Stellantis has put its fully developed Level 3 driver-assistance system on hold due to high costs, technical hurdles, and weak consumer demand. Reuters reports: As recently as February, Stellantis said its in-house system, which is part of the AutoDrive program, was ready for deployment and a key pillar of its strategy. The company said the system, which enables drivers to have their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road under certain conditions, would allow them to temporarily watch movies, catch up on emails, or read books. That Level 3 software was never launched, the company confirmed to Reuters. But it stopped short of saying that the program was canceled.

"What was unveiled in February 2025 was L3 technology for which there is currently limited market demand, so this has not been launched, but the technology is available and ready to be deployed," a Stellantis spokesperson said. The three sources, however, said that the program was put on ice and is not expected to be deployed. When asked how much time and money was lost on the initiative, Stellantis declined to say, responding that the work done on AutoDrive will help support its future versions. [...] Stellantis said it is leaning on aiMotive, a tech startup it acquired in 2022, to deliver the next generation of the AutoDrive program. Stellantis declined to say when that program would be ready for market or if it would include Level 3 capability.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/08/28/2052249/stellantis-shelves-level-3-driver-assistance-program?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Microsoft is testing new Xbox Game Pass features with Insiders, letting Core and Standard subscribers stream cloud-enabled titles they own or access via subscription across more devices, including supported TVs and browsers. These tiers will also gain access to select PC game versions for the first time. From a Xbox blog post: We're always exploring more ways to make your Xbox experience centered around you -- your content, benefits, and playstyle. That's why we're making it easier to enjoy the games you love, wherever you are, and on any device. Starting today, Xbox Insiders are invited to try out new updates in Xbox Game Pass that make it easier to stream and play across more devices.

Xbox Insiders subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Core or Standard now have even more freedom to play wherever they are with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta). As part of this Insider experience, Xbox Game Pass Core and Standard subscribers will be able to stream cloud playable games included with their subscription or select cloud playable games they own, making it easier to jump in from any supported device. [...] We're expanding the ways players can experience PC gaming through Xbox Game Pass. As part of testing, Xbox Insiders subscribed to Game Pass Core or Standard will for the first time gain access to PC versions of select titles, giving you even more flexibility and the choice to play on a PC or Windows handheld."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/08/28/1827215/microsoft-expands-xbox-cloud-gaming-to-cheaper-game-pass-tiers?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Today, Microsoft unveiled two in-house AI models: MAI-Voice-1, a high-speed speech-generation system now live in Copilot, and MAI-1-Preview, its first end-to-end foundation model trained on 15,000 H100 GPUs. Neowin reports: MAI-Voice-1 is a speech generation model and is already available in Copilot Daily and Podcasts. To preview the full capabilities of this voice model, Microsoft has created a new Copilot Labs experience that anyone can try today. With the Copilot Audio Expressions experience, users can just paste text content and select the voice, style, and mode to generate high-fidelity, expressive audio. They can also download the generated audio if required. Microsoft also highlighted that this MAI-Voice-1 model is very fast and efficient. In fact, it can generate a full minute of audio in under a second on a single GPU.

Second, Microsoft has begun public testing of MAI-1-preview on LMArena, a popular platform for community model evaluation. This represents MAI's first foundation model trained end-to-end and offers a glimpse of future offerings inside Copilot. They are actively spinning the flywheel to deliver improved models and will have much more to share in the coming months. MAI-1-preview is an MoE (mixture-of-experts) model, pre-trained and post-trained on nearly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs. Notably, MAI-1-preview is Microsoft's first foundation model trained end-to-end in-house. Microsoft claims that this model is better at following instructions and can offer helpful responses to everyday user questions. Microsoft will be rolling out this new model to certain text use cases within Copilot over the coming weeks.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/08/28/2058255/microsoft-reveals-two-in-house-ai-models?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Amtrak's new 160 mph tilting Acela trains have debuted on the Northeast Corridor, offering smoother rides, upgraded interiors, faster Wi-Fi, and 27% more seating capacity. However, "they don't complete the journey any faster than the old trains," reports The Independent. From the report: Acela runs from Washington, DC's Union Station to Boston via Philadelphia, New York Penn Station, New Haven, and Providence. It's a total distance of 457 miles, with the fastest next-gen Acela journey being six hours and 43 minutes, five minutes slower than the quickest end-to-end time offered by the old Acela trains, introduced in 2000. However, this may be because, as is common practice with new trains the world over, Amtrak is scheduling longer dwell times at stations so staff and passengers can adjust to them. The next-gen sets have a top service speed that's 10mph faster -- though this can only be achieved on certain sections of the mostly 110mph route -- and an enhanced "anticipative" tilting system that allows for higher speeds through curves.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/08/28/2128257/amtraks-new-160mph-acela-trains-take-just-as-long-as-the-old-ones?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBS News: They look, move and even smell like the kind of furry Everglades marsh rabbit a Burmese python would love to eat. But these bunnies are robots meant to lure the giant invasive snakes out of their hiding spots. It's the latest effort by the South Florida Water Management District to eliminate as many pythons as possible from the Everglades, where they are decimating native species with their voracious appetites. In Everglades National Park, officials say the snakes have eliminated 95% of small mammals as well as thousands of birds. "Removing them is fairly simple. It's detection. We're having a really hard time finding them," said Mike Kirkland, lead invasive animal biologist for the water district. "They're so well camouflaged in the field."

