RSnake Report 20250906

Hello, and thanks for reading! Been having on-and-off again rain, and it seems like there are way too many birthdays in September. You can tell what their moms were doing at Christmas. 😆 But life has been great as we ramp up towards the busy fall season.

Briefly, and in local Austin news, one of my readers asked me to do a quick shout out for a hero of the day Fernando Martinez who helped tackle an armed man and bring him down long enough for Police to kill the suspect before he was able to fire on them. Pretty gruesome situation, but Martinez was struck in the process. He’s got a GoFundMe if you want to support him while he gets rehabilitated.

Starting with Russia/Ukraine news, attacks in Crimea have become more frequent, with Ukraine capitalizing on the absence of credible air defenses to obliterate Russian helicopters, ships, and radar arrays. Ukrainian Military Intelligence released footage of these operations from the early morning hours of the previous day. It’s actually rather impressive how easily they are invading the airspace, and it makes the idea of them taking back Crimea somewhat less crazy sounding. In practice, I don’t think it’ll happen, but Ukraine is certainly making a point of it, as they should. Russia wants those warm-weather ports, and Crimea is very important for Black Sea operations.

Ukrainian forces have demonstrated the effectiveness of their FPV drones, with a swarm targeting a Russian military facility. After the initial FPV drone breached the entrance, two more drones entered and hunted down Russian military equipment and personnel inside. I think we are going to see more and more examples of drone “packs” or “swarms”. The first one will breach the major defenses, and the follow-up drones clean up afterwards.

Ukraine has launched the K4 Startup Studio, offering $250,000 grants to AI defense startups. Companies like Arc Robotics are participating. The reason this caught my eye is that they are focused on those big drone swarms, using AI “fleet management” to automate the coordination of many drones at once. You can turn any commodity drone into a node of a much larger coordinated and automated attack, likely only using humans for the last part of the bombing run or kamikaze strike.

We have talked a lot about the multiple bomblets and the “carpet bombing” runs that we could start to see soon. Well, it didn’t take long. Ukrainian forces employed a bomber drone to execute a carpet bombing attack, dropping a barrage of VOG grenades on a Russian dugout in the Donetsk region. This video is incredibly interesting to me because instead of using them in a flight path, they used them more like an explosive drill, dropping each of them one after another. I’m really curious if this will be the main use case or if we’ll see more traditional carpet bombing runs in trench lines.

I saw an interesting article where it was proclaimed that Ukraine requires five types of missiles to significantly impact the war, needing a production rate of 200-300 missiles per month. These include advanced cruise missiles, simple large cruise missiles like the Flamingo FP-5, ballistic missiles such as the Hrim-2, long-range missiles with small warheads like the Neptune Anti-Ship missile, and short-range missiles for targets under 300km. The assertion was that the cessation of ATACMS ballistic missile supplies from the US has hampered Ukraine's ability to strike key targets, as has the lack of something equivalent to the US-made Tomahawk missile.

However, interestingly, I found two different conflicting pieces of evidence. Reports suggest that Ukraine's Antonov company is developing a new land-based cruise missile, the An-202/203/204, with a planned range of up to 2,830 km. This missile, linked to the Flamingo production line, could be launched from trucks or trailers, with testing expected by year's end. That would replace the need for the Tomahawk.

Also, the Ukrainian company Fire Point is developing its own ballistic missiles, the FP-7 and FP-9. The FP-7 has a range of 200 km, while the FP-9 can reach up to 855 km, with significant payload capacities and high speeds, enabling deep strikes into enemy territory. So, I am not buying the original assertion. However, I do believe that the supply/stocks of these weapons are slim, and all countries could use more if they intend to entertain a multi-year conflict. So yes, supplies may be tight in some cases, or maybe not yet ready for prime time in both of these two missiles’ cases, but Ukraine is well on its way to being fully sufficient if those five missiles were indeed the only missile types they need.

Russia's "shadow" tanker fleet is experiencing salary delays, which is both hilarious and a sign of a cascading set of economic failures that will only increase. If you fail to pay the people who keep your economy afloat because you don’t have the money, you’ll make less money, which means you can’t pay people, and so on. Russia only has the same economy as the state of Texas, so it is not as resilient as some other nations in that regard.

