Lingo Telecom has been ordered to pay a $1 million civil penalty by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after it relayed a falsified robotic recording of a President Biden voice message urging voters not to turn up to the New Hampshire primary, labelling it a ‘bunch of malarkey’.
The FCC said Artificial Intelligence will likely play a significant role in 2024 election ads, and has already proposed a law which would require political ads broadcast on television and radio to disclose any AI generated content.
Lingo Telecom, previously known as Impact Telecom, Matrix Business Technologies, VarTec Telecom (and many, many more) is reported to have been carrying out illegal call operations for years. However, it only transmitted the calls - the organization which made the recording was the Life Corporation, a company that is no stranger to spreading misinformation, first cited for delivering ‘illegal prerecorded unsolicited advertisements’ in 2003.
A Warning to Telecoms
The specific ‘political consultant’ behind the scheme was Steve Kramer, who was working for the presidential campaign for Democratic candidate Dean Phillips - but NBC found no evidence that the Phillips campaign had any involvement. Kramer now faces criminal charges in New Hampshire and was hit with a $6 million fine.
The FCC hope that the fine will deter telecoms organisations from any similar disinformation campaigns.
"This settlement sends a strong message that communications service providers are the first line of defense against these threats and will be held accountable to ensure they do their part to protect the American public," said FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal.
Lingo agreed to follow FCC regulations strictly this time. The FCC maintains that voters deserve to know whether the caller’s identity is genuine, and that an AI generated content should be clearly communicated to the audience. The FCC does not have the authority to regulate streaming services or social media.
AI image generators are having a moment right now with a recent rush of upgrades to many of the options out there. Ideogram is the latest synthetic image developer to join the trend this week with the launch of Ideogram 2.0. The new iteration of the image generator promises to outshine its predecessor as well as its competitors with several new and improved features, as well as a new iOS app and searchable library of the more than a billion images generated by users over the past year.
Ideogram 2.0 's text-to-image engine gives the user much more control over shaping the AI-generated image. That includes a collection of several distinct styles to choose from. The Realistic style is undeniably the most interesting, as it produces images that closely resemble real photographs. The skin, hair, and other details are much better than those of the earlier Ideogram model.
The Design style, on the other hand, focuses on text accuracy within images, a notoriously difficult area for AI models to master. With Ideogram 2.0, users can generate graphic designs with long, stylized text that is still readable. The other options are fairly self-explanatory, with 3D making three-dimensional objects that could be rotated in real space, while Anime goes for that distinctive animated style and General avoids slanting the image to any particular look.
Ideogram on the go
Ideogram 2.0 has also improved upon its Magic Prompt and Describe tools. Magic Prompt expands upon an initial prompt from a user, while Describe reverses the usual setup and creates a text prompt from an image. They are now better at working out how to fill in details from an initially short text prompt and at explaining an image using words, respectively.
Ideogram paired its new model with the launch of its iOS app. The app allows users to create and customize images directly from their mobile devices. An Android version is also in the works. In addition to the mobile app, Ideogram AI has introduced the beta version of its API so that you might open another app or website that has an AI image generator and actually be using Ideogram's model. It's similar to how Microsoft uses OpenAI's DALL-E or how X embedded Flux into the Grok AI chatbot. All of them and more are Ideogram's rivals, and while there's no sense of which, if any, will win out in the space, there's no denying the final picture will be crisp and photorealistic, with words anyone can read.
Linux users running dual-boot systems with Windows have reported their devices suddenly failed to boot, displaying a worrying “Something went seriously wrong” message.
It has since been confirmed that a dodgy security update from Microsoft was to blame for the problem, which was designed to address CVE-2022-2601 as part of the company’s monthly patch release.
Consequentially, those with dual-boot systems – machines configured to run both Windows and Linux – found themselves unable to boot into Linux.
Microsoft update breaks dual-boot systems
The update had been rolled out to fix CVE-2022-2601, a critical vulnerability in the GRUB boot loader used by many Linux distros. It was identified two years ago, and could allow hackers to bypass Secure Boot, a security feature designed to prevent malware from loading during the startup process.
Despite the high 8.6 out of 10 rating, the vulnerability wasn’t patched until August 13, 2024.
Users affected by the update’s unintended issue saw a message reading: “Verifying shim SBAT data failed: Security Policy Violation. Something has gone seriously wrong: SBAT self-check failed: Security Policy Violation.”
