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[32]Close binspamdupenotthebestofftopicslownewsdaystalestupid freshfunnyinsightfulinterestingmaybe offtopicflamebaittrollredundantoverrated insightfulinterestinginformativefunnyunderrated descriptive typodupeerror [33]Sign up for the Slashdot newsletter! OR [34]check out the new Slashdot job board to browse remote jobs or jobs in your area Do you develop on GitHub? You can keep using GitHub but automatically [35]sync your GitHub releases to SourceForge quickly and easily with [36]this tool so your projects have a backup location, and get your project in front of SourceForge's nearly 20 million monthly users. It takes less than a minute. Get new users downloading your project releases today! [37]× 174021611 story [38]Businesses [39]You Can Thank Private Equity for That Enormous Doctor's Bill [40]2 Posted by msmash on Friday May 31, 2024 @12:05PM from the taking-stock-of-things dept. Private-equity investors have poured billions into healthcare but often game the system, [41]hurting both doctors and patients. From a report: Consolidation is as American as apple pie. When a business gets bigger, it forces mom-and-pop players out of the market, but it can boost profits and bring down costs, too. Think about the pros and cons of Walmart and "Every Day Low Prices." In a complex, multitrillion-dollar system like America's healthcare market, though, that principle has turned into a harmful arms race that has helped drive prices increasingly higher without improving care. Years of dealmaking has led to sprawling hospital systems, vertically integrated health insurance companies, and highly concentrated private equity-owned practices resulting in diminished competition and even the closure of vital health facilities. As this three-part Heard on the Street series will show, the rich rewards and lax oversight ultimately create pain for both patients and the doctors who treat them. Belatedly, state and federal regulators and lawmakers are zeroing in on consolidation, creating uncertainty for the investors who have long profited from the healthcare merger boom. Consider the impact of massive private-equity investment in medical practices. When a patient with employer-based insurance goes under for surgery, the anesthesiologist's fee is supposed to be determined by market forces. But what happens if one firm quietly buys out several anesthesiologists in the same city and then hikes the price of the procedure? Such a scheme was allegedly implemented by the private-equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and the company it created in 2012, U.S. Anesthesia Partners, according to a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit filed last year. It started by buying the largest practice in Houston and then making three further acquisitions, eventually expanding into other cities throughout the state of Texas. In each location, the lawsuit alleges, USAP pursued an aggressive strategy of eliminating competitors by either acquiring them or conspiring with them to weaken competition. As one insurance executive put it in the FTC lawsuit, USAP and Welsh Carson used acquisitions to "take the highest rate of all ... and then peanut butter spread that across the entire state of Texas." In May, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt dismissed the FTC's unusual step of charging the private-equity investor, Welsh Carson, but allowed the case against USAP to proceed. apply tags__________ 174021505 story [42]Businesses [43]Vista Equity Writes Off IT Education Platform PluralSight Value, After $3.5 Billion Buyout [44](axios.com) [45]3 Posted by msmash on Friday May 31, 2024 @11:39AM from the closer-look dept. Vista Equity Partners has [46]written off the entire equity value of its investment in tech learning platform Pluralsight, [47]three years after taking it private for $3.5 billion, Axios reported Friday. From the report: One source says that the Utah-based company's financials have improved, with around 26% EBITDA growth in 2023, but not enough to service nearly $1.3 billion of debt that was issued when interest rates were lower. It's also a company whose future could be dimmed by advances in artificial intelligence, since some of the developer skills it teaches are becoming automated. Vista agreed to buy the company in late 2020 for $20.26 per share, representing a 25% premium to its 30-day trading average, despite a lack of profits. apply tags__________ 174021163 story [48]Communications [49]Recycling Old Copper Wires Could Be Worth Billions For Telcos [50](theregister.com) [51]35 Posted by msmash on Friday May 31, 2024 @10:57AM from the how-about-that dept. Increasingly redundant copper wires [52]may be worth over $7 billion to telecommunications firms, should they take the trouble to recycle them. From a report: The estimate comes from British engineering company TXO, which claims there's up to 800,000 metric tons of copper wiring that could be harvested in the next ten years. TXO claims over a dozen telcos are investigating extracting copper wires from old networks to sell on the open market. The need for copper wiring is declining as carriers adopt fiber optics, which have superior carrying capacity -- one upcoming fiber technology