The Uprising Of Bots: New Study Highlights Their Faster Speed At Solving CAPTCHAs With Greater Accuracy

New research from the University of Irvine is shedding light on some very interesting findings regarding bots and their intelligence.

You may have come across CAPTCHAs plenty of times when you’re online. They’re usually thought of as the perfect test that’s taken when you plug in your password across a particular site. Moreover, the test always mentions that the site may wish to confirm that you’re a human and not a robot so that’s the justification provided for embarking on the ordeal.

But you’ll be amazed at how the latest research on this front is showcasing how these kinds of tests aren’t really too effective. In fact, they not only take up a user’s time but bots end up solving them at a faster pace than any other human out there. Did we mention how they’re doing it with greater accuracy than most of us combined?

The automated tests dubbed CAPTCHAs were in the spotlight in this new study. And that’s when the authors were busy comparing close to 1400 members of the public and a similar figure for bots across similar tests too. And you’ll be shocked to learn how bots continued to overcome the capabilities and talents of the human race by miles.

For example, humans were requested to solve some very disoriented CAPTCHAs. And the humans ended up doing it in less than 15 seconds which really does sound too good to be true. But wait, the reality is far from that. And that’s because most of the answers that were generated were incorrect. And we’re talking close to 50 to 84%.

But when the bots were told to do the same, they did it in time spans that lasted for less than one second. And shockingly, the accuracy was close to 99.8%. Moreover, a recent study by The Sunday Times shed light on how CAPTCHAs were already being solved so well by bots but it lacked a decent comparison with humans, which this new research managed to do.

This research’s measurements went on to add in a confident manner how so many humans were much slower in pace than bots and it’s proven. It’s a result that was never proven in the past and we’re still waiting for the results of the research to be peer-reviewed, things are looking great so far.

So this study is also hinting at how better strategies must be explored because if this CAPTCHA technology can be solved by bots faster and better then why are we all still using it? Why aren’t more efforts being done to establish better means for verification? Above all, this technology is disliked all over the globe and it certainly does not come cheap either. Did we mention how much time it wastes us, humans, too?

Being ineffective against bots is never going to be appreciated. And that’s the biggest reason to call for change, we feel. But despite knowing all of this, so many huge firms are reluctant in terms of admitting that such tests are poor in design. After all, they’re making some handsome funds through sales of them, despite knowing their major lackings.

So many firms aren’t willing to accept that these tests are not worth it anymore. They’re continuously used for webpages and so many of them too. Despite being majorly ineffective, the rise of these kinds of studies is clear proof that we need to find options that go beyond counting the number of stairs or searching for traffic lights in the most unclear images. And that is being done to prove humans aren’t bots, despite them beating us a long time back.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Meta Is Launching New Features For Threads To Combat Declining User Engagement

The latest on Threads is that user engagement continues to be in decline but the question on people’s minds is what Meta is doing to counteract this finding.

New reports are going as far as mentioning how it’s proving to be an absolute struggle for the tech giant to get back on track with the explosive start it had with millions of signups. After all, most people are returning back to those platforms that they adore to the core.

But that does not mean Meta is giving up its hopes just yet. The company, as promised by CEO Zuckerberg, is working its way toward creating new functionalities for Threads. And we thought to highlight them below for our readers.

For starters, the Threads team is trying to launch voice posts. The latter would be a unique way to establish connections through the app.

The news comes to us thanks to social media expert Alessandro Paluzzi. He provided examples that displayed how users on the Twitter rival platform would be given the chance to link voice clips as well as pictures with videos to produce better content.

Now you must be wondering what’s the big deal right? Well, it might not seem like a huge thing for those in the West because here is where voice notes are deemed to be integral when you’ve got people speaking all sorts of languages. But the masses can’t write everything so fluently so they resort to voice clips to get their points across.

In places like India, you’ve got more than 100 different kinds of languages up for grabs. And yes, people do learn to express themselves in several audio variations, the rates of literacy aren’t too high. For this reason, voice notes are being served as the most practical means, maximizing social apps for so many individuals around the globe.

Hence, you might need to think twice when refusing to mention it as a major feature because only things like this can give rise to bigger adoption.

On the other hand, we’re seeing the heads at Meta speak about the latest desktop version of the Threads platform coming too. And that’s already delineated to be in the testing phase so it’s only days before we say it’s launch to the masses.

During the start of this week, Adam Mosseri has spoken about several bugs coming in the way with Threads on the desktop. So when users asked when they would expect it, he simply said soon.

The benefit of this desktop version of Threads is giving users such as those in the media a greater chance to stay active on the platform. After all, it would now be on your screen, and among the large volumes of workflow coming in, there would be fewer chances to miss upon offering the app a glimpse through this means. And no one would want to miss out on the chance of getting greater engagement, right.

