AI
Commonwealth Bank backtracks on AI job cuts, apologises for 'error' as call volumes rise
Commonwealth Bank announced 45 job cuts last month, as it introduced an AI "voice-bot", but has now reversed its decision.
The bank has apologised to affected employees for the "error", but the Finance Sector Union says the "damage is already done" to workers.
Mark Zuckerberg freezes AI hiring amid bubble fears
The move marks a sharp reversal from Meta’s reported pay offers of up to $1bn for top talent.
MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing
More than half of generative AI budgets are devoted to sales and marketing tools, yet MIT found the biggest ROI in back-office automation—eliminating business process outsourcing, cutting external agency costs, and streamlining operations.
Tech, chip stock sell-off continues as AI bubble fears mount
Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) fell nearly 2%, while Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) stock fell around 1%. Nvidia (NVDA) pared losses to end the day down fractionally after dropping 3.5% Tuesday.
Harvard dropouts to launch ‘always on’ AI smart glasses that listen and record every conversation
“The AI listens to every conversation you have and uses that knowledge to tell you what to say … kinda like IRL Cluely.”
Biggest Google Home Upgrade In Years Is Coming
Gemini for Home is a full-on replacement for Google Assistant on Nest speakers and displays.
Hackers Hijacked Google’s Gemini AI With a Poisoned Calendar Invite to Take Over a Smart Home
For likely the first time ever, security researchers have shown how AI can be hacked to create real-world havoc, allowing them to turn off lights, open smart shutters, and more.
Politics
Microsoft employee protests lead to 18 arrests as company reviews its work with Israel’s military
Two consecutive days of protest at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington called for the tech giant to immediately cut its business ties with Israel.
Microsoft keeps submitting copyright takedown requests for these videos.
State Department employee fired after questioning talking points on Israel and Gaza
Shahed Ghoreishi, a contractor working for the Bureau of Near East Affairs, was terminated. He was punished for writing a line that said the U.S. does not support the forced relocation of Gazans, something that President Donald Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff have said repeatedly, because that line was rejected by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
He also questioned a statement from the embassy that referred to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria,” the Biblical name for the Palestinian territory that some right-wing Israeli officials prefer. Mike Huckabee, U.S. ambassador to Israel, also has repeatedly backed referring to the West Bank by Judea and Samaria.
Israeli Cybersecurity Official Arrested in Nevada Child Sex Operation During Black Hat Briefings Is Released and Back in Israel
Tom Alexandrovich was apprehended and faced felony charges of “Luring a Child with Computer for Sex Act.”
Israeli government official arrested in Nevada in internet crimes against children sting
He has since been released from custody on $10,000 bail after an initial court appearance, records show, and returned to Israel. Under Nevada law, luring a child with a computer for a sex act can carry between one and 10 years in prison.
Elon Musk Pledged to Start a Political Party. He Is Already Pumping the Brakes.
The billionaire has sought to maintain ties with JD Vance, a potential heir to Trump’s MAGA political movement.
Transcript: Stephen Miller’s Crazed Fascist Rant to Media Is Revealing
Stephen Miller unleashed a long, crazed, angry, shrill rant about demonstrators in Washington, D.C., who are protesting President Trump’s military occupation of the city:
"They’re the ones who have been advocating for the one percent. They’re criminals, they’re killers, they’re rapists, and they’re drug dealers ... we’re going to ignore these stupid white hippies, who all need to go home and take a nap because they’re all over 90 years old, and we’re going to get back to the business of protecting the American people and the citizens of Washington, D.C."
Microsoft says U.S. law takes precedence over Canadian (and French) data sovereignty
US State Department revokes 6,000 student visas
The "vast majority" of the violations were assault, driving under the influence (DUI), burglary and "support for terrorism".
Infosec
Humans intervened every 9 minutes in AAA test of driver assists
AAA found that "notable events" were recorded by the data capture systems every 3.2 miles, or 9.1 minutes, on average. And 85 percent of those notable events required the driver to intervene. The most common event that required intervention was a car ahead cutting into the driver's lane. These occurred about once every 8.6 miles, or 24.4 minutes, with 90 percent requiring intervention by the driver. AAA found that the less-advanced systems that required a driver to keep their hands on the steering wheel experienced notable events at three times the frequency of hands-free systems.
Inside the Underground Trade of ‘Flipper Zero’ Tech to Break into Cars
“Kia Boys will be Flipper Boys by 2026,” one person in the reverse engineering community said.
Chrome VPN Extension With 100k Installs Screenshots All Sites Users Visit
The extension’s developer claimed to Koi Security that the background screenshot functionality is part of a “security scan” intended to detect threats. Yet, Koi Security found the tool indiscriminately captured data from safe and commonly used sites such as Google Sheets, banking portals, and photo galleries. The developer also claimed screenshots are not stored but merely analyzed by AI tools, yet offered no verifiable way to confirm this.
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