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An Indian politician is using deepfake technology to win new voters - MIT Technology Review
▻https://www.technologyreview.com/f/615247/an-indian-politician-is-using-deepfakes-to-try-and-win-voters

https://cdn.technologyreview.com/i/images/bjp-politician-edited.png?sw=1200&cx=0&cy=0&cw=1236&ch=695

On avait tendance à penser que les deepfakes servaient à moquer ou ridiculiser ses opposants. On a ici une forme intéressante : un candidat qui produit plusieurs deepfakes de son discours dans les diverses langues de l’Inde pour mieux le partager.

The news: A deepfake of the President of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Manoj Tiwari, went viral on WhatsApp in the country earlier this month, ahead of Legislative Assembly elections in Delhi, according to Vice. It’s the first time a deepfake has been used by a political party anywhere for campaigning purposes. In the original video Tiwari speaks in English, criticizing his political opponent Arvind Kejriwal and encouraging voters to vote for the BJP. The second video has been manipulated using deepfake technology so he is mouth moves convincingly as he speaks in the Hindi dialect of Haryanvi, whose people are target voters for the BJP.

The purpose: The BJP has partnered with political communications firm The Ideaz Factory to create deepfakes which let it target voters across the over 20 different languages used in India. The party told Vice that the Tiwari deepfake reached approximately 15 million people across 5,800 WhatsApp groups.

Causing alarm: This isn’t the first time deepfakes have popped up during a political campaign. For example, last December, researchers made a fake video of the two candidates in the UK’s general election endorsing each other. It wasn’t supposed to sway the vote however—merely to raise awareness about deepfake technology. This case in India seems to be the first time deepfakes have been used for a political campaign. The big risk is that we reach a point where people can no longer trust what they see or hear. In that scenario, a video wouldn’t even need to be digitally altered for people to denounce it as fake. It’s not hard to imagine the corrosive impact that would have on an already fragile political landscape.

#Deepfake #Fake_news #Elections #Inde

Uber has just lost its license to operate in London - MIT Technology Review
▻https://www.technologyreview.com/f/614754/uber-has-just-lost-its-license-to-operate-in-london

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The news: London’s transport regulator has ruled that Uber cannot renew its license in the city because of a “pattern of failures” that put passenger safety and security at risk. The company has 21 days to appeal the decision and can continue to operate in the city during that time.

Why? The regulator, Transport for London, found out that more than 14,000 trips booked through Uber’s platform had been taken with uninsured drivers. It said the company was failing to do adequate checks on drivers, insurance, and safety, and breaches in these things had put passengers at risk. The biggest issue it identified was that a change to Uber’s systems let unauthorized drivers upload their photos to other drivers’ accounts, meaning customers couldn’t be sure they’d get the driver they had booked. Crucially, the regulator said it did “not have confidence that similar issues will not reoccur in the future, which has led it to conclude that the company is not fit and proper at this time.” Uber is likely to submit an appeal to overturn the decision.

The fallout: It will be a tense few weeks for the 45,000 drivers who work for Uber in the UK capital as they await a final decision over the future of their jobs. It won’t necessarily be a major blow to consumers, who can pick from one of the many other ride-hailing apps available, or get one of the city’s famous black cabs.

A long, bumpy road: Transport for London originally stripped Uber of its license in the city in 2017, after which judges granted a 15-month extension for it to continue providing its services. It was then granted a two-month probationary extension in September 2019.

The global picture: Uber has fought regulators around the world, and often lost, since it launched in 2009. The revelation it had created secret software named “Greyball,” which was used to block regulators from monitoring the app, went down particularly badly in London.

#Uber #Londres #Régulation

A new bill would ban making social media too addictive - MIT Technology Review
▻https://www.technologyreview.com/f/614038/josh-hawley-social-media-addictive-design-legislation-smart-act-bi

https://cdn.technologyreview.com/i/images/jaelynn-castillo-3dgivxkiqiq-unsplash.jpg?sw=1200&cx=0&cy=0&cw=2999&ch=1687

The news: One of Big Tech’s most vocal critics in the US Congress has introduced a bill to limit social-media companies’ ability to use design features like infinite scrolling, video autoplay, and achievement badges (like “power user”). Under Senator Josh Hawley’s Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology (SMART) Act, companies would instead have to build features that let users set limits on how long they’ve been glued to the screen.

