The state of California has passed several laws attempting to regulate artificial intelligence, including AI used to create realistic looking but manipulated audio or video — known as a deepfake. In this U.S. election season, the aim is to counter misinformation. But it has raised concerns about free speech. From California, Genia Dulot has our story.
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Author Archives: Futsil
Thousands of passenger flight signals jammed over war zones in Ukraine, Middle East
The navigation systems of thousands of passenger aircraft are being disrupted every day as they fly close to conflict zones, according to researchers. They are warning that the blocking or “spoofing” technology behind it could put lives at risk. Henry Ridgwell has more from London.
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Residents in Ethiopia’s Oromia region report network disruptions as government forces fight rebels
ADAMA, ETHIOPIA — Residents in Ethiopia’s Oromia region say access to phone communication and internet service has been disrupted for months as government forces fight against two rebel groups.
The disruption of mobile phone calls and internet data has been concentrated in conflict-hit Oromia zones, where government forces have engaged in fighting against the Oromo Liberation Army, or the OLA.
A resident from South Oromia of Guji Zone Wadera Wereda, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity for safety reasons, said phone and internet data connections have been cut in his area due to the fighting.
He said there was fighting on Monday and the week before in Wadera Wereda, where regional security personnel including local police were killed. Other residents confirmed the same clashes without giving specific casualty figures. Local authorities could not be reached for comment.
The data outage and network disruptions were also reported in the North Shewa Zone administration of Oromia region.
“The zone has been under network blockade for the last two months due to the insurgency,” said a second resident from Dera Wereda in North Shewa, who also sought anonymity due to safety reasons.
Residents also said people who lost their SIM cards or want replacements could not do so at local telecom offices because the conflict has affected supplies. Network disruptions also impacted schools in the area that access materials online.
He says his school had to transfer all its grade-12 students this year to neighboring Wereda due to a lack of service.
“We cannot manage to send their details and credentials to relevant bodies,” with the downed service, he told VOA in a phone interview.
Journalists have waited for hours to speak to residents in Kelem Welega Zone, whose network is down during morning hours. One resident traveled to Dembi Dolo, about 620 kilometers west of the capital, Addis Ababa, to speak with the media about the network outages.
The disruptions have been present since the yearslong fighting between federal forces and the OLA began in 2019. In one of the latest deadliest attacks, suspected OLA fighters killed as many as 17 pro-government militiamen in the West Showa zone of Oromia on October 17, according to residents and local officials.
A second rebel group, Fano, is also fighting in the neighboring Amhara region, which spills over on either side.
Residents say as the intensity of the clashes increases, the network situation becomes worse, as the government resorts to shutting down communication.
“It’s a very unfortunate tactic that is usually used by governments that are struggling with legitimacy issues,” said Horn of Africa security analyst Samira Gaid.
“It only serves to convince the masses that the government has something to hide. Rather than controlling the narrative or news reporting, it elevates mistrust in government, adds to misinformation and disinformation, and contributes to groups becoming more covert with their communications,” she told VOA.
Ethiopia’s state-run communication outlets have not responded to repeated VOA requests for comment.
Speaking at a press conference in Addis Ababa last month, Frehiwot Tamiru, CEO of Ethio Telecom, admitted that such problems exist in conflict areas. She declined to give specific answers, referring reporters to other government entities.
In June, the company said it has repaired and restored service to dozens of mobile stations that had previously been damaged in the western region of the country.
This story originated in VOA’s Horn of Africa Service.
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Chinese online retailer Temu faces EU probe into rogue traders, illegal goods
LONDON — The European Union is investigating Chinese online retailer Temu over suspicions it’s failing to prevent the sale of illegal products, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm said on Thursday.
The European Commission opened its investigation five months after adding Temu to the list of “very large online platforms” needing the strictest level of scrutiny under the bloc’s Digital Services Act. It’s a wide-ranging rulebook designed to clean up online platforms and keep internet users safe, with the threat of hefty fines.
Temu started entering Western markets only in the past two years and has grown in popularity by offering cheap goods — from clothing to home products — that are shipped from sellers in China. The company, owned by Pinduoduo Incorporated, a popular e-commerce site in China, now has 92 million users in the EU.
