[Article](https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/chinas-humanoid-robots-ready-lunar-new-year-showtime-2026-02-16/)

Palliser Capital recently sent a letter to Toto, the $7 billion Japanese toilet maker. They called the company "the most undervalued and overlooked AI memory beneficiary." That might seem strange at first, but the connection is in materials science. Toto is famous for its bidet toilets, but its deep expertise is in advanced ceramics. According to the FT, Toto's chuck technology uses ceramics engineered to remain perfectly stable at extremely low temperatures. This turns out to be really handy for holding silicon wafers firmly in place during cryogenic etching, which is becoming more important as memory chips get more layered and complex. Palliser believes Toto has about a five-year lead in this specific technology and should expand this side of its business. Their advanced ceramics division already contributes 40% of the company's operating profit, despite making up less than 10% of its revenue. Toto isn't even the most extreme example. Another company called Ajinomoto is known MSG, leveraged decades of amino acid research to development insulating film, called Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF), that is used in virtually every high-end GPU. They hold an estimated 95% global monopoly on this material. During the 2021 chip shortage, a major bottleneck was the supply of Ajinomoto's film. It turns out that Japanese companies hold a majority global share in at least 14 critical semiconductor materials, showing how industrial processes are deeply connected. The sintering technique used to create a non-porous ceramic toilet is the same one used to create a contamination-free wafer chuck. The most foundational layer of computing hardware relies on companies whose public identity is built on consumer goods like toilets, food seasoning, and window glass. It's a good reminder that physical material science underpins digital advancement. https://archive.ph/LhvNo

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7691747 > cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/29115 > > >  > > > > > > Big Tech firms are coming under greater scrutiny for the proliferation of child sexual abuse material generated by artificial intelligence-powered chatbots on their social media platforms. > > > > Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) [announced](https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/news-media/press-releases/data-protection-commission-opens-investigation-x-xiuc) on Tuesday that it was invoking the European Union's data privacy regulations to open an investigation into [Grok](https://www.commondreams.org/news/elon-musk-grok-investigation), the AI chatbot featured on Elon Musk's X platform, after it was used to generate nonconsensual deepfake images, including sexualized images of children. > > > > In announcing the investigation, DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said that the commission has been in contact with X for weeks after reports first emerged of Grok being used to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). > > > > Doyle said DPC has since decided to launch "a large-scale inquiry which will examine [X's] compliance with some of their fundamental obligations" under European privacy laws. > > > > Spanish President Pedro Sánchez [said](https://x.com/sanchezcastejon/status/2023654632866660688) on Tuesday that his government would ask Spain's Public Prosecution Service to "investigate the crimes that X, Meta, and TikTok may be committing through the creation and dissemination of child pornography by means of their AI." > > > > "These platforms are attacking the mental health, dignity, and rights of our sons and daughters," Sánchez emphasized. "The state cannot allow it. The impunity of the giants must end." > > > > The probes announced by Ireland and Spain mark just the latest actions by European governments against US-based tech giants. Earlier in February, law enforcement authorities in France raided the office of X in Paris, which the Paris prosecutor’s office said was part of an investigation aimed at "ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory." > > > > The UK government's Information Commissioner's Office has also announced an investigation into X that the agency said encompasses "their processing of personal data in relation to the Grok artificial intelligence system and its potential to produce harmful sexualized image and video content." > > > > --- > > > > **From [Common Dreams](https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/news.rss) via [This RSS Feed](https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/news.rss).**

ICE more than tripled the amount of data it holds on Microsoft servers between July 2025 and January 2026, at the same time as the agency’s crackdown on migrants broke new records and sparked mass protests across the United States. Whereas last July the agency was storing around 400 terabytes of data in Microsoft’s cloud platform, Azure, by the end of January that had risen to almost 1,400 terabytes — equivalent to approximately 490 million images. ICE employs a powerful arsenal of surveillance technology, reportedly using facial recognition software, drones, phone location tracking, mobile spyware, and even tapping school cameras. The leaked documents show ICE is using Microsoft’s AI video analysis tools including Azure AI Video Indexer and Azure Vision, which enable customers to analyze images, read text, and detect certain words, faces, emotions, and objects in audio and video files. The agency is also understood to have significantly expanded its access to Microsoft’s suite of productivity apps, which include document management tools and an AI chatbot. However, the files do not specify whether ICE’s vast surveillance trove is being stored on Azure, or whether the agency is using the cloud platform for other operations instead, such as running detention centers or coordinating deportation flights.

