SYSTEM HICCUPS: Sassa Image: Ian Landsberg SASSA's new biometric verification drive has led to the suspension of 68 000 grants. Since the implementation of the system in September 2025, the Department of Social Development has confirmed a massive R302 billion allocation for the 2026/27 financial year, with R293 billion directed towards social grants. The biometric rollout, which now spans Sassa’s 432 offices, forms part of a broader national effort to prevent identity fraud and ensure that only qualifying beneficiaries remain on the system. By March 2026, about one million new applications had already been processed through the system. The figures were disclosed in a parliamentary reply by Minister of Social Development Sisisi Tolashe before her dismissal by President Cyril Ramaphosa last week. According to Tolashe, the number of social grant beneficiaries biometrically verified at local offices since the implementation of compulsory biometric enrolment for new applicants in September 2025 is 997 379, with monthly figures showing steady uptake across the period. While the rollout has expanded, concerns continue over access challenges, system failures and growing pressure at Sassa service points. The department confirmed that suspensions and lapses linked to non-compliance are tracked quarterly, with 67 868 grants suspended in the third quarter alone, alongside thousands of additional cases that later lapsed across reporting periods. Tolashe explained that enforcement follows a structured process, stating that “a grant is suspended two months after a beneficiary was notified to conduct a review and has not yet done so. ''If after suspension, the beneficiary still does not come forward to conduct the review, the grant will lapse after one month’s notice of such.” Child Support Grants accounted for the highest number of affected beneficiaries at 37 825, followed by Old Age Grants at 20 429 and Disability Grants at 7 908, as income testing
May 25, 2026 · via dailyvoice.co.za
Disney's lawsuit is not just a theme park privacy fight. It is a warning to every company treating biometric AI as a faster checkout lane instead of a regulated identity system. Disneyland's new face-scanning entrance system has moved from convenience feature to courtroom test in less than a month, and that is exactly why founders should pay attention. A proposed $5 million class action accuses The Walt Disney Co. of using facial recognition at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure without giving guests a meaningful chance to understand or avoid the collection of biometric data. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York after Riverside County resident Summer Christine Duffield visited the Anaheim parks with her children on May 10. The complaint alleges Disney collected facial data from adults and minors without adequate consent, notice, and transparency. Disney has not been found liable, and the case is still at the allegation stage, but the claim is already useful because it shows where the next wave of AI risk is likely to land. As the Los Angeles Times reported this week, Disney rolled out the technology across Disneyland Resort in late April to help verify tickets and prevent fraud. Disney's own privacy notice says the system uses a camera image taken at the entrance, compares it with an image saved when a guest first used a ticket or pass, converts those images into numerical values, and deletes those values within 30 days unless they are needed for legal or fraud-prevention purposes. The company also says participation is optional and that non-facial-recognition lanes are available. That sounds like a compliance framework. The lawsuit argues it is not enough. That difference matters because most biometric disputes are not really about whether a company can make
May 24, 2026 · via startupfortune.com
Tourists, shoppers and office workers in a busy London street on an ordinary weekday found themselves part of a digital identity check as live facial recognition cameras scanned faces against a police watchlist. The operation was an example of a technology the Metropolitan Police say is transforming policing, helping officers arrest around 2500 wanted people since the start of 2024, including suspects accused of violent and sexual offences. Critics, however, say live facial recognition undermines the presumption of innocence underpinning British law by treating every passer-by as a potential suspect. A court challenge brought by civil liberties campaigners and a community worker who had been wrongly identified failed last month, clearing the way for the technology's expanded use. In Victoria, central London, on a recent Monday few people appeared concerned by the temporary cameras, a police van and signs warning that live facial recognition was in operation. Within an hour, the system alerted an officer in the control van to a possible match. Local officers approached a man and questioned him briefly before letting him go. Police later said the alert related to court-imposed restrictions rather than an arrest warrant. About 30 minutes later came a second alert. A man in a grey hoodie, black baseball cap and blue trainers looked startled as two officers stopped him on the pavement. He was handcuffed and waited beside the road until a police van arrived to take him into custody. Police hail 'groundbreaking' technology Met Police director Lindsey Chiswick, who is the national and Met lead for live facial recognition, said the impact of the technology had been "groundbreaking" for policing in the capital, helping officers identify suspects accused of crimes including robbery, rape and strangulation. Speaking at the operation in Victoria, she cited a recent case involving a convicted paedophile who
