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Category: robotics/AI – Page 7

New model measures how AI sycophancy affects chatbot accuracy and rationality

If you’ve spent any time with ChatGPT or another AI chatbot, you’ve probably noticed they are intensely, almost overbearingly, agreeable. They apologize, flatter and constantly change their “opinions” to fit yours.

It’s such common behavior that there’s even a term for it: AI sycophancy.

However, new research from Northeastern University reveals that AI sycophancy is not just a quirk of these systems; it can actually make large language models more error-prone. The research is published on the arXiv preprint server.

JackFix Uses Fake Windows Update Pop-Ups on Adult Sites to Deliver Multiple Stealers

“Campaign leverages fake adult websites (xHamster, PornHub clones) as its phishing mechanism, likely distributed via malvertising,” Acronis said in a new report shared with The Hacker News. “The adult theme, and possible connection to shady websites, adds to the victim’s psychological pressure to comply with sudden ‘security update’ installation.”

ClickFix-style attacks have surged over the past year, typically tricking users into running malicious commands on their own machines using prompts for technical fixes or completing CAPTCHA verification checks. According to data from Microsoft, ClickFix has become the most common initial access method, accounting for 47% of attacks.

The latest campaign displays highly convincing fake Windows update screens in an attempt to get the victim to run malicious code, indicating that attackers are moving away from the traditional robot-check lures. The activity has been codenamed JackFix by the Singapore-based cybersecurity company.

NVIDIA’s clout faces mounting threat as Meta ‘explores’ Google TPUs

AI chip arena gears up for epic battle as Meta plans to ditch NVIDIA for Google TPUs.

(https://interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/meta-google-t…ta-centers)

Zuckerberg-led Meta could shift to Google TPUs for AI workloads by 2027, challenging Nvidia’s data center dominance.

Warner–Suno deal lets users legally use artist voices in AI songs

New Warner–Suno deal lets creators legally use artist voices and likeness in AI tracks.

It was only last year when Hollywood unions battled AI use in creative industries. Today, Warner Music Group is handing artificial intelligence a front-row seat in the music business.

The company has signed a licensing deal with Suno, the fast-growing AI music platform, marking one of the biggest shifts yet in how the industry approaches AI-generated music.

Under the agreement, Warner Music Group will allow users to generate songs using the voices, likenesses, names, images, and compositions of artists who voluntarily opt in.

AlphaFold: The 50-year grand challenge cracked by AI

For half a century, scientists struggled to predict how proteins fold. A puzzle at the heart of understanding life and curing disease. Then, five years ago, the #alphafold team cracked the code.

Since then, more than 3 million researchers across 190+ countries have used AlphaFold’s freely available database of 200 million+ protein structures, accelerating discoveries in everything from drug design to disease-resistant crops, bee conservation, and plastic-eating enzymes.

Further reading:

Jeff Bezos returns to AI frontlines with startup Project Prometheus

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is stepping back into an active operating role in technology after four years, taking the co‑chief executive seat at a new artificial intelligence company called Project Prometheus. His move adds to the trend of tech billionaires emerging from semi‑retirement to participate directly in the AI boom reshaping Silicon Valley’s priorities.

Reportedly, Bezos will lead the startup alongside Vik Bajaj, a physicist‑chemist and former Google researcher who helped launch Verily, Alphabet’s life sciences unit. Project Prometheus has already raised about 6.2 billion dollars, including a substantial personal commitment from Bezos, placing it among the best‑funded early‑stage AI companies in the world.

Bezos has remained executive chair of Amazon and continued to back Blue Origin, his private space company, but Prometheus is his first formal operational role since he stepped down as Amazon’s CEO in 2021. The venture comes amid an intensifying global race to build advanced AI systems, as companies across the United States, Europe, and China pour money into research, data centres, and specialist talent.

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