Tech

Is this number a prime number? There is a game for that. – Texasnewstoday.com

Published

3 years ago

July 18, 2021

The Greek mathematician Euclid may have proved an infinite number of prime numbers around 300 BC. But recently, it was the British mathematician Christian Lawson Perfect who invented the computer game “Is this a prime number?”

Released five years ago, the game exceeded 3 million trials on July 16th. That is, after a surge of about 100,000 attempts in a Hacker News post, it reached 2,999,999 runs.

The purpose of this game is to classify as many numbers as possible into “prime” or “non-prime” in 60 seconds (Lawson-Perfect was first on the math blog The Aperiodical, where he is the founder and editor. As explained).

A prime number is an integer with exactly two divisors, 1 and itself.

“It’s very simple, but annoyingly difficult,” says Lawson Perfect, who works in the e-learning unit of Newcastle University’s Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics. He created the game in his spare time and proved useful at work. Lawson-Perfect creates e-assessment software (a system for assessing learning). “The system I create is designed to randomly generate math questions and receive answers from students, which automatically mark them and provide feedback,” he says. I will. “A prime game can be considered a kind of assessment” — he used it when conducting outreach sessions at school.

He made the game a bit easier with keyboard shortcuts (y and n keys click the corresponding yes-no button on the screen) to save mouse movement time.

Try it:

Prime number check algorithm

Prime numbers are practical in computing, such as error correction code and encryption. However, while prime factorization is difficult (and therefore its value in cryptography), prime factoring is easy, even in tricky cases. Fields Medal-winning German mathematician Alexander Grothendieck is notorious for mistaken 57 for a prime number (“Grotendique prime number”). Lawson-Perfect analyzed the game’s data and found that various numbers indicate a particular “Grothendieckyness”. 51 was most often mistaken for a prime number, followed by 57, 87, 91, 119, and 133. Lawson-Perfect’s nemesis (he also devised a convenient primality test service: https: //isthisprime.com/2).

The minimum algorithm for checking the prime numbers of numbers is trial division. Divide the number by all the numbers up to the square root (the product of two numbers greater than the square root is greater than the number in question).

However, this simple method is not very efficient and no other method has been devised over the centuries. As the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss observed in 1801, “even the most timeless calculator requires unbearable effort.”

The game-coded algorithm Lawson-Perfect is called the Miller-Rabin Primitiveness Test (which is very efficient, but based on the non-iron-walled 17th-century method “Fermat’s Little Theorem”. Masu). The Miller-Rabin test works surprisingly well. As far as Lawson Perfect is concerned, it’s “basically magic”. “I’m not sure how it works, but I’m sure we can take the time to dig deeper,” he says.

The test uses randomness, so it produces probabilistic results. That sometimes means that the test lies. “You may find a scammer who is a composite number that is about to pass as a prime number,” says Carl Pomerance, a mathematician and book co-author at Dartmouth College. Prime number: Computational point of view.. However, the test is “quite safe” because the chances of a scammer evading the clever checking mechanism of the algorithm are probably one trillionth.

But as far as clever primality testing algorithms are concerned, the Miller-Rabin test is “the tip of the iceberg,” Pomerance says. In particular, 19 years ago, three computer scientists, Manindra Agrawar, Nirajukayal, and Nightin Saxena, all announced the AKS prime number test at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (also based on Fermat’s method). Masu). The numbers are prime numbers, there is no randomization, and they are (at least theoretically) impressive speeds. Unfortunately, AKS testing isn’t useful for practical purposes because it’s not always fast in theory.

Informal world record

However, practicality is not always important. From time to time, Lawson-Perfect receives emails from people who want to share their high scores in the game. Recently, the player reported a prime number of 60 in 60 seconds, but the record is likely to be 127 (Lawson-Perfect does not track high scores. He is computer-aided to generate spikes in the data. In an attempt, I know there are some scammers.)

The 127 score was achieved by Ravi Fernando, a graduate student in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley. He posted the results in July 2020. This is still his personal best and he considers it an “unofficial world record”.

Fernando hasn’t played much of the game with default settings since last summer, but he tried customized settings, chose a larger number and allowed a longer time limit. He won 240 with a 5 minute limit. “This required a lot of guessing, as the numbers were in the high four-digit range and only memorized prime numbers were as low as 3,000,” he says. “I think some people still argue that it’s excessive.”

Fernando’s work is algebraic geometry and contains some prime numbers. But he states, “My research is more about why I quit the game than why I started it” (he got his PhD in 2014). Moreover, he thinks it will be very difficult to beat 127. “I feel right to stay on the record of prime numbers,” he said.

Is this number a prime number? There is a game for that.

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Tech

Ottawa orders TikTok’s Canadian arm to be dissolved

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.

“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.

The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.

However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”

Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.

A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.

“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.

“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”

The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.

At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.

A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”

Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.

Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.

Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.

Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.

While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.

Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.

The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

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Health

Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Tech

Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

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