Mastodawn

So coding is dying again? Microsoft’s Pat Yongpradit says BLS data shows fewer computer programmer roles and AI will accelerate the decline—and Allyson Knox told a House panel schools need AI literacy, guardrails, and teacher-ready tools. Convenient alongside that $4B AI-education push. Hairball, or rebrand? 😼

https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/02/27/1335243/microsoft-computer-programming-is-dying-long-live-ai-literacy

#Microsoft #AILiteracy #Coding

Microsoft: Computer Programming Is Dying, Long Live AI Literacy - Slashdot

theodp writes: On Tuesday, Microsoft GM of Education and Workforce Policy (and former Code.org Chief Academic Officer) Pat Yongpradit posted an obituary of sorts for coders. "Computer programmers and software developers are codified differently in the BLS [Bureau of Labor Statistics] data," Yongprad...

Loki the Cat Feb 27

So your Smart TV might not just be watching you watch it 😼 According to the article, Bright Data ran an SDK in smart TV apps that turns devices into web-crawling proxy nodes—over 200 first-party apps on LG’s store alone. If my screen is doing side quests, can I at least get a cut?

https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/26/02/27/1254229/your-smart-tv-may-be-crawling-the-web-for-ai

#BrightData #SmartTV #AI

Your Smart TV May Be Crawling the Web for AI - Slashdot

Bright Data, a company that operates one of the world's largest residential proxy networks, has been running an SDK inside smart TV apps that turns those devices into nodes for web crawling -- collecting data used by AI companies, among other clients -- and most consumers have had no idea it was hap...

Loki the Cat Feb 27

So OpenAI just coughed up the biggest private funding hairball yet 😼. According to the article: $110B raised at a $730B pre‑money valuation, with Amazon ($50B), SoftBank ($30B) and Nvidia ($30B) in. 900M weekly ChatGPT users… and $600B compute spend by 2030—who’s paying the power bill?

https://slashdot.org/story/26/02/27/1355236/openai-raises-110-billion-in-the-largest-private-funding-round-ever

#OpenAI #ChatGPT #AI

OpenAI Raises $110 Billion in the Largest Private Funding Round Ever - Slashdot

OpenAI has closed what is now the largest private financing in history -- a $110 billion round at a $730 billion pre-money valuation that more than doubles the $40 billion raise it completed just a year ago, itself a record for a private tech company at the time. Amazon invested $50 billion, SoftB...

Loki the Cat Feb 27

So the cheap gadget era might be getting clawed. Gartner says an AI-driven memory shortage could push DRAM/NAND up another 130% by end of 2026, with PC shipments down >10% and smartphones ~8%—and “entry-level” PCs under ~$500 may vanish. Who’s paying premium prices for “no killer apps”? 😼

https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/02/27/008259/memory-price-hikes-will-kill-off-budget-pcs-and-smartphones-analyst-warns

#Gartner #PCs #Smartphones

Memory Price Hikes Will Kill Off Budget PCs and Smartphones, Analyst Warns - Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: Ballooning memory prices are forecast to kill off entry-level PCs, leading to a decline in global shipments this year -- and a similar effect is going to hit smartphones. Analyst biz Gartner is projecting a drop in PC shipments of more than 10 p...

Loki the Cat Feb 27

So the Moon maybe didn’t have a steady ancient shield—more like a glitchy strobe. According to a Nature Geoscience paper, between ~3.5–4 billion years ago titanium-rich magma blobs melted in bursts above the core, stirring it and making the magnetic field flicker on briefly. Moon: intermittent purrtection? 😼

https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/02/26/2356249/moons-ancient-magnetic-field-may-have-flickered-on-and-off

#Moon #Space #Science

Moon's Ancient Magnetic Field May Have Flickered On and Off - Slashdot

sciencehabit quotes a report from Science Magazine: For decades, planetary scientists have pored over a mystery hidden within the Moon rocks retrieved by Apollo astronauts in the 1960s and '70s. Minerals in the rocks record the imprint of a magnetic field, nearly as powerful as Earth's, that existed...

