Meta’s consumer-facing generative AI tools based on its new Llama 2 model may not be far off. The company appears to be working on several new generative AI features for Instagram, including labels that allow creators to identify images “generated by Meta AI.”
That’s according to screenshots shared by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi who often teases unreleased features from Meta’s apps. Paluzzi recently posted a screenshot that shows an in-app message detailing how posts created with generative AI tools may soon be labeled within Instagram. “The creator or Meta said that this content was created or edited with AI,” the message explains. Additional labels indicate it was “generated by Meta AI” and that “content created with AI is typically labeled so that it can be easily detected.”
A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment. But the screenshot suggests the company, like Google and others in the AI space, is interested in helping users discern when AI was used to create content. As generative AI tools have become more widely used, researchers and policymakers have raised concerns about how the technology could be used to aid the spread of misinformation or otherwise mislead people. Earlier this month, seven AI companies — including Meta — pledged to adopt a series of AI safety measures, like watermarks for AI-generated content.
While Meta so far hasn’t disclosed many details about its consumer-facing generative AI plans, Mark Zuckerberg has dropped several hints. “We're also building a number of new products ourselves using Llama that will work across our services,” the CEO said in a quarterly earnings call last week. “You can imagine lots of ways AI could help people connect and express themselves in our apps: creative tools that make it easier and more fun to share content, agents that act as assistants, coaches, or that can help you interact with businesses and creators, and more.”
Elsewhere, Paluzzi has spotted signs of other generative AI-powered tools for Instagram, including a “message summary” feature for summarizing long DMs, and new artistic tools for editing Stories.
Update, July 31st, 2023, 11:06 AM PT: This story has been updated to note that Meta declined to comment.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instagram-seems-to-be-working-on-labels-for-posts-generated-by-meta-ai-173427549.html?src=rss
The devs behind AI-based sample editing software Samplab are back with a free VST3 plugin that generates samples from text prompts. The appropriately-named TextToSample is a plugin that opens inside your DAW or as a standalone tool, allowing you to type, say, “bubbly synth melody” to create a, well, bubbly synth melody to do with as you see fit.
TextToSample utilizes Meta’s open-source AI-based sound generation toolset, MusicGen, and was trained using data provided by the algorithm. You can also drag and drop pre-existing sounds into the plugin and have it generate related samples, in addition to typing out commands.
The UI is extremely minimal and sparse, which makes it easy to use, but does present some inherent limitations. For instance, it doesn’t take pre-existing music on your track into account, so your first, second, and even third attempts will likely not match the tone you are going for. It also has trouble recognizing basic music concepts like keys, scales and BPM. Just like most AI-creation platforms, you aren’t going to get a perfect match right away. You’ll have to tweak, augment and provide further instructions, bit by bit, until satisfied.
However, when you get there, it’s pretty darn fun, creating the kinds of happy accidents you’d never stumble into on your own. Check out the demo video and that little flourish of guitar at the tail end of the sample as an example.
This is an AI tool in the year 2023, so there are some bugs. During experiments, we ran into issues like the plugin adding drums when we clearly stated that we didn’t want percussion. To that end, Samplab says the tool is not intended to “replace human musicians, which it’s not capable of doing anyway.” It’s free, though, so there's no harm in checking it out, and the technology should improve as more people use it.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-free-plugin-uses-ai-to-generate-music-samples-from-text-prompts-165058168.html?src=rss
A New York Times investigation uncovered earlier this year that the US government used spyware made by Israeli hacking firm NSO. Now, after an FBI investigation into who was using the tech, the department uncovered a confusing answer: itself, according to the New York Times on Monday.
Since 2021, the Biden administration has taken steps toward parting ways with NSO, given the firm's reputation for shady tools like Pegasus that lets governments discreetly download personal information from hacked phones without the user's knowledge. But even after the president signed an executive order banning commercial spyware in March, an FBI contractor used NSO's geolocation product Landmark to track the locations of targets in Mexico.
The FBI had inked a deal with telecommunications firm Riva Networks to track drug smugglers in Mexico, according to TheTimes. The spyware let US officials track mobile phones because of existing security gaps in the country's cellphone networks. While the FBI says it was misled by Riva Networks into using the tech, and has since terminated the contract, people with direct knowledge of the situation said the FBI used the spyware as recently this year.
