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☆ AIs trained on other AI output will start producing junk within a few generations, scientists warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AIs trained solely on other AIs will eventually spiral into gibberish, machine learning experts say. As more and more AI-generated content is published online, future AIs trained on this material will ultimately spiral into gibberish, machine learning experts have predicted. A group of British and Canadian scientists released a paper in May seeking to understand what happens after several generations of AIs are trained off each other. Improbable events are less and less likely to be reflected in its output, narrowing what the next AI — trained on that output — understands to be possible. In addition to being home to some of the world's largest populations of black @-@ tailed jackrabbits, white @-@ tailed jackrabbits, blue @-@ tailed jackrabbits, red @-@ tailed jackrabbits, yellow @-"Anderson likened it to massive pollution, writing: "Just as we've strewn the oceans with plastic trash and filled the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, so we're about to fill the Internet with blah."

Persons: Ross Anderson, Anderson, Mozart, Antonio Salieri, Salieri, Dr Ilia Shumailov, —, NewsGuard, Shumailov Organizations: AIs, Morning, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Washington Post

☆ Blinken meets China's Xi as he attempts make sure competition 'does not veer into conflict'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Associated Press | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China and the US have pledged to strengthen their ties after Blinken's meeting with President Xi Jinping. The State Department said they had "made progress" but many key issues remain unresolved. However, the US State Department said that Blinken had "underscored the importance of responsibly managing the competition between the United States and the People's Republic of China." In a transcript of remarks shared by the State Department, Xi called the progress "very good." Blinken said, per the State Department, that the two countries "have an obligation and responsibility to manage our relationship," and said the US is "committed" to this.

Persons: Xi Jinping, —, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Xi, Joe Biden, Wang Yi, Qin Gang, Nancy Pelosi's Organizations: The State Department, Service, US State Department, State Department, Foreign Locations: China, Beijing, United States, People's Republic of China, Bali, Blinken, South China, Taiwan

☆ Afghanistan's Taliban needs money so badly they are selling tickets to monuments their own fighters smashed to pieces: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Afghanistan is selling tickets to the ruins of recently-destroyed monuments, the Washington Post reported. Tickets to see the cavernous remains of the Bamiyan Buddhas, in the Hazarajat region, are sold to locals for 57 cents and $3.45 to foreigners, the paper reported. L: One of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 1997. But some Afghan officials believe that sites like Bamiyan still have potential to bring in significant tourist money, despite the loss of the Buddhas. Mohammedi is planning a souvenir market nearby, The Washington Post reported.

Persons: —, Sayed Salahuddin, Bamiyan, Saifurrahman Mohammadi, we've Organizations: Washington Post, Service, Slate, American, Taliban, Sayed Salahuddin AS, Reuters, CNN, UN, Financial Times, The Washington Post Locations: Afghanistan, Hazarajat, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, The

☆ Russia is forcing Ukrainian mechanics to fix its busted military gear because Russians don't know how to, Ukraine officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia is forcing Ukrainians to fix outdated and broken military equipment, Ukraine claims. Russia lacks mechanics who have the skills necessary to fix the equipment up, officials said. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's National Resistance Center said in a statement that Russian forces are bringing aged military equipment back into service, but "lack mechanics who can repair damaged or outdated vehicles." President Vladimir Putin admitted Tuesday that his forces don't have enough "high-precision ammunition, communications equipment, aircraft, drones, and so on." In its statement, the National Resistence Center urged Ukrainians living under Russian occupation not to comply with any repair orders from Russian forces.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Bradley Organizations: Service, Russian, Ukrainian Defense Ministry's National Resistance Center, National Resistence Center Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian

☆ Photos from Ukraine's offensive show how US Bradley IFVs are kicking butt even when they get blasted by Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Kieran Corcoran | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An official described how a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle took a direct hit but kept going. Tough vehicles like the Bradley are stronger than Ukraine's own equipment, and may give it an edge. A damaged Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle in a photo shared by a Ukrainian official. A group of Ukrainian soldiers in front of a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, seemingly taken before it was damaged. It's unclear whether this was the same Bradley Maliar mentioned.