Temu said it “takes its obligations under the DSA seriously, continuously investing to strengthen our compliance system and safeguard consumer interests on our platform.”
“We will cooperate fully with regulators to support our shared goal of a safe, trusted marketplace for consumers,” the company said in a statement.
European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said in a press release that Brussels wants to make sure products sold on Temu’s platform “meet EU standards and do not harm consumers.”
EU enforcement will “guarantee a level playing field and that every platform, including Temu, fully respects the laws that keep our European market safe and fair for all,” she said.
The commission’s investigation will look into whether Temu’s systems are doing enough to crack down on “rogue traders” selling “noncompliant goods” amid concerns that they are able to swiftly reappear after being suspended. The commission didn’t single out specific illegal products that were being sold on the platform.
Regulators are also examining the risks from Temu’s “addictive design,” including “game-like” reward programs, and what the company is doing to mitigate those risks.
Also under investigation is Temu’s compliance with two other DSA requirements: giving researchers access to data and transparency on recommender systems. Companies must detail how they recommend content and products and give users at least one option to see recommendations that are not based on their personal profile and preferences.
Temu now has the chance to respond to the commission, which can decide to impose a fine or drop the case if the company makes changes or can prove that the suspicions aren’t valid.
Brussels has been cracking down on tech companies since the DSA took effect last year. It has also opened an investigation into another e-commerce platform, AliExpress, as well as social media sites such as X and Tiktok, which bowed to pressure after the commission demanded answers about a new rewards feature.
Temu has also faced scrutiny in the United States, where a congressional report last year accused the company of failing to prevent goods made by forced labor from being sold on its platform.
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Musk’s X ineffective against surge of US election misinformation, report says
The crowd-sourced fact-checking feature of Elon Musk’s X, Community Notes, is “failing to counter false” claims about the U.S. election, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) said in a report Wednesday.
Out of the 283 misleading posts that CCDH has analyzed on the digital social media platform, 209 or 74% of the posts did not show accurate notes to all X users correcting false and misleading claims about the elections, the report said.
“The 209 misleading posts in our sample that did not display available Community Notes to all users have amassed 2.2 billion views,” CCDH said, urging the company to invest in safety and transparency.
X did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
X launched its “Community Notes” feature last year, which allows users to comment on posts to flag false or misleading content, in effect crowd-sourcing fact checking to users rather than a dedicated team of fact checkers.
The report comes after X lost a lawsuit brought by CCDH earlier this year that faulted it for allowing a rise in hate speech on the social media platform.
Social media platforms, including X, have been under scrutiny for years over the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories, including false information about elections and vaccines.
Secretaries of state from five U.S. states urged billionaire Musk in August to fix X’s AI chatbot, saying it had spread misinformation related to the November 5 election.
Musk, who endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in July, himself has been accused of spreading misinformation. Polls show Trump is in a tight race with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
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China launches new crew to its space station as it seeks to expand exploration
JIUQUAN, China — China declared a “complete success” after it launched a new three-person crew to its orbiting space station early Wednesday as the country seeks to expand its exploration of outer space with missions to the moon and beyond.
The Shenzhou-19 spaceship carrying the trio blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 4:27 a.m. local time atop a Long March-2F rocket, the backbone of China’s crewed space missions.
“The crew condition is good and the launch has been successful,” the state broadcaster China Central Television announced.
China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, mainly because of U.S. concerns over the People’s Liberation Army, the Chinese Communist Party’s military arm’s overall control over the space program. China’s moon program is part of a growing rivalry with the U.S. and others, including Japan and India.
The team of two men and one woman will replace the astronauts who have lived on the Tiangong space station for the last six months. They are expected to stay until April or May of next year.
The new mission commander, Cai Xuzhe, went to space in the Shenzhou-14 mission in 2022, while the other two, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, are first-time space travelers, born in the 1990s.
Song was an air force pilot and Wang an engineer with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Wang will be the crew’s payload specialist and the third Chinese woman aboard a crewed mission.
Besides putting a space station into orbit, the Chinese space agency has landed an explorer on Mars. It aims to put a person on the moon before 2030, which would make China the second nation after the United States to do so. It also plans to build a research station on the moon and has already transferred rock and soil samples from the little-explored far side of the moon in a global first.
