Tag Archives: AI safety

Critics question tech-heavy lineup of new Homeland Security AI safety board

reader comments 28 On Friday, the US Department of Homeland Security announced the formation of an Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board that consists of 22 members pulled from the tech industry, government, academia, and civil rights organizations. But given the nebulous nature of the term “AI,” which can apply to a broad spectrum of… Read More »

Deepfakes in the courtroom: US judicial panel debates new AI evidence rules

reader comments 15 On Friday, a federal judicial panel convened in Washington, DC, to discuss the challenges of policing AI-generated evidence in court trials, according to a Reuters report. The US Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules, an eight-member panel responsible for drafting evidence-related amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence, heard from computer… Read More »

Microsoft’s VASA-1 can deepfake a person with one photo and one audio track

Enlarge / A sample image from Microsoft for “VASA-1: Lifelike Audio-Driven Talking Faces Generated in Real Time.” reader comments 131 On Tuesday, Microsoft Research Asia unveiled VASA-1, an AI model that can create a synchronized animated video of a person talking or singing from a single photo and an existing audio track. In the future,… Read More »

New UK law targets “despicable individuals” who create AI sex deepfakes

reader comments 95 On Tuesday, the UK government announced a new law targeting the creation of AI-generated sexually explicit deepfake images. Under the legislation, which has not yet been passed, offenders would face prosecution and an unlimited fine, even if they do not widely share the images but create them with the intent to distress… Read More »

OpenAI holds back wide release of voice-cloning tech due to misuse concerns

reader comments 85 Voice synthesis has come a long way since 1978’s Speak & Spell toy, which once wowed people with its state-of-the-art ability to read words aloud using an electronic voice. Now, using deep-learning AI models, software can create not only realistic-sounding voices, but also convincingly imitate existing voices using small samples of audio.… Read More »

World’s first global AI resolution unanimously adopted by United Nations

Enlarge / The United Nations building in New York. reader comments 28 On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously consented to adopt what some call the first global resolution on AI, reports Reuters. The resolution aims to foster the protection of personal data, enhance privacy policies, ensure close monitoring of AI for potential risks,… Read More »

OpenAI CEO Altman wasn’t fired because of scary new tech, just internal politics

Enlarge / OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the OpenAI DevDay event on November 6, 2023, in San Francisco. reader comments 76 On Friday afternoon Pacific Time, OpenAI announced the appointment of three new members to the company’s board of directors and released the results of an independent review of the events surrounding CEO Sam… Read More »

US gov’t announces arrest of former Google engineer for alleged AI trade secret theft

Enlarge / A Google sign stands in front of the building on the sidelines of the opening of the new Google Cloud data center in Hesse, Hanau, opened in October 2023. reader comments 48 On Wednesday, authorities arrested former Google software engineer Linwei Ding in Newark, California, on charges of stealing AI trade secrets from… Read More »

AI-generated articles prompt Wikipedia to downgrade CNET’s reliability rating

reader comments 67 Wikipedia has downgraded tech website CNET’s reliability rating following extensive discussions among its editors regarding the impact of AI-generated content on the site’s trustworthiness, as noted in a detailed report from Futurism. The decision reflects concerns over the reliability of articles found on the tech news outlet after it began publishing AI-generated… Read More »

Tyler Perry puts $800 million studio expansion on hold because of OpenAI’s Sora

Enlarge / Tyler Perry in 2022. reader comments 161 In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Thursday, filmmaker Tyler Perry spoke about his concerns related to the impact of AI video synthesis on entertainment industry jobs. In particular, he revealed that he has suspended a planned $800 million expansion of his production studio after… Read More »