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An AI startup uses voice authentication to fight deepfake fraud

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An AI startup uses voice authentication to fight deepfake fraud

With the advent of widely available generative AI, scammers are more likely to use deepfakes—voice imitations created with the intention of misleading—to trick victims into disclosing personal information.

Pindrop is a voice authentication startup that says it has the technology and know-how to authenticate users and change users’ content to AI-generated content. The CEO of Pindrop, Vijay Balasubramaniyan, testified before Congress on Wednesday regarding the dangers of deepfakes and the measures Congress should take to prevent them. Balasubramaniyan underlined the immediate negative effects of deepfakes, while many of the panelists concentrated on “superintelligence” or political disinformation.

The Washington Examiner was informed by Balasubramaniyan that “fundamentally, the point was that deepfakes break commerce because businesses can’t trust who’s on the other end.” Is it a machine or a person? Deepfakes distort information because it’s impossible to determine if something was said by Sen. [Chuck] Schumer or by Tom Hanks promoting dental plans. And then deepfakes destroy all contact because, as a grandmother, I have no idea who to trust if I don’t know if it’s my grandkids.”

Balasubramaniyan, Ahamad Mustaque, and Paul Judge founded Pindrop in 2015 with the goal of turning the CEO’s 2011 Ph.D. thesis into a workable product. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, Balasubramaniyan finished his graduate studies with an emphasis on finding characteristics in voice calls that could be used to confirm a user’s identity. The CEO found a number of auditory traits that can be used to create a voice “fingerprint” that can determine its authenticity. It can detect, for instance, whether a call is coming from a specific user’s phone or distinguish between aspects of the sound that are unique to the “shape of your entire vocal tract,” according to the CEO.

Although the startup is still in its early stages, the company said that it has partnerships with a number of large tech companies, such as Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services. Although Pindrop would not disclose its user count, it states that it collaborates with eight of the top ten banks and credit unions, fourteen of the top twenty insurers, and three of the top five brokerages in the US. According to a spokesperson who spoke with the Washington Examiner, Pindrop’s software has also examined over 5.3 billion calls and stopped $2.3 billion in fraud losses.

Although Pindrop is exclusively utilized by for-profit businesses, Balasubramaniyan claimed to have discussed the government’s potential use of its services with multiple Congressmen.

Because AI is a rapidly evolving field, it can be challenging for AI “fact-checkers” to stay current. According to Pindrop, it’s held up pretty well. Microsoft claimed that Pindrop could identify the software 99% of the time when it released the VALL-E large language model.

Fraud based on deepfakes has long been an issue. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on AI and Human Rights over the summer, during which the technology was discussed in front of Congress. In front of the committee, Jennifer Destefano recounted how con artists almost conned her out of $50,000 by using an artificial intelligence (AI) voice clone of her daughter.

Destefano told Congress, “It wasn’t just her voice, it was her cries, it was her sobs.” When her husband assured her that their daughter was safe and with him, the mother almost gave in to the call.

Deepfakes have been directed specifically at seniors. Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) alerted the Federal Trade Commission in May about the use of chatbots and voice clones by con artists to deceive senior citizens into believing they are speaking with a close friend or relative. “In one case, a scammer used this approach to convince an older couple that the scammer was their grandson in desperate need of money to make bail, and the couple almost lost $9,400 before a bank official alerted them to the potential fraud,” the letter stated.

According to a survey conducted by the ID verification service Regula, 37% of worldwide businesses said that they have experienced attempts to access their websites using phony voices. Businesses have also reported being targeted by fake voices.

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Apple has revealed a revamped Mac Mini with an M4 chip

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A smaller but no less powerful Mac Mini was recently unveiled by Apple as part of the company’s week of Mac-focused announcements. It now has Apple’s most recent M4 silicon, enables ray tracing for the first time, and comes pre-installed with 16GB of RAM, which seems to be the new standard in the age of Apple Intelligence. While the more potent M4 Pro model starts at $1,399, the machine still starts at $599 with the standard M4 CPU. The Mac Mini is available for preorder right now and will be in stores on November 8th, just like the updated iMac that was revealed yesterday.

The new design will be the first thing you notice. The Mini has reportedly been significantly reduced in size, although it was already a comparatively small desktop computer. It is now incredibly small, with dimensions of five inches for both length and width. Apple claims that “an innovative thermal architecture, which guides air to different levels of the system, while all venting is done through the foot” and the M4’s efficiency are the reasons it keeps things cool.

Nevertheless, Apple has packed this device with a ton of input/output, including a 3.5mm audio jack and two USB-C connections on the front. Three USB-C/Thunderbolt ports, Ethernet, and HDMI are located around the back. Although the USB-A ports are outdated, it’s important to remember that the base M2 Mini only featured two USB-A connectors and two Thunderbolt 4 ports. You get a total of five ports with the M4. You get an additional Thunderbolt port but lose native USB-A.

