Welcome to the June 7, 2024 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

HEADLINES AT A GLANCE

• U.S. Clears Way for Antitrust Inquiries of Nvidia, Microsoft, OpenAI
• Landslide Forecasting System Can Save Lives
• Generative AI Job Postings Increase Tenfold in the Past Year
• Scientists Find Security Risk in RISC-V Open-Source Chip Architecture
• Wireless CPU Prototype Could Lead to Seamless Modular Computing
• Spain Proposes Law to Improve Children’s Online Safety
• Gesture Recognition Strategy Advances Prosthetic Hand Technology
• Machine Learning Detects Defects in Additive Manufacturing
• Coding Training Nurtures Software Developers from Refugee Camp
• Robot Cars Can Be Crashed with Foil, Paint on Cardboard
• NSA Urges Weekly Reboots of Smartphones
• ACM, IEEE Publish Comprehensive Curricular Guidelines for Undergrad Computer Science

U.S. Clears Way for Antitrust Inquiries of Nvidia, Microsoft, OpenAI

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a deal that allows them to proceed with antitrust investigations into the dominant roles that Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia play in the AI industry. DOJ will take the lead in investigating whether the behavior of Nvidia, the biggest maker of AI chips, has violated antitrust laws, while the FTC will play the lead role in examining the conduct of OpenAI and Microsoft.
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Landslide Forecasting System Can Save Lives

Scientists from Australia, Italy, and Nepal partnered with the Nepal government and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to develop an AI system that can provide early warning of a potential landslide. The SAFE-RISCCS forecasting system uses AI to analyze satellite images, combining them with rain measurements and ground motion data to continuously monitor and forecast the risk of a landslide at any one time in any one place.
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Generative AI Job Postings Increase Tenfold in the Past Year

The job posting platform Indeed reported generative AI job postings grew tenfold in the last year. However, AI-related jobs accounted for only 0.12% of all global job postings and slightly less than 2% of all U.S. job postings as of the end of April. Last year, close to 30% of computer science jobs, the most in-demand field, were AI-related.
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Scientists Find Security Risk in RISC-V Open-Source Chip Architecture

Researchers at China's Northwestern Polytechnical University have identified a security risk in the RISC-V open-source chip architecture. China's domestic chip industry has relied on the standard to build CPUs and sidestep U.S. sanctions. The vulnerability in the RISC-V SonicBoom open-source code lets attackers skirt security protections in modern processors and operating systems without administrative rights. U.S. lawmakers reportedly are considering restricting China's access to RISC-V.
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Wireless CPU Prototype Could Lead to Seamless Modular Computing

Japan-based semiconductor startup Premo unveiled what it calls the world's first CPU prototype with wireless inter-chip connections. The new chip uses proprietary technology developed with researchers at the University of Tokyo. The Dualibus technology integrates a CPU, sensor, power supply, and communication module and uses chip-to-chip wireless connection technology and the company’s CPU design to reduce the need for printed circuit boards and wiring.
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Spain Proposes Law to Improve Children’s Online Safety

A law proposed in Spain is intended to safeguard children from online threats by raising the age for opening a social media account to 16, from 14. The proposed law also would modify the criminal code to create specific crimes for creating deepfake images that target minors with sexually abusive material and establish virtual restraining orders for convicted criminals to prevent them from engaging in certain online activities or contacting victims through the Internet.
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Gesture Recognition Strategy Advances Prosthetic Hand Technology

Researchers at China's Beijing Institute of Technology and Japan's University of Electro-Communications developed a method of using electromyography (EMG) signals to identify hand gestures in prosthetic devices. The new approach, Virtual-Dimension Increase of EMG, increases gesture recognition accuracy by virtually boosting the number of EMG channels, eliminating the need for extensive sensor arrays. The researchers also developed a new quantitative measure, separability of feature vectors, to ensure the prosthetic hand is finely tuned to the needs of the user.
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Machine Learning Detects Defects in Additive Manufacturing

A machine learning technique developed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers can identify defects in 3D-printed components. The technique is based on a model built using tens of thousands of defects generated via computer simulations, each with a different size, shape, and location. When tested on actual 3D-printed parts, the model accurately detected hundreds of defects it had not seen before.
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Coding Training Nurtures Software Developers from Refugee Camp

Forty refugees at the Mahama Refugee Camp in the Kirehe District of the Eastern Province of Rwanda are participating in a 10-month software development training program. The goal is to teach them coding, along with the skills needed to navigate the job market or potentially start their own businesses. A similar program is offered at Nyabiheke Refugee Camp in the Gatsibo District. Rwanda's Ministry of Emergency Management is partnering with nonprofit ALIGHT on a 14-month software development program at the camps.
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Robot Cars Can Be Crashed with Foil, Paint on Cardboard

A team of researchers from several universities demonstrated that an autonomous vehicle (AV) running Baidu's open-source Apollo driving platform could be attacked using only metal foil and colored patches on cardboard. Placing a smooth metal surface between the vehicle’s radar and a target vehicle deflects the transmitted mmWave signals from the radar receiver and can hide the target vehicle from radar perception. The reflections also confused the car’s LiDAR lasers, while the color patch affected camera perception by misrepresenting input image pixel values.
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NSA Urges Weekly Reboots of Smartphones

In a document detailing mobile device best practices, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) recommends users turn their devices off and then back on at least once every week to protect against zero-click exploits and spear-phishing. However, the NSA warns this method is not guaranteed to prevent or mitigate attacks. The organization also warned that some smartphone features “provide convenience and capability but sacrifice security.”
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ACM, IEEE Publish Comprehensive Curricular Guidelines for Undergrad Computer Science

ACM partnered with the IEEE Computer Society and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) to develop and release the Computer Science Curricula 2023 (CS2023). The Curricula, updated every 10 years, is a comprehensive guide to the knowledge and competencies students should attain to earn undergraduate degrees in computer science and related disciplines. The updated CS2023 features increased mathematical and statistical requirements in accordance with the disciplinary demands of AI and machine learning.
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