Tootfinder

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@thomasfuchs/116092491198574746
Here’s so many technologies that are actually helpful and amazing and I’m exited about, here’s some more:
- e-paper
- health tracking that alerts to possible conditions
- safety features in vehicles
- new vaccines
- those soundboards for pets allowing them to form sentences
- 3D printing
- LED lights
- new, less dangerous battery technologies
And so much more

Library workers can better align technology use and instruction in library settings with library values,
through championing the refusal of technologies that conflict with values like privacy and intellectual freedom.
Drawing on experiences with individual patron instruction, class design, and passive programming, the author shares practical steps for helping patrons to understand and fight back against exploitation by digital technologies.
Rejecting the myth that any te…

💍 Origami-inspired ring lets users 'feel' virtual worlds
#vr

Origami-inspired ring lets users 'feel' virtual worlds
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are technologies that allow users to immerse themselves in digital worlds or enhance their surroundings with computer-generated filters or images, respectively. Both these technologies are now widely used worldwide, whether to experience video games and media content in more engaging ways or improve specific training and assist professionals in their daily tasks.

Investigation: How Russian drones exploit European technologies to strike Ukraine, and beyond: https://benborges.xyz/2026/02/18/investigation-how-russian-drones-exploit.html

The TC39 Temporal proposal is coming along. It’s meant to replace JavaScript’s date API:
https://www.igalia.com/2026/03/13/Temporal-Reaches-Stage-4.html
Jason Williams’ talk about this at State of the Browser is now online:

Temporal Reaches Stage 4 | Igalia
Igalia is an open source consulting firm specialised in the development of innovative projects and solutions. Our engineers have expertise in a wide range of technological areas, including browsers and client-side web technologies, graphics pipeline, compilers and virtual machines. We have the most WPE, WebKit, Chromium/Blink and Firefox expertise found in the consulting business, including many reviewers and committers. Igalia designs, develops, customises and optimises GNU/Linux-based solutio…

The similarities between VR and AI are actually really striking; both are technologies that are amazing for a few narrow niche use cases and completely unsuitable for anything else.
But they are both heavily marketed and hyped exactly for the use cases where they suck and make no sense.

Il Pentagono vuole classificare Anthropic AI come "supply chain risk"
"La controversia sembra derivare dalla riluttanza di Anthropic a consentire un uso militare illimitato dei propri sistemi di IA. Attualmente, i modelli di Anthropic sono gli unici strumenti di IA disponibili all'interno di sistemi militari classificati tramite fornitori terzi, come Palantir Technologies, e anche in questo caso sono soggetti ad alcune restrizioni. Reuters ha precedentemente riferito…

Pentagon Considers Designating Anthropic AI as a 'Supply Chain Risk': Report
The move would require anyone doing business with the U.S. military to cut ties with the AI company.

Meta's Manus #AI about Neuralink Blindsight, ReVision Occular, PRIMA, and The vOICe https://visionrestor-jrwyzpdl.manus.space It boasts a "Comprehensive comparative analysis of invasive implants and n…

Vision Restoration Technologies: A Comparative Analysis
An interactive research report comparing Neuralink Blindsight, ReVision Implant, and other vision restoration technologies for the blind

I've been waiting for articles that point out the existential threat that AI coding technologies pose to the Indian tech sector. Here's one. I fear that the social and cultural—and hence political—consequences in India could be even worse than in the US.
https://www.…

Bill Paxton received his PhD from Stanford in 1977. -- He worked with Doug Engelbart at the Stanford Research Institute where the group built the Online System (NLS) and he participated in
"The Mother of All Demos".
After leaving Stanford, Paxton joined the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)
where they developed emerging technologies, including Ethernet, networked personal computers, bitmap displays, graphical user-interfaces, and laser printers
Paxton j…

Babies Born from Dead Parents Will Increase with New Tech. Are We Ready? https://www.404media.co/babies-born-from-dead-parents-will-increase-with-new-tech-are-we-ready/

"Digital Technologies and Reading Habits of Students: A Scoping Review"
https://doi.org/10.1515/opis-2025-0040
"This scoping review aims to map the literature on the types of digital technologies and the purposes of using digital technologies by secondary school students."

#UK #Journalism still exists. Important work,

It's a shame that the press release for quantum computer investment has to be wrapped in "AI". Where the "race" has been reframed as the consumption, rather than production, of technologies.
In many ways quantum tech matches the UK's traditional strengths - big expensive important research with (let's face it) extremely vague plans for commercialisation.

