Welcome to the August 16, 2023, edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for IT professionals three times a week.
ACM TechNews mobile apps are available for Android phones and tablets (click here) and for iPhones (click here) and iPads (click here).
To view "Headlines At A Glance," hit the link labeled "Click here to view this online" found at the top of the page in the html version.
The online version now has a button at the top labeled "Show Headlines."
|
|
|
Prototype 'Brain-Like' Chip Promises Greener AI, Says Tech Giant
BBC News
Shiona McCallum; Chris Vallance
August 11, 2023
A "brain-like" chip developed by IBM researchers could improve the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The prototype features memristors (memory resistors) that mimic the synapses in the human brain. With better energy efficiency, "large and more complex workloads could be executed in low-power or battery-constrained environments," such as cars, mobile phones, and cameras, and "cloud providers will be able to use these chips to reduce energy costs and their carbon footprint,” noted IBM's Thanos Vasilopoulos. The chip also could help data centers reduce the water necessary for cooling. Meanwhile, the chip's digital elements will allow it to be incorporated into existing AI systems.
|
'Coding in Color' Brings the World of Computer Science to Underrepresented Students
ABC15 Arizona
Brittney Barba; Javier Soto
August 14, 2023
Software engineer Diana Lee Guzman founded the Arizona nonprofit Coding in Color to provide computing education resources to underrepresented students. Guzman was motivated by the lack of women and minorities receiving computer science degrees. Coding in Color hosts Hackathons, where children are first taught coding and then compete against each other. "A lot of the students that we teach actually have never coded before, or they've coded maybe less than a year and they're actually really curious and really excited and they're seeking out these events, and these opportunities to continue to learn,” Guzman said. Coding in Color recently received a $50,000 grant from Microsoft, which will be put toward implementing computer science programs at three high schools and getting 15 to 25 students per school certified in Web development.
|
Data Centers at Risk Due to Flaws in Power Management Software
CyberScoop
Christian Vasquez
August 14, 2023
Cybersecurity researchers at Trellix have identified vulnerabilities in applications used in data centers that could allow attackers to gain access and shut off power to certain servers. Four vulnerabilities were discovered in CyberPower's infrastructure-management platform and five were identified in Dataprobe's power-distribution units that enable remote code injection. Researchers said "A vulnerability on a single datacenter-management platform or device can quickly lead to a complete compromise of the internal network and give threat actors a foothold to attack any connected cloud infrastructure further." Trellix's Sam Quinn said the CyberPower software is an attractive target because it manages all devices in a single Web application. Quinn explained that after gaining access to the software, attackers could turn their attention to power-distribution units and "toggle on and off power." Both CyberPower and Dataprobe have patched the vulnerabilities.
|
Computer Scientists Tap AI to Identify Risky Apps
The New York Times
Tripp Mickle
August 10, 2023
A computational model using artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate customers' reviews of social networking applications for contextual indicators of their safety has been developed by the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Brian Levine and a dozen computer scientists. The researchers built the App Danger Project website to provide guidance on app safety by counting user reviews about sexual predators and assessing negatively reviewed apps. The project reported finding a substantial number of reviews suggesting the Hoop app was unsafe for children, with 176 of 32,000 reviews since 2019 including reports of sexual abuse. Levine envisions the free resource complementing Common Sense Media and other services that check app appropriateness for children by identifying those that do not police users aggressively enough.
*May Require Paid Registration
|
ChatGPT Answers More than Half of Software Engineering Questions Incorrectly
ZDNet
Sabrina Ortiz
August 9, 2023
ChatGPT answered 259, or 52%, out of 512 Stack Overflow questions incorrectly, and 77% of answers were unnecessarily wordy, in a study conducted by Purdue University researchers. However, the researchers found that 65% of the time, ChatGPT gave comprehensive answers to software engineering prompts addressing all aspects of the question. Researchers also asked 12 individuals with different programming skill levels to assess the ChatGPT-generated answers. "Users overlook incorrect information in ChatGPT answers (39.34% of the time) due to the comprehensive, well-articulated, and humanoid insights in ChatGPT answers,” the researchers said.
|
Quebec Enters the Era of Quantum Computing
CBC News
Matthew Lapierre
August 15, 2023
Quebec, Canada will soon have two universal quantum computers—MonarQ at ETS Montreal, which will be managed by the nonprofit Calcul Quebec, and the IBM Quantum One in Bromont, which will be managed by the nonprofit PINQ2. The machines stem from close to $200 million in quantum investments by the Quebec government over a seven-year period, in an effort to transform the province into a global destination for quantum computing. Calcul Quebec will give researchers access to MonarQ, while companies and others with an interest in quantum computing will have access to IBM Quantum One.
