August’s tech and comms news

August’s tech and comms news

Charlotte Stoel

Charlotte Stoel

Firefly’s Tim Williams has last month wrote about the gathering pace of deepfakes. The term deepfake refers to artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technology that synthesises imagery and voices to present something that didn’t occur, usually in video form. Highlighting this deepfake danger is a video clip of Bill Hader who’s face morphs into Tom Cruises and Seth Rogan as he does his impressions of them. More on this story in The Guardian.

The UK government is considering giving powers to Ofcom to impose fines on video-sharing apps and website. The UK regulator will be able to fine platforms who fail to prevent youngsters from viewings harmful content such as pornography and violence. If plans go ahead, this would start from September 2020, more on the BBC.

Twitter is testing a new arrangement of timelines so users can better follow topics they’re interested in. It’s currently a manual process for Twitter but soon the company will look at machine learning to intelligently populate topics. Head to TechCrunch for a full overview.

KPMG’s UK Tech Monitor indicates that growth the British tech has begun to slow. Respondents to KPMG study blamed the subdued UK economic conditions on the drop of business activity. CityAM covers the report.

After facing scrutiny for a growing monopolisation of online advertising, Facebook is reportedly in talks with US news publishers and rumoured to launch a ‘news tab’ in the autumn. The Guardian goes into more detail.

iFall – Apple is no longer in the world’s to three smartphone makers. iPhone shipments keep falling, whilst Samsung and Huawei take the lead. You can read more in this article in the Daily Telegraph.

Want more tech news? Each morning, the Firefly team creates a wrap-up of the most important news from across the technology and comms space. Sign up to Firewire by emailing hello@fireflycomms.com.

 

Share this story:

Read more from the blog

Blog

The powerful comms combo between strategy and creativity

As communications professionals, our work requires both strategic thinking and creativity in a world where so many have something to say. ...Read more

Charlotte Stoel
Charlotte Stoel
Blog

Are search engines controlling how we think?

With SEO being the bread and butter for comms professionals, how much power do search engines wield to control how we think about products? ...Read more

Allison Kroll
Allison Kroll
Blog

How Patagonia maintained eco-friendly authenticity in the age of greenwashing

Brands are facing reputational challenges over greenwashing accusations, but Patagonia has remained authentic through a simple, but definitive statement. ...Read more

Matthew Healey
Matthew Healey

Add a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Is it time to shape your reputation?

We operate in London, Paris and Munich, and have a network of like-minded partners across the globe.

Get in touch

Sign up to Spark, our newsletter

Receive thought pieces from our leadership team, views on the news, tool of the month and light relief for comms folk

You can unsubscribe at any time, please read our privacy policy for more information