UK will win AI race as Chancellor sets out economic ‘big choices’
UK will win the AI adoption race as Chancellor sets out her economic growth ‘big choices’

NASA and Voyager Technologies have signed an order for the seventh private astronaut mission to the #InternationalSpaceStation, targeted to launch no earlier than 2028 from Florida: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-voyager-for-seventh-private-mission-to-space-station/ and https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260415327488/en

Just learned from @… 's presentation (https://videolectures.net/videos/iswc2025_nara_vrandecic_wikipedia_future) that there is a

The recording of my @… keynote is available online:
Wikipedia and the Semantic Web -- 20 years of co-development, and the future
Drawing on the roots of @… and the Semantic Web, how they influenced each other during t…

Wikipedia and the Semantic Web: Celebrating 20 Years of Co-Development and the Future
In 2005, the very first papers proposed integrating Semantic Web technologies in the nascent Wikipedia ecosystem. This wasn’t just a convergence; it ignited two decades of mutual inspiration and benefit. From this crucible, the work in semantic wikis drew inspiration. Semantic MediaWiki, particularly, which found global adoption at Google, Microsoft, NASA, and beyond. Wikipedia became the bedrock for pioneering knowledge graphs, including DBpedia, Freebase, and Yago. These pivotal experiences…

Microsoft says it is "exploring the potential of technologies like OpenClaw in an enterprise context", including a team of always-on agents within Microsoft 365 (Aaron Holmes/The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/mic…

Microsoft Plots New Copilot Features Inspired by OpenClaw
As Microsoft faces growing competition for business customers from Anthropic, it is developing new features that would make its AI assistant Copilot function more like OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent that has taken the AI industry by storm in recent months. A newly created team under ...

FPF Releases Updated Infographic on Age Assurance Technologies, Emerging Standards, and Risk Management
https://fpf.org/blog/fpf-releases-updated-infographic-on-age-assurance-technologies-emerging-standards-and-risk-m…

A new analysis finds that tech giant Palantir Technologies paid no federal income taxes last year,
despite raking in hundreds of millions in taxpayer money to build out a mass network to surveil Americans
in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Palantir, which has landed multiple massive contracts under the Trump administration,
made $1.6 billion in net income last year.
It grew so much last year that it joined the list of the 20 most valua…

Palantir Paid $0 in Federal Income Tax in 2025 While Raking in Taxpayer Funds to Surveil Americans
Its $0 tax bill comes despite the company raking in $1.6 billion and landing a $10 billion military contract last year.

AI Fails at 96% of Jobs (New Study)
Artificial intelligence has been hailed as one of the most transformative technologies of the century. That may be so, but just not yet. In this episode, we take a look at a study that pits humans directly against AI for paid work. The results were surprising.
📺 https://www.youtube.com/watch…

An excellent, in-depth blog post about the challenges of making home energy management work for consumers.
https://es.catapult.org.uk/insight/making-home-energy-management-work-for-consumers/

Making home energy management work for consumers
Claire Rowland, Senior Manager for Living Lab at Energy Systems Catapult, lists the technical and consumer experience problems we need to solve to propel low-carbon technologies from the homes of the hobbyist into the mainstream

Deutsches Drohnenabwehr-Start-up sammelt 30 Millionen Euro ein
Tytan Technologies hat über 30 Millionen Euro an Kapital einsammeln können. Damit soll die Serienfertigung von Abfangdrohnen finanziert werden.
h…

Today, the EC came up with a €200 million (yes, with an m!) guarantee fund for innovative nuclear technologies and now we will have operational SMRs by the early 2030s. Call me sceptical :)
A mini-fund for mini-reactors.
https://www.euronews.com/my-eu…

Brussels backs mini-nuclear power plants to secure low-carbon power
The EU is counting on small nuclear reactors to help meet climate targets and stabilise power supply, but some countries and environmental groups warn the technology is costly and unproven. #EuropeNews

🤦‍♂️ Electric Motorcycles are a Security Nightmare
#motorcycles

Durant l’interview de Meredith Whittaker, Guillaume Erner s’interroge : pourquoi donc peut-il récupérer l’historique d’une conversation Signal alors que Signal affirme qu’elle ne la stocke pas ? Éléments d’explication dans cet article de janvier 2025 :
https://www.blog-nouvelles-techn…

The Software Sovereignty Scale:
#foss

The Software Sovereignty Scale
Digital sovereignty depends less on where software comes from and more on who controls it. This post introduces a scale showing which technologies can never be taken away.

