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With the technological infrastructure that physicists and astronomers have brought to bear for decades as its foundational metaphor, the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) was launched two years ago to create an equally as powerful social sciences-based “Observatory” for internet researchers. We analyze the SIO’s latest offering, in partnership with Graphika: the August 24th release of…
Future Typhoons. Future Covid-19 Lockdowns. Future Pandemics. Future Climate Crises Impacts. Future Wars. All of it adds up to a clear incentive structure for American businesses to reshore manufacturing and shorten supply chains.
We continue with our survey of crypto and digital currency initiatives from around the globe, all of which are officially sanctioned to enhance national competitive advantage (in the event crypto overtakes the US dollar as the global reserve currency). It is the cumulative adoption rate of state-sanctioned crypto and digital currency legalization and regulation that…
Chinese state-sponsored cyber espionage is nothing notable as Beijing has been long engaged in the most expansive cyber-enabled data theft operation for the past decade. However, its recent activities targeting Russia’s military industries is rather novel and not widespread. What’s more, this is not the first Chinese APT actor that has brazenly targeted its close…
In a series of posts entitled Autonomous Everything, we are exploring automation in all its technological forms, including legacy working assumptions about the term itself. We began the series in June at the bleeding edge of autonomous vehicles, with a description of the first autonomous ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. But autonomy is not…
Following are case studies of current, state-of-the-art advanced computational platforms – specifically computer graphics, multi-player networking, and high-resolution, satellite-based earth imaging – currently deployed to impact the future of agriculture and food security.
We continue with our survey of crypto and digital currency initiatives from around the globe, all of which are officially sanctioned to enhance national competitive advantage (in the event crypto overtakes the US dollar as the global reserve currency). It is the cumulative adoption rate of state-sanctioned crypto and digital currency legalization and regulation that…
Recent reporting indicates that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been investing substantially in Israeli cyber companies that produce offensive cyber tools and weapons. Per these findings, its presumed that the use of such technology with help Saudi Arabia identify, track, and surveil dissidents and opponents of the government. A website called Saudi Leaksdedicated to…
The following is Part II of our ‘quick take’ interview about the recent passage of and what to expect in the implementation phase of The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. This recent conversation was with Dr. Jennifer Buss. Dr. Buss serves as the CEO of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies; and Dr. Melissa…
The following is Part II of our ‘quick take’ interview about the recent passage of and what to expect in the implementation phase of The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. This recent conversation was with Dr. Jennifer Buss. Dr. Buss serves as the CEO of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies; and Dr. Melissa…
Our editorial approach here at OODA Loop is an optimistic approach, based on the influence of ‘solutions-based’ journalism and a belief in the American “mission” writ large, including years of experience with deeply humble, remarkably talented people that make up American agencies, departments, and institutions. It is this unique worldview and perspective you will experience…
The following is a ‘quick take’ interview about the recent passage of and what to expect in the implementation phase of The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. This recent conversation was with Dr. Jennifer Buss. Dr. Buss serves as the CEO of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, which develops meaningful science and technology…
The following is a ‘quick take’ interview about the recent passage of and what to expect in the implementation phase of The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. This recent conversation was with Dr. Jennifer Buss. Dr. Buss serves as the CEO of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, which develops meaningful science and technology…
There is so much about these cybersecurity bilateral agreements that are not known, as few of the agreements have been fully made public with most known about them coming from public statements. At best, coverage on these agreements is vague at best thereby making it difficult to track and evaluate. Therefore, there needs to be…
We continue with our brief survey of crypto and digital currency initiatives from around the globe, all of which are officially sanctioned to enhance national competitive advantage (in the event crypto overtakes the US dollar as the global reserve currency). It is the cumulative adoption rate of state-sanctioned crypto and digital currency legalization and regulation…
