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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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2026-08-20

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OpenAI News Aug 19 Score 0.9569680574074075

Offering Zero Data Retention for frontier models

OpenAI reaffirms Zero Data Retention for eligible API customers and previews Private Safety Processing for advanced AI safety without compromising data privacy.

AI aiopenaimodels
OpenAI News Aug 18 Score 0.9219680574074075

ChatGPT Ads expands across Europe

ChatGPT Ads is expanding to 31 European markets. Learn how advertisers can reach people as they explore, compare options, and make decisions.

AI aiopenaimodels
Simon Willison's Weblog Aug 19 Score 0.8890791092592591

smolmachines / smolvm as a sandbox for untrusted Python & JavaScript

Research: smolmachines / smolvm as a sandbox for untrusted Python & JavaScript I tasked Claude Fable 5 running in Claude Code for web with the following research task: Put https://smolmachines.com through its paces as a fast secure sandbox. Explore what it wou

AI aillmsengineeringanalysis
Simon Willison's Weblog Aug 19 Score 0.8885379055555555

Quoting Jeremy Morrell

My hypothesis is that there is a new opportunity for Extensible Software on the web . LLMs radically lower the cost of authoring extensions, and modern sandbox primitives lower the deployment cost and provide good security boundaries. We can build our app as a

AI aillmsengineeringanalysis
Simon Willison's Weblog Aug 19 Score 0.8882490166666666

Conceptual integrity and counting lines of code

Last week I recorded an episode of the Talking Postgres podcast with Claire Giordano on the subject of "How AI is changing software development". We had a really great conversation. Here are a couple of my highlights from a lightly edited transcript (prompt to

AI aillmsengineeringanalysis
Foreign Policy Aug 19 Score 0.8857706879629629

UAE Joins Global Efforts to Isolate Iran

Abu Dhabi is hoping that a trade embargo will force Tehran to surrender.

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysis
Foreign Policy Aug 19 Score 0.8854905953703702

The Taliban’s Next Five Years

The brutish group has been surprisingly stable since snatching power in 2021. Rockier times may lie ahead.

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysis
Foreign Policy Aug 19 Score 0.8836845768518518

How Africa Is Battling Climate Extremes

The effects of the coming “super” El Niño will reach beyond the continent.

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysis
Foreign Policy Aug 19 Score 0.8807429101851851

Realism Is Unrealistic

How useful is a theory about power that consistently fails to explain what the world’s most powerful country does?

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysis
Quanta Magazine Aug 19 Score 0.8740807351851851

Building a Quantum Computer, One Fragile Qubit at a Time

No one yet knows which technology will power the quantum computers of the future, but the race to create them has already produced some of science’s most intricate machinery. The post Building a Quantum Computer, One Fragile Qubit at a Time first appeared on Q

Science sciencemathematicsphysicsbiology
Schneier on Security Aug 19 Score 0.8682631379629628

ICE Collecting DNA Samples

ICE collected nearly a million DNA samples last year.

Security securitycryptographypolicy
BleepingComputer Aug 20 Score 0.8158825828703704

OpenAI confirms ChatGPT is down as logins and signups fail

ChatGPT is experiencing a major outage, and users are unable to sign in, create accounts, or load chats, including previous conversations. [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
The Guardian — World Aug 20 Score 0.8156984879629631

More than 100 dead after goldmine collapses in Central African Republic

The collapse was caused by a landslide, while local officials say the death toll is likely to rise as recovery efforts continue More than 100 people have died after an artisanal goldmine at a small village in western Central African Republic (CAR) caved in due

Geopolitics geopoliticsworld-newsinvestigative
The Verge Aug 19 Score 0.8129493555555556

Does giving a camera wings dodge the FCC’s drone ban?