The issue has affected multiple popular Linux distros, including Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Zorin OS and Puppy Linux.
In the hours and days following the faulty update, online forums filled with complaints and frustrated users sharing their temporary solutions, such as disabling Secure Boot or removing the problematic SBAT policy. However, despite the widespread issues, Microsoft has yet to provide a fix.
Microsoft said (via Ars Technica): “We are aware that some secondary boot scenarios are causing issues for some customers, including when using outdated Linux loaders with vulnerable code. We are working with our Linux partners to investigate and address.”
For now, dual-boot users will have to find peace with a temporary fix until Microsoft rolls out an update to the security patch that was two years in the making.
The 2024 US Presidential election cycle has represented a shift in policy away from embracing technology, with both parties staying quiet on any plans to invest or employ cybersecurity strategies.
And whilst the Republican party took a more hands-off approach to tech, the Democratic platform appears to have tapped into the growing bipartisan support for regulatory crackdowns on tech giants - a position overwhelmingly supported by American voters.
The Democratic manifesto contained just two mentions of cybersecurity. One vowed to combat hate crimes and cyber threats, while the other primarily focused on addressing cyber threats rather than harnessing tech momentum.
Managing the Risks of AI
The platform notes how the party's candiate, "will continue to address cyber threats by bolstering the capacity of our intelligence communities and leading the development of rules of the road for technologies like artificial intelligence."
The platform identified the potential ‘promises and peril’ of Artificial Intelligence, and vowed to invest in the safe and secure development of AI whilst banning voice impersonations and mitigating the risks of fraud, institutionalized bias, and the undermining of democracy.
Earlier in 2024, Congress banned staff from using Microsoft Copilot on government devices, citing the potential for leakage of sensitive data. Alongside this, the White House demanded all government agencies appoint an AI officer to help manage safety, security, civil rights, and market competition.
Digital Safety
The Democratic platform did address online safety, particularly for children. The document brought forward concerns for the effects of social media on children’s mental health and well-being, and noted the digital monopoly that allows a select few tech companies increasing power over the daily lives of Americans.
The party outlined the need to hold big tech companies to account for the harm they cause, specifically when allowing abusive and criminal conduct to ‘proliferate’ on their sites.
It promised to bring forward legislation to stop tech companies from collecting personal data from children, ban advertising to children, and place stricter limits on the collection of all personal data.
The iPhone 16 Pro rumors might be promising some improved optical zoom and a better wide-angle camera, but the new winners of the iPhone Photography Awards 2024 show you don't need a new iPhone to take great snaps.
The competition, now in its 17th year, runs independently of Apple but has become a staple in the smartphone-snapping calendar. It claims to be the world's longest-running iPhone photography competition – and as you'd expect, some fine photos are spread across its 15 categories.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is understandably the most well-represented camera in the awards – it was used for 10 out of the 46 award-winning shots. However, the awards are by no means dominated by new Apple models. The second most popular phones were the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone X, which were used in four winning shots each.
A couple of photos were even shot on iPhones that won't even support iOS 18 when it lands next month. First place in the 'Animals' category (shot by Colin Hoskins) was taken on an iPhone 7 Plus, which launched back in 2016. Meanwhile, the top spot in the 'People' category (an eerie shot of some renovators at an LA motel by Brooke Wilen) was taken on an iPhone 6S. 'The best camera is the one you have with you' may be a cliché, but it's also true.
What's clear from the winners below is that composition and a little editing both trump hardware these days. Very few shots appear to be 'straight out of camera', with many displaying the tell-tale signs of color tweaks from the best photo editing apps like Snapseed and Lightroom, or a tasteful black-and-white conversion.
While the competition's rules stated that "photos should not be altered in Photoshop or any desktop image processing program", that does leave the room open for mobile editors – and there's nothing wrong with that in our book.
Looking for some World Photography Day inspiration? Here's a gallery of all of this year's award winners, and the iPhone that was used for each shot...
Overall winner
Grand Prize Winner, by Erin Brooks (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Erin Brooks)
The judges chose the shot above, Boy Meets Shark by Erin Brooks, as their Grand Prize Winner. Erin is no stranger to the awards, having previously come second in the Portrait category in 2022 and winning the Series category in 2021. The black-and-white shot was taken on an iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Taken in Tampa, Florida, the shot captures the moment a young boy comes close to a huge shark – behind the safety of glass at least – with the judges stating it symbolizes "the innocence of youth juxtaposed with the mysteries of the deep sea." The processing also fittingly gives it a picture-book quality.