The bill directly references Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube but would apply to any platform where users interact with third-party content (with exceptions for, say, music playlists). It would give the Federal Trade Commission power to punish companies that didn’t comply. The FTC, along with the Department of Health and Human Services, would also have the power to write new rules to regulate similar, but not-yet-invented, design tactics.

The background: In recent years, there has been growing concern that companies design products to keep users coming back—and that, once hooked, users are miserable. Study after study suggests that these platforms can lead to social isolation and depression (though other researchers say the real effects are not nearly so dire).

All this has led to a lot of soul-searching. Ex-Googler Tristan Harris has argued that technology has caused a public health crisis and runs a nonprofit that hopes to undo the damage. Google itself now offers a suite of digital well-being tools to help users “find a balance with technology.” Apple’s ScreenTime lets people set daily limits.

Why it matters: Hawley, a Republican, has made a name for himself by arguing that relying on the goodwill of these companies isn’t enough. He’s also the author of a bill that would give the government power to police Twitter for political bias, and has introduced legislation to protect children’s data privacy. Another bill of his, introduced in May, tackles the addictive features of video games. Whether these bills make progress will show how much momentum is building in Washington for the view that the government needs to step in to curb Big Tech.

#Média_sociaux #Engagement #Législation

Iran has shut off internet access for its citizens amid fuel price protests - MIT Technology Review
▻https://www.technologyreview.com/f/614726/iran-has-shut-off-internet-access-for-its-citizens-amid-fuel-price

https://cdn.technologyreview.com/i/images/iran-ap.jpg?sw=1200&cx=0&cy=0&cw=3000&ch=1687

What has happened: Protests erupted across Iran on Friday after the government unexpectedly announced its decision to ration fuel and remove subsidies, sending prices soaring by at least 50%. The move is part of efforts to mitigate the effects of crippling US sanctions on Iran’s economy. In response to the demonstrations, Iran’s government almost instantly started to shut off internet access for its citizens, starting in Mashhad, the country’s second-biggest city.

Blackout: Iran’s largest mobile network operators all fell offline on Saturday, and there is now a near-total internet and telecommunication blackout inside the country. National connectivity is at 5% of ordinary levels, according to NetBlocks, an NGO that monitors internet freedom.

Shooting itself in the foot: Iran’s government is trying to stop protesters from organizing, and media outlets from reporting on the protests. NetBlocks said it is the most severe disconnection it’s ever seen in any country, in terms of technical complexity and breadth.

While the shutdown might temporarily disrupt protests, it will do nothing to address their underlying causes, and may make the situation even worse for the government. Despite the fact that internet shutdowns are increasingly favored as a tactic by authoritarian regimes, they leave people feeling even more aggrieved (see Kashmir) and have a deeply negative impact on the economy.

#Censure #Internet #Iran

Most Americans think they’re being constantly tracked—and that there’s nothing they can do - MIT Technology Review
▻https://www.technologyreview.com/f/614720/privacy-pew-research-data-collection-big-tech-facebook-google-appl

https://cdn.technologyreview.com/i/images/screen-shot-2019-11-15-at-9.38.44-am.png?sw=1200&cx=0&cy=0&cw=712&ch=401

... it’s true that the average consumer can’t do a lot about personal data being collected, and it’ll be a while before that really changes.

#surveillance #vie_privée #etats-unis

Google is to get access to millions of Americans’ personal health data - MIT Technology Review
▻https://www.technologyreview.com/f/614705/google-is-to-get-access-to-millions-of-americans-personal-health-d

https://cdn.technologyreview.com/i/images/health-data-getty.jpg?sw=1200&cx=0&cy=0&cw=2000&ch=1125

The news: Google has signed a deal with Ascension, the second-largest hospital system in the US, to collect and analyze millions of Americans’ personal health data, according to the Wall Street Journal. Ascension operates in 150 hospitals in 21 states.

“Project Nightingale”: Eventually, data from all of the company’s patients (birth dates, lab results, diagnoses, and hospitalization records, for example) could be uploaded to Google’s cloud computing systems, with a view to using artificial intelligence to scan electronic records, or diagnose or identify medical conditions. The project, code-named Project Nightingale, began in secret last year, the WSJ reports. Neither patients nor doctors have been notified.

