Syria has been embroiled in a devastating civil war for over a decade, leading to countless deaths, widespread destruction, and a humanitarian crisis of unimaginable proportions. The country's economy has been decimated, with no signs of recovery in sight. While the world may have turned its attention away from this war-torn nation, the reality on the ground in Syria remains dire.The repercussions of this embezzlement case extend beyond the financial impact on the company. It also highlights the need for robust internal controls, stringent oversight, and ethical practices within organizations. Companies must prioritize transparency, accountability, and integrity to prevent such incidents from occurring and safeguard their assets.
NoneDoctored images have been around for decades. The term "Photoshopped" is part of everyday language. But in recent years, it has seemingly been replaced by a new word: deepfake. It's almost everywhere online, but you likely won't find it in your dictionary at home. What exactly is a deepfake, and how does the technology work? RELATED STORY | Scripps News Reports: Sex, Lies, and Deepfakes A deepfake is an image or video that has been generated by artificial intelligence to look real. Most deepfakes use a type of AI called a "diffusion model." In a nutshell, a diffusion model creates content by stripping away noise. "With diffusion models, they found a very clever way of taking an image and then constructing that procedure to go from here to there," said Lucas Hansen said. He and Siddharth Hiregowdara are cofounders of CivAI, a nonprofit educating the public on the potential — and dangers — of AI. How diffusion models work It can get complicated, so imagine the AI – or diffusion model – as a detective trying to catch a suspect. Like a detective, it relies on its experience and training. It recalls a previous case -– a sneaky cat on the run. Every day it added more and more disguises. On Monday, no disguise. Tuesday, it put on a little wig. Wednesday, it added some jewelry. By Sunday, it's unrecognizable and wearing a cheeseburger mask. The detective learned these changes can tell you what it wore and on what day. AI diffusion models do something similar with noise, learning what something looks like at each step. "The job of the diffusion model is to remove noise," Hiregowdara said. "You would give the model this picture, and then it will give you a slightly de-noised version of this picture." RELATED STORY | Scripps News got deepfaked to see how AI could impact elections When it's time to solve the case and generate a suspect, we give it a clue: the prompts we give when we create an AI-generated image. "We have been given the hint that this is supposed to look like a cat. So what catlike things can we see in here? Okay, we see this curve, maybe that's an ear," Hiregowdara said. The "detective" works backward, recalling its training. It sees a noisy image. Thanks to the clue, it is looking for a suspect — a cat. It subtracts disguises (noise) until it finds the new suspect. Case closed. Now imagine the "detective" living and solving crimes for years and years. It learns and studies everything — landscapes, objects, animals, people, anything at all. So when it needs to generate a suspect or an image, it remembers its training and creates an image. Deepfakes and faceswaps Many deepfake images and videos employ some type of face swapping technology. You've probably experienced this kind of technology already — faceswapping filters like on Snapchat, Instagram or Tiktok use technology similar to diffusion models, recognizing faces and replacing things in real time. "It will find the face in the image and then cut that out kind of, then take the face and convert it to its internal representation," Hansen said. The results are refined then repeated frame by frame. The future and becoming our own detectives As deepfakes become more and more realistic and tougher to detect, understanding how the technology works at a basic level can help us prepare for any dangers or misuse. Deepfakes have already been used to spread election disinformation, create fake explicit images of a teenager, even frame a principal with AI-created racist audio. "All the netizens on social media also have a role to play," Siwei Lyu said. Lyu is a SUNY Empire Innovation Professor at the University of Buffalo's Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and the director of the Media Forensics Lab. His team has created a tool to help spot deepfakes called "DeepFake-o-meter." "We do not know how to handle, how to deal, with these kinds of problems. It's very new. And also requires technical knowledge to understand some of the subtleties there," Lyu said. "The media, the government, can play a very active role to improve user awareness and education. Especially for vulnerable groups like seniors, the kids, who will start to understand the social media world and start to become exposed to AI technologies. They can easily fall for AI magic or start using AI without knowing the limits." RELATED STORY | AI voice cloning: How programs are learning to pick up on pitch and tone Both Lyu and CivAI believe in exposure and education to help combat any potential misuse of deepfake technology. "Our overall goal is that we think AI is going t impact pretty much everyone in a lot of different ways," Hansen said. "And we think that everyone should be aware of the ways that it's going to change them because it's going to impact everyone." "More than just general education — just knowing the facts and having heard what's going to happen," he added. "We want to give people a really intuitive experience of what's going on." Hansen goes on to explain CivAI's role in educating the public. "We try and make all of our demonstrations personalized as much as possible. What we're working on is making it so people can see it themselves. So they know it's real, and they feel that it's real," Hansen said. "And they can have a deep gut level feel for tthe impact that it's going to have." "A big part of the solution is essentially just going to be education and sort of cultural changes," he added. "A lot of this synthetic content is sort of like a new virus that is attacking society right now, and people need to become immune to it in some ways. They need to be more suspicious about what's real and what's not, and I think that will help a lot as well."
