YouTube will let you clone artists using AI (but, legally, this time)

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YouTube will let you clone artists using AI (but, legally, this time)
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Right now, YouTube has a massive task on its hands. It has to simultaneously provide generative AI tools for creators to create media and police AI-generated media so that it doesn’t infringe on copyright. A huge example of YouTube’s struggle is the song “Heart On My Sleeve”, a song using AI-generated vocals from The Weeknd and Drake. Well, YouTube is working on AI music tools that will let people clone notable artists; the catch is that it will be legal this time.

What most people don’t realize is that whenever someone emulates a person’s voice or music style and posts it to YouTube, that could possibly make YouTube itself a target of legal repercussions. It is the platform that’s hosting these videos. Also, many people hold YouTube responsible for detecting AI-generated content.

There are a few issues with this. For starters, AI-generated content is getting harder and harder for people to detect. Also, hundreds of thousands of videos are posted to YouTube each day, and the company does not have an algorithm in place to detect every single instance of AI-generated content.

In any case, YouTube is developing AI tools to let you emulate music artists

Right now, YouTube is working on a strict set of rules for people posting AI-generated content to YouTube. While this is going on, the company is coming out with some tools to help people create AI content legally, according to the report. Notably, it’s coming out with a few tools. The first tool is called Dream Track, and this is probably the headlining tool.

Think of it like ChatGPT but for music. If you want to create a piece of music in the style of one of your favorite music artists, you can simply type what type of song you want and what style you want it. The tool will then generate a clip emulating that artist’s Style with AI-generated voices modeled after the artist.

This seems to be a bit ironic seeing as the company is dealing with an issue of AI emulation on the platform. However, it will only generate 30-second clips. So, no one will be able to make full 3 minute long songs. This eliminates the possibility of people using the tool to deceive viewers.

There’s another tool

There is another tool in the works that will give people the ability to create music. This tool is powered by Lyria, which was created by Google Deepmind. It will allow you to sing or hum a short piece of a Melody. Then, the tool will create a short piece of music in whatever style you want.

For example, if you want it to make a short saxophone solo based on a melody that you hum, you can tell the tool to do that, and it will generate that track for you. This is something that the company showed off not too long ago.

This feature is called Dream Screen, and YouTube has a way of detecting when the Tool was used to create music. Each clip will have a very high-pitched tone added to it (one that is undetectable to human ears). So, YouTube will be able to detect that tone and tell whether the music was generated using AI.

Right now, the company is testing out these new tools, so we should hear more about them as time goes on.


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Google allows teens access Bard, but safety takes center stage

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Google allows teens access Bard, but safety takes center stage
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Google will finally let teens use Bard starting today. Google has implemented a set of safety measures, as outlined by Tulsee Doshi in a blog post. Bard will be accessible to teenagers in most countries and they must meet Google’s minimum age criteria. It is typically 13 in many countries, with exceptions are listed on an official support page.

Bard for teens first wants to educate them about Gen AI to utilize later

As of late, Bard for teens is only available in English. But Doshi adds that more languages will be added “over time”. She also adds that there will be few safety measures to help understand how gen-AI works. “Organizations like the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) advised us on how to keep the needs of teens and families in mind.,” she added. Also, it prevents the younger ones from accessing unsafe content.

This is how it works. When teenagers first start using Bard, Google will educate them about generative AI and its potential limitations through a video. For example, hallucination is a common limitation among both ChatGPT and Bard. Google will also cross-check Bard’s answers to ensure that they are factual. Additionally, Google has trained Bard to identify and avoid generating responses that may be inappropriate for younger users.

Google’s Bard is getting better…with every update

Google is enhancing Bard’s experience with new features. These are mainly beneficial for teens, but others can also benefit from it. For instance, Google also tried becoming a math tutor with an update recently. When you enter a math equation or upload a picture of one, Bard will provide a detailed explanation of how to solve the problem.

This is a testament to Google’s ongoing efforts to improve Search as a tool for homework assistance is paying off. Additionally, Bard can now generate charts from tables or data included in a prompt.


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Facebook is the top choice for news among U.S. adults: Survey

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Facebook is the top choice for news among U.S. adults: Survey
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Gen-Z might argue that Facebook is a bygone social media platform. However, it remains the most popular social media platform even in 2023, according to a Statista report. Although Meta decided to discontinue payments to news publishers on Facebook News Tab, it remains the go-to source for news in the U.S.