is expected to increase the data capacity of undersea cables by 12 times. While repurposing old stuff isn't unusual, recycling copper can be particularly valuable as the conductive metal is a crucial material for things like solar panels and batteries, which rely on old-school electrical wiring. A 2022 report from S&P Global estimated demand for copper would double by 2035 -- from 25 million metric tons in 2022 to 50 million -- and since the copper mining industry reportedly won't be able to keep up with demand, that means higher prices. Copper is already 50 percent more expensive since the COVID-19 pandemic, and prices will likely continue to increase. apply tags__________ 174020897 story [53]Google [54]Google is Putting More Restrictions On AI Overviews [55](engadget.com) [56]24 Posted by msmash on Friday May 31, 2024 @10:05AM from the how-about-that dept. An anonymous reader shares a report: Liz Reid, the Head of Google Search, has admitted that the company's search engine has returned some "[57]odd, inaccurate or unhelpful AI Overviews" after they rolled out to everyone in the US. The executive published an explanation for Google's more peculiar AI-generated responses in a blog post, where it also announced that the company has [58]implemented safeguards that will help the new feature return more accurate and less meme-worthy results. Reid defended Google and pointed out that some of the more egregious AI Overview responses going around, such as claims that it's safe to leave dogs in cars, are fake. The viral screenshot showing the answer to "How many rocks should I eat?" is real, but she said that Google came up with an answer because a website published a satirical content tackling the topic. "Prior to these screenshots going viral, practically no one asked Google that question," she explained, so the company's AI linked to that website. The Google VP also confirmed that AI Overview told people to use glue to get cheese to stick to pizza based on content taken from a forum. apply tags__________ 174017179 story [59]Businesses [60]Best Buy Set For Tenth Straight Quarter of Sales Drop [61](reuters.com) [62]23 Posted by [63]BeauHD on Friday May 31, 2024 @09:00AM from the sign-of-the-times dept. An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Best Buy is [64]set to post its tenth consecutive quarter of sales decline on Thursday when the U.S. electronics retailer reports quarterly results, as spending on big-ticket electronics remains pressured despite easing inflation. Although results from big-box retailers Walmart and Target indicate that consumers have resumed spending on less-expensive discretionary items such as apparel and accessories, they are still hesitant to go for TVs and washing machines. UPDATE 5/30/24: Best Buy's quarterly profit [65]exceeded Wall Street estimates due to improved demand in its computing category, cost-saving efforts, and a successful membership program, leading to a 10% rise in shares. "Demand for artificial intelligence-enabled laptops as well as higher-end televisions is helping Best Buy regain lost ground on sales in the country as consumers look to upgrade or replace their gadgets after more than two years of restraint on spending on electronics," reports Reuters. "The company is also banking on the launch of Microsoft's AI-powered Copilot+ PCs, which are expected to go on sale on June 18." "Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said on a post-earnings call that the company expects to have more than 40% of the product assortment at launch exclusive to the company. The company has also benefited from people signing up for its two-tiered membership program, which it refreshed last year, helping the top electronics retailer in the United States retain shoppers and drive better margins." apply tags__________ 174017129 story [66]Media [67]Apple News+ Subscription Growth Blows Away Major Media Sites [68](cultofmac.com) [69]37 Posted by [70]BeauHD on Friday May 31, 2024 @06:00AM from the would-you-look-at-that dept. David Snow reports via Cult of Mac: A new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) shows Apple News+ [71]growing its subscription rate about four times as fast as major news sites are. CIRP [72]showed Apple increased its News+ subscriptions in the United States from 15% to 24% between 2020 to 2024, a 9% increase. In that same period, The New York Times and The Washington Post managed a 2% bump apiece and The Wall Street Journal managed a 3% increase. The results come from data measuring how many Apple product buyers say they subscribe to the News+ service. CIRP also cited a report indicating that the Apple News+ partnership program is [73]increasingly becoming a lifeline for news websites losing revenue, according to major publishers. And as far as the growth of Apple News+ subscription growth is concerned, it may keep growing as long as the user install base for devices keeps growing. "One-quarter of the U.S. base of Apple customers represents tens of millions of users, an enormous audience relative to what individual media outlets can expect on their own," CIRP noted. apply tags__________ 174017095 story [74]NASA [75]NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Finds Most Distant Known Galaxy [76](nasa.gov) [77]31 