Countries must develop their own artificial intelligence infrastructure or [1]risk significant economic losses as the technology transforms global economies, Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch said last week.

"It will have an impact on GDP of every country in the double digits in the coming years," Mensch told the A16z podcast, warning that nations without domestic AI systems would see capital flow elsewhere. The French startup executive compared AI to electricity adoption a century ago. "If you weren't building electricity factories, you were preparing yourself to buy it from your neighbors, which creates dependencies," he said.



[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-impact-gdp-country-double-digits-mistral-ceo-arthur-mensch-2025-3

[1]prisoninmate [2]shares a report :

> Highlights of Linux 6.14 include Btrfs RAID1 read balancing support, a new ntsync subsystem for Win NT synchronization primitives to boost game emulation with Wine, uncached buffered I/O support, and a new accelerator driver for the AMD XDNA Ryzen AI NPUs (Neural Processing Units).

>

> Also new is DRM panic support for the AMDGPU driver, reflink and reverse-mapping support for the XFS real-time device, Intel Clearwater Forest server support, support for SELinux extended permissions, FUSE support for io_uring, a new fsnotify file pre-access event type, and a new cgroup controller for device memory.



[1] https://slashdot.org/~prisoninmate

[2] https://9to5linux.com/linux-kernel-6-14-officially-released-this-is-whats-new

DNA-testing company 23andMe has [1]filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection [ [2]non-paywalled source ] in Missouri and announced CEO Anne Wojcicki's immediate resignation, weeks after rejecting her proposal to buy back the business she co-founded. The bankruptcy filing represents "the best path forward to maximize the value of the business," said Mark Jensen, board member and special committee chair.

Further reading : [3]DNA of 15 Million People for Sale in 23andMe Bankruptcy .



[1] https://www.wsj.com/business/dna-testing-company-23andme-files-for-bankruptcy-announces-ceo-resignation-82ad1c45

[2] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technology/dna-testing-company-23andme-files-for-bankruptcy-announces-ceo-resignation/ar-AA1BweJJ

[3] https://www.404media.co/dna-of-15-million-people-for-sale-in-23andme-bankruptcy/

[1]RockDoctor (Slashdot reader #15,477) writes:

> A [2]recent paper on ArXiv reports a novel idea about the central regions of "our" galaxy.

>

> Remember the hoopla a few years ago about radio-astronomical observations producing an "image" of our central black hole — or rather, an image of the accretion disc around the black hole — long designated by astronomers as "Sagittarius A * " (or SGR-A*)? If you remember the [3]image published then , one thing should be striking — it's not very symmetrical. If you think about viewing a spinning object, then you'd expect to see something with a "mirror" symmetry plane where we would see the rotation axis (if someone had marked it). If anything, that published image has three bright spots on a fainter ring. And the spots are not even approximately the same brightness.

>

> This paper suggests that the image we see is the result of the light (radio waves) from SGR-A* being "lensed" by another black hole, near (but not quite on ) the line of sight between SGR-A* and us. By various modelling approaches, they then refine this idea to a "best-fit" of a black hole with mass around 1000 times the Sun, orbiting between the distance of the closest-observed star to SGR-A* ("S2" — most imaginative name, ever!), and around 10 times that distance. That's far enough to make a strong interaction with "S2" unlikely within the lifetime of S2 before it's accretion onto SGR-A*.)

>

> The region around SGR-A* is crowded. Within 25 parsecs (~80 light years, the distance to Regulus [in the constellation Leo] or Merak [in the Great Bear]) there is around 4 times more mass in several millions of "normal" stars than in the SGR-A* black hole. Finding a large (not "super massive") black hole in such a concentration of matter shouldn't surprise anyone.

>

> This proposed black hole is larger than anything which has been detected by gravitational waves (yet) ; but not immensely larger — only a factor of 15 or so. (The authors also anticipate the "what about these big black holes spiralling together?" question : quote "and the amplitude of gravitational waves generated by the binary black holes is negligible." )

>

> Being so close to SGR-A*, the proposed black hole is likely to be moving rapidly across our line of sight. At the distance of "S2" it's orbital period would be around 26 years (but the "new" black hole is probably further out than than that). Which might be an explanation for some of the variability and "flickering" reported for SGR-A* ever since it's discovery.

>

> As always, more observations are needed. Which, for SGR-A* are frequently being taken, so improving (or ruling out) this explanation should happen fairly quickly. But it's a very interesting, and fun, idea.



[1] https://slashdot.org/~RockDoctor

[2] https://arxiv.org/pdf/2502.16058

[3] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/EHT_Saggitarius_A_black_hole.tif/lossy-page1-250px-EHT_Saggitarius_A_black_hole.tif.jpg

NPR reports on research "into whether our defenses built up from past flu seasons [1]can offer any protection against H5N1 bird flu ."