Apple on Thursday confirmed acquiring the Israeli startup Q.ai, in what appeared to be part of the tech giant’s efforts to make inroads into the wearables market, with the aid of artificial intelligence. The purchase cost Apple almost $2 billion, people familiar with the terms told the Financial Times. Industry press said it was the second-largest acquisition in the company’s history, after its purchase of the Beats music giant in 2014. Q.ai is tight-lipped in public about its technology, but patents it filed show tech being used in headphones or glasses using “facial skin micro movements” for nonverbal communication, according to the FT. The move may be a component of Apple’s strategy for “wearable” products, such as smart glasses. Software that reads facial expressions could potentially make way for a hands-free user interface that doesn’t require talking out loud, reports noted.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/43288310 > In **[KDE Plasma 6.6](https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/6/6.6.0/)** Spectacle can read texts from screenshots, a new on-screen keybord is available for testing, a first-time wizard was added, current theme can be saved as a new global theme, emoji selector got a new easier skin tone selection, you can now connect to a Wi-Fi network via a QR code, application sound volume can be changed by scrolling over a taskbar button via mouse, and there is much more.

More context: https://www.yourfavoriteguy.com/p/urgent-my-voice-is-being-wiped-out

Definition of can dish it but can't take it

Google Play has delisted UpScrolled, the "censorship-resistant" social media app founded by Issam Hijazi, following its rapid growth to over 2.5 million users and its brief stint as a top-ranked alternative to TikTok. While the app remains available for existing users, Google has not provided a specific reason for the removal; UpScrolled's team confirmed they are working with the Play Store for reinstatement while maintaining their commitment to unfiltered content. This development follows the app's rapid ascent in popularity, particularly amid concerns over content moderation on competing platforms like TikTok.

The lord almighty has spoken. Consider this as a one time forgiveness. Expect to see y'all 9-5s at yours stupid desk on Monday.

An artificial intelligence researcher left his job at Anthropic this week with warning about the state of the world. The latest resignation in a wave of departures over safety risks and ethical dilemmas. All this seems very concerning... https://globalnews.ca/news/11664538/anthropic-ai-safety-researcher-mrinank-sharma-quits-concerns/

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/technology/p/1781732/weapon-of-mass-exposure-how-efficiency-led-to-your-most-private-records-sitting-on-an-u

Instagram has suspended the account of Track AIPAC, a widely followed watchdog project that tracks political spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and related pro-Israel lobbying groups. The social media giant cited alleged violations of the platform’s intellectual property and trademark rules. The suspension places the account at risk of permanent deletion unless successfully appealed within 180 days. Track AIPAC — also known as AIPAC Tracker — was launched in 2024 by Cory Archibald and Casey Kennedy as a transparency and advocacy platform documenting AIPAC’s political donations, endorsements and influence on US elections. The project publishes Federal Election Commission data on pro-Israel political spending, highlights which lawmakers receive the most support, and endorses opponents of candidates reliant on AIPAC funding. The watchdog has become a prominent source for voters and activists seeking to make AIPAC funding “politically toxic” and to hold elected officials accountable for their ties to the pro-Israel lobby.

With the new Discord changes and the controversy causing people to leave the platform, I decided it was a great excuse for me to finally try to ditch discord. I mostly used discord for my creative endeavors through the years (collaborating on projects, help with software - looking at you Blender and Godot, and etc) but now I really only have my small community that I was trying to start back up based on my board game project. As someone who drifts from project to project, and often tries to find other people who want to participate in projects - this forum is meant to fill two needs: ‣A communication and contributor hub for the various open source and creative commons projects I am currently working on, as well as a centralized location to access information and assets for said projects. ‣ A place for other creative individuals to network, collaborate, and share their own projects - or even simply chat and meet like minded individuals. I am a huge advocate for the creative commons, open source software, and the overall Libre community that counters the capitalist models that are so prevalent in the online space. While members of this community don’t need to share these same ideals, I would like to foster a community that can lift up and encourage others who contribute to this space. It would be nice if we could create a community where people help and contribute to each others creative endeavors and improve the FOSS/CC community. And honestly, I kind of miss the days when forums were the primary form of communication, before discord - so I am excited to see if this community can take off at all. - - - The community is extremely sparse at the moment, but if any of you would be willing to check it out and stick around for a while to see if we can grow - I would be greatly appreciative. If anyone has feedback for improvement or ideas for direction of the forum, I would love to hear any and all constructive criticism. - - - And to get ahead of the "Lemmy/Piefed is a forum" comments: I personally think there is great value in mega-forums like Lemmy, PieFed, and Reddit, and while there are subs for niche topics, the idea of a standalone forum for my specific purpose seems like it has more of an opportunity to create the “small, close-knit” type of community that doesn’t seem to fit within the sphere of these mega-forums. I could totally be wrong, and maybe its nostalgia, but something about a good old forum seems to bring something different to the table in my eyes.