World News

Steg.AI puts deep learning on the job in a clever evolution of watermarking on August 1, 2023 at 11:01 am

Published

2 years ago

August 1, 2023

Watermarking an image to mark is one’s own is something that has value across countless domains, but these days it’s more difficult than just adding a logo in the corner. Steg.AI lets creators embed a nearly invisible watermark using deep learning, defying the usual “resize and resave” countermeasures.

Ownership of digital assets has had a complex few years, what with NFTs and AI generation shaking up what was a fairly low-intensity field before. If you really need to prove the provenance of a piece of media, there have been ways of encoding that data into images or audio, but these tend to be easily defeated by trivial changes like saving the PNG as a JPEG. More robust watermarks tend to be visible or audible, like a plainly visible pattern or code on the image.

An invisible watermark that can easily be applied, just as easily detected, and which is robust against transformation and re-encoding is something many a creator would take advantage of. IP theft, whether intentional or accidental, is rife online and the ability to say “look, I can prove I made this” — or that an AI made it — is increasingly vital.

Steg.AI has been working on a deep learning approach to this problem for years, as evidenced by this 2019 CVPR paper and the receipt of both Phase I and II SBIR government grants. Co-founders (and co-authors) Eric Wengrowski and Kristin Dana worked for years before that in academic research; Dana was Wengrowski’s PhD advisor.

While Wengrowski noted that though they have made numerous advances since 2019, the paper does show the general shape of their approach.

“Imagine a generative AI company creates an image and Steg watermarks it before delivering it to the end user,” he wrote in an email to TechCrunch. “The end user might post the AI-generated image on social media. Copies of the deployed image will still contain the Steg.AI watermark, even if the image is resized, compressed, screenshotted, or has its traditional metadata deleted. Steg.AI watermarks are so robust that they can be scanned from an electronic display or printout using an iPhone camera.”

Although they understandably did not want to provide the exact details of the process, it works more or less like this: instead of having a static watermark that must be awkwardly layered over a piece of media, the company has a matched pair of machine learning models that customize the watermark to the image. The encoding algorithm identifies the best places to modify the image in such a way that people won’t perceive it, but that the decoding algorithm can pick out easily — since it uses the same process, it knows where to look.

The company described it as a bit like an invisible and largely immutable QR code, but would not say how much data can actually be embedded in a piece of media. If it really is anything like a QR code, it can have a kilobyte or three, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but is enough for a URL, hash, and other plaintext data. Multiple-page documents or frames in a video could have unique codes, multiplying this amount. But this is just my speculation.

Steg.AI provided multiple images with watermarks for me to inspect, some of which you can see embedded here. I was also provided (and asked not to share) the matching pre-watermark images; while on close inspection some perturbations were visible, if I didn’t know to look for them I likely would have missed them, or written them off as ordinary JPEG artifacts.

Yes, this one is watermarked.

Here’s another, of Hokusai’s most famous work:

Image Credits: Hokusai / The Art Institute of Chicago

You can imagine how such a subtle mark might be useful for a stock photography provider, a creator posting their images on Instagram, a movie studio distributing pre-release copies of a feature, or a company looking to mark its confidential documents. And these are all use cases Steg.AI is looking at.

It wasn’t a home run from the start. Early on, after talking with potential customers, “we realized that a lot of our initial product ideas were bad,” recalled Wengrowski. But they found that robustness, a key differentiator of their approach, was definitely valuable, and since then have found traction among “companies where there is strong consumer appetite for leaked information,” such as consumer electronics brands.

“We’ve really been surprised by the breath of customers who see deep value in our products,” he wrote. Their approach is to provide enterprise-level SaaS integrations, for instance with a digital asset management platform — that way no one has to say watermark that before sending it out; all media is marked and tracked as part of the normal handling process.

Concept illustration of a Steg.AI app verifying an image.

An image could be traced back to its source, and changes made along the way could conceivably be detected as well. Or alternatively, the app or API could provide a confidence level that the image has not been manipulated — something many an editorial photography manager would appreciate.

This type of thing has the potential to become an industry standard — both because they want it and because it may in the future be required. AI companies just recently agreed to pursue research around watermarking AI content, and something like this would be a useful stopgap while a deeper method of detecting generated media is considered.

Steg.AI has gotten this far with NSF grants and angel investment totaling $1.2 million, but just announced a $5 million A round led by Paladin Capital Group, with participation from Washington Square Angels, the NYU Innovation Venture Fund, and angel investors, Alexander Lavin, Eli Adler, Brian Early and Chen-Ping Yu.

Top AI companies visit the White House to make ‘voluntary’ safety commitments

News

Pope Francis is Now in Stable Condition

Published

2 weeks ago

February 22, 2025

Bolanle Media Staff

Pope Francis, the 88-year-old leader of the Catholic Church, remains in critical condition at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been receiving treatment for over a week. The pontiff’s health has taken a turn for the worse, raising concerns among the faithful worldwide.

Current Status

As of Saturday, February 22, 2025, Pope Francis experienced a prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis that required high-flow oxygen treatment. The Vatican reported that his condition had deteriorated since Friday, emphasizing that “the pope is not out of danger”.

The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair, although he is experiencing more discomfort than the previous day. His prognosis remains guarded, indicating the seriousness of his condition.

Medical Challenges

Pope Francis is battling a complex set of medical issues:

The pope’s medical team faces the challenge of balancing various medications to combat these issues while monitoring for potential complications, such as sepsis.