The U.S. still leads in space exploration and plans to land astronauts on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, though NASA pushed the target date back to 2026 earlier this year.
The new crew will perform spacewalks and install new equipment to protect the station from space debris, some of which was created by China.
According to NASA, large pieces of debris have been created by “satellite explosions and collisions.” China’s firing of a rocket to destroy a redundant weather satellite in 2007 and the “accidental collision of American and Russian communications satellites in 2009 greatly increased the amount of large debris in orbit,” it said.
China’s space authorities say they have measures in place in case their astronauts have to return to Earth earlier.
China launched its first crewed mission in 2003, becoming only the third nation to do so after the former Soviet Union and the United States. The space program is a source of enormous national pride and a hallmark of China’s technological advances over the past two decades.
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US finalizes rule restricting investment in Chinese tech firms
The Treasury Department on Monday finalized a new rule meant to prevent U.S.-based people and companies from investing in the development of a range of advanced technologies in China, thereby preventing Beijing from accessing cutting-edge expertise and equipment.
The rule, which implements an executive order signed by President Joe Biden in 2023, focuses particularly on advanced semiconductors and microelectronics and the equipment used to make them, technology used in quantum computing, and artificial intelligence systems.
When it takes effect on January 2, the rule will prohibit certain transactions in semiconductors, microelectronics and artificial intelligence. It also establishes mandatory reporting requirements for transactions that are not banned outright.
In the field of quantum computing, the rule is more far-reaching, banning all transactions “related to the development of quantum computers or production of any critical components required to produce a quantum computer,” as well as the development of other quantum systems. Unlike the fields of AI and semiconductors, the rule does not allow for transactions that can be completed so long as they are reported to the government.
The rule also announced the creation of the Office of Global Transactions within Treasury’s Office of Investment Security, which will administer the Outbound Investment Security Program.
Justification and opposition
“Artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and quantum technologies are fundamental to the development of the next generation of military, surveillance, intelligence and certain cybersecurity applications like cutting-edge code-breaking computer systems or next generation fighter jets,” Paul Rosen, assistant secretary for investment security, said in a statement.
“This Final Rule takes targeted and concrete measures to ensure that U.S. investment is not exploited to advance the development of key technologies by those who may use them to threaten our national security,” Rosen said.
Beijing has repeatedly complained about U.S. technology policy, arguing that the U.S. is dedicated to preventing China’s rise as a global power. In a press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian reiterated China’s longstanding objections to U.S. efforts to withhold advanced technology from Chinese companies.
“China deplores and rejects the U.S.’s Final Rule to curb investment in China,” Lin said. “China has protested to the U.S. and will take all measures necessary to firmly defend its lawful rights and interests.”
Not just equipment
The language of the rule frequently notes that it applies to transactions with “countries of concern,” but the specific language in the text makes it plain that the targets of the rule are companies and individuals doing business in mainland China as well as the “special administrative districts” of Hong Kong and Macao.
The Final Rule’s ban on transactions is not limited to the physical transfer of finished goods and machinery in the specified fields. Explanatory documents released on Monday make it clear that several intangible benefits are also covered.
Countries of concern “are exploiting or have the ability to exploit certain United States outbound investments, including certain intangible benefits that often accompany United States investments and that help companies succeed,” an informational statement accompanying the rule said. “These intangible benefits include enhanced standing and prominence, managerial assistance, investment and talent networks, market access, and enhanced access to additional financing.”
Signaling to US companies
The onus will be on U.S. companies to comply with the new rule, Stephen Ezell, vice president for global innovation policy at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, told VOA.
“This is the U.S. government signaling to U.S. entities and investors that they need to think twice about making investments on the prohibited transaction side of the equation that would advance China’s capabilities in these areas,” Ezell said.
He added that the impact of the rule on investment in Chinese technology companies would have effects far beyond any reduction in funding.
“It’s not just the dollars,” he said. “A key target here is getting at the intangible benefits that come with those investments, such as managerial capability, talent networks.” He described that loss as “very significant.”
Closing loopholes
In an email exchange with VOA, Daniel Gonzales, a senior scientist at the RAND Corporation, explained that the purpose of the rule was, in part, to prevent U.S. investment firms from supporting Chinese firms in the development of certain kinds of technology.
