YouTube Announces Gemini AI Feature to Target Ads When Viewers are Most Engaged
A new YouTube tool will let advertisers use Google’s Gemini AI model to target ads to viewers when they’re most engaged, reports CNBC:

Peak Points has the potential to enable more impressions and a higher click-through rate on YouTube, a primary metric that determines how creators earn money on the video platform… … ⌘ Read more

9 Months Later, Microsoft Finally Fixes Linux Dual-Booting Bug
Last August a Microsoft security update broke dual-booting Windows 11 and Linux systems, remembers the blog Neowin. Distros like Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Zorin OS, and Puppy Linux were all affected, and “a couple of days later, Microsoft provided a slightly lengthy workaround that involved tweaking around with policies and the Registry in order to … ⌘ Read more

Ask Slashdot: Would You Consider a Low-Latency JavaScript Runtime For Your Workflow?
Amazon’s AWS Labs has created LLRT an experimental, lightweight JavaScript runtime designed to address the growing demand for fast and efficient serverless applications.

Slashdot reader BitterEpic wants to know what you think of it:

Traditional JavaScript runtimes like Node.js rely on garbage collectio … ⌘ Read more

Google Restores Nextcloud Users’ File Access on Android
An anonymous reader shared this report from Ars Technica:

Nextcloud, a host-your-own cloud platform that wants to help you “regain control over your data,” has had to tell its Android-using customers for months now that they cannot upload files from their phone to their own servers. Months of emails and explanations to Google’s Play Store representatives have yiel … ⌘ Read more

Stack Overflow Seeks Realignment ‘To Support the Builders of the Future in an AI World’
“The world has changed,” writes Stack Overflow’s blog. “Fast. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we build, learn, and solve problems. Software development looks dramatically different than it did even a few years ago — and the pace of change is only accelerating.”

And they believe their bra … ⌘ Read more

Intel Struggles To Reverse AMD’s Share Gains In x86 CPU Market
An anonymous reader shared this report from CRN:
CPU-tracking firm Mercury Research reported on Thursday that Intel’s x86 CPU market share grew 0.3 points sequentially to 75.6 percent against AMD’s 24.4 percent in the first quarter. However, AMD managed to increase its market share by 3.6 points year over year. These figures only captured the serv … ⌘ Read more

Is the Altruistic OpenAI Gone?
“The altruistic OpenAI is gone, if it ever existed,” argues a new article in the Atlantic, based on interviews with more than 90 current and former employees, including executives. It notes that shortly before Altman’s ouster (and rehiring) he was “seemingly trying to circumvent safety processes for expediency,” with OpenAI co-founder/chief scientist Ilya telling three board members “I don’t think Sam is the guy who sh … ⌘ Read more

Researchers Finally Link Long Covid ‘Brain Fog’ to Inflammation
An anonymous reader shared this report from The Hill:

A new study indicates the debilitating “brain fog” suffered by millions of long COVID patients is linked to changes in the brain, including inflammation and an impaired ability to rewire itself following COVID-19 infection. United Press International reported this week that the small-scale stu … ⌘ Read more

The Most Promising Ways to Destroy ‘Forever Chemicals’
“Researchers are seeking a breakthrough in technologies to tackle PFAS contamination,” reports the Washington Post — including experiments with ultraviolet light, plasma and sound waves:

“We’re in a good spot,” said Christopher Higgins, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Colorado School of Mines who researches PFAS. “There’s a lot of things bei … ⌘ Read more

Curl Warns GitHub About ‘Malicious Unicode’ Security Issue
A Curl contributor replaced an ASCII letter with a Unicode alternative in a pull request, writes Curl lead developer/founder Daniel Stenberg. And not a single human reviewer on the team (or any of their CI jobs) noticed.

The change “looked identical to the ASCII version, so it was not possible to visually spot this…”

The impact of changing one or mor … ⌘ Read more

Despite Success of New ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Game, Ubisoft Stock Tumbles 18%
“Shares of Ubisoft sank 18% on Thursday,” reports CNBC, “after the French video game firm reported full-year earnings that disappointed investors… The company’s shares have lost almost 60% of their value in the past 12 months, as the firm faced financial struggles, development hurdles, and underperformance of some of its key title … ⌘ Read more

Paleontologists Identify Tiny Three-Eyed ‘Sea Moth’ Predator in Fossils
“With the help of more than five dozen fossils, paleontologists have uncovered a tiny three-eyed predator nicknamed the ‘sea moth’,” reports CNN, “that swam in Earth’s oceans 506 million years ago.”

