Tech

Microsoft’s Brad Smith casts concerns over deep-fake technology

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Amid the fast development of artificial intelligence (AI) and experts coming forth voicing their concern over the pace of technology, Microsoft President Brad Smith said Thursday that he was worried about deep fakes, realistic-looking but false content.

During his speech in Washington on the topic of how AI should be regulated he called for steps to ensure that people know when a photo or video is real and when it is generated by AI, potentially for ill objects.

The experts have been concerned about the technology that boosted after the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT — a human-like AI-powered chatbot capable of writing human responses.

Smith said: “We’re going have to address the issues around deep fakes. We’re going to have to address in particular what we worry about most foreign cyber influence operations, the kinds of activities that are already taking place by the Russian government, the Chinese, the Iranians.”

This photo shows a Microsoft logo displayed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. — AFP/File

“We need to take steps to protect against the alteration of legitimate content with an intent to deceive or defraud people through the use of AI.”

Smith also called for licensing for the most critical forms of AI with “obligations to protect the security, physical security, cybersecurity, national security.”

“We will need a new generation of export controls, at least the evolution of the export controls we have, to ensure that these models are not stolen or not used in ways that would violate the country’s export control requirements,” he underlined.

This photo shows screens displaying the logos of OpenAI and ChatGPT. — AFP/File

Legislators in Washington have been struggling to find solutions regarding how to best regulate the as the tech giants like Microsoft and Google have jumped into incorporating the technology into their products.

CEO Open AI Sam Altman last week told a Senate panel in his first appearance before Congress that the use of AI interfering with election integrity is a “significant area of concern”, adding that it needs regulation.

Altman, whose OpenAI start-up is backed by Microsoft, also called for global cooperation on AI and incentives for safety compliance.

Smith further argued also in his blog post, Thursday, that people “needed to be held accountable for any problems caused by AI,” urging lawmakers to ensure that “safety brakes be put on AI used to control the electric grid, water supply and other critical infrastructure so that humans remain in control.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during a keynote address announcing ChatGPT integration for Bing at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, on February 7, 2023. — AFP

He also suggested the use of a “Know Your Customer”-style system for developers of powerful AI models to “keep tabs on how their technology is used and to inform the public of what content AI is creating so they can identify faked videos.”

Back in March, hundreds of researchers, CEOs and tech leaders including Tesla owner Elon Musk signed an open letter that voiced concerns over the “profound risks” AI technology poses to society and humanity.

“AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity,” said the open letter.

“Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable.

Latest News

SIFC Wants To Promote Innovation In Agriculture: An Agriculture Event With Networking And Exhibitions

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Karachi is the starting point for the two-day international conference on sustainable agriculture.

The conference, organised by exhibitor TV, ripple concept, and the Pakistan Media Development Foundation, is backed by the Green Pakistan Initiative, which has recently achieved significant strides.

Enhancing agricultural productivity with contemporary technology is the goal of this event, which is in line with the Special Investment Facilitation Council’s emphasis on agriculture.

Experts will talk about sustainable techniques and organic farming, and there will be a plenary discussion on the land information and management system.

The event will include exhibits that highlight contemporary methods and technology, giving professionals and stakeholders a place to network.

Sindh and Balochistan’s agriculture departments will display their accomplishments in provincial pavilions. The Bank of Punjab, National Bank of Pakistan, and Saudi-Pak Investment Company are among the sponsors who will help make the event possible.

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Apple provides a $1 million incentive to hack its secret AI cloud.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

A reward of up to $1 million has been offered by the multinational computer giant Apple to anyone who breaches its Private Cloud Compute, which will integrate artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

The corporation recently posted a blog post titled “Security research on Private Cloud Compute,” in which it offered a reward to anyone who could find cloud service vulnerabilities that could endanger the service.

The news coincided with Apple’s planned release of iOS 18.1 and Apple Intelligence on iPhones the following week.

For the first time, the update will also bring AI capabilities to the iPhone, such improvements to Siri, the speech assistant.

The tech giant will use its own silicon servers to power the Private Cloud computation, which it describes as “the most advanced security architecture ever deployed for cloud AI compute at scale.”

“We made resources to facilitate this inspection, such as the PCC Virtual Research Environment, available to third-party auditors and a few security researchers in advance in the weeks following our announcement of Apple Intelligence and PCC,” Apple stated in the blog.

The business has extended an invitation to researchers, security experts, and anybody else who wants to pinpoint the platform’s weaknesses.

In addition to giving $1 million for identifying significant vulnerabilities through “remote attack on request data,” the corporation is rewarding anyone who can gain access to sensitive information or user request data outside the boundaries of trust with $250,000.

Apple went on to say, “We will consider any security issue that has a significant impact to PCC for an Apple Security Bounty reward, even if it doesn’t match a published category, because we care deeply about any compromise to user privacy or security.”

It would “consider each report based on the quality of the information provided, the evidence of what can be exploited, and the impact to users,” according to Apple.

Visit the Apple Security Prize page to submit your research and learn more about the project, which is open to anybody interested in participating and winning the prize.

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WhatsApp will introduce new tools for sharing music and managing stickers.

Published

6 days ago

Farwa

According to reports, WhatsApp is developing two intriguing new features that would improve the user experience. Several reports indicate that one of these enhancements is aimed at enhancing the way users organize their sticker collections.

Details reveal that users will soon be able to quickly arrange their stickers by adding them to their favorites or selecting many stickers at once for deletion, which will move them to the top for easy access.

Users will also be able to make their own personalized sticker packs within WhatsApp thanks to this future functionality. Users have more control over their collections and can add or delete stickers as necessary to maintain a unique and customized look. Additionally, group conversations and contacts can be used to share these personalized sticker packs.

Additionally, it has been rumored that WhatsApp is developing a new function that would enable users to exchange music via status updates. When users post a picture or a video to their status, a music button will be added to the drawing editor.

Even while these capabilities are still in the early stages of development, they should be included in upcoming updates, giving WhatsApp users more imaginative options.