Latest news with #HashemAl-Ghaili
AFP
6 days ago
- Health
- AFP
Posts misrepresent study findings on contraceptive pills
The photo of a half-used pack of Trust brand contraceptive pills was misleadingly shared on Facebook on June 30, 2025. "Is this true? A new study has found a small but measurable increase in the risk of brain tumours linked to long-term use of the contraceptive pill desogestrel," says the Facebook post, referring to a hormone used in birth control pills (archived link). The post goes on to state that women who took pills containing this hormone for more than five years faced a higher risk of intracranial meningioma -- a type of brain tumour -- than those who used it for a shorter period. It notes that the heightened risk disappeared for women who stopped taking the pill after a year, and the study does not prove direct causation but supports cautious long-term use. "In contrast, another synthetic hormone, levonorgestrel, showed no increased tumor risk, even after extended use," it adds. Image Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post captured on July 14, 2025, with an orange X added by AFP Similar claims circulated on Facebook, including one that featured another brand, Lady. The posts triggered a flurry of comments from concerned users. "This is so sad if true. I've been using this brand for ten years," one user said. Another commented: "This is why it's better to use the calendar method." The brands Trust and Lady do not contain desogestrel but another hormone called levonorgestrel, according to the drugs database MIMS ( ). Keyword searches on Google found the misleading posts stem from a June 19 post on the Facebook page of Hashem Al-Ghaili, a content creator known for sharing science and technology-related stories (archived link). The post does not mention any specific brand of pills but links to the study published in the British Medical Journal on June 11 (archived link). The paper examined whether oral contraceptives containing desogestrel or levonorgestrel are linked to an increased risk of intracranial meningioma, based on data from women living in France who underwent surgery for the condition between 2020 and 2023. "The results showed a small increased risk of intracranial meningioma in women who had used desogestrel 75 µg for more than five continuous years, but no risk in users of levonorgestrel (alone or combined with oestrogen)," reads part of its summary. Image Screenshot of the study published by BMJ taken on July 10, 2025, with a blue highlight added by AFP Given these findings, women over 45 or those who have been using desogestrel for more than five years should consult their doctor to assess whether continuing use remains the best option, Noémie Roland, assistant professor of epidemiology at University of Southern Denmark and one of the authors, told AFP on July 7 (archived link). "The results of our study concerning levonorgestrel, alone or combined with oestrogen, and regardless of duration of use are reassuring," she added. "Our findings show no elevated meningioma risk with the combined oestrogen-levonorgestrel contraceptive pill -- the most commonly prescribed oral contraceptive globally." Marianne Austria, a gynaecologist from St. Clare's Medical Center in the Philippine capital Manila, separately told AFP on July 8 that hormonal birth control methods carry potential side effects such as headaches, nausea or, in very rare cases, blood clots (archived link). But these can be managed under medical supervision, including by temporarily stopping the pill or switching to alternative contraceptive options. "Taking pills remains to be one of the safest contraceptive measures that a woman can practice," Austria added. AFP has previously reported on misinformation around reproductive health here.
Axios
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Google's new AI video tool floods internet with real-looking clips
Google's newest AI video generator, Veo 3, generates clips that most users online can't seem to distinguish from those made by human filmmakers and actors. Why it matters: Veo 3 videos shared online are amazing viewers with their realism — and also terrifying them with a sense that real and fake have become hopelessly blurred. The big picture: Unlike OpenAI's video generator Sora, released more widely last December, Google DeepMind's Veo 3 can include dialogue, soundtracks and sound effects. The model excels at following complex prompts and translating detailed descriptions into realistic videos. The AI engine abides by real-world physics, offers accurate lip syncing, rarely breaks continuity and generates people with lifelike human features, including five fingers per hand. According to examples shared by Google and from users online, the telltale signs of synthetic content are mostly absent. Case in point: In one viral example posted on X, filmmaker and molecular biologist Hashem Al-Ghaili shows a series of short films of AI-generated actors railing against their AI creators and prompts. Special effects technology, video-editing apps and camera tech advances have been changing Hollywood for many decades, but artificially generated films pose a novel challenge to human creators. In a promo video for Flow, Google's new video tool that includes Veo 3, filmmakers say the AI engine gives them a new sense of freedom with a hint of eerie autonomy. "It feels like it's almost building upon itself," filmmaker Dave Clark says. How it works: Veo 3 was announced at Google I/O on Tuesday and is available now to $249-a-month Google AI Ultra subscribers in the United States. Between the lines: Google says Veo 3 was "informed by our work with creators and filmmakers," and some creators have embraced new AI tools. But the spread of the videos online is also dismaying many video professionals and lovers of art. Some dismiss any AI-generated video as "slop," regardless of its technical proficiency or lifelike qualities — but, as Axios' Ina Fried points out, AI slop is in the eye of the beholder. The tool could also be useful for more commercial marketing and media work, AI analyst Ethan Mollick writes. It's unclear how Google trained Veo 3 and how that might affect the creativity of its outputs. 404 Media found that Veo 3 generated the same lame dad joke for several users who prompted it to create a video of a man doing stand-up comedy. Likewise, last year, YouTuber Marques Brownlee asked Sora to create a video of a "tech reviewer sitting at a desk." The generated video featured a fake plant that's nearly identical to the shrub Brownlee keeps on his desk for many of his videos — suggesting the tool may have been trained on them.
