News of the Cyber World

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Roku Controversy

Roku Terms of Service Update Locks Users’ TVs Until They Agree

Roku customers are threatening to stop using their TVs and streaming tools after the company allegedly locked devices for people who don’t agree to its recently updated terms of service (ToS), according to a report by Ars Technica.

“We’ve made an important update,” read a message from Roku this month. “We’ve updated our Dispute Resolution Terms. Select ‘Agree’ to agree to these updated Terms and to continue enjoying our products and services.”

“Press * to view these updated Terms,” the message adds.

Underneath the pop-up message is a large button labeled “Agree,” with no option to disagree. Moreover, users are unable to access their devices unless they click on “Agree.”

Customers were “furious” and left pages of complaints on Roku’s community forum, with some even questioning the legality of the matter.
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In order to opt out of Roku’s ToS update, users must send the company’s general counsel in California a letter, and be sure to mention, “the name of each person opting out and contact information for each such person, the specific product models, software, or services used that are at issue, the email address that you used to set up your Roku account (if you have one), and, if applicable, a copy of your purchase receipt.”

This, however, is not new, as Roku reportedly required all of that information in order for users to opt out of its previous terms.

Notably, the verbiage in Roku’s ToS update suggests that users could agree to the terms on their device and then write a letter asking to opt out later. But many say it is unreasonable to have to opt into an agreement only to use a device under terms one doesn’t agree with.

Moreover, Roku’s ToS states that users only have “within 30 days of you first becoming subject to” the company’s updated terms — which was February 20 — to opt out. Otherwise, users are opted in automatically.

Tesla Autopilot is Insecure

Tesla Autopilot, others test ‘poor’ in self-driving safety study

Tesla Autopilot and 10 other advanced driver assistance or self-driving systems tested by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety earned “poor” safety ratings.

The institute tested 14 systems for their full and partial self-driving systems, as well as hands-free highway driving systems. Two other systems earned just “marginal” ratings, a step above poor.

David Harkey, president of the Insurance Institute, said that his organization stepped into testing the systems since federal agencies like the National Highway Safety Administration do not provide a rating system.

“Some drivers may feel that partial automation makes long drives easier, but there is little evidence it makes driving safer,” Harkey said, according to CNN. “As many high-profile crashes have illustrated, it can introduce new risks when systems lack appropriate safeguards.”

The institute tested the systems in seven categories: driver monitoring, attention reminders, emergency procedures, safety features and three driver involvement categories lane changes, adaptive cruise control resumption and cooperative steering.

According to Cars.com, the institute gave Lexus Teammate with Advanced Drive an acceptable rating, which topped all the self-driving systems tested.

The GM Super Cruise in the GMC Sierra and the Nissan ProPilot Assist in the Nissan Ariya earned a Marginal rating.

Those giving Poor ratings were the BMW Active Driving Assistant Pro on the BMWX1; Ford Adaptive Cruise Control in the Ford Mustang Mach-E; Ford BlueCruise in the Mustang Mach-E; and Genesis Smart Cruise Control in the Genesis G90.

AI Section

Top AI Researchers Complain OpenAI, Meta, and Google Are Ignoring Safety Concerns

TIME reports that according to the government-commissioned report authored by employees of Gladstone AI, some of the world’s top AI researchers harbor grave apprehensions regarding the safety measures and incentives driving their organizations. The authors conducted interviews with over 200 experts, including employees from pioneering AI labs such as OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Meta, and Anthropic – all of which are actively pursuing the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI), a hypothetical technology capable of performing most tasks at or above human level.

The report reveals that employees at these labs shared concerns privately with the authors, expressing fears that their organizations prioritize rapid progress over implementing robust safety protocols. One individual voiced worries about their lab’s “lax approach to safety” stemming from a desire to avoid slowing down the development of more powerful AI systems. Another employee expressed concern over insufficient containment measures to prevent an AGI from escaping their control, despite the lab’s belief that AGI is a near-term possibility.

