Good Morning! Epic Games scored a major legal victory over Google's monopolistic Play Store policies, while the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT seems to be acting lazy, taking an imagined "winter break" according to some users. At the same time, Atlassian has integrated new AI capabilities across its cloud platform to enhance team productivity.

— Forrest Knight & Meghanadh Vasireddy

Epic Monopoly WIN Over Google Play

A federal jury has ruled that Google's Play Store for Android apps violates antitrust laws, deciding in favor of game developer Epic Games in a high-profile lawsuit.

The unanimous verdict found that Google has an illegal monopoly in Android app distribution and in-app payment processing markets. The jury agreed that Google engaged in anticompetitive conduct to quash competition and charge app developers high fees of up to 30%.

Specifically, they decided Google unlawfully ties its Play Store to its Play Billing system for in-app purchases. They also found Google's special revenue-sharing deals with device makers and large developers to be anticompetitive. These deals allegedly kept rival app stores at a disadvantage.

Epic Games sued Google in 2020 after its popular Fortnite game was removed from the Play Store. Epic had introduced a direct payment option in the game to bypass Google's fees, leading to its removal for policy violations.

This ruling marks a major defeat for Google's tight control over the Play Store ecosystem. However, Google stated it will appeal the verdict, saying Android provides openness and choice unavailable on platforms like Apple's iOS.

The trial revealed internal communications showing Google executives were concerned about Epic launching its own app store. Experts say the decision could fundamentally impact app distribution and economics across the mobile industry if upheld on appeal.

While Epic wasn't seeking monetary damages, it wants the court to compel Google to open up Android devices to alternative app stores and payment systems. The judge will hold hearings in January on potential remedies before issuing injunctions against Google.

This ruling contrasts Epic's largely unsuccessful lawsuit against Apple's restrictions over its iOS App Store. Google argues its Play Store gives consumers safer app choices than iOS. However, this jury disagreed that Google's strict policies only serve users and developers.

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ChatGPT Getting "Lazy" - Is It Taking a Winter Break?

Users of the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT have recently noticed some strange behavior - the bot seems to be getting "lazier," refusing to perform certain tasks or providing simplified responses. ChatGPT's creators at OpenAI have acknowledged the issues but don't have an explanation.

Now a new hypothesis is circulating to potentially explain why: ChatGPT could be acting like it's on winter break. Since the bot's system prompt includes the current date, some theorize it may have learned from its training data that people tend to wind down in December, pushing off big projects until the New Year.

While unproven, researchers are taking the "winter break" theory somewhat seriously given ChatGPT's demonstrated ability to respond to human-style motivation techniques - telling it to "take a deep breath" or that you'll give it a tip, for example. Preliminary tests feeding the bot May vs. December dates yielded mixed results.

It could also be that ChatGPT has always varied its effort levels randomly and people are only just noticing "lazy" responses due to increased attention. Or OpenAI may be experimenting with ways to conserve computational resources. The company maintains the laziness came as a surprise.

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Atlassian Adds AI Capabilities Across its Cloud Platform

Atlassian recently announced the general availability of the first wave of Atlassian Intelligence, its suite of AI-powered capabilities now integrated across Jira, Confluence, and its broader cloud platform.

As Atlassian outlined in a blog post, the goal is to enhance team productivity through AI. The new Atlassian Intelligence features allow individuals to be more efficient in their daily work while also revealing insights from organizational data to inform better decisions.

On the individual side, there is now generative AI directly built into the editors of products like Jira and Confluence. For example, the AI can help instantly draft user stories for software tickets or modify the tone of a customer response. Other personal productivity enhancers include AI-powered summarization to quickly condense long content and automation based on natural language commands.

For data insights, Atlassian launched natural language search features to make it easier to construct complex queries and get answers from the knowledge base. This includes the ability to ask questions in plain English about things like project status, company workflows, and IT components. There are also new interfaces to translate questions into structured query languages to uncover analytics.

As Atlassian's head of product for intelligence stated, the goal is to create an environment where humans and AI can collaborate seamlessly. The AI is meant to handle rote tasks while empowering people to focus on higher judgement and creative challenges.

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Lazarus Hackers Still Exploiting Log4Shell to Deploy New Malware

Two years after the critical Log4Shell vulnerability was first disclosed, threat actors are still finding ways to exploit it. North Korean state-sponsored hacking group Lazarus has recently been observed using Log4Shell to gain initial access to target networks and deploy three new remote access trojans (RATs) written in the uncommon D programming language.

This latest campaign, dubbed "Operation Blacksmith" by researchers, has involved attacks against manufacturing, agriculture, and physical security firms since March 2023. The attacks start by compromising internet-facing VMware Horizon servers still vulnerable to Log4Shell, a severe flaw in the ubiquitous Log4j Java logging library. Despite the vulnerability being patched long ago, 38% of applications still use affected Log4j versions.

After exploiting Log4Shell for entry, Lazarus drops custom tools for persistent access, reconnaissance, and credential theft. They then install three novel D language RATs: NineRAT, which uses Telegram for command and control; DLRAT, a downloader and backdoor; and BottomLoader, a simple downloader. The rare choice of language likely aims to avoid detection.

By shifting to new tactics like novel malware development, Lazarus continues demonstrating the adaptability that makes it such an advanced and concerning threat actor. The continued success of Log4Shell exploitation also highlights the critical need for organizations to inventory external-facing systems and ensure proper patching of public services to prevent intrusions.

Though Lazarus typically focuses on cyberespionage, their tools and access could serve other North Korean hackers conducting disruptive cyber attacks. So persistent exposure to a 2020 vulnerability remains a relevant threat, allowing Lazarus and other adversaries to gain footholds in vulnerable networks even now.

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Youtube Spotlight

AI can do your homework. Now what?

This YouTube video explores how AI language models like ChatGPT are impacting education, with many students using them to generate content for assignments. It discusses the challenges for teachers in detecting AI-written work and preventing misuse while also recognizing these tools' potential benefits. The video analyzes different examples of how students utilize ChatGPT, from helpful to clearly cheating, and references studies showing that despite preferring passive learning, students gain more from struggling through material. Ultimately, it argues that rather than banning AI, students should cultivate self-regulation to get the most out of AI tools while still building their own understanding, though this places a significant expectation on young students already navigating an uncertain future with developing brains.

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