In other news, Threads will soon attain more additions to better functionality. This entails a new tab that’s designated for Reposts on a person’s profile. Such would help to see what users are sharing, other than the same old content and responses that we’re witnessing for a while. Moreover, reposts would also entail a feed that’s labeled with the term Following. This would behave in a manner like retweets and pick up benefits of greater engagement along the way.

There is also an update on Threads getting more support for hashtags as Mosseri has been wanting to lean in this direction for quite some time now. Every tag would be included in your quest for searching text. And it certainly makes so much sense but what we’re keen on seeing is if it’s going to include tags that can be clicked with links when compared to the classic questions for text.

There’s a huge doubt in people’s minds if such changes are really all that’s required to bring the app back to life. There is a huge fall in users and the app just struggles to attain momentum on social media. Just this past week, recent stats spoke of usage on Threads falling by a whopping 79%. So today, figures stand close to just 576k.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Cybersecurity Shortcomings: Popular Websites Leave Digital Doors Ajar

Feeling secure is probably the best feeling in life. But what if you got to know that your cyber security is in grave danger? How is this possible? You may ask! Picture this: You're navigating the vast digital realm, exploring Pinterest's DIY treasures, pondering your next movie on IMDB, or peeking into your friends' lives via Facebook. It's all fun and games until you realize that some of the world's most visited websites are playing a dangerous "Hide and Seek" game with your cybersecurity.

The adventurous team at Cybernews has set out on a digital adventure, unearthing a perplexing problem that has fallen through the cracks of developer knowledge - HTTP security headers. They examined the top 100 websites, including fan favorites like PayPal, Wikipedia, and AliExpress. The end result? A startling discovery: many famous websites appear asleep regarding cybersecurity basics.

But hold your horses. Before you start pointing fingers, know that no names will be mentioned here. We believe in fair play. Cybernews subsequently notified the aforementioned firms of their findings. Now, let's go into the mysterious world of HTTP security headers.

Think of these headers as the guardians of your browsing realm. They're like the bouncers at the digital nightclub, ensuring only the right folks get in and out. These guardians fend off a host of cyber nasties, from clickjacking shenanigans to forging secure connections. As Cybernews wizards said, "They're the good ol' firewalls that keep common vulnerabilities at bay."

But hold on, there's more! These defenders are skilled at repelling client-side assaults, in which criminals exploit security flaws on users' devices to obtain unauthorized access, steal information, and generally wreak havoc.

Here is a rogues' gallery of assaults that these guards repel:

• Phishing is the use of cyber hooks to steal your secrets.
• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS): Tricky scripts that weave mayhem into your browsing experience.
• Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks include shady saboteurs intercepting your data using shadowy public Wi-Fi networks.

Now, let's focus on a few headline acts from this cybersecurity circus:

X-Frame-Options: This security warning was missed by 34% of the websites evaluated. This barrier prevents clickjacking, which occurs when unknowing users are persuaded into completing undesirable activities.

Content-Security-Policy (CSP): Consider this: half of all websites failed to summon this guardian. It protects against risks such as XSS and data manipulation. In digital armor, he is a genuine knight.

Referrer-Policy: Attention, privacy activists. 76% of websites missed this safeguard, exposing you to potential data breaches when you click on connected resources.

Permissions-Policy: Hold onto your digital hats, for a whopping 88% overlooked this sentinel. This guardian lets web developers control your browser's permissions, ensuring safer interactions with various features and APIs.

Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS): Only 18% were interested enough to activate this stalwart. HSTS guarantees that websites only communicate with your browser through secure HTTPS connections, ignoring insecure HTTP connections.

Why does any of this matter? Repeats the fundamental question. These security headers, my reader, aren't just lines of code. They serve as your digital bodyguards, protecting you from a barrage of attacks. Websites without them become virtual playgrounds for cybercriminals, prone to attacks such as XSS and clickjacking.

These headers aren't just responsible for safeguarding your digital wanderings. They play a pivotal role in maintaining confidentiality, integrity, and availability of user data. And guess what? Their absence could earn websites a one-way ticket to regulatory trouble and a significant hit in user trust.

Missing security headers scream "Danger!" to users in this age of digital safety. Trust deteriorates, engagement declines, and brand reputation plummets. Don't leave your digital doors open, developers. Remember that security isn't a choice in the digital domain; it's the foundation of user trust and a flourishing online ecosystem.

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by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World

YouTube Prevails in Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination by Content Creators

The digital battleground between content producers and tech titans has seen its fair number of fights, but YouTube emerged triumphant in the most recent round. A federal court recently rejected a case against YouTube by content creators who alleged that the video-sharing company discriminated against them by banning or demonetizing films based on racial identification and beliefs. Let's go into the nitty gritty of this legal dance.