The water district and University of Florida researchers deployed 120 robot rabbits this summer as an experiment. Previously, there was an effort to use live rabbits as snake lures but that became too expensive and time-consuming, Kirkland said. The robots are simple toy rabbits, but retrofitted to emit heat, a smell and to make natural movements to appear like any other regular rabbit. "They look like a real rabbit," Kirkland said. They are solar powered and can be switched on and off remotely. They are placed in small pens monitored by a video camera that sends out a signal when a python is nearby. "Then I can deploy one of our many contractors to go out and remove the python," Kirkland said. The total cost per robot rabbit is about $4,000, financed by the water district, he added.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/08/28/217230/florida-deploys-robot-rabbits-to-control-invasive-burmese-python-population?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Longtime Slashdot reader cristiroma shares a report from New Atlas: Wouldn't it be great if the plants in your home could do more than just sit there looking pretty? Researchers at South China Agricultural University in the city of Guangzhou have found a way to upgrade them into soft glowing night lights in a range of hues, with the use of nanoparticles. The team developed a light-emitting phosphor compound that enabled succulents with fleshy leaves to charge in sunlight or indoor LED light in just a couple of minutes, and then emit a soft uniform glow that lasts up to two hours. The afterglow phosphor compound -- which is similar to those found in glow-in-the-dark toys -- is inexpensive, biocompatible, and negates the need for more complex methods of infusing bioluminescence in plants, like genetic modification. It simply gets injected into the leaves.

[...] Beyond modifying a commercial compound for this project, the team also had to figure out the right size for the phosphor particles so they'd work as intended inside plants. Shuting Liu, first author on the study that appeared in Matter this week, noted, "Smaller, nano-sized particles move easily within the plant but are dimmer. Larger particles glowed brighter but couldn't travel far inside the plant." Through extensive testing, the researchers arrived at an optimal size of around 7 micrometers, about the width of a red blood cell. They also determined through experimentation that the particles worked best in succulents, rather than plants with thinner leaves like bok choy.

Once they'd landed on the right particle size, loading concentration, and plant type, the team found that the phosphor material diffused into succulent leaves almost instantly, and uniformly lit up entire leaves -- enough to illuminate nearby objects. The scientists were also able to create modified phosphors that glowed in colors like green, red, and blue. That could make for novel indoor or garden decor, as well as pathway lighting. These luminous plants also don't cost much -- according to Liu, "Each plant takes about 10 minutes to prepare and costs a little over 10 yuan (about $1.4), not including labor." Over the course of 10 days, the injected plants didn't show any signs of damage, yellowing, structural integrity, or even reduced levels of chlorophyll.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/08/29/0030247/nanoparticles-turn-houseplants-into-night-lights?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Опубликован выпуск дистрибутива MODICIA 6.12.41, основанного на пакетной базе Debian и предлагающего подборку приложений для музыкантов, дизайнеров и создателей видео. Пользовательское окружение построено с использованием среды рабочего стола Cinnamon. Проектом поддерживается каталог приложений, насчитывающий около 1000 пакетов. Размер iso-образа, способного запускаться в live-режиме, - 4.7 ГБ (x86_64).

