Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 8h

“benefits of advanced robotic capabilities .. to outweigh their associated risks in many contexts .. explore how the combination of AGI with robots that feature high mobility & dexterous manipulation could introduce significant systemic vulnerabilities.” www.rand.org/pubs/perspec...

Averting a Robot Catastrophe

If current trends in robotics and AI continue, they could create a new systemic vulnerability to U.S. national security—if not humanity as a whole. How might policymakers mitigate this?

www.rand.org

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Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 9h

“The coasts of Delaware, southern New Jersey and the Virginia Tidewater, a low-lying area of eastern Virginia named for the tidal rivers that flow through it, are especially susceptible.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/u... @nytimes.com

Storm Smacking the East Coast Will Bring Days of Heavy Rain and Wind

www.nytimes.com

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 12h

“Welcome to the era of fakery. The widespread use of instant video generators like Sora will bring an end to visuals as proof.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/t...

A.I. Video Generators Are Now So Good You Can No Longer Trust Your Eyes

www.nytimes.com

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Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 12h

“A life-sized holographic police officer has been installed in central Seoul in a bid to deter crime.” www.bbc.com/news/videos/...

What do South Koreans think about Seoul's hologram cop?

A life-sized holographic police officer has been installed in central Seoul in a bid to deter crime. The BBC took to the streets to ask people if they think it’ll work.

www.bbc.com

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Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 12h

“They reveal that military power is not merely a function of advanced platforms, but of the mundane logistics that sustain the nation that supports them.” www.aspistrategist.org.au/without-supp...

Without supply chain resilience, Australian defence is brittle | The Strategist

Australia’s most advanced military capabilities are fundamentally tethered to the resilience of its most basic civilian supply chains. For decades, Australia’s national prosperity and security have be...

www.aspistrategist.org.au

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 12h

“Qantas data .. stolen from a Salesforce database in a major cyber-attack in June, included customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates & frequent flyer numbers. It did not contain credit card details, financial information or passport details.” www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Hackers leak Qantas data containing 5 million customer records after ransom deadline passes

Hacker collective Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters demanded payment in return for preventing the stolen data of nearly 40 companies from being shared

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Christina Ayiotis

Capital Weather Gang @capitalweather.bsky.social · 17h

The surf is up to the dunes in Bethany Beach (left) -- thanks to this developing Nor'easter offshore. Same deal in Rehoboth (right).
Coastal flood warnings and high wind warnings in effect for the Atlantic coast into Monday.
More at cwg.live

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Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 19h

“ ‘Tron: Ares’ -- which stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee and Evan Peters -- tells of mankind's first encounter with artificial intelligence in the real world. Experts and industry press said it cost $180 million to make.” f24.my/BUiI

'Tron: Ares' wins N. America box office, but disappoints at $33.5 mn

"Tron: Ares," the latest installment in the Disney sci-fi franchise, debuted atop the North American box office, industry estimates showed Sunday, but analysts said its $33.5 million haul was disappoi...

f24.my

Reposted by Christina Ayiotis

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 19h

At least four people were killed and four others were critically injured after a shooting on Sunday at a bar on St. Helena, an island off the coast of South Carolina, according to the authorities.

South Carolina Bar Shooting Leaves at Least 4 Dead, Sheriff Says

Four people were in critical condition after an early-morning shooting that left 12 other people injured on Sunday in St. Helena, S.C., according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

nyti.ms

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Reposted by Christina Ayiotis

Capital Weather Gang @capitalweather.bsky.social · 20h

Cloudy, but breezy weather to dominate into early afternoon. Maybe some light showers or spits of rain later today but shouldn't amount to much. Winds could gust up to 30 mph this afternoon.

Forecast details at cwg.live

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Reposted by Christina Ayiotis

Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 21h

New York and New England will get whipped by strong winds and heavy rain Sunday as a massive coastal storm rakes the East Coast from South Carolina northward.

New York, East Coast Face Coastal Floods and High Winds Sunday

New York and New England will get whipped by strong winds and heavy rain Sunday as a massive coastal storm rakes the East Coast from South Carolina northward.

bloom.bg

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Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 21h

“Don’t take sleep for granted because it ‘helps the brain get rid of toxins,’ he added.” www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...

Aging plus inflammation can lead to ‘inflammaging.’ What to know about it.

