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Amazon joins Facebook’s fight against deepfakes

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The Challenge will also add two professors, the Technical University of Munich’s Laura Leal-Taixé and the University of Naples Federico II’s Luisa Verdoliva, as academic advisors.

At the same time, Facebook is giving researchers some of the samples they need to help spot deepfakes. It’s releasing the first 5,000 example videos out of the 100,000-plus created explicitly for the Challenge. That will only go so far in helping to catch AI-assisted trickery, but it offers something to work with ahead of the full data set release and Challenge launch in December.

The DFDC already had a string of big names behind it, including Microsoft, MIT, the New York Times and the University of Oxford. However, the addition of AWS illustrates the shared interest in combatting deepfake videos. Fake news and similar deceptions are already common problems for many of them, and it’s only going to get worse as the technology advances.

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NVIDIA’s EGX supercomputer tech can crunch 1.6 terabytes a second

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As an example, NVIDIA said Walmart deployed its EGX tech in its Levittown, NY retail lab to improve in-store shopping. It can apparently tell employees to retrieve shopping carts, restock produce and meat, open up checkout lanes and stock shelves. In that application, “Walmart is able to compute in real time more than 1.6 terabytes of data generated each second,” NVIDIA said.

Samsung is using the app to help it design and manufacture semiconductors, while BMW is crunching data from cameras and other sensors to automate vehicle inspection. NVIDIA offers a variety of apps for the product, including NVIDIA Metropolis, used by cities to streamline traffic and pedestrian flow, among other jobs. In another application, EGX can be used to speed up 5G radio network deployments while making them more flexible with new services like AR, VR and gaming.

None of this is very consumer friendly, but you could feel the effects of it when you go about your daily business. NVIDIA said it’s already being used by over 100 tech companies around the world.

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Sunday Riley settles with FTC over fraudulent skincare reviews

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The settlement unsurprisingly bars Sunday Riley from posting fake reviews, but also requires that it clearly identify endorsers (and their connections), and asks it to “instruct” staff on their own disclosure responsibilities.

Not everyone is pleased with the proposed settlement, however. The two dissenting FTC commissioners, Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, pointed out that Sunday Riley avoided both a fine and having to admit guilt. The cosmetics firm is really just being asked not to do it again. This “does little to address the epidemic of fake reviews online,” the commissioners said. They worried that other companies would continue posting fake reviews believing the FTC would only slap them on the wrist.

There is more substantial action coming from the FTC, at least. Devumi, the company that reportedly sold fake followers to stars, has agreed to settlement of its own. In addition to correcting behavior, the deal fines founder German Calas $250,000 with the threat of a total $2.5 million penalty if the FTC finds out that he misrepresented his financial situation. Fake online influence does prompt punishment — at the FTC — it’s just that the response could be considered inconsistent.

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UPS and CVS plan to deliver prescriptions via drone

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The courier firm already has some experience delivering medical products thanks to its WakeMed partnership, which sees it delivering medical samples across WakeMed’s campus. This is far more ambitious, of course. UPS would be flying over residential areas and deliver a much wider range of products.

There’s a strong incentive to move quickly. Wing’s deal could give FedEx an early edge in the fledgling courier drone space — this prevents a rival from gaining too much technological ground. CVS no doubt wants to counter Walgreens as well. And then there’s pure bragging rights. This positions both UPS and CVS as tech-savvy companies, even if it could take a long time before a robotic aircraft delivers your medication.

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Nike will drop exclusive, limited-edition sneakers inside ‘NBA 2K20’

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So how, exactly, can you get access to these gems? Well, for starters, there’s going to be Nike MyPlayer Nation, a new mode that lets you pick your favorite team and play online against others in a mirrored version of the NBA’s 2019-2020 season game schedule. In it, depending on how well you play, you can start unlocking the ability to buy Nike’s Gamer Exclusives by reaching specified milestones — which will change throughout the NBA season. Nine of these GE models will be unlocked and redeemed that way in NBA 2K20 and, after you link your Nike and 2K memberships in the SNKRS app, you can buy them from there.

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Nike and NBA 2K20 are dropping the LeBron 17 “‘Bron 2K” on October 29th.

The remaining GE is a new color of LeBron James’ latest Nike signature shoes, dubbed the LeBron 17 ‘Bron 2K, which will drop in a different way than the others. For this particular design, Nike will be using its SNKRS Cam feature, one that will require you to have your smartphone ready, find a relevant graphic in the game and then scan it with the SNKRS app to unlock and buy a pair. But first, you’ll need to get your NBA 2K20 MyPlayer’s rating to 98 or 99 (higher than James’ 97), and then win a MyPlayer Nation game during the NBA season. From there, you’ll have to act fast: Even if you manage to access a GE, they will be only be available while supplies last.

