Truly despicable conspiracy theory about mysterious disappearance of Gus is slammed - after four-year-old vanished in South Australia
August 'Gus' Lamont was last seen playing in a mound of dirt near his grandparents' homestead on a sheep station 40km south of Yunta last Saturday, September 27.
What's the Best Way to Stop AI From Designing Hazardous Proteins?
Currently DNA synthesis companies "deploy biosecurity software designed to guard against nefarious activity," reports the Washington Post, "by flagging proteins of concern — for example, known toxins or components of pathogens." But Microsoft researchers discovered "up to 100 percent" of AI-generated ricin-like proteins evaded detection — and worked with a group of leading industry scientists and biosecurity experts to design a patch. Microsoft's chief science officer called it "a Windows update model for the planet.
"We will continue to stay on it and send out patches as needed, and also define the research processes and best practices moving forward to stay ahead of the curve as best we can."
But is that enough?
Outside biosecurity experts applauded the study and the patch, but said that this is not an area where one single approach to biosecurity is sufficient. "What's happening with AI-related science is that the front edge of the technology is accelerating much faster than the back end ... in managing the risks," said David Relman, a microbiologist at Stanford University School of Medicine. "It's not just that we have a gap — we have a rapidly widening gap, as we speak. Every minute we sit here talking about what we need to do about the things that were just released, we're already getting further behind."
The Washington Post notes not every company deploys biosecurity software. But "A different approach, biosecurity experts say, is to ensure AI software itself is imbued with safeguards before digital ideas are at the cusp of being brought into labs for research and experimentation."
"The only surefire way to avoid problems is to log all DNA synthesis, so if there is a worrisome new virus or other biological agent, the sequence can be cross-referenced with the logged DNA database to see where it came from," David Baker, who shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on proteins, said in an email.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
PIERS MORGAN: Woke feminists and man-bun metrosexuals may sneer. But flirting, holding open doors and lugging bags of compost from the car isn't toxic masculinity... it's just being a man
I didn't think much of Adolescence, the dark, gritty and frankly boring British drama that everyone else greeted with hysterical acclaim.
The beautiful village among the most desirable to live in Essex with incredible Disney links
The uniqueness of the village has deservedly made it a hidden gem of Essex
Rayner is taking us for a ride: Weeks after she quit in disgrace, her boyfriend is ferried around by taxpayer-funded bodyguards in £80k BMW also paid for by you
Pictures published exclusively in the Mail on Sunday show two close-protection officers helping Ms Rayner's on-off partner Sam Tarry move bags and boxes in a BMW X5 between their two homes.
'If we die tonight, do you think that Meghan will come to my funeral?': Why drinking PG Tips with Thomas Markle as his 19th-floor Philippines apartment was rocked by an earthquake was the most surreal moment of my life, writes CAROLINE GRAHAM
Two hours after greeting my friend Tom Markle, the Duchess of Sussex's estranged father, in his 19th floor apartment in Cebu in the Philippines, on Tuesday night, the building started to sway violently.
Killers, paedophiles and neo-Nazi family among Essex criminals jailed in September 2025
Another month, another round of criminals have been sent away for a long time
How Jennifer Aniston fixed my broken heart, by her new man: Hypnotherapist and life coach opens up on how Friends star has made him smile again after 'unhealthy relationship' left him 'broken'
Jennifer Aniston's new boyfriend Jim Curtis has revealed that someone has made him smile again after he was left 'broken' following what he describes as an 'unhealthy relationship'.
Amazon's Prime Video Rolls Back Controversial 'Stylized' James Bond Thumbnails Without Guns
"When someone searches for 'James Bond' on Prime Video now, all of the classic films will show up..." notes Parade. But recently Amazon's streaming service had tried new thumbnails with "matching minimalist backgrounds," so every Bond actor — from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig — "had a stylish image with '007' emblazoned over a color background." But in most of those "stylized" images, James Bond's guns were edited out.
It looks like Amazon backed off. On my TV and on my tablet, selecting Dr. No now brings up a page where Bond is holding his gun. (Just like in the original publicity photo.) And there's also guns in the key art for The Spy Who Loved Me, A View to a Kill, and License to Kill.
