Articles (Page 16)

brasil 7

Fim da escala 6×1: elites fazem guerra suja contra o trabalhador

(Intercept Brasil / 2026-02-14 10:00)

Resumo objetivo:
A PEC que propõe o fim da escala de trabalho 6×1 tem amplo apoio popular e alta probabilidade de aprovação na Câmara até maio, com respaldo do presidente da Casa. No entanto, há forte oposição de elites empresariais e financeiras, que pressionam contra a redução da jornada e alertam para supostos graves impactos econômicos. A reação crítica é comparada historicamente a resistências anteriores a avanços trabalhistas, como a abolição da escravidão e a criação do 13º salário.

Principais tópicos abordados:
1. Andamento da PEC: apoio popular, previsão de aprovação e posicionamento político favorável.
2. Oposição empresarial e midiática: pressão contra a redução da jornada e argumentos de risco econômico.
3. Análise histórica: paralelos entre a reação atual das elites e resistências passadas a direitos trabalhistas.
4. Crítica ao papel da imprensa: alinhamento de veículos e jornalistas com interesses patronais.

tech 5

Beijing warns tech giants to curb ‘involution’ amid AI giveaway war

(Big Tech - South China Morning Post / 2026-02-15 06:30)

Chinese regulators have warned major technology platforms to curb "involutionary competition," referring to cutthroat, low-quality price wars. The warning specifically addresses an intense giveaway battle among tech giants to attract users for their AI apps ahead of the Lunar New Year.

The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) urged companies to uphold fair competition and foster healthy innovation, without naming specific firms. The term "involution" describes damaging economic practices that the government has vowed to combat across several industries.

The main topics covered are regulatory intervention in the tech sector, the concept of "involution" in business competition, and the aggressive marketing strategies for AI applications during a key shopping period.

tech 5

ByteDance ‘strengthening safeguards’ after Seedance AI video controversy

(Big Tech - South China Morning Post / 2026-02-15 09:07)

ByteDance is strengthening safeguards for its Seedance AI video tool following controversy over its ability to generate videos of copyrighted characters. The action comes after Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter, accusing the company of intellectual property infringement regarding its Marvel and Star Wars characters.

The main topics covered are the intellectual property dispute between ByteDance and Disney, ByteDance's response to the controversy, and the broader context of similar actions taken against other AI services.

tech 4

The Nothing That Has the Potential to Be Anything

(Science Latest / 2026-02-15 12:00)

According to quantum mechanics, a perfectly evacuated box still contains a fundamental residue of energy known as ground-state or zero-point energy. This energy exists in two forms: one associated with fields (like the electromagnetic field) and another with discrete objects (like atoms), and it cannot be eliminated due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

The concept, introduced by Max Planck, explains phenomena like molecular vibrations even near absolute zero, as demonstrated in a 2025 experiment on an ultra-cold molecule. A famous field-based effect is the Casimir force, where uncharged plates attract due to modifications in the field's zero-point energy between them.

The main topics covered are the definition and inevitability of quantum zero-point energy, its explanation via the uncertainty principle, its historical background and explanatory uses, and modern experimental demonstrations including molecular studies and the Casimir effect.

tech 5

Humanoids go mainstream as China’s robotics champions appear at CCTV spectacle

(Big Tech - South China Morning Post / 2026-02-15 22:00)

China's leading humanoid robotics companies were prominently featured in the state broadcaster CCTV's annual Spring Festival Gala, a major nationwide marketing event. Four firms participated through partnerships reportedly worth around 100 million yuan, showcasing their robots in comedy sketches, martial arts, and musical performances.

The segment highlighted the industry's central role in national industrial policy and demonstrated the technological progress of Chinese humanoids. While entertainment is currently the primary application, the long-term goal is for these robots to become efficient industrial workers.

The main topics covered are the showcase of Chinese humanoid robotics at a major televised event, the significant commercial partnerships involved, and the industry's current entertainment focus alongside its future industrial ambitions.

tech 6

Alibaba unveils Qwen-3.5, sharpening global race to spread AI models

(Big Tech - South China Morning Post / 2026-02-16 09:19)

Alibaba Cloud has released its next-generation open AI model, Qwen-3.5, intensifying the global AI competition between China and the U.S. The launch was part of a wave of new model releases from major Chinese AI developers.

The new open-source model shows significant performance improvements over its predecessor and is benchmarked as competitive with leading U.S. models from firms like OpenAI. A separate closed-source version, Qwen-3.5-Plus, boasts a massive context window and performance claimed to be on par with current industry leaders.

The main topics covered are Alibaba's Qwen-3.5 AI model release, the China-U.S. AI race, and the technical specifications and benchmarked performance of the new models.

tech 5

Kung fu, somersaults and scale: Unitree eyes 20,000-robot output in 2026 after gala

(Big Tech - South China Morning Post / 2026-02-17 09:32)

Unitree Robotics plans to dramatically increase its humanoid robot shipments, targeting 10,000 to 20,000 units in 2026, a significant jump from about 5,500 in 2025. This projection follows a high-profile performance at China's Spring Festival Gala, where its robots demonstrated advanced capabilities like autonomous kung fu, trampoline somersaults, and high-speed running. The showcase highlighted rapid technological progress in the past year, positioning Unitree at the forefront of China's humanoid robotics industry.

