Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers used electromagnetic signals to steal and replicate AI models from a Google Edge TPU with 99.91% accuracy, exposing significant vulnerabilities in AI systems and calling for urgent protective measures.

Researchers have shown that it’s possible to steal an artificial intelligence (AI) model without directly hacking the device it runs on. This innovative technique requires no prior knowledge of the software or architecture supporting the AI, making it a significant advancement in model extraction methods.

“AI models are valuable, we don’t want people to steal them,” says Aydin Aysu, co-author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at North Carolina State University. “Building a model is expensive and requires significant computing sources. But just as importantly, when a model is leaked, or stolen, the model also becomes more vulnerable to attacks – because third parties can study the model and identify any weaknesses.”

Researchers at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider explore subtle energy signals to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model.

A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life.

This year, in Peru’s Alto Mayo Landscape alone, scientists uncovered 27 new-to-science species, including four new mammals, during a two month expedition. Meanwhile, the Greater Mekong region yielded 234 new species, and scientists from the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new species globally. The ocean depths continued to surprise, with more than 100 potentially new species found on an unexplored underwater mountain off Chile’s coast. Two new mammal species were found in India this year, including the world’s smallest otter.

Scientists estimate only a small fraction of Earth’s species have been documented, perhaps 20% at best. Even among mammals, the best-known group of animals, scientists think we’ve only found 80% of species. Yet most of the hidden species are likely bats, rodents, shrews, moles and hedgehogs.

In a paper published in the journal Neuroscience of Consciousness psychology researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) worked with 54 participants to examine the effects of surveillance on an essential function of human sensory perception – the ability to detect another person’s gaze.

Lead author, Associate Professor of neuroscience and behaviour Kiley Seymour, said previous research has established the effects on conscious behaviour when people know they are being watched, but the new study provided the first direct evidence that being watched also has an involuntary response.

“We know CCTV changes our behaviour, and that’s the main driver for retailers and others wanting to deploy such technology to prevent unwanted behaviour,” Associate Professor Seymour said.

Continue reading “Big brother: the effects of surveillance on fundamental aspects of social vision” »

The future of AI in 2025 is set to bring transformative advancements, including humanoid robots, infinite-memory systems, and breakthroughs in superintelligence. OpenAI is pushing the boundaries with innovations in voice AI, web agents, and scalable applications across industries like robotics and healthcare. With AGI milestones like the O₃ system and growing focus on AI safety and energy efficiency, the next phase of artificial intelligence promises to reshape technology and society.

Key Topics:
OpenAI’s vision for the future of AI, from infinite-memory systems to humanoid robots.
The role of AGI in accelerating advancements in robotics, biology, and voice AI
Challenges like energy demands, AI safety, and the race toward superintelligence.

Continue reading “AGI ACHIEVED: What’s Next for AI in 2025? (Superintelligence Ahead)” »

Cisco Systems senior visioneer, Annie Hardy, joins me to discuss AI and the future of the internet.

“We are all now connected to the internet, like neurons in a giant brain.” –Stephen Hawking.

Unless you are living in a remote cabin completely off-grid, it has reached the point where you cannot avoid artificial intelligence. It’s in our search engines, it’s on our phones, it’s on the social media on our phones. It’s permeating the internet at a breakneck pace.

Continue reading “#66–Artificial Intelligence and the Future of the Internet, with Annie Hardy” »

Scientists at Newcastle University have created a new lung scanning method that shows real-time changes in lung function. This technique tracks airflow in and out of the lungs, particularly in patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or those who have had a lung transplant. This innovation could help doctors detect declines in lung function earlier.

Read Full Story.

Genesis integrates various physics solvers and their coupling into a unified framework.

AI robotics training has been increased tremendously with the help of a new tool. Called ‘Genesis’, the tool is a new open-source computer simulation system.

Unveiled by a large group of university and private industry researchers, the system reportedly lets robots practice tasks in simulated reality 430,000 times faster than in the real world.

Continue reading “New physics engine lets robots practice tasks 430,000x faster” »

The growth of maize, sugarcane and sorghum has been greatly boosted by modifying the plants to take advantage of higher carbon dioxide levels now found in the air.

This was done by simply increasing the activity of two genes, says Coralie Salesse-Smith at the University of Illinois. The finding should lead to the creation of new varieties whose yields go up as CO₂ levels continue to rise.

For most of the time that photosynthetic cells that turn sunlight into food have existed, atmospheric levels of CO₂ have been much higher (and the planet has been much hotter). As CO₂ levels fell particularly low from about 35 million years ago, it exacerbated a fundamental flaw in photosynthesis that involves probably the most abundant protein on the planet, called rubisco.

Continue reading “Genetic tweak to three key crops massively boosts their growth” »