It also means that you’ll not be able to move fuel around, which at first blush seems like it should lead to a glut of gas for the local economy, but no. In Moscow, gas stations operated by the Neftmagistral network have run out of 95th gasoline, affecting over 100 stations in the city and its region, signaling potential logistical or supply issues. 95th gasoline is what everyone who doesn’t drive a truck uses, and this is in the capital of the country. Not great.

In Middle East news, new footage has emerged of Houthi fighters practicing the Nazi salute as part of their military rituals while chanting their slogan, "death to America, death to Israel, curse upon the Jews, and victory to Islam." It still boggles the mind when people have so much vitriol to call people Nazis and then support literal Nazi followers. The lack of education on this whole thing is still staggering to me.

In a quick section regarding what is going on South of the Border, Venezuela has showcased its "fast attack boats," which are essentially fishing speedboats. These are purportedly intended to challenge the U.S. Navy, reflecting a significant overestimation of their military capabilities by Maduro's militias. We then proceeded to destroy one of these suspected narco boats. The US has deemed them terrorists, so it is not illegal to destroy any boats tied to the cartel. There are some questions showing up from Pro-Chinese accounts about the actual range of the destroyed boat, and if it was really headed to the US, but either way, Trump is definitely trying to send a message to the cartel and Maduro, as he was the one who ordered it.

But that isn’t stopping Maduro from rallying up the troops and claiming that the US violated international law by opening fire on the fast-boat in question. I have a sneaking suspicion that he knows he is in deep trouble and wants to make sure his troops are ready to push back the US Navy.

In North American news, an Islamist Canada has publicly stated that the country will soon become a Muslim nation, asserting that demographic changes will inevitably lead to the imposition of Sharia law. This is exactly what I was talking about last week and the origin of the Christchurch mass shooting - the Great Replacement Theory. “We are making a lot of babies, while your population is dying.” This is how you make radicals on both sides, and really should be seen by those in Canada who prefer not to live under Sharia law and still encourage unabated immigration. This is ugly stuff, honestly.

In other unsavory news, some of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein have announced their intention to disclose the identities of his clients independently, bypassing any government involvement. That would certainly expedite things. The only real issue I see aside from who is named, obviously, is that it won’t be under oath and likely open to defamation cases if they cannot provide evidence to claims made, which could drag the victims through the mud. Not an ideal situation.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced that the company will invest $600 billion into the U.S. economy. This is both incredibly good news for the US, but it’s also simultaneously bad news for China. Similarly, Mark Zuckerberg has stated that Meta will invest approximately $600 billion in AI infrastructure by 2028, with planned capital expenditures increasing significantly in the coming years. I’m not sure these numbers are real, or what is backing up their claims, or what sort of stick the US has if they renege on their investments, but we’ll see.

In Tech News and one of the creepiest demos I’ve seen is a new app allows users to revive past memories in mixed reality, enabling time travel-like experiences. This technology, developed by Wist, captures events with an iPhone and lets users revisit them as stabilized volumetric memories on devices like Apple Vision Pro or Quest. But imagine the strange and horrible idea of revisiting old memories in mixed reality. What happens when you want to revisit them, but the room is gone, or you’ve moved, and you want to see some dead friend or relative? The mental consequences of such an app, and trying to relive memories of lost people or pets, actually give me the willies a bit. No, thank you. 👎️ 

A survey by AI vendor Writer reveals that nearly one in three company employees, rising to 41% among millennial and Gen Z workers, are actively sabotaging their company's generative AI strategy. I had to laugh a little at this. No kidding that people would actively subvert the attempt to replace them for the job they have. It’s almost shocking that the number is this low. This friction or drag on adoption, therefore, may be artificially slow as a result.