The Allegations

Kimberly Carleste Newman, a YouTube user, and a group of video providers sued the company in 2020. They claimed that YouTube's algorithms and AI capabilities were being used to censor or demonetize videos with names like "black lives matter," "racism," and "white supremacy." The designers claimed these methods hampered money creation based on race and perspective, creating severe discrimination issues.

The Twist

The court struggle took an unusual turn when the content creators updated their lawsuit. They stated that during a meeting in September 2017, a Google employee admitted that YouTube's algorithm was biased. According to their claims, the algorithm discriminated against certain groups, such as LGBTQ+ people, African Americans, and other people of color or vulnerable minorities. This claim complicated the case further by potentially exposing a more significant systemic problem.

The Verdict

In the present, U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California has given his judgment. Judge Chhabria found in an 11-page judgment that even if the accusations in the artists' case were true, they would not establish that YouTube violated its community rules by practicing racial discrimination. While he accepted the possibility of biases in YouTube's algorithm, he concluded that the circumstances of this case lacked the requisite evidence to establish the accusation.

Exploring the Judge's Ruling

The judgment by Judge Chhabria also addressed the question of YouTube infringing on the First Amendment rights of content providers. He reaffirmed a legal precedent that the First Amendment's bar on censorship applies solely to government bodies, not commercial platforms such as YouTube. As a result, this aspect of the lawsuit was also dismissed.

Judge Chhabria did not dismiss the 2017 meeting and the purported confessions by a Google employee entirely. He recognized their existence but observed that they lacked specificity. The judge stated that the supposed confessions had nothing to do with the plaintiffs or their films, hinting they were not as powerful as claimed.

The Implications

The court's ruling has far-reaching ramifications for the continuing debate about digital platform content regulation and algorithmic biases. While YouTube came out on top in this instance, the debate over how algorithms affect content appearance and reach is far from over. The decision emphasizes the difficulty of showing discrimination inside algorithmic systems, particularly when evidence is not sufficiently specific.

The Final Curtain

The content creators are unable to modify their claims and re-file them because the case was dismissed with prejudice. This concludes a chapter in the continuous story of content filtering and algorithmic transparency. As the digital world evolves, concerns about how platforms handle content and maintain fairness to all users remain.

Finally, YouTube's legal win adds a new dimension to the continuing argument about content management and algorithmic biases. While this case is over, the wider discourse about online content regulation and algorithmic transparency continues to expand, ensuring that tech behemoths are held accountable in their attempts to create a fair and balanced digital economy.

Read next: Alarming New Research Says YouTube Continues To Track Kids Through Its Video Ads
by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World

Generative AI Is Growing Faster Than the Smartphone

ChatGPT’s startling rise to the top has been quite unexpected, but ever since it was released in November 2022, it has only become ever more prominent with all things having been considered and taken into account. ChatGPT and other generative AI like it are becoming some of the most popular tech products out there, and a recent report from InsiderIntelligence revealed that generative AI could have as many as 77.8 million users by November of 2024.

This will mark two years since the public launch of ChatGPT. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that no other new piece of tech has managed to gained this many years this quickly. If we take a look at ChatGPT alone, it reached 100 million users in just 2 months. The smartphone needed more than two years to reach the same threshold, which just goes to show how unprecedented ChatGPT’s growth rate has been so far.

As for tablets, they took 2 years to hit the 75 million user mark. That reveals that ChatGPT has outpaced two of the most consequential technological advancements in human history, and it will be interesting to see where its growth rate goes from here on out.

One thing that might be contributing to its dramatic rise is that you don’t need to buy any new hardware in order to be able to use it. All you need is a computer or a phone, and this decreases the barrier for entry by a large margin.

13.5% of the younger generations, namely Millennials and Gen Z, have already started using generative AI and ChatGPT on a regular basis. The influx of new users can create countless new opportunities for marketers who will be looking to capitalize on the latest trend. As Gen Z continues to grow, chances are that the usage of generative AI will skyrocket. We may be at the precipice of a paradigm shift on par with what happened with the internet, and it is occurring at a far more rapid pace with a tremendous growth rate.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Disabled Individuals Believe That Revolutionary Feature, Voice Control, Holds More Importance Than Siri, But Lacks Development

Voice Control, which disabled individuals greatly count on, also Apple’s accessibility feature, lacks in development when it comes to capability and accessibility, even though it is an imperative feature, a necessity, not just a complementary feature.

Disabled individuals have expressed their disappointment as Apple keeps pushing new updates for Siri. Yet, the accessibility feature they greatly depend on is neglected in terms of development, hindering them from accessing their Apple devices.

The accessibility feature, Voice Control, allows individuals who cannot use their hands — including blind and visually impaired individuals — to operate an iOS device (Apple Watch, Mac, iPad, or iPhone).

