Deep fake technology is getting ever more realistic, and as California attorney David Sparks pointed out, “computers are so good at duplicating your voice at this point that a determined jackass could ‘produce’ a tape of you saying anything.” Sparks linked to a post by John Gruber in which Gruber discusses and links to a Twitter thread from John Meyer who had ChatGPT generate sentences and then used Deep Fake technology while playing it so that it sounds like Steve Jobs speaking. The end result sounds exactly like the real Steve Jobs, except that he is talking about the COVID-19 pandemic, which occurred many years after he died. Attorneys have long had to deal with authenticating evidence: proving that a document really is what it purports to be. We are at the point where even incredibly realistic audio and video may not be what it seems to be. Worse yet, as Gruber points out, as this technology becomes more widespread, politicians and others will be able to deny accurate recordings, and the public will not know who to believe. I’m a big fan of technology and there are so many good things that it can do. But there is undoubtedly a dark side as well. And now, on that happy note, here is the rest of the note of note from the past week:
- This week, Apple released a “Release Candidate” of the beta version of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4. I suspect that means that we will see the final versions come out next week, so keep an eye out for it. As Chance Miller of 9to5Mac reports, new features include 21 new Emoji, new Apple Pencil features on the newest iPads (the ones that support hover), notifications for web apps that you add to your Home Screen, and more. He also notes that, in iOS 16.4, state health authorities will be able to end their support for Apple’s COVID-19 exposure notifications.
- Filipe Espósito of 9to5Mac says that another feature of iOS 16.4 will be that the phone app will be able to isolate your voice and block out certain background noise, a feature already supported by FaceTime.
- I cannot imagine using my iPad Pro without an Apple Pencil. I use it every day. The Apple Pencil (second generation—the current one) is normally $129, but all this week, it has been on sale on Amazon for about $89.99. That’s a great price for a great product. Note that if you follow me on Mastodon, then you learned of this sale many days ago.
- Jason Fitzpatrick of How-To Geek provides the argument for updating your Wi-Fi router every three to five years. I’ve been using an eero Pro 3-pack at my house for almost three years and it continues to work incredibly well. I find it hard to believe that I’ll be ready for an upgrade only two years from now, but we’ll see.
- I’ve linked to other stories in which someone used an AirTag to catch a thief, but this report by CWBChicago is different and somewhat amusing. A would-be car thief was caught not only because the owner had an AirTag on her keys because also because the thief didn’t know how to drive stick.
- Almost all of the smart home technology that I use is HomeKit-compatible. One exception is my video doorbell because I need to use a battery-powered version and, up until now, there wasn’t a good one on the market. (Instead, I use this Eufy device, which works well.) Bradley Chambers of 9to5Mac reports that Aqara has introduced the G4 video doorbell, a wireless, battery-powered doorbell that works with HomeKit, and he says that it works really well. It is $119.99 on Amazon.
- Arlette Saenz of CNN reports that the cast of the Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso met with the President and others at the White House this week to discuss mental health. ABC News has a video highlight on YouTube of comments made in the White House press room.
- And finally, if you trade in your current iPhone when you purchase a new one, what happens to the iPhone that you turn in? Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal produced a great video showing how an iPhone gets refurbished.