deepfakes2 articles
The State of AI in 2026: Five Things Actually Worth Knowing
Delivered at SXSW London in mid-2026, the talk outlines five key themes in AI: its uncertain impact on jobs, the real-world harms already materialising (such as deepfakes, chatbot-related self-harm, and AI in warfare), and growing public backlash and anti-AI protests. It also highlights AI's significant and promising role in accelerating scientific research, while cautioning against over-reliance. Overall, the author argues that despite the hype, AI remains simply a technology whose full effects will take time to unfold — urging people to prepare for a marathon, not a sprint.
Google's New Android Feature Catches AI Voice Clone Scams Before You Get Fooled
Google is rolling out a new Android security feature called "fake call detection" to combat AI-powered deepfake scam calls, available from June 2026 on Android 12 and later devices. The feature uses the RCS standard to send encrypted verification signals between devices when a call is made, alerting recipients with an on-screen warning if the signal is missing and the call cannot be authenticated — indicating a likely spoofed or AI-cloned impersonation attempt. The move comes amid growing impersonation fraud losses, with the FTC reporting $2.95 billion in US losses in 2024 alone and INTERPOL linking such fraud to over $440 billion in global losses.