Wednesday, July 24, 2019

CEO Daily: The Rise of "Deep Fakes"

Our daily brief on must-read business news…and more.

Is this email not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser.

follow
Subscribe
Send Tip
July 24, 2019

Good morning.


One of the tragedies of today's deteriorating political/social environment is that we are rapidly losing all ability to distinguish fact from fantasy. Our politicians clearly have something to do with this. Boris Johnson, who takes office as prime minister of the U.K. today, is another on the list of leaders who use language to achieve effect rather than reveal truth. Social media is also a contributor.

But the rise of "deep fakes" threatens to take us one great leap further into the post-fact world. Sure, there have always been those who believe the moon landing was faked, or that an airplane didn't hit the Pentagon. But new technology makes it increasingly easy to manufacture fake photos and videos in ways that are very hard to detect. As Bernhard Warner writes in this piece for the August issue of Fortune magazine: "For now, bad actors have the advantage." You can read his story here.

By the way, Warner notes that "so far, women have been the biggest victims of deep fakes."

Separately, should companies go on the offensive against their cyber attackers? Congress is considering a bill that would make that sort of cyber vigilantism legal.  But some smart folks think that's a recipe for trouble. You can read Robert Hackett's story here.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has opened a sweeping antitrust investigation of big tech companies.

Other news below.

Alan Murray

alan.murray@fortune.com

@alansmurray




.


.

TOP NEWS


The DOJ Investigates Tech


The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into whether big tech companies smother competition, amid rising calls among lawmakers to tighten regulation of Silicon Valley. The DOJ did not name any specific companies that were being investigated, but the investigation appears similar in scope to a bipartisan probe from the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust. Fortune


Eurozone manufacturing slows


A closely watched signal of the eurozone's manufacturing levels hit its lowest point in six and a half years, in July data released on Wednesday morning. That comes on the back of unimpressive manufacturing numbers from the bloc's two largest economies, Germany and France, and is just the latest sign that Brexit worries and trade tensions are wearing on the region. FT


Daimler Loses $1.3 Billion 


In other gloomy eurozone news, German car manufacturer Daimler—the maker of Mercedes-Benz—lost $1.3 billion in the second quarter, over one-off charges related to costs over its handling of the diesel emissions scandal and airbag recalls, as well as slowing demand from China. The company remains under investigation in Germany and the U.S. over its cars' diesel emissions. Fortune


WeWork Moves Up IPO Date 


The company is now expected to file paperwork for its IPO in August, setting it up to go public in September—earlier than many analysts expected. It's currently expected to raise $5 to $6 billion, $2 billion more than it had originally aimed to raise, which could make the IPO the second-largest this year, after Uber. WSJ



.

Content From Deloitte

Making A.I. Ethical 

With an increasing number of companies using artificial intelligence in their operations, ethical concerns are now coming to the fore. Rather than wait for regulation, businesses may start to tackle these issues on their own. Deloitte explains.


Read more


.


.

AROUND THE WATER COOLER


Who is Boris Johnson? 


Meet (or re-meet) the man who once said he had a greater chance of being "reincarnated as an olive" than getting to the Prime Minister's office. Now, Johnson—who is known for being charming, funny, offensive and calculating, all in equal measure—will head to Downing Street, olive or not. His job is extracting the U.K. from the mess of Brexit. But from past experience, what can we expect? Scandals, screw-ups, quips and, perhaps, more remarkable comebacks. Fortune


Epstein's Deutsche Bank Links


Jeffrey Epstein has had accounts with the bank—now in the midst of a painful restructuring, and facing scrutiny over its links to President Trump—since at least 2013, years after he had been convicted on charges involving a teenage girl. But the bank only started trying to shut down his accounts after a Miami Herald investigation into Epstein's behavior last year, which proved to be a game of whack-a-mole: Epstein had dozens of accounts across the bank, with some still open into late spring. New York Times


Singapore is Caught in the Middle


Chipmakers in Singapore have slowed production and begun laying off workers, as the island-state has been caught between the U.S.-China trade war. Making the chips made up about a third of the country's manufacturing output last year. Semiconductor sales are expected to drop 12-13% globally this year, and Singapore in particular is often seen as a bellwether for the global economy. Reuters


Through the Strait of Hormuz 


The captain of a 1,100 foot vessel, with a value between the vessel and cargo of more than $100 million, provides a first-hand account of what it's like to traverse the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil chokepoint, as tensions escalate between Iran, the U.S., and the U.K. Bloomberg


This edition of CEO Daily was edited by Katherine Dunn. Find previous editions here, and sign up for other Fortune newsletters here.
.
Email Us
Subscribe
share: Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Linkedin
.
This message has been sent to you because you are currently subscribed to Fortune CEO Daily.
Unsubscribe

Please read our Privacy Policy, or copy and paste this link into your browser:
https://fortune.com/privacy/

FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

For Further Communication, Please Contact:
Fortune Customer Service
225 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10128


Advertising Info | Subscribe to Fortune

No comments:

Post a Comment