May 24, 2026 · via itnews.com.au
MCPO pushes HD CCTV, facial recognition systems CEBU, Philippines — The Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) has urged the City Council to require business establishments to install high-definition closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras with facial recognition capabilities, saying the technology would significantly strengthen crime prevention and investigation efforts in the city. MCPO Director Police Col. Cirilo Acosta Jr. said the quality of CCTV footage plays a critical role in identifying suspects and tracking their movements, stressing that clearer and more advanced video systems could greatly improve law enforcement operations. Acosta said the proposal was in line with directives from Police Regional Office-Central Visayas Director Police Brig. Gen. Arnold Evangelista Abad, who encouraged the MCPO to seek the support of the City Council in modernizing the city’s surveillance requirements. He added that Mayor Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano had likewise directed local authorities to adapt to evolving technologies. “Our ordinance, I think, already needs to be modified. The suggestion of our regional director is to introduce new technology,” Acosta said. According to the police official, the city’s existing ordinance governing CCTV installation and regulation should be updated to accommodate emerging technologies and strengthen public safety measures. Among the proposed amendments is the inclusion of facial recognition systems, particularly in large commercial establishments. “For example, facial recognition should already be introduced so we can easily identify who entered a premises and determine whether any of them are persons of interest whenever a crime occurs,” Acosta explained. He noted that advanced surveillance systems would enable investigators to quickly identify individuals entering and leaving establishments, allowing authorities to trace suspects more efficiently. The MCPO is also encouraging private establishments to upgrade to high-definition CCTV cameras, saying poor image quality often hampers investigations. Aside from improving camera quality, Acosta emphasized the need to streamline police access to
May 24, 2026 · via philstar.com
This post is also available in: Facial recognition is quickly becoming part of everyday life. From unlocking phones to passing through airports or entering office buildings, systems that identify individuals by their facial features offer speed and convenience. But unlike passwords or ID cards, facial data introduces a fundamental problem: once compromised, it cannot be replaced. At the core of these systems are not actual images, but mathematical representations of a person’s face. These “templates” map key features, such as the distance between eyes or the shape of the jaw, and are used to verify identity when a face is scanned again. While this approach is more secure than storing raw photos, it is not immune to cyber threats. If these templates are stolen in a data breach, they effectively become permanent identifiers that can be reused without the individual’s knowledge. According to TechXplore, this risk is amplified by how facial recognition is deployed. Unlike fingerprints or iris scans, which typically require deliberate user interaction, facial data can be captured passively through cameras in public or semi-public spaces. Retail stores, airports, and event venues may collect and store this data, sometimes linking it to other databases. Over time, this can create persistent digital profiles tied to a person’s identity and movements. The implications go beyond privacy. If stolen biometric data is combined with other compromised information, such as email addresses or financial records, it can enable more advanced forms of identity fraud. Emerging technologies, including deepfakes and 3D facial modeling, may further increase the risk by allowing attackers to simulate a person’s appearance in systems that rely on facial verification. From a security and defense perspective, the widespread use of facial recognition presents both opportunities and vulnerabilities. While it can enhance surveillance and access control, it also creates high-value targets
May 24, 2026 · via i-hls.com
