'Creepy good': AI can now tell your location from obscure photographs
There are some good reasons to worry about what is visible in background photos, because AI is getting very good at guessing where you are based on the smallest of clues. — Pixabay
BERLIN: The capabilities of AI chatbots could soon be verging on transgression, according to recent research showing some managing to figure out a person's location from obscure photographs and others now able to generate almost undetectable "deepfake" videos.
In a series of tests, computer virus software provider Malwarebytes found ChatGPT to be "creepy good" at "geo-guessing" locations from photographs that had been scrubbed of their metadata, which often contain details such as location, time and date.
"There are some good reasons to worry about what is visible in background photos, because AI is getting very good at guessing where you are based on the smallest of clues," according to Malwarebytes.
The chatbot was albe to use clues and cues in architecture and environment to narrow down possible locations in photos before either nailing it or coming uncannily close.
"A wheelbarrow of a specific brand or a bird with a limited habitat are enough to provide hints about your location," Malwarebytes warned.
The same week, a tram from Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institute and Humboldt University in Berlin published the results of tests that show AI capable of generating "subtle heart-beat-related signals" in so-called deepfake videos.
"The current evolution of image generation techniques makes the detection of manipulated content through visual inspection increasingly difficult," the team said, but some real-life subtleties such as heartbeats were "lost during the deepfake generation process," a limitation that has been "useful for deepfake detection."
Not anymore, however: The team was able to make deepfakes containing what appear to be human pulses. The researchers' findings, which were published in the science and technology journal Frontiers in Imaging, suggest that heartbeat detection techniques are "no longer valid for current deepfake methods."
That said, all hope may not be lost – if clutching at high-tech straws counts: "Analysing spatial distribution of bloodflow regarding its plausibility can still help to detect high-quality deepfakes," the researchers said, in what is likely to be small consolation and even less use to anyone hoping to quickly separate fake from real footage seen on social media. – dpa/Tribune News Service
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
30 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Gunning to phase out analogue data, Gobind says Data Digitalisation Policy to be introduced next month
PUTRAJAYA, June 4 — The Digital Ministry will introduce a Data Digitalisation Policy next month to support the enforcement of the Data Sharing Act 2025 (Act 864). Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the policy, developed by the National Digital Department (JDN), will focus on enhancing data quality governance, data security, digital ethics, data storage and usage technologies, and promoting a digital culture in government administration and public service delivery. 'This is important because in order to succeed in areas like artificial intelligence (AI), we must ensure the data we use is in digital form, (but) many government datasets still exist in analogue formats such as images, audio, or hybrids,' Gobind told reporters after chairing the first meeting of the National Data Sharing Committee here yesterday. He said he has given JDN a three-month deadline to finalise the policy and hopes to present it to the Cabinet by July. The minister said the policy will be implemented not only at the federal level but also extended to state governments and local authorities, to ensure consistent data quality for effective policymaking and delivery of public benefits. 'Full digitalisation of government data will allow for better data sharing and analysis using AI, leading to more innovative and realistic cross-sector solutions,' he remarked. Gobind said that the Data Sharing Act 2025, which officially came into force on April 28, provides a structured legal framework for secure and efficient data sharing between federal ministries and agencies, which is expected to enhance public service delivery by allowing real-time data access, accelerating decision-making, and improving coordination without compromising government data security or personal privacy. 'This will lead to a more connected and data-driven government that benefits the people, safeguards their welfare, and drives economic growth,' he said. In fact, he said data sharing between agencies can also eliminate redundancy in data collection, reduce costs, improve public service efficiency, and strengthen public trust through transparency and accountability. 'Shared data ensures policies are planned and implemented based on accurate and up-to-date information,' Gobind said. The minister also expressed hope that state governments would introduce their own data sharing laws to enable effective integration with federal and local government systems. So far, he said the state governments of Penang, Selangor, and Sarawak have responded positively to the proposal. 'I will be visiting each state to discuss the matter directly with chief ministers and menteris besar,' he said. In his remark at the meeting earlier, Gobind said the National Data Sharing Committee, established under the Data Sharing Act 2025, is tasked with setting policy and strategic direction for public sector data sharing. 'We acknowledge the legal and technical challenges in data sharing between public agencies, states, and local authorities. Therefore, it is hoped that this committee will be able to streamline and facilitate secure inter-agency data sharing,' he said. — Bernama
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
US FDA launches AI tool to reduce time taken for scientific reviews
Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly (Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday that it had launched a generative AI tool, Elsa, aimed at improving efficiency across its operations, including scientific reviews. "Today's rollout of Elsa is ahead of schedule and under budget, thanks to the collaboration of our in-house experts across the centers," said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. The agency said it is already using Elsa to expedite clinical protocol reviews, shorten the time needed for scientific evaluations, and pinpoint high-priority inspection targets. Once the FDA receives an application for a potential drug approval, it has six to 10 months to make a decision. Elsa assists with reading, writing, and summarizing tasks. It can summarize adverse events to support safety profile assessments of drugs and rapidly compare packaging inserts. "Elsa offers a secure platform for FDA employees to access internal documents while ensuring all information remains within the agency. The models do not train on data submitted by regulated industry, safeguarding the sensitive research and data handled by FDA staff," the FDA said. In May, the regulator said it would fully integrate AI by June 30, following an experimental run. (Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
The Star
12 hours ago
- The Star
Cornelis Networks releases tech to speed up AI datacenter connections
FILE PHOTO: An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Cornelis Networks on Tuesday released a suite of networking hardware and software aimed at linking together up to half a million artificial intelligence chips. Cornelis, which was spun out of Intel in 2020 and is still backed by the chipmaker's venture capital fund, is targeting a problem that has bedeviledAI datacenters for much of the past decade: AI computing chips are very fast, but when many of those chips are strung together to work on big computing problems, the network links between the chips are not fast enough to keep the chips supplied with data. Nvidia took aim at that problem with its $6.9 billion purchase in 2020 of networking chip firm Mellanox, which made networking gear with a network protocol called InfiniBand, which was created in the 1990s specifically for supercomputers. Networking chip giants such as Broadcom and Cisco Systems are working to solve the same set of technical issues with Ethernet technology, which has connected most of the internet since the 1980s and is an open technology standard. The Cornelis "CN5000" networking chips usea new network technology created by Cornelis called OmniPath. The chips will ship to initial customers such as the U.S. Department of Energy in the third quarter of this year, Cornelis CEO Lisa Spelman told Reuters on May 30. Although Cornelis has backing from Intel, its chips are designed to work with AI computing chips from Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices or any other maker using open-source software, Spelman said. She said that the next version of Cornelis chips in 2026 will also be compatible with Ethernet networks, aiming to alleviate any customer concerns that buying Cornelis chips would leave a data center locked into its technology. "There's 45-year-old architecture and a 25-year-old architecture working to solve these problems," Spelman said. "We like to offer a new way and a new path for customers that delivers you both the (computing chip) performance and excellent economic performance as well." (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler)