The main topics covered are Unitree's production and shipment forecasts, its showcase at a major national gala, and the demonstrated advancements in its robots' capabilities.

tech 5

AI Digital Twins Are Helping People Manage Diabetes and Obesity

(Science Latest / 2026-02-17 11:00)

Rodney Buckley lost 100 pounds in under a year using Twin Health's digital twin program, which employs wearables, AI, and coaching instead of GLP-1 drugs. Faced with the high cost of GLP-1 medications, some employers are turning to such non-drug alternatives for weight loss and metabolic health management.

The Twin Health program creates a digital model of a user's metabolism using data from various devices, providing personalized food and activity recommendations. It operates on an outcomes-based payment model, where the company is paid only when users achieve specific clinical improvements like weight loss or reduced medication use.

Main topics: digital health technology (digital twins/AI), employer healthcare cost management for obesity/diabetes, and personalized nutrition/wellness programs.

tech 5

Big Tech Says Generative AI Will Save the Planet. It Doesn’t Offer Much Proof

(Science Latest / 2026-02-18 15:17)

Google has promoted a claim that AI could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 5-10% by 2030, a statistic originating from a Google-BCG report. However, an investigation by researcher Ketan Joshi found this estimate relies on flimsy evidence, citing BCG's "experience with clients" without robust proof.

Despite Google's own sustainability report showing AI development is increasing its corporate emissions, the company continues to use the optimistic statistic in policy recommendations. The aggressive AI infrastructure build-out is, in reality, driving significant new energy demand, prolonging coal plants and adding gas power to grids.

Joshi's new report, analyzing over 150 such claims, concludes that many high-profile assertions about AI solving climate change lack substantial evidence.

Main Topics: Google's AI emissions reduction claim, the investigation into its evidence, the actual climate impact of AI infrastructure, and the scrutiny of tech industry environmental promises.

infosec 6

Dell's Hard-Coded Flaw: A Nation-State Goldmine

(darkreading / 2026-02-18 20:49)

A Chinese nation-state threat actor exploited a critical hard-coded credential vulnerability (CVE-2026-22769) in Dell's RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines since mid-2024. This allowed unauthorized root access to deploy malware, including the Grimbolt backdoor, and move laterally into VMware infrastructure. The flaw stemmed from default admin credentials left in a configuration file, representing a severe supply-chain risk. Dell has released a fixed version and a remediation script for affected customers. The incident highlights the persistent danger of hard-coded credentials in software products.

The main topics covered are: the exploitation of a critical Dell vulnerability by a China-nexus threat actor, the technical details and impact of the hard-coded credential flaw, the malware deployed, and the recommended remediation.

infosec 3

Threat Intelligence Has a Human-Shaped Blind Spot

(darkreading / 2026-02-18 20:56)

The article describes how the author's personal experience with email bombing—used to hide fraudulent credit card applications—revealed a shared tactic with online harassment campaigns. Both exploit the human vulnerability of cognitive overload to overwhelm victims. The author argues that threat intelligence is fragmented, with fraud/security teams and platform trust/safety teams operating in separate silos despite facing similar attacks on human attention. The main topics covered are the technique of email bombing, the shared human vulnerabilities exploited across different threat types, and the lack of communication between different threat intelligence communities.

infosec 5

Critical Grandstream VoIP Bug Highlights SMB Security Blind Spot

(darkreading / 2026-02-18 21:15)

A critical vulnerability (CVE-2026-2329) in Grandstream's GXP1600 series VoIP phones allows unauthenticated attackers to gain root access and execute remote code, enabling call interception, toll fraud, and credential theft. The flaw, rated 9.3 in severity, highlights how VoIP infrastructure is often a neglected security risk in business environments. The article covers the technical details of the vulnerability, its discovery and patching timeline, and the broader security blind spot that VoIP systems represent for organizations.

infosec 3

Scam Abuses Gemini Chatbots to Convince People to Buy Fake Crypto

(darkreading / 2026-02-18 21:47)

Cybercriminals are using a fake cryptocurrency presale site for "Google Coin" to defraud victims. The site features a convincing AI chatbot impersonating Google's Gemini assistant to deliver a polished sales pitch and answer investment questions, funneling payments to scammers. This represents an evolution in scams, as AI chatbots can engage many victims simultaneously, removing the bottleneck of human operators. The fraudulent site is highly convincing, mimicking Google's branding and displaying logos of major, unrelated companies to appear legitimate.

tech 5

Chinese AI and robotics firms appoint millennial and Gen Z rising stars as chief scientists

(Big Tech - South China Morning Post / 2026-02-19 04:00)

Chinese tech companies like Tencent, AgiBot, and PrimeBot are appointing millennials and Generation Z researchers as chief scientists to lead AI and robotics innovation. These young experts, including Princeton graduate Yao and Peking University professor Dong Hao, focus on fundamental research and strategic planning for future technologies.

The trend highlights a focus on attracting top-tier, globally educated talent with experience at elite institutions like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Imperial College London. Their work involves advancing core AI methodologies, such as optimizing model design through "context learning" and improving computer vision techniques.

The main topics covered are leadership appointments in Chinese tech, the youth and global background of the new AI scientists, and their specific research focuses in artificial intelligence and robotics.

infosec 4

More Than 40% of South Africans Were Scammed in 2025

(darkreading / 2026-02-19 07:00)

A 2025 report reveals that 77% of South Africans were scammed in a 12-month period, with 42% losing money, a rate far exceeding the global average. South Africans face an exceptionally high volume of scam attempts—roughly one every 36 hours—though the average financial loss per incident is lower than in wealthier nations. The article explains that scammers prioritize high-volume, low-friction targets in markets like South Africa, where digital defenses and awareness may be less mature, over richer but better-protected economies.