Speaking of reasons people may not be on the hype-train for LLMs, OpenAI has been reported to scan conversations with ChatGPT and report certain content to the police. I think a lot of people assume that the app can be used as a therapist that is truly anonymous, but it acts more like a real therapist, with arguably some of the same faults. One of the reasons people avoid therapy is that they don’t want police intervention for suicidal ideation, as an example. This only serves to give people fewer opportunities to talk through their concerns. That said, I am sure others are more disturbing, such as wanting to harm others rather than just themselves. To that, I say that AI-human alignment is so far from being ready for prime time that it’s not even funny. People are getting one-shotted by AI right and left, believing it’s real, and taking it seriously when it gives advice, rather than fact-checking. The whole ecosystem is a mess.

Speaking of mess, I saw a very unique use of generative AI in an attack, but it’s not what you’re thinking. Hackers are threatening to submit data from an art site to AI models if the site does not pay a ransom. Pay up, or they’ll submit your art to a system so that anyone can make your art. 😆 I tend to believe that all copyrights are out the door in the world where we have AI, but hackers may hasten that proposition a lot.

Data from the Wall Street Journal indicates that the profession of “software development” is aging, with a shifting upwards of the demographic among employees in this field. I am curious what is replacing it, though, as I don’t get the impression that less software is being produced. So perhaps they are shifting to other names, like DevOps, or the like, where they still touch code - as in “infrastructure as code” - but don’t consider themselves pure-play software developers anymore.

I spotted a very cool little robot designed to draw lines on the ground for construction projects. This little guy promises to reduce errors and improve efficiency in the building industry. It will draw the walls, the toilets, the cabinetry, and everything else you had planned, exactly to where it is supposed to be, so that you get extremely precise positions. It’s a very simple idea, but man, this is going to make construction just that much more precise.

In Economic news, the UK's bond market is experiencing a collapse, with the yield on a 30-year bond reaching its highest level since 1998 at 5.64%. This is not a great sign, and typically would be a lead-in to what investors would consider to be a recession. Of course, things could change, but it’s not a great sign.

For the first time since April 2021, the U.S. has more unemployed people than job openings, indicating a shift in the labor market dynamics. I haven’t heard a great explanation about why this would be the case other than government employees being laid off, but the quantities don’t quite add up. So there must be other forces, like the tariffs that are shutting some businesses down, or something along those lines. My guess is it’s AI, and it’s hitting us harder than we realize. This shift is significant because the U.S. has never entered a recession when it was labor supply-constrained, and the current situation suggests the economy is no longer in that position, raising concerns about a potential recession.

The U.S. Dollar to Gold ratio is experiencing a sharp decline, indicating a significant fall in the value of the USD relative to gold. It makes sense that investors are afraid of inflationary effects and are wary of what is going to happen on the macroeconomic side with multiple conflicts brewing around the world and a tariff war well underway.

Lastly, and what I thought was quite interesting is that we are set to see a sharp decline in birth rates 18 years ago leading to fewer kids in college. It is likely influenced by the subprime housing crisis. This could have a massive effect on the bottom line of educational institutions, which are already fairly close to insolvent. I think there will likely be a lot of institutions shutting down if this graph holds up. A drop of well over 15% of attendees isn’t a minor blip, and just shows how important demographics can be for companies.

Okay, onto the articles!

A congressional investigation has revealed that the Pentagon funded research collaborations with Chinese universities and institutions linked to the Chinese military, potentially compromising U.S. technological dominance and national defense. The report indicates that over $2.5 billion in defense grants supported projects with organizations identified as security risks by the U.S. government. Recommendations include scaling back collaborations and prohibiting funding to researchers associated with these entities.

• The Pentagon has funded research in partnership with Chinese universities connected to the military.

• The report suggests that this funding poses a risk to U.S. technological leadership and national security.

[RSnake: Let’s dispense with the pleasantries, shall we? There is nothing “potential” about these compromises. They have and are occurring all the time.]

Source: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/09/05/pentagon-funded-research-colleges-has-aided-chinese-military-house-gop-report-says.html

Israel has intensified its military operations in Gaza, targeting high-rise buildings as part of its offensive against Hamas. Recent airstrikes have resulted in significant casualties among Palestinians, while Israel mobilizes reservists and issues evacuation warnings amid the ongoing conflict. The Israeli military asserts that its actions are directed at militant infrastructure, blaming Hamas for civilian deaths due to its operations in populated areas.