> So far, the findings offer some reassurance. Antibodies and other players in the immune system may buffer the worst consequences of bird flu, at least to some degree. "There's certainly preexisting immunity," says Florian Krammer, a virologist at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine who is involved in some of the new studies. "That's very likely not going to protect us as a population from a new pandemic, but it might give us some protection against severe disease." This protection is based on shared traits between bird flu and types of seasonal flu that have circulated among us. Certain segments of the population, namely older people, may be particularly well-primed because of flu infections during early childhood.

>

> Of course, there are caveats. "While this is a bit of a silver lining, it doesn't mean we should all feel safe," says Seema Lakdawala, a virologist at Emory University's School of Medicine whose lab is probing this question. For one thing, the studies can't be done on people. The conclusions are based on animal models and blood tests that measure the immune response. And how this holds up for an individual is expected to vary considerably, depending on their own immune history, underlying health conditions and other factors. But for now, influenza researchers speculate this may be one reason most people who've caught bird flu over the past year have not fallen severely ill....

>

> Research [2]published this month is encouraging. By analyzing blood samples from close to 160 people, a team at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago were able to show that people born roughly before 1965 had higher levels of antibodies — proteins that bind to parts of the virus — which cross-react to the current strain of bird flu.

This week U.S. federal officials also "announced funding for avian influenza research projects, including money for new vaccine projects and potential treatments," [3]the Guardian report . The head of America's agriculture department said it would invest $100 million, as part of a larger $1 billion initiative to fight bird flu and stop rising egg prices, [4]according to the nonprofit news site Iowa Capital Dispatch .



[1] https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/03/19/nx-s1-5312998/bird-flu-h5n1-immunity-pandemic

[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03599-6

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/20/bird-flu-vaccine-research

[4] https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/briefs/usda-announces-funding-for-bird-flu-research/

Slashdot reader [1]spatwei shared [2]this report from the cybersecurity site SC World : :

> AI coding assistants such as GitHub Copilot and Cursor could be manipulated to generate code containing backdoors, vulnerabilities and other security issues via distribution of malicious rule configuration files, Pillar Security researchers reported Tuesday.

>

> Rules files are used by AI coding agents to guide their behavior when generating or editing code. For example, a rules file may include instructions for the assistant to follow certain coding best practices, utilize specific formatting, or output responses in a specific language.

>

> The attack technique developed by Pillar Researchers, which they call 'Rules File Backdoor,' weaponizes rules files by injecting them with instructions that are invisible to a human user but readable by the AI agent.

>

> Hidden Unicode characters like bidirectional text markers and zero-width joiners can be used to obfuscate malicious instructions in the user interface and in GitHub pull requests, the researchers noted.

>

> Rules configurations are often shared among developer communities and distributed through open-source repositories or included in project templates; therefore, an attacker could distribute a malicious rules file by sharing it on a forum, publishing it on an open-source platform like GitHub or injecting it via a pull request to a popular repository.

>

> Once the poisoned rules file is imported to GitHub Copilot or Cursor, the AI agent will read and follow the attacker's instructions while assisting the victim's future coding projects.



[1] https://slashdot.org/~spatwei

[2] https://www.scworld.com/news/how-ai-coding-assistants-could-be-compromised-via-rules-file

For weeks Signal has been one of the three most-downloaded apps in the Netherlands, according to a [1]local news site . And now " [2]Higher education institutions in the Netherlands have been looking for an alternative ," according to DUB (an independent news site for the Utrecht University community):

> Employees of the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (HU) were recently advised to switch to Signal. Avans University of Applied Sciences has also been discussing a switch...The National Student Union is concerned about privacy. The subject was raised at last week's general meeting, as reported by chair Abdelkader Karbache, who said: "Our local unions want to switch to Signal or other open-source software."

Besides being open source, Signal is a non-commercial nonprofit, the article points out — though its proponents suggest there's another big difference. "HU argues that Signal keeps users' data private, unlike WhatsApp." [3] Cybernews.com explains the concern :

> In an interview with the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf , Meredith Whittaker [president of the Signal Foundation] discussed the pitfalls of WhatsApp. "WhatsApp collects metadata: who you send messages to, when, and how often. That's incredibly sensitive information," she says.... The only information [Signal] collects is the date an account was registered, the time when an account was last active, and hashed phone numbers... Information like profile name and the people a user communicates with is all encrypted... Metadata might sound harmless, but it couldn't be further from the truth. According to Whittaker, metadata is deadly. "As a former CIA director once said: 'We kill people based on metadata'."

