Technology
Could Trump’s AI-Generated Endorsement of Taylor Swift Be Illegal?
Former President Donald Trump released a set of memes on Truth Social — a platform owned by his media company — that make it appear to be Taylor Swift and her fans are endorsing his candidacy. But with latest regulations coming into effect, those images could have deeper implications for the use of AI-generated imagery in political campaigns, especially when the photographs misrepresent a celeb’s image.
“One of the things I see a lot in my practice right now is the rise of AI impersonators for endorsements,” mental property and entertainment attorney Noah Downs told TechCrunch on the condition that his comments not be considered legal advice. These fake AI endorsements have turn out to be so common that even “Shark Tank” needed to publish Public announcement to warn fans in regards to the rampant number of scams posing as investors within the show.
In one photo Trump posted, throngs of young women wear matching T-shirts that read “Swifties for Trump.” While Swift’s large fan base is indeed politically diverse, these photos seem like generated by artificial intelligence—in actual fact, these particular photos come from satirical post on X
Another meme Trump posted is a screenshot from X of Taylor Swift playing Uncle Sam, declaring, “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.”
While the pop icon has yet to comment on the 2024 US presidential election, she has expressed support Biden-Harris campaign in 2020 and publicly defamed Trump on the time. Some fans speculated that Swift subtly endorsed Harris in an Instagram post this month, although it wasn’t that case.
As one of essentially the most dominant figures in popular culture, Swift has been the topic of her justifiable share of deepfakes. When nonconsensual, explicit AI images of Swift surfaced on the X earlier this 12 months, some lawmakers responded by introducing latest laws geared toward protecting against deepfakesEven White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called on Congress to take motion.
Eight months later, the landscape of legal protections against misleading synthetic media looks different. In Tennessee, where Swift’s corporate headquarters are situated, Gov. Bill Lee signed a pioneering bill in March ELVIS Act to a law that explicitly protects artists against unauthorized imitations of their works by artificial intelligence.
“This legislation passed with bipartisan support because everyone seems to recognize the problems that AI and the misuse of AI tools can create for society,” Downs said.
But since the ELVIS Act is so latest, there’s no precedent for the way it may very well be used to guard artists. Much of the laws’s language focuses specifically on AI-generated audio that may mimic an artist’s voice, just like the viral Drake song that turned out to be fake.
“I think this is going to be a long-term issue that the ELVIS Act will address very well, but we need to have more stringent national laws on this,” Downs said. The only reason the ELVIS Act could potentially come into play is because of Swift’s ties to the state where she does business and has real estate interests.
Avi D. Kelin, a partner at PEM Law who practices political law, isn’t optimistic in regards to the possibility of the ELVIS Act being applied, because it appears to be more about audio impersonation than video. Instead, he wonders whether it could turn out to be a federal election integrity issue in the longer term.
“A particular question is whether the Federal Election Commission, which has jurisdiction over political communications, will get involved,” Kelin told TechCrunch. However, he said the FEC is unlikely to implement latest guidelines on AI-generated political communications this election cycle.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it intends to proceed with its plans to introduce latest AI Transparency Requirements in TV and radio ads. But that doesn’t apply to social media posts by politicians running for presidency office, and social media stays a key part of campaign communications. Meanwhile, research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a British nonprofit focused on online extremism, found that the quantity of AI-generated disinformation has increased by a median of 130% per thirty days on X over the past 12 months.
These insincere endorsements matter a lot because Swift’s endorsement is arguably essentially the most coveted celebrity endorsement a politician can get. Her cultural influence is so vast that her endorsement of a candidate can tip the scales in a detailed race, in accordance with Morning consultationgreater than half of U.S. adults consider themselves Taylor Swift fans, while 16% discover as die-hard fans. These numbers are staggering given the context that only about two thirds eligible Americans solid ballots within the 2020 election.
“(The ELVIS Act) is completely new, and the exact parameters will have to be worked out by the courts,” Kelin said. “It would certainly be an interesting test case!”
