Facebook parent Meta said it took down a disinformation campaign that used fake AI-generated photos and fake profiles to spread falsehoods about Ukraine. The network of social media groups and pages promoted websites with "claims about the West betraying Ukraine and Ukraine being a failed state," Meta said. More: - The fake pictures were most likely developed using the AI technology known as generative adversarial networks, or GANs, according to Meta.
- The individuals involved were from Russia and Ukraine and posed as real people across social media networks, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, VK, and Telegram.
- They pretended to be "news editors, a former aviation engineer, and an author of a scientific publication on hydrography," all claiming to be from Kyiv.
- The campaign also ran several websites disguised as independent news outlets.
Zoom-out: - In 2020, Facebook took down more than 150 China-based fake accounts that used AI-generated faces. The networks of fake accounts also used generative adversarial networks to create the faces of non-real humans, similar to the website www.ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com.
- The accounts reportedly posted content in support of and opposing then-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as former candidate Pete Buttigieg.
- Meanwhile, a new study found that AI-generated faces have surpassed the "uncanny valley" and are considered more "trustworthy" looking than real human faces. The findings prompted the researchers to call for safeguards to prevent the mass rollout of AI-generated media known as deepfakes, which they said are being "weaponized" through the creation of non-consensual pornography, disinformation, and financial fraud.
CNN 
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Uber is testing out a new algorithm in multiple cities that lets drivers view the pay and destination before accepting a trip, Reuters reports. The move is the largest update to Uber's driver-pay algorithm in several years or longer. More: - The new algorithm is currently in pilot programs in 24 U.S. cities, including in Texas and Florida.
- It is designed to provide more incentives for drivers to take short rides. In addition, it could appease demands and attract more drivers as Uber lost some of its workforce since the pandemic started.
- Earlier this month, Uber reported nearly $26B in gross bookings for Q4 2021, an increase of 51% YoY.
- Uber had 1.76 billion trips last quarter, a 23% jump YoY, and reached 118 million monthly active platform consumers, up 27% YoY.
- Uber also began autonomous delivery pilot programs with Motional and sidewalk delivery with Serve Robotics in Santa Monica.
Note: Inside.com's founder and CEO, Jason Calacanis, is an investor in Uber. REUTERS
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Qualcomm announced what it believes is the first cellular modem with a dedicated 5G AI processor. The company's latest flagship modem for mobile devices is expected to improve performance when it is released in some commercial mobile devices later this year. More: - The company says the AI technology gives its Snapdragon X70 modem better consistency and power efficiency.
- The AI processor attempts to improve a phone's 5G connection by maximizing the signal for better coverage, which is particularly helpful for managing more limited mmWave connections.
- Qualcomm says the AI in the system can improve mmWave connections by as much as 28%. The modem also uses AI for channel-based feedback and optimization.
- AI will now "do for 5G" what it has done for cameras, sound, and audio, said Nitin Dhiman, Qualcomm director of 5G product marketing.
ENGADGET
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 Chinese self-driving truck startup Inceptio Technology raised $188M in a Series B+ equity financing round, which was led by Sequoia Capital China and Legend Capital. Inceptio developed an autonomous driving system, called Xuanyuan, that's now operating in at least two L3 self-driving heavy-duty trucks. More: - Xuanyuan is made up of an on-board computing platform and algorithms that offer autonomous features specifically for heavy-duty trucks, which have different requirements, such as the need for higher fuel-saving and long braking distances.
- The company is focused on self-driving logistics operations and does its own R&D for L3 and L4 autonomous driving technologies.
- It jointly developed two Xuanyuan-equipped trucks with Dongfeng Motor Commercial Vehicle and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group.
- Inceptio said it plans to use the new capital to further invest in Xuanyuan and launch more truck models with partners.
- It last closed a $270M Series B equity financing round, co-led by JD Logistic, Meituan, and PAG, in Aug. 2021.
CAIXIN GLOBAL
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ACV, an AI-powered car auction platform for dealers, has acquired Monk SAS, which uses AI technology to inspect and detect damages on vehicles. Monk's machine learning models help to automate visual vehicle inspections. More: - The imaging AI improvements will help dealers analyze their potential inventories and show the condition of vehicles, which can help dealers better make decisions when restocking inventory.
- ACV plans to offer imaging AI as both a stand-alone SaaS offering and an integrated offering in inspection applications.
- The acquisition will help its dealer and commercial partners acquire vehicles more transparently and efficiently, says ACV CEO George Chamoun.
- Buffalo, N.Y.-based ACV reported an 83% jump in revenue from a year ago, according to its latest earnings report. It went public on the Nasdaq a year ago and has a market cap of $3B.
SEEKING ALPHA
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AI Events and Conferences: - European Chatbot & Conversational AI Summit: March 1-2, Edinburgh, Scotland.
- International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces: March 22-25, Helsinki and online.
- MLconf 2022 New York City: March 31, New York City.
- ODSC AI Expo & Demo Hall: April 19-21, Boston, and virtual.
- ICLR 2022, the International Conference on Learning Representations: April 25-29, virtual.
- World Summit AI Americas 2022: May 4-5, Montréal, Canada.
- International Conference and Expo On Robotics and Artificial Intelligence: May 16-18, London.
- CVPR 2022, IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition: June 19-24, New Orleans.
- Deep Learning World: June 19-24, Las Vegas.
- International Conference on Machine Learning and Data Mining: July 16-21, New York City.
- ICML 2022, International Conference on Machine Learning: July 17-23, Baltimore, in-person conference with virtual elements.
- AI & Big Data Expo Global: Dec. 1-2, London.
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- Researchers warned against the "unabated" adoption of AI in mammography, saying that using AI to analyze breast-cancer tumors could lead to more false positives and unnecessary treatments.
- Kyle Vogt has accepted the position of permanent CEO of Cruise, the GM-owned self-driving company he helped found in 2013.
- Visionary.AI, which developed AI image-signal-processing algorithms that improve camera photos and videos, announced an additional $2.5M on top of its $4.5M raised last year, bringing its seed round to $7M.
- More pharmaceutical companies are hiring for AI positions, according to GlobalData, which found that 44% of the firms were hiring for at least one position versus 32% a year ago.
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 |  | Beth is an Inside Analyst and a former public policy/investigative reporter. She has covered AI, VR, technology, and e-commerce for Inside. When she's not busy writing, she's hiking in Arizona's desert, playing pickleball, or trying out new Mexican food recipes. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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