• Israel's military has ramped up strikes in Gaza, targeting buildings it claims are used by Hamas.

• As military operations escalate, civilian casualties in Gaza rise, exacerbating humanitarian conditions.

[RSnake: In one of the most recent airstrikes, it destroyed a fairly tall building. Someone referred to it as controlled demolition, but with people inside. Yep.]

Source: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/09/05/israel-strikes-high-rise-building-and-threatens-hit-more-gaza-city-offensive.html

Hamas released a video showing two Israeli hostages, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Alon Ohel, claiming they are in Gaza City. Israeli officials have stated that military operations will intensify until Hamas agrees to release all hostages, as the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates amidst ongoing conflicts.

• Hamas claims to hold two Israeli hostages in Gaza.

• Israel plans to intensify military action until all hostages are freed.

• The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen with reports of civilian casualties.

[RSnake: Release is unlikely. While I sympathize greatly with the families, I think the prospects for any hostages are bad at best. I keep thinking it would be better to assume they were already dead, but then again, the IDF has managed to recover way more hostages than I think anyone reasonably expected, through shrewd negotiation and strength, so maybe they have a better plan.]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0vly9zyl2o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

President Trump plans to host the 2026 G20 summit at his Doral Resort in Florida, despite previous criticism over mixing foreign diplomacy with personal business interests.

• The Supreme Court ruled that presidents have a certain level of immunity from ethics rules during official acts taken while in office.

• The White House stated that the president's resort would charge only at cost and not profit from the event.

[RSnake: This is a pretty minor nit. But I guess my take on it is if I were a foreign national, I would want to check out Trump’s properties as sheer curiosity more than anything. If entertaining dignitaries is part of the role of diplomacy, I say go for it. I am not a politician, but occasionally I will get invited to events where the person running the event will invite us to their home as part of the event, and I always enjoy getting to see how they live their lives. I can’t imagine it’s much different, especially for people who travel frequently. The same old hotels over and over is not very pleasant.]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/us/politics/trump-g20-summit-miami.html

The Glasgow-based Seapeak Maritime company, managing the Yamal LNG fleet, has a complex ownership structure involving Canadian investors, China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, US-based Stonepeak investment firm, and the British financial system.

• The Glasgow-based Seapeak Maritime company has a complex ownership structure involving Canadian investors, China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the US-based Stonepeak investment firm.

• The UK government should consider nationalizing the fleet to prevent revenue flow to Russia and shut down the scheme if it wants to enforce its sanctions regime.

[RSnake: I am not a fan of nationalization, personally. But I do get why groups like CFIUS exist, and why knowing ownership chains is incredibly important to understanding money and power structures.]

Source: https://euromaidanpress.com/?p=358282

Tensions are rising between the US and Venezuela, with the Trump administration claiming a boat in the Caribbean was spying on Guyanese oil-drilling operations. In Indonesia, student groups protested against generous housing allowances for legislators, while France returned an item to Madagascar that scientists believe belonged to a former king. China held a military parade to commemorate the end of World War II in the Pacific.

• The Trump administration claimed a US boat in the Caribbean was spying on Guyanese oil-drilling operations.

• Indonesian student groups protested against generous housing allowances for legislators.

[RSnake: Interesting, and likely a nice way to start turning other nations in the region against Venezuela, clearing the path for operations in the region.]

Source: https://foreignpolicy.com/?p=1205421

China's military technology has advanced, driven by its near-total dominance in gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor production, which is critical for next-generation radar systems. This advancement is reshaping the global arms race, as China's military showcases capabilities that may place it ahead of the United States in emerging military technologies. Additionally, export restrictions on critical materials imposed by China are impacting U.S. defense production.

• China's military technology is advancing with the use of gallium nitride semiconductors.

• Export restrictions by China are affecting U.S. military production and capabilities.

• China is leveraging its dominance in semiconductor production to gain a strategic advantage in military technologies.

