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Alvagante

Infrastructure, AI, security, technology, gaming, science, geopolitics, and economy — curated links, practical notes, and a fresh news digest every day.

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2026-08-15

100 ranked items

Krebs on Security Aug 14 Score 0.9444555157407408

Who's Tracking You? Use This New Service to Find Out

It can be daunting to determine who's responsible for showing ads on the websites we visit, or who's harvesting data from the mobile apps we use every day. That information is already semi-public, but it is not easily parsed and traditionally much of it has re

Security securitycybercrimebreaches
Simon Willison's Weblog Aug 15 Score 0.8960501652777777

Northern Gannet

Northern Gannet, in Pillar Point Harbor, CA, US This is Morris. Morris is a local celebrity: the only known Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus ) in the entire Pacific Ocean. He showed up in the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco 14 years ago . He ha

AI aillmsengineeringanalysis
Simon Willison's Weblog Aug 14 Score 0.8869552578703703

Don't classify. Hallucinate!

Don't classify. Hallucinate! I still have quite a bit of older content on my blog that I never got round to tagging. My blog has 1,856 tags - likely too many to feed to an LLM in one go and say "which of these tags match the following content". Doug Turnb

AI aillmsengineeringanalysis
Schneier on Security Aug 14 Score 0.885489798611111

Friday Squid Blogging: Searching for the Colossal Squid

Fascinating video about searching for life undersea. The video basically makes the point that our bright white searchlights are scaring everything away, and that red light is more neutral. That, plus bait to attract sea creatures, is teaching us a lot about wh

Security securitycryptographypolicy
Foreign Policy Aug 14 Score 0.8823297916666666

What in the World?

Test yourself on the week of Aug. 8: A major earthquake hits Colombia, Lebanon achieves a regional first, and parts of Europe enjoy a solar eclipse.

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysis
Foreign Policy Aug 14 Score 0.8821233101851851

Liberalism Is Worth Saving. Here’s How.

If liberalism does not remake itself, it will be antidemocratic alternatives that win out.

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysis
Foreign Policy Aug 14 Score 0.8816936805555554

The End of American Innocence

Seventy years after “The Quiet American,” has the country outlived Graham Greene’s prophecy?

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysis
Foreign Policy Aug 14 Score 0.8812964583333333

AI Is Changing Military Morality

Just war theory was developed over centuries—and now must adapt to a new era of technology.

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysis
Schneier on Security Aug 14 Score 0.8771610949074073

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

This is a current list of where and when I am scheduled to speak: I’m speaking, signing books, and participating in panel discussions at LAcon V in Anaheim, California, USA. My full schedule is here . I'm speaking online (via Zoom) at a League of Women Voters

Security securitycryptographypolicy
Quanta Magazine Aug 14 Score 0.872395724074074

Why Aging May Be a Program, Not a Breakdown

By deciphering the molecular signatures of millions of mouse cells, Junyue Cao has found that aging is not haphazard wear and tear but rather a “remodeling of the cell society.” The post Why Aging May Be a Program, Not a Breakdown first appeared on Quanta Maga

Science sciencemathematicsphysicsbiology
Schneier on Security Aug 14 Score 0.8688791504629628

If the Markets Reject OpenAI and Anthropic, the US Should Nationalize Them

This essay was written with Nathan E. Sanders, and originally appeared in The Guardian . OpenAI, and then Anthropic , were each formed by AI developers who feared unrestrained corporate AI development—specifically, that companies like Google and Meta wou

Security securitycryptographypolicy
Krebs on Security Aug 11 Score 0.8412332935185186

Microsoft Plugs Nearly 400 Security Holes

Microsoft today released updates to remedy at least 398 security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and supported software, including one weakness that is already being actively exploited and two others that were publicly detailed prior to today.

Security securitycybercrimebreaches
BleepingComputer Aug 14 Score 0.8144472375

How Anthropic plans to watermark Claude's AI-generated text

It could soon become easier to identify AI-generated content, even if it's not the usual "It's Not X, it's Y" type of post you'd come across on LinkedIn and other socials. [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
Wired — Security Aug 14 Score 0.8116412981481482

New York City Lawmakers Push to ‘Ban the Scan’ at MSG

At a press conference outside Madison Square Garden, politicians, musicians, and privacy advocates argued for tighter restrictions on how public venues deploy biometric surveillance.

