The past week saw significant updates on known issues already, especially with the massive rise of deepfake and AI-generated porn on the internet, linked to various renowned services and technologies present. There is also new intel received by the United States government about Russia's development of anti-satellite weapons, alerting the country's space infrastructure.
Tech Times
Japan is also making the weekly top list for the world's first wood satellite called the LignoSat, set to launch later this year and make its way to orbit.
Deepfake and AI Porn Presents Massive Dangers
This photo illustration created on July 18, 2023, in Washington, DC, shows an advertisement to create AI girls reflected in a public service announcement issued by the FBI regarding malicious actors manipulating photos and videos to create explicit content and sextortion schemes. Photo apps digitally undressing women, sexualized text-to-image prompts creating "AI girls" and manipulated images fuelling "sextortion" rackets -- a boom in deepfake porn is outpacing US and European efforts to regulate the technology. STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
One of the most significant dangers in the world now is also its top technology, AI, and this is because when used in the wrong applications, may help create disrespectful and misleading content like deepfake. The rise of deepfake pornography and AI-generated explicit content is massive in the world, especially with easily accessible tools available now.
It was stated in a study that 96 percent of deepfakes now center on pornography, and most of this AI-generated content is nonconsensual, damaging the images and feelings of people whose likenesses were used.
Platforms like OpenAI's DALL-E 2 and Stable Diffusion AI are regarded to allow these deepfakes to be made.
However, there are certain efforts looking to curb deepfake and AI porn generation, with the Biden Administration suggesting digital watermarks for it, alongside more restrictions to creating this content.
Based on the recent intel that the United States was able to get, Russia is now developing anti-satellite weapons that could destroy or remove an orbiting spacecraft. According to the anonymous source, this new effort by the transcontinental country poses a massive threat to the safety and security of US satellites.
This effort by Russia was shared among top officials of the US Congress and other allies in Europe.
According to AP's report, this new weapon could affect significant communications, surveillance, and military operations in the world.
This new intelligence also adds to the US' designation of Russia as one of the top threats in space, centering on the counter-space capabilities of the country.
Japan's LignoSat: Satellite Made of Wood
KyotoU/Gakuji Tobiyama
Satellites launched in the past and present were made of top Earth metals which are durable and can last the rigorous conditions of space, but researchers from Japan have created one out of wood. The so-called "LignoSat" from the Kyoto University and the Sumimoto Forestry is a first-of-its-kind spacecraft that centers on wood materials for its body.
The goal of the research is to introduce biodegradable materials in space, taking an important step toward reducing the environmental impact of space exploration. Despite many beliefs, Kyoto University's extensive testing was able to demonstrate that wood can be durable in space-like conditions.
Its project would soon test its capabilities in real space applications.
This centers on removing the harmful byproducts of spacecraft now, with a target to launch the wood-made satellite later this Summer 2024.
