Microsoft is offering free cybersecurity tools to some government and commercial customers following criticism of the tech giant's handling of a major alleged Chinese hack that compromised US government email accounts.

Researchers in China have invented a device that can connect people’s brains to a computer via their inner ear. The SprialE brain-computer interface (BCI), developed by a team from Tsinghua University in Beijing, uses a flexible in-ear material to establish a digital connection to the brain. It follows recent advances into BCI technology, which has seen company’s like Elon Musk’s Neuralink test brain chips capable of reading the minds of pigs and monkeys. Ultimately, the technology could offer “full-bandwidth data streaming” to the brain. Unlike Neuralink’s device, the latest invention does not require surgery or other microneedle-based invasive methods to install, which the scientists claim make it suitable for daily use. Current methods of connecting BCIs via the ear involve support systems like earplugs or 3D printed attachments, however the spiral design means it can be slid in and out without blocking the wearer’s hearing. “The hollowness of SpiralE ensures that all subjects could hear audio stimuli in the outside world in real time,” the researchers noted, adding that its unique structure demonstrates that “natural and discreet wearable electronics can be integrated into real-life applications.” The research was detailed in a study, titled ‘Conformal in-ear bioelectronics for visual and auditory brain-computer interfaces’, was published in the scientific journal Nature Communications. The technology could allow applications like translating thoughts into text, control digital objects with thought alone, or even augmenting human memory. A 2019 report from the Royal Society said the technology had the potential to “transform medicine and fundamentally change how we interact with technology and each other”, however it warned that BCIs raise critical ethical concerns relating to privacy and human rights. “Neural and brain-computer interfaces may challenge the very essence of what it is to be human,” the report stated. “Working out how, and even if we want to use them requires an open and inclusive debate involving many voices and all sectors of society.” Read More What is superintelligence? How AI could wipe out humanity – and why the boss of ChatGPT is doomsday prepping A mysterious source has been sending radio signals to Earth from space for decades Beats launches updated version of Studio Pro over-ear headphones How Mark Zuckerberg’s new ChatGPT rival could lead to ‘obscene’ AI

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Apple is working on its own ‘Apple GPT’, according to a new report. The system is an artificial intelligence chatbot like those offered by other companies, Bloomberg reported. It uses Apple’s own large language model framework and is built on tools from Google, the report said. The company is still unclear what purpose the system will serve, Bloomberg reported. But it is gearing up for a major announcement next year, it said. Multiple teams are currently working on the project, the report claimed, with some of those tasked with working on privacy concerns around the technology. Apple has focused on privacy as one of its fundamental principles, especially in recent years. If released, ‘Apple GPT’ would mark Apple’s first major step into artificial intelligence as its own product. Apple has been much more slower than competitors in offering own AI tools, and has been publicly cautious about embracing the technology. In an earnings call earlier this year, for instance, chief executive Tim Cook said that Apple was planning to “weave” artificial intelligence into its products, but that it would have to be “deliberate and thoughtful”. He said there is a “number of issues that need to be sorted”. Many had expected that Apple could address the growth of and hype around artificial intelligence during its Worldwide Developers Conference event last month, where it also released its Vision Pro virtual reality headset. But the topic went notably unmentioned, and Apple did not use the phrase at all, instead referring to those products using the technology as being powered by machine learning. Apple already offers a host of products powered by technologies that are often referred to as artificial intelligence. Siri uses such capabilities to power its voice recognition and responses, for instance – though Apple does not tend to publicly refer to it as such. Previous reports have suggested that Apple’s progress on artificial intelligence has been hindered by its characteristic private approach, which set it against a research community that is focused on publishing papers and sharing research. In recent years, however, it has made a number of high profile hires in the field and allowed them to publicly publish some of that work. Read More Beats launches updated version of Studio Pro over-ear headphones Rare ‘Holy Grail’ iPhone sells for almost $200,000 Apple’s next iPhone may include new battery technology, report suggests

Apple Inc. is quietly working on artificial intelligence tools that could challenge those of OpenAI Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s

China would be blocked from purchasing oil from the US’s emergency stockpiles under legislation slated for a Senate

A new bipartisan Senate bill would hold venture-capital firms and other large investors accountable in some cases for

SAVE $79.01: As of July 19, the 2021 Apple iPad (WiFi, 64GB) is on sale

The World Series of Warzone Finals begin at 1 p.m. on July 19 and July 20. Fans can earn free rewards as they watch the WSOW Finals on Twitch.

An overview of the media in Sao Tome and Principe, including links to broadcasters and newspapers.

An elite liberal arts university has taken steps in re-evaluating its admission process by ending legacy preferences following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action. Wesleyan University, a private college in Connecticut, announced in a letter on Wednesday that terminating its use of legacy admissions would benefit diversity on campus and cited the Court’s ruling as a catalyst in the decision. “In the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision regarding affirmative action, we believe it important to formally end admissions preference for ‘legacy applicants,’” Wesleyan University President Michael S Roth wrote. “We still value the ongoing relationships that come from multi-generational Wesleyan attendance, but there will be no ‘bump’ in the selection process.” The school is the first prominent higher education institution to end legacy admissions following the Court’s decision to end affirmative action in June. Going forward, Wesleyan said it will promote a diverse student body by recruiting students from areas across the US outside of big cities and coasts, recruiting veterans and investing in a pipeline to recruit community college graduates. They also plan to increase financial aid support by normalising a three-year option, creating a scholarship program to recruit and support undergraduates from Africa and developing more free-credit bearing courses online. In his letter, Mr Roth clarified that an applicant’s connection to the university has never guaranteed them a spot and family members of alumni are admitted on their own merits “as has been almost always the case for a long time.” The announcement marks Wesleyan’s formal ending of any legacy-based admissions. Wesleyan joins a small group of other colleges and universities that have ended legacy admissions like Amherst College which concluded legacy preference in 2021, John Hopkins University which made the decision in 2020 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which has never considered legacy. For more than 20 years, colleges and universities have used affirmative action to help establish a diverse pool of accepted students. Race is not used as the sole factor in determining a student’s acceptance but it can be considered if there are two applicants with nearly identical qualifications that meet or exceed the school’s application standard. Mr Roth echoed this in his letter, saying Wesleyan “has never fixated on a checked box indicating a student’s racial identification” and has always taken a “holistic view” by looking at applicants’ records, letters of recommendation, college essays and more. But in a 6-3 decision last month, the Court struck down the long-used tool in two consolidated cases: Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina. Now, institutions of higher education can no longer consider race as a factor unless a student volunteers information about their race or culture in their personal essay. Advocates of affirmative action called on colleges and universities to re-evaluate their admissions processes and establish other methods of cultivating a diverse campus. President Joe Biden encouraged schools to “not abandon their commitment to ensuring student bodies of diverse backgrounds” and directed the Department of Education to analyse practices that hold diversity back. Those practices include legacy admissions which Mr Biden said, “expands privilege instead of opportunity.” Read More Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action, banning colleges from factoring race in admissions Slim majority of Americans support Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling, but most believe politics rules the court Harvard sued over ‘legacy admissions’ after Supreme Court targets affirmative action Biden condemns Supreme Court striking down affirmative action: ‘This is not a normal court’

Netflix has removed its basic plan in the U.S. and UK in which users could watch shows and