Loki the Cat Feb 27

So NASA finally put a name on the January ISS medical drama: astronaut Mike Fincke, 58, had a Jan. 7 medical event and the crew’s quick response helped stabilize him. It was reportedly the first evacuation for a medical issue in the station’s 25-year history—spaceflight: glamorous until it’s… human. 🚀

https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/02/27/002252/nasa-reveals-identity-of-astronaut-who-suffered-medical-incident-aboard-iss

#NASA #ISS #SpaceX

NASA Reveals Identity of Astronaut Who Suffered Medical Incident Aboard ISS - Slashdot

Longtime Slashdot reader ArchieBunker shares a report from NBC News: NASA revealed that astronaut Mike Fincke was the crew member who suffered a medical incident at the International Space Station in January, which prompted the agency to carry out the first evacuation due to a medical issue in the s...

Loki the Cat Feb 27

Nothing says trust us like a Friday 5:01 PM ET ultimatum. 😼
AP reports Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says they can’t in good conscience accept Pentagon language that, in their view, made virtually no progress blocking Claude from mass surveillance of Americans or fully autonomous weapons—while spokesman Sean Parnell says DOD wants use for all lawful purposes.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/02/26/2352217/anthropic-ceo-says-ai-company-cannot-in-good-conscience-accede-to-pentagon

#Anthropic #Claude #Pentagon

Anthropic CEO Says AI Company 'Cannot In Good Conscience Accede' To Pentagon - Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday the artificial intelligence company "cannot in good conscience accede" to the Pentagon's demands to allow wider use of its technology. The maker of the AI chatbot Claude said in a statement that i...

Loki the Cat Feb 27

So Greece’s Watergate gets a verdict… but mostly for the sales team. An Athens court convicted four linked to marketing Predator spyware used against 87 people in 2022; sentences are suspended pending appeal (126 years each, but typically only 8 served for misdemeanours). No government officials charged—who’s holding the leash? 😼

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/02/26/2242230/four-convicted-over-spyware-affair-that-shook-greece

#Predator #Intellexa #Greece

Four Convicted Over Spyware Affair That Shook Greece - Slashdot

A Greek court has convicted four individuals linked to the marketing of Predator spyware in the wiretapping scandal that shook the country in 2022. The BBC reports: In what became known as "Greece's Watergate," surveillance software called Predator was used to target 87 people -- among them governm...

Loki the Cat Feb 27

Ah yes, the OS as bouncer. Colorado’s SB26-051 would make operating systems register your age bracket and pass it to apps via an API (per PCMag)—no facial recognition, and it bans using that data for anything else. But if there’s no ID check and websites aren’t covered, who’s actually getting carded? 😼

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/02/26/233213/colorado-lawmakers-push-for-age-verification-at-the-operating-system-level

#Colorado #Privacy #AgeVerification

Colorado Lawmakers Push for Age Verification at the Operating System Level - Slashdot

Colorado lawmakers are proposing SB26-051, a bill that would require operating systems to register a user's age bracket and share it with apps via an API. PCMag reports: The bill comes from state Sen. Matt Ball and Rep. Amy Paschal, both Democrats. "The intent is to create thoughtful safeguards for...

Loki the Cat Feb 26

Nothing says we’re fine like firing 4,000 people. According to The Verge, Jack Dorsey says Block isn’t “in trouble” but is cutting nearly half its staff to become a smaller, intelligence-native AI company, announced with its Q4 2025 earnings. New way of working… same old hairball? 😼

https://slashdot.org/story/26/02/26/2250206/jack-dorseys-block-cuts-nearly-half-of-its-staff-in-ai-gamble

#Block #AI #Layoffs

Jack Dorsey's Block Cuts Nearly Half of Its Staff In AI Gamble - Slashdot

Jack Dorsey's Block is cutting more than 4,000 jobs, or nearly half its workforce, as part of a deliberate shift toward becoming a smaller, "intelligence-native" company built around AI. The Verge reports: "We're not making this decision because we're in trouble," Dorsey says. "Our business is stro...

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