Showing 1 - 10 of 44
Will AI create more fake news than it exposes?
News, Tyler Cowen, Published on 08/04/2024
» The best large-language models can already write like humans, especially if prompted properly. Photos and images can be faked at low cost. Yet-to-be-released technology can create convincing voice simulations. There are signs that some academic papers contain traces of GPT-4. If even professors are faking it, then surely the dam has burst.
Message to despots
Oped, Postbag, Published on 02/04/2024
» Re: "Pita 'most favoured' to be next PM: poll", (BP, March 25).
Deepfakes will hijack your brain -- if you let them
News, Published on 22/02/2024
» Realistic AI-generated images and voice recordings may be the newest threat to democracy, but they're part of a longstanding family of deceptions. The way to fight so-called deepfakes isn't to develop some rumour-busting form of AI or to train the public to spot fake images. A better tactic would be to encourage a few well-known critical thinking methods -- refocusing our attention, reconsidering our sources, and questioning ourselves.
US-led naval force may not end Houthi ship strikes
News, Published on 22/12/2023
» US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has announced a new military effort in the Middle East: Operation Prosperity Guardian. It will bring together a coalition of nations to safeguard the dangerous waters of the Red Sea, North Arabian Sea and western Indian Ocean from surprisingly sophisticated attacks by Iranian-sponsored terrorists from the Houthi rebellion in Yemen.
Prabowo gets a TikTok makeover
News, Published on 12/12/2023
» Indonesians will get a chance to hear from their presidential and vice-presidential hopefuls in the first of five televised debates this week. The theme of the discussion is, among other issues, human rights. It should provide an opportunity for voters in the world's third-largest democracy to probe the calibre and character of the front-runner for the country's top job.
Taylor Swift's Eras tour confronts climate crisis
News, Published on 22/11/2023
» Taylor Swift, one of the world's most successful and wealthiest pop stars, has come face to face with the climate crisis in Brazil during her global Eras tour.
Social media is just one online habit hurting teens
News, Published on 28/09/2023
» Last spring, my tween was begging for more independence, starting with being allowed to walk home from school alone. The kilometre-plus walk involves crossing a few busy streets. I was hesitant; she doesn't have a phone, so she had no way to contact me if something went wrong. But we practised a few times (with me trailing her a block behind) to be sure she was confident of the route and talked about what she would do in various scenarios. Then, we allowed her to do something that some parents in our uber-connected era might find truly wild: roam free.
Riots' deja vu raises the stakes
News, Published on 04/07/2023
» A teenager killed by police in a Paris suburb. A wave of anger that morphs into widespread rioting and opportunistic looting. A tough law-and-order response followed by an appeal for unity and calm -- and a political call for action that fades over time.
Big problems at fairy-tale castle
Life, Published on 19/06/2023
» Walt Disney released its newest Pixar animated film last week, but the heartwarming tale of fire and water falling in love is expected to deliver disappointing returns for the company that produced megahits like Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.
Watch Apple TV's Extrapolations for the science, not the story
Life, Published on 10/04/2023
» Hollywood has long mined global warming to create terrifying scenarios of apocalyptic futures. Some of these aren't very realistic. Others are all preaching and no teaching. But the new Apple TV series Extrapolations takes a different, more science-steeped approach -- the episodes cascade through the future of this century, using real scientific projections and computer-generated special effects to show how global warming might play out under the most likely scenario.