Welcome to the September 13, 2024 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

HEADLINES AT A GLANCE

• Britain Labels Datacenters Critical Infrastructure
• Cyberattacks on U.S. Utilities Surged 70% This Year, Says Check Point
• 42 State AGs Endorse Warning Labels on Social Media
• Google AI Model Faces EU Scrutiny from Privacy Watchdog
• Dumbphones, Fax Machines Are the New Boss Flex
• Magnet-Controlled Prosthetic Hand Lets Amputees Perform Everyday Tasks
• UVA Team Wins Indy Autonomous Challenge
• Mixing Physical, Virtual Worlds to Drive Home Climate Urgency
• Robot Begins Mission to Retrieve Melted Fuel from Damaged Nuclear Plant
• Americans Used 100 Trillion Megabytes of Wireless Data in 2023
• Quantum Computer Corrected Its Own Errors, Improving Its Calculations
• Apple to Release AirPods with Built-In Hearing Aids
• Companies Finally Find Use for VR at Work

Britain Labels Datacenters Critical Infrastructure

U.K. Technology Minister Peter Kyle announced the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) designation, typically reserved for energy, nuclear power, defense, space, and emergency services, will be given to U.K. datacenters. Said Kyle, "Datacenters are the engines of modern life; they power the digital economy and keep our most personal information safe."
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Cyberattacks on U.S. Utilities Surged 70% This Year, Says Check Point

Check Point Research reported an almost 70% increase in cyberattacks against U.S. utilities during the first eight months of 2024, totaling 1,162 compared with 689 during the same period in 2023. Although none of these cyberattacks impaired U.S. utilities, industry experts say there are more potential points of attack as the grid expands, citing in particular incremental interconnections to generative AI datacenters.
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42 State AGs Endorse Warning Labels on Social Media

In a letter to the U.S. Congress, a coalition of 42 state attorneys general endorsed a plan to put warning labels on social media platforms, calling it a "consequential step toward mitigating the risk of harm to youth." The letter stated that the warning labels would "complement other efforts to spur attention, research, and investment into the oversight of social media platforms."
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Google AI Model Faces EU Scrutiny from Privacy Watchdog

EU regulators said Thursday they’re looking into Google’s Pathways Language Model 2 (PaLM2) over concerns about its compliance with the bloc’s data privacy rules. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, which has oversight of Google in data privacy matters, said it has opened an inquiry to assess whether the AI model's data processing would likely result in a “high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals” in the bloc.
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Dumbphones, Fax Machines Are the New Boss Flex

More executives are using stripped-down cellphones, analog watches, pagers, and fax machines to distance themselves from state-of-the-art devices that require them to be connected 24/7. Some executives say this allows them to better focus on work, be fully present at meetings, and be a better leader. Snap chairman Michael Lynton contends faxes are more secure than emails, while Diff CEO Benjamin Crudo said using a "dumbphone" allows him to use technology as a tool, rather than a distraction.
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Magnet-Controlled Prosthetic Hand Lets Amputees Perform Everyday Tasks

A prosthetic hand developed by researchers at Italy's Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna is operated by small magnets implanted in the wearer's muscles. The magnets move when the wearer's residual muscles contract; an algorithm translates that movement into commands for the prosthesis. In tests, a patient was able to use the prosthetic hand to pick up and move various objects, open jars, and use a knife and a screwdriver, among other tasks.
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UVA Team Wins Indy Autonomous Challenge

With its entry achieving an average speed of more than 171 miles per hour, the Cavalier Autonomous Racing team from the University of Virginia (UVA) won the Indy Autonomous Challenge at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week. The team beat out competitors from Germany, South Korea, Italy, and other U.S.-based universities. Said Challenge President and Chair Paul Mitchell, “All the hardware in this car is in commercial cars today. …We are testing to failure and identifying issues with those components."
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Mixing Physical, Virtual Worlds to Drive Home Climate Urgency

The Communal eXtended-Reality (CXR) system developed by Cornell University, New York University, and University of Massachusetts, Amherst researchers blends physical and virtual environments for passengers on a bus tour of New York City's Roosevelt Island. Using virtual reality headsets and guided narration, sightseers can experience nine scenes that depict the increasing impact of climate change. The fully immersive, shared extended reality experience is intended to emphasize the urgency of climate forecasts.
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Robot Begins Mission to Retrieve Melted Fuel from Damaged Nuclear Plant

The extendable "telesco" robot is on a two-week mission to obtain a sample of melted fuel debris from a damaged reactor at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This marks the first time plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings has used a robot for more than examining the inside of the three damaged reactors. The robot will be operated remotely, with tongs used to collect a sample measuring less than 3 grams (0.1 ounce).
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Americans Used 100 Trillion Megabytes of Wireless Data in 2023

A survey by wireless industry association CTIA found that slightly more than 100 trillion megabytes of wireless data was used by Americans last year, up 36% or 26 trillion megabytes from 2022. This marked the biggest single-year increase in the number of 5G wireless devices in use. The survey also revealed a 6% jump in wireless connections to 558 million over the same period, spurred by drones, self-driving vehicles, space missions, and precision agriculture.
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Quantum Computer Corrected Its Own Errors, Improving Its Calculations

Microsoft and Quantinuum researchers demonstrated a quantum computer that uses quantum error correction to fix its own mistakes mid-calculation. The researchers were able to perform operations and error correction repeatedly on eight logical qubits, with the corrected calculation having an error rate one-tenth that of the original physical qubits. The researchers also achieved a record entanglement of 12 logical qubits, with an error rate less than one-twentieth that of the original physical qubits.
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Apple to Release AirPods with Built-In Hearing Aids

Apple said its newest AirPods will be equipped with built-in hearing aids for those with mild to moderate hearing loss. Using iPhones or iPads running iOS 18, users can take a five-minute hearing test, with the results stored privately in the Health App. Their AirPods will then make "personalized dynamic adjustments," amplifying sounds in real time to the prescribed levels. The hearing settings will be applied automatically to any media being used.
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Companies Finally Find Use for VR at Work

As it improves and becomes more affordable, virtual reality (VR) technology is being used by more companies. UPS is using VR to train drivers on areas like how to stack packages or handle certain situations in the field like a dog attack, while Walmart uses it to train employees in “soft skills,” like how to show empathy when dealing with a frustrated customer. “The way people learn is fundamentally changing, and VR is what is driving that change,” said Brad Scoggin of ArborXR, which helps companies manage and integrate VR devices and content.
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