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Researchers create AI worms that can spread from one system to another

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On this day, 27 years ago, Bill Gates confessed during a hearing that Microsoft prevented internet content providers from endorsing Netscape's browser, leading to Internet Explorer's market dominance by bundling it for free with Windows.


In today's Techpresso:

๐Ÿ› Researchers create AI worms that can spread from one system to another

๐ŸŽ Apple reverses decision about blocking web apps on iPhones in the EU

๐Ÿค– Nvidia CEO says AI could pass human tests in five years

๐Ÿ‘พ Hugging Face, the GitHub of AI, hosted code that backdoored user devices

๐Ÿš– Waymo expands its driverless taxi service

๐ŸŽ + 5 other news you might like

๐Ÿ”ฎ + 4 handpicked research papers and tools

๐Ÿ› Researchers create AI worms that can spread from one system to anotherLINK

  • Researchers have developed AI worms, named Morris II, capable of spreading between systems to potentially steal data or deploy malware, demonstrating a new form of cyberattack.
  • The AI worms exploit generative AI systems, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, using adversarial self-replicating prompts in texts and images to bypass security measures and perform unauthorized actions like data theft and spamming.
  • Despite the controlled environment of the research, security experts warn of the future risks of such AI worms, especially in applications with autonomous decision-making capabilities, urging the need for traditional security measures and human oversight to mitigate potential threats.
  • ๐ŸŽ Apple reverses decision about blocking web apps on iPhones in the EULINK

  • Apple has decided to continue offering support for Home Screen web apps in Europe following feedback from developers and regulatory concerns.
  • The decision reverses Apple's previous plan to restrict these apps due to the Digital Markets Act, ensuring they remain built on WebKit and integrated within iOS's security and privacy frameworks.
  • Open Web Advocacy attributed Appleโ€™s reversal to the pressure from the developer community and potential regulatory investigations, continuing to push for fair competition in web app development.
  • ๐Ÿค– Nvidia CEO says AI could pass human tests in five yearsLINK

  • Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, speaking at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Summit, suggests AI could pass human intelligence tests within five years.
  • Huang elaborates that while AI currently succeeds in exams like the legal bar, it struggles with specialized medical tests, a gap expected to close in the timeline provided.
  • Despite the optimistic forecast for AI test performance, Huang notes the broader achievement of artificial general intelligence (AGI) may still be distant due to varying definitions of human-like cognition.
  • ๐Ÿ‘พ Hugging Face, the GitHub of AI, hosted code that backdoored user devicesLINK

  • Code hosted on AI developer platform Hugging Face was found to covertly install backdoors and malware on user machines, per a report from security firm JFrog.
  • About 100 submissions were identified as harmful, with 10 being truly malicious, including one that created a backdoor for full remote control over the user's device.
  • The malicious models, including one notable for opening a reverse shell, exploited the serialization process via the pickle formatโ€™s "__reduce__" method to execute arbitrary code.
  • ๐Ÿš– Waymo expands its driverless taxi serviceLINK

  • Waymo obtained authorization from the California Public Utilities Commission to charge for its robotaxi service in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Peninsula, and San Francisco freeways, expanding its commercial operations.
  • Previously, Waymo was limited to offering free driverless rides in parts of Los Angeles but can now monetize rides following the new approval.
  • Despite previous application suspension for review and protests, Waymo's service has been welcomed in Los Angeles, with over 15,000 users and a 50,000-person waitlist indicating strong consumer interest.
  • Other news you might like

    OpenAI 'categorically disagrees' with Elon Muskโ€™s lawsuit against it, suggests Tesla CEO has 'regrets'.LINK

    Copilot for OneDrive will fetch your files and summarize them.LINK

    Meta is starting to test the Threads API with third-party developers.LINK

    Researchers identify a "reasoning gap" in large AI models.LINK

    AI chip startup Groq forms new business unit, acquires Definitive Intelligence.LINK

    Latest research and tools

    FastUI: a new tool that allows Python and frontend developers to create web application user interfaces more efficiently through declarative Python code, eliminating the need to write JavaScript and enabling the construction of reusable components.LINK

    Weather.gov 2.0: a revamped version of the National Weather Service's website aimed at simplifying access to essential weather, water, and climate information, ensuring it's easier to find, comprehend, and utilize for both public safety and awareness.LINK

    ArtPrompt: ASCII art can be used to trick language models into ignoring their own safety guidelines.LINK

    KamilaLisp: a versatile and efficient Lisp dialect inspired by Haskell and APL designed for various programming paradigms, including functional, array, concurrent, and object-oriented programming, with a comprehensive remote IDE for networked instance management.LINK


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