Security securityprivacysurveillance
The Guardian — World Aug 14 Score 0.8105427467592593

Ontario free to axe Toronto bike lanes, region’s top court rules

Win is significant for region’s premier, Doug Ford, who blames protected zones for city’s traffic ills The Ontario government is now free to rip out Toronto’s bike lanes on its busiest streets after the region’s top court ruled in favour of the province on Fri

Geopolitics geopoliticsworld-newsinvestigative
The Verge Aug 14 Score 0.8076264750000001

Samsung has new Galaxy headphones in the works

Strings of code in Samsung's Galaxy Wearable app hint at an upcoming pair of over-ear headphones that could compete with the AirPods Max, SamMobile reports. Samsung's reportedly referring to the headphones as the "Galaxy H1," and SamMobile says they could laun

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
The Verge Aug 14 Score 0.8063496231481482

A RAMageddon guide to back-to-school laptop shopping

If you’re a student looking for an affordable laptop, I have bad news and I have good news. The bad news is that computer prices are out of whack due to the ongoing RAM and storage crunch, making some a little pricier than they used to be and others wildly mor

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
BleepingComputer Aug 14 Score 0.8055625152777779

Hackers arrested over €30M bank fraud exploiting service provider flaw

Four cybercriminals were arrested in Brazil, and three others were charged in Europe over allegations that they exploited a vulnerability at a service provider, allowing them to withdraw funds from Commerzbank customers' bank accounts. [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
The Verge Aug 14 Score 0.8054389750000001

The X-Files creator Chris Carter wanted to make a more horrific movie

The version of The X-Files: I Want to Believe that premiered in 2008 was not exactly the movie co-writer / director Chris Carter intended to make. Carter wanted to bring agents Mulder and Scully back to the big screen with a grisly story about faith and the su

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
The Verge Aug 14 Score 0.8054389750000001

Lamborghini’s flagship Revuelto levels up with SV trim

A lot of automakers talk about wanting to minimize or eliminate driver distractions so as to make the experience of driving more rewarding and safer overall. Lamborghini has a different strategy; it wants the driver to become one with their vehicle. This helps

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
The Verge Aug 14 Score 0.8047232342592593

Google's best new camera feature is only for the Pixel 11 series

Arguably the coolest new photo feature for the Pixel 11 lineup is Google's new Camera Looks, which process image data differently at the sensor level to produce photos that don't have that "smartphone" look. The result is new styles like "Digi," which mimics t

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
The Guardian — World Aug 14 Score 0.8027075611111112

Canadian plasma clinics pause collections after deaths of two donors

Grifols, which runs private chain of clinics, to temporarily stop taking donations after new government investigation A chain of private plasma donation clinics in Canada has said it is pausing collections after the deaths of two donors and a new government in

Geopolitics geopoliticsworld-newsinvestigative
BleepingComputer Aug 14 Score 0.8004370523148149

Hackers exploit macOS Screen Sharing flaw to deploy Monero miner

The Netherlands' National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is warning that hackers are actively exploiting a macOS authentication bypass vulnerability after public exploit code emerged. [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
BleepingComputer Aug 14 Score 0.7987773300925927

The Modern Attack Chain: Rethinking Google Workspace Security in the Age of AI

Google Workspace attacks do not always begin with phishing. Stolen OAuth tokens can provide another path into Gmail, Drive, and connected systems. Material Security explains why organizations need defenses that cover the entire Workspace attack chain. [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
BleepingComputer Aug 14 Score 0.7983643671296297

Max severity SAP Commerce Cloud flaw now targeted in attacks

A maximum-severity SAP Commerce Cloud remote code execution vulnerability patched three days ago is already being targeted in attacks, according to threat intelligence company Defused. [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
MIT Technology Review Aug 14 Score 0.7959208824074074

The Download: Flock's new rules, cloning's future, and children's cells

This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Flock is tightening its rules in response to a growing surveillance backlash The police-tech giant Flock is changing offic

Technology technologyresearchsociety
MIT Technology Review Aug 14 Score 0.790438937962963

Job titles of the future: Space travel agent

Roman Chiporukha has long turned wild travel dreams into reality. Over two decades as co-owner of the luxury lifestyle firm Roman & Erica, he has orchestrated everything from the construction of a client’s superyacht to vacations in the Bahamas at a locati

Technology technologyresearchsociety
MIT Technology Review Aug 14 Score 0.790438937962963

This scientist is helping build a missing map of childhood

In 2017, Deanne Taylor attended a presentation at the University of Pennsylvania, just a short walk from her office. A researcher was there to unveil the Human Cell Atlas, an ambitious project that aimed to map every cell in the human body. Taylor was floored,