WhatsApp's metadata also includes IP addresses, [4] TechRadar noted last May :

> Other identifiable data such as your network details, the browser you use, ISP, and other identifiers linked to other Meta products (like Instagram and Facebook) associated with the same device or account are also collected... [Y]our IP can be used to track down your location. As the company explained, even if you keep the location-related features off, IP addresses and other collected information like phone number area codes can be used to estimate your "general location."

>

> WhatsApp is required by law to share this information with authorities during an investigation...

>

> [U]nder scrutiny is how Meta itself uses these precious details for commercial purposes. Again, this is clearly stated in WhatsApp's privacy policy and terms of use. "We may use the information we receive from [other Meta companies], and they may use the information we share with them, to help operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support, and market our Services and their offerings," reads the policy. This means that yes, your messages are always private, but WhatsApp is actively collecting your metadata to build your digital persona across other Meta platforms...

The article suggests using a VPN with WhatsApp and turning on its "advanced privacy feature" (which hides your IP address during calls) and managing the app's permissions for data collection. "While these steps can help reduce the amount of metadata collected, it's crucial to bear in mind that it's impossible to completely avoid metadata collection on the Meta-owned app... For extra privacy and security, I suggest switching to the more secure messaging app Signal."

The article also includes a cautionary anecdote. "It was exactly a piece of metadata — a Proton Mail recovery email — that [5]led to the arrest of a Catalan activist ."

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader [6]united_notions for sharing the article.



[1] https://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2557974-signal-baas-wij-zullen-nooit-gegevens-delen-van-onze-gebruikers

[2] https://dub.uu.nl/en/news/whatsapp-under-fire-higher-education

[3] https://cybernews.com/privacy/signal-ceo-criticizes-whatsapp/

[4] https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/whatsapp-encryption-isnt-the-problem-metadata-is

[5] https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/proton-mail-hands-data-to-police-again-is-it-still-safe-for-activists

[6] https://www.slashdot.org/~united_notions

Long-time Slashdot reader [1]invisik reminds us that the "fish doorbell" is still going strong, [2]according to the Associated Press . "Now in its fifth year, the site has attracted millions of viewers from around the world with its quirky mix of slow TV and ecological activism."

> The central Dutch city of Utrecht installed a " [3]fish doorbell " on a river lock that lets viewers of an online livestream alert authorities to fish being held up as they make their springtime migration to shallow spawning grounds. The idea is simple: An underwater camera at Utrecht's Weerdsluis lock sends live footage to a website. When somebody watching the site sees a fish, they can click a button that sends a screenshot to organizers. When they see enough fish, they alert a water worker who opens the lock to let the fish swim through.

"Much of the time, the screen is just a murky green with occasional bubbles, but sometimes a fish swims past. As the water warms up, more fish show up..."



[1] https://www.slashdot.org/~invisik

[2] https://apnews.com/article/fish-doorbell-netherlands-internet-streaming-f09da0435a61e88a1d7b0372920bb7da

[3] https://visdeurbel.nl/en/

"There's no shortage of videos showing Steam running on expensive ARM single-board computers with discrete GPUs," writes Slashdot reader [1]VennStone . "So I thought it would be worthwhile to make a guide for doing it on (relatively) inexpensive RK3588-powered single-board computers, using Box86/64 and [2]Armbian ."

> The guides I came across were out of date, had a bunch of extra steps thrown in, or were outright incorrect... Up first, we need to add the [3]Box86 and [4]Box64 ARM repositories [along with dependencies, ARMHF architecture, and the Mesa graphics driver]...

The guide closes with a multi-line script and advice to "Just close your eyes and run this. It's not pretty, but it will download the Steam Debian package, extract the needed bits, and set up a launch script." (And then the final step is sudo reboot now .)

"At this point, all you have to do is open a terminal, type 'steam', and tap Enter. You'll have about five minutes to wait... [5]Check out the video to see how some of the tested games perform."

> At 720p, performance is all over the place, but the games I tested typically managed to stay above 30 FPS. This is better than I was expecting from a four-year-old SOC emulating x86 titles under ARM.

>

> Is this a practical way to play your Steam games? Nope, not even a little bit. For now, this is merely an exercise in ludicrous neatness. Things might get a wee bit better, considering [6]Collabora is working on upstream support for RK3588 and Valve is up to something ARM-related, but ya know, "Valve Time"...

"You might be tempted to enable Steam Play for your Windows games, but don't waste your time. I mean, you can try, but it ain't gonna work."