At the end of the previous year, Apple featured Voice Control in their video as an accessibility feature on their iPads and iPhones. Apple presented a quadriplegic man with the ability to use his iPhone to take pictures for him. The accessibility feature also allowed him to edit his pictures using gestures such as raising his brows and sticking his tongue out.

Voice Control existed long before Siri, but they developed them separately, even though many of their features overlap with each other. The issue stems from the fact that Siri keeps getting updated with better features, but Voice Control lacks behind.

Colin Huges, a campaigner of Paraplegic disability, came out with his personal experience with Voice Control and others. Huges stated that Siri may be handy for a majority of users but Voice Control is essential for some, claiming that people are reliant on voice tech for basically operating a smartphone or a computer.

He further stated that for an individual like himself, being given the feature to control and instruct his Apple devices just by using his voice can either significantly aid his day or impair his experience with them. He emphasized that voice dictation technology is not just a supplementary feature but a much-needed accessibility feature that allows him to navigate and access the outside world.

Apple has yet to fix the capitalization error that has bothered many users of the accessibility feature. Voice Control tends to ignore the capitalization during sentences even after adding them into the custom vocabulary, including the capital letters. An example of the bug would be Voice Control mistaking the star in the sky, the sun, for the British tabloid newspaper, ‘The Sun.’ Another example includes Voice Control incorrectly referring to the verb ‘will’ with ‘Will,’ which is a proper noun.

Ian Gilman, another user with a disability, reliant on Voice Control, stated that users could use Siri in any application. However, the accessibility feature does not allow editing in all of them.

Hughes expressed frustration regarding Apple’s disregard for updating Voice Control, claiming that the feature now lacks behind its competitor companies, such as Nuance’s Dragon Dictate and even Google.

Hughes revealed that he had a better-customized speech recognition experience with the Google Project Relate application on his Pixel device, which allowed him voice dictation with the highest accuracy he had ever seen on any smartphone, even after wearing a ventilator mask that was quite noisy.

Therefore, in order for Apple to be more inclusive and expand its accessibility to disabled people, they must dedicate more advanced and updated features to Voice Control to properly allow them to use their Apple devices with ease.

Read next: Apple’s iPhone 14 Becomes Top-Selling Smartphone Globally In Q2 2023
by Ahmed Naeem via Digital Information World

AI Will Disrupt Most Industries In The Near Future, Databricks CEO Boldly Confirms

For a while now, we’ve heard so much about how the world of AI will bring about change that most sectors aren’t prepared for. But the CEO for Databricks Ali Ghodsi has plenty to say on this subject.

Databricks is a leading AI firm that runs operations through data generated through cloud technology. And Ghodsi’s recently held sit-down interview has plenty of insightful pointers that we’ve brought forward for our users below.

We were once worried in the past that software might consume the world. And that was not a far-fetched theory because we do find software in every nook and corner as we speak.

From electric vehicles on the road to the fanciest computers and smartphones out there too, even your thermostat is created as a software variant. Moreover, all things being done are digitized and it’s running through software.

Every sector of the industry would soon be seeing software flourish. And they won’t be able to function without them. Even those that you couldn’t even imagine, retail and health sectors are also run by software.

But soon after that theory died down, another one took center stage. This time around, it was the viewpoint of Databrinks who claimed AI would be taking over the world as it would consume all software out there today. The logic was linked to the fact that AI is smarter than software and that is why it would rule the world.

Now the question is have you ever sat down and wondered why exactly AI works so well? When the data gets processed, and you put it inside AI, you make software super intelligent. This is one of the leading reasons why Databricks is a software and AI firm. And Generative AI has the tendency to disrupt software firms in existence today.

The models alter the way humans interact alongside machines and how the latter communicate with humans. Remember, each firm has the challenging task to figure out how it would put forward generative AI in software so that it’s smarter while interacting with humans. And that’s what Databricks does. They work to ensure firms can create AI protocols and process various types of company data.

Just several firms leveraged AI in an effective manner, a long time back. But several firms were involved and just a limited number of companies with certain use cases were taken into consideration like advertising sales and the Facebook app. Databricks feels every industry has winners and now, only those dealing with AI would be at the forefront.

Let’s not forget how Uber ended up causing a major shift in the cab industry that makes use of data alongside AI. The cab puts out estimated arrival times and predicted prices for trips that use AI technology.

Most people would take things like this for granted. But close to 15 years back, you wouldn’t be able to see the price or arrival times for a ride, before it arrived. Hence, people would just sit there and wait. In some situations, you wouldn’t even have the car arrive at all.

But as per this CEO’s main words, AI is the future and it will cause a stir-up very soon. We’re talking about the next five to ten years and they’re all going to have data as well as AI running in the back of all their systems.

And if you happen to be very illiterate in terms of both data and AI, you just might not have the right credentials that fit a particular job. Hence, that can have an issue.


Photo: David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World