This “chronic, smoldering low-grade infllammation,” as one researcher described it, is associated with many health issues.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 22h

“The Brennan Center aims to help industry leaders, policy advocates, and groups uniquely affected by AI keep up with the legislative landscape.” www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 23h

“Being ‘up’ or ‘down’ is irrelevant when your systems are locked & business halted. What matters is #Resilience: the engineered ability to absorb damage, fail gracefully & restore from immutable backups. Availability is binary; resilience is survival.” www.csoonline.com/article/4070...

The CIA triad is dead — stop using a Cold War relic to fight 21st century threats

CISOs stuck on CIA must accept reality: The world has shifted, and our cybersecurity models must shift, too. We need a model that is layered, contextual, and built for survival.

www.csoonline.com

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 23h

“Cyber criminals released data from millions of Qantas frequent flyers onto the dark web after demands for ransom were not met. The Australian government is sticking to its position of not negotiating with hackers.” www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10... @abcnewsbot.bsky.social

Government holds firm on not paying ransom to hackers

The federal government is sticking to its position of not negotiating with cyber criminals, despite hackers releasing personal data from millions of Qantas customers onto the dark web and threatening ...

www.abc.net.au

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 23h

“In August, Renaissance Macro Research estimated, to date in 2025 .. dollar value contributed to GDP growth by AI data-center buildout had surpassed US consumer spending for the 1st time ever. That’s remarkable considering consumer spending is 2/3 of GDP.” fortune.com/2025/10/07/d... @fortune.com

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 1d

“long-awaited coastal storm .. approaching from the south & delivers higher rain odds tomorrow — but generally light showers. Some rain & wind .. into Monday as the storm makes its closest approach offshore .. should improve Tuesday & especially Wednesday” www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025...

CWG Live updates: Windy Sunday and Monday with periodic showers and light rain

A coastal storm may not offer a lot of rain but does keep us cloudy and cool

www.washingtonpost.com

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 1d

“As artificial intelligences become further involved in the way we live, their tendencies and attitudes will have great influence. Controlling what the AI is inclined, allowed or encouraged to do could mean controlling flows of information, money and more.” www.bbc.com/future/artic...

An AI became a crypto millionaire. Now it's fighting to become a person

In the past year, an AI made millions in cryptocurrency. It's written the gospel of its own pseudo-religion and counts tech billionaires among its devotees. Now it wants legal rights.

www.bbc.com

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 1d

On World Mental Health Day!

“SAMHSA is responsible for overseeing the new 988 suicide prevention hotline. It also gives out billions in grants for mental health and addiction services.”
www.npr.org/sections/sho... @npr.org

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Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 1d

"A survey conducted by Moody’s, the credit rating, research, and risk analysis firm, finds that cybersecurity remains a high priority for insurers and asset managers worldwide." www.reinsurancene.ws/insurers-and...

Insurers and asset managers strengthen cybersecurity oversight and expand budgets: Moody’s - Reinsurance News

A survey conducted by Moody’s, the credit rating, research, and risk analysis firm, finds that cybersecurity remains a high priority for insurers and

www.reinsurancene.ws

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 1d

“Experts are warning that we aren’t ready for what’s coming. “

open.substack.com/pub/judgesch...

College Game Day!

Experts are warning that we aren’t ready for what’s coming.

open.substack.com

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 1d

“In collaboration with researchers at the AI Security Institute and Anthropic, we today publish the largest investigation of data poisoning yet conducted, finding that LLMs may be more vulnerable than previously thought.” www.turing.ac.uk/blog/llms-ma...

LLMs may be more vulnerable to data poisoning than we thought

A Turing collaboration with the AI Security Institute and Anthropic will help to protect AI models from misuse

www.turing.ac.uk

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Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 1d

“Messy weather is headed for New York City and New Jersey, with up to three inches of rain possible. Power failures and road closures are possible with this storm, forecasters said.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/w... @nytimes.com

A Strong Coastal Storm Is Set to Slam the East Coast With Flooding

www.nytimes.com

Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 1d

“The same malicious prompts used to jailbreak chatbots could soon be used to jailbreak A.I. agents, producing unintended behavior in the real world.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/o... @nytimes.com

Opinion | The A.I. Prompt That Could End the World

www.nytimes.com

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Christina Ayiotis @christinaayiotis.bsky.social · 1d

“While the price tag varies widely, a year’s worth of child care for an infant costs more than in-state college tuition in most of the country, and more than rent in 17 states, according to a January report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.” www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Women are taking pay cuts as companies mandate return to office

Researchers are identifying several key factors behind why gender pay gap – which had narrowed steadily over the years – has suddenly widened.

www.washingtonpost.com

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