If you recall, that SNKRS Cam experience is similar to when Nike launched an Air Jordan 1 in Fortnite, an idea that was created for both gamers and sneakerheads. This merging of digital and physical worlds to sell hyped sneakers is something that Nike has been experimenting with for the past couple of years, as it looks to technologies like augmented reality to offer something new for consumers. At the same time, these kind of drops can help the company fight bots, aka automated systems that resellers use to try to buy basically any product that’s launched in limited fashion.

Nike told Engadget the partnership with 2K Sports is only for this year’s game, NBA 2K20, although don’t be surprised to see its Gamer Exclusives come back in the future if they turn out to be popular. The MyPlayer Nation mode will be live on 2K20 starting October 22nd.

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Microsoft has a new way to keep your computer’s firmware from being hacked

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Now Microsoft thinks it has a solution to the problem. As part of a new partnership with PC manufacturers, the company is launching an initiative called Secured-core PC. With Secured-core PC, Microsoft is rethinking Windows’s relationship with firmware and how it handles booting up a device.

Under this new system, a processor’s firmware will power up the system as always, but then limit how much the processor trusts its own firmware to define the code path it takes to launch the system. The processor will instead call on Microsoft’s bootloader for those instructions. The ultimate goal of the framework is to create a safe and reliable path the processor can take each and every time it boots your computer. One major advantage of this system is that it puts the emphasis on preventing attacks, instead of merely detecting them.

Since Windows 8, Windows has included a feature called Secure Boot that checks the authenticity of a bootloader to ensure it’s safe to use. The issue with Secure Boot and the reason Microsoft is moving to this new system is that it depends on trusting firmware to check each piece of boot software. Because it operates on the assumption your firmware is safe, Secure Boot can’t protect your system when the firmware is attacked.

To implement Secured-core PC, Microsoft is working with all the major chipmakers, including Intel, AMD and Qualcomm, to make processors that feature secure encryption keys burned into the chips during the manufacturing process. Since the system depends on new hardware to protect your PC, you won’t be able to download a software update to protect your existing PC against firmware-level attacks. That said, there’s a good chance your next Windows computer will come with the feature built-in. One of the first devices that will include Secured-core PC is Microsoft’s upcoming Surface Pro X, with devices from Dell, Lenovo and Panasonic to follow.

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Best Buy throws in a $50 gift card with the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3

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If you’re in the market for a good deal on a Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, you might want to check out Best Buy. The retailer is offering a $50 gift card with the system, which starts at $1,199. Best Buy is also throwing in a six-month Trend Micro Internet Security subscription worth $30. While it’s not exactly a door crasher bargain, it certainly sweetens the deal.

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GOAT expands into apparel and accessories

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For now, apparel and accessories are only available on GOAT’s iOS and Android apps, but they’ll soon be available on GOAT.com and the company’s WeChat mini program in China. Earlier this month, GOAT added an AR feature that lets users “try on” sneakers before they make a purchase, chances are we’ll see GOAT do similar things with its apparel and accessories.

“We’re only in the infant stages of apparel on GOAT,” said co-founder Daishin Sugano. “We’re starting with the primary market, but we have plans for resale expansion.”

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Google adds seasonal Nest doorbell ringers in time for Halloween

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Once you enabled the feature through the Nest app, instead of a standard ringtone, visitors will hear a rotating cast of characters that includes a “cackling witch,” a ghost, a vampire and a scary monster anytime they ring your doorbell. The feature also works inside on Nest smart displays if you enable the visitor announcements functionality. In either case, it’s a fun way to make Halloween more fun and memorable for trick-or-treaters.

Google says it plans to add more seasonal ringtones in late November ahead of the holidays, so you’ll get more use out of the feature than just once per year. If you don’t own any Nest products, you can still get in on the fun if you have access to Google Assistant. Just ask the digital assistant to “get spooky,” and it’ll start playing an hour-long “spooktacular” playlist.

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Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ season 3 trailer shows off the new cast

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We knew that Oscar winner Olivia Colman would be taking over for Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II, but now we have a better idea of what that will look like. The trailer also shows Helena Bonham Carter in her role as Princess Margaret, and we get our first glimpse of Emerald Fennell (Call the Midwife) as Camilla Parker Bowles and Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles.

Things are changing politically, too, as season three takes place between 1964 and 1977. You can expect Cold War drama, Beatlemania and England winning the 1966 World Cup. The new season begins November 17th.

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