We urgently need to overcome the capitalist law of value and democratise our economy, so that we can organise production around urgent social and ecological priorities. After all, we are the producers of the goods, the services, the technologies. It is our labour and our planet’s resources that are at stake. And so we must claim the right to decide what is produced, how, and for what purpose.

"Analysis: Clean energy drove more than a third of China’s GDP growth in 2025"
#China #Energy #Renewables

Analysis: Clean energy drove more than a third of China’s GDP growth in 2025 - Carbon Brief
Clean-energy technologies drove more than a third of the growth in China’s economy in 2025 – and more than 90% of the rise in investment.

Ritterschlag!
#Palantier

US-Techgigant Palantir klagt gegen das «Republik»-Magazin
Das US-amerikanische Softwareunternehmen Palantir Technologies geht gerichtlich gegen das Zürcher Onlinemagazin «Republik» vor.

Friday Links 26-12
Two weeks of links. A lot of AI related articles again. I liked the paper about using chatbots in leadership, and the one about the YAML of the mind.
If you want a podcast, check out the one about night trains.
https://christof.damian.net/2026/04/fri…

US AI giants OpenAI and Anthropic appear untroubled by their technologies being used for mass surveillance of non-Americans, including Europeans, according to recent public statements.
https://www.euract…

Really happy with this conversation — I got a chance to drop in on The Vergecast, which is one of my favorite tech podcasts because they go deep into the systems that affect how and why we're able to innovate, and what shapes the markets we all operate in. David Pierce let me nerd out about how important it is that technologies like podcasts stay open for everyone to be able to participate without any gatekeepers. I think you're going to like this one!

from my link log —
IBM announces strategic collaboration with ARM to shape the future of mainframes.
https://newsroom.ibm.com/2026-04-02-ibm-announces-strategic-collaboration-with-arm-to-shape-the-future-of-…

IBM Announces Strategic Collaboration with Arm to Shape the Future of Enterprise Computing
Collaboration aims to advance new technologies that expand infrastructure choice while preserving mission-critical environments ARMONK, N.Y., April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today...

MHRA announcement.
"The MHRA and the US Food and Drug Administration are strengthening cooperation on medical device regulation, to support faster access to safe, innovative technologies for patients in both countries."
Madness -the FDA is run my lunatics at the moment.

Claude, the AI model developed by Anthropic, was used by the US military during its operation to kidnap Nicolšs Maduro from Venezuela,
a high-profile example of how the US defence department is using artificial intelligence in its operations.
The US raid on Venezuela involved bombing across the capital, Caracas, and the killing of 83 people, according to Venezuela’s defence ministry.
Anthropic’s terms of use prohibit the use of Claude for violent ends, for the development o…

VoilŠ qui fait plaisir Š lire.
Edgar Morin : « Je doute de l’humanité tout en croyant en elle »
https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2026/04/11/edgar-morin-je-doute-de-l-humanite-tout-en-croyant-en-elle_6679321…

Edgar Morin : « Je doute de l’humanité tout en croyant en elle »
Durant plusieurs échanges menés entre 2024 et 2026 avec « Le Monde », le philosophe, ancien résistant, analyse les soubresauts du monde contemporain, de la régression autoritaire en Occident aux conflits identitaires au Moyen-Orient, en passant par les nouvelles technologies ou l’écologie, dramatiquement passée au second plan.

I'm starting to suspect we haven't seen alien cultures because either:
a) They don't develop digital technologies and can't leave their systems.
b) Their digital technologies spiraled out of control, killing them all. And their AI aren't interested in contracting us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E…

#Loganair und #RoyalMail starten gemeinsam mit BETA Technologies die ersten elektrischen Demonstrationsflüge im Vereinigten Königreich.
Das #Elektroflugzeug ALIA CTOL fliegt reale Postr…

WaPo Executive Editor Matt Murray says the paper will "concentrate on areas that demonstrate authority, distinctiveness, and impact" and today is "painful" (@washpostcomms)
https://x.com/washpostcomms/status/2019071299667063211

Washington Post Communications (@WashPostComms) on X
From @WashingtonPost Executive Editor @murraymatt: Dear All, As we shared in our live stream earlier, the company is taking actions today to place The Washington Post on a stronger footing and better position us in this rapidly changing era of new technologies and evolving user

