Welcome to the April 28, 2025 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

HEADLINES AT A GLANCE

• The Hottest AI Job of 2023 Is Already Obsolete
• China Rolls Back Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S.-Made Semiconductors
• U.K. Blocks Video Game Controller Exports to Russia
• U.S. Takes Initial Steps to Boost Self-Driving Cars
• Intel AI Trick Spots Hidden Flaws in Datacenter Chips
• AI System Turns Sketches into Code
• IQM to Deploy Poland's First Superconducting Quantum Computer
• AI Impact on Data Breach Outcomes Remains ‘Limited’
• Tool Detects Viruses in RNA Sequence Data
• 3D Modeling You Can Feel
• North Korean Cyber Spies Created U.S. Firms to Dupe Crypto Developers
• AI Fumbles Basic Financial Tasks

The Hottest AI Job of 2023 Is Already Obsolete

User searches on Indeed for the role of prompt engineering jumped from two searches per million total searches in January 2023 in the U.S. to 144 per million in April 2023. They have since flatlined at about 20 to 30 searches per million, as AI models' intuitive abilities improved. A recent survey of 31,000 workers across 31 countries asking what new roles companies were considering adding in the next 12 to 18 months found prompt engineering second from the bottom, while roles such as AI trainer, AI data specialist, and AI security specialist topped the list.
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China Rolls Back Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S.-Made Semiconductors

Three import agencies in Shenzhen, China, report that the Chinese government has rolled back the 125% retaliatory tariffs on some U.S.-manufactured semiconductors. The exemptions, which have not been officially confirmed by Beijing, apply to eight types of integrated circuits, according to Zhengnenliang Supply Chain's Chen Shaoling, who learned about the exemptions during a routine custom clearance for customers.
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U.K. Blocks Video Game Controller Exports to Russia

The U.K. announced last week that exports of video game controllers to Russia have been banned to prevent the controllers from being used to pilot drones on the front lines of the war with Ukraine. The U.K. also has banned the export of software used by the defense and energy industries, such as models used to locate and tap new oil and gas wells or to develop weaponry.
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U.S. Takes Initial Steps to Boost Self-Driving Cars

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on April 24 said that rules will be updated to expand exemptions from U.S. auto safety standards to include domestically produced autonomous vehicles. The agency still will require companies to report crashes involving self-driving systems, though some reporting requirements will be eased.
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Intel AI Trick Spots Hidden Flaws in Datacenter Chips

Intel researchers leveraged reinforcement learning to identify more silent data errors in its Xeon processors before they are installed in datacenters. The technique builds on the Eigen tests currently are used to detect such errors. Researchers focused the tests on the area of the chip that uses fuse-multiply-add (FMA) instructions to perform matrix multiplication, which is more vulnerable to silent errors.
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AI System Turns Sketches into Code

Computer science researchers at Canada's University of Waterloo developed AI-powered software that can transform free-form sketches into code. With Code Shaping, programmers can use a tablet and stylus to edit code with annotations around and on top the code. The software supports diagrams, charts, mathematical symbols, and other free-form sketches, leveraging AI to interpret and convert them into code.
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IQM to Deploy Poland's First Superconducting Quantum Computer

Poland's first quantum computer will become operational in the second quarter of 2025 at the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, available to researchers, doctoral candidates, and computer science students. Developed by Finland's IQM Quantum Computers, the five-qubit IQM Spark is the first computer in Eastern Europe to use low-temperature superconducting qubit technology.
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AI Impact on Data Breach Outcomes Remains ‘Limited’

Verizon’s latest Data Breach Investigations Report states that the recent waves of AI uptake have yet to require a cybersecurity overhaul in the corporate world. While AI-generated text in malicious e-mails has doubled in the last year, the report found that the rate of successful phishing breaches remained stable.
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Tool Detects Viruses in RNA Sequence Data

An algorithm that can search for viruses in RNA sequence data, developed by researchers at the California Institute of Technology, aims to help scientists better understand their impact on biological functions. The user-friendly software, dubbed kallisto, scans RNA sequence data to determine which viruses are present in the sample and in which cells.
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3D Modeling You Can Feel

TactStyle tool, a system developed by computer science researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, can generate 3D models that are accurate in both appearance and tactile properties from a single image input. The tool enables users to upload a base design and customize the style and textures. It uses generative AI to replicate the object's surface microgeometry, producing a "heightfield" based on an image of the texture.
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North Korean Cyber Spies Created U.S. Firms to Dupe Crypto Developers

North Korean cyber spies created two businesses in the U.S. to infect developers working in the cryptocurrency industry with malicious software, according to researchers at cybersecurity firm Silent Push. Blocknovas LLC and Softglide LLC were set up using fake personas and addresses, said the researchers. The hackers sought to infect applicants for fake jobs with at least three strains of known malware previously linked to North Korean cyber operations.
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AI Fumbles Basic Financial Tasks

A Vals AI analysis of 22 general-purpose AI models found they were less than 50% accurate on average when asked to perform the same tasks as entry-level financial analysts. The analysis, which used a proprietary dataset of more than 500 questions, found most of the models had trouble with common tasks, such as searching a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission database of company filings.
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