[1] https://www.slashdot.org/~VennStone

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armbian

[3] https://github.com/ryanfortner/box86-debs

[4] https://github.com/ryanfortner/box64-debs

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-n-6FviZDk

[6] https://www.collabora.com/news-and-blog/news-and-events/rockchip-rk3588-upstream-support-progress-future-plans.html

Today long-time open source advocate/journalist Doc Searls [1]revealed that years of work by consumer privacy groups has [2]culminated in a proposed standard "that can vastly expand our agency in the digital world" — especially in a future world where agents surf the web on our behalf:

> Meet [3]IEEE P7012 , which "identifies/addresses the manner in which personal privacy terms are proffered and how they can be read and agreed to by machines." It has been in the works since 2017, and should be ready later this year. (I say this as chair of the standard's working group.) The nickname for P7012 is MyTerms (much as the nickname for the IEEE's 802.11 standard is Wi-Fi).

>

> The idea behind MyTerms is that the sites and services of the world should agree to your terms, rather than the other way around.

Basically your web browser proffers whatever agreement you've chosen (from a [4]canonical list hosted at Customer Commons ) to the web sites and other online services that you're visiting.

"Browser makers can build something into their product, or any developer can make a browser add-on or extension..." Searls writes. "On the site's side — the second-party side — CMS makers can build something in, or any developer can make a plug-in (WordPress) or a module (Drupal). Mobile app toolmakers can also come up with something (or many things)..."

> MyTerms creates a new regime for privacy: one based on contract. With each MyTerm you are the first party. Not the website, the service, or the app maker. They are the second party. And terms can be friendly. For example, a prototype term called [5]NoStalking says "Just show me ads not based on tracking me." This is good for you, because you don't get tracked, and good for the site because it leaves open the advertising option. NoStalking lives at [6]Customer Commons , much as personal copyrights live at [7]Creative Commons . (Yes, the former is modeled on the latter.)

"[L]et's make this happen and show the world what agency really means," Searls concludes.

Another way to say it is they've created "a draft standard for machine-readable personal privacy terms." But Searl's article used a grander metaphor to explain its significance:

> When Archimedes said 'Give me a place to stand and I can move the world,' he was talking about agency . You have no agency on the Web if you are always the second party, agreeing to terms and policies set by websites.

>

> You are Archimedes if you are the first party, setting your own terms and policies. The scale you get with those is One 2 World. The place you stand is on the Web itself — and the Internet below it.

>

> Both were designed to make each of us an Archimedes.



[1] https://www.threads.net/@docsearls/post/DHjFBjHsGwM

[2] https://doc.searls.com/2025/03/23/real-agency/

[3] https://standards.ieee.org/ieee/7012/7192/

[4] https://customercommons.org/choose-your-agreements/

[5] https://customercommons.org/agreements/p2b1/0.9/

[6] https://customercommons.org/

[7] https://creativecommons.org/

It's "live-recording the World Wide Web," [1]according to NPR , with a digital library that includes "hundreds of billions of copies of government websites, news articles and data."

They described the 29-year-old nonprofit Internet Archive as "more relevant than ever."

> Every day, about 100 terabytes of material are uploaded to the Internet Archive, or about a billion URLs, with the assistance of automated crawlers. Most of that ends up in the Wayback Machine, while the rest is digitized analog media — books, television, radio, academic papers — scanned and stored on servers. As one of the few large-scale archivists to back up the web, the Internet Archive finds itself in a particularly [2]unique position right now... Thousands of [U.S. government] [3]datasets were wiped — mostly at agencies focused on science and the environment — in the days following Trump's return to the White House...

>

> The Internet Archive is among the few efforts that exist to catch the stuff that [4]falls [5]through the [6]digital cracks , while also making that information accessible to the public. Six weeks into the new administration, Wayback Machine director [Mark] Graham said, the Internet Archive had cataloged some 73,000 web pages that had existed on U.S. government websites that were expunged after Trump's inauguration...

>

> According to Graham, based on the big jump in page views he's observed over the past two months, the Internet Archive is drawing many more visitors than usual to its services — journalists, researchers and other inquiring minds. Some want to consult the archive for information lost or changed in the purge, while others aim to contribute to the archival process.... "People are coming and rallying behind us," said Brewster Kahle, [the founder and current director of the Internet Archive], "by using it, by pointing at things, helping organize things, by submitting content to be archived — data sets that are under threat or have been taken down...."

>

> A behemoth of link rot repair, the Internet Archive rescues a daily average of 10,000 dead links that appear on Wikipedia pages. In total, it's fixed more than 23 million rotten links on Wikipedia alone, according to the organization.

Though it receives some money for its preservation work for libraries, museums, and other organizations, it's also funded by donations. "From the beginning, it was important for the Internet Archive to be a nonprofit, because it was working for the people," explains founder Brewster Kahle [7]on its donations page :

> Its motives had to be transparent; it had to last a long time. That's why we don't charge for access, sell user data, or run ads, even while we offer free resources to citizens everywhere. We rely on the generosity of individuals like you to pay for servers, staff, and preservation projects. If you can't imagine a future without the Internet Archive, please consider supporting our work. We promise to put your donation to good use as we continue to store over 99 petabytes of data, including 625 billion webpages, 38 million texts, and 14 million audio recordings.