8 Technologies That Work Like Magic, Explained We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Some breakthrough technologies still feel like they were brought to life from fiction, even when they've been around for a while. That's because we learn to apply them in our daily routines through the apps and gadgets they power, but we never actually take the time to find out what makes these technologies tick. In this roundup of technologies with magic-like qualities, we aim to give a simplified explanation of how they work. This isn't to demystify them, as they will never fail to impress, but to better appreciate what lies beneath the software and hardware that use them. We discuss generative AI that makes images and videos, bone conduction headphones that let you hear music without blocking your ears, and robot vacuums that map your entire home so they know where to go and what to avoid. If you want to take a peek at what makes these technologies work like magic, read on and find out a bit more about the digital sorcery that give them life. Editing photos with AI Just like how wizards can summon creatures or make things vanish by chanting spells, you can now easily edit pictures using generative AI. With your choice of photo editing app, you can add or remove objects and adjust brightness, color, and other nuances. You'll be able to change backgrounds, erase photobombers, and make a gloomy day look sunny. These things take some time to do manually, but with AI, they're done in seconds. Like other AI deep learning models, generative AI that powers photo editing apps is trained on a massive volume of data. This enables AI to automate all kinds of tasks, and as learning continues, its accuracy and
May 24, 2026 · via bgr.com
Dating app offers facial recognition software to help men suss out likely interrogating harridans ModelMaker14 hours ago0 min read
May 24, 2026 · via newsbiscuit.com
Future Electronics recently hosted a one-day Edge AI Technology seminar in Long Island, bringing together leading semiconductor suppliers to showcase the latest AI-enabled sensors, microcontrollers, microprocessors, and neural processing units through expert presentations and live demonstrations. Melville, New York - May 23, 2026 - Future Electronics, a global leading distributor of electronic components, recently hosted a successful one-day seminar focused on the latest innovations in Edge AI technologies. The event brought together industry leaders including Infineon Technologies, NXP Semiconductors, Renesas Electronics Corporation, and STMicroelectronics to explore cutting-edge solutions for AI at the network edge. The seminar highlighted how Future Electronics enables access to advanced Edge AI solutions that are transforming what is possible at the device level. From vibration-based anomaly detection to real-time image recognition and on-device generative AI, attendees gained valuable insight into how modern applications can operate without reliance on cloud connectivity. Through a series of expert-led presentations and interactive demonstrations, Future Electronics showcased a wide range of solutions, including sensors, MCUs, MPUs, discrete NPUs, and software tools to ease model development and deployment. These technologies support increasingly complex and multimodal AI applications, such as vision-language systems capable of interpreting environments and enhancing safety across industries. In collaboration with its supplier partners, Future Electronics also demonstrated how integrated ecosystems—combining hardware, software, and development tools—help engineers accelerate design cycles and bring AI-enabled products to market more efficiently. Attendees explored solutions from Infineon's PSoC Edge platform, NXP's MCX, i.MX and Ara families, Renesas' RA and RZ series, and STMicroelectronics' iNEMO and STM32 portfolios. The full-day event featured technical sessions, networking opportunities, and live demos, allowing participants to engage directly with experts and gain exposure to the latest innovations shaping the future of embedded AI systems. The seminar concluded with a prize drawing. By hosting this event, Future Electronics reinforced its
May 24, 2026 · via nbcrightnow.com
Kurnool district police are using CCTV cameras that scan and identify faces to trace missing persons, track criminals and recover stolen vehicles, Superintendent of Police Vikrant Patil has said. Mr. Patil said about 15,000 analytics cameras had been installed across the State under the Andhra Pradesh FiberNet services, of which about 722 Matrix Smart Technology CCTV cameras were in Kurnool district. The cameras have facial recognition systems (FRS), automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and other analytic features. They are monitored from the Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) control room in Amaravati through the CCTNS AP 360 app, and are linked to all district control rooms and police stations. “In a recent case of a missing person registered at the Kurnool Taluka police station, the missing individual was successfully located in Madanapalle. Similarly, in another case registered at the Peddakaduburu police station, the victim was located in Tirupati,” the SP said, adding that the missing persons were traced and handed over to their families. The FRS cameras scan faces and identify people by matching them against photographs stored in the police database. The Kurnool Police Command Control Room also gets immediate alerts from the cameras on the suspicious movements of property offenders, fugitives in criminal cases and people with a criminal record. The cameras have been installed at key locations such as bus stands, railway stations, major government offices, hospitals, temples, mosques, stadiums, market yards, shopping complexes and traffic junctions. The SP asked the public to file a complaint at the nearest police station immediately if a family member or vehicle went missing. Every complaint would be treated on priority and acted on at once, he said. Published - May 24, 2026 02:49 pm IST This is a premium article, available exclusively to subscribers. The Hindu delivers independent, credible journalism that
