News of the Cyber World

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As a previous report had demonstrated, you can't copywrite any AI related product in the US. But this cyber story doesn't end here at all!

UK Supreme Court Rules AI Cannot be Named as an Inventor in Patent Disputes

In a landmark decision, the UK’s highest court has upheld previous legal rulings that AI-powered machines cannot be listed as inventors on patent applications.

CNBC reports that the ruling stems from a case that has been in the legal system for five years, brought by Stephen Thaler, who sought to list his AI tool “DABUS” as the inventor of two products for which he filed patent applications. Thaler argued that the patents were derived from his ownership of DABUS, a stance that challenged traditional interpretations of inventorship in patent law.

Initially, the UK Intellectual Property Office denied his applications, citing patent stipulations that require a human inventor. Thaler appealed this decision, arguing that he met all requirements of the 1977 patent legislation. His appeals were heard in the UK’s High Court and Court of Appeal, both of which upheld the initial decision.

The Supreme Court’s ruling did not address whether inventions created by AI tools should be patentable or if the definition of “inventor” should expand to include AI. Instead, it focused on existing patent law, which necessitates that an inventor be a “natural person.” The court also rejected Thaler’s claim that he was entitled to patent rights on the basis of his ownership of DABUS, reiterating that a human must be listed as the inventor.

Tim Harris, a patent litigator at law firm Osborne Clarke, told CNBC: “Whilst it is increasingly easy to anthropomorphise AI and its accomplishments, the UK Supreme Court has reiterated that the Patents Act requires an inventor to be a natural person to obtain a patent.”

So nope, you can't bypass your graphical resources limitations by claiming your AI tool is the creator of all of your assets.

Elon Musk’s Tesla Has the Highest Accident Rate Among Auto Brands

Forbes reports that the study, encompassing data from 30 car brands, found Tesla at the most accident prone with 23.54 accidents per 1,000 drivers, surpassing other brands like Ram and Subaru. The study did not delve into the reasons behind these incidents, focusing on the numbers of accidents per vehicle brand. However, this finding coincides with a significant recall by Tesla involving over 2 million vehicles in the United States, addressing safety concerns in its Autopilot software, particularly the Autosteer feature.
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The Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reviewed hundreds crashes where Autopilot was reportedly engaged, focusing particularly on accidents involving frontal collisions and unintended disengagement issues.

The NHTSA highlighted potential issues with the Autopilot system, suggesting that the system’s controls might not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse. The NHTSA stated that “in certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, the prominence and scope of the feature’s controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse of the … advanced driver-assistance feature.”

The recent recall aims to improve the system that ensures driver attentiveness when using Autopilot. Tesla’s system requires the driver to be ready to intervene, as the technology does not permit complete disengagement from driving.

Critics, including legal experts, have voiced concerns over the fundamental flaws in the Autopilot system, particularly Tesla’s failure to limit the scenarios where it can be activated. This aspect has been linked to several crashes, especially on roads with potential cross traffic.

Cyber Security Issues

Social Media Giants File Lawsuit to Stop Utah from Protecting Kids Online

9to5Mac reports that Utah has taken a bold step in regulating social media use among children by passing a law that requires parental consent for children using social media after 10:30 pm. This law, set to be enacted in March, has sparked a significant legal battle. The NetChoice trade group, representing prominent social media platforms like TikTok, Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram), and Snap, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Utah legislation.

This law is part of a broader trend, with states like New York considering similar measures. These include mandating parental permission for children to use apps with algorithmic feeds and enforcing parental controls like setting screen time limits, disabling notifications during late hours, and restricting access during specific times.

The lawsuit filed by NetChoice raises critical concerns about the law’s implications. It argues that the law, while well-intentioned, is unconstitutional as it restricts access to public content, compromises data security, and undermines parental rights.

Since when is providing parents with working tools to protect their children  online could ever undermine parental rights somehow!?

Comcast Admits Data Breach Impacting 36 Million Xfinity Customers

TechCrunch reports that Comcast, the U.S. telecom giant, has recently disclosed a massive data breach impacting its Xfinity division. Nearly 36 million customers have had their sensitive information compromised due to hackers exploiting a critical-rated security vulnerability, known as “CitrixBleed,” in Citrix networking devices. This vulnerability is prevalent in systems used by large corporations and has been a target for hackers since late August.

The breach occurred when attackers accessed Comcast’s internal systems between October 16 and 19, 2023. However, the company did not detect this malicious activity until October 25. By November 16, it was determined that customer data was likely acquired, and in December, Comcast concluded that the breach included customer usernames and hashed passwords, along with other sensitive data such as contact information, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and security questions and answers.

Citrix released patches for the flaw in early October, but many organizations, including Comcast, did not implement these in time, leading to the breach. The compromised data poses significant risks, including identity theft and fraud, given the nature of the information accessed.

19 Recent Deep State Surveillance Abuse Revelations

As privacy-oriented lawmakers continue waging their war to rein in government surveillance abuse, there have been several startling revelations about the government’s abuse of surveillance laws.

FreedomWorks and Demand Progress have aggregated some of the most egregious instances of intelligence agencies abusing Americans’ privacy:

1. “[T]ens of thousands” of baseless searches “related to civil unrest” in a one-year period.
   - including 141 racial justice protestors and thousands of January 6 suspects.
   
2. Searches for individuals an NSA analyst had met on an online dating site, and a prospective tenant.
   
3. Searches for a state court judge who reported civil rights violations to the FBI.
   
4. Searches for places of worship that were intentionally hidden from oversight.
   
5. Searches for a member of HPSCI and a U.S. senator.
   
6. A “batch” search for 19,000 Congressional donors.
   
7. “Batch” searches that included current and former federal government officials, journalists, and political commentators.
   
8. Searches for people who came to the FBI to perform repairs.
   
9. Searches for victims who came to the FBI to report crimes.
   
10. Searches for business, religious, and community leaders who applied to participate in the FBI’s “Citizens Academy.”
    
11. Searches for college students participating in a “Collegiate Academy.”
    
12. Searches for family members and colleagues.
    
13. Searches for police officer candidates.
    
14. Searches for an individual employed by a defense attorney.
    
15. Searches for a wrongly accused American academic.
    
16. Searches based on a witness’s report that two men “of Middle Eastern descent” were loading cleaning supplies into a truck.
    
17. Searches for a local political party.
    
18. “Batch” searches for 1600 Americans “who had flown through an airport during a particular date range and were either traveling to or returning from a foreign country”
    
19. 2,000 searches for “the names and dates of birth of individuals who were registered competitors in an athletic event.”