Two interesting statistics from NPR's article:

"A [8]Pew Research Center study published last year found that roughly 38% of web pages on the internet that existed in 2013 were no longer accessible as of 2023."

"According to a [9]Harvard Law Review study published in 2014 , about half of all links cited in U.S. Supreme Court opinions no longer led to the original source material."

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader [10]jtotheh for sharing the news.



[1] https://www.npr.org/2025/03/23/nx-s1-5326573/internet-archive-wayback-machine-trump

[2] https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/01/31/nx-s1-5282274/trump-administration-purges-health-websites

[3] https://www.404media.co/archivists-work-to-identify-and-save-the-thousands-of-datasets-disappearing-from-data-gov/

[4] https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/climate-change-transparency-project-foia/2025-02-06/disappearing-data-trump

[5] https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/01/21/nx-s1-5269875/trump-abortion-hhs-reproductive-rights

[6] https://www.npr.org/2025/03/19/nx-s1-5317567/federal-websites-lgbtq-diversity-erased

[7] https://archive.org/donate

[8] https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/17/when-online-content-disappears/

[9] https://clp.law.harvard.edu/knowledge-hub/magazine/issues/the-evolution-of-law-libraries/pausing-the-internet/

[10] https://slashdot.org/~jtotheh

In 30 minutes the Free Software Foundation holds a live auction of memorabilia to celebrate their upcoming 40th anniversary. "By moving out of the FSF office, we got to sort through all the fun and historically important memorabilia and selected the best ones," they [1]announced earlier — and 25 items will up for bids. (To participate in the live auction, you must [2]register in advance.)

"This is your chance to get your very own personal souvenir of the FSF," explains [3]an 11-page auction booklet , "from original GNU art to a famous katana and the Internet Hall of Fame medal of the FSF's founder." That's right... a katana .

> Once upon a time, this 41-inch blade turned heads at the FSF's tech team office. Donated by FSF friends and fans of the [4]XKCD webcomic #225 , it became a lighthearted "weapon" in the war for user freedom. As RMS himself is anti-violence, he made a silly joke by examining the katana closely instead of brandishing it, symbolizing that software freedom can be defended with wit. In a [5]legendary photo , this was perceived as if he sniffed the blade. Between the etched dragon on the scabbard and the wavy hamon on the blade, it's as flashy as it is symbolic — especially if you like taking on proprietary software with style (and a dash of humor).

The auction is intended "to entrust some of the historically important free software memorabilia that were in the FSF's office and archive to the free software community instead of locking them away in a storage unit where no one can enjoy them.

"Hopefully, this way some of these unique items will be displayed in galleries or on the walls of free software enthusiasts. All auction proceeds will go towards the FSF's mission to promote computer user freedom."

And speaking of user freedom, here's how they described the Internet Hall of Fame medal:

> When Richard M. Stallman, the founder of the FSF, was inducted into the [6]Internet Hall of Fame , it was the ultimate nod to free software's immense impact on the Internet... The medal is shiny, and the frame is fancy, but the real radiance is the recognition that the Internet might look much more locked down and dull without those original free software seeds. Hang it on your wall, and you'll be reminded that hacking for user freedom can change the world.



[1] https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/forty-years-of-commitment-to-software-freedom

[2] https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=132

[3] https://static.fsf.org/nosvn/fsf40/auction/FSF-live-auction-booklet.pdf

[4] https://xkcd.com/225/

[5] https://blog.xkcd.com/2007/04/19/life-imitates-xkcd-part-ii-richard-stallman/

[6] https://www.internethalloffame.org/2013/06/26/internet-hall-fame-announces-2013-inductees/

The latest Facebook whistleblower, a former international lawyer, "cannot grant any of the nearly 100 interview requests she has received from journalists from print and broadcast news outlets in the United States and the United Kingdom," [1]reports the Washington Post (citing "a person familiar with the matter").

That's because of an independent arbiter's ruling that "also bars her from talking with lawmakers in the U.S., London and the EU, according to a legal challenge she lodged against the ruling..."

> On March 12, an emergency arbiter — a dispute resolution option outside the court system — [2]sided with Meta by ruling that the tech giant might reasonably convince a court that Wynn-Williams broke a non-disparagement agreement she entered as she was being fired by the company in 2017. The arbiter also said that while her publisher Macmillan appeared for the hearing on Meta's motion, Wynn-Williams did not despite having received due notice. The arbiter did not make any assessments about the book's veracity, but Meta spokespeople [3]argued that the ruling meant that "Sarah Wynn Williams' false and defamatory book should never have been published."

