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The Editors Protecting Wikipedia from AI Hoaxes

A group of Wikipedia editors have formed WikiProject AI Cleanup, "a collaboration to combat the increasing problem of unsourced, poorly-written AI-generated content on Wikipedia." From a report: The group's goal is to protect one of the world's largest repositories of information from the same kind of misleading AI-generated information that has plagued Google search results, books sold on Amazon, and academic journals. "A few of us had noticed the prevalence of unnatural writing that showed clear signs of being AI-generated, and we managed to replicate similar 'styles' using ChatGPT," Ilyas Lebleu, a founding member of WikiProject AI Cleanup, told me in an email. "Discovering some common AI catchphrases allowed us to quickly spot some of the most egregious examples of generated articles, which we quickly wanted to formalize into an organized project to compile our findings and techniques."

In many cases, WikiProject AI Cleanup finds AI-generated content on Wikipedia with the same methods others have used to find AI-generated content in scientific journals and Google Books, namely by searching for phrases commonly used by ChatGPT. One egregious example is this Wikipedia article about the Chester Mental Health Center, which in November of 2023 included the phrase "As of my last knowledge update in January 2022," referring to the last time the large language model was updated.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

US Officials Race To Understand Severity of China's Salt Typhoon Hacks

U.S. officials are racing to understand the full scope of a China-linked hack of major U.S. broadband providers, as concerns mount from members of Congress that the breach could amount to a devastating counterintelligence failure. From a report: Federal authorities and cybersecurity investigators are probing the breaches of Verizon Communications, AT&T and Lumen Technologies. A stealthy hacking group known as Salt Typhoon tied to Chinese intelligence is believed to be responsible. The compromises may have allowed hackers to access information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized network wiretapping requests, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.

Among the concerns are that the hackers may have essentially been able to spy on the U.S. government's efforts to surveil Chinese threats, including the FBI's investigations. The House Select Committee on China sent letters Thursday asking the three companies to describe when they became aware of the breaches and what measures they are taking to protect their wiretap systems from attack. Spokespeople for AT&T, Lumen and Verizon declined to comment on the attack. A spokesman at the Chinese Embassy in Washington has denied that Beijing is responsible for the alleged breaches.

Combined with other Chinese cyber threats, news of the Salt Typhoon assault makes clear that "we face a cyber-adversary the likes of which we have never confronted before," Rep. John Moolenaar, the Republican chairman of the House Select Committee Committee on China, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, the panel's top Democrat, said in the letters. "The implications of any breach of this nature would be difficult to overstate," they said. Hackers still had access to some parts of U.S. broadband networks within the last week, and more companies were being notified that their networks had been breached, people familiar with the matter said. Investigators remain in the dark about precisely what the hackers were seeking to do, according to people familiar with the response.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft To Sell Xbox Games Directly Through Android App

Microsoft will offer direct game purchases through its Xbox app for Android starting November, following a U.S. court ruling against Google's app store monopoly. The move allows Microsoft to circumvent Google's revenue cut on in-app purchases and signals renewed focus on mobile gaming, bolstered by its recent $75.4 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

OpenAI's GPT Store has Left Some Developers in the Lurch

OpenAI's GPT Store, launched in January 2024, has failed to deliver on promised revenue-sharing for most small developers. Despite CEO Sam Altman's earlier statements about paying creators, only a select few have been invited to a pilot program, Wired is reporting.

Developers like Josh Brent Villocido, whose Books GPT was featured at launch, remain excluded from monetization opportunities. Many GPT creators report lack of analytics and unclear performance metrics. Some have devised workarounds, placing affiliate links or ads within their GPTs.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Formula 1 News

Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website

TIMELINE: How McLaren went from the back of the F1 grid to the front in under two years

McLaren have experienced an extraordinary turnaround in their Formula 1 fortunes over the last couple of years, going from the back of the pack at the start of last season to leading the championship a little over midway through this one. F1.com charts the journey with some of the milestone moments along the way…

Senna's title-winning McLaren MP4/5B to lap Interlagos in Sao Paulo Grand Prix tribute

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix (01-03 November) will celebrate 30 years of Brazilian F1 hero Ayton Senna’s legacy this year with a series of tributes, including the iconic McLaren MP4/5B taking to the track at Interlagos.

Formula 3 confirm the 10 teams selected for 2025-2027 seasons

Formula 3 has confirmed the 10 teams that have been selected for the 2025-2027 seasons, with nine outfits from the 2024 campaign retained while newcomers DAMS will complete the grid.

‘It can be so frustrating’ – Hamilton likens Mercedes’ troubles over past few seasons to ‘playing golf’

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that the inconsistencies Mercedes have faced with their car across the last three seasons have been “frustrating”, with the seven-time world champion likening the ups and downs to a round of golf.

kottke.org

Jason Kottke's weblog, home of fine hypertext products

Newly remastered and available on YouTube, Interview Project (presented by David Lynch)...

Newly remastered and available on YouTube, Interview Project (presented by David Lynch) is a series of 121 interviews of people from all around the United States.

💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org

Nieuw type blauwtongvirus vastgesteld in Nederland, geen vaccin beschikbaar

Bij drie dieren in de provincie Utrecht is een nieuw type van het blauwtongvirus vastgesteld dat eerder in Europa nog niet is voorgekomen. Op dit moment is geen vaccin beschikbaar voor deze vorm.