Posted by [78]BeauHD on Friday May 31, 2024 @03:00AM from the hide-and-seek dept. With the help of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers [79]discovered a galaxy at a redshift of 14.32, indicating it existed just 290 million years post-Big Bang. In a NASA release today, Stefano Carniani from Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, and Kevin Hainline from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, described how this source was found and what its unique properties tell us about galaxy formation: "The instruments on Webb were designed to find and understand the earliest galaxies, and in the first year of observations as part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), we found many hundreds of candidate galaxies from the first 650 million years after the big bang. In early 2023, we discovered a galaxy in our data that had strong evidence of being above a redshift of 14, which was very exciting, but there were some properties of the source that made us wary. The source was surprisingly bright, which we wouldn't expect for such a distant galaxy, and it was very close to another galaxy such that the two appeared to be part of one larger object. When we observed the source again in October 2023 as part of the JADES Origins Field, new imaging data obtained with Webb's narrower NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) filters pointed even more toward the high-redshift hypothesis. We knew we needed a spectrum, as whatever we would learn would be of immense scientific importance, either as a new milestone in Webb's investigation of the early universe or as a confounding oddball of a middle-aged galaxy. In January 2024, NIRSpec observed this galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0, for almost ten hours, and when the spectrum was first processed, there was unambiguous evidence that the galaxy was indeed at a redshift of 14.32, shattering the previous most-distant galaxy record (z = 13.2 of JADES-GS-z13-0). Seeing this spectrum was incredibly exciting for the whole team, given the mystery surrounding the source. This discovery was not just a new distance record for our team; the most important aspect of JADES-GS-z14-0 was that at this distance, we know that this galaxy must be intrinsically very luminous. From the images, the source is found to be over 1,600-light years across, proving that the light we see is coming mostly from young stars and not from emission near a growing supermassive black hole. This much starlight implies that the galaxy is several hundreds of millions of times the mass of the Sun! This raises the question: How can nature make such a bright, massive, and large galaxy in less than 300 million years? The data reveal other important aspects of this astonishing galaxy. We see that the color of the galaxy is not as blue as it could be, indicating that some of the light is reddened by dust, even at these very early times. JADES researcher Jake Helton of Steward Observatory and the University of Arizona also identified that JADES-GS-z14-0 was detected at longer wavelengths with Webb's MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), a remarkable achievement considering its distance. The MIRI observation covers wavelengths of light that were emitted in the visible-light range, which are redshifted out of reach for Webb's near-infrared instruments. Jake's analysis indicates that the brightness of the source implied by the MIRI observation is above what would be extrapolated from the measurements by the other Webb instruments, indicating the presence of strong ionized gas emission in the galaxy in the form of bright emission lines from hydrogen and oxygen. The presence of oxygen so early in the life of this galaxy is a surprise and suggests that multiple generations of very massive stars had already lived their lives before we observed the galaxy. All of these observations, together, tell us that JADES-GS-z14-0 is not like the types of galaxies that have been predicted by theoretical models and computer simulations to exist in the very early universe. Given the observed brightness of the source, we can forecast how it might grow over cosmic time, and so far we have not found any suitable analogs from the hundreds of other galaxies we've observed at high redshift in our survey. Given the relatively small region of the sky that we searched to find JADES-GS-z14-0, its discovery has profound implications for the predicted number of bright galaxies we see in the early universe, as discussed in another concurrent JADES study (Robertson et al., recently accepted). It is likely that astronomers will find many such luminous galaxies, possibly at even earlier times, over the next decade with Webb. We're thrilled to see the extraordinary diversity of galaxies that existed at Cosmic Dawn! apply tags__________ 174016001 story [80]Earth [81]Cut In Ship Pollution Sparked Global Heating Spurt [82]90 Posted by [83]BeauHD on Thursday May 30, 2024 @11:30PM from the termination-shock dept. An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The slashing of pollution from shipping in 2020 led to a big "termination shock" that is [84]estimated have pushed the rate of global heating to double the long-term average, according