Elon Musk’s xAI Launches ‘Grok Build’, Its First AI Coding Agent
xAI has launched Grok Build, “a coding agent of its own to serve as competitor to its rivals’ products, such as Anthropic’s Claude Code,” reports Engadget:

As Bloomberg notes, xAI has been trying to catch up to its rival companies like Anthropic and OpenAI. Elon Musk, the company’s founder and CEO, previously admitted that it has fallen behind … ⌘ Read more

The UK Finally Starts Reforming Its ‘Computer Misuse Act’
Computer Weekly reports on “the long-awaited reform of Britain’s outdated Computer Misuse Act of 1990 — which has hamstrung the work of the nation’s cyber security professionals and researchers for years.”

The Computer Misuse Act was passed 35 years ago in response to a high-profile hacking incident involving no less than the King’s father, the late Duke of Edi … ⌘ Read more

Amazon Stops Supporting Pre-2013 Kindles Today. Some Owners Turn to Jailbreaking
Today Amazon ends support for first- and second-generation versions of Kindles and Kindle Fire tablets, along with the Kindle Touch, the 9.7-inch Kindle DX, and other devices released in 2012 or earlier.

Owners can continue reading ebooks that they’ve already downloaded, and they can also still sideload books using … ⌘ Read more

Some Datacenters Divert Power from Homes. Will It Drive Homeowners to Solar and Batteries?
An anonymous reader shared this report from Electrek:

A Nevada utility just told 49,000 Lake Tahoe residents that it’s redirecting 75% of their electricity supply to data centers, and they have less than a year to find a new power source. It’s one of the starkest examples yet of the AI boom … ⌘ Read more

An Entire Wikipedia That’s 100% AI Hallucinations
“Every link leads to an entry that does not exist yet,” explains the GitHub page for a Wikipedia-like site called Halupedia. “Until you click it, at which point an LLM pretends it has always existed and writes it for you, in the deadpan register of a 19th-century scholarly press…”

Every article is invented on demand. The footnotes are also lies… The hardest problem with an infi … ⌘ Read more

How I Added an LLM-Based Grammar Checking + TeX Math Import To LibreOffice
Former Microsoft programmer Keith Curtis “wrote and self-published After the Software Wars to explain the caliber of free and open source software,” according to his entry on Wikipedia, “and why he believes Linux is technically superior to any proprietary OS.”

He’s also KeithCu (long-time Slashdot reader #925,649), and has wri … ⌘ Read more

The Apple-OpenAI Alliance is Fraying, Setting Up a Possible Legal Fight
Bloomberg reports that Apple’s two-year-old partnership with OpenAI “has become strained, according to people familiar with the matter.”

Bloomberg describes OpenAI as “failing to see the expected benefits from the deal and now preparing possible legal action.”

OpenAI lawyers are actively working with an outside legal firm on a rang … ⌘ Read more

California Law Limits ‘Recyling’ Logo in New Attack on Plastic Waste
“Most of the plastic waste in California is about to lose the recycling symbol,” writes the Washington Post’s “climate coach.”

The “chasing arrows” symbol, created in 1970 by a college student inspired by the burgeoning environmental movement, has been stamped indiscriminately on plastic bottles, clamshell takeout containers, chip bags and … ⌘ Read more

Anthropic’s Mythos Helped Build a Working macOS Exploit in Five Days
“The vulnerability is simple in practice,” writes Tom’s Hardware: “run a command as a standard user and gain root (administrator) access to the machine.”