On Friday, OpenAI announced that it has banned a group of accounts linked to an Iranian influence campaign. The operation was aiming to sway the upcoming election through the use of ChatGPT-generated content. It used ChatGPT to create commentary on the election which was then published on social media and websites. OpenAI did not find…
Lambda, an AI infrastructure company forged out of the ashes of a third-party Google Glass facial recognition app has teamed up with Nous Research, a newish startup dedicated to creating “personalized, unrestricted AI,” to launch Hermes 3, a new fine-tuned version of Meta’s open source Llama 3.1-405 billion parameter large language model (LLM). Hermes 3,…
OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Gemini have been duking it out for your chatbot prompts for months, but the competition is really starting to heat up. While Claude took the top spot on AI benchmarking tool LMSys Chatbot Arena earlier this year, Gemini had been reigning supreme. Now, though, a new version of ChatGPT-4o (20240808) has…
There has been no end to talk of embracing artificial intelligence — or any other new technology for that matter — before one’s competitors take hold of it. The consequences, it is always said, are dire, with slow-adopting companies becoming dinosaurs ready to suffer the effects of an asteroid hit. But business leaders are apparently…
Many of our first interactions with robots have watching a robot vacuum cleaner negotiate its way around our couch and make perilous journeys across our rugs. With recent advancements in AI, we may be getting closer to the moment that brings larger and more advanced humanoid robots into our homes at scale. Long popularized in…
No doubt artificial intelligence will be a paradigm shift for society. But the extent to which AI will replace human workers in the future remains up for debate. To get a better idea how AI will change the labor market for technology professionals, the recently formed AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium has published its inaugural report,…
The first case of an mpox variant has been registered outside of Africa. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency. Sweden has confirmed its first case of mpox clade I, a more dangerous variant of mpox. The variant spreads through close contact. After an outbreak of the mpox variant…
The effects of Typhoon Ampil will reach Eastern Japan today. The storm has already flooded some streets in the Tokyo area and is forcing evacuations. The typhoon is additionally disrupting businesses and travel across Japan. Japanese authorities are warning that the storm may cause extreme winds, waves, and even landslides. The heaviest rain and most…
Last week, a junior doctor was found dead at the Kolkata hospital where she worked. Her body showed evidence of rape and extreme physical brutality. Protests and walkouts have broken out across India in uprising against misogyny and violence against women in the country. Thousands of doctors have walked out of major public hospitals demanding…
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine stated on Thursday that Ukraine has captured the Russian town of Sudzha. This would be Ukraine’s first capture of a Russian city in the last 10 days. Military experts say that Ukrainian soldiers have captured most, if not all, of Sudzha. Recent videos and broadcasts show Ukrainian troops and flags…
AutoCanada disclosed a cyberattack this week that disrupted some internal IT systems. AutoCanada is a major Canadian car dealership and was also recently impacted by the CDK Global ransomware attack. The CDK Global ransomware attack forced many car companies to switch to pen and paper in June, impacting earnings. AutoCanada discovered the incident on August…
Recently, Russian-linked hackers have been targeting various Eastern European non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the media. Two spear-phishing campaigns are being conducted by the attackers, primarily focused on Russian and Belarusian organizations. One of the campaigns is called “River of Phish” and has been attributed to COLDRIVER. COLDRIVER is affiliated with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).…
Georgy Kavzharadze, a Russian national, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison in the U.S. for various cybercrimes. Kavzharadze sold stolen data on an online cybercriminal marketplace, Slilpp, including financial, login, and personal information. Over almost five years, he listed around 626,000 stolen login credentials on thr online marketplace. He sold over…
Iran has been accused of attempting to access the personal email accounts of individuals involved with both ongoing U.S. presidential campaigns. Google was able to disrupt the hacking campaign, which was conducted by APT42, an Iranian nation-state group. The attacks occurred in May and June. The targets included various individuals associated with the U.S. government…
Hamas will not attend ceasefire talks in Doha, but has said they will participate in talks at a later date. Hamas has said they will not attend talks that are scheduled to take place in Doha. The group has said they want stronger commitments from the parties involved before attending further talks. US and Israeli…