“These rules were put in place after many episodes where U.S. [venture capital] companies helped to transfer or nurture advanced technologies that have relevant military capabilities,” Gonzales wrote. “One particular case was that of TikTok and its AI algorithms, which were developed with the help of Sequoia Capital of California.”
Sequoia did not break any laws in assisting TikTok, Gonzales said. But “it has since become known to U.S. authorities that TikTok does possess an AI algorithm that has a variety of applications, some of which have military implications. This new rule is intended to close this loophole.”
Gonzales said the U.S. government’s concern with quantum computing is also born of worries about Chinese offensive capabilities.
“Chinese researchers are working on developing quantum computer algorithms that can break encryption codes used by the U.S. government and the U.S. financial sector to protect private and confidential information,” he wrote. “China has several startup companies working to develop more powerful quantum computers. This new rule is intended to prevent the leakage of U.S. quantum technology to China through U.S. VCs.”
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Companies find solutions to power EVs in energy-challenged Africa
NAIROBI, KENYA — Some companies are coming up with creative ways of making electric vehicles a more realistic option in power-challenged areas of Africa.
Countries in Africa have been slow adopters of battery-powered vehicles because finding reliable sources of electricity is a challenge in many places.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies described Africa as “the most energy-deficient continent in the world” and said that any progress made in electricity access in the last five years has been reversed by the pandemic and population growth.
Onesmus Otieno, for one, regrets trading in his diesel-powered motor bike for an electric one. He earns his living making deliveries and ferrying passengers around Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, with his bike.
The two-wheeled taxis popularly known as “boda boda” in Swahili are commonly used in Kenya and throughout Africa. Kenyan authorities recently introduced the electric bikes to phase out diesel ones. Otieno is among the few riders who adopted them, but he said finding a place to charge his bike has been a headache.
Sometimes the battery dies while he is carrying a customer, he said, while a charging station is far away. So, he has to end that trip and cancel other requests.
To address the problem, Chinese company Beijing Sebo created a mobile application that allows users of EVs to request a charge through the app. Then, charging equipment is brought to the user’s location.
Lin Lin, general manager for overseas business of Beijing Sebo, said because the company produces the equipment, it can control costs.
“We can deploy the product … in any country they need, and they don’t need to build or fix charging stations,” Lin said. “We can move to the location of the user, and we can bring electricity to electric vehicles.”
Lin said the mobile charging vans use electricity generated from solid waste and can charge up to five cars at one time for about $7 per vehicle — less for a motorbike.
Countries in Africa have been slow to adopt electric vehicles because there is a lack of infrastructure to support the technology, analysts say. The cost of EVs is another barrier, said clean energy expert Ajay Mathur.
”Yes, the capital cost is more,” Mathur said. “The first cost is more, but you recover it in about six years or so. We are at the beginning of the revolution.”
Electric motor bike maker Spiro offers a battery-swapping service in several countries to address the lack of EV infrastructure.
But studies show that for many African countries, access to reliable and affordable electricity remains a challenge. There are frequent power cuts, outages and voltage fluctuations in several regions.
Companies such as Beijing Sebo and Spiro are finding ways around the lack of power in Africa.
”We want to solve the problem of charging anxiety anywhere you are,” Lin said.
This story originated in VOA’s Mandarin Service.
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Cryptocurrency promoters on X amplify China-aligned disinformation
Washington — A group of accounts that regularly promote cryptocurrency-related content on X have amplified messages from Chinese official accounts and a China-linked disinformation operation covertly pushing Beijing’s propaganda toward Western social media users known as “Spamouflage”.
Spamouflage accounts are bots pretending to be authentic users that promote narratives that align with Beijing’s talking points issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s human rights record, the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza.
The cryptocurrency accounts were discovered by a joint investigation between VOA Mandarin and DoubleThink Lab, a Taiwan-based social media analytics firm.
DoubleThink Lab’s analysis uncovered 1,153 accounts that primarily repost news and promotions about cryptocurrency and are likely bots deployed by engagement boosting services to raise their clients’ visibility on social media.
The findings suggest that some official Chinese X accounts and the Spamouflage operation have been using the same amplification services, which further indicate the link between the Chinese state and Spamouflage.
Beijing has repeatedly denied any attempts to spread disinformation in the United States and other countries.