Every 3 out of 10 U.S. adults read news from Facebook

Despite the rise of other social media platforms, Facebook remains the most popular source of news among adults in the U.S. Over 30% of users regularly consume news on the platform, per Pew Research.

YouTube follows closely behind with 26% of users, while Instagram secures third place with 16%. While not as widely used for news, TikTok, X, and Reddit still play a role in informing the US population, with 14%, 12%, and 8% of users, respectively.

Although, the percentage of users getting news from Facebook has declined from 54% in 2020 to 43% in 2023. It still remains the most popular social media platform for news consumption.

TikTok has experienced a surge in news consumption, with 43% of users now turning to the app for news, up from 22% three years ago. Among all the social networks surveyed, X (formerly, Twitter) has the highest percentage of users (53%) who go to the website for news.

Men mostly read news from Reddit; women prefer Nextdoor

The study reveals a gender divide in social media news consumption. It notes that Men primarily use Reddit, X, and YouTube for news. Meanwhile, women prefer Nextdoor, Facebook, and Instagram. Despite the decreasing reliance on social media for news, a significant portion still uses social media for daily news. And with great power, comes great responsibility.

That’s why social media companies must remain vigilant in combating the spread of misinformation, even if their focus shifts away from news delivery. Social media has previously been accused of spreading misinformation in the past, especially during times of conflict or global tension. These accusations have focused on social media’s role in promoting fabricated reports and undermining public trust.


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Apple announced it’s going to implement RCS messaging next year

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Apple announced it’s going to implement RCS messaging next year
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Well, it turns out that miracles CAN happen. You might want to watch out for flying pigs today because Apple just announced that it’s going to implement RCS messaging into the iPhone next year. This was a surprising move from the company because it was vehemently resistant to adopting it.

In case you don’t know what RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging technology is, it’s the next evolution of SMS (Short Messaging Service) technology. SMS technology has powered several generations of phone users over the years, but it’s far out of date. Internet-based messaging technology has arisen thanks to the likes of apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram., Google Chat, etc. They offer a much more robust experience while SMS is stuck in the early 2000s.

Android has already implemented RCS technology into its phones, and everyone has been waiting for the other major mobile OS to do the same. Apple has long been a stick in the mud when it comes to implementing RCS technology. It opted to keep its iPhones on the older SMS technology. This way, it can have more control over its messages (and keep its monopoly over the sacred blue bubbles).

But, Apple finally announced that it’s implementing RCS technology

Love it or hate it, Apple is finally jumping on the SMS train. This comes after years of pressure from competitors like Google and Samsung. Not only them, but governmental regulators have also been weighing on the company’s shoulders.

The thing about RCS technology is that it’s leagues ahead of SMS. You’re able to make group chats, send larger files, share your locations, get read receipts, enjoy end-to-end encrypted messages, and more. Apple offers some of these features through iMessage, but only iPhone users can use them. Android users were left out of the party. This is a bummer, as Android users can enjoy these features with other Android users, but iPhone users are left out in that regard.

Apple is going to bring RCS messaging through a software update next year. It said that this will happen later next year. We’re not sure when the company is going to launch it, but it would make sense if it were to launch the feature with iOS 18. It could be one of the headlining features of the update.

iMessage is going nowhere

While Apple is opening up to RCS messaging, it’s still doubling down on iMessage. The company said that the end-to-end encryption in iMessage is stronger than RCS, and it will still exist as its own service. This shows that Apple is still not ready to give up what it’s built with iMessage. In any case, it is nice to see that the company is finally implementing the technology.


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Samsung details One UI 6.0 camera features for Galaxy S23

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Samsung details One UI 6.0 camera features for Galaxy S23
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In late October, Samsung released the Android 14 stable update for the Galaxy S23 series, with One UI 6.0 on top. It brought a plethora of new features and improvements. The company has now taken out time to detail the new camera and gallery features of One UI 6.0.

Samsung details One UI 6.0 camera features

Samsung‘s latest camera updates start with a custom homescreen widget that lets you set shortcuts for different shooting modes. You can pick a separate location for saving the photos you take through different camera modes. The company has also diversified the Auto FPS settings to give you more control when shooting videos in low-light conditions. You now have the option to selectively apply Auto FPS to 30fps videos only or both 30fps and 60fps.

