Welcome to the March 1, 2024 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

HEADLINES AT A GLANCE

• U.S. Limits Sales of Americans' Personal Data to China, Other Adversaries
• YouTube Stops Its Algorithm from Serving Up Extreme Videos
• U.S. Looks at Regulating Connected Vehicles to Prevent Abusers from Tracking Victims
• Realistic Computer Model Will Help Robots Collect Moon Dust
• Exoskeleton Gets Disabled Users Walking, Standing
• Video Game Rewards Study Reveals Gamer Good Samaritans
• Judge Halts Government Effort to Monitor Crypto Mining Energy Use
• Meta Will Start Collecting 'Anonymized' Data About Quest Headset Usage
• DOJ Picks Princeton Computer Scientist as Chief AI Officer
• 3D Printer Hacked to 'Laser Print' Polymers
• Tracking Animal Movement May Help Save the Planet

U.S. Limits Sales of Americans' Personal Data to China, Other Adversaries

An executive order issued by President Joe Biden will prohibit certain classes of sensitive data on U.S. residents from being sold to China, Russia, North Korea, and other adversarial countries. This includes genomic, biometric, personal health, geolocation, and financial information and certain personal identifiers. Such data often is collected by mobile apps, smartwatches, vehicle sensors, and other digital devices and potentially could be used for hacking, espionage, blackmail, intimidation, or "to develop AI capabilities and algorithms...to the detriment of United States national security."
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YouTube Stops Its Algorithm from Serving Up Extreme Videos

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology found that individual choice plays a significant role in whether YouTube's recommendation algorithm exposes users to extreme political content. The researchers used a control bot to track the impact of YouTube's recommendation algorithm on 125 real-life users on the platform, and on a counterfactual bot, to assess the algorithm's impact after a user views 60 videos. They found exposure to radical content was less for the counterfactual bots than for typical users.
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U.S. Looks at Regulating Connected Vehicles to Prevent Abusers from Tracking Victims

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is working on regulations to prevent victims of domestic abuse from being tracked via their use of connected vehicles. FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote to nine U.S. automakers seeking details of their connected car systems, and asking about their efforts to protect victims of domestic abuse from harassment and stalking. Toyota and Ford responded that they will remove access to vehicle location information for victims of domestic abuse upon request, but other manufacturers have not specified how, if at all, they will provide such support.
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Realistic Computer Model Will Help Robots Collect Moon Dust

A computer model developed by researchers at the U.K.'s University of Bristol could help train astronauts to operate robots on the Moon by simulating regolith (Moon dust). The researchers expanded a model from the German Aerospace Centre to account for additional regolith while ensuring it remained sufficiently lightweight to operate in real time, then modified it to allow for scalability. Said Bristol's Joe Louca, "Think of it like a realistic video game set on the Moon—we want to make sure the virtual version of moon dust behaves just like the actual thing."
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Exoskeleton Gets Disabled Users Walking, Standing

A robotic exoskeleton developed by researchers at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology) and Italy’s Istituto Nazionale Assicurazione Infortuni sul Lavoro (National Institute for Insurance Against Accidents at Work) could help individuals with little to no motor ability in their lower bodies stand up and walk. The Twin lower-body exoskeleton features motors at the knee and hip joints that move the user's legs to help those who have no use of their legs walk, assist those with some lower-limb motor function, or support those with full use of just one leg.
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Video Game Rewards Study Reveals Gamer Good Samaritans

Researchers at Australia's Queensland University of Technology (QUT) developed a video game to assess the impact of in-game rewards on post-game pro-social behavior. In a study of nearly 200 participants, players were tasked with deciding whether to use their coins to buy a bottle of water for in-game character Bruce when he was in desperate need of help. Fifty-five participants helped despite knowing there would be no reward, 59 were surprised with a reward, and 61 helped knowing they would receive a reward.
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Judge Halts Government Effort to Monitor Crypto Mining Energy Use

A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked an order from the U.S. Department of Energy requiring cryptocurrency miners to provide information about their energy use amid a surge in electricity demand. According to the judge, the crypto mining industry demonstrated that complying with the order would cause it "irreparable injury."
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Meta Will Start Collecting 'Anonymized' Data About Quest Headset Usage

Users of Meta's Quest VR headsets were informed that the company will begin collecting and aggregating anonymized device usage data with the next software update "for things like building better experiences and improving Meta Quest products for everyone." This includes audio data related to an avatar's lip and face movement; hand, body, and eye tracking data; fitness-related data; data on the user's physical environment; audio commands or dictations; and the user's VR activity. It remains uncertain whether users will be able to opt out of the new data collection policies.
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DOJ Picks Princeton Computer Scientist as Chief AI Officer

Princeton University computer science professor Jonathan Mayer has been appointed the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) first chief AI officer and chief science and technology adviser. Mayer, who has a Ph.D. in computer science and a law degree, will be responsible for DOJ's Emerging Technology Board and in charge of AI-related cross-agency and intra-department efforts.
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3D Printer Hacked to 'Laser Print' Polymers

Researchers at Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University demonstrated that a 3D printer can be used to print polymers without solvents, chemicals, or a cleanroom environment by modifying it to work like a laser printer. This eventually could result in a simpler, more affordable process for producing medical implants, wearable electronics, biosensors, and similar devices, and allow for the use of more sustainable materials. The researchers used their technique to create complementary inverters and enzymatic glucose monitors.
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Tracking Animal Movement May Help Save the Planet

Technological advances make it increasingly possible for researchers to track animal movement, to better understand animal behavior and improve weather modeling. Tracking has improved due to the Internet of Things, smaller lithium batteries, smartphones with low-cost GPS and accelerometers, and better data systems. Researchers led by Martin Wikelski at Germany's Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior developed affordable, lightweight GPS sensors that can be worn by animals to track their locations and vital signs, with the goal of combining ground and satellite data to generate real-time global animal monitoring maps.
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