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In partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the US Air Force has announced a significant breakthrough in achieving its first artificial intelligence (AI) dogfight. 
Project teams from the Air Force Test Pilot School and DARPA collaborated to great effect, testing AI algorithms using the X-62A VISTA aircraft. 
DARPA is an organization within the US Department of Defense whose many oversights include aircraft design. Over the last four years, it has been focused on developing its Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program to match up human pilots with AI-powered machine learning systems.
In less than a year, ACE evolved from the initial use of AI in the systems of the X-62A to delivering the first AI versus human within-visual-range engagements – also known as a dogfight.
Frank Kendall, the U.S. secretary of the Air Force, lauded the transformational breakthrough, stating “the potential for autonomous air-to-air combat has been imaginable for decades, but the reality has remained a distant dream up until now.”

Use of artificial intelligence in present conflict zones
An important marker for the project was that AI made no meaningful violations or malfunctions, resulting in the tests performing as safely as with a human pilot in control.
DARPA welcomed the dogfight success as “a fundamental paradigm shift,” with the achievement set to act as a catalyst to propel AI aerospace advances in the future, but the Chinese have already recorded this feat,  in March, last year.
AI technology is known to be in use in various conflict situations at present, with the war in Ukraine referenced as an incubator for the use of AI in combat. Both sides, including Russia, have deployed algorithms for use in autonomous navigation, target ID and engagement, and intelligence processing to devastating effect. 
Also, in the current Middle East conflict, Israel is said to have utilized its ‘Lavender’ AI system to identify around 37,000 potential targets due to their apparent links to Hamas.
From a military combat perspective, despite ethical concerns and the need to maximise safeguards, AI is here and here to stay.
Image credit: Edwards Air Force Base
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Cynthia Williams, president of Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast, has resigned from her post. The shock news comes from a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from Hasbro, the parent company of Wizards.
The SEC filing reads “On April 15, 2024, Cynthia Williams, President of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Gaming, informed the Company of her resignation from the Company effective April 26, 2024. The Company is conducting a process to identify her successor, looking at both internal and external candidates.”
WotC’s revenue is up 40% compared to the previous year. This was due to the critical success of a Lord of the Rings Series, series, which reached $200 million in sales, and the success of Baldur’s Gate 3, last year’s game-of-the-year winner across multiplaye awards series.
WotC took in $120m more in 2023 compared to 2022, but all was not well in the eyes of fans.
Controversy amid profit for WotC
Williams’ two-year tenure was marked by repeated controversies amongst the fantasy RPG faithful. Most recently, she ordered a round of layoffs in December that wiped out some 1,100 jobs as a cost saving move. Additionally, Hasbro sold film and TV department eOne to Lionsgate for $500m in August. The D&D: Honour Amongst Thieves movie failed to break even at the box office and brought in only $208m million globally.
Baldur’s Gate 3 from Larian Studios won every award possible among games launched in 2023. It was one of the few shining lights for Hasbro amidst record lows across all other arms of the company.
Still, Williams would continue the redundancy trail and set the fate of Faerûn on a different path.
In a recent interview, Sven Wicke, CEO of Larian, said  that “Wizards of the Coast have seen massive layoffs … there is no one left from the original meeting with them. You share so much knowledge about D&D (Dungeons and Dragons). It’s sad, and I’m not judging anyone, but they are gone, but their knowledge is now out there.”
Larian will not be involved in any new take on Baldur’s Gate, and Wicke stated that being involved with any new plans is “literally the opposite of what Larian is about. We want to do big, new things. We don’t want to rehash the thing that we’ve done already.”
This week Larian has interestingly created mod support and a closed beta test for some developers in the game’s lively community. This news emerged the same week as Williams’ resignation, so the two could be intertwined.
End of a turbulent era
Hasbro’s share price plummeted during Williams’s control of the company. In 2022, Hasbro, Inc.’s stock went from $102 to today’s low of $52, so the move may have been a forced one in an overall shakeup, but the gaming company’s profits across the past two years would suggest otherwise.
WotC is an integral part of the Hasbro puzzle. However, letting the flagship intellectual property Baldur’s Gate 3 and their relationship with Larian fizzle can only be seen as critical business failures. Sadly, Williams’s position and reputation will be synonymous with fan and staff disharmony and a lack of business acumen and foresight.
Image: Ideogram.
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Three games are coming free to all Xbox Game Pass subscribers for the weekend, starting April 18 and going to April 21. Subscribers at all levels will get to play Dungeons 3, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, and I Am Fish.
Dungeons 3 – Complete Collection
This real-time strategy management game, published in 2017, is a twist on the usual dungeon crawler. Instead of being the heroes invading the creepy-crawly torchlit realm, players are actually the demon in charge of the lair, and therefore building up its defenses against all that above-world gallantry. It’s not exactly Diablo, but it is still very evil indeed. The complete collection boasts a ton of maps and more than fifty hours of gameplay to get invested in.

 
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a 2D Metroidvania side-scroller with a lovely aesthetic. It is a step away from the usual Japanese role-playing games series it takes its name from, like Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. Your task in this 505 Games-published adventure is to rebuild the land of New Neveah, which is struggling to recover from an earthquake. The player character is C.J., a very honorable individual who scavenges the wasteland for resources that can get these stricken people back on on their feet.

