Machine

Few humans could cope with this level of complexity - but machines can (Image: Unsplash)

AI

Software complexity is outpacing humans' ability to control it, Datadog warns

Will legacy homo sapiens lose control of its systems as AI agents take the reins and complexity spirals beyond the comprehension of our species?

Water shortages could be disastrous for chip manufacturing and the AI sector that depends on semiconductors produced in frighteningly few locations (Image: Unsplash)

Systemic Risk

El Niño is a "systemic shock" that could wreck semiconductor supply chains, the WEF warns

“Crises no longer arrive neatly or sequentially. They overlap, compound, and amplify one another.”

Bureaucracy-as-a-service: The grim, grey future of AI government

AI

Bureaucracy-as-a-service: The grim, grey future of AI government

From courts to call centres, AI is spreading across the public sector. We examine the UK government’s plans and the risks of an automated state.

The Silicon Age Collapse: Systemic risks that could derail digital civilization

Critical Systems

The Silicon Age Collapse: Systemic risks that could derail digital civilization

The first part of an ongoing series exploring threats that could trigger catastrophic cascading failures across the modern world.

"AI didn’t invent new classes of risk. It poured fuel onto existing ones."

Security

"AI didn’t invent new classes of risk. It poured fuel onto existing ones."

Dr Andrew Bolster sets out new security approaches that respond to the accelerating pace of AI-enabled software development.

Will "computer says no" moments become a thing of the past or are we stuck with them forever?

Internet

"Speak to human!" AI chatbot doom loops and the strange death of SaaS web apps

"Winners will need auditability, permissions, simulations, escalation paths and a harness that knows when to shut the machine up."

“We’re expanding in one area”: Salesforce reveals the only department still hiring humans

AI

“We’re expanding in one area”: Salesforce reveals the only department still hiring humans

Want a job at Salesforce? Then you'd better start sharpening up those non-automatable people skills...

The evolution of resilience: Driving AI innovation without increasing risk

AI

The evolution of resilience: Driving AI innovation without increasing risk

"Artifical intelligence is altering the threat landscape and unsettling long-held assumptions about security, governance, and resilience."

Russia is secretly waging a cyberwar against the UK, GCHQ chief claims

Cyberwar

Russia is secretly waging a cyberwar against the UK, GCHQ chief claims

Moscow-linked threat actors are allegedly targeting supply chains and critical infrastructure in undeclared hybrid warfare operations.

European Central Bank summons lenders to address AI security threat to banking infrastructure

Financial Systems

European Central Bank summons lenders over AI security threat to banking infrastructure

Financial chiefs rush to address the risk of automated exploits and accelerated cyber attacks following the release of Anthropic’s Mythos.

Subscribe to Machine

Breaking changes in critical systems

Latest

The worm is turning into something potentially much nastier after being forked on GitHub

The second coming of Shai-Hulud: Worm returns in massive supply chain campaign

“The scale and speed of the spread resemble some of the most disruptive supply chain incidents we have seen in recent years."

Outages at centralized crypto exchanges could have catastrophic global effects

Coinbase hit by cascading systems failure after "thermal event" in AWS data centre

Critical financial infrastructure went down for hours due to an overheating incident on a dreary spring evening in Virginia

Why AI and deterministic offensive security tools should be used together, not separately

Why AI and deterministic offensive security tools should be used together, not separately

"Practitioners do not experience their work as a choice between paradigms. They experience it as a sequence of problems."

Leep Ring review: A sleep-monitoring smart ring to rule them all?

Leep Ring review: A sleep-monitoring smart ring to rule them all?

"This is not a wearable trying to convince you it can transform your life through algorithmic enlightenment..."

Was fast16 designed to target Iranian weapons programmes? (Photo by Moslem Daneshzadeh on Unsplash)

fast16 exposed: Cyber sabotage malware first teased in NSA leaks could be older than Stuxnet

"This forces a re‑evaluation of the timeline for serious nation-state covert cyber sabotage operations".

The UK faces a growing cyber threat as hostile states level up and AI reshapes the threat landscape

Nation-state actors now behind majority of serious UK incidents, NCSC security chief warns

" Intelligence and military agencies are displaying an eye-watering level of sophistication in their cyber operations."

Government security leaders are still sharing sensitive information on WhatsApp

Government security leaders are still sharing sensitive information on WhatsApp

"Consumer applications were never designed to protect confidentiality or meet the demands of high-security environments."

In an interconnected world, financial system shocks can be fast, contagious and catastrophic

Bank of England warns of risks lurking in “opaque and hidden corners” of the financial system

"Shocks can arrive with little warning and the vulnerabilities that preceded past crises have not disappeared, but re-emerged elsewhere."

Just like real humans, AI agents need to be given the right guidance on their way to adulthood

"AI agents are like cyborg teenagers": How to responsibly raise autonomous models

"Without appropriate rules and boundaries in place, agentic AI will be left to run riot, with speed and independence spiralling into risk."

Worried about Mythos and the AI apocalypse? Don't panic: The UK government has written a letter

Worried about Mythos and the AI apocalypse? Don't panic: The UK government has written a letter

Westminster responds to a new Anthropic model that's been (over)hyped as an omen of imminent cybersecurity doom.

File picture of warships from the UK and Oman taking part in joint exercises (Image: UK MOD © Crown copyright 2022)

Ex-Lord Mayor “alarmed” over government's response to Atlantic undersea cable risks

"Was this the first meeting that senior ministers have had with senior industry figures?"

The bigger picture: TCL on how all-day screentime is reshaping display tech

The bigger picture: TCL on how all-day screentime is reshaping display tech

Why manufacturers are moving beyond spec races to tackle real-world problems like eye strain.

See all