Microsoft and OpenAI have announced a $2 million fund to combat the growing risks of AI and deepfakes being used to “deceive the voters and undermine democracy.” This year will see a record 2 billion people head to the polls in elections spanning some 50 countries, so there are concerns around the influence that AI […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Amazon’s highly awaited entry into Africa has come to fruition, with the tech giant announcing the launch of its e-commerce marketplace in South Africa on Tuesday.
In a statement, the e-commerce giant revealed that its localized platform, Amazon.co.za, will provide customers with access to a wide array of local and international brands spanning 20 product categories. Additionally, it promises same-day and next-day delivery, facilitated by over 3,000 pickup points, along with complimentary delivery for the first order and subsequent orders exceeding R500 (~$27).
The news comes two years after Amazon first revealed its intention to enter the continent with localized marketplaces in Nigeria and South Africa. The expansion, known as “Project Fela,” faced several delays, pushing back the initial launch dates for both countries. While the Nigerian launch, slated for February 2023, was put on hold, the South African debut, fixed for April 2023, was postponed to October and later this year. Last October, Amazon began onboarding independent sellers in South Africa and made hires in merchant development, software development, and operations, indicating its impending arrival.
“We are excited to launch Amazon.co.za, along with thousands of independent sellers in South Africa. We provide customers with great value, broad selection—including international and local products—and a convenient delivery experience,” said Robert Koen, managing director of Sub-Saharan Africa, Amazon, in a statement. “Building a strong relationship with South African brands and businesses—small or large—is incredibly important to us. We want Amazon.co.za to be the place where they can reach millions of customers.”
Amazon’s entry into the South African market introduces competition into an R55 billion (~$3 billion) industry largely dominated by Naspers-owned Takealot, which commands nearly half of all online sales in the southern African country. Walmart-owned Massmart is also gearing up for its own e-commerce push. The timing of Amazon’s launch also coincides with a surge in online shopping in South Africa following the pandemic, which has spurred increased investments from retailers in the e-commerce sector.
India’s Election Commission has issued an advisory to all political parties, urging them to refrain from using deepfakes and other forms of misinformation in their social media posts during the country’s ongoing general elections. The move comes after the constitutional body faced criticism for not doing enough to combat such campaigns in the world’s most populous nation.
The advisory, released on Monday (PDF), requires political parties to remove any deepfake audio or video within three hours of becoming aware of its existence. Parties are also advised to identify and warn the individuals responsible for creating the manipulated content. The Election Commission’s action follows a Delhi High Court order asking the body to resolve the matter after the issue was raised in a petition.
India, home to over 1.5 billion people, began its general elections on April 19, with the voting process set to conclude on June 1. The election has already been marred by controversies surrounding the use of deepfakes and misinformation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi complained late last month about the use of fake voices to purportedly show leaders making statements they had “never even thought of,” alleging that this was part of a conspiracy designed to sow tension in society.
The Indian police have arrested at least six people from the social media teams of the Indian National Congress, the nation’s top opposition party, for circulating a fake video showing Home Minister Amit Shah making statements he claims he never made.
India has been grappling about the use and spread of deepfakes for several months now. Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s IT Minister, met large social media companies, including Meta and Google, in November, and “reached a consensus” that regulation was needed to better combat the spread of deepfake videos as well as apps that facilitate their creation.
Another IT Minister in January warned tech companies of severe penalties, including bans, if they failed to take active measures against deepfake videos. The nation is yet to codify its draft regulation on deepfakes into law.
The Election Commission said on Monday it has been “repeatedly directing” the political parties and their leaders to “maintain decorum and utmost restraint in public campaigning.”
Whether you love or hate celebrity culture, the Met Gala is an event. Those less jaded among us get to see all of the biggest stars take their boldest fashion risks of the year — unlike an award show, it’s an event that encourages avant garde extravagance. And if you find the whole thing vapid, then you can laugh along at how Ed Sheeran’s outfit looks like something Troy Bolton wore in High School Musical 3.
But this year, the Met Gala was a test.
“Katy Perry. That’s it,” one X post read. In the photo, Katy Perry appears to be wearing a massive gown decorated with three-dimensional floral appliques. As the pearlescent gown drapes down to the ground, its long train fades into realistic-looking moss, which cascades across the beige and red Met Gala carpet.
If you look at the image for longer than a passing glance, you could feasibly believe that the “Teenage Dream” singer arrived at fashion’s biggest night wearing this whimsical, woodland-like gown. But in all of the other photos of the Met Gala, the carpet was white and green as part of the “Garden of Time” theme; in this photo, it’s beige and red. Why does Katy appear to be walking a different carpet?
That’s the tell-tale sign that this viral image of Perry is fake. And yet it already has more than 10 million views on X and over 300,000 likes.
Minutes later, another user on X posted another image of Perry. Her lips are slightly parted like she’s surprised by the paparazzi, and she’s wearing a bronze corset that looks like a key to a garden. Unlike the first image, this one actually has the correct color palette and scenery for this year’s gala, but something still feels off. Her floral skirt seems like it was cut and paste onto her body, and the light is hitting her corset in an unnatural way.
So, how do you know it’s fake, as opposed to a strange photo? No fashion magazine has reported on Katy Perry’s look tonight — it doesn’t look like she’s actually attending this year. Meanwhile, Perry cryptically liked both viral tweets, but did not comment on the deceptive posts.
Every year at the Met Gala, Rihanna is among the best dressed. In the days leading up to the event, she promised fans that she would actually get to the event in time for dinner — usually, she’s very fashionably late. She even dyed her hair pink for the occasion.
On the earlier end of the red carpet, an image surfaced of Rihanna wearing a dramatically regal, garden-themed dress. The shoulders balloon into a sculptural halo, embroidered with birds, vines and flowers. But again, despite getting 2.6 million views, the image is not real. Rihanna dyed her hair pink, remember? Like Perry, Rihanna is nowhere in sight. People Magazine reported that Rihanna had to skip Monday evening’s festivities after coming down with the flu.
The consequences of a fake Rihanna dress are pretty minor. But based on Rihanna’s history of nailing the Met Gala theme, would she really take the easy way out wear a floral gown to the “Garden of Time” celebration? Like an AI deepfake Drake song, these synthetic looks were a bit too on the nose, lacking the creativity that makes the Met Gala unique. Could an AI come up with Cynthia Erivo’s brilliant suit, or Lana Del Rey’s creepy-cool woodsy look?
Zendaya, an early front-runner for best dressed, showed up relatively in a blue-green outfit that makes her look like a super chic fairytale villain. Hours later, when an image cropped up of Zendaya wearing a black leather gown and floral headpiece on the carpet, I was braced to believe that it was yet another fake photo. But the truth is stranger: after five years absent from the gala, Zendaya actually walked the carpet twice in two different outfits. Go figure.
Still, each new image of a celebrity served as a call to check the patterns on the carpet, the flowers along the stair railings, and whether or not the paparazzi in the background look a little funky. Usually, the Met Gala is an opportunity to gab about famous people’s outlandish outfits as a brief distraction from our unglamorous Monday nights. But in the age of widespread generative AI tools, celebrity culture serves as a constant reminder that we can’t believe everything we see online.
Founded in 2017, Atoms Lanka Solutions is a provider of IT consulting and software development services. Throughout the company’s history, we have worked with over 160 customers from 5+ countries..