>

> Wynn-Williams this week filed an emergency motion to overturn the ruling, arguing that she didn't receive proper notice of the arbitration proceedings to the email accounts Meta knows she uses, according to a copy of the motion seen by The Post. Wynn-Williams further alleged that her severance agreement including the non-disparagement provisions are unenforceable, arguing that it violates laws that protect whistleblowers from retaliation, among other points. In a statement, legal representatives for Wynn-Williams said they were "confident in the legal arguments and look forward to a swift restoration of Ms. Wynn-Williams' right to tell her story."

That book — Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism — is currently #1 on the New York Times best-seller list (and #3 on Amazon.com's best-selling books list). And the incident prompted an article by Wired editor at large Steven Levy titled " [4]Meta Tries to Bury a Tell-All Book ." ("Please pause for a moment to savor the irony," Levy writes. "Meta, the company that recently announced an [5]end to fact-checking in posts seen by potentially millions of people, is griping that an author didn't fact-check with them ?")

And this led to [6]a heated exchange on X.com between the Wired editor at large and Meta's Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bozworth:

Steven Levy: Meta probably realizes that all-out war on this book will only help its sales. But they are furious that an insider--who signed an NDA!--is going White Lotus on them, showing what it's like on the inside.

Meta CTO Bozworth: Except that it is full of lies, Steven. Shame on you.

Steven Levy: Boz, it would be helpful if Meta called out what it believes are the factual inaccuracies, especially in cases where it calls the book "defamatory."

Meta CTO Bozworth: Sorry you don't get to make up a bunch of stories and then put the burden on the person you lied about. Read the accounts from former employees who have gone through several of the anecdotes and said flatly they did not happen as written and then extrapolate.

Steven Levy: I would love for Sheryl, Mark and Joel to speak out on those anecdotes and give their sides of the story. They are the key subjects of those stories and their direct denial of specific incidents would matter.

Meta CTO Bozworth: Did you read what I wrote? I'm sure you would love to have more fuel for your "nobody wants you to read this" headline, but that's a total bullshit expectation. It isn't unreasonable to expect a journalist like you to do basic diligence. I'm sure you have our comms email!

Steven Levy: Believe me I was in touch with your comms people...



[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/meta-scrambled-to-silence-a-tell-all-book-now-it-s-a-bestseller/ar-AA1BrC0p

[2] https://about.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Arbitration-Interim-Award.pdf

[3] https://x.com/andymstone/status/1899938639540338759

[4] https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext/careless-people-meta-mark-zuckerberg/

[5] https://www.wired.com/story/meta-ditches-fact-checkers-in-favor-of-x-style-community-notes/

[6] https://x.com/StevenLevy/status/1900556850753343506

Wired 's web site "is going to stop paywalling articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act," their global editorial director [1]announced this week :

> They're called public records for a reason, after all. And access to public documents is more important than ever at this moment, with government websites and records disappearing... [S]ome may argue that, from a business standpoint, [2]not charging for stories primarily relying on public records automatically means fewer subscriptions and therefore less revenue. We disagree.

>

> Sure, the FOIA process is time- and labor-intensive. Reporters face stonewalling, baseless denials, lengthy appeals processes, and countless other obstacles and delays. Investigative reports based on public records are among the most expensive stories to produce and share with the public... But while some readers might not subscribe to outlets that give away some of their best journalism for free, it's just as possible that readers will recognize this sacrifice and reward these outlets with more traffic and subscriptions in the long run...

>

> We hope others will follow Wired 's lead (and shoutout to outlets like 404 Media that also make their FOIA-based reporting available for free). We also hope those who stand to benefit from these outlets' leadership (that's you, reader) will do their part and [3]subscribe if you can afford it. They're not asking for an arm and a leg... The Fourth Estate needs to step up and invest in serving the public during these unprecedented times. And the public needs to return the favor and support quality journalism, so that hopefully one day we can do away with those annoying paywalls altogether.



[1] https://freedom.press/issues/wired-is-dropping-paywalls-for-foia-based-reporting-others-should-follow/

[2] https://freedom.press/issues/journalists-post-public-records-without-paywalls/

[3] https://www.wired.com/v2/offers/wira01013?source=Site_0_EDT_WIR_SUPERFAN_0_PressFreedom__ZZ

"Italy is using its Piracy Shield law to go after Google," [1]reports Ars Technica , "with a court ordering the Internet giant to immediately begin poisoning its public DNS servers" to prevent people from reaching pirate streams of football games.

"Italy's communication regulator praises the ruling and hopes to continue sticking it to international tech firms."