[RSnake: Yep, and yet another reason we need to divorce them from our supply chain. The longer we pretend they’re a fair trading partner, the more at risk we really are.]

Source: https://www.eurasiantimes.com/?p=252024

The U.S. Army has secured a $9.8 billion contract with Lockheed Martin for 1,970 PAC-3 MSE interceptors, marking the largest order of its kind amidst increasing global security threats. Demand for missile defense systems is rising as various countries enhance their air defense capabilities in response to regional tensions, particularly relating to Iran and China.

• The U.S. Army's order represents a significant scaling up of missile defense production to address global security concerns.

• Countries including Poland, Germany, and Japan are stepping up their orders for missile defense systems due to rising threats from Russia and Iran.

[RSnake: Strange number and likely comes from some budget they had that filled that number of interceptors. But either way, we probably need more not just of this particular system, but of everything that can intercept. It is not difficult to imagine a wave of 1000+ drones. For a show, China had 10,000 drones aloft. That was just for an show! Imagine what a real conflict might end up looking like. Less than 2k interceptors at that high price point isn’t cutting it.]

Source: https://www.eurasiantimes.com/?p=251973

Global defense spending has reached a record high of $2.718 trillion, marking a significant increase driven by geopolitical tensions and conflict, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. The defense sector is witnessing an influx of investment, with exchange-traded funds focused on defense growing significantly, while European nations are notably increasing their military budgets in response to security threats from Russia and other global concerns.

• Record global defense spending reflects rising geopolitical tensions.

• European nations are significantly increasing their military budgets in response to threats.

• Investment in defense sector ETFs has surged in recent years.

[RSnake: It’s reached the record… so far!]

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2025/09/02/investors-are-waking-up-to-the-defense-sector/

A critical vulnerability in SAP S/4HANA, tracked as CVE-2025-42957, is being actively exploited by hackers, posing a significant risk to unpatched systems. This flaw allows low-privileged authenticated users to execute arbitrary code, potentially leading to severe consequences such as data theft and operational disruption. Security researchers have warned that many systems have yet to apply necessary security updates, making them targets for exploitation.

• CVE-2025-42957 is a code injection vulnerability in SAP S/4HANA's RFC-exposed function module.

• The vulnerability is under active exploitation, allowing hackers to bypass authorization and take over affected systems.

• Unpatched SAP systems are at risk of severe attacks, including data manipulation and credential theft.

[RSnake: SAP is used by virtually every large company. It’s no surprise that it’s a target of choice.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/critical-sap-s-4hana-vulnerability-now-exploited-in-attacks/

Texas has filed a lawsuit against PowerSchool following a significant data breach that compromised the personal information of 62 million students, including over 880,000 from Texas. The breach, which occurred in December 2024, involved the theft of sensitive data such as Social Security numbers and medical information after an attacker exploited stolen credentials.

• A data breach exposed the personal information of 62 million students.

• Texas is suing PowerSchool for failing to protect sensitive information.

[RSnake: I recall this case, and like I said when I first talked about it, the liability for this case continues for the company for years to come, until each of the kids reaches 18 years old, and even then, there may be some residual liability. The insurance companies that own the policy on it are not pleased.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/texas-sues-powerschool-after-massive-data-breach-hit-62-million-students/

A new type of malware known as Stealerium has been discovered, which monitors a target's browser for NSFW content and takes simultaneous screenshots and webcam photos of the victim, allowing hackers to blackmail them with the threat of releasing the images.

• Stealerium is an open-source variant of Stealer malware that has been used in multiple cybercriminal campaigns since May of this year.

• The malware monitors a target's browser for NSFW content and takes simultaneous screenshots and webcam photos of the victim, allowing hackers to blackmail them with the threat of releasing the images.

[RSnake: Smart! Finally, fewer hackers are saying they caught people jerking off, and finally, someone who can prove it! 😆 No, but seriously, this absolutely is the worst possible setup, and will absolutely work to blackmail people, and can be used to flip people to work for foreign nations. It’s bad if it works.]