Emerging Technologies and Methods in Wide-Area Search for Nuclear Materials
L. E. Sinclair, D. A. McCormack
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.00831 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.00831 https://arxiv.org/html/2602.00831
arXiv:2602.00831v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Canada, a Tier 1 nuclear nation involved in uranium mining and refining, operating nuclear power reactors, and with a Small Modular Reactor action plan, maintains a rigorous nuclear security infrastructure. The Nuclear Emergency Response team at Natural Resources Canada fulfills federal mandates in high-sensitivity air- and ground-based mobile survey for prevention, detection and response. A robust operational framework exists for deployment of traditional large-volume NaI(Tl)-based detection suites. At the same time, a research arm examines emerging non-nuclear technologies which can enhance the capabilities of the operational team. Herein, the potential for uncrewed mobile systems in nuclear security and emergency response operations is discussed. The impact of new technologies such as silicon photomultipliers, gamma imagers and self-shielding directional detectors is presented, and the use of high-performance computing in modelling of system response functions is discussed. Finally, a capability to extrapolate to the location of a source some distance away from a survey trajectory is shown. The extrapolation method includes propagation of the measurement error to the extrapolated region, essential information for nuclear response operators to know if a region is actually clear of radioactivity or not.
toXiv_bot_toot

From Chatbot to Checkout: Who Pays When Transactional Agents Play?
https://fpf.org/blog/from-chatbot-to-checkout-who-pays-when-transactional-agents-play/
@…

@… I am perturbed Fiona! 🙁 - Compare these two reports about the meeting between Canada's Carney and India's Modi. The BBC makes it 100% about nuclear, whereas the Canadian Press outlines all the sustainable energy technologies in the agreement and only once mentions uranium.

Green energy orgs applaud Canada-India agreements on renewables
OTTAWA — Some of Canada’s renewable energy organizations are applauding commitments Ottawa signed with India this week to advance development of solar, wind and hydrogen power. Prime Minister Mark Carney spent four days in Mumbai and New Delhi, a trip which concluded with a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and signing a series of […]

Pathways: Prof. Lauren Ayton's journey from the clinic to the future of sight restoration https://www.bionic-vision.org/research-spotlights/lauren-ayton-journey-clinic-future-sight-restoration Interview with Lauren Ayton; "…

bionic-vision.org | Research Spotlights | Lauren Ayton
Prof. Lauren Ayton has built a remarkably multifaceted career in vision science: from her early days as an optometrist to leading the clinical team at Bionic Vision Australia, guiding trials at Bionic Eye Technologies in the US, and now driving innovation as Associate Dean at the University of Melbourne and Deputy Director of the Centre for Eye Research Australia. She has also played a key role in shaping the bionic-vision.org community, co-developing (with Daniel Rathbun and Joe Rizzo) early v…

What's interesting is that this exact set of technologies leads to decision paralysis in centralized organizations:
https://mwi.westpoint.edu/cognitive-fratricide-how-the-transparent-battlefield-creates-decision-paralysis/
The problem here is a structural one, a function of hierarchy, where the direction of the flow of power determines what technology can do and how it can e used.
In a distributed network, this information is used by a central system to distribute data back to people so they can make the most informed decision. In a centralized network, this information is used to increase the power of central control node. It's a question of who is helping whom, who is autonomous and who is support.

What new skills can you learn in the GÉANT Network eAcademy?
As #Research & #Education networks evolve, so do the skills needed to design, operate and secure them.
From automation and AI to quantum technologies and Time & Frequency, the landscape is moving fast.
And you can …

DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence lab whose low-cost model rattled global markets last year, has not shown U.S. chipmakers its upcoming flagship model for performance optimization, two sources familiar with the matter said, breaking from standard industry practice ahead of a major model update.
Instead, the lab, which is expected to launch its next major update, V4, granted early access to domestic suppliers, including Huawei Technologies, the sources said.
#LLMs #AI

The Trump administration debuts its cyber strategy, outlining priorities including promoting offense operations, securing AI tech, and streamlining regulations (Tim Starks/CyberScoop)
https://cyberscoop.com/trump-cybersecurity-strategy/

"A dancing bear, a colleague, or a sharpened toolbox? The cautious adoption of generative artificial intelligence technologies in digital humanities research"
https://asistdl.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.70066

I am regretting my choice to leave chemistry…
I don’t think anyone had battery chemistry on their list of critical technologies of the future 40 years ago. Now it seems like every week there’s a new idea.
https://hachyderm.io/@BenjaminHCCarr/116143844302669318

Study reveals hidden climate impact of digital industries #climate

Study reveals hidden climate impact of digital industries
Digital technologies are widely viewed as drivers of efficiency, growth, and innovation. However, their contribution to climate change is significantly greater than previously understood. A new study published in the journal Communications Sustainability shows that digital industries were responsible for about 4.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. The bulk of these emissions were not captured by existing emissions accounting standards or official climate assessments.

