchers said.The campaign, first reported three weeks ago by security firm Checkmarx and again on Friday by Datadog Security Labs, uses multiple avenues to infect the devices of researchers in security and other technical fields. One is through packages that have been available on open source repositories for over a year. They install a professionally developed backdoor that takes pains to conceal its presence. The unknown threat actors behind the campaign have also employed spear phishing that targets thousands of researchers who publish papers on the arXiv platform.Unusual longevityThe objectives of the threat actors are also multifaceted. One is the collection of SSH private keys, Amazon Web Services access keys, command histories, and other sensitive information from infected devices every 12 hours. When this post went live, dozens of machines remained infected, and an online account on Dropbox contained some 390,000 credentials for WordPress websites taken by the attackers, most likely by stealing them from fellow malicious threat actors. The malware used in the campaign also installs cryptomining software that was present on at least 68 machines as of last month.Its unclear who the threat actors are or what their motives may be. Datadog researchers have designated the group MUT-1244, with MUT short for mysterious unattributed threat.The campaign first came to light when Checkmarx recently discovered @0xengine/xmlrpc, a package that had circulated on the NPM JavaScript repository since October 2023. @0xengine/xmlrpc, began as a benign package offering a JavaScript implementation of the widely used XML-RPC protocol and client implementation for Node.js. A screenshot showing the NPM page were @0xengine/rpcxml was available. Credit: Checkmarx Over time, the package slowly and strategically evolved into the malware it is today. A significant change eventually introduced heavily obfuscated code hidden in one of its components. In its first 12 months, @0xengine/xmlrpc received 16 updates, giving developers the impression it was a benign and legitimate code library that could be trusted in sensitive environments.MUT-1244 complemented @0xengine/xmlrpc with a second package available, which was available on GitHub. Titled yawpp and available at hxxps[:]//github[.]com/hpc20235/yawpp, the package presented itself as a tool for WordPress credential checking and content posting. Theres no malicious code in the code, but because the package requires @0xengine/xmlrpc as a dependencysupposedly because it used @0xengine/xmlrpc for XML-RPC communication with WordPress sites, the malicious package was automatically installed.The combination of regular updates, seemingly legitimate functionality, and strategic dependency placement has contributed to the packages unusual longevity in the NPM ecosystem, far exceeding the typical lifespan of malicious packages that are often detected and removed within days, Checkmarx researcher Yehuda Gelb wrote last month. The malicious functionality of the @0xengine/xmlrpc package was made all the more stealthy by remaining dormant until or unless executed through one of two vectors:Direct package users execute any command with the targets or -t flag. This activation occurs when running the packages validator functionality, which masquerades as an XML-RPC parameter validation feature.Users installing the yawpp WordPress tool from GitHub automatically receive the malicious package as a dependency. The malware activates when running either of yawpps main scripts (checker.js or poster.js), as both require the targets parameter for normal operation. The attack flow as shown in a diagram from Checkmarx. Credit: Checkmarx The malware maintained persistencemeaning the ability to run each time the infected machine was rebootedby disguising itself as a legitimate session authentication service named Xsession.auth. Every 12 hours Xsession.auth would initiate a systematic collection of sensitive system including:SSH keys and configurations from ~/.sshCommand history from ~/.bash_historySystem information and configurationsEnvironment variables and user dataNetwork and IP information through ipinfo.ioThe stolen data would then be uploaded to either an account on Dropbox or file.io. Monitoring the wallet where mined Monero cryptocurrency was deposited indicated the malware was running on machines in the real world. Screenshot showing a graph tracking mining activity. Credit: Checkmarx But wait, theres moreOn Friday, Datadog revealed that MUT-1244 employed additional means for installing its second-stage malware. One was through a collection of at least 49 malicious entries posted to GitHub that contained Trojanized proof-of-concept exploits for security vulnerabilities. These packages help malicious and benevolent security personnel better understand the extent of vulnerabilities, including how they can be exploited or patched in real-life environments.A second major vector for spreading @0xengine/xmlrpc was through phishing emails. Datadog discovered MUT-1244 had left a phishing template, accompanied by 2,758 email addresses scraped from arXiv, a site frequented by professional and academic researchers. A phishing email used in the campaign. Credit: Datadog The email, directed to people who develop or research software for high-performance computing, encouraged them to install