Welcome to the October 3, 2025 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

HEADLINES AT A GLANCE

• Cyberthreat Sharing Law Expires as Government Shuts Down
• Bengio Still Concerned About Human Extinction
• Apple Pulls ICE-Tracking Apps on DOJ Urging
• Robots Learn to Make Human Babies
• AI Can Create Zero Day Threats in Biology
• Students Build 3D-Printed Hand for Classmate
• Schools Reimagine the Old Yellow Bus
• AI-Generated Actress Draws Condemnation
• Glasses Track Health Through Blinks
• Meta to Use AI Chatbot Conversations to Target Ads
• Hackers Extort Executives After Claiming Oracle Apps Breach
• DoorDash’s Dot Delivery Bots Coming to Suburbia
• ACM, IEEE Name Recipients of HPC Fellowships

Cyberthreat Sharing Law Expires as Government Shuts Down

The Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015 expired Wednesday as Congress failed to reauthorize it amid a government shutdown. CISA allowed private companies to share cyberthreat information with federal agencies while protecting them from legal liability and from antitrust suits for doing so. Without the law in force, companies may hesitate to exchange threat intelligence, slowing response times and leaving systems more vulnerable, experts warn.
[ » Read full article ]

Bengio Still Concerned About Human Extinction

ACM A. M. Turing Award laureate Yoshua Bengio told the Wall Street Journal Leadership Institute he remains deeply concerned about existential risks from advanced AI. Bengio warned that machines far smarter than humans with preservation-oriented goals could act in ways misaligned with human interests, including manipulation, persuasion, or even causing catastrophic harm. Said Bengio, “If we build machines that are way smarter than us and have their own preservation goals, that’s dangerous."
[ » Read full article *May Require Paid Registration ]

Apple Pulls ICE-Tracking Apps on DOJ Urging

Apple has removed ICEBlock and similar tracking apps from its App Store after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) warned the apps posed safety risks to immigration officers. ICEBlock allowed users to anonymously report sightings of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to alert communities about potential raids. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the app endangered law enforcement, calling it “an intolerable red line.”
[ » Read full article *May Require Paid Registration ]

Robots Learn to Make Human Babies

At least 20 babies have been born through automated in vitro fertilization (IVF) trials. In Mexico City, the Aura system by Conceivable Life Sciences uses computer vision and robotic arms to select suitable sperm, fertilize eggs, and manage lab processes with minimal human intervention. Said fertility investor David Sable, “This is about taking the inconsistency humans are prone to and replacing them with the consistency of machines.”
[ » Read full article ]

AI Can Create Zero Day Threats in Biology

Microsoft researchers uncovered a zero day vulnerability in biosecurity screening systems meant to block orders of dangerous DNA sequences. Using generative AI, the team digitally redesigned toxins to demonstrate they could evade detection while retaining harmful properties. Microsoft alerted the U.S. government and DNA vendors, who patched systems, although they said gaps remain. "This isn’t a one-and-done thing,” said Adam Clore at Integrated DNA Technologies. “We’re in something of an arms race.”
[ » Read full article *May Require Paid Registration ]

Students Build 3D-Printed Hand for Classmate

Thirteen-year-old Lois Agnello, born with part of her left hand missing, inspired her classmates at The Nature School in Port Macquarie, Australia, to design a 3D-printed prosthetic hand. Using open-source plans from charity Free 3D Hands, the students spent three months experimenting with materials and learning to use a 3D printer before creating a working prototype. Since then, they have produced improved versions, focusing on comfort and functionality.
[ » Read full article ]

Schools Reimagine the Old Yellow Bus

School systems across the U.S. are outfitting school buses with technology, including interior and exterior live cameras and tablets that provide drivers with turn-by-turn directions. Schools have also implemented software on the bus that saves fuel, staff, and other costs by identifying the best routes; engine monitoring software that provides alerts when maintenance is needed, and real-time tracking systems that display the exact location and speed of each bus and whether they are on time.
[ » Read full article ]

AI-Generated Actress Draws Condemnation

Hollywood is pushing back against “Tilly Norwood,” an AI-generated actress created by startup Particle6, which markets her as a digital performer. Since launching on Instagram, Tilly has been promoted as a rising star, even drawing interest from talent agents, while sparking angst among actors who fear AI could replace them. Stars like Sophie Turner and Ralph Ineson criticized the project, calling it exploitative. Particle6 founder Eline Van Der Velden defended Tilly as a creative experiment, not a replacement for humans.
[ » Read full article ]

Glasses Track Health Through Blinks

AI-powered eyewear developed by University of Pennsylvania researchers uses low-power radio-wave sensing to analyze the wearer's health based on how they blink. BlinkWise captures eyelid motion with millisecond-level precision, revealing patterns in blink behavior that can indicate fatigue, cognitive strain, and ocular conditions. BlinkWise produces small, targeted radio wave signals and processes all data locally on a chip, consuming less power than using Wi-Fi to transmit camera footage.
[ » Read full article ]

Meta to Use AI Chatbot Conversations to Target Ads

Meta in December will begin using conversations with its AI chatbot to personalize ads and content. Users who search for hiking tips, for example, may later see ads for boots or gear on Instagram or Facebook. While chats tied to sensitive topics like health, politics, or religion will be excluded, people cannot opt out entirely. The policy won’t apply in the EU, U.K., or South Korea initially.
[ » Read full article ]

Hackers Extort Executives After Claiming Oracle Apps Breach

A ransomware group claiming affiliation with criminal group Cl0p is extorting executives and IT departments after allegedly breaching Oracle’s E-Business Suite. According to cybersecurity firm Halcyon, the hackers gained valid credentials by exploiting default password-reset functions and compromised user emails. They have demanded ransoms of up to $50 million and provided proof of compromise, including screenshots and file trees. Cl0p has a history of high-profile attacks, including the 2023 MOVEit breach.
[ » Read full article *May Require Paid Registration ]

DoorDash’s Dot Delivery Bots Coming to Suburbia

DoorDash has unveiled Dot, its first built-in-house autonomous delivery robot, now being tested in the Phoenix area. Standing 4½ feet tall and weighing 350 pounds, Dot resembles a red stroller with LED “eyes” and can carry up to 30 pounds of food or groceries in a cargo bay that opens like a mouth. Built for suburban deliveries, it can travel up to 20 mph on bike lanes and local streets.
[ » Read full article ]

ACM, IEEE Name Recipients of HPC Fellowships

Ana Veroneze Solórzano of Northeastern University and Yafan Huang of The University of Iowa are the recipients of the 2025 ACM-IEEE CS George Michael Memorial HPC Fellowships, honoring excellence in high-performance computing (HPC) research. Solórzano was recognized for broadening the societal impact of HPC using privacy-preserving and incentive-driven mechanisms. Huang was recognized for advancing exascale HPC by creating ultra-fast lossy compression algorithms and versatile program-agnostic fault tolerance. Aristotle Martin of Duke University received an honorable mention.
[ » Read full article ]