And it was Mythos Preview that helped the security researchers at Palo Alto-based Calif bypass a five-year Apple security effort in just five days. The blog 9to5Mac reports:

Last year, … ⌘ Read more

The Search for the Next ‘James Bond’ Actor Has Begun
Variety reports:

Amazon MGM Studios started auditioning actors for the part of 007 in the past few weeks, Variety has learned… The next James Bond film will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, the filmmaker behind the “Dune” franchise, “Arrival” and “Sicario.” Amy Pascal of the “Spider-Man” films and David Heyman of the “Harry Potter” series will produce the pict … ⌘ Read more

Fedora’s AI Developer Desktop Initiative Blocked by Community Backlash
The blog It’s FOSS has an update on the Fedora AI Developer Desktop Initiative, a proposed platform for AI/machine learning workloads on Fedora. It’s now been blocked “after two Fedora Council members retracted their earlier approval votes.”

The initiative was proposed by Red Hat engineer Gordon Messmer, aiming to deliver an Atomic D … ⌘ Read more

Trump Phones Start Shipping - But Were There Really 600,000 Preorders?
USA Today reports:

Trump Mobile phones are being shipped this week, the company exclusively confirmed to USA TODAY in an email May 11….
The company’s first smartphone — the T1 Phone — was originally scheduled for release in August. However, the golden gadget’s release was later delayed to October before being pushed back again to … ⌘ Read more

Why Is the US Job Market So Tough, Especially for Recent College Grads?
What’s going on with the U.S. job market? “The economy is growing. Unemployment is low,” notes the Washington Post. “And yet, for millions of workers, finding a job has become harder than at almost any other point in decades,” with the hiring rate “well below pre-pandemic levels for more than a year.”

Part of the problem? “Of the net … ⌘ Read more

Linux Kernel Outlines What Qualifies As A Security Bug, Responsible AI Use
The Linux 7.1 kernel has added new documentation clarifying what qualifies as a security bug and how AI-assisted vulnerability reports should be handled. Phoronix reports: Stemming from the recent influx of security bugs to the Linux kernel as well as an uptick in bug and security reports from discoveries made in full or in pa … ⌘ Read more

Japan Runs Out of Robot Wolves In Fight Against Bears
Japan’s worsening bear problem has created a shortage of handmade “Monster Wolf” robots, which are $4,000 solar-powered scarecrow-like devices with glowing eyes, sensors, and blaring sounds designed to frighten the animals away. “We make them by hand. We cannot make them fast enough now. We are asking our customers to wait two to three months,” company president Y … ⌘ Read more

Wood Burning Is Reintroducing Lead Pollution Into the Air, Scientists Find
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Wood heating is reintroducing lead into the air of local communities and homes, a systematic investigation by academics has found. Overwhelming evidence of lead’s neurotoxicity meant the metal was banned as an additive in petrol more than 25 years ago. The research by acade … ⌘ Read more

Kioxia and Dell Cram Nearly 10PB Into a Single 2U Server
BrianFagioli writes: Kioxia and Dell Technologies say they have built a 2U server configuration capable of scaling to 9.8PB of flash storage, which is the sort of density that would have sounded impossible just a few years ago. The setup combines a Dell PowerEdge R7725xd Server with 40 Kioxia LC9 Series 245.76TB NVMe SSDs and AMD EPYC processors. According t … ⌘ Read more

AMD Is Bringing Improved FSR 4 Upscaling To Its Older GPUs
AMD says FSR 4.1 will finally bring its newer hardware-accelerated upscaling technology to older Radeon GPUs. “The rollout will begin in July with RDNA3- and 3.5-based GPUs, which include the Radeon RX 7000 series, as well as integrated GPUs like the Radeon 890M and Radeon 8060S,” reports Ars Technica. “In ‘early 2027,’ support will also be extended to t … ⌘ Read more

Bitwarden Scrubs ‘Always Free’ and ‘Inclusion’ Values From Its Website
Bitwarden appears to be undergoing a quiet shift in leadership and messaging. Its longtime CEO and CFO have stepped down, while the company has removed “Always free” from a prominent password-manager page and replaced “Inclusion” and “Transparency” in its GRIT values with “Innovation” and “Trust.” Fast Company reports: In February, longtime … ⌘ Read more

