We’re just at the dawn of the fake news era… But there’s a profitable silver lining… In the mailbag: “Term limits are just another nail in the freedom coffin”…
Jeff is our go-to tech expert here at Legacy Research. And last night, he gave details on four technologies he believes will disrupt society in ways we can’t imagine.
Plus, he detailed four tiny tech companies that could 10x your money. If you missed it, watch the replay here.
I’m talking about “deepfake” videos…
In part two of our dive into tech this week (catch up on part one), Jeff shows how deepfakes can turn anyone into a digital puppet.
As you’ll see below, they can make them appear to do and say things they never did or said.
It’s all part of the artificial intelligence (AI) megatrend Jeff believes is one of the best money-making opportunities in tech right now.
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By Jeff Brown, editor, Exponential Tech Investor
By now, you’ve heard of “fake news.”
The term got a lot of play during the 2016 presidential campaign.
But as I (Jeff) will show you today, this is only the dawn of the fake news era.
Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) software, the misinformation of the future will be even more convincing…
And far more dangerous.
Deepfakes mimic the appearance, voice, and mannerisms of a speaker. You can basically make anyone appear to say and do just about anything.
This sounds like it’s out of a science-fiction novel. But the technology is very real.
See for yourself…
Researchers from Samsung and Skoltech, a graduate research institute in Moscow, used AI to create a talking Mona Lisa.
All they needed was a single digital image of the painting.
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Using AI, researchers have made the Mona Lisa “talk” (Source: Skoltech)
To animate the image, they took an existing video of somebody speaking and mapped their face.
They combined that with the Mona Lisa to generate the movements. Then they refined it until it became realistic.
AI took a single image of the Mona Lisa and brought her to life.
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We could take historical figures – say George Washington or Abe Lincoln – and animate their speeches.
This would bring history to life for students. It’d make learning more interactive and real.
But there’s a dark side of this new tech, too.
If you didn’t know any better, it would look to you as though the talking Mona Lisa was real. It’s very convincing.
So deepfakes could be used to manipulate people and make divisive actions even more powerful.
For example, someone could create a fake speech from any politician and put it out on social media.
But it wouldn’t have to be a public figure. They could use it to frame or defame anyone… including you. That’s a disturbing thought.
Last month, a video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went viral on social media.
Someone had doctored it. They made it look and sound as though Pelosi was slurring her words. The video racked up 2.5 million views on Facebook.
Keep in mind, this was a very low-tech version of a deepfake. Someone had just slowed down the video.
Now, imagine the impact an AI-made deepfake could have. It would look so real, you’d have no idea it’d been tampered with.
AI is software. Once it’s out there… it’s out there.
To create your own deepfake talking head, all you need is the software, an image, and a voice recording. That’s it.
And it can be just a tiny scrap of a voice recording.
Chinese tech giant Baidu just announced that its AI-powered “Deep Voice” technology can clone anybody’s voice.
All the AI software needs is 3.7 seconds of audio for reference.
In other words, if Deep Voice can listen to you for just 3.7 seconds, it can impersonate your voice forever.
Identity theft is a growing problem.
If you’re an American who uses the internet, parts of your identity have almost certainly already been hacked. It could be your home address, your email address, even your Social Security number.
Now, with this voice-cloning technology, cybercriminals can pretend to be you over the phone. Think about what that means for your bank account.
Many banks verify customer calls by authenticating your voice. So voice cloning makes identity theft even more dangerous.
What’s more, cybercriminals can spread fake news by staging presentations in an authority figure’s voice.
Imagine the chaos if criminals copied the voice of the American president, for instance.
A team out of New York University’s (NYU) School of Engineering came up with one way to combat deepfake videos.
They developed AI software to place “digital watermarks” on images and videos when they’re first created.
You can’t see the digital watermark just by looking at the video or image. But the AI can check for it.
If the watermark checks out, you know the image or video is real. If not, you know the content has been manipulated.
It’s one of the hottest areas for venture capital (VC) investment.
In fact, AI startups had their best year ever in 2018. They raised a record $9.3 billion.
That’s 72% more than the year before. And it’s roughly double the jump in funding from the previous year.
Last night, I pulled back the curtain on four early-stage technologies – including AI – that could change our world.
And thousands of your fellow readers tuned in to get details on four small-cap tech companies that could 10x your money over time.
If you missed it, watch the replay right here.
Regards,
Jeff Brown
June 13, 2019
New York City
READER MAILBAG
Chris here – One of the biggest mailbag debates right now is about corrupt career politicians. In the latest on Tuesday, reader Jan B. said…
I have not heard a reasonable response against term limits. Term limits would significantly reduce the type of power grabs and power blocks that have become so ineffective to legislative reforms and resolutions.
It would allow for our governing bodies to engender progress for the functions of the government and the strength and betterment of our country, rather than individual gains.
But a fellow reader doesn’t think term limits are the answer…
Term limits are just another nail in the freedom coffin! If you want real term limits, you need to merely eliminate the ability of ALL politicians to take money from one person to give to another. Take that ability away and politicians of all stripes will term-limit themselves.
– Korte Y.
Meantime, last Thursday, reader David D. said socialized medicine is a win-win…
I think I finally get it, the win-win thing. Like free socialized medicine for everyone, that’s win-win… It’s a win for society, as governments, due to their size, are much better suited to negotiate better pricing and to keep costs under control.
But he’s had a tough crowd so far…
Perhaps David could explain why costs of medical/surgical procedures that are not paid for by insurance or the government have been going down during the decades that the cost of covered procedures have been skyrocketing.
Couldn’t be that free market competition for those cash dollars increases efficiency, could it?
– Kurt H.
Here in Canada, our universal healthcare is not free or good. There is no feedback loop or competition when government has a monopoly on the supply and quality of any good or service.
A simple analogy: Imagine a government restaurant monopoly. You can’t complain about the food or service. You can wait in line for hours if it’s busy, due to supply-and-demand mismatches. The only food choices are what’s provided. You don’t get to choose the quality or quantity of food.
No matter how poor the food is, the staff can’t be fired because of their union. If you get sick from the food, there is no one to be held responsible. If you criticize them, you get even worse service. Your government monopolies are sure swell!
– Eric B.
David D. got it totally wrong. In my experience, people who want to give things away for free don’t understand consequences. Here in the U.S., the doctor’s office is a pleasant place, and the doctor is attentive to your needs.
That’s because healthcare is competitive. But if you make it free, what incentive does the doctor have to make the office and your experience pleasant? None.
I have lived in Central Europe, where healthcare is “free.” It was neither pleasant nor convenient. That is socialized medicine, and I say, “no thanks.”
– Karen W.
Did David D. get it “totally wrong,” like Karen W. thinks? Can socialized medicine ever work? Write us at [email protected].
Regards,
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Chris Lowe
June 13, 2019
Lisbon, Portugal