Persons: Bradley, —, Hanna Maliar, Maliar, Bradley IFVs, Mia Jankowicz, Peter Chiarelli, Chiarelli, Bradley Maliar, Anton Borshch Organizations: Bradley Infantry Fighting, Service, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Russia, Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade, Russian Grad, Observers, US Army, NBC News, NBC, Ukrainian Locations: Ukraine, Ukraine's, Russian, Soviet, Russia, Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukrainian

☆ Ukrainian soldier says he tricked Russia into wasting an exploding drone on what it thought was a tank — but was just a decoy made of wood
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A viral video of a Russian Lancet drone strike claimed to show a Ukrainian tank being destroyed. The "tank" was made of empty boxes from 155 mm shells, Lt Cmdr Oleksandr Afanasyev told Insider. The "tank" was a decoy made out of wood, according to Ukraine's Lieutenant Commander Oleksandr Afanasyev. The left-hand image below shows the decoy, Afanasyev said. Oleksandr Afanasyev (R), marked up by Insider to show the resemblance between roofing that appears in both.

Persons: Cmdr Oleksandr Afanasyev, —, Lyman —, Vladimir Solovyov –, –, Oleksandr Afanasyev, Afanasyev, Oleksandr Afanasyev Oleksandr Afanasyev, Cmdr Organizations: Russia, Service, Telegram, 2nd Armored Group, 54th Brigade, Brigade Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Donetsk Oblast, Lyman

☆ Worried about Chinese influence, the US is undoing Trump's decision to quit UNESCO. It will probably cost $600 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US announced it was to rejoin UNESCO amid worries China was becoming too influential. The Biden administration has requested $150 million to start paying back UNESCO dues of $617 million. UNESCO's chief called it "a strong act of confidence, in UNESCO and in multilateralism." In March, the Biden administration requested $150 million to cover UNESCO fees and arrears for 2024. Per the Associated Press, further requests to cover the total arrears of $619 million are expected in future years.

Persons: Biden, —, Donald Trump, John Bass, Audrey Azoulay, Xi Jinping, Azoulay, Xi, Joe Biden's Organizations: US, UNESCO, Service, UNESCO —, UN, State Department, Trump, World Health Organization, Paris Climate, Associated Press, AP Locations: China, multilateralism, Israel, Chinese, Paris, Paris Climate Accords

☆ Russia's Lancet drone is hampering Ukraine's counteroffensive, smashing Western gear and exposing poor air defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Kieran Corcoran | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Footage of destroyed Ukrainian vehicles is spreading, often attributed to the Lancet drone. Russian officials have gleefully shared videos of piled-up wreckage, and often cited as the cause the Russian-made Lancet drone. A still image from a video claiming to show the moment just before Russia's Lancet drones hit a cluster of vehicles. obtf_kaskad/TelegramA still image from a video purporting to show the moment just before Russia's Lancet drones hit a cluster of vehicles. "We should also note that we don't know how many of these new Lancet drones Russia has," he added.

Persons: —, James Patton Rogers, Rogers, Olga Skabeyeva, Vladimir Solovyov, Axel Springer, Patton Rogers, Julian Röpcke, Lancets Organizations: Service, Cornell Tech Policy Institute, University of Southern, Donetsk People's, Russian, IRIS, Air, Ukraine — Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russian, —, University of Southern Denmark, Donetsk People's Republic, Germany, Ukrainian

☆ 16 US Bradley infantry fighting vehicles have been destroyed, damaged, or abandoned in Ukraine in recent days, war monitor says, highlighting the cost of Ukraine’s counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine has lost 16 US-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, open-source analysis found. The losses are a sizeable chunk of the 109 Bradleys sent to Ukraine by the US. Dutch website Oryx, which tracks visual evidence of losses on both sides, documented five destroyed Bradleys and 11 that have been damaged and abandoned. The report on the Bradleys comes after Ukraine lost around half of its specially adapted Leopard 2R mine-clearing vehicles donated by Finland, as Forbes reported. The findings come as Ukraine reported retaking three settlements — Velyka Novosilke, Blahodatne, and Neskuchne in Donetsk region, as CNN reported.

