Latest news with #GinaNeff
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Velvet Sundown: Viral band success spawns AI claims and hoaxes
A band called The Velvet Sundown has had its tracks played hundreds of thousands of times on Spotify since appearing several weeks ago - without anyone knowing for sure what it band has a verified page on the music streaming platform, with more than 850,000 monthly none of the four named musicians in the band have given any interviews or appear to have individual social media accounts, and there are no records of any live performances. It has prompted accusations that they and their music are artificial intelligence (AI) generated - something the band denies on social did not respond to the BBC's request for an confusing the story, Rolling Stone US reported that the band's spokesman had admitted The Velvet Sundown's music had been generated using an AI tool called Suno - only for the magazine to report shortly afterwards that the spokesman was himself a man, who goes by the name of Andrew Frelon, said it was a deliberate plot to hoax the media.A statement on the band's Spotify page says that the group has "no affiliation with this individual, nor any evidence confirming their identity or existence."An account on X which claims to be the band's official channel, is also fake, it Gina Neff, from the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge, says it points to a problem which affects much more than just one band. "Whether this is an AI band may not seem important," she told me."But increasingly, our collective grip on reality seems shaky. The Velvet Sundown story plays into the fears we have of losing control of AI and shows how important protecting online information is." 'Theft dressed as competition' The Velvet Sundown's indie ballads, with guitar music and male vocals, is fairly easy, if bland, on the ear. With lyrics such as "eyes like film in faded light, dreams walk barefoot into the night" and "ash and velvet, smoke and flame, calling out in freedom's name", it could all feasibly be either AI-generated or penned by a rival music streaming platform, said that its AI detector tool had flagged the music as being "100% AI generated".Spotify did not respond to a request for Daniel Ek has previously told the BBC that he did not intend to ban AI-generated music from the platform but added that he did not agree with using the tech to mimic real in the creative arts industry are deeply concerned about the impact of of musicians have protested about the use of their content in the training of AI tools to create music. Sir Elton John and Dua Lipa joined many members of the House of Lords in fighting for the UK government to include AI and copyright in a new set of laws regarding data use and access. Their campaign was ultimately unsuccessful. The government says it is carrying out a separate consultation about AI and Newton Rex, founder of Fairly Trained, which campaigns for AI firms to respect creators' rights, said the questions around the The Velvet Sundown bore out musicians' concerns."This is exactly what artists have been worried about, it's theft dressed up as competition," he said."AI companies steal artists' work to build their products, then flood the market with knock-offs, meaning less money goes to human musicians."Sophie Jones, chief strategy officer at BPI, said it illustrated the need for government action."This discussion reinforces many of the concerns raised by the music industry and artist community in recent months on the critical issues of AI and music rights. Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Experts warn of 'frightening' risks linked to period tracker apps
Women face 'real and frightening privacy and safety risks' when using period tracker apps, experts have warned. Academics from the University of Cambridge said that personal information in the app can be collected and 'sold at scale'. A new report from experts at Cambridge's Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy said that this 'poses risks and harms for users'. Researchers said that menstrual data can provide insights into people's health and their reproductive choices. These apps can collect information on exercise, diet, medication, sexual preferences, hormone levels and contraception use, they added. This information can be a 'gold mine' for consumer profiling, the authors of the new report said. Many women who download the apps do so when they are trying to get pregnant, which the authors point out leads to a dramatic shift in shopping behaviour. 'Data on who is pregnant, and who wants to be, has therefore emerged as some of the most sought-after information in digital advertising,' they said. The point out how period tracking apps have rapidly risen in popularity, with global downloads of the three most popular apps surpassing 250 million. 'Cycle tracking apps (CTA) are a lucrative business because they provide the companies behind the apps with access to extremely valuable and fine-grained user data,' the experts wrote in their new report. 'CTA data is not only commercially valuable and shared with an inextricable net if third parties (thereby making intimate user information exploitable for targeted advertising), but it also poses severe security risks for users.' They point out that in the wrong hands, the data collected by the apps could result in health insurance 'discrimination'; risks to job prospects or even domestic abuse. The research team called for better governance of the 'femtech' industry, including improved data security of these apps and for them to introduce 'meaningful consent options'. They also called for public health bodies to launch alternatives to commercial tracking apps. 'Menstrual cycle tracking apps are presented as empowering women and addressing the gender health gap,' said Dr Stefanie Felsberger, lead author of the report. 'Yet the business model behind their services rests on commercial use, selling user data and insights to third parties for profit.' 'There are real and frightening privacy and safety risks to women as a result of the commodification of the data collected by cycle tracking app companies.' Professor Gina Neff, executive director of Cambridge's Minderoo Centre, added: 'The use of cycle tracking apps is at an all-time high. 'Women deserve better than to have their menstrual tracking data treated as consumer data, but there is a different possible future.'
