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dw_innovation

@dw_innovation@mastodon.social

DW = Germany's international broadcaster.
DW Innovation = DW ReCo + DW Lab.

We explore emerging technologies and their impact on journalism, media, and audiences.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

dw_innovation, to random
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"Generative artificial intelligence () adds a new dimension to the problem of . Freely available and largely unregulated tools make it possible for anyone to generate (...) fake content in vast quantities. (...) But there is also a positive side. Used smartly, GAI can provide a greater number of content consumers with trustworthy information"

– writes our colleague Julius Endert in this DWA post (which is part of a learning guide on tackling disinfo): https://akademie.dw.com/en/generative-ai-is-the-ultimate-disinformation-amplifier/a-68593890

dw_innovation, to Europe
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European nations grapple with a wave of public spending needs (energy transition, industry reinvestment, social programs etc.) in a sluggish economy. To get by, they face a stark choice: cut spending (as many are) – or increase revenue by targeting the wealthy, who currently pay relatively little.

This EDJNET investigation explores the disparity across and the potential benefits of systematically taxing the super-rich.

https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/big-wealth-small-taxes/

dw_innovation, to ai
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Here's an tool that arrives just in time: The PRISA media group has created an audio and detection service for voices in Spanish.

Their goal: Support (e.g. when covering election campaigns) and foster trust in the face of .

Remarkable: The creators also address the problem of powerful people claiming their voices have been cloned after saying something embarrassing.

Details in this post (Reuters Institute):

https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/how-spanish-media-group-created-ai-tool-detect-audio-deepfakes-help-journalists-big-election

dw_innovation, to vr
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"In 1838 Charles Wheatstone published a paper describing a curious illusion he’d discovered. If you drew two pictures of something – say, a cube, or a tree – from two slightly different perspectives, and then viewed each one through a different eye, your brain would assemble them into a three-dimensional view. Wheatstone created a table-size device to demonstrate the effect: the world’s first stereoscope."

Nice post on the history of #immersion & #VR (from 2017):

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/sterographs-original-virtual-reality-180964771/

dw_innovation, to ai
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Zach Seward, new editorial director of initiatives at the New York Times, recently published his SXSW '24 talk in his private blog. It's about what AI can (and cannot) do for , and it's worth your time:

https://www.zachseward.com/ai-news-thats-fit-to-print-sxsw-2024/

dw_innovation, to random
@dw_innovation@mastodon.social avatar

Hi there.

Just a quick announcement that we're about to take a little social media break.

It's holiday season in Germany, we're a small team, and we don't want to bore you with random, automated stuff – so we'll hit the pause button.

Back on April 8th. Promise.

Thanks & see you later. 👋

dw_innovation, to Bulgaria
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Worth your time: A new piece on voter fatigue, Euroscepticism vs. pro-Europeanism and the upcoming in the :

https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/cp_data_news/eurosceptics-vs-europhiles-in-8-eu-countries-not-even-half-of-citizens-will-vote-in-the-next-european-elections/

dw_innovation, to worldwithoutus
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Techies all over the world discuss AI, XR, and high speed mobile web 24/7, but relatively few people are aware of critical old that's falling apart.

Did you know that in , a total of 13 (!) countries are currently facing an , caused by undersea cable damage?

https://www.dw.com/en/explainer-undersea-cable-damage-leads-to-internet-blackouts-in-africa/video-68625275

dw_innovation, to random
@dw_innovation@mastodon.social avatar

Many thanks for all the feedback on the Mastodon / Fediverse / EBU post. That one's really going through the roof! 🚀

Also: Welcome new followers. 👋

We'll be back shortly with more news/updates re: technology for journalism. 👩‍💻

In the meantime, maybe check out our blog again?

👇
https://innovation.dw.com/en/articles

dw_innovation, (edited ) to mastodon
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We started this account less than 6 months ago. It's going pretty well – thanks to you: 4.2k followers, lots of interactions, questions, and comments. 🎉

A couple of weeks ago, the European Broadcasting Union () asked us to write a guest article about our experience with / the , explain the basics, and point out the advantages. :mastodon:

Challenge accepted. 👍

So here's the finished post by @lxplm, hot off the press. ⌨️

🔽
https://www.ebu.ch/news/2024/03/public-broadcasters-of-europe-lets-all-join-mastadon

dw_innovation,
@dw_innovation@mastodon.social avatar

@torspedia @lxplm

Good news: They already exist. :)

Two prominent examples:
https://journa.host/directory
https://newsie.social/directory

dw_innovation, to videos
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Watch: Silja Thoms (DW ) explains how to spot generated with and similar tools: https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-how-to-spot-ai-videos-by-sora/video-68467563

dw_innovation, to ai
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Scientist/blogger Erik Hoel is deeply worried about the "enshittification" of the internet via generated . He argues that at the end of the day, it's not just about bad actors and spammers, but about massive mainstream , a "tragedy of the " that even small children will be exposed to every day. The only answer to the problem, according to Roel: Some sort of "Clean Internet Act".