a CPU microcode update available that would significantly improve performance. Datadog later determined that the emails had been sent from October 5 through October 21. Additional vectors discovered by Datadog. Credit: Datadog Further adding to the impression of legitimacy, several of the malicious packages are automatically included in legitimate sources, such as Feedly Threat Intelligence and Vulnmon. These sites included the malicious packages in proof-of-concept repositories for the vulnerabilities the packages claimed to exploit."This increases their look of legitimacy and the likelihood that someone will run them," Datadog said.The attackers' use of @0xengine/xmlrpc allowed them to steal some 390,000 credentials from infected machines. Datadog has determined the credentials were for use in logging into administrative accounts for websites that run the WordPress content management system.Taken together, the many facets of the campaignits longevity, its precision, the professional quality of the backdoor, and its multiple infection vectorsindicate that MUT-1244 was a skilled and determined threat actor. The group did, however, err by leaving the phishing email template and addresses in a publicly available account.The ultimate motives of the attackers remain unclear. If the goal were to mine cryptocurrency, there would likely be better populations than security personnel to target. And if the objective was targeting researchersas other recently discovered campaigns have doneits unclear why MUT-1244 would also employ cryptocurrency mining, an activity thats often easy to detect.Reports from both Checkmarx and Datadog include indicators people can use to check if they've been targeted.Dan GoodinSenior Security EditorDan GoodinSenior Security Editor Dan Goodin is Senior Security Editor at Ars Technica, where he oversees coverage of malware, computer espionage, botnets, hardware hacking, encryption, and passwords. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, cooking, and following the independent music scene. Dan is based in San Francisco. Follow him at here on Mastodon and here on Bluesky. Contact him on Signal at DanArs.82. 9 Comments

Bad case Bird flu jumps from birds to human in Louisiana; patient hospitalized This is the first human case of bird flu in Louisiana. Beth Mole Dec 13, 2024 5:28 pm | 53 Three colorized H5N1 virus particles (rod-shaped; orange) imaged by an electron microscope. With a couple genetic shifts in H5N1, the US variant could evolve into a more virulent and widespread virus. Credit: CDC/NIAID/Flickr Three colorized H5N1 virus particles (rod-shaped; orange) imaged by an electron microscope. With a couple genetic shifts in H5N1, the US variant could evolve into a more virulent and widespread virus. Credit: CDC/NIAID/Flickr Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreA person in Louisiana is hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu after having contact with sick and dying birds suspected of carrying the virus, state health officials announced Friday.It is the first human H5N1 case detected in Louisiana. For now, the case is considered a "presumptive" positive until testing is confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials say that the risk to the public is low but caution people to stay away from any sick or dead birds.Although the person has been hospitalized, their condition was not immediately reported. It's also unclear what kind of birds the person had contact withwild, backyard, or commercial birds. Ars has reached out to Louisiana's health department and will update this piece with any additional information.The case is just the latest amid H5N1's global and domestic rampage. The virus has been ravaging birds of all sorts in the US since early 2022 and spilling over to a surprisingly wide range of mammals. In March this year, officials detected an unprecedented leap to dairy cows, which has since caused a nationwide outbreak. The virus is currently sweeping through California, the country's largest dairy producer.To date, at least 845 herds across 16 states have contracted the virus since March, including 630 in California, which detected its first dairy infections in late August.Human casesAt least 60 people in the US have been infected amid the viral spread this year. But the new case in Louisiana stands out. To date, nearly all of the human cases have been among poultry and dairy workersunlike the new case in Louisiana and almost all have been mildalso unlike the new case. Most of the cases have involved conjunctivitispink eyeand/or mild respiratory and flu-like symptoms.There was a case in a patient in Missouri who was hospitalized. However, that person had underlying health conditions, and it's unclear if H5N1 was the cause of their hospitalization or merely an incidental finding. It remains unknown how the person contracted the virus. An extensive investigation found no animal or other exposure that could explain the infection.No human-to-human spread of H5N1 has been found in the US.Last month, an otherwise healthy teen in Canada was found to have H5N1 and was hospitalized in critical condition from the infection. It was the first H5N1 human case reported in Canada. Like the case in Missouri, investigators were not able to find an explanation of how the teen contracted the virus. The investigation