Report Shows Many Teens in the US Own VR Goggles But They are Not Much Interested in Using them

Reviews of Apple’s Vision Pro are kind of mixed with some users not satisfied with its huge price which is $3500 and more. Many people say they are loving this new tech device but are not completely sure how and why they should use this product. There are also other high tech goggles that are less expensive and have a number of features that engage the users like playing games. But people are still not satisfied with those goggles too as they have some of their own problems.

If we talk about sales of Meta’s headset called Quest which is not as costly as Apple’s Vision Pro, it has sold over 20 million of them as of 2023. These headsets are also less expensive, starting at the price of $500. But there are some reasons why people are not fond of using them. According to a survey by Piper Sandler, teenagers are that group of people who don't think of using headsets or tech goggles that much. In this technology driven age, teens should be the people who are into these kinds of tech devices but they don't like putting on headsets even if they already own one.

The survey also tells that 33% of the teens own a VR headset. But 56% of them do not use it as much as it is expected from them. Two years ago, this percentage of teens was 48% in the US. The survey also says that the respondents of the survey (6020 US teens with average age of 16.1) say that they are thinking of spending $225 on video games in the first half of 2024. So, VR or AR companies should look for attracting teens to spend the money on their headsets for playing games instead of playing them on their mobiles or some other console.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Public Chat Servers On The Rise As Alarming Reports Suggest Discord Chats Are Being Sold

If you happen to be using Discord as your go-to texting platform then this next piece of news is for you.

New reports are highlighting how you shouldn’t be trusting texting apps such as these that end up transforming your chats into something ephemeral. And that’s very true when you take into consideration a host of public servers that has the capability of tracking nearly 600 million people across 14k servers.

As per 404 Media, Spy Pet is one such service that is infamously selling users access to another platform featuring close to 3 billion Discord texts. They end up offering data credits to various clients who pay using Bitcoin, crypto, and Ethereum. Moreover, searching individuals will even unveil which servers their respective accounts are linked to such as GitHub.

Spy Pet has gone as far as to list nearly 86,000 more servers that entail zero bots but the fact that it exists is enough understanding for many to take a step back and reconsider its privacy and security.

As mentioned by the expert, Discord fails to generate texts through server channels like blog posts or even feeds on social media. It’s easier to access them publicly and search for them. However, it would not be wrong to add how plenty of bans do continually exist and the threat of your messages being handled and accessed by bots is scary, to say the least.

Private texts cannot be seen on Spy Pet and therefore remain secure till today. Moreover, Spy Pet is asking people more about training models linked to the AI domain or even federal agents in search of newer sources including widespread intel.

This is designed to make sure contacts for deals remain in place but users are getting very weary about the whole scenario every since this report has come out. As mentioned by 404 Media, pressing on links such as Request Removal would end up showing clips featuring entertainment figures who laugh at the mere thought of making advanced payments right before a sudden comment like ‘Are you serious’ pops up.

Users making use of Spy Pet could also be reassured that all searches being carried out on the device are more than safe and confidential and provide random names of users.

Here is where the author finds all public Discord chats he ever rolled out into the tab for research or for the sake of reporting in that particular server list of Spy Pet. Moreover, those who failed to pay for access to their texts could only witness benign elements that are faced by the public such as stickers, charted members, and even emojis with time.

Such indications being in the easy reach of Spy Pet misusing it is very concerning for obvious reasons and the new warning coming into play has people talking.

Image: Alexander Shatov / Unsplash

Read next: Pakistan Blocks Social Media Platform X for National Security
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Pakistan Blocks Social Media Platform X for National Security

In February, Pakistan blocked access to social media platform X, previously known as Twitter. The block was attributed to national security concerns. The interior ministry stated that the platform was inaccessible to users, but officials initially did not acknowledge any restrictions. Users had reported problems since mid February, and both the government and Pakistan telecommunication Authority (PTA) remained silent.

However, the Ministry of Interior recently confirmed the shutdown in a court submission, attributing it to X's failure to comply with lawful directives and address concerns regarding platform misuse. The ministry asserted that the ban was imposed to uphold national security, maintain public order, and preserve the nation's integrity. It also claimed that X was reluctant to resolve the issues.