The WHO has declared a global health emergency due to the spread of a new variant of the mpox virus. The WHO has declared a global health emergency due to the spread of a new and deadly form of mpox. This new variant has been found in 13 countries and is affecting large numbers of…
The Prime Minister of Japan has announced that he will not be seeking another term of office. The Prime Minister of Japan has announced that he will not be seeking another term of office, and called for new leaders to seek to the lead the country and the ruling party. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party…
Critics and opponents of Putin have been targeted by a phishing campaign. A new report has shown that a large scale phishing operations has been organized which targets Russian opponents of Putin. The phishing operation has been linked to groups that are known to be assets of Russian police and intelligence agencies. The phishing emails…
The Central Bank of Iran and other large banks have been crippled by a cyber attack. Reports indicate that a large scale cyber attack has disrupted the operations of the Central Bank of Iran and other large banks. Current estimates are that this attack represents one of the largest cyber attacks on Iranian infrastructure. As…
A China backed cyber group has expanded its operations to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The China backed group, Earth Baku, has expanded its operations into Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. As part of this expansion the group has also changed its tactics to include using public facing applications as entry points. The…
Thai coalition announces that Pheu Thai will be nominated as the nation’s Prime Minister. Following a series of court rulings that have reshaped the political landscape of the country, a coalition of parties have nominated Pheu Thai to the be the next Prime Minister. Thai has said that the country needs to move on from…
A new threat actor has targeted Azerbaijan and Israel Diplomats. A new threat actor has engaged in cyber attacks against Azerbaijani and Israeli diplomats. The group behind the attacks is currently unknown; however, it is suspected that the attacks began in July. The attacks begin with phishing emails, and escalate to installing malware packages that…
At a recent bank board meeting, directors were treated to a surprise. They listened to the chief executive talk strategy—except it wasn’t actually the CEO talking. It turned out to be a voice-cloning model that was trained, using the CEO’s prior earnings calls, to generate new content. More boards are undertaking such staged exercises to…
As research and adoption of artificial intelligence continue to advance at an accelerating pace, so do the risks associated with using AI. To help organizations navigate this complex landscape, researchers from MIT and other institutions have released the AI Risk Repository, a comprehensive database of hundreds of documented risks posed by AI systems. The repository…
The IDC CIO Sentiment Survey has consistently shown automation climbing the priority list since 2020. Indeed, according to the 2023 survey (September 2023), 71.1% of respondents said they were accelerating or continuing to invest in automation to replace part of the workforce, and 73.7% said it was to improve processes in the context of difficult…
A group of visual artists and illustrators is celebrating a federal judge’s decision this week to allow key parts of their class-action lawsuit against the makers of popular AI image generators to move forward. The artists allege that tech start-ups including Midjourney and Stability AI violated various laws by training their AI image tools on…
The Made By Google launch event saw the official unveiling of the Pixel 9 series and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but it was the tech giant’s slew of new AI features that stole Tuesday’s show, firmly intensifying the smartphone AI arms race against Apple. Setting a new benchmark for what consumers can expect from their…
Today, new peace talks aimed at stopping the Sudanese civil war will commence in Switzerland. The talks are backed by the U.S., but Sudan’s military has refused to attend the negotiations. Famine was officially declared in the Darfur region of Sudan earlier this month, sparking urgency to bring peace to the country. The Rapid Support…
Today, Thailand’s Constitutional Court announced their decision to remove Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office. The court cites Srettha’s ethical shortcomings as the reason behind the ruling, as he appointed a minister with a criminal conviction which goes against official moral and ethical standards. Srettha is now the fourth Thai prime minister in the last…
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced that his cabinet would be composed of several conservatives and only one woman. This announcement sparked backlash, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s vice president for strategy, subsequently resigned. Pezeshkian’s allies have accused him of abandoning his campaign promises to bring change to Iran. Zarif’s resignation comes as a…
Yesterday, Tanzanian police announced that they had arrested over 500 people who were planning to attend a youth rally. Top opposition leaders were among those arrested. The rally was supposed to take place on Monday in the city of Mbeya. It was organized by the opposition Chadema party to celebrate International Youth Day. However, the…
