Month: March 2023
Singapore-based tech startup Horizon Quantum Computing lands $18.1M to advance quantum software development
There has been a lot written on quantum computing. Yet, quantum software development, a fast-emerging topic involving the creation of software for quantum computers, is not gaining the attention it deserves. Quantum software development entails the creation of algorithms and
There has been a lot written on quantum computing. Yet, quantum software development, a fast-emerging topic involving the creation of software for quantum computers, is not gaining the attention it deserves. Quantum software development entails the creation of algorithms and […]
NYPD is refusing to comply with NYC’s new surveillance tech laws
submitted by /u/homothebrave [link] [comments]
submitted by /u/homothebrave
[link] [comments]
Vampire Survivors’ new fantasy-themed expansion launches in April for just $2
Image: Poncle
Vampire Survivors is getting a second expansion, and like the previous one, it will cost $2. The new fantasy-themed DLC, Tides of the Foscari, includes eight new characters, 13 weapons, and a new stage, and it comes out on April 13th.
Developer Poncle is already teasing characters like a mage and a swordsman as well as weapons like a spellbook and a sword named “Eskizzibur.” I can’t wait to try out all of the new additions — I’m sure they’ll all be unbelievably broken in some delightful ways.
The new level looks like a lot of fun, too. Like with the first expansion, Legacy of the Moonspell, it’s a really big map with many separate areas, including the mysterious Lake Foscari taking up a good chunk of one corner. You can check out the new map here, but I’m not going to embed it in case you prefer to jump in unspoiled.
Tides of the Foscari is set to launch on PC, Xbox, and mobile on day one, though you’ll need the base game to be able to play it. That costs $5; trust me, it’s worth it. (If you don’t trust me, trust the many fans of the game on Steam Deck.)
Poncle has also launched a new engine for PC and Steam Deck players in beta. If you want to try it out, follow the instructions here. That said, the game has been perfectly playable for me in my countless hours on Steam Deck, even when it’s chugging due to how much absurdity is on screen, so you’re probably fine to sit the beta out.
Image: Poncle
Vampire Survivors is getting a second expansion, and like the previous one, it will cost $2. The new fantasy-themed DLC, Tides of the Foscari, includes eight new characters, 13 weapons, and a new stage, and it comes out on April 13th.
Developer Poncle is already teasing characters like a mage and a swordsman as well as weapons like a spellbook and a sword named “Eskizzibur.” I can’t wait to try out all of the new additions — I’m sure they’ll all be unbelievably broken in some delightful ways.
The new level looks like a lot of fun, too. Like with the first expansion, Legacy of the Moonspell, it’s a really big map with many separate areas, including the mysterious Lake Foscari taking up a good chunk of one corner. You can check out the new map here, but I’m not going to embed it in case you prefer to jump in unspoiled.
Tides of the Foscari is set to launch on PC, Xbox, and mobile on day one, though you’ll need the base game to be able to play it. That costs $5; trust me, it’s worth it. (If you don’t trust me, trust the many fans of the game on Steam Deck.)
Poncle has also launched a new engine for PC and Steam Deck players in beta. If you want to try it out, follow the instructions here. That said, the game has been perfectly playable for me in my countless hours on Steam Deck, even when it’s chugging due to how much absurdity is on screen, so you’re probably fine to sit the beta out.
Human: Fall Flat Plus Plunges Into Apple Arcade – CNET
You can play this surreal puzzle game, and many others, in Apple Arcade now.
You can play this surreal puzzle game, and many others, in Apple Arcade now.
ChatGPT Faces Ban in Italy Over Privacy Concerns
The action by Italy’s data protection agency is the first known instance of the chatbot being blocked by a Western country.
The action by Italy’s data protection agency is the first known instance of the chatbot being blocked by a Western country.
NYPD is Refusing To Comply With NYC’s New Surveillance Tech Laws
An anonymous reader shares a report: In a new report published Thursday, the New York Office of the Inspector General for the New York Police Department (OIG-NYPD) said the New York Police Department
violated the 2020 ââPublic Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act, which required the NYPD to publicly disclose surveillance technology. The POST Act was signed into law by then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and required the NYPD to disclose information about its current and future surveillance technologies and how it wants to use them.
In the report, the OIG-NYPD said that NYPD was not in compliance with the POST Act orders to publish Impact and Use Policies (IUPs) for existing surveillance tech 180 days after the Act was signed and new IUPs at least 90 days before the use of any new surveillance tech. The IUPs were supposed to “describe the capabilities of surveillance technology, and include any rules, processes, and guidelines that regulate access to or use of the technology, and any prohibitions or restrictions on its use, and any potential disparate impacts,” according to the report. But, the OIG-NYPD said that the 36 IUPs NYPD published after the Act was signed were general and not detailed, leaving the OIG-NYPD unable to conduct an audit and assess whether NYPD’s use of surveillance devices complies with its IUPs and report any suspected violations.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
An anonymous reader shares a report: In a new report published Thursday, the New York Office of the Inspector General for the New York Police Department (OIG-NYPD) said the New York Police Department
violated the 2020 ââPublic Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act, which required the NYPD to publicly disclose surveillance technology. The POST Act was signed into law by then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and required the NYPD to disclose information about its current and future surveillance technologies and how it wants to use them.
In the report, the OIG-NYPD said that NYPD was not in compliance with the POST Act orders to publish Impact and Use Policies (IUPs) for existing surveillance tech 180 days after the Act was signed and new IUPs at least 90 days before the use of any new surveillance tech. The IUPs were supposed to “describe the capabilities of surveillance technology, and include any rules, processes, and guidelines that regulate access to or use of the technology, and any prohibitions or restrictions on its use, and any potential disparate impacts,” according to the report. But, the OIG-NYPD said that the 36 IUPs NYPD published after the Act was signed were general and not detailed, leaving the OIG-NYPD unable to conduct an audit and assess whether NYPD’s use of surveillance devices complies with its IUPs and report any suspected violations.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Ads are coming for the Bing AI chatbot, as they come for all Microsoft products
The quantity of ads in Windows and Edge is bad, but their quality is worse.
Enlarge (credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft has spent a lot of time and energy over the last few months adding generative AI features to all its products, particularly its long-standing, long-struggling Bing search engine. And now the company is working on fusing this fast-moving, sometimes unsettling new technology with some old headaches: ads.
In a blog post earlier this week, Microsoft VP Yusuf Mehdi said the company was “exploring placing ads in the chat experience,” one of several things the company is doing “to share the ad revenue with partners whose content contributed to the chat response.” The company is also looking into ways to let Bing Chat show sources for its work, sort of like the ways Google, Bing, and other search engines display a source link below snippets of information they think might answer the question you asked.
One of Microsoft’s experimental formats for highlighting information sources in Bing Chat. (credit: Microsoft)
Sharing ad revenue with partners is an attempt to address a looming supply-and-demand problem for AI chatbots that dig through the Internet to find answers to user queries—someone needs to be making the content that Bing Chat uses to formulate its answers. If AI chatbots make content creation less lucrative, there’s less information out there for AI chatbots to sift through, making it even harder for them to do what they’re trying to do.