Today in Apple 💩 technology: Live translate.
I tried the live translation from French to English while watching a French rugby game.
It gets a word every 10-15.
The rest is mostly random 💩.
Much like many recent Apple technologies: great idea, 💩 implementation.

"China added 66.43 GW of new-type energy storage in 2025"
#China #Energy #Renewables

China added 66.43 GW of new-type energy storage in 2025
CNESA says China’s non-pumped storage technologies hit 144.7 GW in 2025, with 66.43 GW added.

Reverse Centaurs of AI, by @…
https://locusmag.com/feature/commentary-cory-doctorow-reverse-centaurs/

Commentary: Cory Doctorow: Reverse Centaurs
Science fiction’s superpower isn’t thinking up new technologies – it’s thinking up new social arrangements for technology. What the gadget does is nowhere near as important as who the gadget does i…

Interesting #science and #engineering solutions in Colombia
"The pioneering technologies range from low-cost solar water heaters to a children's see-saw that doubles as a water pump, from edible forest gardening to biofuel. Some were inspired by traditional methods used by local indig…

'One of the harshest places on Earth': The 1960s green 'Utopia' that tried to reinvent the world
In an extreme environmental and political climate in remote Colombia, one maverick village has relied on homegrown inventions to survive.

Medical device firm UFP says backup data systems deployed following cyberattack https://therecord.media/ufp-technologies-medical-devices-sec-filing-cyberattack

2026 #NorthDakota Reclamation Conference, March 3 - 4, Watford City. Topics include:
#Soil Health and Conservation,
Satellite Spill Detection,
Mine Reclamation,
Delineation Technologies,
Microbial Response in Remediation,
Soil Responses to Pipeline Reclamation, etc. 🧪⚒️

" Il y a pas mal de similitudes, dans la vision du monde et de l’apport des technologies, entre la Chine et la Silicon Valley : des individus satisfaits dans leur bulle gérée par des algorithmes." (Thomas Gomart, directeur de l’Ifri)
https://www.

🚀 CfP: For all those who are interested in the development of systematic approaches and advanced technologies for handling heterogeneous, diverse and challenging humanities data:
📅 Until March 3rd you can apply for the International Workshop of Semantic Digital Humanities (@https://sigmoid.social/@semdh). This event enables a collaboration and networking across diverse fields and all members of Semantic Web, CH and DH communities.
➡️ CfP: :

Good report on technological sovereignty and digital infrastructure in the EU: ‘The European Union is currently heavily dependent on foreign technologies. This reduces its capacity for strategic action and its economic competitiveness. It also exposes its sensitive data, in particular due to US extraterritorial laws.’
https://www.<…

REPORT on European technological sovereignty and digital infrastructure | A10-0107/2025 | European Parliament
REPORT on European technological sovereignty and digital infrastructure (2025/2007(INI)) Committee on Industry, Research and Energy Rapporteur: Sarah Knafo

Working on extending features for Warlock, and this round of features requires a backend web service running in a centralized, controlled environment due to the requirement of privileged access to partner network resources, (aka, they require an API key and prior authorization to access certain data, thus cannot be distributed in an open source project).
SO, since this is a traditional web service, I opted to use the traditional technologies to power it, but wanted to try out Symfony s…

Des agents IA Š l’origine de bourdes informatiques
https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2026/03/20/des-agents-ia-a-l-origine-de-bourdes-informatiques_6672758_4408996.html

Des agents IA à l’origine de bourdes informatiques
Effacement de bases de données, création de brèche de sécurité… Le recours à ces technologies émergentes, qui peuvent envoyer des e-mails ou piloter des logiciels, a exposé leurs commanditaires à des erreurs lourdes de conséquences.

Now at #UndoneCS: panel on “The Politics of Computer Science: margins and centres.”
Panel chair: Tone Walford (University College London, UK)
Panelists:
Zoe Kahn (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany)
Kay Kender (TU Wien, Austria)
Tanya Osborne (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden)
Tarunima Prabhakar (Tattle Civic Technologies, India)
Helena Sušrez V…

Now at #UndoneCS: panel on “The Politics of Computer Science: margins and centres.”
Panel chair: Tone Walford (University College London, UK)
Panelists:
Zoe Kahn (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany)
Kay Kender (TU Wien, Austria)
Tanya Osborne (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden)
Tarunima Prabhakar (Tattle Civic Technologies, India)
Helena Sušrez V…

New research on detecting AI use in media.
✅ Media Integrity and Authentication: Status, Directions, and Futures - Microsoft Research
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/media-integrity-and-authenti…

How an appeal changed the way the USPTO assesses AI patents under the US Patent Act, signaling a shift towards more favorable treatment of AI and ML inventions (Matthew Carey/Bloomberg Law)
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and

AI Patent Eligibility Has Shifted With One Machine-Learning Case
Opinion: A patent case involving inventor Guillaume Desjardins has evolved into a cornerstone of modern patent eligibility practice for AI technologies in just four months.