TikTok, the emerging force in the e-commerce space, is utilizing its popular short video platform to drive engagement and sales. By leveraging the power of influencer marketing and user-generated content, TikTok is creating a buzz around Double 12, attracting a younger demographic of consumers who are eager to discover new products and trends. With its interactive and visually appealing content, TikTok is transforming the way people shop online, making it a fun and entertaining experience.LSU will play host to Oklahoma on Saturday in the first meeting between the two teams as members of the same conference. This will also be the first showdown between the Tigers and the Sooners since 2019's College Football Playoff, when Ed Orgeron's historic Tigers downed Lincoln Riley's Oklahoma to advance to the CFP National Championship. The Tigers hold a 2-1 advantage in the series, with Oklahoma's only win against the Tigers coming in 1950. LSU is fresh off a bounce-back 24-17 win against Vanderbilt . Prior to that, the previously 6-1 Tigers dropped three SEC contests in a row. All three of those losses came by double digits, including one defeat against unranked Florida . Not to be outdone, Oklahoma notched its biggest win of the season -- and took a sledgehammer to Alabama's College Football Playoff hopes -- in a 24-3 romp over the Crimson Tide. That was Oklahoma's sixth win of the year, which means that the Sooners will make it to a bowl game for a 26th straight season, the second-longest streak in the FBS. Though both teams have already locked down a bowl game, a win Saturday is still important to improve either team's stock during the postseason bidding process. How to watch LSU vs. Oklahoma live Date : Saturday, Nov. 30 | Time : 7 p.m. ET Location : Tiger Stadium -- Baton Rouge, Louisiana TV: ESPN | Live stream: fubo (Try for free) LSU vs. Oklahoma: Need to know Help could be on the way for Oklahoma: Oklahoma's offense has struggled a lot this season -- the Sooners notably fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell on Oct. 20, one day after a 35-9 loss to South Carolina -- and a big reason why is the fact that the Sooners have been without their five top wide receivers for a majority of the year. Most of the injuries that set that room back occurred either in the preseason or within the first few games. The good news for Oklahoma is that help could be on the way at the receiver spot. There is a possibility that Deion Burks and Jalil Farooq are both able to return against LSU. Farooq has only played in two games this season, including a brief appearance against Missouri , while Burks hasn't played since Nov. 9. Burks' return would be a special boon as, in spite of his missed time, he still leads the Sooners with three touchdowns catches. All eyes on Garrett Nussmeier : Saturday could be LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier's last time in Tiger Stadium. The redshirt junior, who spent three years biding his time and learning LSU's system before emerging as a starter in 2024, is eligible to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft . At one point, he was seen as a potential first-round prospect due to his excellent frame and big arm. But his stock has dropped a bit down the stretch amid some late-season struggles. Nussmeier has thrown five touchdowns to five interceptions in LSU's last four games and seven of his 11 interceptions came in the past six contests. LSU coach Brian Kelly recently said he is "hopeful" that Nussmeier will return in 2025 in an attempt to recover some of his draft buzz. Strength vs. Strength: Even with Nussmeier's struggles of late, LSU still has one of the most prolific passing attacks in the nation. And Nussmeier did have a good game against Vanderbilt, posting 332 yards and one touchdown through the air while completing just over 75% of his passes. The Tigers currently rank second in the SEC with 317.7 yards passing per game. They have plenty of talented receivers to spread the ball to, including wideout Kyren Lacy , who is currently tied for first place in the SEC with eight touchdowns. Oklahoma's secondary will be a huge test. The Sooners have held each of their last three opponents -- and four of their last five -- under 200 yards passing. They've also been opportunistic when it comes to creating turnovers. Oklahoma had three interceptions against Alabama, one of which linebacker Kip Lewis returned for a crucial touchdown to give the Sooners their decisive advantage. All sports betting odds via Caesars Sportsbook . Check out the latest Caesars promo code to get in the game. LSU vs. Oklahoma prediction, picks Oklahoma has quietly had an excellent defensive season. Or, at least it was quiet before the Sooners held Alabama's explosive offense to three total points. The Sooners currently rank fourth in the SEC in total defense (311.3 yards per game) and are holding opponents to just 20.2 points per contest. Jackson Arnold has also been solid for the Sooners after returning to the field -- especially with his legs. He has 221 yards and one touchdown rushing in Oklahoma's last three games. All this to say, Oklahoma is a bad matchup for an LSU team with a faltering offense and a defense that really struggles to defend against rushing quarterbacks. The Sooners may not win straight-up (the game's a tossup in my mind), but it will be incredibly close either way. The six-point betting line seems like too much. Pick: Oklahoma +6 SportsLine's proven computer model is calling for several outright upsets in Week 14 of college football . Visit SportsLine now to see them all , plus get spread picks for every game from the model that simulates each game 10,000 times.
Gong Li's dedication to staying active and healthy is truly inspiring. Despite her busy schedule as an actress and her age, she manages to find time for sports, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle. Playing badminton, a sport that requires agility, quick reflexes, and stamina, demonstrates her commitment to physical fitness and well-being. Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, jailed for sexting child, eyes political comeback in New York City CouncilAdding to the film's appeal is its whimsical soundtrack, composed by the award-winning musician, Lila Chen. The score enhances the on-screen antics with its playful melodies and catchy tunes, further immersing the audience in the madcap world of "Moon Clang."
No. 22 Illinois 38, Northwestern 28
The incident has once again highlighted the importance of respect and fair play in football, with many calling for a zero-tolerance approach to any form of misconduct, both on and off the pitch. Referees play a crucial role in the game, and their integrity and impartiality must be upheld at all times. Any behavior that undermines these principles cannot be tolerated and must be dealt with swiftly and decisively.