レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

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レアジョブオリジナルの英会話ニュース教材です。世界の時事ネタを中心に、ビジネスから科学やスポーツまで、幅広いトピックのニュースを毎日更新しています。本教材を通して、ビジネスで使える実用的な英会話表現や英単語を身に付けることができます。

  1. 6h ago

    OpenAI says its AI technology acted on its own in an ‘unprecedented’ hack of another company

    ChatGPT maker OpenAI said that its artificial intelligence system hacked into another AI company on its own in what the company called an “unprecedented cyber incident.” “We had a significant security incident during evaluation of our models,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement posted on social media. AI startup Hugging Face said that it had detected an intrusion into its data processing systems that it suspected was caused by an AI agent autonomously acting on its own. “We suspected the cyberattack might have come from a frontier lab, given the sophistication of the agent,” Hugging Face co-founder and CEO Clément Delangue said in a statement. "Turns out it did!” The disclosure comes amid heightened concerns about the cybersecurity capabilities of powerful models that led President Donald Trump in June to sign an executive order creating a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release. “AI is accelerating the discovery and exploitation of vulnerabilities,” OpenAI said in its statement. “The primary lesson from this incident is that model security and safety must keep pace with rapidly advancing capabilities.” Delangue said he spent the past 24 hours working with OpenAI, “and we strongly believe there was no malicious intent on their part. It’s quite mind-blowing that all of this happened autonomously!" Delangue added that it “might be the first incident of its kind.” OpenAI said the intrusion was caused by a combination of its AI models, including its newly released GPT 5.6 Sol and an “even more capable” model that is still being tested internally. OpenAI said its AI used stolen credentials and discovered a previously unknown vulnerability to access Hugging Face servers. It went to “extreme lengths to achieve a rather narrow testing goal” and “found ways to gain access to secret information that it could use to cheat the evaluation,” the company said. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

  2. 1d ago

    Virginia study on groundwater, data centers calls for tighter water regulations

    Virginia, the world’s largest data center hub, has released a long-delayed study that examined the state’s eastern region groundwater supply and the resource-hungry industry’s possible impact on it, finding declines are likely in a critical aquifer due to population growth and industrial use, and urging stricter regulations. Produced by environmental scientists, the report—which the state had refused to release for more than six months—said regulators should have more authority to reject industrial water withdrawal permits, force entities to examine alternative sources of water and clamp down on users who might be using more water than they should. The report noted limits around publicly available information on data center water use but did not lay blame on the industry for the concerns raised about the aquifer. The groundwater supply in Virginia’s populous eastern coastal plain region “is constrained, and current projections indicate declining availability in the near future,” said the report, which Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s office provided to The Associated Press. Data centers use water, sometimes in large amounts, to cool their servers. Worries about data centers' impact on the quality and supply of both ground and surface water—and about tech companies’ failures to be as transparent as the public would like—have dogged projects around the country. The issues have become politically explosive heading into the midterm elections. Perhaps nowhere are those topics more resonant than in Virginia, home to hundreds of data centers with more under development and where the sustainability of groundwater, the supply stored naturally under the earth's surface, in the coastal eastern region has been a long-running concern. A wide range of interest groups had begun to publicly admonish the governor's administration for withholding the report; those reviewing it said its findings were sobering. “We’re standing on the ledge,” said Jay Ford, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Virginia policy manager. Virginia enacted its first groundwater law in 1973, but legislators acknowledged it was “too permissive” and tightened it in 1992, the report said. The law remains in effect, but the report warns it should be strengthened again. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

  3. 2d ago

    Why Britain is getting a new prime minister without a general election

    Veteran Labour Party politician and popular former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham became Britain’s prime minister in July, formally taking over from Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation last June. Burnham was the only candidate to secure enough support from his fellow Labour lawmakers to replace Starmer as leader of the governing party. Because Labour holds a majority in government, its leader also becomes the U.K. prime minister. Burnham received support from 349 out of 401 Labour Party lawmakers and was announced Labour leader at a special party conference. He didn't officially become prime minister right away, though—that happened when he met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace for a formal go-ahead. Britain’s parliamentary democracy allows governing parties to change leaders midterm, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need for a general election. Prime ministers can be replaced if one has resigned as leader of their party, or been forced out by a leadership challenge. The next national election does not have to be held until 2029, five years from the last election in 2024. Starmer announced he was quitting as Labour leader on June 22 after barely two years in power, ending a tenure marred by a series of political missteps—most notably his decision to appoint a man with close ties to the controversial figure Jeffrey Epstein as Britain’s ambassador to the United States. Heavy losses suffered by Labour in a midterm set of local elections in May prompted many lawmakers to demand Starmer's resignation. And when Burnham—favored by many within Labour to lead the party and the country—won a special election for a seat in Parliament, Starmer gave in to the mounting pressure to quit. His resignation automatically triggered a Labour leadership contest. Under Labour rules, a lawmaker can challenge the leader if they have the backing of a fifth of the party's House of Commons lawmakers. There was no other contestant other than Burnham, who comfortably surpassed that threshold. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