|
Algorithm Detects Mutations in Single-Cell Sequencing Datasets
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Oana Stroe
August 10, 2023
The SComatic algorithm capable of detecting somatic mutations in single-cell sequencing data without reference samples has been created by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in the U.K. and Harvard Medical School. Scientists can study the development of cancer and mutation patterns of healthy cells with the new algorithm. Processes that SComatic can help analyze include clonal mosaicism and cell plasticity, as well as tissue structure and developmental cell-migration patterns. The algorithm also enables researchers to explore the mutation events occurring in specific cells and to chart genotype to phenotype at single-cell resolution. EMBL-EBI's Francesc Muyas Remolar said SComatic is "at least five times more precise than other somatic detection algorithms, enabling scientists to study topics that were inaccessible before, such as the cell of origin from which some cancers and diseases originate."
|
Computer Science Can Help Farmers Explore Alternative Crops, Sustainable Farming Methods
The Conversation
Barath Raghavan; Michael Kantar
August 7, 2023
A multi-institutional team of researchers has tapped computer science principles to reimagine agricultural systems to evaluate sustainable farming and alternative crops. The researchers' approach views agricultural systems as state spaces in a particular ecosystem, so growers can consider options beyond the limited choices offered by modern farming systems. Their framework accommodates higher-level strategies, such as growing multiple crops together, so users can leverage the state space to assess the combination of techniques, species, and locales for realizing their goals. The researchers envision the framework's enormous potential for cultivating different plants in a mix or close together. They aim to covert the framework into software for modeling agriculture as state spaces so users can consider intuitive alternative designs.
|
Vegan Seafood: Scientists 3D-Print Plant-Based Calamari
Interesting Engineering
Amal Jos Chacko
August 13, 2023
A method for 3D-printing vegan seafood that has a nutritional profile similar to real fish has been developed by National University of Singapore (NUS) researchers. They used microalgae and mung bean proteins to create a protein-based ink that can be made into different shapes with a food-grade 3D printer. When 3D-printed into layers, the ink can replicate seafood's flaky, chewy, and fatty textures. The researchers demonstrated their technique by producing a high-protein vegan paste and using it to 3D-print plant-based calamari rings. "Plant-based seafood mimics are out there, but the ingredients don't usually include protein. We wanted to make protein-based products that are nutritionally equivalent to or better than real seafood and address sustainability," NUS's Dejian Huang said.
|
Hackers Take on ChatGPT in Vegas with White House Support
CNN
Donie O'Sullivan
August 10, 2023
In a contest supported by the White House, thousands of hackers will attend the annual DEF CON conference in Las Vegas for the opportunity to crack generative artificial intelligence (AI) models, including OpenAI's ChatGPT. The models' developers will allow participants in the red-teaming exercise to push computer systems to the edge to identify exploitable vulnerabilities. "Not only does it allow us to gather valuable feedback that can make our models stronger and safer, red-teaming also provides different perspectives and more voices to help guide the development of AI," an OpenAI spokesperson said. Organizers designed the contest around the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy's "Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights," intended to engender more responsible AI deployment and limit AI-based monitoring.
|
Outreach Program Built Statewide Network of Tech Teachers
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Tiffany Lee
August 10, 2023
In an effort to foster a statewide network of technology educators, University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers have been leveraging the $2 million U.S. National Science Foundation-funded AIR@NE (Adapt, Implement, and Research at Nebraska) program. AIR@NE has equipped 110 K-8 teachers to participate in the network, enroll in graduate-level computer science (CS) and pedagogy courses, and invest $1,500 in CS equipment for their schools. The program's resources include instructional and curriculum content based on a long-used model in Lincoln Public Schools. Inaugural AIR@NE cohort participant Valerie Lackey said the program upskills teachers to model instruction after their schools' schedule and capacities. AIR@NE also provides teachers with an overview of how CS instruction should evolve across grade levels, a critical consideration as Nebraska launches a new CS graduation requirement.
|
New York State Debuts First Cybersecurity Strategy
The Wall Street Journal
James Rundle
August 9, 2023
New York's first cybersecurity strategy calls for upgrading state networks to support multifactor authentication and other modern security technologies, collaborating with county governments and federal agencies on cybercrime investigations and information sharing, regulating critical infrastructure, and boosting the state's cybersecurity workforce. Other states have rolled out cybersecurity strategies but not on the scale of New York's plan, which was unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Aug. 9. New York already requires electric grid operators to address cyber threats in their emergency response plans, and the State Department of Financial Services has implemented its own cyber rules.
*May Require Paid Registration
|
|