https://www.theintrinsicperspective.com/p/here-lies-the-internet-murdered-by

dw_innovation, to random
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On the occasion of , DW Data has published a new piece that asks a couple of very interesting questions:

What would Germany look like if only women voted? Which parties would be in power and which decisions might have gone differently?

https://www.dw.com/en/what-if-only-women-voted-in-germany/a-68277145

dw_innovation, to twitter
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While AI-generated trash content in combination with bot chit-chat poses a challenge to all kinds of platforms and search engines, one major social media network has already been hit particularly hard: Twitter/X.

(via ABC News)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-02-28/twitter-x-fighting-bot-problem-as-ai-spam-floods-the-internet/103498070

#x

dw_innovation, to ai
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The Open Society Foundations are launching a project that wants to "kick-start a global public conversation (...) on the long-term, structural implications of AI on the information ecosystem."

Applicants are to submit their specific scenarios – which may later be fleshed out in a workshop in Italy.

It's easy to apply and eligibility criteria are broad. However, the deadline is approaching fast (23/02/24). 🕛

More info: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/focus/open-society-ai-in-journalism-futures

dw_innovation, to ai
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(1/2) By now you've probably heard about #Sora and the latest wave of #AI-driven text-to-#video tools. It's all quite spectacular, but far from perfect. If you take a closer look, it's still possible to detect synthetic content. Essential pro tips: Play everything in slow motion. Consider real world physics – and logic.

dw_innovation,
@dw_innovation@mastodon.social avatar

(2/2) The following two articles may help you get a better understanding of Open AI's new models and their output:

Sora’s Surreal Physics (by Gary Marcus):
https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/soras-surreal-physics

Seeing Isn't Always Believing: Video Edition (by Conspirador Norteno)
https://conspirator0.substack.com/p/seeing-isnt-always-believing-video

dw_innovation,
@dw_innovation@mastodon.social avatar

@trobador

That's an interesting thought. In the field of verification / disinfo countering, there's also the (well documented) phenomenon that people don't really care about the fact that something has been thoroughly analyzed and debunked.

"Well, maybe it's fake, but it could be true."

"It's a good story!"

"Yeah, well, maybe this is not her, but I still think she's a terrible person."

dw_innovation, to ai
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Lead by Prof. Kalina Bontcheva (University of Sheffield), our colleagues and projects partners in AI4Media, AI4Trust, TITAN, and verai.ai have teamed up to publish a new white paper:

"Generative AI and Disinformation: Recent Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities."

More info and free PDF download over here:

https://www.veraai.eu/posts/white-paper-generative-ai-and-disinformation

dw_innovation, to ai
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(1/2) Generative can help you write better – and definitely faster. It can also boost your productivity as a coder. However, there's clearly a downside to all those "smart companion" workflows.

As for classic content, "a surge in AI-generated literature is raising concerns among some who believe this trend could undermine the authenticity and value of the reading experience."

https://aibusiness.com/responsible-ai/the-ai-generated-books-phenomenon-is-getting-worse

dw_innovation,
@dw_innovation@mastodon.social avatar

(2/2) As for code, researchers have documented "disconcerting trends for maintainability. Code churn – the percentage of lines that are reverted or updated less than two weeks after being authored – is projected to double in 2024 compared to its 2021, pre-AI baseline."
https://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2024/01/25/copilot-research.aspx

Needless to say, there are also lots of other issues. Generative AI remains a double-edged sword.

dw_innovation, to opensource
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is a new, , engine. It has a lot of interesting functions. For example, users can exclude known copycat sites from search queries, focus on indie blogs, or do fediverse search only.

You can test Stract over here:
https://stract.com

And check out the repo on :
https://github.com/StractOrg/stract

There's also an interesting article on Stract by @404mediaco:
https://www.404media.co/this-guy-is-building-an-open-source-search-engine-in-real-time

dw_innovation, to ai
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"How easy is it to create convincing audio deepfakes at this point?"

"It’s trivial."

"And how would you describe the skill level needed to identify AI-generated audio?"

"Very high."

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ai-audio-deepfakes-are-quickly-outpacing-detection/

dw_innovation, to Facebook
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is turning 20, but there's no reason to celebrate. What many people saw as a promising, innovative network in 2004 has long become a social media behemoth that is hard to control – and has caused a lot of harm in the world.

DW Technology recaps the history of the platform in this article:

https://www.dw.com/en/facebook-at-20-from-hope-to-disillusionment/a-68154753

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