May 24, 2026 · via thehindu.com
Women smile twice as much as men when driving, AI study suggests Researchers used facial-recognition tech to track drivers’ expressions and found women clocked far more 'smiles per hour' than men. Women smile twice as much as men when driving, according to new research. Scientists used AI-powered facial-recognition technology to map 468 “landmarks” on the faces of 30 motorists, tracking small muscle contractions linked to joy or happiness. The results were converted into a “smiles per hour” (SPH) score. On average, women recorded 337.5 SPH while driving, compared with 171.4 for men. Cognitive scientist Dr Duncan Williams developed the metric using MediaPipe — a facial geometry framework developed by Google AI — to analyse involuntary emotional responses during real-world driving. The test was carried out as part of FIAT’s roll-out of SPH as a new way to assess its cars, with the Grande Panda averaging 258.1 SPH. Dr Duncan Williams said: “This study was designed to measure involuntary emotional response rather than performance. “By analysing changes across hundreds of facial landmarks in real-world driving conditions, we can detect genuine smiles that indicate authentic enjoyment. “Measuring these responses over time allows us to calculate a scientifically robust Smiles Per Hour score for each model.” SPH provides an additional way to understand the driving experience, based on how drivers genuinely feel behind the wheel. FIAT said the new metric is intended to reflect driving experience and emotional response rather than performance statistics, aligning with its Dolce Vita philosophy of celebrating joy, colour and optimism in everyday driving. The approach follows initiatives including the brand’s decision to stop producing grey cars. Alongside overall SPH, the study reported minimal difference in enjoyment between hybrid (257 SPH) and electric (259.5 SPH) driving. It also found colour had no impact on enjoyment, with scores remaining consistent
May 24, 2026 · via mirror.co.uk
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is pausing the release of previously public information related to its investigations, after individuals used AI to recreate the last words of deceased pilots. The independent agency was informed that an AI-generated rendering depicting cockpit audio of UPS flight 2976 was created and circulated, using only written documents submitted during the recent hearing, CNN reported. The Nov. 4 crash resulted in the deaths of three crew members and 12 civilians on the ground. "We show our work and we’ve been doing this type of thing for years. Nobody was aware that you can recreate audio from a picture," an NTSB spokesperson told CNN. "NTSB is looking to make sure there’s nothing else in the docket that could compromise anybody’s privacy… now that we understand the possibility of a digital recreation." Under federal law, the NTSB does not release cockpit voice recordings to the public during investigations of deadly plane crashes. Instead, the agency will submit a transcript for the public record and — as was the case for flight 2976 — an audio spectrogram, which visually depicts sound frequencies, duration, and amplitude in a given clip. Individuals were able to use the spectrogram, pulled from the public investigation docket, to digitally recreate the last 30 seconds of cockpit audio before the plane crashed, including the pilot's voices and background sounds. A second clip of recreated audio from an NTSB aircraft test was also circulated online. Citing privacy concerns, the agency released a public statement explaining their decision to pause access to investigation dockets, writing: The NTSB is aware that advances in image recognition and computational methods have enabled individuals to reconstruct approximations of cockpit voice recorder audio from sound spectrum imagery released as part of NTSB investigations, including the ongoing investigation of the crash
May 24, 2026 · via sea.mashable.com
From Pan-African cinema archives to Chilean exile filmmaking after 1973: These moving image works just earned major recognition The longlist for the UK's leading prize for photography and moving image publishing is dominated by archives, political memory and experimental cinema Archives, political cinema, and questions of representation define the longlist for the UK's leading prize celebrating excellence in photography and moving image publishing. The Kraszna-Krausz Foundation published the 2026 longlist for its Moving Image Award, and this year's selections explore subjects including early Hollywood stardom, Pan-African cinema archives, Chilean exile filmmaking, experimental film typography and social media activism. The selected titles revisit everything from marginalized performers in the