Latest news with #Creeper
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Science
- Hindustan Times
What does the world's first AI worm mean for you?
The Creeper program is generally considered the world's first computer virus. Born as an experiment in 1971, it infected computers and slowed operations to a crawl. Reaper was the world's first antivirus, designed to destroy it. The battle has waged on ever since. There was the Brain virus from 1986, which spread through floppy disks and flashed alarming messages of infection on home computers (while also slowing them down). Then came the Morris Worm, a self-replicating program created at Cornell University, as part of an unofficial experiment, in 1988. It swept the world, slowing computers down to such a degree that a single email could take days to send. Fast-forward to 2024, and a new beast has emerged, from a joint experiment conducted by Cornell, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the software company Intuit. Named Morris II, it is being called the world's first generative AI worm. The self-replicating bug has shown the ability to spread rapidly through AI-powered email, and target generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini. The way it creeps around is quite sinister. It essentially hides, somewhat like a shadow, in common chatbot and AI assistant prompts. When this prompt is issued by a generative AI model, and accepted by a user, it triggers a shadow instruction alongside. The shadow prompt may instruct the AI program to hand over data, alter code, or help the worm itself replicate. Additionally, any time such a prompt is used to create an email or other such output, the worm spreads seamlessly to every recipient of that content. Morris II isn't out there prowling yet. Researchers Ben Nassi, Stav Cohen and Ron Bitton created it in a controlled environment for the same reason many of their predecessors did this: to highlight levels of risk, and raise an alarm. The really alarming thing, this time around, is that the worm may wreak its damage invisibly, without the user ever knowing it was there. It could also potentially 'learn' as it goes, finding new ways to infiltrate systems, and evade detection. In a report released in April, cyber-security company Check Point Software has already noted that AI-driven malware could exploit vulnerabilities in real time, making traditional signature-based antivirus tools nearly obsolete. This cat-and-mouse game isn't new. Traditional worms such as WannaCry, the ransomware that first appeared in 2017, cost billions in damages across hospitals, banks and governments, in this way. But AI raises the stakes Track and shield Unsurprisingly, security firms are already racing to harness AI to outsmart AI. Amid this race, consultancy firm McKinsey estimates that cybersecurity solutions, which companies around the world spent about $150 billion on in 2021, could soon be a market worth as much as $2 trillion. Among the weapons emerging on the good side, in this battle, are virtual private networks or VPNs. In addition to anonymising a user's web-browsing data and providing a layer of security for information sent and received, companies such as ExpressVPN, Proton and Nord are evolving to offer clients solutions that will protect not just smartphones and computing devices but also smart TVs, appliances and home systems. ExpressVPN, for instance, rolled out an 'AI shield' late last year that uses artificial intelligence to predict and neutralise zero-day exploits (which is when a new bug or vulnerability in a system is exploited, in the hours before it is fixed). Traditional antivirus companies are responding to the shifting landscape too. Market leaders such as McAfee and Norton are working to provide advanced AI-led protection against AI-led threats, with a special focus on text messages, phone calls, email and web browser use. We aren't at the point of dos and don'ts yet. It is still unclear what the threats may look like. But watch this space. It will pay to know all you can. Because this time, it may not even take a click from you to change your world.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A Minecraft Movie underwhelms critics in first reviews
A Minecraft Movie has left reviewers underwhelmed, with film critics complaining that the video game adaptation lacks storyline. Starring Jack Black, Jason Momoa and Jennifer Coolidge, it's set to delight young fans with an unlikely tale of humans stepping into the pixelated, blocky world of Minecraft through a hidden portal – but reviewers so far have proved a little more difficult to impress. While some were surprised that it was better than expected, the majority of reviews called out the movie for being too shallow and silly, with some even claiming it goes against the premise of the Minecraft game. Read more: How Minecraft became a cultural phenomenon bound for Hollywood Is the Minecraft movie a musical? Cast share Jack Black's best moments What to expect from A Minecraft Movie Some reviewers were pretty damning in their criticism of the movie, as The Telegraph's Robbie Collin wrote: "Based on the 300-million-selling video game, it doesn't come even remotely close to working out how to turn its source material into the stuff of, or even backdrop for, an engaging feature-length with a monetisable fanbase that big, who cares about storytelling? Just show these chumps the blocks they paid to see!" Clarisse Loughrey at The Independent was equally unimpressed: "There's a through line, buried in here somewhere, about how it's harder to be creative, easier to destroy. Unfortunately, A Minecraft Movie proves its own point. Creativity took too much effort. Easier to destroy the spirit of the video game instead." ComingSoon's Jonathan Sim felt that it lacked substance: "How do you turn a sandbox video game with no real narrative into a movie? I have no idea, and clearly, Hollywood didn't either. In the grand tradition of video game adaptations that barely try, A Minecraft Movie crashes onto the big screen with all the subtlety of a Creeper sneaking up behind you. It's loud, it's bright, it's dumb, and it knows it. "But while the film might be a colorful, action-packed spectacle for young kids and die-hard Minecraft fans, anyone hoping for a well-crafted adventure will be left digging for something—anything—of substance." Other critics were a little more forgiving – they admitted that there was plenty that didn't work and that the whole concept was a challenge to make work, but did enjoy parts of it. Variety's Owen Gleiberman said that "the challenge of making a movie out of Minecraft is: How do you create a story we have a stake in if the whole point of the world is simply to hang out in it?" He added that "the story is something that's been grafted onto the world, and that we don't have much of a dramatic stake in it — that it's just the film's way of cobbling together something that 'works'. (Which, in its way, is very Minecraft.)". Gleiberman also said that director Jared Hess (best known for Napoleon Dynamite) is "a genial camp satirist who knows how to invest not taking anything seriously with a flaked-out conviction. A Minecraft Movie never stops goofing on itself, and that's appealing." Meanwhile, The Guardian's Catherine Bray praised the cast as she wrote: "It's a shame the film as a whole doesn't work quite as well as its standout performances, with a tendency to ping pong along from scrape to scrape with little sense that it would matter much if you rearranged the various monster attacks or obstacles to be overcome in a different order. A little more craft on the storytelling side could have elevated this to something special a la Dungeons and Dragons from 2023, but it's an enjoyable if hectic experience nonetheless." Others had some backhanded compliments for A Minecraft Movie as they admitted to liking it more than they had expected to. Ian Sandwell wrote for Digital Spy: "Will it satisfy every fan complaint if it's not their ideal version of Minecraft? Probably not. But Hess and his impressive cast have built an entertaining and often silly family outing that's better than you expected." He added: "There are nits to be picked and you could have a horrible time with it, or you could just let its silliness wash over you and have a fun time." Devindra Hardawar at Engadget wrote: "It turns out A Minecraft Movie is actually good. Honestly, I'm as surprised as you are." A Minecraft Movie is released in cinemas on 4 April.