HoverAir drones always have intriguing gimmicks. This one folds flat to fit in your pocket. This one can land on water. Another can charge inside its carrying case. But the brand's latest trick might be its riskiest: it's attempting to sneak a drone past the F

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
BleepingComputer Aug 19 Score 0.810300637962963

Rogue ransomware affiliate poses as recovery firm to steal payments

A suspected ransomware affiliate is posing as a ransomware recovery service called "Ransom Busters," contacting the victims before the attacks become public and claiming to be able to provide decryption keys and delete stolen data for a fee. [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
BleepingComputer Aug 19 Score 0.8101247120370371

Sakura Internet hack exposes data of up to 1.36 million accounts

Japanese cloud and data center service provider Sakura Internet disclosed that hackers accessed its sales management system, where customer contract and membership information is stored. [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
The Verge Aug 19 Score 0.808444262962963

Nielsen is leaning more on wearables to hear what people are watching

In order to beef up its ability to accurately measure viewership data in the streaming era, Nielsen is moving forward with a plan to use more information gathered from its partners' wearable devices. Today, Nielsen announced "a number of key enhancements" that

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
The Verge Aug 19 Score 0.8069678740740741

Google Gemini is getting a dedicated student hub

As we're gearing up for back-to-school season, Google is rolling out a new dedicated student hub in Gemini. It's a one-stop repository for collecting research in a study notebook, creating flashcards, taking practice quizzes, and more. Google is also enhancing

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
The Verge Aug 19 Score 0.805758151851852

Watch Valve set up the Steam Frame in its own leaked videos

Valve just leaked several new videos showing the Steam Frame's unboxing, setup process, and various accessories. The videos apparently appeared on the ARM Steam client following an update, but they were "quickly pulled after that," according to the Steam Hardw

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
The Verge Aug 19 Score 0.8053012074074075

The wearable future is stuck in weird, experimental, existential limbo

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. For the past week, I've been testing the Goo

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
SANS Internet Storm Center Aug 19 Score 0.7993283328703704

Simple Scans for Cloud Metadata Service, (Wed, Aug 19th)

Cloud providers typically expose a REST API at 169.254.169.254 that allows code running on virtual machines to retrieve machine-specific data. Some of the data is more or less harmless, such as the region the machine is running in or its MAC and IP addresses.

Security securitythreatsiocs
MIT Technology Review Aug 19 Score 0.795578988425926

The Download: AI’s self-improvement problem, and what’s driving the heat

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. AI’s recursive self-improvement might not come so quickly after all The AI industry’s boldest promise right now is that AI

Technology technologyresearchsociety
CISA Cybersecurity Advisories Aug 19 Score 0.7953014310185186

CISA Adds One Known Exploited Vulnerability to Catalog

CISA has added one new vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog , based on evidence of active exploitation.   CVE-2026-64849 MLflow Server-Side Request Forgery Vulnerability This type of vulnerability is a frequent attack vector

Security securitycisaadvisoriesvulnerabilities
CISA Cybersecurity Advisories Aug 19 Score 0.7953014305555556

Defending Against an Active Threat to Siemens S7 Series PLCs

Executive summary Note: This advisory relates to an active threat to Siemens S7 Series programmable logic controllers (PLCs). However, ongoing PLC targeting activity is broader than Siemens PLCs. All PLC owners and operators should apply relevant mitigations t

Security securitycisaadvisoriesvulnerabilities
MIT Technology Review Aug 19 Score 0.7903012106481482

Child-monitoring apps might need a reboot

Pam Wisniewski’s digital adolescence showed her the best and the worst of the internet. At 14, she left an abusive home, where she’d been isolated in a fifth-wheel trailer at the end of a seven-­mile dirt road. She moved in with her older sister and taught her

Technology technologyresearchsociety
NBER New Working Papers Aug 20 Score 0.7875000000000001

Dynamic Effects of Trade -- by Benny Kleinman, Ernest Liu, Stephen J. Redding

The existence of aggregate welfare gains from trade is one of the classic insights from international economics. However, these conventional welfare gains are static, in the sense that they take existing factor supplies and production technologies at a point i

Economy economyresearchworking-papersnber
NBER New Working Papers Aug 20 Score 0.7875000000000001

Idea Rents and Firm Growth -- by Timo Boppart, Peter J. Klenow, Reiko Laski, Huiyu Li

Which firms drive aggregate productivity growth? We document that firms with high price-earnings ratios tend to see increases in their subsequent earnings relative to sales, which we interpret as rents from ideas (innovation). We construct an endogenous growth

Economy economyresearchworking-papersnber
Liberty Street Economics Aug 19 Score 0.7561350050925927

Has Broader Stock Market Participation Changed How Interest Rates Affect the Economy?

