Top of the Day
IBM’s CEO doesn’t think AI will replace programmers anytime soon
(Kyle Wiggers – TechCrunch – 11 March 2025) IBM CEO Arvind Krishna says that, despite the Trump administration’s attacks on globalism, global trade isn’t dead. In fact, he thinks that the U.S.’s key to growth will be embracing an international exchange of goods. “So, I actually am a firm believer — I think it goes all the way back to the economists who studied global trade in the 1800s — and I think their perspective was, every 10% increase in global trade leads to a 1% increase in local GDP,” Krishna said during an onstage interview at SXSW on Tuesday. “So, if we want to really optimize even for local [growth], you got to have global trade.”. Global trade goes hand in hand with allowing overseas talent to flow into the U.S., Krishna said. The administration and its allies have called for increased restrictions on student and H-1B work visas, which they claim put U.S. citizens at a disadvantage. “We want people to come here and bring their talent with them and apply that talent,” Krishna said. “And we want to develop our own talent as well, but you can’t develop it as well if you’re not bringing the best people from across the world for our people to learn from too. So we should be an international talent hub, and we should have policies that go along with that.”. During the wide-ranging interview, Krishna touched on not only geopolitics but also AI, which he thinks is a valuable technology — but no panacea. He disagreed with a recent prediction from Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, that 90% of code may be written by AI in the next three to six months. – https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/11/ibms-ceo-doesnt-think-ai-will-replace-programmers-anytime-soon/
Meta is reportedly testing in-house chips for AI training
(Kyle Wiggers – TechCrunch – 11 March 2025) Meta is reportedly testing an in-house chip for training AI systems, a part of a strategy to reduce its reliance on hardware makers like Nvidia. – https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/11/meta-is-reportedly-testing-in-house-chips-for-ai-training/
Canada, other allies play a key role in some military AI experiments
(Patrick Tucker – Defense One – 11 March 2025) Artificial intelligence could help the U.S. military speed up the process of finding and targeting missile threats, but a recent joint Air Force exercise showed that continuing cooperation through joint military alliances and partnerships is critical to that task—cooperation that is being challenged by continued verbal attacks by President Donald Trump. A December exercise that included the U.S. Air Force, as well as forces from Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, tested how allied forces using artificial intelligence and new sensor data, could accelerate operations relevant to missile defense, such as identifying or finding adversary mobile missile launchers or command and control sites. The exercise was called ShOC-N, or Shadow Operations Center-Nellis. – https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2025/03/allies-canada-play-key-role-some-military-ai-experiments/403672/?oref=d1-featured-river-secondary
Army releases Unified Network Plan 2.0, honing in on multi-domain fighting, zero trust
(Carley Welch – Breaking Defense – 11 March 2025) After months of anticipation, the Army has released the second version of its Unified Network Plan, building off of the 2021 iteration that aimed to collapse its 69 enterprise and tactical networks into a single, shared one by 2027. The service’s updated plan, also known as AUN 2.0 and released late last week, reiterates the 1.0 version of paving the way for a unified network but creates a clearer focus on preparing the Army for multi-domain operations. Since the first plan, AUN 2.0 says, “a confluence of emerging technologies and events has transformed the world into a multidomain, persistently contested information environment that demands a far more data-centric approach to harness the power of the Army Network to fight and win.” – https://breakingdefense.com/2025/03/army-releases-unified-network-plan-2-0-honing-in-on-multi-domain-fighting-zero-trust/
‘Desert Dexter’ Hot Button Facebook Ads Tag Mideast Victims
(Nate Nelson – The Record – 11 March 2025) Hundreds of people across the Middle East and North Africa have been infected with malware after clicking on links in politically charged Facebook advertisements. Six years ago, a threat actor going by the name “Dexter Ly” infected tens of thousands of primarily Libyan citizens with various remote access Trojans (RATs). They pulled it off by impersonating well-known political and military figures in the country on Facebook, publishing posts about current events that contained shortened links to malicious landing pages. It appears that a Dexter-associated entity might be back now, with pretty much the same kind of campaign, this time aimed more widely at victims across the Middle East and North Africa. “This campaign represents an evolution of social engineering tactics targeting regions with growing digital adoption and cryptocurrency usage,” says J. Stephen Kowski, field CTO at SlashNext Email Security. “These attacks are becoming increasingly common in the Middle East as threat actors recognize the region’s strategic importance and potentially less mature security awareness.” – https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/hot-button-facebook-ads-middle-east-africa-victims
Security
Tata Technologies’ data leaked by ransomware gang