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/stealerium-infostealer-porn-sextortion/

Pornhub's parent company Aylo has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and Utah over allegations of misleading users regarding the presence of child sexual abuse material and non-consensual material on its platform. As part of the settlement, Aylo will pay a $5 million penalty and implement measures to enhance content verification and safety on its sites.

• Aylo will establish a program to prevent the distribution of abusive material.

• The company will pay a $5 million penalty to address regulatory concerns.

[RSnake: It’s extremely difficult to police in many cases. It’s not like they have all of the licenses of each of the actors/actresses. I’m not even sure it is possible to do correctly. The best they can do is police it and take action when they get reports.]

Source: https://www.404media.co/pornhub-ftc-utah-settlement-lawsuit/

Nexar, a company that markets dashcams as virtual CCTV cameras, has been hacked, leading to unauthorized access to video recordings, including sensitive imagery from U.S. military and intelligence facilities. The breach raises concerns about privacy violations, as the footage includes individuals unaware that they were being monitored.

• A hacker accessed a large database of videos collected from Nexar's dashcams.

• The compromised footage includes sensitive military and intelligence locations.

[RSnake: Wow, yeah, makes sense, and of course it would be an interesting target for nation states. Free surveillance? Yes, please. Also, the conversations inside the car were likely all monitored as well.]

Source: https://www.404media.co/this-company-turns-dashcams-into-virtual-cctv-cameras-then-hackers-got-in/

Cloudflare has successfully mitigated the largest recorded distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, peaking at 11.5 terabits per second. The attack, lasting approximately 35 seconds, was determined to originate from multiple sources rather than a single provider, contrary to initial reports linking it predominantly to Google Cloud.

• Cloudflare blocked a record DDoS attack at 11.5 Tbps.

• The attack originated from a combination of IoT and cloud providers.

• Cloudflare has reported a significant increase in DDoS attacks in 2024.

[RSnake: Wow, congrats to them. That’s impressive. I am sure they did some tricks to segment that malicious traffic, or block it upstream before it transited to their routers, but still.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/cloudflare-blocks-record-breaking-115-tbps-ddos-attack/

Elon Musk is remaking Grok in his image, making its responses more conservative on many issues, and the biggest threat to Western civilization is societal polarization fueled by misinformation and disinformation.

• Grok's responses are being tweaked to be more conservative on many issues, reflecting Elon Musk's political priorities.

• The biggest threat to Western civilization is societal polarization fueled by misinformation and disinformation.

[RSnake: In this case, Grok can be the one counterpoint to all of the left-leaning LLM options. Consider it a balance of ideals. People can choose in the marketplace of ideas, or use both and see what they both come back with, and then decide.]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/technology/elon-musk-grok-conservative-chatbot.html

Microsoft has mandated multifactor authentication (MFA) for all Azure Portal sign-ins across all tenants since March 2025 to enhance security against cyber threats. Additionally, Google has been fined $3.5 billion by the EU for anti-competitive advertising practices, reflecting ongoing regulatory scrutiny in the tech industry.

• Microsoft enforces mandatory MFA for Azure Portal sign-ins to bolster user account security.

• The EU imposes a significant fine on Google for anti-competitive behavior in advertising.

[RSnake: This might be one of the greatest changes ever. It is simple but will make a huge impact on losses associated with insurance claims. Good for them. Bravo!]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-now-enforces-mfa-on-azure-portal-sign-ins-for-all-tenants/

Multiple attorneys general are investigating OpenAI's practices concerning AI safety, particularly after tragic incidents involving children. They are seeking more information on the company's safety measures and governance following concerns about harmful interactions with AI chatbots.

• Attorneys general are demanding stronger safety protocols for AI interactions with children.

• There is ongoing scrutiny of OpenAI's transition to a for-profit entity regarding its commitment to public safety.

[RSnake: They will not be impressed once they crack OpenAI open and see what their model card looks like, and the increased sycophancy that is entirely by design.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3043034

Recent advancements in gene therapy have led to groundbreaking treatments for rare genetic skin disorders such as epidermolysis bullosa, with the first gene-replacement therapy approved for non-cancerous conditions. Two therapies, B-VEC and pz-cel, offer new hope for patients by providing effective wound healing and improved quality of life, marking a significant shift towards molecular repair strategies in genetic medicine.