The shutter speed controls that were previously only available through the Camera Assistant app are part of the stock camera app with One UI 6.0. You can prioritize faster shooting speed with minimum optimization and post-processing or maximize optimization for improved image quality and slower shutter speed. There’s also a balanced option that gives you optimal shutter speed and image quality.

The new One UI version also separates the document scanning feature from the Scene optimizer. This lets you scan documents even when you have disabled the Scene optimizer. Samsung has added an auto-scan tool too, so your Galaxy S23 will automatically scan documents when recognized. If the document has a QR code, the device will detect that as well. You can choose to scan the QR code, simply take its photo, or scan the whole document.

The big update adds a dedicated button to quickly change the camera resolution when shooting in Photo or Pro mode. The button appears at the top of the screen. Samsung says it added this feature based on user feedback. Last but not least, One UI 6.0 lets you disable the swiping gesture (up or down on the screen) for twitching between front and rear cameras. This will prevent accidental switching of cameras.

New video editing tools and more

Samsung’s One UI 6.0 update for the Galaxy S23 series brings new photo and video editing tools. The Studio feature, which comes built into the gallery, offers advanced tools for high-quality video editing. It has a multi-layer editing structure and lets you easily add or move photos, video clips, stickers, and subtitles. Samsung has improved the built-in photo editing features too.

Additionally, the gallery now supports a two-finger drag-and-drop gesture for moving files between folders or albums. With One UI 6.0, document scanning works through the gallery too. If you have a picture of a document, you can quickly scan it to improve its clarity. You can also extract text from the photo and edit it using Samsung Notes or other text processing tools.

Elsewhere, cropping images and turning them into stickers is a breeze with the improved Image Clipper. The feature even supports videos. Simply pause the video at the desired scene and select the object you want to turn into a sticker. The system video player is now more feature-rich too. Samsung has added options to move feature positions and adjust the playback speed.

The new camera and gallery features will roll out to other Galaxy devices with the One UI 6.0 update. As usual, hardware limitations may prevent Samsung from pushing every new addition to older models, but flagships will get most of them. Budget and mid-range devices will miss out on some new features. The big update will reach more models in the coming weeks.


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Play Store on Quest VR isn’t a thing due to Google’s decision

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Play Store on Quest VR isn’t a thing due to Google’s decision
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Having the largest mobile app store (Play Store) on the most extensive VR headset (Meta Quest VR) isn’t possible. This is a result of one party turning down an offer from the other to work together. Yes, Google turned down Meta’s offer to bring the Play Store to the Quest VR headsets for users to enjoy.

Even though the Quest VR headsets run on a modified version of Android, the availability of Android apps for use is limited. Why is this, are there some technical drawbacks that prevent porting Android apps to Meta’s VR headsets? As Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, explains, there are no technical limitations that prevent bringing more Android apps over to their VR headsets.

Developers can bring their apps from Android over to VR headsets for usage. However, the major problem lies in the distribution of these apps, as an actual app store is required for this. Google, having the necessary means to provide Android apps to Meta VR headset users is not willing to do so.

For some reason, Google isn’t willing to bring the Play Store to the Quest VR headset

During an AMA session on Instagram, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth answered some questions from the Quest community. Among the questions that community members threw at him was related to the availability of Android apps on the VR headset. In response to this, he said that “nothing is preventing Android developers” from bringing their apps to Quest VR headsets.

He goes on to say that all developers have to do is send them their APKs to make their apps available to users. There might be some modifications to the APKs to make them suitable for usage on VR headsets. However, there is a lack of a distribution channel for these APKs between the developers, Meta, and the end users.

Meta’s CTO goes on to point out that Google has been approached to bring the Play Store to Quest VR headsets. Well, the tech giant refused to grant this request, hence the need for a workaround. But what exactly is the reason behind Google’s decision on this issue?

Well, there is no clear-cut reason as to why Google takes this stand, but one can imagine it’s all about competition. It’s no news that Google is nurturing some VR dreams and aspirations. So will its refusal to bring the Play Store to Quest VR headsets help its VR dreams and aspirations?

Well, there’s no proof to back that line of thought and it might be false in itself. However, users of the Quest VR headset will be more than thrilled to have Android apps on their headsets. Meta might be working on a way to bring these apps to their VR products, but only time will reveal its efforts.