Stock market participation in the U.S. has changed dramatically over the past four decades. In the mid-1980s, fewer than 30 percent of households held equity. By the early 2000s, more than half of U.S. households owned equity, either directly or through mutual

Economy economymonetary-policybankingresearch
Risky Bulletin Aug 20 Score 0.7493127726851851

Srsly Risky Biz: Trump's private hacker memo is the right idea

Tom Uren and James Wilson talk about President Donald Trump’s memo enlisting the US private sector to tackle cybercriminals. The initiative gets the big idea right: traditional law enforcement approaches have not worked against cybercriminals so the government

Security securitynewspodcastintelligence
NASA News Aug 20 Score 0.7471072157407408

APOD: 2026 August 20 – The Elephant’s Trunk in Cepheus

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 20 – The… 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 feat

Science sciencenasaspace
ScienceDaily — Top Science Aug 20 Score 0.7428590402777778

MIT physicists discover electrons rebuilding like ice inside a quantum material

MIT physicists found that two electronic phases inside the same quantum material emerge through surprisingly different mechanisms—one smoothly and the other in expanding pockets resembling growing ice crystals. The discovery could help explain how exotic prope

Science scienceresearchdiscoveries
ScienceDaily — Top Science Aug 20 Score 0.7413729291666666

Researchers reveal deeper workings of brain’s information hub

The brain has a remarkably flexible system for handling uncertainty and changing situations. Researchers found that the frontoparietal cortex constantly shifts how it communicates with other brain regions depending on what information is needed to make a decis

Science scienceresearchdiscoveries
Econbrowser Aug 20 Score 0.7405908699074074

Import Prices Running Hot

Not just for computers, peripherals and semiconductors – and running hot despite dollar appreciation. From MarketPlace, with Justin Ho, today: without the cost of energy, import prices rose. In fact, they were up 4.5% from the same time a year ago. It’s

Economy economymacroeconomicsenergyresearch
TechCrunch — AI Aug 19 Score 0.7395234736111111

Stripe didn't really buy OpenRouter because of the 'singularity'

What does a payments giant want with a startup that routes prompts between different AI models? Stripe says it's because of "the singularity" but it's really for a far more real and powerful reason.

AI aiindustrystartups
Dark Reading Aug 19 Score 0.7345278037037037

No-Filter 'Kriminal' AI Platform Raises Cybercrime Concerns

The AI company officially forbids illicit use, while offering guardrail-free social engineering, offensive cybercrime, and OSINT scanning to anyone with a bit of cryptocurrency.

Security securityenterprisethreats
Econbrowser Aug 19 Score 0.7343140180555555

Diesel Near Peak

From the Gasoline and Diesel update, plus EIA: Note that diesel was only slightly below prior peak, despite the fact that Brent was lower than it was in March or June. Front month futures for Brent (NYMEX) is $92.38 as of 3:23PM CT. I don't see a reason for Br

Economy economymacroeconomicsenergyresearch
NASA News Aug 19 Score 0.7335738824074074

NASA TechLeap Prize: Orbital Clarity Challenge

The Orbital Clarity Challenge — the sixth in the NASA TechLeap Prize series — is a collaborative effort between NASA’s Heliophysics Division, Flight Opportunities program, and Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation. The Heliophys

Science sciencenasaspace
The Hacker News Aug 19 Score 0.7320422134259259

Cloudflare Workers Spectre Attack Leaks JWT From Co-Located Worker at 12 Bits/Second

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a remote Spectre attack against Cloudflare Workers that leaked a JSON Web Token (JWT) from a co-located Worker in the production environment at up to 12 bits per second, 360 times the rate of an ear

Security securityhackingvulnerabilities
Martin Fowler Aug 19 Score 0.731134687037037

Citizens Build, Agents Execute, Experts Govern

TL;DR Why building an app over the weekend isn't the same as building enterprise software I’ve noticed an interesting gap opening up over the last six months. It isn’t really a gap in technology. It’s a gap in what different people think software engineering a