Tiny as in 15 to 61 mm in total body length. (That’s 0.60 to 2.4 inches…) But check out the illustration in CNN’s article…

Mosur … ⌘ Read more

Rust Creator Graydon Hoare Thanks Its Many Stakeholders - and Mozilla - on Rust’s 10th Anniversary
Thursday was Rust’s 10-year anniversary for its first stable release. “To say I’m surprised by its trajectory would be a vast understatement,” writes Rust’s original creator Graydon Hoare. “I can only thank, congratulate, and celebrate everyone involved… In my view, Rust i … ⌘ Read more

The Top Fell Off Australia’s First Orbital-Class Rocket, Delaying Its Launch
Australia’s first orbital-class rocket launch was delayed after the nose cone of Gilmour Space’s Eris rocket unexpectedly detached due to an electrical fault during final preparations. Although no damage occurred and no payload was onboard, the company is postponing the launch to investigate and replace the fairing before … ⌘ Read more

NASA Resurrects Voyager 1 Interstellar Spacecraft’s Thrusters After 20 Years
NASA engineers have successfully revived Voyager 1’s backup thrusters, unused since 2004 and once considered defunct. Space.com reports: This remarkable feat became necessary because the spacecraft’s primary thrusters, which control its orientation, have been degrading due to residue buildup. If its thrusters fail comple … ⌘ Read more

FDA Clears First Blood Test To Help Diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: U.S. health officials on Friday endorsed the first blood test that can help diagnose Alzheimer’s and identify patients who may benefit from drugs that can modestly slow the memory-destroying disease. The test can aid doctors in determining whether a patient’s memory problems are due … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft’s Command Palette is a Powerful Launcher For Apps, Search
Microsoft has released Command Palette, an enhanced version of its PowerToys Run launcher introduced five years ago. The utility, aimed at power users and developers, provides quick access to applications, files, calculations, and system commands through a Spotlight-like interface.

Command Palette integrates the previously separate Window Walk … ⌘ Read more

Walmart Prepares for a Future Where AI Shops for Consumers
Walmart is preparing for a future where AI agents shop on behalf of consumers by adapting its systems to serve both humans and autonomous bots. As major players like Visa and PayPal also invest in agentic commerce, Walmart is positioning itself as a leader by developing its own AI agents and supporting broader industry integration. PYMNTS reports: Instead of scro … ⌘ Read more

UK Needs More Nuclear To Power AI, Says Amazon Boss
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, AWS CEO Matt Garman said the UK must expand nuclear energy to meet the soaring electricity demands of AI-driven data centers. From the report: Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is part of the retail giant Amazon, plans to spend 8 billion pounds on new data centers in the UK over the next four years. Matt Garman, chief executive of … ⌘ Read more

Linux Swap Table Code Shows The Potential For Huge Performance Gains
A new set of 27 Linux kernel patches introduces a “Swap Tables” mechanism aimed at enhancing virtual memory management. As Phoronix’s Michael Larabel reports, “the hope is for lower memory use, higher performance, dynamic swap allocation and growth, greater extensibility, and other improvements over the existing swap code within the L … ⌘ Read more

Apple’s New CarPlay ‘Ultra’ Won’t Fix the Biggest Problem of Phone-Connected Cars
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Apple’s next step for CarPlay is a version you’ll only get to try if you’re a fan of luxury cruisers or a popular spy film franchise. CarPlay Ultra, with its new suite of exclusive features like custom gauges, is coming first to Aston Martin vehicles with the largest, … ⌘ Read more

OpenAI Launches Codex, an AI Coding Agent, In ChatGPT
OpenAI has launched Codex, a powerful AI coding agent in ChatGPT that autonomously handles tasks like writing features, fixing bugs, and testing code in a cloud-based environment. TechCrunch reports: Codex is powered by codex-1, a version of the company’s o3 AI reasoning model optimized for software engineering tasks. OpenAI says codex-1 produces “cleaner” code th … ⌘ Read more

Meta Argues Enshittification Isn’t Real
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Meta thinks there’s no reason to carry on with its defense after the Federal Trade Commission closed its monopoly case, and the company has moved to end the trial early by claiming that the FTC utterly failed to prove its case. “The FTC has no proof that Meta has monopoly power,” Meta’s motion for judgment (PDF) filed Thursday said, “and there … ⌘ Read more

Verizon Secures FCC Approval for $9.6 Billion Frontier Acquisition
The Federal Communications Commission has approved Verizon’s $9.6 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, valuing the Dallas-based company at $20 billion including debt. The approval comes after Verizon agreed to scale back diversity initiatives to comply with Trump administration policies.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who previously th … ⌘ Read more

Charter To Buy Cox For $21.9 Billion Amid Escalating War With Wireless
Charter Communications announced a $21.9 billion deal Friday to acquire Cox Communications, combining two major cable providers as they face mounting competition from wireless carriers offering 5G home internet. The transaction merges Charter’s 31.4 million customers with Cox’s 6.3 million, creating a larger entity to defend ag … ⌘ Read more

