How programmers are using AI to make deepfakes — and even detect them Autoencoders Deep learning algorithms come in different formats. Many people think deepfakes are created withgenerative adversarial networks (GAN), a deep learning algorithm that learns to generate realistic images from noise. And it is true, there are variations of GANs that can create deepfakes. But the main type of neural network used in deepfakes is the “autoencoder.” An autoencoder is a special type of deep learning algorithm that performs two tasks....

Here at TNW we’re spending the week talking aboutthe future of media. You might remember a few days ago when I did apost about Last.fm. In it I talked about the difficulties thatterrestrial radiohad when it came to competing on the macro scale on which internet radio and cloud services operate. Given my own background in radio and the fact that I come from a childhood where my Dad always worked in it, I figured that it was worth the time to look at how terrestrial radio is forming its own future in order to stay relevant....

The double helix of DNA is one of the most iconic symbols in science. By imitating the structure of this complex genetic moleculewe have found a wayto make artificial muscle fibers far more powerful than those found in nature, with potential applications in many kinds of miniature machinery such as prosthetic hands and dextrous robotic devices. The power of the helix DNA is not the only helix in nature. Flip through any biology textbook and you’ll see helices everywhere from thealpha-helixshapes of individual proteins to the “coiled coil” helices of fibrous protein assemblies likekeratinin hair....

We all heard about last week’sLivingSocialdeal of purchasing a $20 Amazon gift card for a meer $10. The deal was record breaking with 1.3 million deals sold in 24 hours. That’s 100,000 deals sold per hour, or 80 deals sold per second. Believe it or not, that also means 1 out of every 212 Americans over the age of 18 bought one. LivingSocial may have taken a hit for this deal, but can you put a price on the marketing value of such a campaign?...

The recentlaunch of the James Webb space telescopehas the science world abuzz with dreams of cosmic breakthroughs in our understanding of the universe. Scientists hope it’ll help us gaze back in time to the universe’s origin, explain the mysteries of dark matter, and find definitive proof of ET. Each of those results would be among the greatest scientific accomplishments in human history. But the aliens one might have the biggest immediate impact on civilization....