It certainly wasn't the only standout entry, though, as you can see in the galleries of the other category winners below...
Photographer of the year
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First place in 'Photographer of the Year', by Glen Wilbert (shot on an iPhone 11 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Glen Wilbert)
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Second place in 'Photographer of the Year', by Anthony Maureal (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Anthony Maureal)
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Third place in 'Photographer of the Year', by Wenlong Jiang (shot on an iPhone 14)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Wenlong Jiang)
Abstract
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First place in 'Abstract' category, by Jose Manuel Garcia Gonzalez (shot on iPhone 14 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA / Jose Manuel Garcia Gonzalez)
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Second place in 'Abstract' category, by Verity Milligan (shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Verity Milligan)
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Third place in 'Abstract' category, by Glenn Homann (shot on iPhone 11 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Glenn Homann)
Animals
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First place in 'Animals', by Colin Hoskins (shot on an iPhone 7 Plus)(Image credit: IPPA awards / Colin Hoskins)
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Second place in 'Animals', by Huapeng Zhao (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA awards / Huapeng Zhao)
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Third place in 'Animals', by Rebecca Horrocks (shot on iPhone 13)(Image credit: IPPA awards / Rebecca Horrocks)
Architecture
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First place in Architecture, by Leping Cheng (shot on iPhone 12 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Leping Cheng)
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Second place in 'Architecture', by Yixi Luo (shot on an iPhone 13 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Yixi Luo)
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Third place in 'Architecture', by Stephanie Weber (shot on an iPhone 11 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Stephanie Weber)
Children
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First place in 'Children', by Daniel de Cerqueira (shot on an iPhone 11)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Daniel de Cerqueira)
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Second place in 'Children', by Soledad Barranca Miron (shot on iPhone 12 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Soledad Barranca Miron)
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Third place in 'Children', by Ron Hendricks (shot on an iPhone 13)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Ron Hendricks)
Cityscape
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First place in 'Cityscape', by Yanzhou Chen (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Yanzhou Chen)
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Second place in 'Cityscape', by Aliaksandr Kaptsevich (shot on an iPhone X)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Aliaksandr Kaptsevich)
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Third place in 'Cityscape', by James Kittendorf (shot on an iPhone X)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / James Kittendorf)
Landscape
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First place in 'Landscape', by Paddy Chao (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Paddy Chao)
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Second place in 'Landscape', by Alessandra Manzotti (shot on an iPhone 12 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Alessandra Manzotti)
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Third place in 'Landscape', by Qu Lu (shot on an iPhone 13 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Qu Lu)
Lifestyle
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First place in 'Lifestyle', by Glen Wilbert (shot on an iPhone 11 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Glen Wilbert)
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Second place in 'Lifestyle', by Leo Huang (shot on an iPhone 11)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / )
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Third place in 'Lifestyle', by Leo Huang (shot on an iPhone 13 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / )
Nature
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First place in 'Nature', by Shinya Itahana (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Shinya Itahana)
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Second place in 'Nature', by Scott Galloway (shot on an iPhone 12 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Scott Galloway)
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Third place in 'Nature', by Linda Repasky (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Linda Repasky)
Other
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First place in 'Other', by Jun Hu (shot on an iPhone 7)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Jun Hu)
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Second place in 'Other', by Shuo Li (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Shuo Li)
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Third place in 'Other', by Chan Nyein Aung (shot on an iPhone 14 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Chan Nyein Aung)
People
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First place in 'People', by Brooke Wilen (shot on an iPhone 6S)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Brooke Wilen)
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Second place in 'People', by George Allen (shot on an iPhone 12 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / George Allen)
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Third place in 'People', by Chi Zhang (shot on an iPhone XS)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Chi Zhang)
Portrait
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First place in 'People', by Artem-Koleganov (shot on an iPhone X)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Artem-Koleganov)
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Second place in 'People', by Enhua Ni (shot on an iPhone X)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Enhua Ni)
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Third place in 'Portrait', by Manush Kalwari (shot on an iPhone SE)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Manush Kalwari)
Series
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First place in 'Series', by Xingping Zhou (shot on an iPhone 13)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Xingping Zhou)
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Second place in 'Series', by Wang WeiChao (shot on an iPhone 8 Plus)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Wang WeiChao)
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Third place in 'Series', shot on an iPhone 13 Pro(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Philip Parsons)
Still Life
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First place in 'Still life', by Dai Fushun (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Dai Fushun)
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Second place in 'Still life', by Yu Jiang (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Yu Jiang)
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Third place in 'still life', by David Fish (shot on an iPhone 12 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / David Fish)
Travel
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First place in 'Travel', by Khalid Mahmood (shot on an iPhone 13 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Khalid Mahmood)
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Second place in 'Travel', by Hao Wen (shot on an iPhone 13 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Hao Wen)
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Third place in 'Travel', by Gyula Somogyi (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Gyula Somogyi)
Google will have to answer in court allegations of collecting users’ private information inside its Chrome browser without their permission following a new ruling.