to research. Until 2020, global shipping used dirty, high-sulphur fuels that produced air pollution. The pollution particles blocked sunlight and helped form more clouds, thereby curbing global heating. But new regulations at the start of 2020 slashed the sulphur content of fuels by more than 80%. The new analysis calculates that the subsequent drop in pollution particles has significantly increased the amount of heat being trapped at the Earth's surface that drives the climate crisis. The researchers said the sharp ending of decades of shipping pollution was an inadvertent geoengineering experiment, revealing new information about its effectiveness and risks. Dr Tianle Yuan, at the University of Maryland, US, who led the study, said the estimated 0.2 watts per sq meter of additional heat trapped over the oceans after the pollution cut was "a big number, and it happened in one year, so it's a big shock to the system." "We will experience about double the warming rate compared to the long-term average" since 1880 as a result, he said. The heating effect of the pollution cut is expected to last about seven years. The research, [85]published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, combined satellite observations of sulphur pollution and computer modeling to calculate the impact of the cut. It found the short-term shock was equivalent to 80% of the total extra heating the planet has seen since 2020 from longer-term factors such as rising fossil-fuel emissions. The scientists used relatively simple climate models to estimate how much this would drive up average global temperatures at the surface of the Earth, finding a rise of about 0.16C over seven years. This is a large rise and the same margin by which 2023 beat the temperature record compared with the previous hottest year. However, other scientists think the temperature impact of the pollution cut will be significantly lower due to feedbacks in the climate system, which are included in the most sophisticated climate models. The results of this type of analysis are expected later in 2024. [...] The new analysis indicates that this type of geoengineering would reduce temperatures, but would also bring serious risks. These include the sharp temperature rise when the pumping of aerosols stopped -- the termination shock -- and also potential changes to global precipitation patterns, which could disrupt the monsoon rains that billions of people depend on. "We should definitely do research on this, because it's a tool for situations where we really want to cool down the Earth temporarily," like an emergency brake, said Dr Gavin Schmidt, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. "But this is not going to be a long-term solution, because it doesn't address the root cause of global warming," which is emissions from fossil fuel burning. apply tags__________ 174015949 story [86]Businesses [87]Amazon Prime Now Comes With Free Grubhub Food Delivery [88](theverge.com) [89]49 Posted by [90]BeauHD on Thursday May 30, 2024 @09:25PM from the sweetening-the-deal dept. Now included in Amazon Prime is free delivery via Grubhub. According to The Verge, "Amazon is now [91]embedding Grubhub into Amazon.com and the Amazon Shopping app, and Amazon Prime customers paying $139 per year for Amazon Prime will now pay $0 for food delivery fees on orders of $12 or more, among other benefits." From the report: Amazon had previously offered Prime customers a free one-year subscription to GrubHub Plus, but that one auto-renewed at $129 per year. Now, it's a permanent part of the Amazon Prime subscription. Amazon says the ordering experience is "identical" to ordering from Grubhub's website or app and is accessible to all customers, even without Prime. Amazon and Grubhub say they'll continue collaborating on other promotions, including food pairings and promotions like the limited Nuka burger for the Fallout series premiere. Prime members can also get $5 off their Grubhub meal of $25 or more made through Amazon with code PRIME5 (valid through June 2nd). What will likely not be included in Amazon's Prime subscription is Alexa's [92]upcoming AI overhaul. "Amazon is upgrading its decade-old Alexa voice assistant with generative AI and plans to charge a monthly subscription fee to offset the cost of the technology," CNBC reported earlier this month. Unfortunately, sources said it will not be included in the $139-per-year Prime offering. apply tags__________ 174015913 story [93]Privacy [94]Cooler Master Hit By Data Breach Exposing Customer Information [95](bleepingcomputer.com) [96]15 Posted by [97]BeauHD on Thursday May 30, 2024 @08:45PM from the another-day-another-breach dept. Computer hardware manufacturer Cooler Master has confirmed that it [98]suffered a data breach on May 19 after a threat actor breached the company's website, stealing the Fanzone member information of 500,000 customers. BleepingComputer reports: [A] threat actor known as 'Ghostr' told us they hacked the company's Fanzone website on May 18 and downloaded its linked databases. Cooler Master's Fanzone site is used to register a product's warranty, request an RMA, or open support tickets, requiring customers to fill in personal data, such as names, email