Are the TikTok deepfake videos of Tom Cruise doing magic and playing golf a threat to global democracy? Not exactly. “[T]he reality is that they took a lot of time, technical expertise, and the skilled performance of a real actor,” reports VICE News. “Rather than predicting a dark future of disinformation for the masses, they’re simply another example of what can…
Tag: playing
Playing dead really works to help insects avoid being eaten by birds
Insects avoid being eaten by playing dead, because birds are easily distracted by other nearby insects that are still moving Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2269751-playing-dead-really-works-to-help-insects-avoid-being-eaten-by-birds/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
AI learns how to play old platform games
New computer algorithms designed to beat old 80s platformers could help robots navigate your home. Intelligent computer algorithms capable of playing … Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/344270/ai-learns-how-to-play-old-platform-games…
Google’s Stadia Problem? A Video Game Unit That’s Not Googley Enough
The tech giant likes to test and tweak. Stadia promised to change the industry and failed to deliver. From a report: Google’s streaming video game service Stadia had ambitious plans to disrupt the gaming industry, which is dominated by consoles. The tech giant had planned to pack Stadia with original content, announcing two years ago that it was hiring hundreds of…
Greek ship carrying parts of the Parthenon is giving up more secrets
The latest expedition by divers to the wreck of the Mentor, which sank just off the island of Kythera (also spelled Kithira and Kythira) in 1802, has recovered several pieces of the ship's rigging, coins, the leather sole of a shoe, a metal buckle, a token for playing cards, two chess pieces, fragments of cooking… Continue reading Greek ship carrying parts of the Parthenon is giving up more secrets
CD Projekt Ransomware Hack Severely Disrupts Work on Cyberpunk Updates
CD Projekt SA said Wednesday it will delay a promised update to the much-criticized role-playing game Cyberpunk 2077, pinning the blame for its slow progress on a recent security breach. From a report: What the Polish publisher didn’t say is that most of its employees have been locked out of their workstations for the past two weeks, according to people familiar…
Do we all see the same moon phase?
No matter where you are on the globe, we all see the same moon. So why do photos from a distant location sometimes look different from what you’re seeing? Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/do-we-all-see-the-same-moon-phase…
Martin Scorsese Argues Streaming Algorithms Devalue Cinema into ‘Content’
In a new essay for Harper’s magazine, Martin Scorsese argues the art of cinema is being systematically devalued and demeaned by streaming services and their algorithms, “and reduced to its lowest common denominator, ‘content.'” “Content” became a business term for all moving images: a David Lean movie, a cat video, a Super Bowl commercial, a superhero sequel, a series episode. It…
James Webb Space Telescope – Hubble’s successor – to launch in October
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s most complex infrared telescope, built for a wide range of research projects. NASA is now targeting October 31 for its launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/james-webb-telescope-hubble-successor-to-launch…
Research Linking Violent Entertainment To Aggression Retracted After Scrutiny
Science magazine: As Samuel West combed through a paper that found a link between watching cartoon violence and aggression in children, he noticed something odd about the study participants. There were more than 3000 — an unusually large number — and they were all 10 years old. “It was just too perfect,” says West, a Ph.D. student in social psychology at…