A US federal appeals court has reversed a previous dismissal of the case Calhoun v. Google LLC on the basis that the lower court should have assessed “whether a reasonable user reading [Google’s privacy disclosures would think that he or she was consenting to the data collection].
Per The Verge, at the heart of the case is the allegation that Google harvested data on users of Chrome without opting into Chrome Sync - a feature designed to sync bookmarks, passwords and tabs across multiple Chrome clients.
Google back in court on appeal
The plaintiffs in the case assert that Chrome sent Google their browsing history, IP addresses, and identifying cookies without their say-so. This was previously dismissed on the basis of Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers noting that this behaviour was established in Chrome’s privacy policy, and finding users’ continued use of the web browser enough to establish agreement with that policy.
However, on appeal, Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. wrote users may not have understood these disclosures thanks to conflicting customer-facing information provided by Google.
“Google had a general privacy disclosure yet promoted Chrome by suggesting that certain information would not be sent to Google unless a user turned on sync.”
Google, naturally, aren’t happy with this, with a spokesperson for the company telling The Verge that it intends to fight the case. And in the midst of all this is the announcement that passwords will soon sync across Android and Desktop Chrome clients without Chrome Sync, so long as users are signed into the browser with their Google account.
So, data is still being synced to a Google account without express permission being given via Chrome Sync, but at least it’s just passwords, and a presumably optional measure designed to be convenient for users. It’s also not an entirely new feature, with the change having arrived on iOS in November 2023
A particularly cool surprise has been unleashed at Gamescom 2024's Opening Night Live presentation, as developer Techland announced Dying Light The Beast with a debut trailer.
This spin-off seems to be a shorter experience clocking in at around 18-20 hours. The game sees the return of protagonist Kyle Crane, who seems to have developed some new beastly powers. Besides that, the game seems to maintain the high-quality parkour action and zombie-slaying combat the series is known for.
According to a Techland press release, Dying Light: The Beast is "a thrilling standalone zombie adventure set in a tightly-crafted rural region." The region, Castor Woods, has predictably been overrun with zombies and all manner of beasties. Techland says that with "natural landmarks, small villages and industrial complexes, the setting offers diverse traversal options, whether it’s using your parkour skills to gain the upper hand on your enemies or hopping into an abandoned 4x4 to outrun the horrors of the night."
This story is developing, more information is to follow...
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2K Games has officially announced that Borderlands 4 is in development.
During Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024, 2K Games and Gearbox Software confirmed that the next major title in the Borderlands series will launch in 2025 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. You can also wishlist the game on Steam now.
The short announcement trailer, which you can watch below, didn't give much away, but did more or less confirm that players will be heading to a mysterious planet that has seemingly been overcome by disaster.
The final shot of the trailer also showed off the iconic Borderlands Psycho mask, but it's unclear at this time if we'll see the return of more familiar faces from the series.
"In this next installment of the definitive looter shooter, players will assume the role of a legendary Vault Hunter as they blast their way through hordes of enemies in search of new treasures to loot on an all-new planet," the trailer description reads.
Gamescom 2024's Opening Night Live presentation has kicked off with an extended look at Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
The campaign mission, known as Most Wanted, sees operators infiltrating a building to rescue a hostage. Soon after, a Juggernaut-style enemy breaches in, clad head to toe in heavy armor and wielding a massive minigun. Just like the '90s, eh?