addresses, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and physical addresses. Ghostr said they were able to download 103 GB of data during the Fanzone breach, including the customer information of over 500,000 customers. The threat actor also shared data samples, allowing BleepingComputer to confirm with numerous customers listed in the breach that their data was accurate and that they recently requested support or an RMA from Cooler Master. Other data in the samples included product information, employee information, and information regarding emails with vendors. The threat actor claimed to have partial credit card information, but BleepingComputer could not find this data in the data samples. The threat actor now says they will sell the leaked data on hacking forums but has not disclosed the price. Cooler Master said in a statement to BleepingComputer: "We can confirm on May 19, Cooler Master experienced a data breach involving unauthorized access to customer data. We immediately alerted the authorities, who are actively investigating the breach. Additionally, we have engaged top security experts to address the breach and implement new measures to prevent future incidents. These experts have successfully secured our systems and enhanced our overall security protocols. We are in the process of notifying affected customers directly and advising them on next steps. We are committed to providing timely updates and support to our customers throughout this process." apply tags__________ 174015057 story [99]Games [100]Twitch Terminates All Members of Its Safety Advisory Council [101](cnbc.com) [102]34 Posted by [103]BeauHD on Thursday May 30, 2024 @08:02PM from the safety-shmafety dept. According to CNBC, Twitch is expected to [104]terminate all members of its Safety Advisory Council on Friday. "The council is a resource of nine industry experts, streamers and moderators who consulted on trust and safety issues related to children on Twitch, nudity, banned users and more," notes the report. From the report: The Amazon-owned game-streaming company formed its [105]Safety Advisory Council in May 2020 to "enhance Twitch's approach to issues of trust and safety" on the platform and guide decisions, according to a company webpage. The council advised Twitch on "drafting new policies and policy updates," "developing products and features to improve safety and moderation" and "protecting the interests of marginalized groups," per the webpage. For four years, the group advised the company on "hate raids" on marginalized groups and nudity policies, among other things. But in the afternoon of May 6, council members were called into a meeting after receiving an email that all existing contracts would conclude on May 31, 2024, and that they would not receive payment for the second half of 2024. The council was not made up of Twitch employees, but rather advisors, including Dr. Sameer Hinduja, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center; Emma LlansÃ, director of the Center for Democracy and Technology's Free Expression Project; and Dr. T.L. Taylor, co-founder and director of AnyKey, which advocates for diversity and inclusion in gaming. "Looking ahead, the Safety Advisory Council will primarily be made up of individuals who serve as Twitch Ambassadors," the email, viewed by CNBC, stated. In a formal notice in the same email, the company wrote, "Pursuant to section 5(a) of the SAC advisor Agreement, we are writing to provide you with notice of termination... This means that the second 2024 payment won't be issued." Twitch Ambassadors are users of the streaming platform "chosen specifically because of the positive impact they've contributed to the Twitch community," according to the company's website. Payment depended on the length of the contract, but council members were paid between $10,000 and $20,000 per 12-month period, according to a source familiar with the contracts. apply tags__________ 174015231 story [106]Social Networks [107]TikTok Preparing a US Copy of the App's Core Algorithm [108](reuters.com) [109]48 Posted by [110]BeauHD on Thursday May 30, 2024 @07:20PM from the contingency-plans dept. An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: TikTok is [111]working on a clone of its recommendation algorithm for its 170 million U.S. users that may result in a version that operates independently of its Chinese parent and be more palatable to American lawmakers who want to ban it, according to sources with direct knowledge of the efforts. The work on splitting the source code ordered by TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance late last year predated a bill to force a sale of TikTok's U.S. operations that began gaining steam in Congress this year. The bill was signed into law in April. The sources, who were granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the short-form video sharing app, said that once the code is split, it could lay the groundwork for a divestiture of the U.S. assets, although there are no current plans to do so. The company has previously said it had [112]no plans to sell the U.S. assets and such a move would be impossible. [...] In the past few months, hundreds of ByteDance and TikTok engineers in both the U.S. and China were ordered to begin separating millions