Technology technologyresearchsociety
GamesIndustry.biz Aug 14 Score 0.765716300925926

Modern consumers crave "events", and the games industry needs to provide them | Opinion

For almost as long as the games industry has existed, the conventional wisdom around sequels has remained the same: strike while the iron is hot. If you have a hit game, ensure you get a sequel out the door before the public loses interest. If you have more th

Gaming gamingindustrybusinessdevelopment
NASA News Aug 15 Score 0.7472449569444445

APOD: 2026 August 15 – Bright Perseids from Sweden

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 15 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured

Science sciencenasaspace
Econbrowser Aug 14 Score 0.7360403773148149

Forecasts and Nowcasts

The August Survey of Professional Forecasters is out: Figure 1: GDP (bold black), Survey of Professional Forecasters (blue), GDPNow of 8/14 (light blue square), NY Fed nowcast of 8/14 (red triangle), GS tracking of 8/14 (purple +), all in bn.Ch.2017$ SAAR. Sou

Economy economymacroeconomicsenergyresearch
Econbrowser Aug 14 Score 0.7333519513888889

Sentiment Declines

standardized measures: Figure 1: U.Michigan Economic Sentiment, using Cummings Tedeschi adjustment (blue), Conference Board Confidence Index (brown), Gallup Confidence (green), all demeaned and divided by standard deviation 2021M01-2025m02. Red dashed line at

Economy economymacroeconomicsenergyresearch
Dark Reading Aug 14 Score 0.7327806601851852

Mission-Driven Security: Inside a Global Bank's Defense

In this video interview, Standard Chartered's group CISO shares insights on transitioning from technical roles to strategic leadership, the importance of business-savvy security executives, and how AI is reshaping both defensive capabilities and adversarial ta

Security securityenterprisethreats
NASA News Aug 14 Score 0.7316782902777778

NASA Announces MAX POWER: America's Newest Aerospace Expo, Airshow

In honor of America’s historic 250th anniversary, NASA announced on Friday MAX POWER, a public exposition of American air and space innovation, Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, on and near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The multi-day, family-friendly event wi

Science sciencenasaspace
NASA News Aug 14 Score 0.7297662532407407

Volunteer Develops Machine-Learning Tool to Identify Rare Clouds

Certain kinds of clouds are misbehaving – appearing more often and lower in the sky than they used to. To help identify the factors influencing these changes, scientists have asked people around the world with cameras to submit fresh images of these clouds as

Science sciencenasaspace
Dark Reading Aug 14 Score 0.729682512037037

Amid AI-Driven Bug-Hunt Tsunami, NIST Looks to … AI

Driven by AI-augmented research and scanning, vulnerability volumes continue to surge, driving the National Institute of Standards and Technology to ask whether AI could be the answer.

Security securityenterprisethreats
NASA News Aug 14 Score 0.7287833828703704

NASA’s COFFIES Uses AI to Predict Storm-Causing Active Regions on Sun

As humanity looks to the Moon and stars for future exploration, predicting space weather — conditions in space primarily driven by the Sun — is more important than ever. Now, a team of astrophysicists and data scientists with NASA’s COFFIES (Consequence Of Fie

Science sciencenasaspace
GitHub Blog Aug 14 Score 0.7271059060185185

How to bring your software delivery workflow into GitHub with agent apps

See how four GitHub agent apps can help you scope, secure, roll out, and ship a feature across the SDLC–all without leaving GitHub. The post How to bring your software delivery workflow into GitHub with agent apps appeared first on The GitHub Blog .

IT itgithubdevelopment
Econbrowser Aug 14 Score 0.7267352847222223

Retail Sales Miss

Instead of +0.1% increase, 0.6% drop. Figure 1: Implied Nonfarm Payroll early benchmark (NFP) (bold blue), civilian employment adjusted to NFP concept, smoothed population controls (bold orange), manufacturing production (red), personal income excluding curren

Economy economymacroeconomicsenergyresearch
New Scientist Aug 14 Score 0.7245712037037038

Test moderators use AI-generated writing to judge literacy standards

To cut the cost of key stage 2 assessments, a UK government project proposes to use scripts generated by ChatGPT instead of real children's writing as examples supplied to moderators who check that grades are awarded fairly

Science scienceresearchsociety
ScienceDaily — Top Science Aug 14 Score 0.7228847606481481