This isn't the FBI's first run in with NSO and its spyware tools. Prior to the executive order banning the products for government use, the agency considered using Pegasus to aid in its criminal investigations. Spyware generally gained a bad reputation for its use to surveil citizens and suppress political dissent, with NSO considered one of the largest in the business.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fbi-investigates-use-of-nso-spyware-pegasus-landmark-163949655.html?src=rss
You might want to run antivirus tools if you use certain Minecraft mods. The MMPA security community has learned that hackers are exploiting a "BleedingPipe" flaw in the Forge framework powering numerous mods, including some versions of Astral Sorcery, EnderCore and Gadomancy. If one of the game tweaks is running on Forge 1.7.10/1.12.2, intruders can remotely control both servers and gamers' devices. In one case, an attacker was using a new exploit variant to breach a Minecraft server and steal both Discord chatters' credentials as well as players' Steam session cookies.
As Bleeping Computerexplains, BleedingPipe relies on incorrect deserialization for a class in the Java code powering the mods. Users just have to send special network traffic to a server to take control. The first evidence of BleedingPipe attacks surfaced in March 2022 and were quickly patched by modders, but MMPA understands most servers running the mods haven't updated.
We've asked Mojang parent company Microsoft for comment. It's not responsible for Forge, so the tech giant can't necessarily stop or limit the damage. You won't be affected if you use stock Minecraft or stick to single-player sessions.
The full scope of the vulnerability isn't clear. While there are 46 mods known to fall prey to BleedingPipe as of this writing, there's the potential for considerably more. Users are asked to scan their systems (including their Minecraft folder) for malware. Server operators, meanwhile, are urged to either update mods or stop running them entirely. MMPA also has a PipeBlocker mod that protects everyone involved, although mod packs may cause problems if the mods haven't been updated.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/minecraft-mod-exploit-lets-hackers-control-your-device-162231445.html?src=rss
There are houseboats that exude luxury and there are other vessels designed to make uniform flow between outdoors and indoors. Welcome aboard the Halcyon, where luxury and openness find a new definition!
This extraordinary floating dwelling, designed by Jolson, summons you to escape the hustle of daily life and immerse yourself in a world of serenity and enchantment in a houseboat designed as an idyllic retreat, seamlessly blending modern design with nature’s splendor.
Halcyon’s primary design philosophy revolves around harmonizing the interior with the breathtaking surroundings. It’s Jolson’s architectural expertise and understanding of the local environment together that make this a vessel of dreams on Lake Eildon, near Melbourne.
To feel unconfined and at one with nature, the Halcyon interior decor draws inspiration from the great outdoors, ensuring that the boat becomes an extension of its stunning vista. Here, the sawn-cut timber floorboards with their rugged texture seamlessly flow into the furnishings and effortlessly blur the lines between indoor and outdoor decor.
The houseboat has a partially covered top floor that offers a 360-degree panorama unfold right before your eyes. This versatile living space can be used to unwind, dine, and entertain. A linear bar, equipped with top-notch kitchen and bar amenities, invites you to indulge in delectable meals and refreshing drinks.
Descending to the middle floor you are greeted by four-bedroom suites, ensuring privacy and tranquility away from the boat’s decks and passageways. Further down is the shared living areas on the ground floor embracing the surrounding water through its windows. The unique window design allows the sides of the houseboat to slide open, transforming the interior into a luxurious outdoor living room surrounded by water.
The ultimate showstopper still is Halcyon’s glass staircase, located strategically in front of the windows, that not only connects its three floors but also invites natural light to illuminate the interior. This thoughtful architectural touch ensures that every corner of the houseboat is infused with warmth and brightness.
I wrote my first synth review for Engadget in 2019. At the time I thought it might be a one off. Maybe it would afford me the opportunity to play with some fun gear now and then, but “Engadget synth beat reporter” was not something in the cards long term. Well, four years later I’ve not only managed to turn music tech into a regular part of my job, but I’ve become something of a connoisseur of weird, cheapsynths. I’d almost say that I’ve become jaded by the relentless releases of wannabe Volcas and VSTs-but-hardware. So I was somewhat skeptical of SOMA’s Rumble of Ancient Times (RoAT from here on out), a $170 “8-bit noise synthesizer.”
Well, this little pile of battery-powered weirdness has silenced my inner cynic. It’s reminded me to stop being so precious about my music. That creating art should be fun. And that, sometimes, you just need to let things go.