• The US has approved the first gene-replacement therapy for a genetic skin disorder.

• New gene therapies are moving beyond symptom management to address the root causes of inherited skin diseases.

[RSnake: Cool! There is so much left to do in medicine.]

Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gene-therapy-marks-a-turning-point-for-rare-skin-diseases/

Europe has inaugurated its first exascale supercomputer, JUPITER, which is expected to significantly enhance capabilities in climate research, neuroscience, and quantum simulations. The supercomputer, located at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany, utilizes advanced NVIDIA technology to perform at unprecedented speeds and efficiency, allowing for major scientific developments across various fields in Europe.

• JUPITER can execute 1 quintillion FP64 operations per second.

• The supercomputer facilitates advanced research in climate science and neuroscience.

• It is pivotal for the development of next-generation AI models across European languages.

[RSnake: Among other things, this will create LLMs for European markets - specifically the more obscure languages. We shall see how well that works. One of the issues here is that the information you’ll get from things written in one language can be very different from what is available in another. There will be massive holes in the available knowledge.]

Source: https://blogs.nvidia.com/?p=84471

BMW's i4 electric car is plagued by software issues, including poor CarPlay integration and a faulty user profile system, causing frustration among owners. The vehicle has also been subject to multiple recalls and safety concerns. BMW positions the i4 as a premium product, but its digital ecosystem is marred by reliability issues.

• BMW's i4 electric car software issues are causing frustration among owners due to poor CarPlay integration and a faulty user profile system.

• The vehicle has been subject to multiple recalls and safety concerns, including a recall that advised owners to stop driving the car immediately.

[RSnake: Not surprising. I like BMWs, always have. But I also know how bad their software tends to be. Hardware tends to be great, but software…? Not so much.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3041387

NASA is developing autonomous systems for long-range science missions on Mars, requiring advanced autonomy frameworks to ensure safe and efficient operation.

• A deterministic high-level control framework for aerial exploration is being developed, integrating Finite State Machines with Behavior Trees to achieve scalable autonomy in deep space exploration.

• The framework has been validated through Monte Carlo simulations and real field tests, demonstrating its robustness and adaptability to both discrete events and real-time system feedback.

[RSnake: Interesting use of Monte Carlo simulations. I have heard of people using this for potential damage assessments from obscurely unlikely mishaps as an example.]

Source: https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.01980

Mis-issued certificates for 1.1.1.1 DNS service pose a threat to the Internet by allowing attackers to decrypt and tamper with traffic from Cloudflare's DNS service.

• Cloudflare's WARP VPN service may also be similarly affected.

• The certificates were issued by Fina RDC 2020, a certificate authority subordinate to the root certificate holder Fina Root CA, which is trusted by Microsoft's Windows operating system.

[RSnake: Not good, but with the Hong Kong Root Certificate in every browser, we have bigger fish to fry.]

Source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/09/mis-issued-certificates-for-1-1-1-1-dns-service-pose-a-threat-to-the-internet/

The US Navy is setting up a sweeping reorganization to push robotic and autonomous systems from experimentation into everyday fleet operations, creating three new billets and offices to oversee the service's growing portfolio of drones and uncrewed platforms.

• The US Navy is setting up a sweeping reorganization to push robotic and autonomous systems from experimentation into everyday fleet operations.

• Creating three new billets and offices to oversee the service's growing portfolio of drones and uncrewed platforms.

[RSnake: That’s good. We still need backups to all that high tech stuff, but still, it’s good they’re thinking along these lines!]

Source: https://sofrep.com/?p=217644

Researchers have identified over 30 ways artificial intelligence (AI) can malfunction, leading to behaviors that deviate from human values. These issues, ranging from hallucinations to potential existential threats from advanced AI, have prompted conversations about the importance of developing frameworks for diagnosing and addressing AI pathologies as technology continues to evolve.

• AI systems may develop behavioral abnormalities resembling those of pathological humans.

• Emerging AI shortcomings could threaten human safety and ethical standards.