Depending on the M4 processor you select, those Thunderbolt connectors will have varying speeds. While the M4 Pro offers the most recent Thunderbolt 5 throughput, the standard M4 processor comes with Thunderbolt 4.

With its 14 CPU and 20 GPU cores, the M4 Pro Mac Mini also offers better overall performance. The standard M4 can have up to 32GB of RAM, while the M4 Pro can have up to 64GB. The maximum storage capacity is an astounding 8TB. Therefore, even though the Mini is rather little, if you have the money, you can make it really powerful. For those who desire it, 10 gigabit Ethernet is still an optional upgrade.

Apple has a big week ahead of it. On Monday, the company released the M4 iMac and its first Apple Intelligence software features for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. (More AI functionality will be available in December, such as ChatGPT integration and image production.) As Apple completes its new hardware, those updated MacBook Pros might make their appearance tomorrow. The business will undoubtedly highlight its newest fleet of Macs when it releases its quarterly profits on Thursday.

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Apple Intelligence may face competition from a new Qualcomm processor

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The new chip from Qualcomm (QCOM) may increase competition between Apple’s (AAPL) iOS and Android.

During its Snapdragon Summit on Monday, the firm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, which includes a new, second-generation Oryon CPU that it claims is the “fastest mobile CPU in the world.” According to Qualcomm, multimodal generative artificial intelligence characteristics can be supported by the upcoming Snapdragon platform.

Qualcomm, which primarily creates chips for mobile devices running Android, claims that the new Oryon CPU is 44% more power efficient and 45% faster. As the iPhone manufacturer releases its Apple Intelligence capabilities, the new Snapdragon 8 platform may allow smartphone firms compete with Apple on the AI frontier. Additionally, Apple has an agreement with OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, to incorporate ChatGPT-4o into the upcoming iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.

According to a September Wall Street Journal (NWSA) story, Qualcomm is apparently interested in purchasing Intel (INTC) in a deal that could be valued up to $90 billion. According to Bloomberg, Apollo Global Management (APO), an alternative asset manager, had also proposed an equity-like investment in Intel with a potential value of up to $5 billion.

According to reports, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the situation, Qualcomm may postpone its decision to acquire Intel until after the U.S. presidential election next month. According to the persons who spoke with Bloomberg, Qualcomm is waiting to make a decision on the transaction because of the possible effects on antitrust laws and tensions with China after the election results.

According to a report from analysts at Bank of America Global Research (BAC), Qualcomm could expand, take the lead in the market for core processor units, or CPUs, for servers, PCs, and mobile devices, and get access to Intel’s extensive chip fabrication facilities by acquiring Intel. They went on to say that Qualcomm would become the world’s largest semiconductor company if its $33 billion in chip revenue were combined with Intel’s $52 billion.

The experts claimed that those advantages would be outweighed by the financial and regulatory obstacles posed by a possible transaction. They are dubious about a prospective takeover and think that Intel’s competitors may gain from the ambiguity surrounding the agreement.

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iPhone 16 Pro Users Report Screen Responsiveness Issues, Hope for Software Fix

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Many iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max users are experiencing significant touchscreen responsiveness problems. Complaints about lagging screens and unresponsive taps and swipes are particularly frustrating for customers who have invested $999 and up in these devices.

The good news is that initial assessments suggest the issue may be software-related rather than a hardware defect. This means that Apple likely won’t need to issue recalls or replacement units; instead, a simple software update could resolve the problem.

The root of the issue might lie in the iOS touch rejection algorithm, which is designed to prevent accidental touches. If this feature is overly sensitive, it could ignore intentional inputs, especially when users’ fingers are near the new Camera Control on the right side of the display. Some users have reported that their intended touches are being dismissed, particularly when their fingers are close to this area.

Additionally, the new, thinner bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro compared to the iPhone 15 Pro could contribute to the problem. With less protection against accidental touches, the device may misinterpret valid taps as mistakes, leading to ignored inputs.

This isn’t the first time Apple has faced challenges with new iPhone models. For instance, the iPhone 4 experienced “Antennagate,” where signal loss occurred depending on how the device was held, prompting Steve Jobs to famously suggest users hold their phones differently. Apple eventually provided free rubber bumpers to mitigate the issue.

To alleviate the touchscreen problem, using a case might help by covering parts of the display and reducing the chances of accidental touches triggering the rejection algorithm. The issue appears on devices running iOS 18 and the iOS 18.1 beta and does not occur when the phone is locked. Users may notice difficulties when swiping through home screens and apps.

Many are hopeful that an upcoming iOS 18 update will address these issues, restoring responsiveness to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max displays.

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