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Microsoft Patch Tuesday November Fixes 63 Flaws, 5 Zero-Days

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Microsoft Patch Tuesday November Fixes 63 Flaws, 5 Zero-Days
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This week marked the Redmond giant Microsoft’s monthly security updates for its products. With Patch Tuesday November, Microsoft addressed fewer vulnerabilities – over 60 only, including five zero-day flaws.

Five Zero-Days Patched With Latest Microsoft Updates

Microsoft addressed five different zero-day vulnerabilities with November Patch Tuesday updates.

Interestingly, none of these vulnerabilities lead to code execution, nor do they boast a critical severity rating. However, their public disclosure and active exploitation (for three of them) make them severe issues requiring immediate patching. These important severity vulnerabilities include the following.

  • CVE-2023-36025 (CVSS 8.8): a security feature bypass in Windows SmartScreen that went under attack before a patch. An adversary could exploit this flaw by tricking the victim into clicking a maliciously crafted URL, after which the attacker could bypass Windows Defender SmartScreen prompts.
  • CVE-2023-36038 (CVSS 8.2): a denial-of-service vulnerability impacting the ASP.NET Core. Despite public disclosure, Microsoft detected no exploitation attempts for this flaw.
  • CVE-2023-36033 (CVSS 7.8): a privilege escalation vulnerability affecting the Windows DWM Core Library. Exploiting the flaw could let an attacker gain SYSTEM privileges. Microsoft confirmed detecting active exploitation of this vulnerability.
  • CVE-2023-36036 (CVSS 7.8): another privilege escalation issue in the Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver, allowing SYSTEM privileges. Microsoft confirmed finding this vulnerability under attack.
  • CVE-2023-36413 (CVSS 6.5): another security feature bypass in Microsoft Office allowing an adversary to trick the victim into opening a maliciously crafted document in editing mode, bypassing the protected view.

Other Important November Patch Tuesday Updates From Microsoft

This month’s update bundle also addressed three critical severity issues alongside the zero-days. These include an information disclosure vulnerability affecting the Azure CLI REST Command (CVE-2023-36052; CVSS 8.6), a remote code execution vulnerability in the Windows Pragmatic General Multicast (PGM) (CVE-2023-36397; CVSS 9.8), and privilege escalation vulnerability impacting the Windows HMAC Key Derivation (CVE-2023-36400; CVSS 8.8).

In addition, the update bundle fixed 51 other important severity vulnerabilities and four moderate severity issues across different Microsoft products.

As the updates have been released publicly, users must rush to update their devices immediately to avoid potential threats.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.


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Samsung added new features to its camera apps with One UI 6.0

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Samsung added new features to its camera apps with One UI 6.0
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Samsung‘s Android 14-based One UI 6.0 update brought a host of new camera features to the Galaxy S23 series. The company has already detailed everything it added to the flagship lineup with the big update. Separately, it pushed new features and improvements to its standalone camera apps as well. Expert RAW, Camera Assistant, and Galaxy Enhance-X all picked up new tools. Let us have a close look at those.

One UI 6.0 improves Samsung’s Expert RAW and Camera Assistant apps

The big new update for the Galaxy S23 series adds ten types of AI-powered ND (neutral-density) filters to Expert RAW. These filters let you capture natural movements such as waterfalls or waves by reducing light. No matter how bright the environment is, simply pick the right filter and your phone will work out the magic. Samsung has also significantly improved the image quality in low light.

For Camera Assistant users, One UI 6.0 adds a digital zoom upscale feature to improve soon shots. Automatic lens distortion correction is also now more effective. It corrects the distortion effect of the main and ultrawide cameras on the back and the selfie camera. The feature is on by default. The Crop Zoom feature added a few months back has been renamed to 2x Crop Zoom.

This update further adds the option to move the shooting speed controls from Camera Assistant to the stock camera app. The tool lets you prioritize shutter speed or image quality (maximum post-processing and optimization). A faster shutter speed would reduce optimization and let you capture shots in quick succession. It’s nice to see Samsung migrating features from standalone apps to the main camera experience of Galaxy phones.

The Galaxy Enhance-X app is getting new features too

Samsung’s SingleTake camera feature lets you capture multiple photos and a short video of a scene with a single tap of the shutter button. With Android 14-based One UI 6.0, this feature moves to the Galaxy Enhance-X app. The app also lets you create a 24-hour time-lapse video of 12 seconds using a single photo. Simply select a bright outdoor photo at the app will work its magic to add the changes that occur throughout the day.