"Perhaps feeling shame for the terrible botch job on the artwork, not to mention the idea in the first place, Amazon Prime has now reinstated the previous key art across its streaming service," notes the unofficial James Bond fan site MI6. (In most cases guns still aren't shown, but they seem to achieve this by showing a photo from the movie.)
That blog post includes a gallery preserving copies of Amazon's original "stylized" images. They'd written Thursday that Amazon didn't just use cropping. "In some cases the images have been digitally manipulated to varying levels of success."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Listed: Five picturesque walks to try with the family this winter in Essex
WALKS aren't always at the top of the to-do list during the colder months, but some are too good to miss.
Large rattlesnake with 'extremely dangerous' venom that is living in Essex
The venmous Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is living in Essex - find out more about the dangerous snake.
Listed: Five picturesque walks to try with the family this winter in Essex
WALKS aren't always at the top of the to-do list during the colder months, but some are too good to miss.
Large rattlesnake with 'extremely dangerous' venom that is living in Essex
The venmous Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is living in Essex - find out more about the dangerous snake.
Behind the scenes at Maldon Salt showcasing the best of Essex to the world
“I have always felt that Essex gets a few stereotypes through its way, some affairs and runs there. We've got some world famous some world class food and drinks brands, associates, great bars, great chefs, great breweries.”
The award-winning spa and hotel among the best in Essex perfect for autumn getaway
The spa even offers a jam-packed social calendar full of events to attend
Florida and Nevada named America's top 'gold digger' states in new study
A new study has revealed the states where residents are most likely to marry for money, based on wealth concentration, dating app behavior, and online searches.
Judge blocks Trump from sending National Guard into Portland as protesters clash with federal agents outside ICE facility
An Oregon federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from sending the National Guard into Portland, as the city contends with hundreds of protestors at an ICE facility.
Sora's Controls Don't Block All Deepfakes or Copyright Infringements
If you upload an image to serve as the inspiration for an AI-generated video from OpenAI's Sora, "the app will reject your image if it detects a face — any face," writes Mashable." (Unless that person has agreed to participate.) All Sora videos also include a watermark, notes PC Magazine, and Sora banned the creation of AI-generated videos showing public figures.
"But it turns out the policy doesn't apply to dead celebrities..."
Unlike lower-quality deepfakes, many of the Sora videos appear disturbingly realistic and accurately mimic the voices and facial expressions of deceased celebrities. Some of the clips even contain licensed music... [A]ccording to OpenAI, the videos are fair game. "We don't have a comment to add, but we do allow the generation of historical figures," the company tells PCMag.
CNBC reported Saturday that Sora users have also "flooded the platform with artificial intelligence-generated clips of popular brands and animated characters." They noted Sora generated videos with clearly-copyrighted characters like Ronald McDonald, Simpsons characters, Pikachu, Patrick Star from "SpongeBob SquarePants," and Pikachu. (as Cracked.com puts it, "Ever wish 'South Park' was two minutes long and not funny?")
OpenAI's "opt-out" policy for copyright holders was unusual, CNBC writes, since "Typically, third parties have to get explicit permission to use someone's work under copyright law"" (as explained by Jason Bloom, partner/chair of the intellectual property litigation practice group at law firm Haynes Boone). "You can't just post a notice to the public saying we're going to use everybody's works, unless you tell us not to," he said. "That's not how copyright works."
"A lot of the videos that people are going to generate of these cartoon characters are going to infringe copyright," Mark Lemley, a professor at Stanford Law School, said in an interview. "OpenAI is opening itself up to quite a lot of copyright lawsuits by doing this..."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Daughter of polygamist cult leader Dan Lafferty breaks silence as dad serves two life sentences for murder
Rebecca Lafferty, now a mother of three and a hypnotherapist in Salt Lake City, is the daughter of convicted killer Dan Lafferty, who is serving two life sentences.
Starmer's chief of staff 'not behind PM's Nigel Farage racism jibe' but 'backs it 100 per cent'
Sources say No10's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney has privately said he was not responsible for the Prime Minister's claim that Nigel Farage's migrants policy was racist.