Years
Large language models could ‘revolutionsise the finance sector within two years’
Large Language Models (LLMs) have the potential to improve efficiency and safety in the finance sector by detecting fraud, generating financial insights and automating customer service, according to research by The Alan Turing Institute. Because LLMs have an ability to analyse large amounts of data quickly and generate coherent text, there is growing understanding of…
AI to significantly boost cyber threats over next two years
A report published by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warns that AI will substantially increase cyber threats over the next two years. The centre warns of a surge in ransomware attacks in particular; involving hackers deploying malicious software to encrypt a victim’s files or entire system and demanding a ransom payment for the…
Fagilde’s trapdoor spider rediscovered in Portugal after disappearing for 92 years
Fagilde’s trapdoor spider was rediscovered in northern Portugal Sergio Henriques/Re:wild An elusive species of trapdoor spider has been spotted again in a small village in Portugal after a 92-year disappearance. Fagilde’s trapdoor spider (Nemesia berlandi) was first described in 1931, after entomologists found a pair of females just outside the tiny northern Portuguese village of…
50 years ago, astronomers challenged claims that Barnard’s star has a planet
For decades, scientists and science fiction authors have speculated about whether Barnard’s star, the fastest moving star in the night sky and just six light-years from the sun, might host a planet (one illustrated). M. Kornmesser/ESO No planet for Barnard’s star? — Science News, December 1, 1973 Over the years evidence has been brought forward for planetary…
Brain implant could ease the effects of a traumatic injury years later
The device was implanted into the thalamus (highlighted), a region deep in the brain that is linked to alertness, learning and memory SEBASTIAN KAULITZKI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images An implant that stimulates a region deep in the brain may boost cognitive function in people with traumatic brain injuries long after the incident occurred. This is based…
End-to-End Encrypted Instagram and Messenger Chats: Why It Took Meta 7 Years
Since 2016, the social behemoth now known as Meta has been working to deploy end-to-end encryption in its communication apps. CEO Mark Zuckerberg even promised in 2019 that the data privacy protection would roll out by default across all of the company’s chat apps. In practice, though, it was a wildly ambitious goal fraught with…