The world of the Massive-Verse’s hottest hero is expanding: Inferno Girl Red, Mat Groom and Erica D’Urso’s superhero comic series, has returned to Kickstarter for the second chapter of her journey, and io9 has a look at what fans can expect for the young hero.
India is getting ready to launch its first mission to the Sun, switching its attention to Earth’s host star after finally touching down on the Moon less than a week ago.
A team of Japanese and Peruvian archaeologists working in northern Peru’s Cajamarca region have found the 3,000-year-old remains of a man they believe was a priest for the area’s temples.
Google took a step towards transparency in AI-generated images today. Google DeepMind announced SynthID, a watermarking / identification tool for generative art. The company says the technology embeds a digital watermark, invisible to the human eye, directly onto an image’s pixels. SynthID is rolling out first to “a limited number” of customers using Imagen, Google’s art generator available on its suite of cloud-based AI tools.
One of the many issues with generative art — apart from the ethical implications of training on artists’ work — is the potential for creating deepfakes. For example, the pope’s hot new hip-hop attire (an AI image created with MidJourney) going viral on social media was an early example of what could become more commonplace as generative tools evolve. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how something like political ads using AI-generated art could do much more damage than a funny image circulating on social media. “Watermarking audio and visual content to help make it clear that content is AI-generated” was one of the voluntary commitments that seven AI companies agreed to develop after a July meeting at the White House. Google is the first of the companies to launch such a system.
Google doesn’t go too far into the weeds about SynthID’s technical implementation (likely to prevent workarounds), but it says the watermark can’t be easily removed through simple editing techniques. “Finding the right balance between imperceptibility and robustness to image manipulations is difficult,” the company wrote in a DeepMind blog post published today. “We designed SynthID so it doesn’t compromise image quality, and allows the watermark to remain detectable, even after modifications like adding filters, changing colours, and saving with various lossy compression schemes — most commonly used for JPEGs,” DeepMind’s SynthID project leaders Sven Gowal and Pushmeet Kohli wrote.
The identification part of SynthID rates the image based on three digital watermark confidence levels: detected, not detected and possibly detected. Since the tool is embedded into the image’s pixels, Google says its system can work alongside metadata-based approaches, like the one Adobe uses with its Photoshop generative features, currently available in an open beta.
SynthID includes a pair of deep learning models: one for watermarking and the other for identifying. Google says the two trained on diverse images, culminating in a combined ML model. “The combined model is optimised on a range of objectives, including correctly identifying watermarked content and improving imperceptibility by visually aligning the watermark to the original content,” Gowal and Kohli wrote.
Google acknowledged that it isn’t a perfect solution, adding that it “isn’t foolproof against extreme image manipulations.” But it describes the watermark as “a promising technical approach for empowering people and organisations to work with AI-generated content responsibly.” The company says the tool could expand to other AI models, including those tasked with generating text (like ChatGPT), video and audio.
Although watermarks could help with deepfakes, it’s easy to imagine digital watermarking turning into an arms race with hackers, with services that adopt SynthID requiring continual updating. In addition, the open-source nature of Stable Diffusion, one of the leading generative tools, could make industry-wide adoption of SynthID or any similar solution a tall order: It already has countless custom builds that can run on local PCs out in the wild. Regardless, Google hopes to make SynthID available to third parties “in the near future” to at least improve AI transparency industry-wide.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-wants-an-invisible-digital-watermark-to-bring-transparency-to-ai-art-164551794.html?src=rss
The journalists were reportedly robbed by three men in ski masks.
Ahsoka has landed, and with it, a veritable pathway to an extragalactic bounty of merchandise. And maybe Grand Admiral Thrawn. But mostly merchandise! To celebrate the launch of the new Star Wars series, io9 has got your first look at some of the new-old Ahsoka toys that will be hitting shelves soon.
Google’s DeepMind says it has cracked a problem that has vexed those trying to verify whether images are real or created by AI. Researchers proclaimed their new watermarking SynthID format can be used to pinpoint AI-generated deepfakes without distorting the image’s original quality. The catch is that the program…
Florida officials are warning state residents that more than two dozen gas stations may have sold contaminated gasoline, as communities prepare themselves for incoming Hurricane Idalia later this week.
Not since The Wizard hyped up an entire generation for Super Mario Bros. 3 has a film about video games felt as naked a marketing ploy as Gran Turismo. Based on an improbable true story, the movie follows Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), a 20-something Gran Turismo fanatic who wins a Nissan-sponsored contest to race professionally. Even more improbable (and this is technically a spoiler, but hell, it’s also real life), he manages to hold his own in the racing world. The original story was already a dream marketing win for Nissan and Sony, but now the two companies can milk it once again to bolster the mythology of Gran Turismo. Don’t call it a game – it’s a driving simulator.
Cynicism aside, the Gran Turismo film, directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Chappie), successfully hits every mile marker you’d expect. Mardenborough doesn’t have much support from his parents early on, but he ultimately proves them wrong. There’s an entitled rival racer from the Cobra Kai school of villainy who you can’t help but hate. And the movie sports genuinely thrilling race sequences, thanks to Blomkamp’s inventive camera work and use of visual effects. Gran Turismo even manages to get some genuinely moving performances from David Harbour and Djimon Hounsou. It’s the very definition of a crowd pleaser.