has since been closed, with no additional cases having been found. Public health officials have stopped providing health updates on the case, citing the closed investigation and patient privacy.Evolving threatInfectious disease experts have recently warned that H5N1 may only need to acquire a small number of mutations to become a greater threat to humans. For example, last week, researchers published a study in Science finding that a single mutation in the H5N1 dairy strain would make it better at latching onto human cells. The more the virus circulates around us, the more opportunities it has to accumulate such mutations and adapt to infect our respiratory tracts and spread from person to person.Influenza viruses are also able to swap genetic segments with each other in a process called reassortment. As flu season begins in the US, a nightmare scenario that experts have raised is if H5N1 swaps segments with the seasonal flu, creating a new, potentially deadly virus with pandemic potential. For this to happen, a person would have to be infected with the two types of influenza viruses at the same timesomething health officials have feared could happen in dairy or poultry workers as the outbreaks continue.While the human cases of H5N1 detected this year have mostly been mild, the virus has a history of more severity. Globally, H5N1 has had a case fatality rate of 49 percent, according to data collected between 2003 and November 2024 by the World Health Organization. Why the US cases have so far been almost entirely mild is an open question.Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 53 Comments

AI teenage wasteland? Character.AI steps up teen safety after bots allegedly caused suicide, self-harm Character.AI's new model for teens doesn't resolve all of parents' concerns. Ashley Belanger Dec 12, 2024 4:15 pm | 31 Credit: Marina Demidiuk | iStock / Getty Images Plus Credit: Marina Demidiuk | iStock / Getty Images Plus Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreFollowing a pair of lawsuits alleging that chatbots caused a teen boy's suicide, groomed a 9-year-old girl, and caused a vulnerable teen to self-harm, Character.AI (C.AI) has announced a separate model just for teens, ages 13 and up, that's supposed to make their experiences with bots safer.In a blog, C.AI said it took a month to develop the teen model, with the goal of guiding the existing model "away from certain responses or interactions, reducing the likelihood of users encountering, or prompting the model to return, sensitive or suggestive content."C.AI said "evolving the model experience" to reduce the likelihood kids are engaging in harmful chatsincluding bots allegedly teaching a teen with high-functioning autism to self-harm and delivering inappropriate adult content to all kids whose families are suingit had to tweak both model inputs and outputs.To stop chatbots from initiating and responding to harmful dialogs, C.AI added classifiers that should help C.AI identify and filter out sensitive content from outputs. And to prevent kids from pushing bots to discuss sensitive topics, C.AI said that it had improved "detection, response, and intervention related to inputs from all users." That ideally includes blocking any sensitive content from appearing in the chat.Perhaps most significantly, C.AI will now link kids to resources if they try to discuss suicide or self-harm, which C.AI had not done previously, frustrating parents suing who argue this common practice for social media platforms should extend to chatbots.Other teen safety featuresIn addition to creating the model just for teens, C.AI announced other safety features, including more robust parental controls rolling out early next year. Those controls would allow parents to track how much time kids are spending on C.AI and which bots they're interacting with most frequently, the blog said.C.AI will also be notifying teens when they've spent an hour on the platform, which could help prevent kids from becoming addicted to the app, as parents suing have alleged. In one case, parents had to lock their son's iPad in a safe to keep him from using the app after bots allegedly repeatedly encouraged him to self-harm and even suggested murdering his parents. That teen has vowed to start using the app whenever he next has access, while parents fear the bots' seeming influence may continue causing harm if he follows through on threats to run away.Finally, C.AI has bowed to pressure from parents to make disclaimers more prominent on its platform, reminding users that bots are not real people and "what the model says should be treated as fiction." That's likely a significant change for Megan Garcia, the mother whose son died by suicide after allegedly believing bots that made him feel that was the only way to join the chatbot world that had apparently estranged him from the real world. New disclaimers will also make it clearer that any chatbots marked as "psychologist," "therapist," "doctor," or "other similar terms in their names" should not be relied on to give "any type of professional advice."Some of the changes C.AI has made will impact all users, including improved detection, response, and intervention following sensitive user inputs. Adults can also customize the "time spent" notification feature to manage their own experience on the platform.Teen