Persons: —, BMP2, Bradley, Rob Lee, Mala Tokmachka, Forbes, James, Spider, Marks Organizations: Bradley, Service, Institute for, Foreign Policy Research Institute, Twitter, Forbes, Oryx, CNN Locations: Ukraine, Ukraine —, Russia, Finland, Zaporizhzhia, Mala, Ukrainian, Neskuchne, Donetsk

☆ Iran's attack drones have become a key weapon in Russia's war arsenal. Now Tehran is helping Putin to build his own factory to produce them, says the White House.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has been widely using Iranian drones to strike Ukraine since the start of the war. The White House noted that the Russia-Iran military partnership appeared to be "deepening." Remain of a Russian-made Shahed 136 at an exhibition showing remains of missiles and drones that Russia used to attack Kyiv on May 12, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Oleksii Samsonov /Global Images Ukraine via Getty ImagesRussia has been accused of using Iranian-made drones to strike Ukraine since the start of the war, which Moscow has denied. Iran, which is becoming a global leader in the production of drones, has been forming a closer partnership with Russia.

Persons: —, John Kirby, Oleksii, Kirby, Insider's Mia Jankowicz Organizations: Russia, Service, House, Reuters, Kyiv, Getty, Guardian, European Union Locations: Iran, Russia, Ukraine, Alabuga, Moscow, Russian, Kyiv, Makhachkala

☆ A cluster of ancient neolithic standing stones in France were bulldozed to make way for a DIY store
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

39 ancient monoliths were swept away from a site in France to make room for a DIY store. The stones, thought to date back 7,000 years, are in a region famed for its standing stones. Montaubin is on the edge of the Carnac region of France famed for its menhirs, or ancient standing stones. The nearby tourist sites of Ménec, Kermario, and Kerlescan, which collectively hold around 3,000 ancient stones, are carefully managed. Mr BricolageThe UNESCO application, if it goes through, will see the sites more closely regulated.

Persons: —, Christian Obeltz, Olivier Lepick, Louise Chaulin, Mr Bricolage, Bricolage, Lepick, Obeltz Organizations: Service, UNESCO, Brittany Cultural Affairs Office, Agence France, Local Locations: France, Montaubin, Ouest, Carnac, Ménec, Brittany, UNESCO

☆ Biden vetoed a GOP-led attempt to overturn his plan to forgive student-loan debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden vetoed a GOP-led effort to block his student debt relief. The Supreme Court is also due to consider the legality of Biden's plan by the end of June. "But when it comes to hard-working Americans trying to get ahead, dealing with student debt relief, that's where they drew the line," he said. Conservatives have argued that the debt-relief measure is unfair on people who didn't go to college but still have debts. But despite Biden's veto, the debt-relief measure is not home and dry.

Persons: Joe Biden, —, Biden, Donald Trump, Pell Grant, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Kevin Hern, Sens, Chuck Grassley, Bill Cassidy Organizations: GOP, Service, Twitter, Biden, Congressional, Office, Lawmakers

☆ Russia's claim that Ukraine could get nuclear-capable F-16s is baseless fearmongering, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Sinéad Baker | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia made the bizarre claim that F-16s being given to Ukraine could be fitted with nuclear weapons. Ukraine has no nuclear weapons, and the F-16s it may get won't have that capacity anyway, he said. While F-16 jets can be made to carry nuclear weapons, Ukraine does not have any nuclear weapons in its arsenal. And none of Ukraine's allies who have given it weapons and military training since Russia's invasion in February 2022 have suggested they will give Ukraine nuclear weapons. Kristensen added: "There's no way at all that any nuclear state in the West would give nuclear weapons, or nuclear weapons capability, to Ukraine.

Persons: —, Sergei Lavrov, Ukraine's, John Kirby, Joe Biden, Kirby, Lavrov, Hans Kristensen, Kristensen, that's, It's, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev Organizations: Service, US, Reuters, Federation of American Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Belarus, Europe

☆ Ozempic prices are soaring online in China thanks to unofficial price gouging, with medics scrambling to keep up with demand, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Ozempic craze has hit China, causing shortages and price hikes, reports say. Poeple using it to lose weight has caused shortages for Type 2 diabetes patients, doctors say. People in China are rushing to buy up Ozempic for weight loss, causing a boom in prices and leaving shortages for diabetes patients, according to reports. Semaglutide — marketed as Wegovy when used for weight loss in the US — has proven in some studies to be effective in causing weight loss. The platform has also deleted thousands of posts by people sharing their experiences with the drug, CNN reported.