But the film also constantly reminds you that it’s meant to sell you Sony products in an alien reality where Apple doesn’t exist. No joke: One character is inexplicably attached to his Walkman cassette player, and he only moves on when he’s gifted a modern Walkman digital music player in an overwrought emotional moment. (Outside of Hideo Kojima’s Twitter feed, I’ve never seen a normal human use one of those things.) (Ed note: It’s debatable whether or not the guy who created Death Stranding is a “normal human”.)
Had Sony just relaxed a bit, the film would have seemed less like a desperate marketing ploy. But as it stands, I couldn’t help but cringe every time we encountered another moment of corporate promotional synergy. Even before we’re introduced to Mardenborough, the movie begins with a short promo reel hyping up Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi, who spent five years developing the first game in the series. It’s the sort of over-produced clip you’d expect during one of Sony’s PlayStation Showcase events or the Game Awards – not a theatrically released film.
Sony also doesn’t trust the audience to view actual footage from the Gran Turismo games. We see Mardenborough playing early on, but it looks far too sharp to be Gran Turismo 5 on the PS3 – the title he actually competed with in real life. Instead, we’re shown footage that looks closer to the incredibly realistic PlayStation 5 version of the game (though I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s all CG generated, instead of showing us actual gameplay). Rather than lean into the incredible lengths Sony pushed the PlayStation 3 at the time, the film sells a beautiful lie.
Of course, you can argue that every adaptation is ultimately a marketing ploy. But even the incredibly safe Super Mario Bros. Movie didn’t feel as desperate as Gran Turismo. Sure, Mario was filled with oodles of references for fans, but there was a level of confidence in that movie that Gran Turismo lacks. Nintendo didn’t need to push new hardware or games through that movie, its mere existence promoted the company’s overall brand.
It’s almost a miracle that Gran Turismo still manages to be enjoyable. It’s more fun than the forgettable Uncharted movie, and you can’t help but root for Mardenborough. He achieves the ultimate gamer dream: What if you could actually bring your virtual skills to the real world? It’s just a shame that the true story is fundamentally a PlayStation ad, and Sony couldn’t help but use the film to sell itself even more.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gran-turismo-movie-review-neill-blomkamp-153939839.html?src=rss
Chinese manufacturer Realme has just dropped the mic with its latest powerhouse phone, the Realme GT5. This device was unveiled in two different charging versions: One with up to 150W and another one even more mind-blowing, reaching up to 240W — Hold onto your hats because the high-end model rocks an impressive 24GB RAM and 1TB storage, and the interesting thing is that, in fact, it’s not even much pricier than the other less powerful variant.
As we just said, the Realme GT5 comes in two different flavors: 150W and 240W. The 150W version offers memory options of 12/256GB and 16/512GB, setting you back CNY 3,000 or CNY 3,300 respectively ($410/€380/₹34,500 and $450/€420/₹38,000). Now, for the real firepower, the 240W version flaunts 24GB RAM and 1TB storage at CNY 3,800 ($520/$480/₹43,500). Note, the battery capacities differ too: 5,240mAh for 150W and 4,600mAh for 240W.
For those always on the go and looking for a fast charging solution, this might be the perfect match, because according to the manufacturer, when the battery is flat on the 240W version, plugging it in and waiting just 80 seconds will give users a solid 20% — And even the 150W version isn’t slacking off; With its larger battery, it can rocket up to 50% in a mere 7 minutes.
Both variants pack a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, with heat managed by a serious 9-layer cooling system and a massive vapor chamber.
The 6.74” AMOLED display is a beauty, rendering colors in vibrant 10-bit and boasting 100% DCI-P3 coverage. With a 1,400 nit peak brightness and a 144Hz refresh rate, gaming and content consumption will be a treat.
The camera lineup is no slouch either, with a 50MP main shooter (Sony IMX890 sensor), an 8MP112° ultra-wide camera, a 2MP macro module, and a 16MP selfie camera.
Dual-SIM 5G support, four Wi-Fi antennas, Bluetooth 5.3 with audio codec support, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, and a nifty X-axis linear motor for haptic feedback all add up to a premium experience.
Both versions of the Realme GT5 are available for pre-order in China, with sales kicking off on September 4. Choose wisely between the color Silver (with a mirror finish) and Green (matte).
The phone will be offered, as we said, in two different flavors: 150W and 240W. The 150W version offers memory options of 12/256GB and 16/512GB, setting you back CNY 3,000 or CNY 3,300 respectively ($410/€380/₹34,500 and $450/€420/₹38,000).
Now, for the real firepower, the 240W version flaunts 24GB RAM and 1TB storage at CNY 3,800 ($520/$480/₹43,500). Note, the battery capacities differ too: 5,240mAh for 150W and 4,600mAh for 240W.
Realme GT5 Debuts With Lightning-Fast Charging And Up To 24 GB Of RAM
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