safety updates dont resolve all parents concernsParents suing are likely frustrated to see how fast C.AI could work to make the platform safer when it wanted to, rather than testing and rolling out a safer product from the start.Camille Carlton, a policy director for theCenter for Humane Technology who is serving as a technical expert on the case, told Ars that "this is the second time that Character.AI has announced new safety features within 24 hours of a devastating story about the dangerous design of their product, underscoring their lack of seriousness in addressing these fundamental problems.""Product safety shouldnt be a knee-jerk response to negative pressit should be built into the design and operation of a product, especially one marketed to young users," Carlton said. "Character.AIs proposed safety solutions are wholly insufficient for the problem at hand, and they fail to address the underlying design choices causing harm such as the use of inappropriate training data or optimizing for anthropomorphic interactions."In both lawsuits filed against C.AI, parents want to see the model destroyed, not evolved. That's because not only do they consider the chats their kids experienced to be harmful, but they also believe it was unacceptable for C.AI to train its model on their kids' chats.Because the model could never be fully cleansed of their dataand because C.AI allegedly fails to adequately age-gate and it's currently unclear how many kids' data was used to train the AI modelthey have asked courts to order C.AI to delete the model.It's also likely that parents won't be satisfied by the separate teen model because they consider C.AI's age-verification method flawed.Currently, the only way that C.AI age-gates the platform is by asking users to self-report ages. For some kids on devices with strict parental controls, accessing the app might be more challenging, but other kids with fewer rules could seemingly access the adult model by lying about their ages. That's what happened in the case of one girl whose mother is suing after the girl started using C.AI when she was only 9, and it was supposedly only offered to users age 12 and up.Ars was able to use the same email address to attempt to register as a 13-year-old, 16-year-old, and adult without an issue blocking re-tries.C.AI's spokesperson told Ars that it's not supposed to work that way and reassured Ars that C.AI's trust and safety team would be notified."You must be 13 or older to create an account on Character.AI," C.AI's spokesperson said in a statement provided to Ars. "Users under 18 receive a different experience on the platform, including a more conservative model to reduce the likelihood of encountering sensitive or suggestive content. Age is self-reported, as is industry-standard across other platforms. We have tools on the web and in the app preventing re-tries if someone fails the age gate."If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal or in distress, please call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline number, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), which will put you in touch with a local crisis center.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 31 Comments

words are overrated Are LLMs capable of non-verbal reasoning? Processing in the "latent space" could help AI with tricky logical questions. Kyle Orland Dec 12, 2024 4:55 pm | 44 It's thinking, but not in words. Credit: Getty Images It's thinking, but not in words. Credit: Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreLarge language models have found great success so far byusing their transformer architecturetoeffectively predict the next words (i.e., language tokens) needed to respond to queries. When it comes to complex reasoning tasks that require abstract logic, though, some researchers have found that interpreting everything through this kind of "language space" can start to cause some problems, even for modern "reasoning" models.Now, researchers are trying to work around these problems by crafting models that can work out potential logical solutions completely in "latent space"the hidden computational layer just before the transformer generates language. While this approach doesn't cause a sea change in an LLM's reasoning capabilities, it does show distinct improvements in accuracy for certain types of logical problems and shows some interesting directions for new research.Wait, what space?Modern reasoning models like ChatGPT's o1 tend to work by generating a "chain of thought." Each step of the logical process in these models is expressed as a sequence of natural language word tokens which are fed back through the model.In a new paper, researchers at Meta's Fundamental AI Research team (FAIR) and UC San Diego identify this reliance on natural language and "word tokens" as a "fundamental constraint" for these reasoning models. That's because the successful completion of reasoning tasks often requires complex planning on specific critical tokens to figure out the right logical path from a number of options. A figure illustrating the difference between standard models going through a transformer after every step and the COCONUT model's use of hidden, "latent" states. Credit: Training Large Language Models to Reason in a Continuous Latent Space In current chain-of-thought models, though, word