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The ethics of deepfakes aren’t always black and white

Jun16
by on June 16, 2019 at 2:00 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Podium


Chances are if you’ve seen a deepfake, such as this now infamous video of Obama ‘speaking’ Comedian Jordan Peele’s words, it has left an uncomfortable feeling. Since deepfakes emerged in December 2017, most media coverage has focused on their potentially catastrophic applications. These range from deepfake pornography, ransomfakes, smear campaigns against politicians, and a new age of fake news that could worsen the global ‘post-truth’ crisis. While these malicious uses of deepfakes and synthetic media are rightly a cause for concern, there are also positive uses of the same generative AI technologies. For example, Lyrebird, a Canadian startup, has partnered…

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CHEAP: Blast tunes like a rock god with 54% off a Marshall Acton Bluetooth speaker

Jun16
by on June 16, 2019 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Plugged


Welcome to CHEAP, our series about things that are good, but most of all, cheap. CHEAP! One of the most iconic images in music is the Marshall stack. Most of us would be lying if we said we never imagined ourselves on a huge stage, a wall of Marshall amps behind us, as we play a twenty minute guitar solo to an adoring crowd. You know, something a bit like this: Unfortunately, most of us aren’t guitar gods shredding on stage. We’re normal people with jobs. But, sometimes, we can get a little taste of that rock and roll lifestyle.…

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Personal robots won’t catch on until they become more than a novelty

Jun15
by on June 15, 2019 at 2:00 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Podium


Last month, another well-funded social robot startup, Anki, closed its doors for good. And it wasn’t the first. In March, Jibo, which had received $73 million in funding, announced that it was shutting down its servers. Over the past few years, we’ve seen several much-hyped robots take the stage, promising a friendly at-home companion to do, well, just about anything you’d imagine a home robot to do. Your friend, your photographer, your jukebox, your toy. For both Anki and Jibo, two of the main players in the companion robot space, the public reception was quite positive. Media and investors alike…

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