 
I Am Fish
This physics-based game that revolves around four aquatic friends comes from Bossa Studios, the creators of the aptly named I Am Bread. Seeking their freedom, players must use the janky, but fun laws of physics to break them out of their confines. The four intrepid fishy heroes must fly, swim, roll, and chomp to the open ocean from the made-up English town of Barnardshire.

Dungeons 3, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, and I Am Fish are available until the end of the weekend, so players will have to act fast to get the best out of the titles before they go back to being fully priced on the Xbox shelf.
Image: Xbox Wire.
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Cybercriminals are exploiting Google’s advertising platform to target users of the decentralized OTC trading platform Whales Market, according to a recent BleepingComputer report.
By creating a legitimate-looking Google Search advertisement, threat actors are redirecting unsuspecting visitors to a malicious phishing site designed to drain their wallets of all assets.

Hey, @WhalesMarket
Someone just bought a phishing domain trying to scam your users
They’re using Google Adwords to promote it pic.twitter.com/DKum52apTW
— DegenDesk (@Degen_Desk) April 18, 2024

The sponsored ad appears at the top of Google search results when searching for “Whales Market.” It displays the correct domain, whales.market, and even shows the legitimate URL https://whales.market when hovering over the link. However, clicking on the ad redirects users through a series of sites, ultimately landing them on a phishing site with an extra “s” in the domain name: https://app.whaless[.]market/.
This phishing site is a near-perfect replica of the legitimate Whales Market website, including its trading platform. Once users connect their wallets, malicious scripts steal all their assets. BleepingComputer explained:
This phishing site replicates the legitimate website, including its trading platform. Once you connect your wallet, though, malicious scripts will drain it of all assets.
To avoid falling victim to such scams, it is crucial to double-check the domain displayed in the browser’s address bar before connecting your wallet to any Web3 website. If the site looks even slightly suspicious, do not connect your wallet. Also consult our guide to identifying and avoiding top crypto scams.
Threat actors have been abusing Google Ads for years to distribute malware and redirect users to phishing sites and tech support scams. They use sophisticated techniques to bypass ad platform security checks, such as redirecting visitors based on their IP address or browser user agent. When Google’s or Microsoft’s search bots visit the ad’s click URL, they are redirected to the legitimate website, while regular visitors are sent to malicious sites.
This method has proven effective for years, and Google has struggled to prevent these types of advertisements from slipping through the cracks. Other ad platforms, such as Microsoft and X, are also affected by similar techniques.
One notorious example was when back in January hackers hijacked prominent verified accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, to promote crypto scams and drop links to drainers.
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The past week brought a downturn for both Bitcoin and altcoins, possibly triggered by the macroeconomic implications of the escalating tensions between Iran and Israel over the weekend.
As a result, Bitcoin’s value dipped below $60,000, causing concern among investors. However, amid the uncertainty, large Bitcoin holders known as “whales” seized the opportunity to strengthen their positions.
Whales on a Buying Spree
Recent data reveals that whale wallets, holding over 0.1% of the total Bitcoin supply, significantly increased their buying activity during the market dip. On April 18th, these wallets acquired an impressive 19,760 BTC at an average price of $62.5k per Bitcoin.

Bitcoin whales may have finally started buying the dip
Yesterday, the biggest Bitcoin holders, holding over 0.1% of the total supply, collectively added 19,760 Bitcoins to their holdings at an average price of $62.5k. Historically, accumulations by these addresses have often… pic.twitter.com/c8K5uhkna4
— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) April 19, 2024

This accumulation event has caught the attention of market observers, as whale activity often serves as a precursor to upward price movements in the cryptocurrency market.
Mysterious Billion-Dollar Transfer
Amidst the buying spree, Whale Alert, a leading blockchain tracker, reported a massive transfer of 16,276 BTC, worth approximately $1 billion, from an undisclosed wallet to Binance, a major cryptocurrency exchange. The reason behind this large transaction remains a mystery, sparking speculation within the cryptocurrency community.

16,276 #BTC (1,006,601,602 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Binancehttps://t.co/84qs00PLrp
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 18, 2024

Bullish Signs on the Horizon
Historically, significant whale accumulation has often been followed by notable increases in Bitcoin’s price, leading many analysts to view the recent whale activity as a bullish signal for the market. Despite the turbulence, Bitcoin has bounced back, now priced at $65,023, marking a 4.55% increase in the last 24 hours and pushing its market capitalization to $1.27 trillion.
The developments follow reports that the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), a prominent Bitcoin investment product, has seen a significant decline in its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings. This is despite the outflows recently slowing down.
Markus Thielen, market analyst and the founder of 10x Research recently said that the stock and cryptocurrency markets could be approaching a significant price correction. He explained in an April 16 research note:
The primary trigger is the unexpected and persistent inflation. With the bond market now projecting less than three cuts and 10-year Treasury Yields surpassing 4.50%, we may have arrived at a crucial tipping point for risk assets.
Featured image: Ideogram
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