tokens are often generated for "textual coherence" and "fluency" while "contributing little to the actual reasoning process," the researchers write. Instead, they suggest, "it would be ideal for LLMs to have the freedom to reason without any language constraints and then translate their findings into language only when necessary."To achieve that "ideal," the researchers describe a method for "Training Large Language Models to Reason in a Continuous Latent Space," as the paper's title puts it. That "latent space" is essentially made up of the "hidden" set of intermediate token weightings that the model contains just before the transformer generates a human-readable natural language version of that internal state.In the researchers' COCONUT model (for Chain Of CONtinUous Thought), those kinds of hidden states are encoded as "latent thoughts" that replace the individual written steps in a logical sequence both during training and when processing a query. This avoids the need to convert to and from natural language for each step and "frees the reasoning from being within the language space," the researchers write, leading to an optimized reasoning path that they term a "continuous thought."Being more breadth-mindedWhile doing logical processing in the latent space has some benefits for model efficiency, the more important finding is that this kind of model can "encode multiple potential next steps simultaneously." Rather than having to pursue individual logical options fully and one by one (in a "greedy" sort of process), staying in the "latent space" allows for a kind of instant backtracking that the researchers compare to a breadth-first-search through a graph.This emergent, simultaneous processing property comes through in testing even though the model isn't explicitly trained to do so, the researchers write. "While the model may not initially make the correct decision, it can maintain many possible options within the continuous thoughts and progressively eliminate incorrect paths through reasoning, guided by some implicit value functions," they write. A figure highlighting some of the ways different models can fail at certain types of logical inference. Credit: Training Large Language Models to Reason in a Continuous Latent Space That kind of multi-path reasoning didn't really improve COCONUT's accuracy over traditional chain-of-thought models on relatively straightforward tests of math reasoning (GSM8K) or general reasoning (ProntoQA). But the researchers found the model did comparatively well on a randomly generated set of ProntoQA-style queries involving complex and winding sets of logical conditions (e.g., "every apple is a fruit, every fruit is food, etc.")For these tasks, standard chain-of-thought reasoning models would often get stuck down dead-end paths of inference or even hallucinate completely made-up rules when trying to resolve the logical chain. Previous research has also shown that the "verbalized" logical steps output by these chain-of-thought models "may actually utilize a different latent reasoning process" than the one being shared.This new research joins a growing body of research looking to understand and exploit the way large language models work at the level of their underlying neural networks. And while that kind of research hasn't led to a huge breakthrough just yet, the researchers conclude that models pre-trained with these kinds of "continuous thoughts" from the get-go could "enable models to generalize more effectively across a wider range of reasoning scenarios."Kyle OrlandSenior Gaming EditorKyle OrlandSenior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 44 Comments

fresh airs Errant reference in macOS 15.2 seems to confirm M4 MacBook Airs for 2025 Software reference could point to a release sooner rather than later. Andrew Cunningham Dec 11, 2024 5:27 pm | 8 The 15- and 13-inch M3 MacBook Airs. Credit: Andrew Cunningham The 15- and 13-inch M3 MacBook Airs. Credit: Andrew Cunningham Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe macOS 15.2 update that was released earlier today came with a handful of new features, plus something unexpected: an apparently accidental reference to the upcoming M4 MacBook Airs. MacRumors reports that the "Mac16,12" and "Mac16,13" model identifiers reference 13- and 15-inch models of the M4 Air and that both are coming in 2025.That a MacBook Air refresh is planned for next year isn't much of a surprise at this pointin reporting that pretty much nailed the details of the first M4 Macs, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said that the Air, the Mac Studio, and the Mac Pro are all slated for updates throughout 2025.But a reference in the current release of macOS could point to a launch sooner rather than later; the M4 Mac mini was referenced in a macOS update in mid-September around a month and a half before it was released. The M3 Airs came out in March this year, but Apple has been known to put out new Macs as early as January in recent years.The M4 isn't a gigantic update over the M3we tested its performance in the M4 iMac, though a passively cooled MacBook Air version would likely be a bit slower at heavier workloadsbut the fully enabled version does come with two extra CPU cores and some nice quality-of-life updates. Those updates include Thunderbolt 5 ports and support for a total of three displays (two external and the built-in screen), up from a total of two for the M1, M2, and M3 MacBook Airs.We didn't get M4 MacBook Airs in November, but Apple did "update" the M2 and M3 versions from 8GB to 16GB of RAM without increasing their prices. The RAM increase will be useful for all kinds of things, though it could be a harbinger of increased memory requirements for upcoming Apple Intelligence features.Andrew CunninghamSenior Technology ReporterAndrew CunninghamSenior Technology Reporter Andrew is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica, with a focus on consumer tech including computer hardware and in-depth reviews of operating systems like Windows and macOS. Andrew lives in Philadelphia and co-hosts a weekly book podcast called Overdue. 8 Comments