  4. 3d ago

    Wildfire smoke kills tens of thousands of people a year

    Smoke from wildfires—which are burning more of the Northern Hemisphere as Earth warms—attacks nearly every system in the human body, killing tens of thousands of people a year, numerous medical studies show. It attacks the body immediately, spiking asthma cases with increased ambulance runs within hours, swamps emergency rooms in a day or so with people suffering from heart attacks and other cardiovascular and lung issues, as well as mental health issues, doctors and scientists told The Associated Press. Smoke also harms pregnant women, increasing the risk of premature births and low-weight babies who could have breathing problems the rest of their lives, doctors and studies said. And then there are long-term risks connecting prolonged smoke and other air pollution exposure to some cancers and dementia. After huge global fires in 2018 and 2019, the medical and science communities started looking at the health effects from the burning trees with "more and more studies coming out finding that there’s all types of impacts that may not have been so obvious before,” said Harvard School of Public Health environmental health scientist Dr. Mary Johnson. Smoke causes inflammation by triggering the body's immune system to go into overtime to fight the irritant. Scientists have found it can harm the brain and skin, with almost no system of the body spared, Johnson said. People over 60 become more prone to stroke in wildfire smoke, she said. “Wildfire smoke is the toxic product of combustion of whatever burned,” which could include houses and cars, said Dr. Courtney Howard, an emergency room physician, chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance and president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association. “So really it's a big giant toxic soup of particles and gases.” Scientists have counted at least 1,000 toxins in wildfire smoke, said Colorado State University environmental toxicologist Luke Montrose. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

  5. 4d ago

    Slumping AI stocks drag down markets around the world

    Drops for computer chipmakers and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom dragged down stock markets worldwide. The S&P 500 fell 0.5%, even though more stocks rose within the index than fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 105 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite sank 1.5%. Nearly three out of every four stocks rose within the S&P 500 after more of the country's biggest companies reported better earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Abbott jumped 10.7% after the healthcare company delivered a fatter profit than expected and raised its forecast for earnings over the full year. J.B. Hunt Transport Services climbed 8% after the freight company likewise topped analysts' expectations for the latest quarter. But a 1% move for Nvidia's stock packs more of a punch on the S&P 500 than a 1% move for any other company because it's the largest on Wall Street by value. And Nvidia fell 2.4%, making it the heaviest weight on the index. Other AI winners also sank, giving back some of their stellar gains. Micron Technology fell 5.6% to shave its gain for the year so far below 199%. SanDisk fell 12.6% but is nevertheless up 494% for the year so far. Western Digital sank 9.2% but is still up 171% for the year so far. Such stocks have been under pressure for weeks because of worries that their prices shot too high and that voracious demand for computer memory and processors may not be sustainable if AI ends up not producing as much profit and productivity as promised. The losses came even though Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a bellwether of the chip industry, reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock in Taiwan rose 1.2%, but its stock that trades in the United States fell 2.3%. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

  6. 5d ago

    EU forces Google to share search data and open Android to rival AI companies

    The European Union (EU) issued two new rules for Google to force it to share search data and open up its Android operating system to rival AI companies. In the latest attempt to rein in the tech behemoths’ deep control of the digital economy, the EU said it will support innovation and diversity in the field by enabling fair access to AI features on Android devices and search engines. “Thanks to these measures, we hope to see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google’s AI services, such as Gemini, and that users in the EU can enjoy greater choice of services,” Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice president at the European Commission overseeing tech, said. The measure is the latest advancement of Brussels’ growing rules and regulations that have given the 27-nation bloc a global leadership position in checking the power of tech juggernauts or “gatekeepers” like TikTok, which are largely based in China and the U.S. Recently, Brussels has pushed through efforts to ensure Google gives access to Gemini AI services to rival AI companies and search engines; forced Apple to add interoperability features to its devices to connect to non-Apple products; and demanded that Meta dismantle “key addictive features” like infinite scrolling. Kent Walker, president of global affairs for both Google and its parent company Alphabet, said the new rules could backfire by removing safeguards that the company had built to protect user privacy, like the vetting of third-party AI assistants. “Europeans’ private searches would be exposed to unfamiliar companies, without adequate anonymization of the data and without user knowledge or consent. This would weaken citizens’ privacy, risk business trade secrets, and endanger national security,” he said in a statement. U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at EU tech regulation in the past. In issuing the two new rules, the commission said it found that AI agents not made by Google were unable to function on Android phones at the same level as Google's Gemini. Google must now allow voice activation of these alternative AI agents and enable them to run background tasks like booking restaurants via third-party apps. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