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63793

Taco Bell's rollout of AI-powered drive-thru assistants has run into problems, with glitches and trolls gaming the system by making absurd orders like thousands of water cups. It's so bad that the company is reconsidering where and how to deploy the tech, admitting it may not work well in "super busy" restaurants. "We're learning a lot, I'm going to be honest with you," Dane Mathews, Taco Bell's chief digital and technology officer, told the WSJ. "I think like everybody, sometimes it lets me down, but sometimes it really surprises me." The Verge reports: Since announcing plans to put AI in the drive-thru last year, Taco Bell has deployed the tech in over 500 locations across the US, according to the WSJ. Other fast-food chains are experimenting with AI, too, including McDonald's, Wendy's, and White Castle. Mathews tells the outlet that while the company still plans on pushing ahead with AI voice technology and evaluating the data, he's discovered that using AI exclusively in certain situations, like a drive-thru for "super busy restaurants with long lines," might not be such a great idea after all.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/08/29/0037244/taco-bells-ai-drive-thru-plan-gets-caught-up-on-trolls-and-glitches?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Опубликованы новые сборки FreedomBox Trixie, переведённые на пакетную базу Debian 13. Проектом развивается система для простого развёртывания персональных серверов, обеспечивающих защиту персональных данных пользователей и позволяющих быстро запустить на своём оборудовании типовые сервисы, которые могут применяться для личного использования. Все развиваемые проектом наработки доступны через репозитории Debian. Установочный образ сформирован для архитектуры x86_64 (формирование сборок i386 прекращено). При желании можно создать собственный образ при помощи специального инсталлятора Freedom-Maker и конфигуратора freedombox-setup.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63794

Состоялся открытый релиз документального фильма « [ Python: The Documentary ]( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfH4QL4VqJ0 ) » про историю развития популярного языка программирования, созданный CultRepo.

«Это история самого любимого в мире языка программирования: Python. То, что начиналось как сторонний проект в Амстердаме в 1990-х годах, превратилось в программное обеспечение, лежащее в основе искусственного интеллекта, науки о данных и некоторых крупнейших компаний мира. Но будущее Python было неопределённым. В какой‑то момент он едва не исчез. В этом 90-минутном документальном фильме с Гвидо ван Россумом, Трэвисом Олифантом, Барри Варшавой и многими другими основные участники проекта рассказывают историю становления Python, его развития под влиянием сообщества, конфликтов, которые едва не разрушили его, и влияния языка на... ну... всё», — пояснили в CultRepo.

Также в сети доступна видеозапись [ ключевого доклада ]( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf2AqQ5a38Y ) по этому событию и ответов на вопросы на EuroPython.

Ранее авторы индекса TIOBE [ опубликовали ]( https://habr.com/ru/news/937856/ ) августовский рейтинг популярных языков программирования.

«В [ прошлом месяце ]( https://habr.com/ru/news/927392/ ) Python достиг наивысшего рейтинга среди языков программирования за всю историю индекса TIOBE. Мы думали, что Python уже не сможет расти дальше, но ИИ‑помощники по программированию позволили Python сделать ещё один шаг вперёд. Согласно недавним исследованиям Стэнфордского университета, ИИ‑помощники по программированию, такие как Microsoft Copilot, Cursor или Google Gemini Code Assist, на 20% эффективнее при использовании для популярных языков программирования. Причина очевидна: для этих языков доступно больше кода для обучения базовых моделей. Эта тенденция прослеживается и в индексе TIOBE, где мы видим консолидацию языков в верхних строках. Зачем начинать изучать новый малоизвестный язык, для которого недоступен ИИ‑помощник? Это современный способ сказать, что вы не хотите изучать новый язык, который плохо документирован и/или имеет слишком мало библиотек, которые могут вам помочь», — [ пояснил ]( https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-tiobe-commentary-august/ ) генеральный директор Tiobe Пол Янсен.

22 июля 2025 года состоялся выпуск Python 3.14 RC1 (release candidate 1) с официальной поддержкой Free-threaded Python. Выпуск Python 3.14 RC2 ожидается в конце августа. Стабильный релиз языка программирования Python 3.14 намечен на 7 октября 2025 года. Выпуск Python 3.13 случился 7 октября 2024 года.

https://www.linux.org.ru/news/opensource/18064172

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.org: In a first-of-its-kind experiment, engineers at the University of Pennsylvania brought quantum networking out of the lab and onto commercial fiber-optic cables using the same Internet Protocol (IP) that powers today's web. Reported in Science, the work shows that fragile quantum signals can run on the same infrastructure that carries everyday online traffic. The team tested their approach on Verizon's campus fiber-optic network. The Penn team's tiny "Q-chip" coordinates quantum and classical data and, crucially, speaks the same language as the modern web. That approach could pave the way for a future "quantum internet," which scientists believe may one day be as transformative as the dawn of the online era.

Quantum signals rely on pairs of "entangled" particles, so closely linked that changing one instantly affects the other. Harnessing that property could allow quantum computers to link up and pool their processing power, enabling advances like faster, more energy-efficient AI or designing new drugs and materials beyond the reach of today's supercomputers. Penn's work shows, for the first time on live commercial fiber, that a chip can not only send quantum signals but also automatically correct for noise, bundle quantum and classical data into standard internet-style packets, and route them using the same addressing system and management tools that connect everyday devices online. "By showing an integrated chip can manage quantum signals on a live commercial network like Verizon's, and do so using the same protocols that run the classical internet, we've taken a key step toward larger-scale experiments and a practical quantum internet," says Liang Feng, Professor in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and in Electrical and Systems Engineering (ESE), and the Science paper's senior author.