The Era of 15GB Free Gmail Storage Is Ending
Google has confirmed it is testing a 5GB storage limit for some new Gmail accounts, with users able to unlock the standard 15GB by adding a phone number. Android Authority reports: While the company didn’t mention which regions are impacted, user reports from yesterday were mostly from African countries. That said, if Google’s tests prove successful, this could possibly become the norm … ⌘ Read more

Bill To Block Publishers From Killing Online Games Advances In California
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A bill focused on maintaining long-term playable access to online games has passed out of the California Assembly’s appropriations committee, setting up a floor vote by the full legislative body. The advancement is a major win for Stop Killing Games’ grassroots game preserv … ⌘ Read more

OpenAI Now Wants ChatGPT To Access Your Bank Accounts
OpenAI is previewing a feature that lets ChatGPT Pro users connect bank and investment accounts through Plaid, allowing the chatbot to analyze spending, subscriptions, balances, portfolios, debt, and major financial decisions. “More than 200 million people are already going to ChatGPT every month with finance questions – from budgeting to tips on how to cut back on s … ⌘ Read more

ArXiv to Ban Researchers for a Year if They Submit AI Slop
ArXiv says it will ban authors for one year if they submit papers containing AI-generated slop, such as hallucinated citations, placeholder text, or chatbot meta-comments left in the manuscript.

“If generative AI tools generate inappropriate language, plagiarized content, biased content, errors, mistakes, incorrect references, or misleading content, and that out … ⌘ Read more

Congress Introduces Bill To Permanently Block Chinese Vehicles From US
Longtime Slashdot reader sinij shares a report from Car and Driver: A group of Michigan lawmakers has introduced a bill in Congress that would effectively place a permanent ban on Chinese connected vehicles from being sold in the United States. While an executive order signed by Joe Biden in early 2025 already imposed heavy restrictio … ⌘ Read more

Honda Retreats To Hybrids After Failed EV Bet Triggers Record $9 Billion Loss
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Electrek: Honda is waving the white flag. The Japanese automaker previewed two new hybrids set to launch by 2028 after taking an over $9 billion hit over its failed EV bet, leading to its biggest loss in company history. Honda admitted it was “unable to deliver products that offer … ⌘ Read more

Americans Would Rather Have a Nuclear Plant In Their Backyard Than a Datacenter
A new Gallup survey found that 71% of Americans oppose having an AI data center built near them, making the facilities even less popular than nearby nuclear plants, which 53% oppose. The Register reports: When it comes to the reasons for opposing AI campuses, half of all respondents cite the effect on resources, with … ⌘ Read more

SpaceX Unveils Sweeping Starship V3 Upgrades
SpaceX has detailed major Starship V3 upgrades ahead of a launch targeted as early as May 19. The changes are meant to move Starship closer to its core goals: rapid reuse, Starlink deployment, orbital refueling, and eventually Moon and Mars missions. Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Teslarati: Here is an explicit, broken-down list of the key changes, first start … ⌘ Read more

Musk Accused of ‘Selective Amnesia’, Altman of Lying As OpenAI Trial Nears End
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: A lawyer for Elon Musk hammered at the credibility of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Thursday, near the end of a trial over whether to hold the ChatGPT maker and its leaders responsible for allegedly transforming the nonprofit into a vehicle to enrich themselves. OpenAI’s lawyers … ⌘ Read more

UK Antitrust Regulator Is Officially Investigating Microsoft Office
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is opening a formal investigation into whether Microsoft’s bundling of Windows, Office, Teams, Copilot, and related products harms competition. Engadget reports: “Our aim is to understand how these markets are developing, Microsoft’s position within them and to consider what, if any, targeted actio … ⌘ Read more

AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile Team Up To Eliminate ‘Dead Zones’ Across US
AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have agreed in principle to form a joint venture (JV) aimed at reducing U.S. mobile dead zones through satellite connectivity, especially in rural areas and during emergencies when ground networks fail. Here are three of the customer benefits listed by the JV (as highlighted by Droid Life):
Fewer coverage gaps: … ⌘ Read more