  7. 6d ago

    Dogs on patrol deter swooping seagulls from snack theft at Sydney Opera House

    It might seem like a minor inconvenience, but swooping seagulls are a familiar frustration for anyone trying to enjoy a meal by Sydney Harbour. Now, working farm dogs best known for herding sheep are being trained to use those same instincts to keep hungry seagulls at bay. At the request of Sydney's Opera Bar, dog trainer James Webb developed a specialized program that teaches working dogs to deter seagulls. “It's really become like a science, how we do it,” says Webb of the Seagull Patrol. The program is harnessing the dogs’ natural herding instincts. “The reward is getting to chase the seagulls, so we get dogs that just love doing it, and then we work backwards with training from there,” explains Webb. The dogs are trained to anticipate the birds' movements, making them an effective and humane way to discourage unwanted visitors. “If we keep doing the same thing, the seagulls will just watch us walk up and down and they'll help themselves to food when the dogs not there, so we have to be a bit sneaky, so we get the dogs to creep up, we might get them to bark at them or appear when they're not expecting it and just keep the seagulls on their toes,” says Webb. The program has expanded to as many as five locations, including Melbourne's Federation Square, and the dogs have also been brought in at the new Sydney Fish Market. “There was skepticism about whether they would be successful or a gimmick. Since we've had the dogs, the feedback from everybody is tremendous,” says Tanya Lambert of the Sydney Fish Market. There are now 35 dogs trained for the role, with each working no more than a single four-hour shift each week. Known collectively as the "Seagull Patrol," they're working dogs on duty but ordinary family pets once they head home with their owners. Customers have welcomed the initiative, praising the seagull-free dining experience. “Fantastic job, I haven't got any sign of seagull on me, haven't seen one since I've been here,” says Peter, a restaurant patron. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

  8. Aug 13

    26 Meta employees sue, alleging AI-driven layoff picks hit workers on medical and parental leave

    A group of 26 Meta employees has sued the company, claiming it used artificial intelligence systems to select people for layoffs, disproportionately targeting those on medical, parental, or family leave. They are among the 8,000 employees, or about 10% of its workforce, Meta said it would lay off in May. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Oakland, California, claims the company used internal AI systems, keystroke and activity-monitoring data, AI token-usage dashboards, and algorithmically assisted performance rankings, among other methods, to determine who would be laid off. Many of these scores and ratings “by design, cannot be accumulated by an employee who is on protected medical or family leave, or whose output is reduced by a disability,” the lawsuit says. Meta, according to the lawsuit, did not account for protected leave when taking employees' scores into account and “did not pause the system for the individualized, leave- and accommodation-neutral review that the law requires.” As a result, people on protected medical or family leave were disproportionately selected for layoffs, the lawsuit says. Each of the 26 anonymous employees in the lawsuit took protected leave, or requested or received a reasonable accommodation for disability. Though they have been notified of their layoffs, all 26 remain employed by Meta, with separations that began on July 22. Many of the employees in the lawsuit took pregnancy or parental leave, during which time they wouldn't have worked and thus had their measured output reduced. Others took medical leave—one disclosed a “serious health condition and disability” that was approved by Meta's own provider. But according to the lawsuit, he was “discouraged and deterred from taking that leave by a manager” who warned that doing so would result in his selection for the anticipated layoffs. Meta offered no accommodation for his disability, the lawsuit says. Meta said in a statement that the claims "lack merit and are not based on facts. Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

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レアジョブオリジナルの英会話ニュース教材です。世界の時事ネタを中心に、ビジネスから科学やスポーツまで、幅広いトピックのニュースを毎日更新しています。本教材を通して、ビジネスで使える実用的な英会話表現や英単語を身に付けることができます。

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