Your headphones may be more commonly used to shut out conversations rather than start them, but the new Yevo x Humanium Metal headphones are nothing short of a conversation piece about a global problem. Created in partnership between Yevo Labs, a Stockholm-based innovation lab, and Humanium Metal by IM, which focuses on sourcing valuable metal from firearms, these are some seriously unique earbuds.
Heralded as the first product to ever be created from metal melted down from illegal firearms, the headphone makers seek to repurpose violence and serve as the start of a global initiative for peace. Making their debut at CES 2018, Yevo 1 headphones will aid in creating a new source of funding for conflict-torn regions affected by illegal weapons violence.
Digital Trends invited Yevo founder Andreas Vural to our booth at CES, where we chatted (see video above) about the Yevo 1 and the Humanium Metal initiative.
“Creating Yevo x Humanian Metal, a product that elicits change in such a positive way, is the greatest reward,” said Vural. “This collaboration is bigger than headphones. It’s part of a global movement that removes illegal firearms from the streets and recycles them into a material that helps move us toward a more peaceful future, all while giving back to those affected by violent crime.” According to Vural, one person is shot and killed every minute with some sort of firearm.
Humanium Metal will be incorporated into the headphone’s earbuds, as well as the charging case.”The sound is really clean, and you can customize the equalizer via a smartphone app,” said Vural. The Yevo 1 are sleekly designed, fully wireless earbuds featuring customizable touch controls on each bud, but of course, the real draw will be their backstory. For what it’s worth, Vural promises buyers won’t have any issues getting through airport security.
“For us, it’s of great meaning to be able to work with brands who want to invest in and contribute to a brighter future,” said Josefina Rovan, head of marketing and communications at IM. “By using Humanium Metal in products, [Yevo] can bring awareness and sustainable value to consumers, and at the same time, generate financial support and empower the people living in countries affected by gun violence.”
Be warned, though, these headphones will cost you a pretty penny. Sourcing metal from illegal firearms, after all, can’t be a cheap enterprise, and as such, the headphones will start at $499 when they become available early in 2018. Fifty percent of proceeds, however, will be dedicated to addressing illegal firearms violence.
AI companies spend enormous amounts of time convincing us their technology is safe and secure. But what happens when those same companies become targets of increasingly sophisticated AI-powered attacks? Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is now facing that question. According to a Washington Post report, cybersecurity startup Cathedral discovered vulnerabilities that let its researchers access sensitive information in Anthropic's internal systems.
The researchers used AI agents to identify potential entry points in less than 12 hours. Interestingly, they didn't need to crack Claude itself. Instead, they exploited weaknesses in third-party business applications that Anthropic uses for everyday operations. Anthropic's security testing program disclosed the findings, which allows outside researchers to identify and report vulnerabilities.
Military working dogs charge into places the rest of us would flee. So, I understand why anyone would want to breed tougher, healthier dogs for the job.
Warhound, a new startup from Colossal Biosciences co-founder Ben Lamm and Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey, has stepped out of stealth with $200 million to clone and gene-edit working dogs for American troops, police departments, and emergency services (via TechCrunch).
AI can describe a picture, identify objects, and answer questions about what a camera sees. But when a blind user needs a quick answer, getting an entire spoken essay about the scene isn't exactly helpful. Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have found that AI-powered visual assistance can leave blind users doing too much work to get the information they actually need.
The study, titled Say It My Way: Exploring Control in Conversational Visual Question Answering with Blind Users, examined how people interact with Be My AI, an AI-powered feature of the Be My Eyes app. The researchers found that users often received lengthy descriptions that didn't adequately address their immediate goals, forcing them to ask follow-up questions or find ways to steer the AI towards a more useful answer.