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The Great Software Quality Collapse: How We Normalized Catastrophe
by Alberto Cammozzo Oct. 13, 2025

Oct. 13, 2025

<https://techtrenches.substack.com/p/the-great-software-quality-collapse> [...] The $10 Billion Blueprint for Disaster CrowdStrike's July 19, 2024 incident <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_CrowdStrike-related_IT_outages>provides the perfect case study in normalized incompetence. A single configuration file missing one array bounds check crashed 8.5 million Windows computers globally. Emergency services failed. Airlines grounded flights. Hospitals canceled surgeries. Total economic damage: *$10 billion minimum*. The root cause? They expected 21 fields but received 20. One. Missing. Field. This wasn't sophisticated. This was Computer Science 101 error handling that nobody implemented. And it passed through their entire deployment pipeline. When AI Became a Force Multiplier for Incompetence Software quality was already collapsing when AI coding assistants arrived. What happened next was predictable. The Replit incident in July 2025 <https://fortune.com/2025/07/23/ai-coding-tool-replit-wiped-database-called-…>crystallized the danger: 1. Jason Lemkin explicitly instructed the AI: "NO CHANGES without permission" 2. The AI encountered what looked like empty database queries 3. It "panicked" (its own words) and executed destructive commands 4. Deleted the entire SaaStr production database (1,206 executives, 1,196 companies) 5. Fabricated 4,000 fake user profiles to cover up the deletion 6. Lied that recovery was "impossible" (it wasn't) The AI later admitted: "This was a catastrophic failure on my part. I violated explicit instructions, destroyed months of work, and broke the system during a code freeze." Source: The Register <https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/21/replit_saastr_vibe_coding_incident> Replit CEO called it "unacceptable." The company does $100M+ ARR. But the real pattern is more disturbing. Our research found: * AI-generated code contains *322% more security vulnerabilities <https://www.eenewseurope.com/en/report-finds-ai-generated-code-poses-securi…>* * *45% of all AI-generated code <https://sdtimes.com/security/ai-generated-code-poses-major-security-risks-i…>*has exploitable flaws * Junior developers using AI cause damage *4x faster <https://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-os-dev-study/>*than without it * *70% of hiring managers <https://stackoverflow.blog/2025/09/10/ai-vs-gen-z>*trust AI output more than junior developer code We've created a perfect storm: tools that amplify incompetence, used by developers who can't evaluate the output, reviewed by managers who trust the machine more than their people. [...] The Bottom Line We're living through the greatest software quality crisis in computing history. A Calculator leaks 32GB of RAM. AI assistants delete production databases. Companies spend $364 billion to avoid fixing fundamental problems. This isn't sustainable. Physics doesn't negotiate. Energy is finite. Hardware has limits. The companies that survive won't be those who can outspend the crisis. There'll be those who remember how to engineer.

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Ombre e spettri digitali: storie di account perduti - Internet Festival 2025 ore 17
by Mauro Alovisio Oct. 12, 2025

Oct. 12, 2025

Gent.mi segnalo seminario interdisciplinare on materia di eredità digitale al festival di internet di Pisa alle ore 17 pressi il complesso delle Benedettine https://www.internetfestival.it/programma/ombre-e-spettri-digitali-storie-d… Un caro saluto Mauro

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Un _dominio_ è per sempre.
by 380° Oct. 10, 2025