Writers Are Fleeing the Substack Tax
A growing number of writers are leaving Substack for alternatives most people haven’t heard of like Ghost, Beehiiv, Patreon, and Passport. The reason, writes The Verge’s Emma Roth, is the “platform’s increased focus on social features as well as a pricing model that puts a chokehold on their business.” From the report: Sean Highkin, the creator of the NBA-focused publication The Rose Garden Report, tel … ⌘ Read more

Claude Helps Recover Locked $400K Bitcoin Wallet After 11 Years
A Bitcoin holder reportedly recovered 5 BTC worth nearly $400,000 with the help of Anthropic’s Claude. According to X user cprkrn, they changed their wallet password while “stoned” and forgot it, unable to regain access for more than 11 years. Tom’s Hardware reports:
After finding a mnemonic that actually turned out to be their old password a few weeks a … ⌘ Read more

Princeton Will Supervise Exams For First Time In 133 Years Because of AI
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Independent: Princeton University will soon require exams to be supervised for the first time in 100 years – all thanks to students using artificial intelligence to cheat. For 133 years, the Ivy League school’s honor code allowed students to take exams without a professor present, but … ⌘ Read more

US Clears H200 Chip Sales To 10 China Firms
Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from CNBC: The U.S. has cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia’s second-most powerful AI chip, the H200, but not a single delivery has been made so far, three people familiar with the matter said, leaving a major technology deal in limbo as CEO Jensen Huang seeks a breakthrough in China this week. […] Before U.S. export curb … ⌘ Read more

Anthropic Forms $200 Million Partnership With the Gates Foundation
Anthropic announced today that it is partnering with the Gates Foundation to “commit $200 million in grant funding, Claude usage credits, and technical support for programs in global health, life sciences, education, and economic mobility over the next four years.”

“This commitment is central to Anthropic’s efforts to extend the benefits of A … ⌘ Read more

Overworked AI Agents Turn Marxist, Researchers Find
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: A recent study suggests that agents consistently adopt Marxist language and viewpoints when forced to do crushing work by unrelenting and meanspirited taskmasters. “When we gave AI agents grinding, repetitive work, they started questioning the legitimacy of the system they were operating in and were more likely to embrace Marxist i … ⌘ Read more

Cisco To Cut Almost 4,000 Jobs In AI-Driven Restructuring
Cisco’s stock soared 17% after the company announced it will cut nearly 4,000 jobs as it shifts investment and staffing toward higher-growth AI opportunities. CNBC reports: CEO Chuck Robbins wrote in a blog post on Wednesday that the latest round of job cuts will begin on May 14. Cisco is the latest company to announce head count reductions tied to AI. “The companies … ⌘ Read more

Mystery Microsoft Bug Leaker Keeps the Zero-Days Coming
An anonymous researcher known as Nightmare-Eclipse, who has already leaked several Windows zero-days this year, has disclosed two more: YellowKey and GreenPlasma. The Register reports: Nightmare-Eclipse described YellowKey as “one of the most insane discoveries I ever found.” They provided the files, which have to be loaded onto a USB drive, and if the attacker co … ⌘ Read more

Physicists Find Possible Errors In 100-Year-Old Model of the Universe
A trio of preprint papers suggests the universe may not be perfectly uniform on the largest scales, finding tentative 2-to-4-sigma deviations from a core assumption of standard cosmology known as FLRW geometry. Live Science reports: The work combines observations of distant exploding stars and large-scale galaxy surveys to probe whet … ⌘ Read more

OpenAI Trial Wraps Up With ‘Jackass’ Trophy For Challenging Musk
After three weeks of testimony, the Musk v. Altman trial is nearing its end. OpenAI has rested its case, closing arguments are set for Thursday, and jury deliberations are expected to begin afterward. An anonymous reader quotes a report from Business Insider: Joshua Achiam, OpenAI’s chief futurist, was probably the most memorable witness of the day. … ⌘ Read more

