Day: December 11, 2024

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FCC threatens to block spammy VOIP services

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2553377/fcc-threatens-to-block-spammy-voip-services.html

I can’t go a week without someone illegally calling me about a small business loan or car insurance, and despite coming from a local phone number, I’m fairly certain they aren’t from around here.

Such spammers are usually using Voice over IP (VOIP) to fake phone numbers, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is as fed up as the rest of us. It’s threatening to shut down thousands of VOIP services.

In a press release issued yesterday, the FCC says 2,411 of these providers “failed to properly file in the Robocall Mitigation database, and must now show cause why they should not be removed.” In other words, these VOIP companies are lightning rods for spammers using their services to spread illegal calls, and they’ve ignored federally mandated action to stop spammers from pestering and scamming Americans.

The FCC’s authority over conventional phone calls is basically absolute, and this action was taken in partnership with attorneys general from every US state and Washington DC. If you’re a company providing call service, whether over standard networks or Voice over IP, you have to comply with the STIR/SHAKEN protocol for caller ID verification and you have to send the FCC a robocall mitigation plan. The FCC alleges that these companies have failed on both counts and missed multiple deadlines for compliance checks.

The press release also outlines new proposed rules to create stricter fines for fake or outdated info in the call provider database, among other administrative actions. Given the typical timeframe for new rule implementation, it seems unlikely that they’ll be put in place before the second Trump administration affects its own business-friendly changes to the federal agency.

Even if the FCC had 10 times its current capability, it couldn’t completely stop spam calls, especially since most of them originate from other countries where its jurisdiction is limited. But making it harder for spammers to use US-based services is an effective deterrent, if only because it makes trivially easy robocall campaigns that much harder.

At the very least, shutting down domestic businesses that profit off the scummiest of practices — annoying and scamming their fellow Americans — seems like the right thing to do.

Further reading: The FCC takes aim at broadband data caps

via PCWorld https://www.pcworld.com

December 11, 2024 at 10:25AM

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Gemini 2.0 Wants to Help You Dominate Video Games or Look Up Tips in Real-Time

https://www.droid-life.com/2024/12/11/gemini-2-0-wants-to-help-you-dominate-video-games-or-look-up-tips-in-real-time/

Alongside Google’s Gemini 2.0 announcement and that impressive Project Astra demo, Google showed off an idea they have for video games and how someone could use Gemini as an assistant for help as they play. I’m not talking about using AI to play for you, but instead having AI there to remind you of things, help you with strategy, or to potentially look up information that could help as you play.

Google says it is collaborating with game developers to figure out ways that they could utilize Gemini. Games like “Clash of Clans” and “Hay Day” were used in a demo where a virtual assistant is essentially watching as the game is played to take in info and be ready for requests.

In one example in this demo, a player asks Gemini as they play to identify quests they need to complete for the day and then remind them later to do so. In another demo example, a gamer asks for help building out the proper troop setup in “Clash” to go on an attack, with Gemini attempting to describe the best way to do that with a breakdown of their reasoning for the composition. One user also asked Gemini to look up the current “meta” and tell them about the best characters that everyone is using. Gemini returned with a response they found on reddit for which character to play.

While some of those ideas would probably only be useful when you are first starting out a game and learning how to play it, it’s that Reddit example that sticks out to me as being super helpful at any moment. Google says that these AI virtual gaming companions can tap into Google Search, which is where the Reddit info came from. I could have used this yesterday when my kid, who has recently taken up playing Fortnite and wants me to play with him, was wondering where we could find a new item location in the game to complete quests. I had to stop playing and actively look it up to then relay the info. If I could have accessed a virtual game companion at that moment through my headset, this all would have been so much easier and not risk getting eliminated.

I’d imagine Google has other plans beyond these few examples and I’m sure you can come up with your own. Here’s to hoping that AI remains as an informational tool when it comes to games and not much else.

// Google

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December 11, 2024 at 11:59AM