(Jagmeet Singh – TechCrunch – 11 March 2025) A ransomware group called Hunters International has published some of the data it claims to have stolen from Tata Technologies, just over a month after the Indian company confirmed a ransomware attack that resulted in the suspension of some services. The leaked data, published on the gang’s dark web leak site — which TechCrunch has seen — includes personal details about some current and former employees at Tata Technologies, as well as confidential information, including purchase orders and the company’s contracts with customers in India and the United States. – https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/11/tata-technologies-data-leaked-by-ransomware-gang/
Balancing Cybersecurity Accountability & Deregulation
(Mark Houpt – The Record – 11 March 2025) As the US transitions into a new administration, deregulation — or perhaps even outright abolishing certain agencies and functions — is set to be a defining theme of 2025. While federal agencies across sectors like labor, education, and transportation are expected to be slashed in an effort to cut red tape and fuel economic growth, cybersecurity regulations will be consolidated within agencies like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Administration (CISA). Simultaneously, they will tighten regulations to protect national security. – https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/balancing-cybersecurity-accountability-deregulation
Frontiers
MSInsight Closes €1.6M in Seed Funding to Advance AI-Powered Precision Medicine in Oncology
(AI Insider – 11 March 2025) MSInsight, a pioneering startup in precision medicine, has successfully completed a €1.6 million seed funding round led by Calyseed, with participation from Plateau de Saclay Business Angels, Yes Invest, Capital Cell, and banking partners including bpifrance. The investment will accelerate the development of AI-driven diagnostic solutions that leverage DNA sequencing to guide cancer patients toward the most effective therapies. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/03/11/msinsight-closes-e1-6m-in-seed-funding-to-advance-ai-powered-precision-medicine-in-oncology/
Nirvana Announces $80M in Funding to Expand AI-Powered Trucking Insurance as Industry Faces Economic Shifts
(AI Insider – 11 March 2025) Nirvana, an AI-driven trucking insurance startup, has secured $80 million in a Series C funding round led by General Catalyst, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Valor Equity Partners. The new investment doubles Nirvana’s valuation to $830 million, reflecting strong investor confidence in its AI-powered insurance platform, which leverages real-time telematics and 20 billion miles of trucking data to provide dynamic policies for fleet operators. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/03/11/nirvana-announces-80m-in-funding-to-expand-ai-powered-trucking-insurance-as-industry-faces-economic-shifts/
Unilever Partners with Vector Institute to Drive AI Innovation at Scale
(AI Insider – 11 March 2025) Unilever has announced a partnership with the Vector Institute to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) innovation across its global operations. Through this collaboration, Unilever will gain access to Vector’s cutting-edge research, expertise, and network of AI talent, strengthening its commitment to scaling AI-driven solutions. The partnership builds on Unilever’s growing presence in Canada’s AI ecosystem, anchored by its Horizon3 AI Labs in Toronto. Established in 2023 as Unilever’s global AI hub, the Labs focus on integrating AI across business functions, enhancing efficiency, and unlocking new capabilities. With over 500 AI projects deployed in areas ranging from research and development to marketing, Unilever continues to advance its mission of leveraging AI at scale. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/03/11/unilever-partners-with-vector-institute-to-drive-ai-innovation-at-scale/
Uthana Secures $4.3M to Advance AI-Powered 3D Character Animation
(AI Insider – 11 March 2025) Uthana, a Los Angeles-based generative AI company, has raised $4.3 million in funding to accelerate the development of its AI-driven 3D character animation platform. The round was led by IA Ventures, with participation from A16Z Speedrun, Acequia Capital, Cursor Capital, HustleFund, MetaVision, and JonesTrauber. The investment will fuel the company’s expansion and enhance its AI animation capabilities, bringing cutting-edge motion generation technology to creators worldwide. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/03/11/uthana-secures-4-3m-to-advance-ai-powered-3d-character-animation/
UK’s robotic ‘Golf Bag’ fleet to take a swing at dangerous work, keeping humans safe
(Jijo Malayil – Interesting Engineering – 11 March 2025) In the United Kingdom, robotic systems could soon replace humans in hazardous environments involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) threats. A collaboration involving Oxford Dynamics, Createc, Autonomous Devices, and the University of Bristol has secured over $2.5 million (£2 million) in funding from two government departments to develop autonomous solutions for high-risk situations. The advanced suite of technologies, including a robot fleet, aims to remove humans from hazardous tasks while processing complex data in real time. The UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) plans to use these tools for environmental remediation and recovery efforts. Beyond this, the innovations could address challenges in UK defense and other sectors while supporting over 100 specialist jobs. “It is an example of how the work of Defense, Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is delivering science and technology advantage across Government and ensuring that defense and security are prepared for the future,” said a statement from the UK government. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/uk-autonomous-robot-fleet-replace-humans