New Facebook AI de-identifies you in videos to protect you from facial recognition tech
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Privacy is becoming a battleground, and just as we can use AI to identify people we can also use it to anonymise people. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. It might sound counter intuitive and perhaps slightly self-destructive,...
New DeepFake app lets you edit yourself into blockbuster movies
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As the technology to create DeepFakes and synthetic content gets easier and cheaper to use it won’t be soon until people everywhere are using it. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Zao, a Chinese face-swap app that seems...
Facebook’s AI clone of Bill Gates sounds like the real deal
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As companies get better at creating AI’s that can synthesise people’s voices it created new opportunities, and new problems. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. As we see more and more Synthetic Content created, including DeepFakes and DeepFake...
Chinese scientists unveil electronics that dissolve to protect classified data
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As we store more sensitive information in a wider array of devices we need ways to protect it and electronics that dissolve are one way. Interested in the future and want to experience even more!? Watch a keynote, grab a free book, read thousands of articles,...
DNA based marketing is becoming a reality, and brands are cashing in
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As gene sequencing gets cheaper, and as companies get more access to personal information, from biomarkers and wearables to big data, companies can target you in ultra-personalised ways you’d never likely dreamt of before. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore...
Facebook’s new non-invasive brain reading tech achieves 61 percent accuracy
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In the future what’s in your head won’t stay in your head as companies develop new, powerful Brain Machine Interface devices, and that’s good and bad. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More and connect with Matthew. Back in 2017,...
Insane AI listened to peoples voices then created accurate photofits
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As AI’s use becomes ubiquitous, from surveillance to crime fighting, innovations like this are a double edged sword. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now becoming the foundational technology that’s helping create a host of...
MIT’s crazy laser can beam adverts directly into your ears
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We now have the technology to beam sound directly into people’s ears, and future admen can’t wait to get hold of the tech. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. In the future, if we futurists are to believed, which...
Pentagon demands satellites that can dodge incoming fire like an NBA all star
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Once satellites are in orbit they stay there, in the same position until they run out of fuel, then they fall back to Earth, but as the militarisation of space hots up satellites need to be able to move. In the event of a...
Google creates a neural network that picks out individual voices in video
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Not only does this technology have benefits for video search, but it also has surveillance and privacy implications. Recently I talked about a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancement from Hitachi that let’s its AI’s pick out and follow individuals in a crowd – something that...
New “revolutionary” Google AI training method trains AI’s at the edge and protects user privacy
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF One of the biggest problems with training AI’s is the shortage of data, and the issue of privacy, Federated AI Learning overcomes this problem by training AI’s on the devices and smartphones at the network’s edge. When big tech firms use Artificial Intelligence (AI)...
Worldwide surveillance, Hawkeye satellites use radio to track illegal shipping
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Over $3Trillion worth of goods are transported illegally, and this new technology gives law enforcement a major new weapon in the race to find them. A little while ago I talked about a company called Planet, that can watch the world, and everything on...
Snowdens smartphone app turns security on its head to protect “people at risk”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When it comes to security and surveillance governments hold all the cards, Edward Snowden wants to change that. In today’s world digital security is just as important as physical security to those who find themselves constantly online in hostile countries or environments, and while...
The web is broken so it’s founder is re-inventing it
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The internet was supposed to empower people, but so far most of that power is being concentrated in big centralised platform companies instead. The founder of the World Wide Web thinks it’s broken and has a plan to fix it. Tim Berners-Lee, the British...
Can your smartphone detect when you’re depressed? This startup thinks so
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Mental health issues are growing in number but in many cases they go left undiagnosed or treated, this breakthrough could help change that. Today we can use smartphones to detect cancer, dementia, eye diseases, heart disease, illness and even inherited genetic conditions, but could...
Doctors will soon be able to track your health through walls using your wifi
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Imagine being able to have your health and emotions monitored wirelessly wherever you were, whether it’s in your house or even out in the street, that’s the promise of this new technology. Imagine a box, yes, that’s it, similar to the wifi router you...
Blockchain startups are lining up to decentralise and revolutionise the internet
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We think the internet is already decentralised, but the internet as we know it is evolving, and tomorrow’s internet will be truly decentralised. An increasing number of people want to fix the flaws of the internet by decentralizing it, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the father...
Scientists use electro-charged nanoparticles to create liquid mirrors
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to apply new properties to glass, such as liquid mirrors, could help companies reduce their air conditioning bill and help homeowners improve their privacy. Researchers from Imperial College London in the UK have developed a new material that can turn a transparent surface into a...
MIT researchers have taught their AI to see through solid walls
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF There are times when seeing through walls is useful, for example in hostage negotiations, search and rescue, and to see when mum and dad are about to bust in on your gameplay. Recently we’ve seen camera developments from both China and MIT that help...
IBM joins Sovrin Foundation to give individuals back control of their data
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today there is no way you can control who uses or shares your information, despite regulations like GDPR, but Self-Soverign ID systems like this one gives users the power to control their own online information. It looks almost inevitable that Facebook will be punished,...