In its reply, MoI cites the controversial 2021 social media rules stating that Twitter had not registered in Pakistan, nor signed an MoU to abide by local laws.

Which it claims made is “necessary” to ban X to “compel the platform”. pic.twitter.com/XEpUZSazXX

— Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) April 17, 2024

Activists challenging the ban argued that it aimed to suppress dissent following the February 8 general elections, which faced widespread allegations of vote rigging and protests. The decision to block X came after considering confidential reports from Pakistan's intelligence and security agencies, citing hostile elements on the platform with intentions to destabilize the country.

The Sindh high court ordered the government to restore access to X within a week, following a challenge against the ban. Access to X has been sporadic, with users resorting to virtual private networks due to intermittent availability. Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI), led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, is a prominent user of social media platforms. Khan himself has a significant following on X.

In conclusion, Pakistan's decision to block social media platform X reflects concerns over national security and the platform's perceived role in fostering instability. Despite legal challenges, access to X remains restricted, prompting users to seek alternative means to access the platform.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Analysis of 200 Million Papers by Turnitin Shows that Many Students are Using AI tools to write their Papers
by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World

Analysis of 200 Million Papers by Turnitin Shows that Many Students are Using AI tools to write their Papers

Turnitin used its new AI detector to check 200 million papers and it was revealed that most of the students had used Large Language Models (LLMs) to write the papers. About 11% which makes about 22 million papers had used 20% of AI written content. About 3% or 6 million papers had 80% AI written content. The chief product officer of Turnitin, Annie Chechitelli, says that technology is quickly incorporating itself in the education field and it is crucial for learning too. But most of the students in education are looking for ways to use technology for their own advantage and to perform better than everyone else.

From the past year, AI has slowly spreading its claws all over the world and now every other person is familiar with the use of AI and how they can benefit from it. Students are also using AI to write their papers and assignments but these kinds of practices are making students think less. Many of the AI tools like ChatGPT are being used by students daily to complete their work quickly. Tyton Partners conducted the survey to find out how many students use AI tools to write their papers and if they will continue using it even if their educational institutions ban them. 75% of the students said that they are not going to stop using AI even if their educational institutions ban the use of AI for students.

• Also read: ChatGPT Might Be Kinder and More Cooperative Than Humans, New Study Reveals

The amount of AI writing in papers prove that students are continuously using AI so educational authorities should impose some rules about use of AI. They should also talk with students to let them know what kind of use of AI is acceptable and which kind of AI usage is not acceptable in educational settings.

Image: AIgen

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

ChatGPT Might Be Kinder and More Cooperative Than Humans, New Study Reveals

According to a new study that was released in PNAS, ChatGPT may very well be at the very least somewhat more altruistic as well as cooperative than human beings. The Large Language Model using chatbot created by OpenAI is essentially programmed to be as respectful and polite as possible at all times, and on top of all of that there are also guidelines inhibiting it from producing any harmful or offensive materials.

It is important to note that there are certain scenarios that can result in these guidelines being circumvented in some way, shape or form. In order to ascertain how it behaved, the researchers that wrote this paper put ChatGPT through a series of behavioral tests. These were meant to gauge its trust, aversion to risk, capacity for fairness, level of cooperativeness and more. The tests were also meant to determine which of the Big Five personality traits it adhered to most accurately.

The API versions of ChatGPT 3.5 Turbo and Chat GPT 4 were used in the tests, along with the web versions of this AI. They compared the responses to those from over 19,700 individuals from a database that was publicly available, as well as responses from over 88,500 people who were in the database of the MobLab Classroom platform for experiments of an economic nature.

The Dictator Game was used to ascertain the level of altruism each version of ChatGPT showed. The Ultimatum game determined whether it was spiteful or fair, the Trust Game also measured altruism as well as its ability to reciprocate, with risk aversion being tested through the Bomb Risk Game.

Several other tests were used as well, but at the end of the day, they showed that ChatGPT’s responses to the Big Five were more or less the same as what humans said. What's more is that ChatGPT showed less neuroticism than humans, although it bears mentioning that all versions were more averse to new experiences than humans tended to be all in all.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Best AI Image Generators to Try in 2024
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Google Employees Take Massive Stand Against Company’s Billion-Dollar Cloud Computing Contract With Israel

Workers at Google are no longer taking the silent route when it comes to protests against the firm’s decision to establish greater working relations with Israel.