of lines of code, sifting through the company's algorithm that pairs users with videos to their liking. The engineers' mission is to create a separate code base that is independent of systems used by ByteDance's Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, while eliminating any information linking to Chinese users, two sources with direct knowledge of the project told Reuters. [...] The complexity of the task that the sources described to Reuters as tedious "dirty work" underscores the difficulty of splitting the underlying code that binds TikTok's U.S. operations to its Chinese parent. The work is expected to take over a year to complete, these sources said. [...] At one point, TikTok executives considered open sourcing some of TikTok's algorithm, or making it available to others to access and modify, to demonstrate technological transparency, the sources said. Executives have communicated plans and provided updates on the code-splitting project during a team all-hands, in internal planning documents and on its internal communications system, called Lark, according to one of the sources who attended the meeting and another source who has viewed the messages. Compliance and legal issues involved with determining what parts of the code can be carried over to TikTok are complicating the work, according to one source. Each line of code has to be reviewed to determine if it can go into the separate code base, the sources added. The goal is to create a new source code repository for a recommendation algorithm serving only TikTok U.S. Once completed, TikTok U.S. will run and maintain its recommendation algorithm independent of TikTok apps in other regions and its Chinese version Douyin. That move would cut it off from the massive engineering development power of its parent company in Beijing, the sources said. If TikTok completes the work to split the recommendation engine from its Chinese counterpart, TikTok management is aware of the risk that TikTok U.S. may not be able to deliver the same level of performance as the existing TikTok because it is heavily reliant on ByteDance's engineers in China to update and maintain the code base to maximize user engagement, sources added. apply tags__________ 174015145 story [113]The Almighty Buck [114]IRS Opening Free Online Tax Filing Program To All States [115](axios.com) [116]53 Posted by [117]BeauHD on Thursday May 30, 2024 @06:40PM from the more-the-merrier dept. The free online tax filing program known as [118]IRS Direct File will be made permanent for the 2025 tax season, [119]with all 50 states and Washington D.C. invited to participate. Axios reports: Treasury announced earlier this month that more than 140,000 people participated in the Direct File pilot program in a dozen states claiming more than $90 million in refunds. The pilot exceeded its 100,000-person target during this past tax season. "President Biden is committed to saving Americans time and money and ensuring families receive the tax benefits they're owed," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. "Providing a free tool to all Americans who want the option to file directly with the IRS is key to achieving those goals." The pilot program targeted people with simple tax returns based on W-2 forms. In her remarks today Yellen said that over the next few years they will expand Direct File to support more situations. The announcement from the Treasury Department comes a week after the IRS' Free File program was [120]extended through 2029. "Free file is where some of your tax dollars go to create the bridges between 3rd parties and the IRS filing system," [121]notes Slashdot reader slack_justyb. "Direct file is the taxpayer to IRS direct system that we got a taste of this year. We want to keep on the direct file path, but the free file path helps breakup the larger entities out there that lobby hard to keep the return-free system from ever getting started." apply tags__________ 174015619 story [122]Music [123]Spotify Says It Will Refund Car Thing Purchases [124](engadget.com) [125]27 Posted by [126]BeauHD on Thursday May 30, 2024 @06:02PM from the change-of-heart dept. If you contact Spotify's customer service with a valid receipt, the company [127]will refund your Car Thing purchase. That's the latest development reported by Engadget. When Spotify first announced that it would [128]brick every Car Thing device on December 9, 2024, it said that it wouldn't offer owners any subscription credit or automatic refund. From the report: Spotify has taken some heat for its announcement last week that it will brick every Car Thing device on December 9, 2024. The company described its decision as "part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our product offerings" (read: cut costs) and that it lets Spotify "focus on developing new features and enhancements that will ultimately provide a better experience to all Spotify users." TechCrunch [129]reports that Gen Z users on TikTok have expressed their frustration [130]in videos, while others have complained directed toward Spotify in DMs on X (Twitter) and directly through customer support. Some users claimed Spotify's customer service agents only offered several months of free Premium access, while others were told nobody