New Nonprofit AI Tool to Detect Deepfakes, etc; Apple-600 Native Apps Available for Vision Pro Tomorrow; US Social Media Use; Tesla Sued over Hazardous Waste by 25 California Counties

A new nonprofit, nonpartisan tech organization called TrueMedia is working on an AI-powered tool to detect deepfake videos, photos, and audio, aiming to combat political disinformation in the run up to the 2024 elections. According to geekwire.com, it’s headed up by a University of Washington professor who was also CEO of the Allen Institute for AI. TrueMedia plans to release a free, web-based tool in the first quarter of this year that combines advances from TrueMedia with existing deepfake detection tools in areas including computer vision and audio analysis. It will be available initially for use by journalists, fact-checkers, and online influencers before broader public release later in the year.

A day ahead of the release of the Apple Vision Pro, Apple has announced over 600 apps that are optimized and ready to use on the pricy headset. We reported earlier about all the Microsoft apps, but now here are some others, as reported by macrumors.com. For entertainment, we already noted that Netflix and YouTube won’t have apps…but Disney+, IMAX, Max, MLB, NBA, PGA TOUR Vision, and Red Bull TV have all been optimized to take full advantage of the Vision Pro’s spatial design elements and immersive capabilities. In addition, soccer fans can subscribe to MLS Season Pass in the Apple TV app. A few other notable apps include Box, Wayfair, Webex, Zillow, Zoom, Airmail, Night Sky, Parcel. There are also over a million apps that are really for iOS and iPadOS, but will run on the Vision Pro. 

With Congress grilling the social media CEOs yesterday, how much do Americans use social media? Here are some numbers from Pew Research…this is the % of all US adults who say they ever use the platforms. Here are the top 10: YouTube rules, with 83%, Facebook is #2 with 68%. Instagram claims 47% of Americans, Pinterest has 35%, TikTok gets 33%, LinkedIn garners 30%. WhatsApp is close behind at 29%, Snapchat gets 27%, X has 22%, and Reddit also has 22%. 

Twenty five California counties have sued Tesla, alleging that the automaker has repeatedly mishandled hazardous waste at facilities throughout the state. The lawsuit was filed after months of settlement talks apparently fell apart. The claim states that Tesla  improperly labeled and disposed of materials like “lead acid batteries and other batteries,” paints, brake fluid, aerosols, antifreeze, acetone, diesel fuel and more at its production and service facilities throughout the state. Tesla also allegedly improperly disposed of the waste, both on-site and at landfills that can’t accept hazardous waste. Tesla could be on the hook for as much as $70,000 per violation per day, according to Reuters, which first reported the suit. For its part, Tesla says it “had implemented various remedial measures, including conducting training and audits, and enhancements to its site waste management programs.”

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.