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OCTOBER 18, 2024

🤖 Innovation Dispatch: Your Daily Dose of AI

Welcome back, Innovators!

Today: ​​AI Mediation Tool May Help Reduce Culture War Rifts, Say Researchers​; The Pentagon Wants to Use AI to Create Deepfake Internet Users​; AI Gives ALS Patient Her Voice Back; NotebookLM.Google Now Lets You Guide Audio Conversations

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🎯 Today's Innovations

• ​AI Mediation Tool May Help Reduce Culture War Rifts, Say Researchers​
• ​The Pentagon Wants to Use AI to Create Deepfake Internet Users​​
• TOP HEADLINES FOR OCTOBER 18, 2024
• AI Tool Spotlight: NotebookLM.Google Now Lets You Guide Audio Conversations

FEATURE

​AI Mediation Tool May Help Reduce Culture War Rifts, Say Researchers​

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The Habermas Machine, named after the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas, was designed to take individuals' written views within a group and generate group statements that reflect a balance between majority and minority perspectives.

The system operates through a two-step process: it first creates an initial statement based on participants' inputs, which is then rated by the group. Based on feedback, it refines the statement, eventually leading to a final version that garners the most support.

One of the key findings in experiments involving over 5,000 UK participants was that the AI-generated statements were often seen as clearer, higher quality, and more informative than those created by human mediators.

The system was also able to foster greater consensus, with agreement levels increasing by eight percentage points—meaning that more participants shifted their views towards common ground after engaging with the AI mediation process.

Despite these promising results, there are several concerns surrounding the tool. One issue raised by critics is that the Habermas Machine doesn't inherently translate group deliberations into actionable policy, limiting its real-world impact on decision-making.

Additionally, there’s concern that small minorities may not have enough influence on the group statements, leading to outcomes that disproportionately affect them without fully considering their perspectives.

Another limitation is the AI’s inability to facilitate empathy. By focusing on agreement and text generation, the system doesn’t allow participants to explore and understand the emotional reasoning behind others' views, which is often crucial in long-term conflict resolution or relationship-building.

According to experts like Dr. Melanie Garson, while the tool shows potential for encouraging consensus, its success also depends heavily on the context in which it is applied, particularly when deeper behavioral change or understanding is needed.

​CHECK OUT MORE FROM 'THE GUARDIAN' HERE​

FEATURE

​The Pentagon Wants to Use AI to Create Deepfake Internet Users​

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The Pentagon’s interest in AI-generated deepfake personas, particularly through the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), highlights a new frontier in military operations. These fabricated personas would mimic real individuals to such a degree that they could interact convincingly on social media and other online spaces, posing a challenge for both humans and detection systems.

The plan calls for multiple layers of deception, including realistic profile pictures, background images, and even deepfake selfie videos that blend seamlessly into online environments. The intention is for these fake personas to appear entirely human, even in live interactions, thus enabling them to gather information, conduct influence operations, or manipulate public perception on a grand scale.

What’s striking is that the U.S. government has previously condemned the use of deepfake technology by foreign adversaries like Russia and China. Both nations have been caught using fake accounts and videos to spread misinformation, prompting the U.S. to label such practices as a national security threat. Now, however, the Pentagon itself is exploring the same techniques for its covert military activities, prompting concerns about hypocrisy and the potential erosion of public trust.

Critics argue that deploying this technology could have long-term consequences, both geopolitically and domestically. If the U.S. legitimizes the use of deepfakes, it could lead to a global arms race in disinformation technology, making it even harder to distinguish between truth and fiction online. This, in turn, could undermine the very foundations of trust in democratic societies, as people become more suspicious of government information and news sources.

Additionally, the Pentagon’s efforts to advance deepfake capabilities are tied to its broader strategy of information warfare, where AI-generated content plays a crucial role in influencing public opinion and disrupting adversaries’ narratives. However, with no legitimate use cases outside of deception, experts worry that this path could embolden other militaries and actors to exploit deepfake technology even further, complicating global efforts to combat disinformation.

​READ MORE FROM 'THE INTERCEPT' HERE​

📰 Top Headlines

• ​AI helped the feds catch $1 billion of fraud in one year. And it’s just getting started​
• ​Young Mother's Voice Regained with AI Help in ALS Battle​
• ​Meta Teams With Blumhouse and Filmmakers Like Casey Affleck to Test 'Movie Gen' AI Tool​​
• ​Nvidia hits record high as chip stocks rally on TSMC's rosy AI-powered outlook​​
• ​How gen AI can help doctors and nurses ease their administrative workloads​​
• ​Amazon to Invest in 3 Nuclear Plants to Power AI Programs​
• ​From Elon Musk to Cop Car Chases: How a Software Engineer Launched a Police AI Startup​
• ​Anthropic Flags AI's Potential to Automate Sophisticated Destructive Cyber Attacks​
• ​Most Campus Tech Leaders Say Higher Ed Is Unprepared for AI’s Rise​​

📚 AI TOOL SPOTLIGHT: NotebookLM.Google Now Lets You Guide Audio Conversations

Google's NotebookLM recently updated its audio summarization feature, allowing users to customize AI-generated conversations that focus on specific topics rather than broad summaries. This feature has gained attention, as users share podcast-like summaries of documents, journals, and YouTube videos. In September, traffic to NotebookLM surged by over 371%, reaching 3.07 million visits.

A new "Customize" option allows users to guide the AI's focus, reducing irrelevant content and potential hallucinations. While NotebookLM does not train on user data, it solicits feedback to improve accuracy. Additionally, Google launched a NotebookLM Business pilot program, offering early access to new features for over 80,000 organizations already using the tool. Future updates may include mobile apps, new voices, and expanded language options.

​CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED​

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