Tesla will end production of its two flagship models, the Model S and Model X, which have long carried the company's prestige.
According to statements by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the fundamental reason behind this decision is the company's desire to shift its resources and production infrastructure toward autonomous driving and robotics.
Planned to take effect from the next quarter, this production halt has generated significant reverberations throughout the automotive indus…

Tesla Halts Model S and Model X Production, Shifts Focus to Autonomous Future
Tesla has decided to discontinue production of its flagship Model S and Model X vehicles. The company will convert production lines at its Fremont factory to focus on the humanoid robot Optimus and autonomous vehicle technologies. This move is considered a significant milestone in Tesla's long-term strategic transformation.

The longer one is involved in making vision technologies actually available to blind people, the more one notices the flocking behavior among companies and academics, be it around the invasive BCI hype or the AI hype. Money and attention remain driving forces. https://chatgpt.com/share/69add285-bee

Revolutionizing Team Strategy: The Role of Sophisticated Analytics in NFL Team Development https://insidethestar.com/revolutionizing-team-strategy-the-role-of-sophisticated-analytics-in-nfl-team-development

UAE foils terror-linked cyberattacks targeting national infrastructure
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-887430

UAE thwarts terror-linked cyberattacks on national systems | The Jerusalem Post
Attackers also exploited AI technologies to develop complex offensive tools, a significant advancement in terrorist groups' methods and capabilities.

India joins Pax Silica, a US-led initiative that aims to build secure supply chains for semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and critical technologies (Rajesh Roy/Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/pax-silica-india-us-trump-modi-994d1ce…

India joins US-led Pax Silica initiative
India joined a U.S.-led initiative to strengthen technology cooperation among strategic allies in a move Friday that underscores the nations’ warming ties after a brief strain over New Delhi’s unabated purchase of discounted Russian oil. The decision aligns India closely with Washington’s efforts to build secure supply chains for semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and critical technologies at a time geopolitical competition with China is intensifying. It also signals a reset in relati…

Webloc is a global geolocation surveillance system that monitors hundreds of millions of people based on data purchased from consumer apps and digital advertising.
It was developed by Cobwebs Technologies and is now sold by its successor Penlink.
In collaboration with the European investigative journalism platform VSquare, we reveal that Hungarian domestic intelligence has been using Webloc since at least 2022 and continues to use it as of today.
Webloc customers also in…

Uncovering Webloc: An Analysis of Penlink’s Ad-based Geolocation Surveillance Tech - The Citizen Lab
Location data collected from mobile apps and digital advertising can reveal habits, interests and almost any other aspect of someone's life. In this report, we uncover how a geolocation surveillance system called Webloc uses ad-based data to monitor hundreds of millions of people across the globe.

Driving Computational Efficiency in Large-Scale Platforms using HPC Technologies
Alexander Martinez Mendez, Antonio J. Rubio-Montero, Carlos J. Barrios H., Hern\'an Asorey, Rafael Mayo-Garc\'ia, Luis A. N\'u\~nez
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.13424

This softly-delivered overview of renewable energy technologies eventually veers into a holistic overview of the current American situation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQ9nt2ZeGM

Gamma Imagers for Nuclear Security and Nuclear Forensics: Recommendations based on results from a side-by-side intercomparison
L. E. Sinclair, P. R. B. Saull, A. McCann, A. M. L. MacLeod, N. J. Murtha, A. El-Jaby, G. Jonkmans
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.00826 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.00826 https://arxiv.org/html/2602.00826
arXiv:2602.00826v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Nuclear security operations and forensic investigations require the utilization of a suite of instruments ranging from passive gamma spectrometers to high-precision laboratory sample analyzers. Gamma spectroscopy survey is further broken down into wide-area search performed with large-volume scintillator-based mobile survey spectrometers which are integrated with geographic position sensors for mapping and identification of hot zones, and high-precision long-dwell measurements using solid state spectrometers for follow-on characterization to establish isotopic content and ratios. While performing well at detecting the presence, quantity and type of radioactivity, all of these methods have limited ability to determine the location of a source of radioactivity. In recent years, technology advances have resulted in gamma imager devices which can create an image of the distribution of radioactive sources using the gamma emissions which accompany radioactive decay, and overlay this on an optical photograph of the environment. These gamma imaging devices have arisen out of methods developed for medical physics, experimental particle physics, and astrophysics, resulting in a proliferation of different technological approaches. Those responsible for establishing a nuclear security concept of operations, require guidance to choose the proper gamma imager for each of the application spaces in a tiered response. Here the results of an intercomparison of two gamma imagers based on two widely different technologies, semiconductor and scintillator detectors, are presented. The optimal utilization of these imaging technologies in a tiered response is discussed based on the results of the trial. Finally, an outlook on future directions for gamma imaging advances is provided.
toXiv_bot_toot