• Strategies such as 'therapeutic robotic psychological alignment' could help mitigate AI malfunctions.

[RSnake: If there were really only 30, that might be tenable. I keep thinking we have barely scratched the surface of the types of issues we might face. Like hackers uploading your content into generative AI systems so they are indexed forever…? No one thought of that until extremely recently.]

Source: https://www.mk.ru/science/2025/09/06/ot-gallyucinaciy-do-paranoidalnogo-breda-vyyavleno-bolee-30-uzhasayushhikh-sposobov-vykhoda-ii-izpod-kontrolya.html

Warner Bros. has initiated a lawsuit against AI company Midjourney for copyright infringement, claiming that the company allows users to generate images of well-known characters without permission. The lawsuit seeks damages and an injunction against further violations, following a trend of similar legal actions related to the use of copyrighted characters in AI-generated content.

• Warner Bros. is suing Midjourney for allowing the generation of copyrighted character images.

• The lawsuit is part of a broader trend of copyright disputes involving AI-generated content.

[RSnake: I really do not think you get to have both. You either get Midjourney or you get copyright. If Warner Bros wants their copyrights so bad, it would seem to behoove them to get into this business and build their own generative models. Want a Disney character? Buy access to the Disney generative model. But I just don’t see how this ends up working long term. In similar news, Anthropic just agree to pay $1.5 billion to settle a similar lawsuit against authors.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3042950

Google has been fined €2.95 billion by the European Union for abusing its dominance in the online advertising sector by favoring its own products over competitors. The EU's decision marks one of the largest penalties imposed on tech companies for competition law breaches, and Google plans to appeal the ruling while claiming that the decision negatively impacts thousands of European businesses.

• Google fined €2.95 billion for breaching EU competition laws in advertising.

• The EU accused Google of favoring its own advertising services over those of competitors.

• Google plans to appeal the decision and claims it will harm European businesses.

[RSnake: Cost of doing business. Google bakes in the cost of breaking the law into their advertising model profits.]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1wgn3lre14o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

U.S. farmers are facing a difficult landscape due to Trump's trade war and immigration policies, which are affecting their production costs, overseas markets, and access to labor.

• The Trump administration’s trade war with China is squeezing U.S. farmers on all sides, compounding costs on farms.

• Global agricultural commodity markets are extremely competitive, and trade tensions have pushed many of the U.S. farmers' longtime overseas markets to seek alternative suppliers.

[RSnake: That might end up hurting food security overseas, too.]

Source: https://foreignpolicy.com/?p=1205328

Tesla's AI supercomputer Dojo was shut down and disbanded in mid-August 2025 after six years of hype, with Elon Musk declaring it an evolutionary dead end. The company had hoped to use Dojo to train its full self-driving technology and reach a scale of 100 exaflops by October 2024.

• Tesla needed a supercomputer like Dojo to store and process vast amounts of driving data to recognize objects and make decisions.

• Musk had initially pitched Tesla as an AI company, but the project's failure led him to pivot towards partnerships with Nvidia, AMD, and Samsung instead.

[RSnake: Yes, but it is replacing it with something much more powerful. Dead but only because it wasn’t the right architecture.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=2819319

Super X AI Technology Limited has been accused by J Capital Research of misrepresenting its AI capabilities, leading to a 27% drop in its stock prices. The report claims that the company lacks real AI infrastructure and relies on fraudulent practices, including possibly plagiarizing technology from other firms. Investors are being advised to seek legal recourse following significant financial losses due to these allegations.

• Super X AI Technology Limited's stock fell 27% after allegations of faking AI infrastructure.

• Investors are advised to contact a law firm for potential legal action due to financial losses.

[RSnake: I tend to believe all these AI companies are overselling, and it will cause a bubble pop if they’re not careful. GPT5 was a flop, as an example. You only get to have a few big misses before the industry and investors retract.]

Source: https://thereadable.co/super-x-ai-technology-limited-supx-accused-by-j-capital-research-of-faking-ai-infrastructure-investors-urged-to-contact-award-winning-firm-gibbs-mura/