Category: technology

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The Deepfake Video of Bill Hader Impersonating Tom Cruise Is, Quite Frankly, Pretty Concerning

These Deepfake videos are kind of terrifying.

Deepfake is an AI technology that people on the web are using to produce new, or alter existing, video content in order to make it look as if something that didn’t occur actually did (kind of scary, if you ask me). The videos are created using two competing AI systems that learn from each other, each time creating a more convincing version for the next time.

There has been a recent rise in both the number and quality of deepfakes online, and it’s concerning for a number of reasons – but perhaps none is so starkly arresting as this clip of Bill Hader talking about Tropic Thunder on a 2008 episode of David Letterman.

Image Credit: YouTube

As he speaks about the film, his face starts to transform into Tom Cruise’s mug.

Image Credit: YouTube

It’s so subtle at first that you hardly notice, even when it flickers to Seth Rogen’s face for an impression, and then back again.

Image Credit: YouTube

You really have to watch it for yourself.

If nothing else, the clip shows how the technology is improving, and how easily it will allow misinformation to spread to the public.

AI is the wave of the future, but it remains to be seen whether or not humans can really be trusted with it.

The post The Deepfake Video of Bill Hader Impersonating Tom Cruise Is, Quite Frankly, Pretty Concerning appeared first on UberFacts.

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A Project Turns Discarded Fishing Nets into Surfboards and Helps Reduce Ocean Pollution

As you already know, the ocean (and most of the rest of the planet) is slowly being poisoned by discarded plastics, and people all over the world are looking for ways to try to mitigate, ease, or even reverse the devastating effects that humans are wreaking on the marine environment.

The latest effort comes from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where fishermen are gathering discarded fishing nets to turn into surfboards.

The project is a collaboration between DSM, a nutrition and sustainable living corporation, and Thailand-based water sports company Starboard. DSM’s operations director explained to The Straits Times that they take the nets (often they are unusably broken) from the water, then clean, granulate, and transport them to their Indian factories to be reborn as ec0-friendly surfboards.

The nets are a big problem for both people and fish, in more ways than one.

The fish who don’t get caught in the nets often consume bits of them, and then as smaller fish are eaten by bigger ones, the plastics make their way up the food chain. The nets also tangle in boat propellors, damaging engines, and they can also strangle unsuspecting marine life, like turtles or cetaceans.

According to a DSM press release, experts estimate around 640,000 tons of trash nets remain in the ocean – 10% of all ocean plastic waste. Matt Gray, a commercial director at DSM, explained their mission in more detail.

“We look beyond society’s current model of take-make-dispose and instead try to mimic nature and the circle of life. By transforming the nets into fins, fin boxes, SUP pumps, and other parts of surfboards, the nets can return to the ocean in a much more environmentally conscious way.”

The effort is also supplying jobs for the local communities in India, which means the companies and the project are doing double the good.

Good on them. Now, let’s all find a way to do the same!

The post A Project Turns Discarded Fishing Nets into Surfboards and Helps Reduce Ocean Pollution appeared first on UberFacts.

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French People Have Spent 20 Years Building a Castle with Medieval Techniques, and It’s Almost Done

This is spectacular!

You don’t need to be a fan of history or obsessed with the Middle Ages to appreciate the hard work and determination that went into this incredible project.

The Guédelon is a castle built over the past 20 years in Burgundy, France, with only technology and materials that were available during the 13th century.

Posted by Guédelon on Saturday, July 13, 2019

That means stones are transported by cart, and specially designed cranes (13th-century style, of course) are used to get heavy rocks to the top of the castle.

Posted by Guédelon on Saturday, July 13, 2019

The project began in 1997 with Michel Guyot and Maryline Martin, who spearheaded the effort to get the castle built. Final completion is expected around 2023.

Posted by Guédelon on Tuesday, June 25, 2019

During the lengthy construction phase the site drew 300,000 curious visitors each year. Guédelon even has a historically accurate backstory attached to it as well, which he uses to guide all the castle’s design and construction decisions.