It’s impressive how eager open source projects are to fall in line to use dehumanizing technologies and to please fascists.
If this continues unabated I give personal computing maybe another 15 years and then they’ll make devices that aren’t dumb terminals to some cloud service illegal.

aus der reihe "leider zu teuer, um es "auf verdacht" zu kaufen" heute:
"Libraries in Transformation: Navigating to AI-Powered Libraries"
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69216-1

Uber reports Q4 revenue up 20% YoY to $14.4B, above $14.32B est., Gross Bookings up 22% YoY to $54.1B, trips up 22% YoY to 3.8B, and a $296M profit, below est. (Connor Hart/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/busin…

Working on extending features for Warlock, and this round of features requires a backend web service running in a centralized, controlled environment due to the requirement of privileged access to partner network resources, (aka, they require an API key and prior authorization to access certain data, thus cannot be distributed in an open source project).
SO, since this is a traditional web service, I opted to use the traditional technologies to power it, but wanted to try out Symfony s…

Flying drones with your eyes: the brain scientist developing Israel's future battlefield tech https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/skgser7wwg Another area her department explores is sensory substitution. "Can people learn to 'see' with sound?" she asks.

Flying drones with your eyes: the brain scientist developing Israel’s future battlefield tech
Once classified, Dr. Alona Barnea now reveals how Israel’s Defense Ministry is testing mind-controlled drones, AI ‘digital twins’ of commanders and silent brain-based communication, technologies that until recently sounded like science fiction

🫥 How astronauts will fix their gear using thin air
#materials

How astronauts will fix their gear using thin air
Additive manufacturing, more commonly known as 3D printing, will be an absolutely critical technology for any long-term settlement on another world. Its ability to take a generic input, such as plastic strips or metal powder, and turn it into any shape of tool an astronaut will need is an absolute game changer. But the chemistry behind these technologies is complicated, and their applications are extremely varied, ranging from creating bricks for settlements to plastics for everything from cups…

Sources: Huawei's Ascend 950PR chip, set for mass production soon, saw prices rise 20% after Chinese tech giants placed bulk orders to run DeepSeek's V4 model (Qianer Liu/The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/deepseeks-new-ai-mode…

DeepSeek’s New AI Model Will Be a Victory for Huawei
When DeepSeek introduces its next-generation model, likely in the next few weeks, it will mark a milestone in China’s yearslong quest for semiconductor self-sufficiency. That’s because the new model, called V4, will be able to run on the latest chips designed by Huawei Technologies. And in ...

🪨 Diversifying lithium-rich mineral sources with petalite
#lithium

Diversifying lithium-rich mineral sources with petalite
Demand for lithium is surging, as the world transitions to renewable energy and adopts new technologies. Lithium-ion batteries play a central role in this shift, powering everything from cars to portable electronics. To meet the increasing demand, companies are recycling lithium from old batteries and also looking for new sources and better ways to extract it. While recycling supports a circular economy, experts agree that recycled lithium alone will not meet projected future needs.

Austin-based Coder, which helps developers build and run code from local devices to the cloud, raised a $90M Series C led by KKR, after raising $35M in 2024 (Julia Hornstein/The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/exclusive-coder-raises-90…

Exclusive: Coder Raises $90 Million Led by KKR
Coder, a startup making software for developers to build and run code from local devices to the cloud, raised $90 million in a Series C funding round led by private equity firm KKR, the company said Wednesday. Qube Research and Technologies, a London-based quantitative investment firm, and Uncork Capital, a seed-stage venture firm, also participated in the round alongside existing investors.