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) has become a target for hackers attempting to steal credentials. Sensitive login information and compromised credentials linked to the DNC have been found online. The exposed information includes email addresses and passwords. While this breach does not appear to be linked to one targeted attack, it demonstrates the risk of…
On August 10, it was announced that Iranian hackers had allegedly hacked the Trump campaign. These hackers stole multiple internal documents including a list of possible JD Vance vulnerabilities. The FBI has confirmed that it is investigating the breach. Additionally, the FBI is currently investigating multiple hacking attempts targeting Trump and Biden-Harris associates over the…
The suspected head of a large cybercrime network has been arrested and extradited by the UK National Crime Agency (NCA). Masim Silnikau is known online as “J.P. Morgan” and is one of the world’s most prominent Russian-speaking threat actors. The NCA, United States Secret Service, and Federal Bureau of Investigation have been investigating his network…
Tenable Research identified multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Azure Health Bot. The flaws could have allowed privilege escalation. The Health Bot service is cloud-based, allowing healthcare organizations to build virtual health assistants. The chatbots built through the Health Bot service can have access to sensitive personal health information. The flaws discovered would have bypassed all safeguards…
research reveals that large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT cannot learn independently or acquire new skills without explicit instructions, making them predictable and controllable. The study dispels fears of these models developing complex reasoning abilities, emphasizing that while LLMs can generate sophisticated language, they are unlikely to pose existential threats. However, the potential misuse of…
According to the latest Canalys data, 8.8 million AI-capable PCs were shipped in Q2 2024. These devices are defined as desktops and notebooks that include a chipset or block for dedicated AI workloads, such as an NPU. Shipments of AI-capable PCs represented 14% of all PCs shipped in the quarter. With all major processor vendors’…
The potential for artificial intelligence (AI) humanoid robots in factories and stores is sparking debate among experts on the future of work and commerce. While companies explore humanoid robots for tasks from assembly to customer service, opinions vary widely on their adoption rate and implications. The consensus among experts leans toward gradual integration rather than rapid…
Rohan Choudhury, a Ph.D student in robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, writes code every day— whether that’s for training a machine learning model or running experiments. But since he started using Codeium’s AI coding assistant on his former colleagues’ suggestion, the usually arduous process has become magnitudes faster and simpler. Tasks like debugging and tweaking code…
China’s Huawei Technologies is close to introducing a new chip for artificial intelligence use, overcoming U.S. sanctions to challenge Nvidia in the Chinese market. Chinese internet companies and telecommunications operators have been testing Huawei’s latest processor, called Ascend 910C, in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. Huawei told potential clients that the new…
Ukrainian forces have claimed to have captured 390 square miles of Russian territory in the Kursk region. Ukrainian military commanders have said that their forces control nearly 390 square miles of Russian territory. This marks the first time that official Ukrainian government officials have commented on the offensive. Russian forces are still scrambling to respond…
The Philippines condemned actions taken by the Chinese air force over the Scarborough Shoal. The Philippines condemned the Chinese air force’s conduct over the Scarborough Shoal. Two Chinese aircraft dropped flares in the path of its patrol aircraft. This incident comes as the two nations are in the process of negotiating an agreement on the…
Australian mining firm hit by cyber attack. Australian mining firm Evolution Mining has been hit by a cyber attack. The company confirmed that its system had been attacked, but did not provide any further details. This is the latest in a series of cyber attacks against Australian companies which has called attention to the nation’s…
Vulnerabilities in Google’s quick share data transfer utility can leave users exposed to man in the middle attacks. Researchers have identified vulnerabilities in Google’s quick share data transfer utility that leave users exposed to man-in-the-middle attacks. The Researchers at SafeBreach said they were able to bypass the security protocols in the system due to their…
Ukraine warns of a new phishing campaign that pretends to be from Ukrainian security services. The Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine is warning governments of a new phishing campaign targeting government systems. The campaign uses emails that pretend to be from Ukrainian security services to deliver a ZIP file containing malware. This warning comes…
