The Myanmar soldiers descended before dawn on Feb. 1, bearing rifles and wire cutters. At gunpoint, they ordered technicians at telecom operators to switch off the internet. For good measure, the soldiers snipped wires without knowing what they were severing, according to an eyewitness and a person briefed on the events. The New York Times: The data center raids in Yangon…
Tag: guns
Could an Ethically-Correct AI Shut Down Gun Violence?
The Next Web writes:
A trio of computer scientists from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York recently published research detailing a potential AI intervention for murder: an ethical lockout. The big idea here is to stop mass shootings and other ethically incorrect uses for firearms through the development of an AI that can recognize intent, judge whether it’s ethical use, and…
Why don’t wildebeest have wheels? Exploring the limits of evolution
Evolution has produced a stupendous diversity of lifeforms, but there are some adaptations it never seems to produce, like flying plants or zebras with guns. Is there is a limit to its creativity? Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24833132-400-why-dont-wildebeest-have-wheels-exploring-the-limits-of-evolution/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
SpaceX’s First Military Contracts: One-Hour Cargo Deliveries By Rocket and Missile-Tracking Satellites
“The Pentagon is contracting Elon Musk’s SpaceX to develop rockets that can deliver packages anywhere on the planet in under an hour,” reports Vice: One of the things that makes the U.S. military a dominant global fighting force is its ability to move troops, weapons, and supplies quickly to where they’re needed. C-17 transport planes soar across the globe delivering troops…
Dark Web Drugs Raid Leads To 179 Arrests
Police forces around the world have seized more than $6.5 million in cash and virtual currencies, as well as drugs and guns in a co-ordinated raid on dark web marketplaces. The BBC reports: Some 179 people were arrested across Europe and the U.S., and 500kg (1,102lb) of drugs and 64 guns confiscated. It ends the “golden age” of these underground marketplaces,…
US military electroshock weapon can hit a person 100 metres away
The US Marine Corps is testing a long-range alternative to stun guns – it is a projectile that can be fired from a shotgun and that uses a parachute to slow down before delivering an electric shock Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2247049-us-military-electroshock-weapon-can-hit-a-person-100-metres-away/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Can AI Design Games? How Nick Walton Created ‘AI Dungeon’
shirappu writes: Nick Walton created AI Dungeon as an experiment to build an AI dungeon master for D&D games. Since then, it’s grown into a text adventure game in which players can type in anything they want, with the game’s AI responding dynamically [and with over 1.5 million players and multiplayer adventures.] In this interview about the year since its release,…
William Shatner Upset By Police Who Drew Guns Upon Stormtrooper On May 4th
McGruber writes: On Twitter, William Shatner is sending his contempt to the Lethbridge Police department and three of its officers that celebrated May Fourth by drawing their rifles on and then taking down a woman dressed as Stormtrooper, who had been standing in the parking lot of a Star Wars-themed business. According to CTV News, the restaurant was promoting its special…
MicroProse, Legendary Creators of Civilization, XCOM, and Falcon 4.0 Is Back
MicroProse, an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982, is being resurrected after an absence of almost 20 years. The publisher’s last game was Grand Prix 4 released in 2002, but is most famous for the XCOM and Civilization franchises. MojoKid shares a report from HotHardware: The company is now being led by…
State Officials Ask Trump Administration To Pull 3D-Printed Gun Files Offline
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Two dozen state attorneys general are asking the Trump administration to crack down on Defense Distributed’s Defcad site for selling 3D-printed gun files. In a letter sent today, they urged the Justice Department and State Department to enforce rules against exporting weapons and making undetectable firearms. “If the federal government fails to…