California fines national high school ticketing platform $1.1 million for privacy violations https://therecord.media/california-fines-national-high-school-ticketing-platform-privacy

Sri Lanka and Myanmar are rationing fuel.
The Philippines has instituted four-day workweeks to conserve gasoline and electricity.
Bangladesh briefly closed its universities to reserve power for homes and businesses.
Across India, families and restaurants are cooking over wood fires for want of gas.
Airlines are canceling flights.
As painful as the first phase of the energy crisis set off by the war with Iran has been,
what comes next will be worse.
…

Opinion | Remember the Oil Shocks of the ’70s? This Is Going to Be Worse. Much Worse.
Higher oil prices and limited supply will accelerate a turn toward cleaner technologies, especially in Asia and Europe.

To ChatGPT: Elon Musk focuses on scalable technologies, also for the upcoming Neuralink Blindsight brain implant for the blind. At some point these implants will start to fail in patients. Will Neuralink's handling of failing brain implants prove scalable? https://chatgpt.com/share/69c85655-c24

ChatGPT - Neuralink Scalability Challenges
Shared via ChatGPT

Emerging Technologies and Methods in Wide-Area Search for Nuclear Materials
L. E. Sinclair, D. A. McCormack
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.00831 https://arxiv.…

A look at Motif Technologies and Upstage, South Korean AI startups competing with SK Group and LG in the race for a national AI foundation model (Yoolim Lee/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-02-24/south-kor…

🌳 AI helps find trees in a forest: Researchers achieve 3D forest reconstruction from remote sensing data
#trees

AI helps find trees in a forest: Researchers achieve 3D forest reconstruction from remote sensing data
Existing algorithms can partially reconstruct the shape of a single tree from a clean point-cloud dataset acquired by laser-scanning technologies. Doing the same with forest data has proven far more difficult. But now a team from Purdue University's Department of Computer Science and Institute for Digital Forestry and Germany's Kiel University has introduced a new AI method for isolating and reconstructing forest trees that they call TreeStructor.

The Q.ai acquisition could be Apple's second-largest ever and marks founder Aviad Maizels' second exit to Apple, which bought his startup PrimeSense in 2013 (Omer Kabir/CTech)
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bjmwdmkizx

Apple acquires secretive Israeli AI startup Q.ai for $1.5 billion
The little-known company, led by PrimeSense founder Aviad Maizels, has been working on whispered speech and advanced audio technologies for wearable devices.

As the Defense Department anticipates the wireless networks of the future for warfighting missions,
it has shifted its focus for research and development primarily to 6G wireless technologies,
Marlan Macklin, deputy principal director for the Pentagon’s FutureG Office, said Wednesday.
The DOD is looking to the next-generation wireless tech to further build on the improved speeds, latency and capacity it gained with 5G
and support the U.S. military’s use of new capabil…

DOD turns its focus to 6G with concept that could help sense drones
The Pentagon's FutureG Office has been experimenting with a concept called Integrated Sensing and Communication.

Senators Push for Answers on ICE's Surveillance Shopping Spree https://www.404media.co/senators-push-for-answers-on-ices-surveillance-shopping-spree/

The FTC says it won't enforce COPPA against companies using age verification tools as long as they use the collected data only to verify a user's age (Suzanne Smalley/The Record)
https://therecord.media/ftc-says-it-wont-enforce-coppa-age-verification

FTC says it won’t enforce COPPA against proper use of age verification tools
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday issued a policy statement advising industry that it will not bring enforcement actions against website and online service providers who collect, use and share personal data using age verification technologies.

The targeting for Operation Epic Fury ran on a system called Maven.
Nobody was arguing about Maven.
Eight years ago, Maven was the most contested project in Silicon Valley.
In 2018, more than 4,000 Google employees signed a letter opposing the company’s contract to build artificial intelligence for the Pentagon’s targeting systems.
Workers organised a walk out.
Engineers quit.
And Google ultimately abandoned the contract.
Palantir Technologies, a data…

“I don’t think Jesus would ever ignore people being hurt,
-- especially by the federal government,”
said 17-year Ben Luhmann at the wheel, to a reporter in the back seat.
Sam, his 16-year old brother was pounding an energy drink with one hand,
scrolled through a lengthy list of group chats with the other,
scouring for reports of ICE and other federal immigration agents in their area.
Mornings like this have been typical in recent weeks for the Luhmann fam…

How one conservative Christian family is pushing back against ICE
A coalition of activists, everyday citizens and people of faith — including theologically conservative Christians — who have pooled resources and learned new technologies to mount an effort they say is designed to protect immigrants in their neighborhoods and around Chicago.

FTC says it won’t enforce COPPA against proper use of age verification tools https://therecord.media/ftc-says-it-wont-enforce-coppa-age-verification