US and German authorities have shutdown the Dispossessor ransomware group. US and German authorities have announced that an operation to shutdown the Dispossessor ransomware group has been successful. Dispossessor was known to target small and medium size firms as well as hospitals. The operation identified suspects in several nations and dismantled their ability to continue…
60 Colombian soldiers will be released by villagers after being detained for several days. The Colombian government has announced that 60 soldiers will be released by villagers after they had been detained for several days. The government asserted that these villagers had been influenced by rebel groups to capture the soldiers. The soldiers will return…
Rumors are circulating that OpenAI is about to drop a new model this week and it could be our first sighting of the highly anticipated “Project Strawberry” — a reasoning-focused AI. Trying to follow artificial intelligence topics on social media over the past few days brought back memories of strawberry picking with my parents as…
Prediction marketplace Polymarket, which lets users bet on real-world events, is partnering with AI-powered search engine Perplexity to display news summaries of events. When users click on an event on Polymarket, they will now see a summary of news related to the event based on search results from Perplexity. There’s also a search box that you…
Replika’s basic pitch is pretty simple: what if you had an AI friend? The company offers avatars you can curate to your liking that basically pretend to be human, so they can be your friend, your therapist, or even your date. You can interact with these avatars through a familiar chatbot interface, as well as…
A new wave of humanoid robots is threatening to shake up the labor market. Built like humans and fueled by artificial intelligence, the machines are learning to tackle complicated tasks at a rapid rate. The advancement of generative AI is supercharging how quickly humanoids can learn, backed by vast amounts of data and high-powered chips.…
Nvidia is famous for building AI chips, but its most important construction is a business bulwark that keeps customers in and competitors out. This barrier is made as much of software as it is of silicon. Over the past two decades, Nvidia has created what is known in tech as a “walled garden,” not unlike…
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, amid rising fears of an escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran. In the call, Mr. Austin “reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel,” according to a summary provided by the Pentagon press secretary, Maj.…
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has nominated a moderate diplomat as foreign minister and a female official as urban development minister as he presented his new cabinet. The nominations appear in line with the hopes that the election of Pezeshkian last month, to replace the hardline Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May,…
Hamas has asked mediators to present a plan based on US President Joe Biden’s May 31 ceasefire proposal, days ahead of talks proposed by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. The May 31 proposal, which Hamas previously agreed to and Israel rejected, ensures the release of Israeli captives in Gaza as well as an unspecified…
Over the weekend a bipartisan bill seeking tighter vulnerability disclosure rules for federal contractors was announced. Referred to as the Federal Contractor Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction Act of 2024, the legislation is aimed at mitigating the impact of cyberattacks by requiring federal contractors to adhere to the vulnerability disclosure guidelines set by the National Institute of…
Sonos has patched vulnerabilities in its smart speakers, including a serious flaw that could have been exploited to eavesdrop on users. One of the vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2023-50809, can be exploited by an attacker who is in Wi-Fi range of the targeted Sonos smart speaker for remote code execution. Sonos informed customers about the vulnerability…
Iranian actors have spent recent months creating fake news sites and impersonating activists intending to influence the US election. The findings in Microsoft’s newest threat intelligence report show how Iran, which has been active in recent U.S. elections, is evolving its tactics for another election that’s likely to have global implications. Iran’s United Nations mission…
JPMorgan Chase has rolled out a generative artificial intelligence assistant to tens of thousands of its employees in recent weeks, the initial phase of a broader plan to inject the technology throughout the sprawling financial giant. The program, called LLM Suite, is already available to more than 60,000 employees, helping them with tasks like writing…
As business leaders look to harness AI to meet business needs, generative AI has become an invaluable tool to gain a competitive edge. This breakthrough technology can comprehend and communicate in natural language, aiding the creation of personalized customer interactions and immersive virtual experiences while supplementing employee capabilities. What sets generative AI apart from traditional AI…
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