Tech in 60 Seconds
Russian hackers found targeting US election; robots that write?

Russian Hackers Found Targeting US Election; Robots That Write? | Tech In 60 | GZERO Media

Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of WIRED, helps us make sense of today's stories in technology:
What are the Russians doing to the US election?
Well, they are trying to hack it. They're trying to hack into the accounts of individuals working on campaigns. They're trying to hack into accounts of nonprofit organizations. They're trying to mess it all up again. They're probably trying to help their favorite candidate, too. How did we find out about it? Well, Microsoft, thank you Microsoft, is running an election security operation and they noticed this. Now, have they found everything that the Russian group Fancy Bear is doing? I highly doubt it. We'll probably learn a lot more after the election, unfortunately.
What's this? Robots can write! Should we be afraid?
So OpenAI has used artificial intelligence to build a text generating system called GPT-3. It's way of computers writing sentences that look almost like human sentences. The Guardian ran a story written entirely by GPT-3 about whether robots will take over the world. Am I afraid this indicates robots will take over the world? I'm not. The article is terrible, confusing, incomprehensible. Not really a big concern. I am concerned, though, that systems like this could be used for the purposes of misinformation and for creating chaos on the Internet. But that's a separate matter.
The competition to master this technology shapes everything from high-level tensions between the US and China to the local politics of where to build data centers.
Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.
Temps are dropping. Approval ratings are dropping. Protests are rising. Throw on a classic Puppet Regime hoodie to get you through this season of geopolitical chaos. Visit the Puppet Regime Ministry of Merchandise here.
We also offer:
• A big, beautiful mug to take your coffee VERY STRONGLY.
• A tote bag to carry the microfilms to your next dead drop.
• Stickers to challenge existing borders.
Tariffs are complicated. Our shipping isn't. We deliver almost everywhere (sorry Iran, Russia, and North Korea). Shop now at shop.puppetregime.tv!
Online betting activity appears closely tied to the sports calendar, with first-time users rising during basketball and football seasons. Major sporting events, promotions, and growing interest in prediction markets may also boost participation. See the Institute’s full analysis.