The news comes after the search engine giant opted to sign a $1.2 billion contract that would ensure Israelis attain undisrupted cloud computing services.

But the massive sit-in featuring hundreds of employees overtaking the organization’s offices in several locations including California and New York City has stunned the masses.

This particular sit-in was rolled out by a top activist group dubbed No Tech for Apartheid and is currently arising in Sunnyvale as we speak.

Image: Notechforapartheid / IG

The move is a massive display of how things have gone from bad to worse in such a short period and it’s resulting in a great escalation of protests and showing how people are feeling about top US firms displaying sympathy for Israel that’s committing crimes including genocide.

The fact that more than hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians have passed away during this period and the country’s defense forces vowing to never put an end to the ordeal is massively concerning for obvious reasons.

One of the firm’s top cloud engineers was also shown the door abruptly for opting to disrupt the company’s MD in Israel during a conference and that led to a widespread wave of backlash around the globe.

Just a few hours into the mass sit-in, many were quick to mention how workers could trespass and even disrupt operations, causing several individuals to leave, and then so many others continued to stay until being forced to exit by security.

But experts claim the message here is loud and clear and that is Google’s role in empowering Israel will no longer be accepted silently. The fact that the curtain has been unveiled over the firm’s Project Nimbus serving as a direct link of support for the IDF is concerning. And now this has really brought to light how strong of a coalition there is between the two.

We similarly saw No Tech for Apartheid roll out a single open letter that featured close to 18 other top firms that demanded tech giants Amazon and Google to cancel contracts and all work related to Project Nimbus. During that moment in time, it attained close to 93k signatories from the public. Additionally, the letter cited more reports about how the Israeli defense forces made use of Google Photos to better capture and identify Palestinians across the West Bank.

For now, Google has yet to generate a response for comments across media outlet WIRED. Let’s not forget how close to 600 individuals rolled out a petition that opposed the firm for sponsoring the entire conference. A few days later, Google’s engineer was fired and its trust and safety worker resigned to oppose the act.

So as you can see, people are sacrificing their jobs at such a prestigious organization because they feel they’ve had and seen enough of the outrageously violent ordeals taking center stage.

On the other hand, it’s interesting to see nearly 300 workers from top tech giant Apple roll out an open letter that showed how they were ready to openly oppose anyone not showing open support for Palestinians in Gaza. They are similarly urging the firm’s leadership to speak up on the matter that is in a dire outcry for displaying public support for those who have lost their voice in the region.

Read next: This Study Shows the Political Risks of Facebook Blocking News
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

This Study Shows the Political Risks of Facebook Blocking News

After Canada ordered Facebook to start paying news organizations if their news was posted onto the platform, the Meta owned social media juggernaut elected to stop showing news to Canadian users entirely. As a result of the fact that this is the case, a right wing meme page by the name of Canada Proud ended up receiving an influx of new users. According to the owner of the page, engagement is at an all time high, and this highlights just one of the many risks associated with a news ban.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Australia is going to be the next country to mandate such rules. Such a thing might be dangerous because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up leading to Facebook blocking news access on its platform to even more people than might have been the case otherwise.

Two studies that were revealed by Reuters showed that the lack of official news sources on Facebook could lead to detrimental changes in the manner in which the platform ends up getting used. The founding director of the McGill Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, Taylor Owen, was the author of one of these studies, and he has stated that instead of news, people are consuming memes. This can lead to the spread of misinformation as well as result in an increased amount of political polarization with all things having been considered and taken into account.

• Also read: How Much Money Do You Need to Be Wealthy in America?

At this current point in time, anyone that shares news on Facebook in Canada will see a box stating that due to Canadian legislation, this content can no longer be shared. With the state of California and the UK also set to pass similar measures, only time will tell whether or not Facebook will be able to stop misinformation. A spokesman for the company has said that certain internal measures are being taken, but they have failed thus far and may not be able to stem the rapid spread of fake news.

Image: DIW-AIgen

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World