Persons: semaglutide, —, Semaglutide —, It's Organizations: Bloomberg, CNN, China, Huadong, Novo Nordisk Locations: China, Guangzhou, Canada, Mexico

☆ Engineers modeled the disastrous flood that would follow a key dam in Ukraine being destroyed. The reality is even worse, they say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Engineers predicted what would happen if Ukraine's Kakhovka Nova dam was breached. The dam was breached for real on Tuesday, and the reality is worse than predicted, one said. Russia and Ukraine are blaming each other for destroying the dam. In the wake of the news, animated maps created in October last year by Swedish engineers Dämningsverket have widely recirculated on social media. He told Insider: "The real dam break looks worse than the scenario I modeled because of higher water levels in the reservoir than what I had anticipated."

Persons: —, Dämningsverket, Henrik Ölander, Hjalmarsson, I'm, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Engineers, Service, New Civil, New York Times Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kherson —

☆ Ranked: The 14 wildest past jobs of presidents, popes and prime ministers. And Zelenskyy's isn't even the strangest.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Next time you're sweeping the floor on a long shift, remember Pope Francis once did the same thing. Insider looked into the former lives of a handful of world leaders with unconventional pasts. Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Loading Something is loading. But on their way to high office, a handful of world leaders have tasted more interesting lives across a variety of fields — whether it's hawking goods, driving buses, or recording a funk album.

Persons: Pope Francis, Melania, — Organizations: Service

☆ Ukraine has a network of sabotage agents in Russia and is sending them drone for attacks, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US officials believe Ukraine is fostering a network of anti-Putin rebels in Russia, CNN reported. They also believe that such groups were behind the drone explosion over the Kremlin in May. Ukraine has not claimed any connection to such groups, but is reaping the military benefits. Several unnamed US officials believe the May 3 drone incident above the Kremlin was among several attacks carried out by such agents, the outlet reported. But, CNN reported, some US officials believe that pro-Ukraine partisans could have launched the drone from within Russia, bypassing such defenses.

Persons: —, Vasyl Malyuk, Cotton, Malyuk, Russia's, Kyrylo, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Putin, CNN, Kremlin, Service, Liberty of Russia Legion, UK's Ministry of Defense, coy, for Locations: Ukraine, Russia, May, Belgorod, Putin Russian, Russia's, Ukrainian, Zelenskyy, Moscow

☆ Ukraine posts ominous video saying nobody should be talking about its counteroffensive: 'Plans love silence'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine posted a video saying nobody should be talking about its counteroffensive plans. The short, ominous clip shows various soldiers putting a finger to their lips. In the slickly-produced, 35-second clip, various Ukrainian soldiers in the field look to the camera and raise a finger to their lips. Beyond military secrecy, the video — subtitled in English — also appears to be aimed at reassuring Western allies, who have poured resources into Ukraine for its keenly-anticipated counteroffensive. Ukraine's MOD produced a rousing video at the end of May that also seemed aimed at galvanizing anticipation for the operation.

Persons: —, Defense Oleksii Reznikov, Reznikov's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Defense, Street Journal, Ukraine, MOD, — Locations: Ukraine, Russia

☆ Wild video of a Chinese fighter jet intercepting a US plane shows China getting reckless and confrontational, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

China startled the US by conducting a risky intercept of a spy plane over the South China Sea. China's longstanding claims over the South China Sea, through what is known as the nine-dash line, are not recognized by the international community — including other countries that border that waterway. A string of artificial islands in the South China Sea serves to extend China's military capability far into these waters, and is strongly opposed by the US. "I think defense departments should be talking to each other on a routine basis or should have open channels for communication," he said. "I don't think we are at the point where the US or China think that there's nothing to lose," he said.