From cryptocurrency to Spamouflage
A review of the accounts in the VOA-DTL investigation shows that the majority of the posts were about cryptocurrency. Users regularly repost content from some of the biggest cryptocurrency accounts on X, such as ChainGPT and LondonRealTV, which belongs to British podcaster Brian Rose.
But these accounts have also shared content from at least 17 Spamouflage accounts that VOA and DTL have been tracking.
VOA recently reported on Spamouflage networks’ adoption of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories.
Spamouflage was first detected by the U.S.-based social media analytic firm Graphika, who coined the name because the operation’s political posts were interspersed with innocuous but spam-like content such as TikTok videos and scenery photographs that camouflage the operation’s goal of influencing public opinions.
All cryptocurrency accounts have reposted content from a Spamouflage account named “Watermelon cloth” at least once. A review of the account revealed that “Watermelon cloth” regularly posted content critical of social inequalities in the United States, the Ukrainian and Israeli governments, and praised China’s economic achievements and leadership role in solving international issues.
In one post, the account peddled the conspiracy theory that Washington was developing biological weapons in Ukraine.
“The outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war brought out an ‘unspeakable secret’ in the United States. US biological laboratory in Ukraine exposed,” the post said. X recently suspended Watermelon cloth’s account.
Since Watermelon cloth’s first posting in March 2023, its content has been reposted nearly 2,600 times, half of which were by the cryptocurrency accounts. Most of the remaining reposts were either by Spamouflage or other botlike accounts, according to data collected by DoubleThink Lab. The investigation also found that the cryptocurrency accounts’ amplification on average almost tripled the view number of a post.
Robotic behavior
All 1,153 cryptocurrency accounts have demonstrated patterns that strongly suggest they are bots instead of human users.
They were created in batches on specific dates. On April 6 alone, 152 of them were registered on X.
Over 99% of their content were reposts. A study of their repost behaviors on September 24 shows that all the reposts took place within the first hour after the original content was posted. Within each wave of reposts, all took place within six seconds, an indication of coordinated action.
At least one such account offered engagement boosting services in its bio with two Telegram links for interested customers. VOA Mandarin contacted the service seller through the links but did not receive a response.
Chinese official accounts amplified
The cryptocurrency group has also promoted posts from Chinese official accounts, including several that belong to Chinese local governments, state media and at least one Chinese diplomat.
The Jinan International Communication Center was the third most amplified account whose posts the cryptocurrency groups have shared. Its content was reposted over 2,200 times.
The Jinan International Communication Center was established in 2022 to promote the history and culture of Jinan, capital of the Shandong province in Eastern China, to the rest of the world as part of Beijing’s “Tell China’s Story Well” propaganda initiative.
A local state media account boasted in an article last year that Jinan was the third most influential Chinese city on X, which was then called Twitter.
Other Chinese cities, including Xiamen and Ningbo, and provinces, such as Anhui and Jilin, had their official accounts amplified by the cryptocurrency group.
Other amplified accounts include Xi’s Moments, a state media project propagating Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s speeches and official activities; China Retold, a media group organized by pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong; and the English-language state-owned newspaper China Daily.
Zhang Heqing, a cultural counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, was the sole Chinese diplomat whose posts were promoted by the cryptocurrency group.
DoubleThink Lab wrote in an analysis of the data and findings that Chinese official accounts and the Spamouflage operation have “likely” used the same content boosting services, which explains why they were amplified by the same group of cryptocurrency accounts.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., declined to answer specific questions about what appears to be a connection between the cryptocurrency group, Chinese official accounts and Spamouflage.
But in a written statement, spokesperson Liu Pengyu rejected the notion that China has used disinformation campaigns to influence social media users in the U.S.
“Such allegations are full of malicious speculations against China, which China firmly opposes,” the statement said.
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Small modular reactors could give developing countries access to nuclear energy
Experts say small modular reactors, called SMRs, are bringing affordable nuclear energy to less wealthy countries. But what are SMRs and why are proponents so excited about them? VOA reporter Henry Wilkins explains
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US military, intelligence agencies ordered to embrace AI
washington — The Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies have new marching orders — to more quickly embrace and deploy artificial intelligence as a matter of national security.