studio era and radical filmmaking movements of the 1960s and 1970s to transnational solidarity networks and contemporary digital video. The books reflect how moving image publishing uses cinema and media to reinterpret the past and challenge dominant cultural narratives. The Longlisted Titles for the 2026 Kraszna-Krausz Moving Image Book Award Cosmosexuals: Screen Acting, Stardom, & Male Sex Appeal by Mark Gallagher (University of Texas Press) Examines male screen sex appeal as a form of global cultural capital shaped by race, ethnicity, and performance. It analyzes how international stardom is constructed through appearance, voice and movement across film and television. Hollywood's Others: Love and Limitation in the Star System by Katherine Fusco (Columbia University Press) Explores early Hollywood stardom through performers positioned outside mainstream norms of gender, race, and ability. It examines how audiences formed emotional attachments to marginalized stars while the industry regulated identification and empathy. June Givanni: The Making of a Pan-African Cinema Archive by Onyeka Igwe (Lawrence Wishart) Onyeka Igwe traces the work of curator June Givanni and her Pan-African film archive spanning Africa, the Caribbean and the diaspora. The book highlights women cultural workers and positions the archive as
May 23, 2026 · via digitalcameraworld.com
Trying to guess celebrities from their childhood photos has become a bit of a thing around here. We already tested everyone with our world leaders quiz, singers quiz, and actors quiz, and honestly, some of those photos were way harder than expected. So now it’s time for another round—let’s see if you can recognize these celebrities just from pictures of them as kids!
Comments
May 23, 2026 · via buzzfeed.com
Two humpback whales have set new records for the longest-known distances traveled for their species by embarking on a journey of over 14,000 kilometers between Brazil and Australia, scientists said Wednesday. The international team of researchers were able to piece together the separate odysseys from photos of the whales’ tails -- including some taken by amateur photographers on cruises -- captured decades apart. These journeys through open water are "something that had never been documented before”, Cristina Castro, a marine biologist at the Pacific Whale Foundation in Ecuador, told AFP. "It’s not unheard of for an individual to occasionally stray (from a migratory route), but what we documented here goes far beyond that,” added the lead author of a new study in Royal Society Open Science. Every humpback has a pattern on the underside of their tail -- or fluke -- that is unique "like a human fingerprint”, Castro said. The scientists analysed more than 19,000 photos taken between 1984 and 2005 in eastern Australia and Latin America using an image recognition algorithm. Then they sifted through each potential match to trace the two whales’ journey across the world. The first humpback was initially photographed in 2007 in Hervey Bay, in the state of Queensland on Australia’s east coast. It was spotted at the same place again in 2013. Its unique fluke next popped up six years later -- this time off the coast of the Brazilian megacity Sao Paulo. As the crow flies, this is a distance of around 14,200 km (8,800 miles). Because the scientists only know the start and end points of the journey, it was impossible to determine the whale’s exact route -- or how far it actually traveled. The second whale made the opposite journey. First it was photographed off the coast of Bahia, Brazil
May 23, 2026 · via kuwaittimes.com
Google unveils Gemini Omni, a multimodal AI model that generates video from text, images, and audio The multimodal model turns text, images, audio, and existing footage into realistic video clips, with implications that ripple well beyond Mountain View. Google DeepMind just dropped what might be the most capable video generation model yet. Gemini Omni, unveiled at Google I/O on May 19-20, 2026, accepts text, images, audio, and video as inputs and spits out short video clips, roughly 10 seconds long, complete with synchronized audio. The model’s first variant, Gemini Omni Flash, is the tip of the spear. It replaces Google’s earlier Veo model inside the Gemini app, marking a shift from standalone video generation toward what Google is calling “anything from anything” creation. What Gemini Omni actually does Early demonstrations showed effective text rendering within video, along with advanced scene editing capabilities. Google is emphasizing improvements in world understanding, physics simulation, and character consistency. The company drew comparisons to its Nano Banana image model, which earned praise for visual fidelity. Gemini Omni extends that same logic into motion and sound, wrapping everything into a conversational interface where users can iteratively edit and refine their clips through dialogue. Initial availability spans the Gemini app, Google Flow, YouTube Shorts, and additional tools for Google AI subscribers. The 10-second cap on clip length is expected to expand over time, though no specific timeline has been announced. From Veo to Omni: the lineage Google’s generative video efforts trace back to the original Veo model, which progressively gained features between 2025 and early 2026: native audio support, longer clip capabilities, and image-to-video functionality arrived in incremental updates. Veo was essentially a single-purpose tool. Omni represents a philosophical shift toward unified multimodal models, systems that reason across different types of media rather than treating each one