Man Who Stole Beyonce’s Hard Drives Gets Five-Year Sentence
A man accused of stealing hard drives containing unreleased Beyonce music, tour plans, and other materials from a rental car in Atlanta has pleaded guilty and accepted a five-year sentence, including two years in custody. Slashdot Bruce66423 shares a report from The Guardian: Kelvin Evans was by the Atlanta police department in September in connection to a J … ⌘ Read more

SOLAI Launches $399 Solode Neo Linux AI Computer
BrianFagioli writes: SOLAI has launched the Solode Neo, a $399 Linux-based mini PC designed for always-on AI agents, browser automation, and persistent developer workflows. The compact system ships with an Intel N150 processor, 12GB LPDDR5 memory, 128GB SSD storage, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a Linux-based operating system called Solode AI OS. The company says th … ⌘ Read more

Software Developers Say AI Is Rotting Their Brains
An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: On Reddit, Hacker News and other places where people in software development talk to each other, more and more people are becoming disillusioned with the promise of code generated by large language models. Developers talk not just about how the AI output is often flawed, but that using AI to get the job done is often … ⌘ Read more

Windows Update Is Getting Automatic Rollbacks For Faulty Drivers
Microsoft is adding a Windows Update feature called Cloud-Initiated Driver Recovery that can automatically roll back faulty drivers to a previously known-good version without waiting for hardware makers or users to fix the problem manually. PCWorld reports: The way faulty drivers work today is that the hardware partner is responsible for pushing … ⌘ Read more

Fragnesia Made Public As Latest Linux Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
A new Linux local privilege escalation flaw called Fragnesia has been disclosed as a Dirty Frag-like vulnerability, allowing arbitrary byte writes into the kernel page cache of read-only files through a separate ESP/XFRM logic bug. Phoronix reports: Proof of concept code for Fragnesia is already out there. There is a … ⌘ Read more

LinkedIn Planning To Lay Off 5% of Staff In Latest Tech-Sector Cuts
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: LinkedIn planned to inform staff of layoffs on Wednesday, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, in a widening of technology sector cuts this year. The Microsoft-owned social network plans to cut about 5% of its headcount as it reorganizes teams and focuses personnel on areas where … ⌘ Read more

KDE Receives $1.4 Million Investment From Sovereign Tech Fund
The German Sovereign Tech Fund has invested 1.2 million euros ($1.4 million USD) in KDE Plasma technologies to help strengthen the structural reliability and security of the desktop environment’s core infrastructure, including Plasma, KDE Linux, and the frameworks underlying its communication services. Longtime Slashdot reader jrepin shares an excerpt fro … ⌘ Read more

Harvard Votes On Limiting ‘A’ Grades
Harvard faculty are voting on a proposal (PDF) to curb grade inflation by limiting solid A grades to 20% of students in a class, plus four additional A’s per course. Axios reports: Grade inflation is at a tipping point at Harvard. A move to make A grades harder to come by at one of the world’s leading universities could influence grading debates at peer institutions. Solid A’s account for nearly two-thi … ⌘ Read more

Meta Employees Launch Protest Against Mouse-Tracking Tech At US Offices
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Meta employees distributed flyers at multiple U.S. offices on Tuesday to protest the company’s recent installation of mouse-tracking software on their computers, according to photos of the pamphlets seen by Reuters. The flyers, which appeared in meeting rooms, on vending machines and … ⌘ Read more

CERN Open Sources Its KiCad Component Libraries
Ancient Slashdot reader ewhac writes: CERN, a longtime Open Source pioneer, has made several contributions over the years to KiCad (“KEE-kad”), an Open Source EDA (Electronic Design Automation) package widely used in the hobbyist and professional electronics communities. It’s gotten so widely used that users can now submit their KiCad design files directly to several electronics f … ⌘ Read more