was receiving refunds. It isn't clear if any of them contacted them after last Friday when it shifted gears on refunds. Others went much further. Billboard [131]first reported on a class-action lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on May 28. The suit accuses Spotify of misleading Car Thing customers by selling a $90 product that would soon be obsolete without offering refunds, which sounds like a fair enough point. It's worth noting that, according to Spotify, it began offering the refunds last week, while the lawsuit was only filed on Tuesday. If the company's statement about refunds starting on May 24 is accurate, the refunds aren't a direct response to the legal action. (Although it's possible the company began offering them in anticipation of lawsuits.) Editor's note: As a disgruntled Car Thing owner myself, I can confirm that Spotify is approving refund requests. You'll just have to play the waiting game to get through to a Spotify Advisor and their "team" that approves these requests. You may have better luck emailing customer service directly at support@spotify.com. apply tags__________ 174014861 story [132]AI [133]OpenAI Disrupts Five Attempts To Misuse Its AI For 'Deceptive Activity' [134](reuters.com) [135]15 Posted by [136]BeauHD on Thursday May 30, 2024 @05:25PM from the only-the-beginning dept. An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Sam Altman-led OpenAI said on Thursday it had [137]disrupted five covert influence operations that [138]sought to use its artificial intelligence models for "deceptive activity" across the internet. The artificial intelligence firm said the threat actors used its AI models to generate short comments, longer articles in a range of languages, made up names and bios for social media accounts over the last three months. These campaigns, which included threat actors from Russia, China, Iran and Israel, also focused on issues including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza, the Indian elections, politics in Europe and the United States, among others. The deceptive operations were an "attempt to manipulate public opinion or influence political outcomes," OpenAI said in a statement. [...] The deceptive campaigns have not benefited from increased audience engagement or reach due to the AI firm's services, OpenAI said in the statement. OpenAI said these operations did not solely use AI-generated material but included manually written texts or memes copied from across the internet. In a separate announcement on Wednesday, Meta said it had found "likely AI-generated" content used deceptively across its platforms, "including comments praising Israel's handling of the war in Gaza published below posts from global news organizations and U.S. lawmakers," reports Reuters. apply tags__________ [139]« Newer [140]Older » Slashdot Top Deals Slashdot Top Deals [141]Slashdot Deals Slashdot Poll Will ByteDance be forced to divest TikTok (*) Yes ( ) No ( ) IDK / show results (BUTTON) vote now [142]Read the 20 comments | 13168 votes Looks like someone has already voted from this IP. If you would like to vote please login and try again. Will ByteDance be forced to divest TikTok 0 Percentage of others that also voted for: * [143]view results * Or * * [144]view more [145]Read the 20 comments | 13168 voted Most Discussed * 257 comments [146]Very Few People Are Using 'Much Hyped' AI Products Like ChatGPT, Survey Finds * 183 comments [147]Road Planners Embrace the Diverging Diamond Interchange To Speed Up Traffic * 175 comments [148]Health Officials Tried To Evade Public Records Laws, Lawmakers Say * 131 comments [149]Wind and Solar Saved the US $250 Billion Over 4 Years, Report Finds * 106 comments [150]US Slows Plans To Retire Coal-Fired Plants as Power Demand From AI Surges [151]Firehose * [152]World's 1st bioprocessor on 16 brain cells has 10^6 times less power consumption * [153]Best Buy Set For Tenth Straight Quarter of Sales Drop * [154]Cut In Ship Pollution Sparked Global Heating Spurt * [155]Trump guilty on all 34 counts in hush money trial, in historic first for a forme * [156]TikTok Preparing a US Copy of the App's Core Algorithm [157]This Day on Slashdot 2016 [158]Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10? 982 comments 2012 [159]Soda Ban May Hit the Big Apple 1141 comments 2006 [160]ThePirateBay.org Raided and Shut Down 1189 comments 2005 [161]60% Of U.S. Believe Life Exists On Other Planets 943 comments 2004 [162]Programming For Terrified Adults? 909 comments [163]Sourceforge Top Downloads * [164]TrueType core fonts 2.2B downloads * [165]Notepad++ Plugin Mgr 1.5B downloads * [166]VLC media player 899M downloads * [167]eMule 686M downloads * [168]MinGW 631M downloads Powered By [169]sf [170]Slashdot * [171]Today * [172]Thursday * [173]Wednesday * [174]Tuesday * [175]Monday * [176]Sunday * [177]Saturday * [178]Friday * [179]Submit Story All extremists should be taken out and shot. * [180]FAQ * [181]Story Archive * [182]Hall of Fame * [183]Advertising * [184]Terms * [185]Privacy Statement * [186]About * [187]Feedback * [188]Mobile View * [189]Blog * * (BUTTON) Icon Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information Copyright © 2024 Slashdot Media. 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