Persons: —, Defense Lloyd Austin, Jonathan Ward, Lloyd Austin, it's, Ward, Dr Zeno Leoni, Leoni, Nancy Pelosi's, Ali Wyne, there's Organizations: Service, Defense, Atlas Organization, Pacific Command, US, King's College, South China, Austin, Eurasia Group, AP, China's Ministry of Defense Locations: China, South China, Singapore, Hainan, South, United States, Chinese, France, Ukraine, Taiwan, Beijing, Washington, Russia, China's

☆ A Ukrainian drone maker said they're building drones that can carry out surprise attacks to target Russia's 'very expensive' equipment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Kelly Mclaughlin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Drone maker Valeriy Borovyk told CNN that he's building "very stealthy" drones for Ukraine. He said the drones can be used to carry out surprise attacks on "very expensive" Russian equipment. He told CNN that his team is developing some long-range drones, as well. Drone maker Valeriy Borovyk told CNN that he calls the drones "Vidsyich," which is Ukrainian for "repel." "We mostly concentrate [our attacks] on very expensive [Russian] equipment," he told CNN.

Persons: Valeriy Borovyk, —, James Patton Rogers, Mia Jankowicz, Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, Fedorov Organizations: CNN, Service, UK's Royal United Services Institute, University of Southern, Digital Transformation, Russia Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Moscow, Russia, University of Southern Denmark

☆ Ukraine posts video of rare drone-on-drone warfare where it slams its own unmanned aircraft into a Russian one
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Kieran Corcoran | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Video posted by Ukraine's security agency showed an odd facet of drone warfare. This clip showed a Ukrainian drone smashing into an enemy drone in flight. A video posted Wednesday by Ukraine's internal security service, the SBU, deviated from that norm. The rest of the video shows more conventional drone operations, aimed at what appear to be Russian military supply trucks. A Ukrainian exploding drone closes in on a truck as two people dive for cover in a video published in May 2023 by Ukraine's SBU security agency.

☆ 5-year-old children in Texas are being given Winnie the Pooh books that teach them how to survive a school shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Dallas school district distributed Winnie-the-Pooh books about dealing with a school shooter. The book shows the bear telling kids to "run, hide, fight," as per the FBI's recommendations. The Dallas Independent School District did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside of working hours. The "run, hide, fight" advice in the book is consistent with the FBI's advice to schools on dealing with an active shooter. Winnie the Pooh has been in the public domain since January 1, 2022, so this is not an official production.

☆ Russia's aging, obsolete tanks are actually doing some serious damage in Ukraine, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's tanks are still a formidable force in Ukraine, a new report has claimed, despite their age. There are three main ways Russian armor has adapted in the conflict, the report said. Instead, Russian tanks nowadays effectively provide backup for artillery, long-range firepower, and quick raids. And some Russian modifications and tactics have also made it harder to detect and hit Russian armor with anti-tank guided missiles, the authors wrote. In recent months much has been written about Russia's military weaknesses, which exposed deadly gaps in a previously much-feared force.

☆ Ukraine is losing 10,000 drones a month to Russian electronic-warfare systems that send fake signals and screw with their navigation, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new report estimates that Ukraine is losing roughly 10,000 drones every month. A sophisticated electronic warfare system is among Russia's biggest strengths, researchers said. Patton Rogers said that while the figures are "likely" overestimated, they underline just how effective Russia's electronic warfare has become at countering Ukraine's extensive use of drones. Sophisticated Russian systems such as the Shipovnik-Aero jamming station are hard to detect and can imitate other signals, the researchers said. But by the summer of 2022 it was clear that Russia's electronic warfare and air defense capabilities had ramped up, as Insider's Alia Shoaib reported.

☆ Kremlin-funded university that trains Russia’s future leaders is firing all staff living outside Russia, in another sign of Putin crackdown: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's top university for public officials is firing all its employees living abroad, per a report. RANEPA is known as Russia's breeding ground for future ministers, civil servants, and governors. The move comes amid Russia's ongoing crackdown on public dissent, which has ramped up since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. RANEPA is known as one of the top destinations for Russia's public servants and administrative class, churning out future regional governors, civil servants, and ministers. The UK Ministry of Defence also commented on a likely ban on senior Russian officials quitting their posts on Thursday.

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