|
Welcome to the March 5, 2025 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.
|
|
|
Andrew G. Barto, professor emeritus of information and computer sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Richard S. Sutton, professor of computer science at the University of Alberta in Canada, are the recipients of the 2024 ACM A.M. Turing Award for developing the conceptual and algorithmic foundations of reinforcement learning. In a series of papers beginning in the 1980s, the two introduced the primary concepts, built the mathematical foundations, and developed vital algorithms in the field. Their work, said ACM President Yannis Ioannidis, "laid the foundations for some of the most important advances in AI."
[
» Read full article
]
ACM Media Center (March 5, 2025)
|
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will spend $100 billion in the U.S. over the next four years to expand its production capacity and bring its most advanced semiconductor processes to its operations in Arizona. The commitment brings TSMC’s total planned spending in the U.S. to $165 billion. “Semiconductors are the backbone of the 21st century economy, and really without the semiconductors, there is no economy,” said Trump.
[
» Read full article
*May Require Paid Registration
]
The New York Times; Tripp Mickle (March 4, 2025)
|
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, in a speech to that nation’s lawmakers Wednesday, said AI would be vital for strengthening China’s digital economy. Li pledged that China would boost its support for applications of large-scale AI models and AI hardware. On the same day, China’s top economic planning body said the country aimed to develop a system of open-source AI models, while continuing to invest in computing power and data for the technologies.
[
» Read full article
*May Require Paid Registration
]
The Wall Street Journal; Raffaele Huang (March 5, 2025)
|
In his address to Congress Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump told lawmakers to "get rid" of the CHIPS and Science Act signed into law under the Biden administration. The act set aside $39 billion in grants for companies building new semiconductor manufacturing sites in the U.S., most of which was promised to chipmakers and signed into contracts by the end of the Biden administration.
[
» Read full article
]
Politico; Christine Mui (March 4, 2025)
|
The Pentagon has denied U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a halt in offensive cyber operations against Russia, following a report by cybersecurity publication The Record that Hegseth had ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stand down from all planning against Russia. The story was followed by The Washington Post and The New York Times, which added their own confirmations from unnamed officials. A senior Pentagon official said Hegseth has neither canceled nor delayed any cyber operations directed against malicious Russian targets and there has been no stand-down order.
[
» Read full article
*May Require Paid Registration
]
Bloomberg; Anthony Capaccio (March 3, 2025)
|
The Latvian film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards. "Flow" tells the story of a cat seeking refuge on a boat, accompanied by other animals who band together after a flood devastates their homes. The film was made using Blender, a free and open source 3D computer graphics software supported by donations. Working with Blender allowed director Gints Zilbalodis to collaborate with other artists and developers, especially in mastering water simulations crucial for the film's plot.
[
» Read full article
]
Mashable India; Priya Singh (March 3, 2025)
|
The University of California, San Diego's ALERTCalifornia camera network uses AI bots as digital fire-lookouts, scanning more than 1,150 cameras in fire-prone areas across the state. Since the bots were deployed in 2023, they have detected more than 1,200 confirmed fires and are faster than 911 callers about 33% of the time. A human-staffed command center is notified when a fire is detected, where the blaze is verified and authorities are notified.
[
» Read full article
*May Require Paid Registration
]
The Wall Street Journal; Jim Carlton (March 2, 2025)
|
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the state's power grid, forecast an increase in energy demand requiring the addition of 30 nuclear plants' worth of electricity by 2030, thanks to the anticipated addition of datacenters powering AI to the grid. Said ERCOT’s Agee Springer, “We’ve never existed in a place where large industrial loads can really impact the reliability of the grid, and now we are stepping into that world.”
[
» Read full article
*May Require Paid Registration
]
Bloomberg; Naureen S. Malik (February 28, 2025)
|
Japan is turning to robots and other technologies to help care for its aging population. An AI-driven humanoid robot called AIREC, for example, recently was demonstrated gently helping a man in bed roll onto his side. Said Waseda University's Shigeki Sugano, who is heading the AIREC robot project, "Given our highly advanced aging society and declining births, we will be needing robots' support for medical and elderly care, and in our daily lives."
[
» Read full article
]
Reuters; Kiyoshi Takenaka (February 28, 2025)
|
Software engineers Jeremy Herzog and Rajan Desai have republished an interactive map detailing the impact of climate change on the risks of hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other hazards across the U.S. that was removed from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's website. Herzog and Desai took screenshots of the site and downloaded the map's associated data before it was taken down. The map, rebuilt from scratch, reappeared on a GitHub-hosted webpage with improved functionality.
[
» Read full article
*May Require Paid Registration
]
New Scientist; James Dinneen (February 28, 2025)
|
National Hockey League (NHL) referees can receive real-time, in-game situational notifications via an Apple Watch app that pulls 25 data points from the NHL's OASIS feed. The NHL Watch Comms App displays the game clock and jersey numbers of players in the penalty box. It also sends haptic notifications when a power play is ending and when the game clock ticks down at the end of a period, each having different vibrations.
[
» Read full article
]
ESPN; Greg Wyshynski (February 28, 2025)
|
New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority deployed Google's TrackInspect AI tool to identify defects on subway tracks. From last September through January, four subway cars were equipped with Google Pixel phones, which detected problematic noises and other issues using their accelerometers, magnetometers, and microphones. Machine-learning algorithms were used to analyze the data and produce predictive insights. TrackInspect located 92% of defects that had been identified by inspectors.
[
» Read full article
]
Engadget; Sarah Fielding (February 28, 2025)
|
George Mason University researchers demonstrated how remote attackers can exploit a vulnerability in Apple's Find My network to transform any Bluetooth device into an AirTag-like tracker. With "nRootTag," attackers can create public/private key pairs matching the Bluetooth address without requiring root privileges. A rainbow table of matching pairs could be developed using a GPU cluster for only a few dollars. Apple said it would issue patches to fix the loophole.
[
» Read full article
]
cybernews; Ernestas Naprys (February 28, 2025)
|
|