U.S. President Joe Biden signed the directive, part of a new national security memorandum, on Thursday. The goal is to make sure the United States remains a leader in AI technology while also aiming to prevent the country from falling victim to AI tools wielded by adversaries like China.
The memo, which calls AI “an era-defining technology,” also lays out guidelines that the White House says are designed to prevent the use of AI to harm civil liberties or human rights.
The new rules will “ensure that our national security agencies are adopting these technologies in ways that align with our values,” a senior administration official told reporters, speaking about the memo on the condition of anonymity before its official release.
The official added that a failure to more quickly adopt AI “could put us at risk of a strategic surprise by our rivals.”
“Because countries like China recognize similar opportunities to modernize and revolutionize their own military and intelligence capabilities using artificial intelligence, it’s particularly imperative that we accelerate our national security community’s adoption and use of cutting-edge AI,” the official said.
But some civil liberties advocates are raising concerns that the new guidelines lack sufficient safeguards.
“Despite acknowledging the considerable risks of AI, this policy does not go nearly far enough to protect us from dangerous and unaccountable AI systems,” according to a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union’s Patrick Toomey.
“National security agencies must not be left to police themselves as they increasingly subject people in the United States to powerful new technologies,” said Toomey, who serves as deputy director of ACLU’s National Security Project.
The new guidelines build on an executive order issued last year that directed all U.S. government agencies to craft policies for how they intend to use AI.
They also seek to address issues that could hamper Washington’s ability to more quickly incorporate AI into national security systems.
Provisions outlined in the memo call for a range of actions to protect the supply chains that produce advanced computer chips critical for AI systems. It also calls for additional actions to combat economic espionage that would allow U.S. adversaries or non-U.S. companies from stealing critical innovations.
“We have to get this right, because there is probably no other technology that will be more critical to our national security in the years ahead,” said White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, addressing an audience at the National Defense University in Washington on Thursday.
“The stakes are high,” he said. “If we don’t act more intentionally to seize our advantages, if we don’t deploy AI more quickly and more comprehensively to strengthen our national security, we risk squandering our hard-earned lead.
“We could have the best team but lose because we didn’t put it on the field,” he added.
Although the memo prioritizes the implementation of AI technologies to safeguard U.S. interests, it also directs officials to work with allies and others to create a stable framework for use of AI technologies across the globe.
“A big part of the national security memorandum is actually setting out some basic principles,” Sullivan said, citing ongoing talks with the G-7 and AI-related resolutions at the United Nations.
“We need to ensure that people around the world are able to seize the benefits and mitigate the risks,” he said.
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AI decodes oinks and grunts to keep pigs happy in Danish study
VIPPEROD, Denmark — European scientists have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm capable of interpreting pig sounds, aiming to create a tool that can help farmers improve animal welfare.
The algorithm could potentially alert farmers to negative emotions in pigs, thereby improving their well-being, according to Elodie Mandel-Briefer, a behavioral biologist at University of Copenhagen who is co-leading the study.
The scientists, from universities in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, Norway and the Czech Republic, used thousands of recorded pig sounds in different scenarios, including play, isolation and competition for food, to find that grunts, oinks, and squeals reveal positive or negative emotions.
While many farmers already have a good understanding of the well-being of their animals by watching them in the pig pen, existing tools mostly measure their physical condition, said Mandel-Briefer.
“Emotions of animals are central to their welfare, but we don’t measure it much on farms,” she said.
The algorithm demonstrated that pigs kept in outdoor, free-range or organic farms with the ability to roam and dig in the dirt produced fewer stress calls than conventionally raised pigs. The researchers believe that this method, once fully developed, could also be used to label farms, helping consumers make informed choices.
“Once we have the tool working, farmers can have an app on their phone that can translate what their pigs are saying in terms of emotions,” Mandel-Briefer said.
Short grunts typically indicate positive emotions, while long grunts often signal discomfort, such as when pigs push each other by the trough. High-frequency sounds like screams or squeals usually mean the pigs are stressed, for instance, when they are in pain, fight, or are separated from each other.
The scientists used these findings to create an algorithm that employs AI.
“Artificial intelligence really helps us to both process the huge amount of sounds that we get, but also to classify them automatically,” Mandel-Briefer said.
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