Before I turn you off with more philosophical ramblings (and don’t worry, there will be more), let’s lay out exactly what the RoAT is. It’s an 8-bit digital synth and sequencer inspired by video games of the early PC era, which had to do a lot with incredibly little. The core here isn’t some high-powered ARM processor; there’s no advanced physical modeling or complex wavetables. Instead, the RoAT runs on a very basic microcontroller like you might find in old kitchen appliances. (Not the kind that connect to the internet and have giant touchscreens.)
There are four freely tunable oscillators with 16 waveforms to choose from. The frequency range available is huge and the potentiometers can only turn so much, so dialing in a perfect scale isn’t something that’s going to come easy. The 16 voice options are all harsh and decidedly digital. Think Atari 2600 in a blender. And the resonant filter is deliciously lo-fi. I know that it’s somewhat cliche at this point to say that a synth is oozing character, but I don’t know how else to describe the sound of RoAT. It’s one of the more characterful instruments I’ve had the pleasure of using at any price point.
The sequencer is basic, too. An oscillator is either on or off and that’s it. If you want a particular note you have to lock it in with the tuning knobs. The one variable is that by default, the voices can either be momentary on, or momentary off – so you can set one to drone while the others pop in to add color. The sequences must be played in live, nothing is quantized and the pattern length is just a single bar. But since it’s not a step sequencer, that doesn’t matter quite as much. You can always just turn the tempo down to 70 bpm while actually playing at 140 bpm and effectively get two bars.
Terrence O'Brien
The simplicity here actually makes it fun and fuss free. You just hold down the record button and tap the little copper pads under each voice button, wait for the loop to come back around and tap some more to add additional triggers. The whole process of dialing in notes then sequencing them is sloppy and playful. You don’t have to think about ratchets or parameter locks. The limitations actually free you up to focus on jamming, experimenting and iterating.
The one part of the RoAT interface that might seem intimidating at first is the bank of registers. This is how you do actual sound design on the instrument. There’s a table in the bottom right hand corner where all the various parameters are laid out, like frequency, wave selection, LFO type and speed, etcetera. They’re in numbered rows, from zero to seven, and you navigate between them using buttons on the left side labeled one, two and four. So yes, you will need to do some basic arithmetic if you want to change the release of a voice or tweak the filter resonance, which you’ll find on page five and select by pressing the one and four buttons (1+4=5, got it?). While this might seem unnecessarily complicated, it’s actually pretty easy to wrap your head around and I’d argue far faster and more enjoyable than trying to scroll through an endless menu.
Some of the parameters need a little more explanation than what can be squeezed into the table on the front. But flip the RoAT over and you’ll get most of the info you need on the back of the unit.
Terrence O'Brien
The one exception to this is page six of the registers, which is where you’ll find the summing algorithm controls. These are explained on the back of the device, but I’d be lying if I said I fully understood what they all meant or why they affect the sound the way they do. I have a feeling that many people will be in the same boat as me. That being said, you don’t really need to understand to simply tweak the knobs until you hear something you like.
By the way, turning knobs until you hear something you like is perfectly a valid approach for any instrument, but it seems particularly appropriate here. The dramatic changes even a tiny bit of movement introduces mean this is best navigated by feel. And if that seems like too much work for you, there’s that button labeled “CHAOS” in the top left corner. I bet you can guess what it does. (It causes chaos, btw.)
This button randomizes all the parameters except for the row you’ve currently selected in the register. So if you don’t have any of the numbered buttons on, you’re on row zero which controls pitch, you can knock out countless iterations on a particular melody or sequence, swapping in different waveforms and algorithms.
Terrence O'Brien
Now this is where the limitations of the RoAT might become an issue for some. Do you like the chaos you’ve just created? Great, you better record that right now. Get out a field recorder and a TRS cable, or fire up your DAW or something. Because once you flip that power switch on the RoAT off, your creation is gone – forever. There’s no saving of sequences. No presets. No MIDI out to control other instruments.
There is analog sync out, but no sync in. That means that, while you can connect the RoAT to a Volca or a Pocket Operator and keep them in time, you have to use the clock on the RoAT to drive everything. And there’s no tap tempo here or a screen where you can see the exact tempo you’re at. So I really hope you enjoy your jams at 108.45 BPM.