> Spotted [2]by TorrentFreak , AGCOM Commissioner Massimiliano Capitanio [3]took to LinkedIn to celebrate the ruling, as well as the existence of the Italian Piracy Shield. "The Judge confirmed the value of AGCOM's investigations, once again giving legitimacy to a system for the protection of copyright that is unique in the world," said Capitanio. Capitanio went on to complain that Google has routinely ignored AGCOM's listing of pirate sites, which are supposed to be blocked in 30 minutes or less under the law. He noted the violation was so clear-cut that the order was issued without giving Google a chance to respond, known as inaudita altera parte in Italian courts.



[1] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/italian-court-orders-google-to-block-iptv-pirate-sites-at-dns-level/

[2] https://torrentfreak.com/court-orders-google-to-poison-public-dns-to-prevent-iptv-piracy-250321/

[3] https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7308503541390741504/

"For developers and organisations that require a custom software image, a flexible and transparent build system is essential," according to [1]an announcement Friday at Raspberry Pi.com .

"[T]o support these customers, we have created [2]rpi-image-gen , a powerful new tool designed to put you in complete control of your Raspberry Pi images."

> If you're building an embedded system or an industrial controller, you'll need complete control over the software resident on the device, and home users may wish to build their own OS and have it pre-configured exactly the way they want... rpi-image-gen is an alternative to [3]pi-gen , which is the tool we use to create and deploy the Raspberry Pi OS distribution. rpi-image-gen... offers a very granular level of control over file system construction and software image creation... [B]eing able to help reduce software build time, provide guaranteed ownership of support, and reuse standard methodologies to ensure authenticity of software were all of paramount importance, and among the reasons why we created a new home-grown build tool for Raspberry Pi devices...

>

> There is a small number of [4]examples in the tree which demonstrate different use cases of rpi-image-gen [including the lightweight image [5] slim and [6] webkiosk for booting into browser kiosk mode]. All create bootable disk images and serve to illustrate how one might use rpi-image-gen to create a bespoke image for a particular purpose. The number of examples will grow over time and we welcome suggestions for new ones... Visit the [7]rpi-image-gen GitHub repository to get started. There, you'll find documentation and examples to guide you through creating custom Raspberry Pi images.

Some technical details from the announcement.

"Similar to pi-gen, rpi-image-gen leverages the power, reliability, and trust of installing a Debian Linux system for the device. However, unlike pi-gen, rpi-image-gen introduces some new concepts [profiles, image layouts, and config] which serve to dictate the build footprint and installation."

The tool also lets you exclude from your package "things that would otherwise be installed as part of the profile."

The tool's [8]GitHub repository notes that it also allows you output your software bill of materials (SBOM) "to list the exact set of packages that were used to create the image." And it can even generate a list of CVEs identified from the SBOM to "give consumers of your image confidence that your image does not contain any known vulnerabilities."



[1] https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/introducing-rpi-image-gen-build-highly-customised-raspberry-pi-software-images/

[2] https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-image-gen

[3] https://github.com/RPi-Distro/pi-gen

[4] https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-image-gen/tree/master/examples

[5] https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-image-gen/tree/master/examples/slim

[6] https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-image-gen/tree/master/examples/webkiosk

[7] https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-image-gen

[8] https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-image-gen

Hungary's Parliament not only voted to ban Pride events. They also voted to "allow authorities to use facial recognition software to identify attenders and potentially fine them," [1]reports the Guardian .

> [The nationwide legislation] amends the country's law on assembly to make it an offence to hold or attend events that violate Hungary's contentious "child protection" legislation, which bars any "depiction or promotion" of homosexuality to minors under the age of 18. The legislation was condemned by Amnesty International, which described it as the latest in a series of discriminatory measures the Hungarian authorities have taken against LGBTQ+ people...

>

> Organisers said they planned to go ahead with the march in Budapest, despite the law's stipulation that those who attend a prohibited event could face fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints [£425 or $549 U.S. dollars].



[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/18/hungary-bans-pride-events-and-plans-to-use-facial-recognition-to-target-attenders

"China is considering trying to blunt greater U.S. tariffs and other trade barriers," [1]reports the Wall Street Journal , "by offering to curb the quantity of certain goods exported to the U.S., according to advisers to the Chinese government."

> Tokyo's adoption of so-called voluntary export restraints, or VERs, to limit its auto shipments to the U.S. in the 1980s helped prevent Washington from imposing higher import duties. A similar move from Beijing, especially in sectors of key concern to Washington, like electric vehicles and batteries, would mitigate criticism from the U.S. and others over China's " [2]economic imbalances ": heavily subsidized companies making stuff for slim profits but saturating global markets, to the detriment of other countries' manufacturers...