Cybersecurity risks were also highlighted, with the report stating, “By the private judgment of many of their own technical staff, the security measures in place at many frontier AI labs are inadequate to resist a sustained IP exfiltration campaign by a sophisticated attacker.” The authors warn that given the current state of security at these labs, it is likely that attempts to exfiltrate AI models could succeed without direct government support, if they haven’t already.

Jeremie Harris, CEO of Gladstone and one of the report’s authors, emphasized the gravity of the concerns raised by employees. “The level of concern from some of the people in these labs, about the decision-making process and how the incentives for management translate into key decisions, is difficult to overstate,” he told TIME.

Artificial Journalism: 5 Pulitzer Prize Finalists ‘Incorporated’ AI into Their Work

NiemenLab reports that the integration of AI in journalism has reached new heights, as evidenced by the recent disclosure that five out of the 45 finalists for this year’s Pulitzer Prizes in journalism utilized AI tools in the process of researching, reporting, or presenting their entries. This revelation comes from Pulitzer Prize administrator Marjorie Miller, who noted that the 2024 competition marked the first time entrants were required to disclose their use of AI.

The Pulitzer Board’s decision to mandate AI disclosure stemmed from the rapid rise of generative AI and machine learning tools in recent years. With around 1,200 submissions received this year, the board recognized the need to understand the potential impact of these technologies on the journalism industry.

Miller, who sits on the 18-person Pulitzer board, revealed that discussions about AI policies began early last year, driven by a desire to comprehend both the capabilities and potential risks associated with these emerging tools. In July 2022, the board received a comprehensive briefing on AI from industry experts, including Mark Hansen, director of the David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia Journalism School.

Hansen and his colleagues provided the board with a broad overview of AI’s applications in newsrooms, ranging from data analysis and web scraping to the use of large language models. Crucially, the discussions also delved into critical issues surrounding AI, such as copyright law, data privacy, and the potential for bias in machine learning models.

Air Force to Spend $6 Billion on 1,000 Artificial Intelligence Jets

The U.S. Air Force is preparing to add 1,000 artificial intelligence (AI) jets to its fleet as part of a $6 billion contract that will be awarded to a private developer, new reports have revealed.

The Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) project will feature AI-piloted planes that will be able to fly missions too dangerous for manned aircraft, such as flying just 30 feet above the ground at speeds up to 600 mph, according to the Daily Mail.

To put that in perspective, the speed of sound is about 767 mph.

The proposed jets will aid human-piloted missions by escorting and protecting other planes, acting as scouts, and carrying weapons to attack targets on the ground.

Weapons developers Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics, and Anduril Industries are all in the running to win the multi-billion-dollar contract from the Pentagon.

The Department of Defense (DOD) hopes to select two of the competing companies by the summer of 2024 to begin building the jets in order to have them ready within five years.

Each jet has an estimated cost of “$10 to $20 million per plane,” the Daily Mail reports.

“In comparison, a manned F-35 is $100 million new while a B-21 bomber is $750 million.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, the interest in building autonomous systems is based on countering the “China threat.”

Wanna Buy TikTok? Then You've Got Some Serious Competition Already!

First it was O'Leary who had expressed his serious interest in purchasing the company but now there's another businessman looking for a chance to take control of it.

Former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Expresses Interest in Buying China’s TikTok to Prevent Ban

Former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has reportedly expressed interest in buying China’s TikTok amid talk of banning the app in the United States, given that its parent company is the Chinese tech giant ByteDance, which is beholden to the Chinese Communist regime.

Kotick, the former CEO of the video game company Activision Blizzard and a polarizing figure in the video gaming industry, has approached ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming to share his interest in buying TikTok, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The Chinese app could cost hundreds of billions of dollars, meaning Kotick would need to acquire a lot of partners to make that purchase happen. The ex-Activision CEO has reportedly pitched several people, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

The sudden interest in buying TikTok, one of the most popular social media platforms in the country, comes after 19 U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill that could force ByteDance to sell TikTok within six months or face a ban from the United States.

The legislation noted that “applications like TikTok that are controlled by foreign adversaries pose an unacceptable risk to US national security.”

Moreover, given the bipartisan nature of the bill, there is a real possibility that the U.S. government will push the legislation forward to the desk of President Joe Biden, who has already said would sign it.