WhatsApp is limiting forwarding to combat coronavirus misinformation

Google's auto-complete for speech can cover up glitches in video calls

Sponsored by Alegion The Download Your daily dose of what’s up in emerging technology 04.07.20 Good morning! Today: WhatsApp is limiting forwarding to stem the spread of coronavirus misinformation, and a new AI autocompletes speech to cover up glitches in video calls. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. WhatsApp is limiting message forwarding to combat coronavirus misinformation The news: WhatsApp has said it will implement new limits on message forwarding amid growing concerns that it is being used to spread misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic. From today, people can only forward messages identified as “highly forwarded” to a single person, as opposed to five, the company, which is owned by Facebook, said in a blog post. The idea is to slow the spread of viral information, giving truth a chance to catch up with falsehoods.  Why now?: WhatsApp has been used to share false content around the world for years, but concern about the issue has reached a peak during the coronavirus crisis. There are lots of reports of people sharing rumors, fake “cures” for coronavirus (none exist), and conspiracy theories on the app. Some background: WhatsApp started limiting forwarding in July 2018, after a spate of mob lynchings in India that were linked to messages shared in WhatsApp groups. Before that point users could forward a message to as many as 256 people. WhatsApp also added two arrows to show a message had been repeatedly forwarded. Last year, the company cut the number of people you can forward a message to to five. These measures won’t stop you from forwarding a message to lots of different people one-by-one, but they introduce a degree of friction which seems to have worked: in the last year, forwards are down 25% around the world, according to WhatsApp. Google’s auto-complete for speech can cover up glitches in video calls The news: With many of us now relying on video calls for face-to-face interaction, choppy connections are more frustrating than ever. An artificial intelligence that mimics an individual speaker’s way of talking can smooth over the cracks by filling in small gaps with snippets of generated speech. Developed by a team at Google, the technology is now being used in Google’s video-calling app Duo.  What’s the problem?: When you’re on an online call, your voice gets chopped up into lots of tiny pieces that are zipped across the internet in data blocks known as packets. Packets often arrive at the other end jumbled up, and software has to reorder them. But sometimes packets don’t arrive at all, which creates glitches and gaps in a conversation.  Generating speech: To fix the problem, the team built on a neural network developed by DeepMind that can generate realistic speech from text. The new neural network was then trained on a large data set of 100 recorded human voices speaking 48 different languages until it could auto-complete short sections of speech on the basis of common patterns in the way people talk. When a packet is lost, the AI-generated voice is inserted in its place. For now, the AI can only generate syllables rather than whole words or phrases. But short samples Google posted online show that the results can be pretty lifelike.  —Will Douglas Heaven We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + John Krasinski organized an amazing surprise for Aubrey after she had to miss seeing Hamilton for her ninth birthday.   + Not sure this is “nice” but, um, Stanford has made a toilet that identifies you from your butthole.   + A bicycle messenger in Manhattan has launched a strangely soothing livestream of the empty streets.   + Queen Elizabeth wore green during her recent TV address, and that means one thing: PHOTOSHOP.   + Pandas are FINALLY getting it on.   + Get a barber to talk you through cutting your hair.   + Another “dad and daughter” special: Curt Smith from Tears for Fears sings “Mad World” with his daughter Diva (what a great name).   + A new silent film from WWII gives us a glimpse at the people behind Bletchley Park.   + Don’t worry kids, the Easter bunny is an “essential worker.”   + Ever wondered what coronavirus sounds like? Kinda relaxing.   + Watch Fleabag while giving money to charity. Sponsor Message Data Labeling for Enterprise AI & ML Experimentation Data is the foundation of the AI & ML model development process. Carefully crafted algorithms won’t get off the ground without it & bad data can sink it. Numerous experiments are required to develop effective models that push projects forward. With more experiments & smaller volumes of data, high-performing AI teams can build baselines quickly & then rapidly iterate to improve. This experimentation cycle is key because the business impact of ML is often speculative & multiple approaches must be attempted before proving what works. Learn more here. The top ten must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The US health system is badly unprepared  There are shortages of testing supplies, ventilators, and protective equipment. (The Verge)   + Cases may be starting to plateau in New York, New Jersey and Louisiana. (Reuters)   + This is how you can help medical professionals. (NYT $) 2 Asian countries face a new wave of covid-19 infections They’re seeing the disease “reimported” by travelers from the US and Europe. (Wired $)   + People are fleeing Tokyo before a state of emergency is imposed in Japan. (Reuters)   + However, China reported no new deaths today. (The Guardian) 3 How will we know when it’s time to reopen? These are the criteria we’d need to meet. (NYT $) 4 UK prime minister Boris Johnson is in intensive care with coronavirus Eek. (BBC)   + It’s not clear what that means for the UK government’s response to the crisis. (Quartz) 5 Musicians are taking up teaching online 🎸 Maybe it’s time to dust off that old guitar and get some lessons. (NPR) 6 Facebook is developing tools to track if people are social distancing The firm says it will have privacy safeguards in place. (CNBC)   + Facebook is planning to install Portals in thousands of care homes. (Wired UK)   + Behind efforts to make a privacy-protecting tracking app. (NBC) 7 Your poo(p) could be used to track coronavirus 💩 Combine it with Stanford’s anus-scanner and you’re laughing. (OneZero) 8 An Instagram project is documenting the everyday drama of our lockdown lives Real life is often better entertainment than TV. (The Guardian) 9 Could Trump cancel the election because of coronavirus? It’s worryingly unclear. (Gizmodo)   + Either way, the crisis is intensifying the fight over voting rights. (New Yorker) 10 Don’t forget: shops other than Amazon exist And they need your business more. (WSJ $)   + More than 50 Amazon warehouses have coronavirus cases. (NYT $) The only constant in business is change. Technology changes everything without our consent. To succeed, you must understand and adapt. Join our virtual conference, EmTech Next, for an in-depth examination of the technologies impacting business and industry over the next 12 months. Purchase your ticket today. Quote of the day “When you’re in school you only think about going home, and now that you’re home, going to school is all you want to do.” —Emma, 17, tells Wired about the sad paradox teens everywhere are facing. Top image credit: ALFREDO RIVERA | PIXABAY Please send your best Queen Elizabeth photoshops to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up for free Get unlimited access to online stories. Subscribe to MIT Technology Review today. View this in a browser You received this newsletter because you subscribed with the email address of Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog *Edit email preferences   |   *Unsubscribe from all emails Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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