Indian Express
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘Goodbye, Hollywood': Google unveils Veo 3, netizens flood Internet with ‘hyper-realistic' AI videos
At its annual developer conference held on May 20, Google unveiled Veo 3, the latest evolution in its AI video generation technology, one that users are calling the 'new era of filmmaking'. This new model doesn't just create visually stunning and cinematic clips, it now adds realistic audio, including background sounds, sound effects, and even spoken dialogue, bringing the videos eerily close to real life. Currently, Veo 3 is only available to users in the United States, but that didn't stop people from jumping in to test it. Soon after the announcement, X was flooded with jaw-dropping clips, sparking a viral wave of disbelief. Many viewers were left asking: 'Is this AI or real?' One video features a man passionately speaking about the immense, untamed force of the ocean. Say goodbye to the silent era of video generation: Introducing Veo 3 — with native audio generation. 🗣️ Quality is up from Veo 2, and now you can add dialogue between characters, sound effects and background noise. Veo 3 is available now in the @GeminiApp for Google AI Ultra… — Google (@Google) May 20, 2025 Another user posted a video with the caption, 'Imagine if AI characters became aware they were living in a simulation!' I did more tests with Google's #Veo3. Imagine if AI characters became aware they were living in a simulation! — Hashem Al-Ghaili (@HashemGhaili) May 21, 2025 A third person shared a video of a classroom and wrote, 'A college professor doing a class on Gen Z slang and the video pans over to all the boomers taking notes and seeming super interested.' A college professor doing a class on Gen Z slang and the video pans over to all the boomers taking notes and seeming super interested #veo3 — justin (@HonestBlogging) May 21, 2025 There's a video where Indian chai is being made and poured into a cup. 🚨 This video is made by Veo3, an AI video generator announced by Google.@GeminiApp #GoogleIO 🙏🤯 — Indian Tech & Infra (@IndianTechGuide) May 21, 2025 Another video that is doing rounds shows a SWAT team infiltrating a terrorist hideout with every character talking to each other in a way it looks straight out of a Hollywood movie. Created with Google Flow. Visuals, Sound Design, and Voice were prompted using Veo 3 text-to-video. Welcome to a new era of filmmaking. — Dave Clark (@Diesol) May 21, 2025 This video was entirely generated by Google's 'Veo 3' — Dexerto (@Dexerto) May 21, 2025 Less than 24 hours ago, Google dropped Veo 3, blurring the line between reality and AI. Its video and audio quality is so lifelike, it's unsettling. Here are 20 insane examples & a full guide on how to use it: 1) A standup comedian telling a joke: — Mark Gadala-Maria (@markgadala) May 21, 2025 Google Veo 3 realism just broke the Internet yesterday. This is 100% AI 10 wild examples: 1. Street interview that never happened — Min Choi (@minchoi) May 22, 2025 According to Eli Collins, vice president of product at Google DeepMind, the model excels at everything from 'text and image prompting to real-world physics and accurate lip syncing.' Currently, Veo 3 is part of Google's Gemini AI Ultra plan, which comes with a hefty price tag of $249.99 per month. There are also plans to roll it out more broadly through Google's Vertex AI enterprise platform in the near future.