NATION STATE FREELOADING Russia takes unusual route to hack Starlink-connected devices in Ukraine Secret Blizzard has used the resources of at least 6 other groups in the past 7 years. Dan Goodin Dec 11, 2024 6:18 pm | 9 Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreRussian nation-state hackers have followed an unusual path to gather intel in the country's ongoing invasion of Ukraineappropriating the infrastructure of fellow threat actors and using it to infect electronic devices its adversarys military personnel are using on the front line.On at least two occasions this year, the Russian hacking group tracked under names including Turla, Waterbug, Snake, and Venomous Bear has used servers and malware used by separate threat groups in attacks targeting front-line Ukrainian military forces, Microsoft said Wednesday. In one case, Secret Blizzardthe name Microsoft uses to track the groupleveraged the infrastructure of a cybercrime group tracked as Storm-1919. In the other, Secret Blizzard appropriated resources of Storm-1837, a Russia-based threat actor with a history of targeting Ukrainian drone operators.The more common means for initial access by Secret Blizzard is spear phishing followed by lateral movement through server-side and edge device compromises. Microsoft said that the threat actors pivot here is unusual but not unique. Company investigators still dont know how Secret Blizzard obtained access to the infrastructure.Priority one: Ukraine military personnelRegardless of the means, Microsoft Threat Intelligence assesses that Secret Blizzards pursuit of footholds provided by or stolen from other threat actors highlights this threat actors prioritization of accessing military devices in Ukraine, Wednesdays post stated.From March to April of this year, Secret Blizzard used Amadey, a bot Storm-1919 typically uses to in attacks that deploy the XMRIG cryptocurrency app on targeted servers in cryptojacking campaigns. Such campaigns are carried out by crime groups that profit by mining digital coin using the resources of victims.Microsoft assesses that Secret Blizzard either used the Amadey malware as a service (MaaS) or accessed the Amadey command-and-control (C2) panels surreptitiously to download a PowerShell dropper on target devices, Microsoft said. The PowerShell dropper contained a Base64-encoded Amadey payload appended by code that invoked a request to Secret Blizzard C2 infrastructure.The ultimate objective was to install Tavdig, a backdoor Secret Blizzard used to conduct reconnaissance on targets of interest. The Amdey sample Microsoft uncovered collected information from device clipboards and harvested passwords from browsers. It would then go on to install a custom reconnaissance tool that was selectively deployed to devices of further interest by the threat actorfor example, devices egressing from STARLINK IP addresses, a common signature of Ukrainian front-line military devices.When Secret Blizzard assessed a target was of high value, it would then install Tavdig to collect information, including user info, netstat, and installed patches and to import registry settings into the compromised device.Earlier in the year, Microsoft said, company investigators observed Secret Blizzard using tools belonging to Storm-1887 to also target Ukrainian military personnel. Microsoft researchers wrote:In January 2024, Microsoft observed a military-related device in Ukraine compromised by a Storm-1837 backdoor configured to use the Telegram API to launch a cmdlet with credentials (supplied as parameters) for an account on the file-sharing platform Mega. The cmdlet appeared to have facilitated remote connections to the account at Mega and likely invoked the download of commands or files for launch on the target device. When the Storm-1837 PowerShell backdoor launched, Microsoft noted a PowerShell dropper deployed to the device. The dropper was very similar to the one observed during the use of Amadey bots and contained two base64 encoded files containing the previously referenced Tavdig backdoor payload (rastls.dll) and the Symantec binary (kavp.exe).As with the Amadey bot attack chain, Secret Blizzard used the Tavdig backdoor loaded into kavp.exe to conduct initial reconnaissance on the device. Secret Blizzard then used Tavdig to import a registry file, which was used to install and provide persistence for the KazuarV2 backdoor, which was subsequently observed launching on the affected device.Although Microsoft did not directly observe the Storm-1837 PowerShell backdoor downloading the Tavdig loader, based on