- x NeonPulse | Future Blueprint
- Posts
- 🤖 Bing’s big comeback and the weaponization of deepfakes
Good morning and welcome to the latest edition of neonpulse!
Today’s issue is a quick one (it is Sunday after all) where we’ll be covering Bing’s big comeback and the weaponization of deepfakes.
Enjoy!
Bing is back
Less than 30 days after integrating ChatGPT into Bing, Microsoft has grown the user base of their search engine by more than 50%, equating to a massive increase of over 30 million daily active users.
If you had asked me a few months ago what I thought the chances of a Bing comeback were, the number zero comes to mind, but this just goes to show the incredible curiosity surrounding ChatGPT’s new technology.
"As more people come to use the new Bing and Edge, we’re seeing trial and adoption of new capabilities that prove out the value of an integrated Search and Chat experience," said Yusuf Mehdi Mehdi, a Microsoft VP.
And while Bing is still a relatively small player in the search space, with around 100 million daily active users versus Google’s billion, people are excited about the new A.I. features on the platform and have been switching over to Bing in droves.
"We are fully aware we remain a small, low, single digit share player," said Mehdi, "But that said, it feels good to be at the dance!"
Google made their own rushed attempt to integrate A.I. into their search engine last month with their “Bard” fiasco, losing $100 billion dollars in market value in a single day as a result.
Deepfake Dystopia
While the U.S. government frequently warns against the danger of AI generated deepfakes, going as far as to claim that the tools have the power to destabilize democratic societies, leaked plans show that forces within the U.S. government are looking to harness deepfake technology in order to carry out propaganda and misinformation campaigns around the world.
A leaked procurement document shows a request for "Advanced technologies for use in Military Information Support Operations (MISO)," including "influence operations, digital deception, communication disruption, and disinformation campaigns at the tactical edge and operational levels."
Also included in the document is a request for technology that would enable the hacking of internet-connected devices, allowing the group to spy on foreign populations in order to determine their susceptibility to propaganda, as well as the ability to gather intelligence as to the types of messaging that would be the most effective in influencing various groups.
Russian deepfake urging Ukrainian troops to surrender in 2022
Misinformation campaigns are nothing new for the U.S. government, with recently leaked documents illuminating how the U.S. Special Operations Command had convinced Twitter to allow the group to run a network of fake accounts on the platform in order to spread misinformation about the Iranian government.
And while many within the U.S. government see this as a necessary evil to counter the disinformation campaigns of foreign adversaries, not everyone thinks this is such a great idea.
"When it comes to disinformation, the Pentagon should not be fighting fire with fire," said Chris Meserole, the head of A.I. and Emerging Technologies at Brookings Institution.
"At a time when digital propaganda is on the rise globally, the U.S. should be doing everything it can to strengthen democracy by building support for shared notions of truth and reality. Deepfakes do the opposite. By casting doubt on the credibility of all content and information, whether real or synthetic, they ultimately erode the foundation of democracy itself."
Personally I think the concerns about deepfakes are blown out of proportion, mainly because I’m confident that deepfake Tom Cruise will come to our rescue well before this all gets out of hand.
And now your moment of zen
That’s all for today folks!
If you’re enjoying neonpulse, we would really appreciate it if you would consider sharing our newsletter with a friend by sending them this link:
Looking for past newsletters? You can find them all here.
Working on a cool A.I. project that you would like us to write about? Reply to this email with details, we’d love to hear from you!