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Scientists Create a Tiny Electronic Device That Can Learn Like the Human Brain

A breakthrough in brain-inspired electronics could lead to devices that process information and learn without relying on conventional computing architectures.

A single nanoscale electronic component can perform three different jobs, switching electrical current, storing information through resistance, and remembering past electrical activity through changes in capacitance. Researchers in Germany have demonstrated this versatility using unusual oxide materials, opening a possible path toward computer hardware that processes information and adapts more like the human brain.

Today’s artificial intelligence systems can consume enormous amounts of electricity, particularly during the training of large models. One reason researchers are exploring alternative hardware is that conventional computers typically separate memory from computation, requiring information to move between them. The brain operates differently. Its neurons communicate through synapses, connections that can change in response to repeated or intense signals. This ability to adapt, known as neuroplasticity, helps the brain learn from experience.

Google Disrupts 1.3 Million-Device Android Botnet, Says TV Box Maker Sold Criminal Access

A botnet of more than 1.3 million Android devices, mostly TV set-top boxes, lost control of its servers in late October in a takedown led by Google.

Google says it is highly confident that device maker Videostrong intentionally put a backdoor in the boxes and sold access to criminals.

They used the boxes for ad fraud and to pass other people’s internet traffic through owners’ home connections. The backdoor is still on the boxes, and owners cannot remove it themselves.

Google disrupts million-device XCPE Android malware botnet, bans TV box maker

Google and industry partners have dismantled the XCPE malware botnet consisting of more than 1.3 million Android TV streaming TV boxes that Google says its manufacturer intentionally infected with malware to generate revenue through cybercrime activities.

The company attributes the botnet with high confidence to Chinese device manufacturer Videostrong Technology Co, accusing the company of deliberately installing a persistent backdoor into devices it manufactured and selling access to criminal affiliates.

These affiliates used the backdoored devices to deploy malicious modules that were used fir ad fraud, turned infected devices into residential proxies, and installed additional malware.

I Missed 4 Signs of AI Psychosis. One Cost Me Something I Can’t Get Back

Somewhere in the last three years, AI stopped being a tool I used and started leading the dance. These are the four warning signs of AI psychosis I wish I’d caught sooner, and the one that cost me something I can’t get back.

I’ve been a software engineer for about 20 years. In this video I walk through four patterns of AI dependency I slid into without noticing: hunting for problems the next AI tool could solve, watching anything slow start to feel like a waste of time, losing the sense that my own hours were worth anything, and slowly becoming the average of my outputs, like an old white shirt gone grey in the wash.

Along the way: why a model called Jev was named after a 19th-century economist, what happened to my Goodreads count, what AI art did to my Christmas paintings, a reading from Chapter 12 of the Tao Te Ching, and a Father’s Day gift I’ll never forget.

I’m not telling you to delete ChatGPT. I still use AI every day. But I’m sorting my loads again. If you’re anywhere near where I was with AI addiction or AI burnout, I hope this saves you some time and suffering.

(A note: \.

You Don’t Have to Like Elon Musk to Value What He Builds

Summary: Technological progress often comes from unconventional people. Elon Musk’s abrasive conduct has made him a polarizing figure, but his companies have helped cut rocket launch costs, expand internet access, and make electric cars mainstream. Some traits that drive ambitious breakthroughs may also make their creators difficult to work with. Holding innovators accountable for harmful conduct need not mean dismissing their accomplishments or demanding agreeable personalities.

Last Thursday, Tesla demonstrated a prototype Roadster capable of briefly flying through the air. Elon Musk’s AI company, now part of SpaceX, recently introduced Grok Bot, autonomous agents that run on a shared persistent cloud computer and that can collaborate with one another and execute scheduled tasks in users’ apps while they are offline.

Meanwhile, SpaceX continues developing Starship, the largest rocket ever built, with the ambition of making space travel cheaper and more routine.