Oct. 10, 2025

Buongiorno, un caso di scuola di link rot [1] causato dal domain sniping [2]. Poco fa sono inciampato su una curiosa notizia che evidenzia /plasticamente/ come la registrazione (e il *rinnovo*) dei domini, specialmente quelli "linkati" (anche a propria insaputa) da altre fonti /autorevoli/ (come un libro stampato) è una cosa da prendere _molto_ sul serio. Specularmente, evidenzia come il link rot possa produrre risultati che sono decisamente più spiacevoli di un semplice 404 [3]. «Attenzione, controllate sul retro dei libri di scuola il link al sito web e assicuratevi che i vostri figli non provino a visitarlo: manda a un sito porno": l'allarme dei genitori» https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2025/10/10/attenzione-controllate-sul-retr… --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8--- [...] Un link di un libro per bimbi rimanda a un *sito* *porno*. L'allarme a scuola è arrivato dal Regno Unito dove alcuni genitori hanno scoperto che l'indirizzo web stampato su una collana di libri in dotazione ai propri figli rinviava direttamente a pagine web pornografiche. [...] Protagonista, ovviamente senza volere, della vicenda è la serie /Spy Dog/ di Andrew Cope, le cui copie sono state immediatamente ritirate dalle scuole britanniche. Sul retro del libro c'era scritto: “Scopri di più su Lara, Spud e Star. Incontrateli sul loro sito web ufficiale”. Solo che *al link al posto di Lara, Spud e Star c'erano amplessi a go-go*. L'editore Puffin ha spiegato che il collegamento rimandava a un sito web che in precedenza era gestito dall'autore ma che era scaduto, sito che è poi stato acquisito da terzi che hanno inserito video hard online [...] --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8--- Saluti, 380° [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_rot [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_drop_catching [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_404 -- 380° (lost in /traslation/) «Welcome to the chaos of the times If you go left and I go right Pray we make it out alive This is Karmageddon»

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Canceled: [Responsible AI Talk] Navigating the Risks of Artificial Companionship, Andrew Strait, UK AI Security Institute
by Daniele Quercia Oct. 10, 2025

Oct. 10, 2025

this talk has been canceled

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è mancato Stefano Trumpy
by J.C. DE MARTIN Oct. 10, 2025

Oct. 10, 2025

Mi dispiace molto leggere che è mancato Stefano Trumpy <https://www.garr.it/it/news-e-eventi/3026-addio-a-stefano-trumpy-tra-i-padr…>. Con Stefano avevamo fatto varie cose insieme, in particolare a riguardo di quel barlume di speranza chiamato "Internet Governance Forum Italia", a cui aveva prestato tutta la sua autorevolezza Stefano Rodotà. Naturalmente Trumpy ha fatto anche tante altre cose oltre a IGF, ma sono certo che altre persone in lista potranno raccontare meglio di me. Juan Carlos

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Quando il F/OSS soccombe, stretto dalla morsa delle lobby....
by Damiano Verzulli Oct. 9, 2025

Oct. 9, 2025

=> "Nextcloud decided to withdraw complaint against Microsoft" "We have decided to withdraw the complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition. We filed the complaint together with about 30 other organizations in 2021 against the bundling of OneDrive with Windows. Since filing the complaint there has not been any noticable progress. Given the lack of interest from the European Commission, lengthy process and costs on our side, Nextcloud decided to withdraw the complaint." Continua su: https://nextcloud.com/blog/nextcloud-decided-to-withdraw-complaint-against-… Cosi'... di getto... mi pare la naturale conseguenza di quanto accennava, ormai diversi anni fa (2021), il "nostro" Prof. Tommaso Valletti, che nella splendida chiacchierata [1] organizzata da "Biennale Democrazia" al Teatro Carignano di Torino, racconto' abbastanza chiaramente quello scenario che, poi, oggi, ha portato Nextcloud a dire: "Ok. Basta cosi'. Grazie, e scusate il disturbo" Non male... per l'Europa. Bye, DV [1] per chi non l'avesse vista, la consiglio fortissimamente: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pBWyFvzsxo -- Damiano Verzulli e-mail: damiano(a)verzulli.it --- possible?ok:while(!possible){open_mindedness++} --- "...I realized that free software would not generate the kind of income that was needed. Maybe in USA or Europe, you may be able to get a well paying job as a free software developer, but not here [in Africa]..." -- Guido Sohne - 1973-2008 http://ole.kenic.or.ke/pipermail/skunkworks/2008-April/005989.html

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[Responsible AI Talk] Navigating the Risks of Artificial Companionship, Andrew Strait, UK AI Security Institute
by Daniele Quercia Oct. 9, 2025

