New technology is making it possible for people to make videos of people appearing to say things they never actually said. The videos are known as “deepfakes”.

The word “deepfake” is a combination of “deep learning”(an important part of artificial intelligence) and “fake” (not real). Deepfake software allows people to replace part of a video with another video image. The result is a fake video.

The software allows you to put your face over the face of a talking president or movie star. This process will make your face speak in the voice of that president or movie star. Many people are worried the technology will be used to trick voters. Lawmakers, intelligence officials and media experts have expressed concern about deepfakes. They warn the false videos could be used to threaten America’s national security.

“We have entered a new world where it is going to be difficult to know how to believe what we see,” said Hany Farid, a researcher at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He added, “the opposite result is also worrying. People will become so used to seeing false videos that they will be more likely to doubt a real video. ”

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA) is already working to develop technologies to identify fake images and videos. But Senator Rubio says, now the identification is difficult and takes a very long time.

“It takes advanced technology to be able to show that it’s not real. And by the time that’s done, it’s been widely used.”

Rubio and other lawmakers say people will need to take more responsibility to identify fakes.

Growing Vegetables in Space

Have you ever dreamed of travelling in space? Well, you may not go, but you may be able to eat vegetables grown from seeds that have! China, the USA and Russia have all become interested in whether it is possible to eat food grown from seeds that have been in space. Indeed since 1987 China has sent 1,000 species of seeds into space to do experiments. These include green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce and wheat.

The most advanced work on growing vegetables in space has been undertaken on the International Space Station run by Russian and American astronauts. One of the most exciting moments was when soybean seeds were brought back to Earth and planted. These seeds were the first to come from a crop grown entirely in space.

The scientists chose to grow soybeans in space because they are an important source of protein in the human diet. Mark Nall, director of Space Product Development Programme for National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA), said that “this experiment and others are paving the way for improving crops grown on Earth, as well as potentially feeding people living in space.” The problem is that producing a new strain of soybean is a slow procedure on Earth so the scientists hope that it can be speeded up in space. Perhaps the seeds may also develop some characteristics that will be useful for farmers-for example, produce more oil or protein.

However, the scientists are aware that there may be problems. “Conditions in outer space such as radiation and low gravity may cause big changes in the seeds,” said Jin Xing, a Chinese researcher. He knows that genetically modified food is still being debated and so some people will be very suspicious of these “space vegetables”. However Jin has a more positive view. He thinks that unlike genetically modified crops, no new genes are being introduced into space vegetables so they will be safe.

The Chinese government certainly thinks so because they have been cooperating with NASA to produce a new strain of virus-free potatoes. Their scientists hope that in space it may be possible to produce a new crop every 40-50 days instead of one crop a year. So watch out for these special potatoes on the supermarket shelves. Maybe some day you will find them on your dinner table!