Terrence O'Brien
Practically everything about the RoAT is messy and ephemeral. But, that’s also kind of what makes it so great. I realize that a lot of what attracts me to the RoAT might not matter to many of you. You might just want to play a pleasant melody on a clean sounding synth. Which, great, I like doing that too. That’s not what you come to the RoAT for, though.
It’s excellent at noisy rhythmic patterns perfect for industrial or chiptunes. But it’s limited connectivity and inability to reliably reproduce the same exact results multiple times means it’s not an ideal performance instrument. Instead it’s best as a source of inspiration and samples. Though, thinking of the Rumble of Ancient Times in purely practical terms misses the point. It takes obsolete technology that would otherwise be destined for a landfill and mutates it into an experimental instrument that’s easy to get lost in. And every time you turn it on feels like a brand new adventure.
Terrence O'Brien
Remember when I said earlier that it reminded me that sometimes you need to let things go? Well, I am a digital hoarder. I have saved practically every photo I’ve taken since 2008 (and every crappy photochop since 2005). I have a hard drive overflowing with song sketches that are absolute trash and clearly going nowhere. And I have a hard time parting with even insignificant personal items floating around my house.
Not only that, but I am the sort of person who second guesses everything. I will nitpick and obsess over a project – be it a song or this review – until I hate it. In April of last year I mentioned in my review of the Chase Bliss Habit that I had been sitting on three songs for an EP for over a year. Well, absolutely zero progress has been made there. In fact I’ve since decided one of those songs is worthless and I’ve cut it.
Which brings me back to the Rumble of Ancient Times. Its simplicity, playfulness and sloppiness are a natural counter to my obsessive tendencies. Its insistence that you explore, iterate and constantly push forward prevents me from getting stuck. And the fact that I can’t save a sequence – that I have to start with a blank canvas every time I turn it on – keeps me from hoarding half-baked ideas that I will never revisit.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/soma-labs-rumble-of-ancient-times-is-the-chaotic-neutral-of-synths-154507287.html?src=rss
Novelty accessory maker 8BitDo today announced a new mechanical keyboard inspired by Nintendo’s NES and Famicom consoles from the 1980s. The $100 Retro Mechanical Keyboard works in wired / wireless modes, supports custom key mapping and includes two giant red buttons begging to be mashed.
The 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard ships in two colorways: the “N Edition” is inspired by the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and the “Fami Edition” draws influence from the Nintendo Famicom. Although the accessory-maker likely toed the line enough to avoid unwelcome attention from Nintendo’s lawyers, the color schemes match the classic consoles nearly perfectly: The NES-inspired variant ships in a familiar white / dark gray / black color scheme, while the Famicom-influenced one uses white / crimson.
The Fami Edition includes Japanese characters below the English markings for each standard alphanumerical key. The keyboard’s built-in dials and power indicator also have a charmingly old-school appearance. And if you want to customize the keyboard’s hardware, you can replace each button on its hot-swappable printed circuit board (PCB). 8BitDo tells Engadget it uses Kailh Box White Switches V2 for the keyboard and Gatreon Green Switches for the Super Buttons.
8BitDo
As for what those bundled Super Buttons do, that’s up to you: The entire layout, including the two ginormous buttons, is customizable using 8BitDo’s Ultimate Software. The company tells Engadget they connect directly to the keyboard via a 3.5mm jack. And if the two in the box aren’t enough, you can buy extras for $20 per set.
The 87-key accessory works with Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz wireless and USB wired modes. Although the keyboard is only officially listed as compatible with Windows and Android, 8BitDo confirmed to Engadget that it will also work with macOS. It has a 2,000mAh battery for an estimated 200 hours of use from four hours of charging.
Pre-orders for the 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard are available starting today on Amazon and direct at 8BitDo. The accessory costs $100 and is estimated to begin shipping on August 10th.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/8bitdos-nintendo-inspired-mechanical-keyboard-has-super-buttons-just-begging-to-be-mashed-150024778.html?src=rss
Apple’s macOS 14 Sonoma is coming later this year, the software is currently in beta and now we have more details on some of the top features that are coming to the Mac with this software update. The recent updates unveiled offer a host of intriguing features that will revolutionize user experience, bridging the gap […]
Honda has revealed the pricing for its new Honda e:Ny1 EV SUV in the UK, the car will be available to order from October and it will retail for £44,995 on the road in the UK, this will include a 5-year guarantee and 5 years of servicing. The new Honda EV SUV will come with […]
