Technology

A closer look at Unstoppable Domains’ .com integration

Unstoppable Domains recently integrated .com domains into its platform. What implications could this move have?

Unstoppable Domains — a prominent provider of Web3 domains — recently expanded its offerings by incorporating traditional “.com” addresses.

This move marks the first instance of merging conventional Web2 domains with the evolving Web3 domain space. This integration aims to seamlessly connect the existing web infrastructure with the new, allowing users to engage with both types of domains on a single platform.

Integrating .com domains with blockchain technology goes beyond a technical achievement; it’s an effort to enhance user adoption and streamline the overall user experience.

OpenAI announces second round of AI startup fund

OpenAI said the startup fund initiative is its way of helping push the boundaries of applied AI in essential domains.

OpenAI has opened applications for the second cohort of its six-week program for artificial intelligence (AI) startups, Converge 2, through which it will invest $1 million into each of the 15 successful participants selected.

The organization behind ChatGPT announced that the initiative, accessible worldwide, is aimed at individuals like engineers, designers, researchers, and product builders utilizing AI for innovative purposes. OpenAI founded the startup fund on the idea that robust AI systems will fuel a new era of groundbreaking startups.

The rapid proliferation of AI tools and solutions has ignited support from industry experts and investors alike. Generative AI startups have received considerable funding from various companies and organizations in 2023 alone.

US financial regulators’ annual report warns of AI risks

According to the report, specific AI tools are highly technical and complex, posing challenges for institutions to explain or monitor them effectively.

A panel of regulators warned that the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) could pose new risks to the United States financial system if the technology is not adequately supervised.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), which is comprised of top financial regulators and chaired by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, flagged the risks posed by AI for the first time in its annual financial stability report published on Dec. 14.

FSOC acknowledged AI’s potential to drive innovation and efficiency in financial institutions, but it stressed the need for companies and regulators to remain vigilant due to the swift technological advancements.

OpenAI, Axel Springer in deal to integrate AI and journalism, tackle AI ‘hallucinations’

German media giant Axel Springer has partnered with OpenAI to seek ways to enhance ChatGPT by integrating journalism and AI to reduce “hallucinations.”

Axel Springer, one of the largest media companies in Europe, is collaborating with OpenAI to integrate journalism with artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT, the German publisher said in a statement on its blog on Dec. 13.

The collaboration involves using content from Axel Springer media brands to advance the training of OpenAI’s large language models. It aims to achieve a better ChatGPT user experience with up-to-date and authoritative content across diverse topics, as well as increased transparency through attributing and linking full articles.

Generative AI chatbots have long grappled with factual accuracy, occasionally generating false information, commonly referred to as “hallucinations.“ Initiatives to reduce these AI hallucinations were announced in June in a post on OpenAI’s website.

Crypto hacking losses plunge by nearly 50% in 2023: Report

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs credits this decline to enhanced security measures, law enforcement and industry coordination.

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs says losses from cryptocurrency hacking in 2023 are down more than 50% from 2022, thanks to improvements in industry security.

TRM Labs’ report published on Dec. 13 reveals that losses from 160 hacks to crypto projects amounted to about $1.7 billion in 2023, less than half the $4 billion stolen from internet protocols in 2022.

TRM Labs said the decline is due to enhanced security measures, which have seen the cryptocurrency industry incorporate real-time transaction monitoring and anomaly detection systems, strengthening digital wallets and exchange platforms.

AI deepfake nude services skyrocket in popularity: Report

Social media analytics company Graphika noted a stark increase in offerings of synthetic NCII services.

Social media analytics company Graphika has stated that the use of “AI undressing” is increasing.

This practice involves utilizing generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools precisely adjusted to eliminate clothing from images provided by users.

According to its report, Graphika measured the number of comments and posts on Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) containing referral links to 34 websites and 52 Telegram channels providing synthetic non-consensual intimate images (NCII) services, with 1,280 in 2022 compared with over 32,100 so far in 2023 — a 2,408% increase in volume year-on-year.

AI deepfake nude services skyrocket in popularity: Research

Social media analytics company Graphika noted a stark increase in offerings of synthetic NCII services.

Social media analytics company Graphika has stated that the use of “AI undressing” is increasing.

This practice involves utilizing generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools precisely adjusted to eliminate clothing from images provided by users.

According to its report, Graphika measured the number of comments and posts on Reddit and X containing referral links to 34 websites and 52 Telegram channels providing synthetic NCII services, and it totaled 1,280 in 2022 compared to over 32,100 so far this year, representing a 2,408% increase in volume year-on-year.

KyberSwap exploiter linked to $50M HXA token movement

Blockchain security firm Cyvers said the KyberSwap exploiter’s acquired funds were spread across various externally owned accounts now recognized as the top HXA tokenholders.

Blockchain security firm Cyvers detected a movement of $50 million in HAXcoin (HXA), the native utility token of the Herencia Artifex nonfungible token project, linked to the KyberSwap exploiter.

The KyberSwap exploiter’s address got these tokens from an Ethereum address using the “transfer from function.”

Decentralized application users commonly use the “transfer from” function. It refers to a mechanism by which one party (sender) can transfer or send tokens from the balance of another party (owner) to a third-party address. However, improper use or vulnerabilities in implementing such functions can lead to security concerns.

EU officials reach ‘historic’ AI regulation deal

The agreement mandates models like ChatGPT and general AI to follow transparency rules before market entry.

The European Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the rules governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on Friday, Dec 8.

The agreement covers the governmental use of AI in biometric surveillance, how to regulate AI systems such as ChatGPT, and the transparency rules to follow before market entry. This covers technical documents, adherence to European Union copyright and sharing training content summaries.

The EU wants to be the first supranational authority with laws on AI, specifying how it is to be used beneficially while protecting against risks. The deal was struck following a nearly 24-hour debate on Dec. 8 and 15 hours of negotiations after that.

Bitcoin’s many deaths: Is crypto market past ‘point of no return?’

Bitcoin has been declared dead more times than you’d think amid downswings in the market, but it’s always managed to bounce back.

Bitcoin and the broader crypto market have been gleefully declared dead more than a few times during bear markets, but some experts say it would take a genuinely extreme set of events for it to truly die.

According to 99Bitcoins — a website that, among other things, tracks how many times Bitcoin (BTC) has been declared dead by mainstream media outlets — the largest crypto by market cap has died 474 times since 2010.

Often, the proclamation is met with cheering by crypto skeptics as evidence that BTC is not a viable asset, but it might not be so simple to kill off crypto — at least according to some experts in the space.