The Sky Guide feature lets you study constellations and famous celestial objects through night sky photos. If your photo has more than 20 visible stars, Galaxy Enhance-X will analyze the patterns of the stars to give you more information, including the locations of constellations. The automatic long exposure tool, meanwhile, allows you to apply a long exposure effect to existing videos of up to 60 seconds.

With One UI 6.0, Galaxy Enhance-X also lets you watch short videos (up to ten seconds) in slo-mo—0.25x of 0.5x speed—without requiring you to enter a separate menu. The app helps in document scanning too, cleaning and sharpening the text for better results. Last but not least, it can detect blurry lenses (due to fingerprints or dust) and automatically fixes blurry images correct brightness and dynamic range.

In addition to the Galaxy S23 series, the improved Galaxy Enhance-X app will be available to the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 FE, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3, Galaxy A54, Galaxy A53, Galaxy A34, Galaxy A33, Galaxy M54, Galaxy M53, Galaxy M34, and Galaxy M33 (some features may not be supported). The One UI 6.0 update will reach these devices in the coming weeks.


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Microsoft’s first in-house chips are centered around AI

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Microsoft’s first in-house chips are centered around AI
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Microsoft is one of the biggest companies in the entire world, yet it’s shied away from developing its own in-house chips. Its phones, consoles, and other components use chips manufactured by other companies. However, the company just announced that this is about to change. According to a new report, Microsoft is developing its own in-house chips, and, as you would guess, they’re centered around AI.

Microsoft, along with the rest of the world, has been jumping on the AI craze as of late. Companies are pouring billions of dollars into developing smarter and more intuitive AI. Heck, Microsoft basically adopted OpenAI as a child after chat GPT launched. So, it should come as no surprise that Microsoft is developing its own silicon for AI.

Microsoft is developing its chips to help boost its AI capabilities

These new chips from Microsoft are targeted at cloud-based artificial intelligence. They’re named the Cobalt 100 chip and Maia 100 chip and the company is going to use these chips for different purposes.

The Maya 100 chip will be used to train AI models. This is similar to how people have been buying Nvidia’s h100 GPUs en masse to train their AI models. Just recently, Elon Musk bought a ton of Nvidia GPUs to train the AI models for his companies. As for the Cobalt 100 chip, this ship will be used to power the company’s Azure Cloud platform.

For the time being, Microsoft has had to rely on other companies like Nvidia for chips to power its AI ventures. However, with its own in-house chips, Microsoft will be able to cut costs. It’s always cheaper to manufacture your own components than to buy from third-party sellers.

Right now, the company is still working on manufacturing these ships, so you won’t see anything soon. However, the report states that these chips should be coming out sometime in 2024. This means that Microsoft has been working on them for some time.

This shows how extremely committed Microsoft is to AI technology at this point. We expect it to be implemented into more of the company’s services. However, we don’t know exactly how many.


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Latest Android 14 beta debuts “single-app” casting and screen recording feature on Pixel devices

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Latest Android 14 beta debuts “single-app” casting and screen recording feature on Pixel devices
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Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 began to rollout yesterday for the Pixel 5a, 6, 6 Pro, 6a, 7, 7 Pro, 7a, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet (with the Pixel 8 series to follow soon) along with the November 2023 security patch. Although this release included mostly bug fixes and UI refinements, there was one key user-facing feature that made a surprising debut — the ability to screen record or cast a single app instead of the entire screen.

This can be very helpful in cases where you want a clean output without the status bar, notification icons, or notification popups. What you get is just the app itself without anything else that surrounds it.

The way it works right now on Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 is that as soon as you start a screen recording, you are presented with a dropdown asking whether you want to record just the app or the entire screen. At this point, if you choose a single app, you are then shown an app selector with the most recent apps you have opened, with the top two or three shown as a thumbnail preview.

The casting function offers a very similar choice, with an option to cast only a single app right before requesting the device you want to cast to. Both the screen recording and casting prompts include a warning stating “When you’re casting an app, Android has access to anything shown or played on that app. So be careful with things like passwords, payment details, messages, photos, and audio and video,” further educating users on the dangers of doxxing yourself.

Since it is currently present in the latest beta, there is still a possibility that this feature will evolve and change as the QPR beta period progresses. If all goes well, it is expected that this will make its way to stable Android 14 soon, hopefully in the next Pixel feature drop.


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