A touchy topic: Inevitably, there are worries. The company took control of the health division of its AI unit, DeepMind, back in November 2018, and people at the time warned it could pave the way for Google to access people’s private, identifiable health data. Ascension employees have raised concerns about how the data will be collected and shared, both technologically and ethically, the WSJ reports.

A competitive field: Amazon, Uber, and Apple are all pitching themselves as players in the lucrative health-care world too. However, Ascension is Google’s biggest cloud computing customer in health care so far, and this deal will put them ahead of the pack.

#Google #Santé #Données_personnelles

Apple Card is being investigated over claims it gives women lower credit limits - MIT Technology Review
▻https://www.technologyreview.com/f/614701/apple-card-is-being-investigated-over-claims-it-gives-women-lower-

https://cdn.technologyreview.com/i/images/ap19314131802312.jpg?sw=1200&cx=0&cy=0&cw=3000&ch=1688

The algorithm that determines the credit limit for users of Apple’s new credit card, which launched in the US in August, is facing an investigation after it appears to give men higher limits than women.

The news: On November 7, web entrepreneur David Heinemeier Hansson posted a now-viral tweet that the Apple Card had given him 20 times the credit limit of his wife. This was despite the fact they filed joint tax returns and, upon investigation, his wife had a better credit score than he did. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak replied to the tweet and said that he, too, had been granted 10 times the credit limit of his wife, even though they have no separate assets or bank accounts.

Upshot: Now New York’s Department of Financial Services is launching an investigation into Goldman Sachs, which manages the card. Its superintendent, Linda Lacewell, said in a blog post that the watchdog would “examine whether the algorithm used to make these credit limit decisions violates state laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex.” The regulator has already recently opened an investigation into reports that an algorithm resulted in black patients receiving less comprehensive care than white patients.

Wider problem: Goldman Sachs posted a statement on Twitter at the weekend where it said that gender is not taken into account when determining creditworthiness. But the unexplainable disparity in the card’s credit limits is yet another example of how algorithmic bias can be unintentionally created. Algorithms of the sort used to assess creditworthiness are trained on years of historical data and bias can slip into the process in a number of different ways during the process.

#Algorithme #Crédit_bancaire #Inégalités #Sexisme #Apple_Card

Amazon wants you to be surrounded with Alexa—wherever you are - MIT Technology Review
▻https://www.technologyreview.com/f/614436/amazons-new-products-show-it-wants-alexa-to-always-be-with-you

https://cdn.technologyreview.com/i/images/amazon-products.jpg?sw=1200&cx=0&cy=0&cw=1948&ch=1096

The news: Amazon unveiled a dizzying number of new gadgets yesterday, including wireless earphones (Echo Buds), a smart ring (Echo Loop), and smart glasses (Echo Frames). They all provide hands-free access, so you can ask Alexa to play a song, give you directions, or whatever else you may need, on the go. The products cost between $129 and $180 each.

What’s behind all this: Taking these three products together, there’s a clear push to move Alexa beyond the home and onto your body. While Google Assistant is embedded into Android smartphones, people currently use Alexa only at home, and there’s no Amazon smartphone.

That’s a limitation Amazon wants to overcome, pushing deeper into people’s lives, and that’s partly why it wants interoperability between Alexa and other tech companies’ products (though Google, Apple, and Samsung are not playing ball). As the first to launch a home voice assistant, Amazon has a huge advantage over its competitors: more than 100 million Echo devices have been sold, and they are the default product many people think of when discussing smart speakers.

The big question: Will people be comfortable walking around openly talking to a voice assistant? It’s one thing in the home, but quite another on the subway or in the park. Many smart watches have a speaker facility, but it’s very rare to see anyone using it in public.

What else: Amazon also announced a night light for kids, an Echo you can use in the bathroom, a smart oven, and tracking devices for pets. Oh, and you can now make Alexa sound like Samuel L. Jackson, if you like.

Gender controversy: Amazon said it is committed to a woman’s voice as the default for its Alexa software, despite a UN report’s conclusion that always-available, always-friendly female assistants add to damaging gender stereotypes.

#Amazon #Alexa #Assistants_vocaux #Wearable_computers