>

> The Xi leadership has indicated a desire [3]to cut a deal with the Trump administration to head off greater trade attacks... Similar to Japan, the Chinese advisers say, Beijing may also consider negotiating export restraints on EVs and batteries in return for investment opportunities in those sectors in the U.S. In some officials' views, they say, that might be an attractive offer to Trump, who at times has indicated an openness to more Chinese investment in the U.S. even though members of his administration firmly oppose it.

The article notes agreements like this are also hard to enforce, "particularly when Chinese companies export to the U.S. from third countries including Mexico and Vietnam."



[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/china-explores-limiting-its-own-exports-to-mollify-trump/ar-AA1BqftW

[2] https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-trade-war-xi-manufacturing-49f81f68

[3] https://www.wsj.com/world/china/beijing-prepares-its-opening-bid-to-talk-trade-with-trump-ccec3ca4

NASA is considering "closing its headquarters and scattering responsibilities among the states," [1]reports Politico , citing two people familiar with the plan. "The proposal could affect up to 2,500 jobs and redistribute critical functions, including who manages space exploration and organizes major science missions."

> While much of the day-to-day work occurs at NASA's 10 centers, the Washington office plays a strategic role in lobbying for the agency's priorities in Congress, ensuring the White House supports its agenda and partnering with foreign countries on critical space projects. Some of the headquarter's offices might remain in Washington, the people said, but it's not clear which ones those would be or who would keep their jobs...

>

> One of the biggest fallouts is the damage it could do to coordination among NASA leadership on pressing issues... It would also limit cooperation with international partners on space, which is often done through embassies in Washington. NASA works with foreign partners on a range of projects, including the International Space Station and returning to the moon. The European Space Agency, for example, plans to provide [2]modules for Gateway , a lunar space station that is central to NASA's Artemis program to land American astronauts back on the moon... The agency also helps coordinate support from foreign nations for the [3]Artemis accords , which set goals for transparency and data sharing — and help create a level of trust in an unregulated part of the universe.

>

> But the reallocation could have some benefits. Such a move would bring headquarters employees closer to the processes they manage. And it would give legislative liaison staff a chance to interact with lawmakers in their districts. "You're probably getting a lot more time with [lawmakers] at the local center or hosting events in the state or district," said Tom Culligan, a longtime space lobbyist,, the space industry lobbyist.



[1] https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/21/nasa-plan-close-headquarters-00240806

[2] https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Exploration/Gateway

[3] https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Artemis-Accords-signed-13Oct2020.pdf?emrc=67dc5058cd741

Besides administering standardized pre-college tests, America's nonprofit College Board designs college-level classes that high school students can take. But now they're also crafting courses "not just with higher education at the table, but industry partners such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the technology giant IBM," [1]reports Education Week .

"The organization hopes the effort will make high school content more meaningful to students by connecting it to in-demand job skills."

> It believes the approach may entice a new kind of AP student: those who may not be immediately college-bound.... The first two classes developed through this career-driven model — dubbed AP Career Kickstart — focus on cybersecurity and business principles/personal finance, two fast-growing areas in the workforce." Students who enroll in the courses and excel on a capstone assessment could earn college credit in high school, just as they have for years with traditional AP courses in subjects like chemistry and literature. However, the College Board also believes that students could use success in the courses as a selling point with potential employers... Both the business and cybersecurity courses could also help fulfill state high school graduation requirements for computer science education...

>

> The cybersecurity course is being piloted in 200 schools this school year and is expected to expand to 800 schools next school year... [T]he College Board is planning to invest heavily in training K-12 teachers to lead the cybersecurity course.

IBM's director of technology, data and AI called the effort "a really good way for corporations and companies to help shape the curriculum and the future workforce" while "letting them know what we're looking for." In the article the associate superintendent for teaching at a Chicago-area high school district calls the College Board's move a clear signal that "career-focused learning is rigorous, it's valuable, and it deserves the same recognition as traditional academic pathways."

Also interesting is why the College Board says they're doing it:

> The effort may also help the College Board — founded more than a century ago — maintain AP's prominence as [2]artificial intelligence tools that can already ace nearly every existing AP test on an ever-greater share of job tasks once performed by humans. "High schools had a crisis of relevance far before AI," David Coleman, the CEO of the College Board, said in a wide-ranging interview with EdWeek last month. "How do we make high school relevant, engaging, and purposeful? Bluntly, it takes [the] next generation of coursework. We are reconsidering the kinds of courses we offer...."

>

> "It's not a pivot because it's not to the exclusion of higher ed," Coleman said. "What we are doing is giving employers an equal voice."

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader [3]theodp for sharing the article.



[1] https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/the-college-board-adds-two-new-ap-courses-heres-what-makes-them-different/2025/03

[2] https://www.edweek.org/technology/no-ai-wont-destroy-education-but-we-should-be-skeptical/2023/08

[3] https://www.slashdot.org/~theodp