Technology
US medical device giant Artivion says hackers stole files during a cybersecurity incident
Artivion, a medical device company that produces implantable tissue for heart and vascular transplants, says its services have been “disrupted” resulting from a cybersecurity incident.
In 8-K filing In an interview with the SEC on Monday, Georgia-based Artivion, formerly CryoLife, said it became aware of a “cybersecurity incident” that involved the “compromise and encryption” of information on November 21. This suggests that the corporate was attacked by ransomware, but Artivion has not yet confirmed the character of the incident and didn’t immediately reply to TechCrunch’s questions. No major ransomware group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Artivion said it took some systems offline in response to the cyberattack, which the corporate said caused “disruptions to certain ordering and shipping processes.”
Artivion, which reported third-quarter revenue of $95.8 million, said it didn’t expect the incident to have a material impact on the corporate’s funds.
Technology
It’s a Raspberry Pi 5 in a keyboard and it’s called Raspberry Pi 500
Manufacturer of single-board computers Raspberry Pi is updating its cute little computer keyboard device with higher specs. Named Raspberry Pi500This successor to the Raspberry Pi 400 is just as powerful as the present Raspberry Pi flagship, the Raspberry Pi 5. It is on the market for purchase now from Raspberry Pi resellers.
The Raspberry Pi 500 is the simplest method to start with the Raspberry Pi because it’s not as intimidating because the Raspberry Pi 5. When you take a look at the Raspberry Pi 500, you do not see any chipsets or PCBs (printed circuit boards). The Raspberry Pi is totally hidden in the familiar housing, the keyboard.
The idea with the Raspberry Pi 500 is you could connect a mouse and a display and you are able to go. If, for instance, you’ve got a relative who uses a very outdated computer with an outdated version of Windows, the Raspberry Pi 500 can easily replace the old PC tower for many computing tasks.
More importantly, this device brings us back to the roots of the Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi computers were originally intended for educational applications. Over time, technology enthusiasts and industrial customers began using single-board computers all over the place. (For example, when you’ve ever been to London Heathrow Airport, all of the departures and arrivals boards are there powered by Raspberry Pi.)
Raspberry Pi 500 draws inspiration from the roots of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a non-profit organization. It’s the right first computer for college. In some ways, it’s a lot better than a Chromebook or iPad because it’s low cost and highly customizable, which inspires creative pondering.
The Raspberry Pi 500 comes with a 32GB SD card that comes pre-installed with Raspberry Pi OS, a Debian-based Linux distribution. It costs $90, which is a slight ($20) price increase over the Raspberry Pi 400.
Only UK and US keyboard variants will probably be available at launch. But versions with French, German, Italian, Japanese, Nordic and Spanish keyboard layouts will probably be available soon. And when you’re in search of a bundle that features all the things you would like, Raspberry Pi also offers a $120 desktop kit that features the Raspberry Pi 500, a mouse, a 27W USB-C power adapter, and a micro-HDMI to HDMI cable.
In other news, Raspberry Pi has announced one other recent thing: the Raspberry Pi monitor. It is a 15.6-inch 1080p monitor that’s priced at $100. Since there are quite a few 1080p portable monitors available on the market, this launch is not as noteworthy because the Pi 500. However, for die-hard Pi fans, there’s now also a Raspberry Pi-branded monitor option available.
Technology
Apple Vision Pro may add support for PlayStation VR controllers
According to Apple, Apple desires to make its Vision Pro mixed reality device more attractive for gamers and game developers latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The Vision Pro was presented more as a productivity and media consumption device than a tool geared toward gamers, due partly to its reliance on visual and hand controls moderately than a separate controller.
However, Apple may need gamers if it desires to expand the Vision Pro’s audience, especially since Gurman reports that lower than half one million units have been sold to this point. As such, the corporate has reportedly been in talks with Sony about adding support for PlayStation VR2 handheld controllers, and has also talked to developers about whether they may support the controllers of their games.
Offering more precise control, Apple may also make other forms of software available in Vision Pro, reminiscent of Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop.
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