Science & technology | Fake-news news

Many AI researchers think fakes will become undetectable

Both detection software and watermarks can be defeated

People wear masks of Rishi Sunak, Britain’s prime minister.
This one should be easy, at least...Image: Alamy
|New Orleans

Rishi Sunak is Britain’s prime minister. If some advertisements on Facebook can be trusted (which they cannot) he also appears to be flogging get-rich-quick schemes. One such advert shows Mr Sunak endorsing an app supposedly developed by Elon Musk, a businessman, into which viewers can make regular “savings”.

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This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “True or false?”

From the January 20th 2024 edition

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Dr Dorothy Bishop.

Elon Musk is causing problems for the Royal Society

His continued membership has led to a high-profile resignation

Legal Amazon preservation area borders the field for soybean planting.

Deforestation is costing Brazilian farmers millions

Without trees to circulate moisture, the land is getting hotter and drier


Robot mixing at Toyota Research Institute.

Robots can learn new actions faster thanks to AI techniques

They could soon show their moves in settings from car factories to care homes


Scientists are learning why ultra-processed foods are bad for you

A mystery is finally being solved

Scientific publishers are producing more papers than ever

Concerns about some of their business models are building

The two types of human laugh

One is caused by tickling; the other by everything else