Major Tech Companies, But Not Amazon, Sign Letter To Obama Against Security Backdoors

Enlarge / Artist's illustration of two Starships docked belly-to-belly in orbit. (credit: SpaceX) Some time next year, NASA believes SpaceX will be ready to link two Starships in orbit for an ambitious refueling demonstration, a technical feat that will put the Moon within reach. SpaceX is under contract with NASA to supply two human-rated Starships for the first two astronaut landings on the Moon through the agency's Artemis program, which aims to return people to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.

Enlarge / Farm cats drinking from a trough of milk from cows that were just milked. (credit: Getty | ) On March 16, cows on a Texas dairy farm began showing symptoms of a mysterious illness now known to be H5N1 bird flu. Their symptoms were nondescript, but their milk production dramatically dropped and turned thick and creamy yellow.

Enlarge (credit: Roku) Roku CEO Anthony Wood disclosed plans to introduce video ads to the Roku OS home screen. The news highlights Roku’s growing focus on advertising and an alarming trend in the streaming industry that sees ads increasingly forced on viewers. As spotted by The Streamable, during Roku's Q1 2024 earnings call last week, Wood, also the company's founder and chairman, boasted about the Roku OS home screen showing users ads "before they select an app," avoiding the possibility that they don't see any ads during their TV-viewing session.

One of only two Byzantine Catholic congregations in Denver is looking to upgrade. Holy Protection of the Mother of God has listed its existing church building at 1201 S. Elizabeth St. with an asking price of $1.1 million. That’s $435 a square foot for the 2,600-square-foot structure, which listing agent Matt Harper said a buyer could use as a day care or residence. “It’s a very interesting architectural building,” Harper said.

Enlarge / Edwin (George Rexstrew) and Charles (Jayden Revri) are the Dead Boy Detectives, ghosts who solve paranormal mysteries. (credit: Netflix ) For those eagerly anticipating the second season of Netflix's stellar adaption of Neil Gaiman's Sandman graphic novels, Dead Boy Detectives—the streaming plaform's new supernatural horror detective series—is a welcome return to that weird magical world.

Enlarge (credit: Benj Edwards | Getty Images) On Friday, the US Department of Homeland Security announced the formation of an Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board that consists of 22 members pulled from the tech industry, government, academia, and civil rights organizations. But given the nebulous nature of the term "AI," which can apply to a broad spectrum of computer technology, it's unclear if this group will even be able to agree on what exactly they are safeguarding us from. President Biden directed DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to establish the board, which will meet for the first time in early May and subsequently on a quarterly basis. The fundamental assumption posed by the board's existence, and reflected in Biden's AI executive order from October, is that AI is an inherently risky technology and that American citizens and businesses need to be protected from its misuse.