TMS Ep573: Deepfakes, Uttarkashi tunnel rescue, DIIs, Project Q-Star

Amidst growing concerns over deepfake videos on social media platforms, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced on Friday that the government intends to appoint a specialised official to investigate fake videos on online platforms. The official will be tasked with addressing and taking appropriate actions against the dissemination of such deceptive content. Find out how India can confront the deepfake challenge.

Did you know you can identify potential deepfakes by examining inconsistencies in facial expressions, irregular blinking and disparities in lip-sync? Meanwhile, it has been 16 days since the unfortunate Silkyara tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi. The trapped 41 workers are still waiting for a breath of fresh air. Various strategies have been deployed over the past two weeks, including specialised machinery and assistance from foreign experts. Now, the army has been called in to vertically drill into the tunnel. But the freedom of the labourers still remains elusive. Despite the availability of new-age technologies, why is this rescue mission proving to be such a daunting task? 

While the rescue operation is said to be in its ‘final stage’, an NDMA spokesperson declined to make any assumptions regarding the timeline of its completion to avoid giving out any ‘wrong perception’. Moving on, markets are in consolidation as foreign portfolio investments remain downbeat on equities. However, domestic investors have lent crucial support, keeping up their conviction in the India story. With volatility expected to increase ahead of an election year, can DII buying hit a pause? .

Sam Altman’s ouster from OpenAI, known for its artificial intelligence software ChatGPT, and his eventual return have been the most important news in the AI world for the past week. While nobody knows exactly why OpenAI’s board decided to remove Altman as the company’s chief executive, a recent report suggests that a software named Q Star (Q*) may be behind it. What is this Q Star software? Let us decode it in this episode of the podcast.