The backstory begins in 1228, and with each year that passes, the researchers and volunteers who work on the castle must adapt to changes in technology that actually occurred. The backstory now places the castle in 1248.

One of the guides at the castle said that the backstory somehow needed a little extra something to get visitors excited:

“The rule is that only what we know from documents that existed at the time is allowed. Funnily enough, we found that even though we knew we were being accurate, somehow the castle lacked soul. So we invented a character – the owner – who would have likes and dislikes, wanting this and not wanting that.”

Les préparations pour la nouvelle saison continuent !Preparations for the coming season are under way!

Posted by Guédelon on Thursday, March 6, 2014

So the “owner” of the castle is Seigneur Guilbert, a middle-ranking feudal lord who was allowed to build his castle on the land because he sided with the French crown during a rebellion. Clever, isn’t it?!?!

What a wonderful project.

The post French People Have Spent 20 Years Building a Castle with Medieval Techniques, and It’s Almost Done appeared first on UberFacts.

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15 Amazing Photos of What Mars Looks Like

It’s just like in Total Recall! Kind of…

The Curiosity Rover on Mars sends photos back from the red planet daily. And they are MINDBLOWING.

We, and NASA of course, still have so much to learn about Mars, but even these images would have been inconceivable not so many years ago.

Take a look at these stunning photographs.

1. Check that out

Photo Credit: NASA

2. Tracks

Photo Credit: NASA

3. On top of the world

Photo Credit: NASA

4. Desert landscape

Photo Credit: NASA

5. Wide open

Photo Credit: NASA

6. There’s the Rover again!

Photo Credit: NASA

7. Fish eye

Photo Credit: NASA

8. Doing good work

Photo Credit: NASA

9. Endless

Photo Credit: NASA

10. Lonely

Photo Credit: NASA

11. Fascinating

Photo Credit: NASA

12. Cool shot

Photo Credit: NASA

13. Boulders

Photo Credit: NASA

14. Wow

Photo Credit: NASA

15. Science rocks!

Photo Credit: NASA

Be sure to follow NASA’s progress on Mars, it gets more fascinating by the day!

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15 People Who Texted Their “Number Neighbors” Share the Results – Good and Bad

This is important, so pay attention.

Do you know about this whole “number neighbor” phenomenon? It’s when you text someone who has a phone number just like yours but one digit off, and then you see what happens!

Well, it’s here, people like it, and you should jump on board.

Because the results are pretty hilarious.

1. This one started it all

2. Hey, that’s a win!

3. I believe in you

4. BFF

5. That’s how it’s supposed to work

6. Homies

7. That’s random

8. That was quick

9. Seems like a classy guy

10. BLOCKED

11. Uh oh

12. Unsettling

13. I wasn’t aware…

14. Goodbye

15. Let’s end on a high note

I’m gonna dial up my number neighbor this instant!

The post 15 People Who Texted Their “Number Neighbors” Share the Results – Good and Bad appeared first on UberFacts.

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The US military was already…

The US military was already using UAV drone technology in WWII. The primary manufacturer at that time, Radioplane Company, had a drone assembler named Norma Jeane Dougherty, who eventually changed her name to Marilyn Monroe.

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Learn Some Great New Information with These 10 Facts

Ready to exercise that brain? Ready to learn?

Then let’s get to work!

1. I need one of these

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

2. Where the bodies were buried

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

3. That makes sense

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

4. Ouch…

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source

5. Nice and quiet

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

6. WOW

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

7. Improvement

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

8. No more, no less

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

9. Double rainbows!

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

10. Wild animals

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

That was some good learnin’!

The post Learn Some Great New Information with These 10 Facts appeared first on UberFacts.

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Learn Some Great New Information with These 10 Facts

Ready to exercise that brain? Ready to learn?

Then let’s get to work!

