The gulf is not the place to build the world's AI infrastructure
In May, the Trump administration green-lit one of the most consequential technology investments of the decade: the construction of massive artificial intelligence data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. These facilities, funded by gulf sovereign wealth and built with U.S. technology, are projected to host some of the largest and most powerful computing clusters in the world — critical infrastructure for training and deploying advanced AI models.
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8 minutes ago
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Paycom raises 2025 revenue and profit forecasts on AI-driven demand
(Reuters) -Payroll processor Paycom Software raised its forecast for annual revenue and profit on Wednesday, as the addition of AI features helps accelerate demand for its employee management services, sending its shares up 7% in extended trading. The company now expects fiscal 2025 revenue of $2.05 billion to $2.06 billion, up from its previous projection of $2.02 billion to $2.04 billion. Analysts on average expect $2.03 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Paycom has been integrating artificial intelligence features into its software with its 'smart AI' suite that automates tasks such as writing job descriptions and helps employers identify which employees are most at risk of leaving. This has boosted demand for Paycom's services as businesses look to simplify workforce management functions. "We are well positioned to extend our product lead and eclipse the industry with even greater AI and automation," CEO Chad Richison said in a statement. Paycom expects 2025 core profit in the range of $872 million to $882 million, up from previous expectations of $843 million to $858 million. The payroll processor reported revenue of $483.6 million for the second quarter ended June 30, beating analysts' estimate of $472 million. Adjusted core profit was $198.3 million, compared to $159.7 million in the same period last year. Paycom's expectation of strong growth comes despite a sharp deterioration in U.S. labor market conditions. U.S. employment growth was weaker than expected in July, while the nonfarm payrolls count for the prior two months was revised down by 258,000 jobs, according to a Labor Department report. Sign in to access your portfolio
New York Post
9 minutes ago
- New York Post
NYC district attorneys will get $17M in new funding to beef up staffing, investigations: Adams
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CNET
9 minutes ago
- CNET
Researchers Seize Control of Smart Homes With Malicious Gemini AI Prompts
Recent reports and demonstrations from the Black Hat computer-security conference have shown how outside Gemini AI prompts -- dubbed promptware -- could fool the AI and force it to control Google Home-connected smart devices. That's an issue for Google, which has been working to add Gemini features to its Google Home app and replace Google Assistant with the new AI helper. The secret to these serious vulnerabilities is how Gemini is designed to respond to basic commands in English. Demonstrations show how a prompt sneakily added to an inserted Google Calendar invite will be read by Gemini the same way it scans other Google app data, such as when it is summarizing emails. But in this case, the addition gives Gemini a very specific order, like creating an agent to control everyday devices from Google Home. The Tel Aviv University researchers, including Ben Nassi, Stav Cohen and Or Yair, have created their own website that showcases their report, "Invitation is All You Need." It includes videos showing how the right Gemini prompts could be used to open windows, turn off lights, turn on a boiler, or geolocate the current user. As the Invitation is All You Need research shows, a detailed prompt can be hidden in an innocuous Calendar invite title or similar spot. These commands can make Gemini create a hidden agent and wait for a common response (like saying "thank you" in an email) to trigger certain actions. Even if your calendar controls are tight, some of these promptware attacks could be performed through other things that Gemini scans, such as an email subject line. Other demonstrations showed how similar commands could lead to spam messages, deleted events, automatic Zoom streaming and more unpleasant tricks. Should you worry about your Google Home devices? Google told CNET they have introduced multiple fixes to address the promptware vulnerabilities since the researchers provided Google with their report in February 2015. That's the point of the Black Hat conferences -- to uncover problems before real cybercriminals seize them, and get the fixes in fast. Andy Wen, senior director of security product management at Google Workspace, told CNET, "We fixed this issue before it could be exploited thanks to the great work and responsible disclosure by Ben Nassi and team. Their research helped us better understand novel attack pathways, and accelerated our work to deploy new, cutting edge defenses which are now in place protecting users." If you're still concerned, you can disable Gemini entirely in most cases. As I've covered before as CNET's home security editor, smart home hacking is very rare and very difficult with today's latest security measures. But as these new generative AIs get added to smart homes (the slowly rolling out Alexa Plus and eventual Siri AI upgrades included), there's a chance they could bring new vulnerabilities with them. Now, we're seeing how that actually works, and I'd like these AI features to get another security pass, ASAP.