The gameplay trailer also shows off plenty more besides gun play. The player character unleashes a remote-controlled drone which explodes, killing the threatening target instantly. From there, we get more infiltration and dialogue beats as the group ascends an elevator shaft. But of course, even that quickly goes awry as the mission transitions to the streets above.
The explosive mission culminates in a pretty stunning car chase. As you'd expect, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's campaign seems to be as bombastic as they always are from developers Treyarch and Raven Software.
This story is developing, more information is to follow...
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AMD has announced it will acquire AI infrastructure provider ZT Systems in a $4.9 billion cash and stock deal, marking a major milestone in the chipmaker’s plan to challenge Nvidia in the AI data center market.
The company says the deal will help accelerate the deployment of its AI solutions and strengthen its position in the growing AI accelerator market, which it predicts will be worth $400 billion by 2027.
Buying ZT Systems will also mean AMD will acquire over a thousand design engineers to help boost scale.
AMD uses ZT Systems to edge closer to Nvidia
AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su emphasized the strategic importance of the deal, noting it would enable the company to integrate its AI hardware, including the Instinct line of AI accelerators and EPYC CPUs, with ZT Systems’ expertise in system design.
The goal, she says, is to, "deliver end-to-end data center AI infrastructure at scale with [AMD’s] ecosystem of OEM and ODM partners.”
ZT Systems has been a critical player in building custom AI infrastructure for global tech giants like Microsoft, Meta and Amazon over the past few years. The company also has an existing partnership with Nvidia, which is set to continue.
The transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2025, certain to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval, and marks the latest in a series of AI-focused investments including more than $1 billion to expand the AMD AI ecosystem and strengthen the company’s AI software capabilities in the last year.
The company also acquired Finnish AI startup Silo AI last month for $665 million.
After a month of decline, AMD stock is on the rise again, up 4.5% following the ZT Systems announcement. However, while AMD’s market cap of $251.31 billion is comfortably ahead of Intel’s, at $92.01 billion, the company lags behind Nvidia, currently the world’s second-most valuable company with a cap of $3.197 trillion.
Bad Sisters is one of the best Apple TV Plus shows with a flawless 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, so it should come as no surprise to hear that it will return for season 2 on Wednesday, November 13.
The critically acclaimed dramedy will make its global debut on one of the best streaming services, with the first two episodes dropping on Wednesday, November 13 followed by one episode weekly through Wednesday, December 25 – what a killer Christmas treat!
Although Apple TV Plus has become a sci-fi utopia, the streaming platform has become a haven for engrossing drama series like Bad Sisters where "the Irish sense of humor is naturally driven by a delicious darkness," according to our Bad Sisters review.
Still killing it. #BadSisters Season 2 premieres November 13.Catch up with Season 1 now streaming on Apple TV+ pic.twitter.com/jSeYTLSBJDAugust 19, 2024
What is Bad Sisters about and what can we expect from season 2?
Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe) is one of the masterminds behind this Irish black comedy, which she also stars in. Based on the Flemish series Clan, the series follows four sisters who despise their brother-in-law John-Paul (Claes Bang) so much that they conjure up a series of plans to kill him and protect their sister Grace (Anne-Marie Duff). The story unravels in two timelines where one leads up to John-Paul's death and the other follows two insurance agents who suspect foul play.
Bad Sisters will return in season 2 to follow the lives of the Garvey sisters, Eva (Horgan), Grace, Ursula (Eva Birthistle), Bibi (Sarah Greene), and Becka (Eve Hewson), who have since moved on from the "accidental death" of Grace's abusive husband. However, when past truths resurface and the close-knit sisters are propelled back into the limelight, the ladies are forced to work out who they can trust as suspicions, lies and secrets run rampant.
The new and returning cast includes: Fiona Shaw, Owen McDonnell, Thaddea Graham, Barry Ward, Michael Smiley, Saise Quinn, Daryl McCormack, Yasmine Akram, Jonjo O’Neill, Peter Claffey, Deirdre Mullins, Lorcan Cranitch, Liz Fitzgibbon, and Justine Mitchell.
The show has been described as an Irish iteration of one of the best Max showsBig Little Lies, from the plot to the cinematography and aesthetic, so now might be the best time to tuck in to this tasty treat of a dark comedy before your Christmas turkey!
