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Sep 1, 2023

Google Launches Tool That Detects AI Images In Effort To Curb Deepfakes

Posted by in categories: business, cybercrime/malcode, robotics/AI

Fake images and misinformation in the age of AI are growing. Even in 2019, a Pew Research Center study found that 61% of Americans said it is too much to ask of the average American to be able to recognize altered videos and images. And that was before generative AI tools became widely available to the public.

AdobeADBE +0.5% shared August 2023 statistics on the number of AI-generated images created with Adobe Firefly reaching one billion, only three months after it launched in March 2023.


In response to the increasing use of AI images, Google Deep Mind announced a beta version of SynthID. The tool will watermark and identify AI-generated images by embedding a digital watermark directly into the pixels of an image that will be imperceptible to the human eye but detectable for identification.

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Sep 1, 2023

Tiny ion exchange resin beads may allow you to write in water

Posted by in category: futurism

In the water, the small beads create no swirling effect, allowing the drawn patterns to stay in place.

Writing is a time-honored cultural practice that traces its origins to ancient times when our ancestors inscribed signs and symbols onto stone slabs. As a result, writing on any solid object has long been common practice.

But if you’ve ever tried writing in water or other liquid substances, you may have found it rather difficult. A new study reveals that might change with the use of a specialized technique.

Sep 1, 2023

Google’s SayTap allows robot dogs to understand vague prompts

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

SayTap uses ‘foot contact patterns’ to achieve diverse locomotion patterns in a quadrupedal robot.

We have seen robot dogs perform some insane acrobats. They can lift heavy things, run alongside humans, work in dangerous construction sites, and even overshadow the showstopper at the Paris fashion show. One YouTuber even entered its robot dog in a dog show for real canines.

And now Google really wants you to have a robot dog. That’s why researchers at its AI arm, DeepMind, have proposed a large language model (LLM) prompt design called SayTap, which uses ‘foot contact patterns’ to achieve diverse locomotion patterns in a quadrupedal robot. Foot contact pattern is the sequence and manner in which a four-legged agent places its feet on the ground while moving.

Sep 1, 2023

New Saudi giga project features a 7-mile artificial canal

Posted by in categories: economics, energy

Called MARAFY, the project will house 130,000 residents in the northern region of Jeddah.

A new development project financed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia features a 6.8 mile (11 km) long and 328 feet (100 m) wide artificial canal, a press release from the real estate developer ROSHN said.

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Sep 1, 2023

Here’s how to stop Meta from using your data for AI training

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Meta has launched a new privacy setting that allows users to request the company not to use their data from public or licensed sources for training its generative AI models.

Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, has launched a new option for users who do not want their data to be used for training its artificial intelligence (AI) models. The new privacy setting, announced on Thursday, allows users to submit requests to access, modify, or delete any personal information that Meta has collected from public or licensed sources for generative AI model training.


Derick Hudson/iStock.

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Sep 1, 2023

China approves home-grown ChatGPT-like bots for public use

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Tech stocks saw a jump after 11 companies received the necessary clearances to offer services to more than a billion potential users.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has officially given its approval to multiple tech firms, allowing them to offer their artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbots on a large scale, Reuters.

Chinese tech firms have spent billions on developing AI models after the resounding popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT last year. The US-based company is estimated to rake in a billion dollars in revenue over the next year, a recent report from The Information said.

Sep 1, 2023

Challenging Common Understanding: Scientists Discover Unexpected Quantum Interference Anomaly

Posted by in categories: energy, quantum physics

In a paper recently published in Nature Photonics.

<em>Nature Photonics</em> is a prestigious, peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by the Nature Publishing Group. Launched in January 2007, the journal focuses on the field of photonics, which includes research into the science and technology of light generation, manipulation, and detection. Its content ranges from fundamental research to applied science, covering topics such as lasers, optical devices, photonics materials, and photonics for energy. In addition to research papers, <em>Nature Photonics</em> also publishes reviews, news, and commentary on significant developments in the photonics field. It is a highly respected publication and is widely read by researchers, academics, and professionals in the photonics and related fields.

Sep 1, 2023

Iran Spyware Breached and Exposed by GhostSec

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, government

This post is also available in: he עברית (Hebrew)

The GhostSec cybergang claims to have breached the FANAP Behnama software, exposing 20GB of data including face recognition and motion detection systems it says are used by the Iranian government to monitor and track its people.

Now the group says it intends to make the data public, “in the interests of the Iranian people, but also in the interests of protecting the privacy of each and every one of us.” Cybersecurity analyst Cyberint commented on the group’s statement, saying that while GhostSec’s actions align with hacktivist principles, they also position themselves as advocates for human rights.

Sep 1, 2023

Energy Vault’s First Grid-Scale Gravity Energy Storage System Is Near Complete

Posted by in categories: energy, materials, robotics/AI

The system is like a solid version of pumped hydro, which uses surplus generating capacity to pump water uphill into a reservoir. When the water’s released it flows down through turbines, making them spin and generate energy.

Energy Vault’s solid gravity system uses huge, heavy blocks made of concrete and composite material and lifts them up in the air with a mechanical crane. The cranes are powered by excess energy from the grid, which might be created on very sunny or windy days when there’s not a lot of demand. The blocks are suspended at elevation until supply starts to fall short of demand, and when they’re lowered down their weight pulls cables that spin turbines and generate electricity.

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Sep 1, 2023

New 2.5-dimensional structures observed in twisted graphite hybrids

Posted by in categories: materials, particle physics

When two sheets of graphene are placed on top of each other and slightly twisted, their atoms form a moiré pattern, or superlattice. At the so-called “magic” twist angle of 1.08°, something unusual happens: the weak van der Waals (vdW) coupling between atoms in adjacent layers modifies the atoms’ electronic states and transforms the material from a semimetal to a superconductor. The study of such twist-related electronic effects is known as “twistronics”, and it also includes phenomena such as correlated insulator states that appear at different degrees of misalignment.

Because the moiré pattern that underlies twistronics appears only at the interface between two thin sheets, it was assumed that twistronic effects could only occur in structures containing just a few layers. Although it is possible to produce a moiré pattern at a two-dimensional interface within a three-dimensional structure, it was thought that this pattern would not substantially modify the properties of the bulk material. After all, the 2D moiré region would only comprise a small fraction of the total 3D crystal volume.

New work by two research groups – one at the University of Washington in the US and Osaka University in Japan, the other at the University of Manchester in the UK – shows that this picture is not always correct. In fact, rotating a single layer of a 2D material by a small twist angle within a three-dimensional graphite film can cause the properties of the moiré interface to become inextricably mixed with those of the graphite. The result is a new class of hybrid 2D-3D moiré materials that substantially alters our understanding of how twistronics works.