Covid-19 Spikes in Hong Kong, Singapore as New Wave Spreads
Health authorities in densely-populated Hong Kong and Singapore have warned that Covid-19 cases are spiking, as a resurgent wave spreads through Asia. Bloomberg: The virus’ activity in Hong Kong is now “quite high,” Albert Au, head of the Communicable Disease Branch of the city’s Center for Health Protection, told local media this week. The percentage of … ⌘ Read more

Data Shows Boys and Young Men Are Falling Behind
Boys and young men in the United States are experiencing declining outcomes in education, mental health, and transition to adulthood compared to their female counterparts, according to comprehensive data analyzed by researchers. High school graduation rates for boys stand at 83% versus 89% for girls, while college enrollment of recent male high school graduates has barely incre … ⌘ Read more

Apple Denies Blocking ‘Fortnite’ From EU Stores in Epic Dispute
Apple and Epic Games sparred over whether the iPhone maker was obstructing access to the hit game Fortnite, the latest tussle in a long-running feud over Apple’s control of game distribution revenue. From a report: The game developer said that Apple “blocked” its latest Fortnite app submission so that it can’t be released in the US or on the third-pa … ⌘ Read more

MIT Says It No Longer Stands Behind Student’s AI Research Paper
MIT said Friday it can no longer stand behind a widely circulated paper on AI written by a doctoral student in its economics program. The paper said that the introduction of an AI tool in a materials-science lab led to gains in new discoveries, but had more ambiguous effects on the scientists who used it. WSJ: MIT didn’t name the student in its s … ⌘ Read more

Vision Pro Owners Face Weight of Buyer’s Remorse
Early adopters of Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro mixed-reality headset report widespread disappointment a year after its February 2024 launch, with many devices now unused due to physical discomfort and social awkwardness, according to customers who spoke with WSJ.

“It’s just collecting dust,” said Dustin Fox, a Virginia realtor who has used his headset only four times in the past … ⌘ Read more

Broadcom Employee Data Stolen By Ransomware Crooks Following Hit on Payroll Provider
Broadcom employees have had their personal data compromised following a September 2024 ransomware attack on Business Systems House (BSH), a Middle Eastern subsidiary of payroll company ADP.

The breach, claimed by the Russian-speaking El Dorado ransomware group, wasn’t fully identified until December when s … ⌘ Read more

Montana Becomes First State To Close the Law Enforcement Data Broker Loophole
Montana has enacted SB 282, becoming the first state to prohibit law enforcement from purchasing personal data they would otherwise need a warrant to obtain. The landmark legislation closes what privacy advocates call the “data broker loophole,” which previously allowed police to buy geolocation data, electronic communic … ⌘ Read more

Clean Energy Just Put China’s CO2 Emissions Into Reverse For First Time
For the first time, the growth in China’s clean power generation has caused the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions to fall despite rapid power demand growth. From a report:The new analysis for Carbon Brief shows that China’s emissions were down 1.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025 and by 1% in the latest 12 months. Electricit … ⌘ Read more

US, UAE Unveil Plan For New 5GW AI Campus In Abu Dhabi
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Patently Apple: It’s being reported in the Gulf region that a new 5GW UAE-US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi was unveiled on Thursday at Qasr Al Watan in the presence of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and US. President Donald Trump, who is on a state visit to the UAE. The new AI campus – the largest of its kind o … ⌘ Read more

China Launches First of 2,800 Satellites For AI Space Computing Constellation
China launched 12 satellites on Wednesday as part of the âoeThree-Body Computing Constellation,â the worldâ™s first dedicated orbital computing network led by ADA Space and Zhejiang Lab. SpaceNews reports: A Long March 2D rocket lifted off at 12:12 a.m. Eastern (0412 UTC) May 14 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center … ⌘ Read more

Dark Matter Formed When Fast Particles Slowed Down and Got Heavy, New Theory Says
Dartmouth researchers propose that dark matter originated from massless, light-like particles in the early universe that rapidly condensed into massive particles through a spin-based interaction. Phys.Org reports: [T]he study authors write that their theory is distinct because it can be tested using existing … ⌘ Read more

Student Demands Tuition Refund After Catching Professor Using ChatGPT
A Northeastern University student demanded her tuition money back after discovering her business professor was secretly using AI to create course materials. Ella Stapleton, who graduated this year, grew suspicious when she noticed telltale signs of AI generation in her professor’s lecture notes, including a stray ChatGPT citation in the … ⌘ Read more

Do You Trust Mark Zuckerberg To Solve Your Loneliness With an ‘AI Friend’?
An anonymous reader shares an opinion piece from The Guardian, written by columnist Emma Brockes: Mark Zuckerberg has gone on a promotional tour to talk up the potential of AI in human relationships. I know; listening to Zuck on friendship is a bit like taking business advice from Bernie Madoff or lessons in sportsmanship from To … ⌘ Read more