Immune cells flood into the aging brain, Stanford scientists discover

Scientists have discovered that the aging human brain may be far less isolated from the rest of the body than once believed. Stanford researchers found that large numbers of immune cells from the blood begin entering the brain as early as middle age, where the

Science scienceresearchdiscoveries
ScienceDaily — Top Science Aug 14 Score 0.7225671680555555

Scientists detect a nuclear reactor’s ghostly afterglow for the first time

Nuclear reactors may go dark, but their fuel continues producing a faint antineutrino “glow” long after shutdown. Researchers have now detected that residual signal for the first time, finding it closely matched predictions of radioactive decay inside the reac

Science scienceresearchdiscoveries
InfoQ Aug 14 Score 0.7204391425925926

More Incidents Don't Necessarily Mean Less Reliability

One of the most common assumptions in engineering leadership is that a rising number of reported incidents signals declining system reliability. However, a recent article from Great Circle argues that the opposite is often true: an increase in incident counts

IT itengineeringarchitecture
ScienceDaily — Top Science Aug 14 Score 0.7197500384259259

A stress hormone may help the brain repair itself

A surprising stress-related signal may help the brain repair itself after injury. Researchers found that myelin-producing precursor cells rapidly release the stress hormone CRH near damaged brain tissue, helping control how those cells mature and rebuild prote

Science scienceresearchdiscoveries
ScienceDaily — Top Science Aug 14 Score 0.7193199458333334

Women taking estrogen had fewer signs of Alzheimer’s in their brains

Women who used estrogen-only hormone therapy later in life were less likely to develop dementia and showed fewer signs of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains, according to a large study of more than 21,000 participants. Hormone therapy use was linked to 39% lo

Science scienceresearchdiscoveries
Marginal Revolution Aug 15 Score 0.7112768342592591

That was then, this is now

I very much like the new Michael Khodarkovsky book The Steppe and its Empires: The Russian Empire & its Eurasian Counterparts. Excerpt: Russia presented the most remarkable contrast to both Eurasian and Western empires. The oower of Moscovite tsars and Rus

Economy economyeconomicscommentaryblog
MarketWatch Top Stories Aug 14 Score 0.6948561518518518

16 beaten-down AI stocks that are beloved by BofA analysts

A recent selloff in AI-linked stocks offers opportunities for investors across the hardware, internet and energy sectors, according to analysts.

Economy economymarketsfinancenews
Marginal Revolution Aug 14 Score 0.6924958157407407

Friday assorted links

1. What sort of maths are LLMs good at? 2. “People think the superrich are unhappy,” she said. “They’re not.” (NYT) 3. Trailer for a Celibadache biopic. 4. Good Joshua Saxe post on the need for a better cybersecurity policy. 5. Refine goes to work on the Stanf

Economy economyeconomicscommentaryblog
Google Cloud Blog Aug 14 Score 0.6896054259259259

What’s new with Google Cloud

Want to know the latest from Google Cloud? Find it here in one handy location. Check back regularly for our newest updates, announcements, resources, events, learning opportunities, and more. Tip : Not sure where to find what you’re looking for on the Google C

IT itgcpcloud
Marginal Revolution Aug 14 Score 0.6890749824074073

Adding to the barrel of finance fallacies

"I should note also that many (most? almost all?) of the bad scenarios have intermediate points of great worry and catastrophe" Not on my model. By the time any humans start worrying about a takeover or dying, AIs already control all infrastructure That is fro

Economy economyeconomicscommentaryblog
TechCrunch — AI Aug 14 Score 0.6516464925925927

Does Mark Zuckerberg really believe AI is 'for everyone'?

Meta released Glimmer this week, an open-weight AI model anyone can download and run on their own hardware — a contrast to Muse Spark, the company’s more powerful model that stays locked behind its own APIs. The release landed alongsid

AI aiindustrystartups
TechCrunch — AI Aug 14 Score 0.6487724185185185

Meta's 'open' AI, and a $250M deal gone very wrong

Meta released Glimmer this week, an open-weight AI model anyone can download and run on their own hardware — a contrast to Muse Spark, the company’s more powerful model that stays locked behind its own APIs. The release landed alongsid

AI aiindustrystartups
Google AI Blog Aug 10 Score 0.6396057500000001

Evolve your marketing with new AI tools

Learn how new AI and agentic experiences across Google Ads and Google Analytics can simplify your marketing workflow.

AI aigoogleresearch