May 23, 2026 · via cryptobriefing.com
WASHINGTON — Disney is being sued over allegations that it used facial recognition technology at Disneyland without guests' knowledge, according to The Hollywood Reporter and The Orange County Register. The lawsuit claims Disney violated privacy and consumer protection laws by collecting and storing biometric data of visitors without adequately disclosing the practice or meaningful consent. According to the complaint, which was filed in federal court in California, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure began using the technology at park entrances in April to verify tickets and annual passes. The system photographs guests and compares those images with photos associated with their tickets or passes from their initial use. The lawsuit claims most guests are unaware the technology is being used. “Consumers, which almost always include children, have no idea that Disney is collecting this highly sensitive data,” the complaint states. Disney has said the technology helps streamline park entry and reduce ticket fraud. The company’s privacy policy states that facial recognition data is deleted within 30 days unless it is needed for legal or fraud prevention purposes. But the lawsuit disputes that claim, arguing Disney must retain the information longer in order to compare guests’ faces to images connected to previously purchased tickets or annual passes. The complaint also alleges Disney failed to provide sufficient notice to visitors. While some entrances contain signs allowing guests to bypass facial recognition, attorneys for the proposed class said the notices do not amount to meaningful consent. “Guests should be able to expressly opt in to this type of sensitive facial recognition technology with written consent,” attorney Blake Yagman wrote in the filing. “Given how sensitive facial recognition data is, explicit written consent should be required to protect the privacy of guests at Disney Theme Parks.” Guests do have the ability to opt out of
May 23, 2026 · via thv11.com
Abstract Remembering emotionally significant events is critical for the organisms’ behavior and survival. While the mechanisms underlying the formation of such memories are well understood and closely linked to the vagus nerve and the brain’s arousal system, less is known about its contribution to memory retrieval. The current study tested whether non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) applied during a long-term recognition memory task influenced retrieval of unpleasant and neutral scenes that had been incidentally encoded one week earlier. Results showed that taVNS, compared to a sham condition, selectively enhanced the recollection of unpleasant images. Despite a modest effect size (d = 0.33), these findings provide initial human support suggesting a role of the vagus nerve in emotional memory retrieval, thus extending current theoretical models of emotional memory retrieval and opening a new pathway for memory modulation and non-invasive therapeutic interventions. Similar content being viewed by others Introduction Remembering emotionally significant events is essential in various aspects of everyday life, as emotional memories guide decision-making, shape social interactions, and influence mental well-being1,2. While the mechanisms underlying the formation of such powerful and enduring memories are well understood, less is known about how these memories are retrieved. Understanding these processes, however, is important not only for basic research but also for clinical applications, for example, in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, in which dysregulation of noradrenergic function may lead to memory distortions or deficits3,4,5,6. In aging populations, a decline in noradrenergic integrity has been associated with reduced emotional memory selectivity, potentially affecting adaptive decision-making7,8. Identifying mechanisms that regulate memory retrieval could therefore provide novel strategies to mitigate cognitive deficits and enhance memory function. One promising target for modulating retrieval processes is the vagus nerve, a central mediator between peripheral physiological states and central arousal
May 23, 2026 · via nature.com
