Phys.org, Author at Spotlight Magazine

Sexualized deepfakes on X are a sign of things to come. NZ law is already way behind

Elon Musk finally responded last week to widespread outrage about his social media platform X letting users create sexualized deepfakes with Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.This post was originally published on this site

Deep sea mining is the next geopolitical frontline—and the Pacific is in the crosshairs

When the United States recently escalated its confrontation with Venezuela—carrying out strikes in Caracas and capturing President Nicolás Maduro—the moves were framed as political intervention.This post was originally published on this site

ALMA reveals teenage years of new worlds

Astronomers have, for the first time, captured a detailed snapshot of planetary systems in an era long shrouded in mystery. The ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS), using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array […]

Microsoft’s AI deal promises Canada digital sovereignty, but is that a pledge it can keep?

Over the past year, few words have been abused as much as “sovereignty,” particularly in relation to Canadian digital policy and artificial intelligence. In early December, Microsoft promised to invest more than $7.5 billion over […]

Will Google be ‘third time lucky’ with new, AI-powered smart glasses?

It has been over a decade since Google Glass smart glasses were announced in 2013, followed by their swift withdrawal—in part because of low adoption. Their subsequent (and lesser known) second iteration was released in […]

Artificially alive: How AI is bringing the dead back and what that means for the living

A new study shows that generative AI is already being used to “bring back” the dead, as entertainment icons, as political witnesses, and as everyday companions for grieving families. Tracing cases of AI “resurrections,” the […]

Off-the-shelf kitchen chemistry could make Li–S batteries thinner

Demand is booming for batteries that are faster, thinner and cheaper. We want electric cars and bikes that travel further, devices that last longer, charge quicker and cost less. Today, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) set the […]

From chess moves to clean energy: A creative path to affordable power for developing nations

The global push for clean energy often highlights high-tech solutions in wealthy countries. But a team at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) is proving that simple, clever ideas—inspired by chess, secondhand batteries, and fair […]

Teen girls cannot escape unrealistic beauty ideals on social media, researchers say

Girls between the ages of 13 and 19 are widely exposed to beauty content online that promotes products unsuitable for young skin—even when they are not actively seeking beauty-related information. Moreover, they believe that other […]

AI can make the dead talk—why this doesn’t comfort us

For as long as humans have buried their dead, they’ve dreamed of keeping them close. The ancient Fayum portraits—those stunningly lifelike images wrapped in Egyptian mummies—captured faces meant to remain present even after life had […]