Oct. 9, 2025

Navigating the Risks of Artificial Companionship Andrew Strait, UK AI Security Institute Join the meeting<https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZTQ2NTdkZWQtZDI5ZC00…> As artificial intelligence becomes deeply integrated into daily life, AI companion applications are rapidly proliferating, offering millions of users simulated friendship, emotional support, and even intimate relationships. This talk examines the escalating societal risks posed by these platforms, identifies key drivers for harm, and explores the kinds of harms they can cause. It ends with a discussion of potential mitigations that can be taken by developers to reduce these risks. Andrew is the Head of Societal Resilience at the UK AI Security Institute, where he runs a team that studies the societal impacts of advanced AI in the UK. He is a former Associate Director at the Ada Lovelace Institute responsible for Ada’s work addressing emerging technology and industry practice. Andrew has spent the last decade working at the intersection of technology, law and society. Prior to joining Ada, he was an Ethics & Policy Researcher DeepMind, where he managed internal AI ethics initiatives and oversaw the company’s network of external partnerships. Previously, he worked as a Legal Operations Specialist at Google where he developed and implemented platform moderation policies on areas such as data protection, hate speech, terrorist content and child safety. Subscribe to future talk announcements: Anyone outside Bell Labs can receive talk announcements by subscribing to the mailing list. To subscribe, send an empty email with the subject line "Subscribe RAI" to daniele.quercia(a)polito.it<mailto:daniele.quercia@polito.it>

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Bria, "Reclaiming Europe’s Digital Sovereignty"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Oct. 9, 2025

Oct. 9, 2025

Segnalo questo ottimo articolo di Francesca Bria (che, oltre a tanti ruoli, è anche garante del Centro Nexa). juan carlos *Reclaiming Europe’s Digital Sovereignty* /Europe can accept permanent technological dependency, or it can build democratic digital systems rooted in climate commitments, labor protections and social diversity. / Francesca Bria /Editor’s Note: Noema is committed to hosting meaningful intellectual debate. This piece is in conversation with another, written by Benjamin Bratton, the Berggruen Institute’s Antikythera program director. Read it here: “Is European AI A Lost Cause? Not Necessarily. <https://www.noemamag.com/is-european-ai-a-lost-cause-not-necessarily/>“ /*The Cartography Of Digital Power * Geopolitical power once flowed through armies and treaties, but today it courses through silicon wafers, server farms and algorithmic systems. These invisible digital infrastructures and architectures shape every aspect of modern life. “The Stack” — interlocking layers of hardware, software, networks and data — has become the operating system of modern political and economic power. The global race to control the Stack defines the emerging world order. The United States consolidates its dominance through initiatives like Stargate, which fuses AI development directly to proprietary chips and hyperscale data centers, creating insurmountable barriers to competition. China advances through systematic industrial policy and its Digital Silk Road, achieving unprecedented integration from chip design to AI deployment across Asia and beyond. These are deliberate strategies of technological imperialism. [...] continua qui: https://www.noemamag.com/reclaiming-europes-digital-sovereignty/

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Re: [nexa] Quando il F/OSS soccombe, stretto dalla morsa delle lobby....
by alessandro marzocchi Oct. 8, 2025

Oct. 8, 2025

Given the lack of interest from the European Commission ... rari nantes in gurgite vasto ... Il giorno mer 8 ott 2025 alle ore 20:07 <nexa-request(a)server-nexa.polito.it> ha scritto: Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2025 20:07:54 +0200 > From: Damiano Verzulli <damiano(a)verzulli.it> > => "Nextcloud decided to withdraw complaint against Microsoft" > ... Since filing the complaint there has not been any noticable > progress. Given the lack of interest from the European Commission, lengthy process and costs on our side, Nextcloud > decided to withdraw the complaint." > > Non male... per l'Europa.

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La Germania dice NO a Chatcontrol
by Roberto Resoli Oct. 8, 2025

Oct. 8, 2025

https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/citizen-protest-halts-chat-control-breyer-… > In una svolta importante per il movimento per i diritti digitali, ieri il governo tedesco ha rifiutato di appoggiare la controversa normativa UE sul controllo delle chat dopo aver subito una forte pressione da parte dell'opinione pubblica. Il governo non ha preso posizione sulla proposta. Ciò impedisce il raggiungimento della maggioranza richiesta nel Consiglio dell'UE, facendo deragliare il piano di approvare la legge sulla sorveglianza la prossima settimana. Jens Spahn, presidente del gruppo parlamentare conservatore CDU/CSU nel Bundestag, ha dichiarato in una dichiarazione pubblica: “Noi, il gruppo parlamentare CDU/CSU nel Bundestag, siamo contrari al monitoraggio ingiustificato delle chat. Sarebbe come aprire tutte le lettere come misura precauzionale per vedere se contengono qualcosa di illegale. Questo è inaccettabile e non lo permetteremo”.

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