With fewer than 100 days before the U.S. presidential election, Microsoft announced it has developed a new way to combat disinformation on the internet, including a new system of detecting deepfakes — synthetic audio or video that mimics a real recording.
Microsoft said Tuesday it is launching the “Microsoft Video Authenticator,” which it says can analyze photos and videos to provide a confidence score about whether the image has been manipulated. The authenticator will both alert people if an image is likely fake or assure them when it’s authentic, Microsoft said.
“The fact that they [the deepfakes] are generated by A.I. that can continue to learn makes it inevitable that they will beat conventional detection technology,” the company said in a statement. “However, in the short run, such as the upcoming U.S. election, advanced detection technologies can be a useful tool to help discerning users identify deepfakes.”
Microsoft said the new software was built in partnership with the Defending Democracy Program, which fights disinformation, protects voting, and secures campaigns.
Tech and privacy advocates have been sounding the alarm on the rise of deepfakes and its political implications for several years, as the technology has gotten noticeably harder to detect. Some companies have even started developing deepfake services, ostensibly for entertainment purposes.
In February, Twitter announced they would ban media that was “synthetic or fake,” and Facebook made a similar move in January.
Instagram is testing a new format for long-form videos called Features. It allows select creators to upload horizontal videos running up to 90 minutes long. Instagram has already tested the new format with creators in Brazil, and now, it's expanding to tens of thousands of creators across the US.
How will Instagram's new Features format work?
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
I have lost count of how many times I have gone to bed thinking I will finally sleep on time, only to somehow end up scrolling Instagram or X again. A few minutes turn into an hour, then another, and before I notice, it is 2 or 3 a.m. The next morning, I am usually annoyed with myself because I could have just slept and felt considerably better for the day ahead.
It is also a surprisingly hard habit to beat. Knowing you should put the phone down does not always help once it is already in your hand. Brick Night is a new gadget built around that exact problem. Instead of relying on you to remember to turn on an app blocker, it automatically restricts selected apps and websites when your phone enters your chosen sleep space during the hours you set.