IT itarchitecturepatterns
Martin Fowler Aug 19 Score 0.7307180203703704

Practitioner Voice: The Writing Category Nobody has Named Yet

Jim Highsmith recognizes that effective writing from a practitioner is a style distinct from academic writing or thought-leadership content. It's a style that I advocate, and my contributors mostly follow. Jim decided it was important to give it a name, and id

IT itarchitecturepatterns
NASA News Aug 19 Score 0.7305354564814814

NASA Updates Next Steps for Commercial Swift Boost Mission

Due to an ongoing commercial spacecraft attitude control issue, NASA and Katalyst Space announced Wednesday the LINK spacecraft will not capture or boost an agency satellite to a higher altitude to extend its science mission as planned. However, LINK still wil

Science sciencenasaspace
New Scientist Aug 19 Score 0.730518486574074

Suggesting that ADHD is a myth is pseudoscientific and dangerous

ADHD is a real condition that can have serious consequences if undiagnosed. An ill-informed documentary that suggests it is a modern, social construct could cause harm, says Caroline Williams

Science scienceresearchsociety
NASA News Aug 19 Score 0.7303757342592593

Human-Related Microbes May Survive Moon’s South Pole, NASA Finds

Lee esta historia en español aquí. Some of Earth’s microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the Moon’s South Pole region, NASA scientists say. Published on Aug. 19, 2026, in Science Advance

Science sciencenasaspace
GitHub Blog Aug 19 Score 0.7300343597222222

GitHub Copilot app for Beginners: Managing your work

If you’re juggling multiple Copilot sessions, use the My work pane to track what's in flight, what's done, and what's next. The post GitHub Copilot app for Beginners: Managing your work appeared first on The GitHub Blog .

IT itgithubdevelopment
New Scientist Aug 19 Score 0.7286346898148148

This sci-fi novel is a riveting tale of an oppressive galactic empire

A rich widow, a disillusioned cop and a dim hypersled driver are caught in the machinations of the oppressive party ruling the Decurion Empire in Richard Swan's The Infinite State. Sci-fi columnist Emily H. Wilson enjoys their struggles

Science scienceresearchsociety
New Scientist Aug 19 Score 0.7286346898148148

It is finally time to talk about the impact of fluctuating hormones

For decades, women have felt the need to hide the impact of changes in their hormones, while scientists have excluded women from research to avoid hormonal fluctuations complicating their research. Thankfully, this is starting to change

Science scienceresearchsociety
New Scientist Aug 19 Score 0.7286346898148148

The wild, gripping story of the psychedelic secreted by desert toads

Kimon de Greef's The Ego Trip chronicles the rise of a potent psychedelic drug, from the toads that secrete it to the man who claimed it has amazing powers. Olivia Goldhill discovers an extraordinary tale

Science scienceresearchsociety
InfoQ Aug 19 Score 0.7241067074074075

Whatsapp Tests on Device ML for Scam Detection with Privacy Preserving Analytics

WhatsApp is testing Scam Alert in limited beta, using on device machine learning to detect potential scam messages from non contacts. Meta's architecture keeps message content on the device while using confidential computing, Oblivious HTTP, differential priva

IT itengineeringarchitecture
InfoQ Aug 19 Score 0.7186344851851851

Presentation: Understanding Progressive Collapse: How To Avoid A Cascading Failure

Sam Newman discusses the concept of progressive collapse in civil engineering and how it applies to distributed systems. Using real-world examples - from the 1968 Ronan Point tower failure to AWS outages - he shares crucial resilience engineering strategies fo

IT itengineeringarchitecture
Marginal Revolution Aug 20 Score 0.7109951402777777

My excellent Conversation with Luke Burgis

Here is the audio, video, and transcript. Here is the episode summary: Luke Burgis left Wall Street after two years, founded a few successful companies in his twenties, then walked away to spend three years in a Roman seminary on the path to the priesthood. He

Economy economyeconomicscommentaryblog
Hacker News Aug 19 Score 0.6926277342592592

Go 1.27 is released

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IT itstartupsdevelopmentcommunity