YouTube Crackdowns on AI-Generated Fake Movie Trailers
YouTube has suspended ad revenue for two additional channels – Screen Trailers and Royal Trailer – as part of an ongoing effort to combat fake movie trailers using AI-generated content. These channels, alternative accounts of previously demonetized Screen Culture and KH Studio, splice actual movie footage with AI-generated material, often accumulating millions of … ⌘ Read more

Apple Keeps Fortnite in App Store Limbo
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said Thursday that Apple has “neither accepted nor rejected” Fortnite’s second App Store submission, potentially delaying the game’s major update planned for Friday.

Epic initially submitted Fortnite on May 9 following Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ order for Apple to comply with the original 2021 injunction. After five days without response, Epic withdrew and resubmi … ⌘ Read more

FBI: US Officials Targeted In Voice Deepfake Attacks Since April
The FBI has issued a warning that cybercriminals have started using AI-generated voice deepfakes in phishing attacks impersonating senior U.S. officials. These attacks, involving smishing and vishing tactics, aim to compromise personal accounts and contacts for further social engineering and financial fraud. BleepingComputer reports: “Since April 2 … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft May Have Killed the Surface Laptop Studio
Microsoft has stopped production of the Surface Laptop Studio 2 and will mark it as end-of-life in June, with no successor currently planned. Tom’s Hardware reports: The Surface Laptop Studio 2 is being put out to pasture quietly, much like other devices that the company has sunset. The Surface Studio, a desktop PC that folded down into a creative studio for drawing, … ⌘ Read more

Netflix Will Show Generative AI Ads Midway Through Streams In 2026
At its second annual Upfront 2025 event yesterday, Netflix announced that it has created interactive mid-roll ads and pause ads that incorporate generative AI. These new ad formats are expected to roll out in 2026. Ars Technica reports: “[Netflix] members pay as much attention to midroll ads as they do to the shows and movies themselves,” Amy Re … ⌘ Read more

Anthropic’s Lawyer Forced To Apologize After Claude Hallucinated Legal Citation
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: A lawyer representing Anthropic admitted to using an erroneous citation created by the company’s Claude AI chatbot in its ongoing legal battle with music publishers, according to a filing made in a Northern California court on Thursday. Claude hallucinated the citati … ⌘ Read more

Meta Delays ‘Behemoth’ AI Model Release
According to the Wall Street Journal (paywalled), Meta is delaying the release of its largest Llama 4 AI model, known as “Behemoth,” over concerns that it may not be enough of an advance on previous models. “It’s another indicator that the AI industry’s scaling strategy – ‘just make everything bigger’ – could be hitting a wall,” notes Axios. From the report: The Journal says that Behemoth is now … ⌘ Read more

Google Restores File Permissions For Nexcloud
Longtime Slashdot reader mprindle writes: Nextcloud has been in an ongoing battle with Google over the tech giant revoking the All Files permission from the Nextcloud Android App, which prevents users from managing their files on their server. After a blog post and several tech sites reported on the issue, “Google reached out to us [Nexcloud] and offered to restore the permission, w … ⌘ Read more

Telegram Bans $35 Billion Black Markets Used To Sell Stolen Data, Launder Crypto
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On Thursday, Telegram announced it had removed two huge black markets estimated to have generated more than $35 billion since 2021 by serving cybercriminals and scammers. Blockchain research firm Elliptic told Reuters that the Chinese-language markets Xinbi Guarant … ⌘ Read more

Uber Expects More Drivers Amid Robotaxi Push
Uber’s autonomous vehicle chief Andrew Macdonald predicted this week that the company will employ more human drivers in a decade despite aggressively expanding robotaxi operations. Speaking at the Financial Times’ Future of the Car conference, Macdonald outlined a “hybrid marketplace” where autonomous vehicles dominate city centers while human drivers serve areas beyond robotaxi coverag … ⌘ Read more

American Schools Were Deeply Unprepared for ChatGPT, Public Records Show
School districts across the United States were woefully unprepared for ChatGPT’s impact on education, according to thousands of pages of public records obtained by 404 Media. Documents from early 2023, the publication reports, show a “total crapshoot” in responses, with some state education departments admitting they hadn’t conside … ⌘ Read more

Baby Is Healed With World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment
Scientists have successfully treated a 9.5-month-old boy with an ultra-rare genetic disorder using the world’s first personalized gene-editing therapy. The patient, identified as KJ, has CPS1 deficiency – a condition affecting just one in 1.3 million babies that prevents proper ammonia processing and is often fatal.

The breakthrough … ⌘ Read more