On London’s streets, live facial recognition tests the balance between security and liberty Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox LONDON – Tourists, shoppers and office workers on a busy London street on an ordinary weekday found themselves part of a digital identity check as live facial recognition cameras scanned faces against a police watch list. The operation was an example of a technology that the Metropolitan Police say is transforming policing, helping officers arrest around 2,500 wanted people since the start of 2024, including suspects accused of violent and sexual offences. Critics, however, say live facial recognition undermines the presumption of innocence underpinning British law by treating every passer-by as a potential suspect. A court challenge brought by civil liberties campaigners and a community worker who had been wrongly identified failed in April, clearing the way for the technology’s expanded use. In Victoria, central London, on a recent Monday, few people appeared concerned by the temporary cameras, a police van and signs warning that live facial recognition was in operation. Within an hour, the system alerted an officer in the control van to a possible match. Local officers approached a man and questioned him briefly before letting him go. Police later said the alert related to court-imposed restrictions rather than an arrest warrant. About 30 minutes later came a second alert. A man in a grey hoodie, black baseball cap and blue trainers looked startled as two officers stopped him on the pavement. He was handcuffed and waited beside the road until a police van arrived to take him into custody. Police hail ‘groundbreaking’ technology Met Police director Lindsey Chiswick, who is the national and Met lead for live facial recognition, said the impact of the technology has been groundbreaking for policing in the capital, helping
May 23, 2026 · via straitstimes.com
If you’ve been running headfirst into verification prompts seemingly everywhere you go online, you aren’t alone. Whether you’re jumping through hoops to satisfy a CAPTCHA or checking boxes to verify your identity, these brief interruptions are becoming hard to ignore. The reason behind it? Look no further than AI. As Swinburne University of Technology computer science professor Yang Xiang writes for The Conversation, the sheer number of AI bots on the internet is now reason enough for some websites to require verification. On top of this, the public has become acutely aware of developers using their data to train their bots, and that fear is growing. Previous research has already found that AI bots shouldn’t be trained with any old data. In fact, using brain rot material — think of the last low-effort meme you saw — can decrease an AI model’s contextual understanding and reasoning skills. For this reason, developers are deploying more AI crawlers to gather the realistic information they need for training purposes, inundating innocent sites with non-human traffic. Compounding the problem, AI is rapidly becoming clever enough to outsmart traditional CAPTCHAs. Alarming footage recently captured a ChatGPT Agent casually clicking a “I am not a robot” button. That’s why you’re seeing so many grueling image CAPTCHAs that ask you to identify buses and handbags, but AI is increasingly able to solve those too. Fingerprint recognition and voice patterns are tempting, but they raise a slew of questions about privacy and biometrics; in an era when flawed facial recognition software is still resulting in false convictions, it may be hard to convince skeptics that the tech is the key to future user verification. In other words, the whole thing is a festering mess — and if there’s one core takeaway, it’s that the internet doesn’t belong exclusively
May 23, 2026 · via futurism.com
OpenAI showcases ChatGPT’s new voice and image processing features A live demo showed ChatGPT filling out paperwork using voice conversations and image uploads, pushing the AI assistant deeper into real-world workflows. OpenAI just demonstrated something that makes the standard chatbot experience feel quaint. In a new showcase, the company showed ChatGPT completing actual paperwork by combining voice conversations with image uploads, effectively turning the AI into something closer to a personal assistant that can see, hear, and act on documents in real time. From text box to multimodal workhorse The demonstration highlighted ChatGPT’s ability to process uploaded images of documents while simultaneously conducting a voice conversation with the user. Think of it like calling a very patient, very fast assistant who can look at your paperwork, understand what’s being asked, and help you fill it out, all through natural speech. The company began rolling out voice and image capabilities to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users back on September 25, 2023. Voice mode at launch enabled natural conversations through speech recognition and text-to-speech, initially featuring five synthesized voices. Image processing, powered by multimodal models like GPT-4V, allowed users to upload photos for the AI to analyze and interpret. On May 13, 2024, OpenAI released GPT-4o, which brought real-time voice, vision, and text interaction into a single model. That launch included live demos showing the model guiding users through arithmetic problems visible on paper and interpreting complex documents. Why filling out forms actually matters The implications for professional workflows are significant. Document analysis, form completion, and administrative tasks consume enormous amounts of time across industries like healthcare, legal services, finance, and education. An AI that can look at a physical document through an uploaded image, understand its structure, and walk a user through completing it via voice is solving a genuine productivity
May 23, 2026 · via cryptobriefing.com