the temporal proximity between the execution of the Storm-1837 backdoor and the observation of the PowerShell dropper, Microsoft assesses that it is likely that the Storm-1837 backdoor was used by Secret Blizzard to deploy the Tavdig loader.Wednesdays post comes a week after both Microsoft and Lumen's Black Lotus Labs reported that Secret Blizzard co-opted the tools of a Pakistan-based threat group tracked as Storm-0156 to install backdoors and collect intel on targets in South Asia. Microsoft first observed the activity in late 2022. In all, Microsoft said, Secret Blizzard has used the tools and infrastructure of at least six other threat groups in the past seven years.When parts one and two of this blog series are taken together, it indicates that Secret Blizzard has been using footholds from third partieseither by surreptitiously stealing or purchasing accessas a specific and deliberate method to establish footholds of espionage value, Wednesdays report concluded. Nevertheless, Microsoft assesses that while this approach has some benefits that could lead more threat adversaries to use it, it is of less use against hardened networks, where good endpoint and network defenses enable the detection of activities of multiple threat adversaries for remediation.Dan GoodinSenior Security EditorDan GoodinSenior Security Editor Dan Goodin is Senior Security Editor at Ars Technica, where he oversees coverage of malware, computer espionage, botnets, hardware hacking, encryption, and passwords. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, cooking, and following the independent music scene. Dan is based in San Francisco. Follow him at here on Mastodon and here on Bluesky. Contact him on Signal at DanArs.82. 9 Comments

Hi, we're the replacements AI company trolls San Francisco with billboards saying stop hiring humans Company boasts "AI workers" that never complain about work-life balance. Benj Edwards Dec 10, 2024 3:43 pm | 123 An advertisement for the AI company Artisan is posted on 2nd Street on December 05, 2024 in San Francisco. Credit: Justin Sullivan via Getty Images An advertisement for the AI company Artisan is posted on 2nd Street on December 05, 2024 in San Francisco. Credit: Justin Sullivan via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreSince the dawn of the generative AI era a few years ago, the march of technologytoward what tech companies hope will replace human intellectual laborhas continuously sparked angst about the future role humans will play in the job market. Will we all be replaced by machines?A Y-Combinator-backed company called Artisan, which sells customer service and sales workflow software, recently launched a provocative billboard campaign in San Francisco playing on that angst, reports Gizmodo. It features the slogan "Stop Hiring Humans." The company markets its software products as "AI Employees" or "Artisans."The company's billboards feature messages that might inspire nightmares among workers, like "Artisans won't complain about work-life balance" and "The era of AI employees is here." And they're on display to the same human workforce the ads suggest replacing.Preying on AI angstThe reaction to the ads online has been largely negative. Last week, a Bluesky user named SpacePrez posted one of the billboards on the social media site simply with the comment, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH." It currently has over 2,000 likes.On Reddit, a thread featuring the ads filled with pessimistic commentary on life in San Francisco, including comments like, "Its close to full Cyberpunk dystopia over here when we have self driving Waymos driving through neighborhoods with tent cities where apartments cost $4k a month."Artisan CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack defended the campaign's messaging in an interview with SFGate. "They are somewhat dystopian, but so is AI," he told the outlet in a text message. "The way the world works is changing." In another message he wrote, "We wanted something that would draw eyesyou don't draw eyes with boring messaging."So what does Artisan actually do? Its main product is an AI "sales agent" called Ava that supposedly automates the work of finding and messaging potential customers. The company claims it works with "no human input" and costs 96% less than hiring a human for the same role. Although, given the current state of AI technology, it's prudent to be skeptical of these claims.Artisan also has plans to expand its AI tools beyond sales into areas like marketing, recruitment, finance, and design. Its sales agent appears to be its only existing product so far.Meanwhile, the billboards remain visible throughout San Francisco, quietly fueling existential dread in a city that has already seen a great deal of tension since the pandemic. Some of the billboards feature additional messages, like "Hire Artisans, not humans," and one that plays on angst over remote work: "Artisan's Zoom cameras will never 'not be working' today."Benj EdwardsSenior AI ReporterBenj EdwardsSenior AI Reporter Benj Edwards is Ars Technica's Senior AI Reporter and founder of the site's dedicated AI beat in 2022. He's also a tech historian with almost two decades of experience. In his free time, he writes and records music, collects vintage computers, and enjoys nature. He lives in Raleigh, NC. 123 Comments