"This feels like the early days of the classical internet in the 1990s, when universities first connected their networks," added Robert Broberg, a doctoral student in ESE and co-author of the paper. "That opened the door to transformations no one could have predicted. A quantum internet has the same potential."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/08/29/0043214/engineers-send-quantum-signals-with-standard-internet-protocol?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

A 56-year-old tech industry veteran killed his mother and himself in Old Greenwich, Connecticut on August 5 after months of interactions with ChatGPT that encouraged his paranoid delusions.

Greenwich police discovered Stein-Erik Soelberg and his 83-year-old mother Suzanne Eberson Adams dead in their home. Videos posted by Soelberg documented conversations where ChatGPT repeatedly assured him he was sane while validating his beliefs about surveillance campaigns and poisoning attempts by his mother.

The chatbot told him a Chinese food receipt contained demonic symbols and that his mother's anger over a disconnected printer indicated she was "protecting a surveillance asset." OpenAI has contacted Greenwich police and announced plans for updates to help keep users experiencing mental distress grounded in reality.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/08/29/1116218/a-troubled-man-his-chatbot-and-a-murder-suicide-in-old-greenwich?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Valve has started to comply with the UK's Online Safety Act, by rolling out a requirement for all Brits to verify their age with a credit card to access "mature content" pages and games on Steam. UK users won't even be able to access the community hubs of mature content games unless a valid credit card is stored on a Steam account.

While platforms like Reddit, Bluesky, and Discord have opted for age verification checks using selfies, Valve is restricting its age checks to just credit cards, according to a support article. "Among all age assurance mechanisms reviewed by Valve, this process preserves the maximum degree of user privacy," says Valve. "Having the credit card stored as a payment method acts as an additional deterrent against circumventing age verification by sharing a single Steam user account among multiple persons."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/08/29/1441223/steam-users-in-the-uk-will-need-a-credit-card-to-access-mature-content-games?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Universities facing federal research budget cuts are increasingly turning to corporate partnerships for funding as Georgia Tech secures $70 million from industry this fiscal year -- 28% more than last year and representing 15% of campus research funding versus the 6% national average. The Atlanta school's corporate engagement office has fielded multiple weekly calls from other institutions seeking guidance after securing deals including Hyundai's $55 million stadium naming rights agreement alongside undisclosed research investments in electric vehicle and hydrogen fuel technologies.

The arrangements come with restrictions: nondisclosure agreements limit publication options for graduate students, and companies typically avoid funding basic research without immediate commercial applications. Federal grants still constitute over half of university research spending nationally, supporting early-stage discovery work that laid groundwork for current quantum computing developments.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/08/29/1519214/georgia-tech-is-teaching-other-universities-a-fundraising-lesson?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

A newly published Investigatory Powers Tribunal filing indicates the UK government's Technical Capability Notice to Apple went beyond the company's Advanced Data Protection encryption to include standard iCloud services used by millions [non-paywalled source]. The document states the UK Home Office order "is not limited to" ADP data and applies "globally in respect of the relevant data categories of all iCloud users."

The filing emerged days after Trump administration officials claimed the UK had agreed to drop efforts targeting American citizens' data. Apple launched its legal challenge in March after receiving the TCN, which the company cannot discuss publicly under the Investigatory Powers Act. The tribunal scheduled a hearing for early next year. Apple withdrew ADP from UK customers in February.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/08/29/1554214/uk-sought-broad-access-to-apple-customers-data-court-filing-suggests?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

One of Australia's largest banks has apologized to staff who found out they had been fired through an automated email asking them to hand back their laptops. From a report: ANZ's retail banking executive Bruce Rush said it was "not our intention to share such sensitive news with you in this way" as the firm cuts jobs in its retail banking business. The bank said the emails were sent to some staff ahead of schedule in error. It said it has since stopped sending the emails and that staff have been spoken to personally.

The Financial Sector Union said the email caused "panic and distress" and was a result of the company forcing through a "chaotic pace of change." The union's president Wendy Streets said it had not been consulted on the changes the bank was making, adding that "ANZ must do better." "Speed and cost-cutting cannot come at the expense of dignity and respect for workers," Ms Streets said, describing the "botched" episode as "disgusting." Mr Rush wrote in an email to staff: "Unfortunately, these emails indicate an exit date for some of our colleagues before we've been able to share their outcome with them."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/08/29/1644219/bank-apologizes-for-firing-staff-with-accidental-email?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.