1. I need one of these

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

2. Where the bodies were buried

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

3. That makes sense

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

4. Ouch…

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source

5. Nice and quiet

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

6. WOW

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

7. Improvement

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

8. No more, no less

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

9. Double rainbows!

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2

10. Wild animals

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

That was some good learnin’!

The post Learn Some Great New Information with These 10 Facts appeared first on UberFacts.

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Cities Are Using This High Pitched ‘Mosquito’ Sound to Get Rid of Teenagers After Curfew

This next viral sensation will make you go Hmmm? Or maybe Ouch!

Kodie Helmer came across the next phenomenon racking up over 95,000 shares on her post:

I need your help! ? Okay so I nabbed me a younger man, I said it….I am slightly OLDER than Chris #cougar ?❤ BUT I am…

Posted by Kodie Helmer on Sunday, July 21, 2019

“I heard on the radio that some businesses and even towns are using a sound wave as a deterrent for teens after curfew, INTERESTING right?! So I looked into it and found a series of sounds that become harder to hear as you *ahem* age. This one in particular cannot be heard by most people over the age of 40.

I CANNOT FLIPPING HEAR THIS!!! But, Chris Helmer can ? I called all our kids in and they were covering their ears!!! So, I got to know below, help me feel better (or worse) Tell me, are you OVER or UNDER 40 and CAN YOU HEAR THIS SOUND?!?!?”

I couldn’t help but check this out. If cities and towns can deter teens with it, it’s gotta be something! Here’s the sound.

Did you hear anything? I sure didn’t! I’m almost forty so my hearing must be going… Drat!

I decided to test this on my husband. He’s forty-three, and I thought if I can’t make out this noise he won’t either. I played it and he shrieked in his recliner, cupping his ears and yelling, “Turn that off! Don’t ever do that again! What the hell is that?”

I asked what it sounded like and he responded, “Like the Devil’s dog whistle.”

(I did play it again. I’m mischievous like that.) 

Anyway, it was strange! How could he cringe and shout and I got nothing?

I did some digging on Helmer’s comment about these sounds shooing away teens after dark and came up with something called the Mosquito. It’s a sonic device used throughout Philadelphia and some other municipalities – but it has also been banned in various cities around the world.

What do you think?

The post Cities Are Using This High Pitched ‘Mosquito’ Sound to Get Rid of Teenagers After Curfew appeared first on UberFacts.

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What You Should Do with Your Parents’ Social Media Accounts After They Pass Away

Long after people pass away, their social media accounts stay online, which can be both touching and eerie. In case you’d like to prepare, here’s what you can and can’t do with your parents’ social media accounts after they pass away.

Facebook is the only social media company that allows users to decide what will happen to their accounts after they die. By going to “memorialization settings,” your parent can choose from two options: they can have their account deleted after death, or they can assign a “legacy contact” to take over. This person can address friend requests, remove tags, and update profile and cover photos. If no settings are chosen, and Facebook becomes aware of a person’s death, they will turn the page into a memorial. A memorialized profile looks different, with a Tributes section, and it doesn’t show up in “People You May Know” lists anymore.

Photo Credit: iStock

Instagram is owned by Facebook, but they only offer one option: memorializing the account. A memorialized Instagram page doesn’t look any different from an active one, but it becomes inactive and it can’t be altered in any way. You can’t take down posts or change the page’s privacy settings. Otherwise, you can contact Instagram to have the page removed altogether.

Photo Credit: iStock

Lastly, there’s Twitter. Twitter doesn’t offer any memorialization options, nor does it let anyone else log in as the deceased. There’s only one choice, which is to ask for the account to be taken down altogether. If possible, you can ask your parent what they want to happen to their Twitter in case of death; they can always give you their log-in information directly, just in case.

To best prepare for mortality, it actually is pretty important that you leave some log of all your passwords behind – that way whoever is dealing with the estate can get into everything. Check out this article for more steps you might want to take, for your parents or yourself.

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