Wales Online
11-06-2025
- Health
- Wales Online
Warning over 'real and frightening risk' of period tracker apps
Warning over 'real and frightening risk' of period tracker apps Three apps alone have been downloaded 250million times These apps can collect information on exercise, diet, medication, sexual preferences, hormone levels and contraception use Women face 'real and frightening privacy and safety risks' when using period tracker apps, experts have warned. Academics from the University of Cambridge said that personal information in the app can be collected and 'sold at scale'. A new report from experts at Cambridge's Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy said that this 'poses risks and harms for users'. Researchers said that menstrual data can provide insights into people's health and their reproductive choices. These apps can collect information on exercise, diet, medication, sexual preferences, hormone levels and contraception use, they added. This information can be a 'gold mine' for consumer profiling, the authors of the new report said. Many women who download the apps do so when they are trying to get pregnant, which the authors point out leads to a dramatic shift in shopping behaviour. 'Data on who is pregnant, and who wants to be, has therefore emerged as some of the most sought-after information in digital advertising,' they said. The point out how period tracking apps have rapidly risen in popularity, with global downloads of the three most popular apps surpassing 250 million. 'Cycle tracking apps (CTA) are a lucrative business because they provide the companies behind the apps with access to extremely valuable and fine-grained user data,' the experts wrote in their new report. Article continues below 'CTA data is not only commercially valuable and shared with an inextricable net if third parties (thereby making intimate user information exploitable for targeted advertising), but it also poses severe security risks for users.' They point out that in the wrong hands, the data collected by the apps could result in health insurance 'discrimination'; risks to job prospects or even domestic abuse. The research team called for better governance of the 'femtech' industry, including improved data security of these apps and for them to introduce 'meaningful consent options'. They also called for public health bodies to launch alternatives to commercial tracking apps. 'Menstrual cycle tracking apps are presented as empowering women and addressing the gender health gap,' said Dr Stefanie Felsberger, lead author of the report. Article continues below 'Yet the business model behind their services rests on commercial use, selling user data and insights to third parties for profit.' 'There are real and frightening privacy and safety risks to women as a result of the commodification of the data collected by cycle tracking app companies.' Professor Gina Neff, executive director of Cambridge's Minderoo Centre, added: 'The use of cycle tracking apps is at an all-time high. Women deserve better than to have their menstrual tracking data treated as consumer data, but there is a different possible future.'
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Menstrual tracking app users cautioned by Cambridge researchers
Women who tracked their menstrual cycle using smartphone apps have been warned about the privacy and safety risks of doing so.A report from the University of Cambridge's Minderoo Centre said the apps were a "gold mine" for consumer profiling and collecting cautioned that in the wrong hands, the data could result in health insurance "discrimination" and risks to job Gina Neff, executive director at the Minderoo Centre, said: "Women deserve better than to have their menstrual tracking data treated as consumer data, but there is a different possible future." The apps collect information on everything from exercise, diet and medication to sexual preferences, hormone levels and contraception at the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, an independent team of researchers at the university, said this data could give insights into people's health and their reproductive report added that many women used the apps when they were trying to get said data on who is pregnant, and who wants to be, was some of the "most sought-after information in digital advertising" as it led to a shift in shopping patterns."Cycle tracking apps (CTA) are a lucrative business because they provide the companies behind the apps with access to extremely valuable and fine-grained user data," they said."CTA data is not only commercially valuable and shared with an inextricable net of third parties (thereby making intimate user information exploitable for targeted advertising), but it also poses severe security risks for users."The research team called for better governance of the "femtech" industry, improved data security of these apps and the introduction of "meaningful consent options".They also wanted bodies like the NHS to launch alternatives to commercial tracking apps with permission for the data to be used in valid medical Stefanie Felsberger, lead author of the report, said: "Menstrual cycle tracking apps are presented as empowering women and addressing the gender health gap."Yet the business model behind their services rests on commercial use, selling user data and insights to third parties for profit."There are real and frightening privacy and safety risks to women as a result of the commodification of the data collected by cycle tracking app companies."The report said work published by Privacy International showed major CTA companies had updated their approach to data sharing, but device information was still collected with "no meaningful consent".Additional reporting by PA Media. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Powys County Times
11-06-2025
- Health
- Powys County Times
Experts warn of risks linked to period tracker apps
Women face 'real and frightening privacy and safety risks' when using period tracker apps, experts have warned. Academics from the University of Cambridge said that personal information in the app can be collected and 'sold at scale'. A new report from experts at Cambridge's Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy said that this 'poses risks and harms for users'. Researchers said that menstrual data can provide insights into people's health and their reproductive choices. These apps can collect information on exercise, diet, medication, sexual preferences, hormone levels and contraception use, they added. This information can be a 'gold mine' for consumer profiling, the authors of the new report said. Many women who download the apps do so when they are trying to get pregnant, which the authors point out leads to a dramatic shift in shopping behaviour. 'Data on who is pregnant, and who wants to be, has therefore emerged as some of the most sought-after information in digital advertising,' they said. The point out how period tracking apps have rapidly risen in popularity, with global downloads of the three most popular apps surpassing 250 million. 'Cycle tracking apps (CTA) are a lucrative business because they provide the companies behind the apps with access to extremely valuable and fine-grained user data,' the experts wrote in their new report. 'CTA data is not only commercially valuable and shared with an inextricable net if third parties (thereby making intimate user information exploitable for targeted advertising), but it also poses severe security risks for users.' They point out that in the wrong hands, the data collected by the apps could result in health insurance 'discrimination'; risks to job prospects or even domestic abuse. The research team called for better governance of the 'femtech' industry, including improved data security of these apps and for them to introduce 'meaningful consent options'. They also called for public health bodies to launch alternatives to commercial tracking apps. 'Menstrual cycle tracking apps are presented as empowering women and addressing the gender health gap,' said Dr Stefanie Felsberger, lead author of the report. 'Yet the business model behind their services rests on commercial use, selling user data and insights to third parties for profit.' 'There are real and frightening privacy and safety risks to women as a result of the commodification of the data collected by cycle tracking app companies.' Professor Gina Neff, executive director of Cambridge's Minderoo Centre, added: 'The use of cycle tracking apps is at an all-time high. 'Women deserve better than to have their menstrual tracking data treated as consumer data, but there is a different possible future.'