Treatment and Outlook

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis will remain hospitalized for at least another week. He is receiving targeted drug therapy and high-flow oxygen as needed. While he is not on a ventilator and can breathe independently, his condition requires close monitoring.

Dr. Luigi Carbone, the pope’s personal physician, stated, “He is not out of danger,” highlighting the delicate nature of the pontiff’s health.

Impact on Vatican Activities

In light of the pope’s condition, all public engagements on his schedule have been suspended through Sunday. The Vatican is carrying on with its Holy Year celebrations without the pope’s presence.

As the Catholic world watches and prays for Pope Francis’s recovery, the Vatican continues to provide updates on his condition. The situation remains fluid, and both positive and negative outcomes are possible given the complexity of the pope’s health issues.

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Business

HRM Queen Shanta Lana Hereford Delivers Powerful Speech on Global Peace

Published

3 weeks ago

February 20, 2025

Bolanle Media Staff

New Delhi, India – February 16, 2025 – Her Royal Majesty Queen Shanta Lana Hereford, a distinguished global leader and advocate for peace and economic empowerment, was a special
guest speaker at an international event hosted by the EurAsia Afro Chamber of Commerce. The
hybrid event, aired live from New Delhi, India, gathered influential leaders, policymakers, and business executives from around the world to discuss global cooperation, economic diplomacy, and sustainable peace.

Queen Shanta delivered a compelling speech titled “Creating a Framework for a Global Peace Charter,” emphasizing the need for a justice-centered, faith-driven approach to global peace. She outlined a transformative vision, calling for governments, businesses, and faith leaders to unite to draft policies integrating equity, economic accountability, and environmental stewardship into global governance.

“The pursuit of peace is not just the absence of war; it is the presence of justice, dignity, and
opportunity for all, ” Queen Shanta stated. “We must move beyond just talking and establish
actionable frameworks that empower nations and communities to achieve lasting prosperity and peace.”

The EurAsia Afro Chamber of Commerce, under the leadership of its founder and chairman, Dr. Rohit Gupta, is dedicated to fostering economic and cultural collaboration between Africa, Asia, and Europe. The organization aims to create a strong, interconnected business network
bridging these regions, facilitating pathways for economic prosperity and diplomatic relations.
As a prolific leader within the African American diaspora and a global advocate for its
advancement, HRM Queen Shanta Lana Hereford is actively exploring opportunities for trade
and commerce between Africa, Asia, Europe, and other international communities.

Through her affiliations with organizations such as The African Diaspora Collective, The Atlanta Black Chambers, The Black Achievement Fund, The National Business League, The 10K Project, and many others, she is championing economic initiatives that build sustainable supply chains and foster strategic partnerships.

Her mission is to create economic opportunities for Black entrepreneurs and business leaders in America, who have historically been excluded from global trade discussions. By forging these international connections, Queen Hereford is working to ensure that Black communities in the U.S. not only have a seat at the table but play a key role in shaping the future of international commerce, economic empowerment, and global policy.

The event featured several other distinguished guests, including:
● Dr. Rohit Gupta: Founder and Chairman of the EurAsia Afro Chamber of Commerce,
Dr. Gupta has been instrumental in promoting cross-continental business relationships
and trade.
● H.E. Bishop Dr. Samsher Khan: Founder of the BSK Prayer Tower and IRKT, Bishop
Dr. Khan serves as a Peace Ambassador for the International Human Rights
Commission (IHRC) and holds the position of Asia’s Social Media Editor. He is dedicated
to promoting peace and spiritual well-being across communities.
● Madam Sadhvi Pragya Bharti: Sadhvi Pragya Bharti is a spiritual leader, humanitarian,
and national media panelist known for her advocacy of social and educational reforms
rooted in spirituality and justice.

The event underscored the importance of strategic economic partnerships as a tool for
peacebuilding, aligning with Queen Hereford’s global mission of self-determination and
economic sovereignty for Black and Indigenous communities worldwide.

As part of her continued advocacy, Queen Hereford urged global stakeholders to collaborate on
drafting a Global Peace Charter, organizing annual Global Peace Assemblies, and
implementing economic policies that uplift marginalized communities.

This event marks a significant milestone in international diplomacy, reinforcing the role of
economic and cultural cooperation in shaping a peaceful and prosperous future for all.

For media inquiries, interviews, or further information, please contact:
H.E. Roselyn Omaka
National Press Secretary, Nation of Cherut
Email: nps@nationofcherut.org
Phone: 281.301.5535

News

Terror Attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas Linked

Published

2 months ago

January 2, 2025

Bolanle Media Staff

The start of 2025 has been marred by two horrific terror attacks in the United States, one in New Orleans and another in Las Vegas, both occurring on New Year’s Day. These incidents have left communities reeling and have raised concerns about potential connections between the suspects involved.

In New Orleans, a truck driven by 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar plowed into a crowd celebrating on Bourbon Street, resulting in at least 15 deaths and over 30 injuries. Eyewitnesses reported that Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran from Texas, deliberately targeted pedestrians while flying an ISIS flag from his vehicle. Following the attack, he exited the truck armed with an assault rifle and opened fire on police officers before being killed in the ensuing confrontation. Authorities discovered improvised explosive devices (IEDs) within his vehicle and in the vicinity of the attack site, further confirming the premeditated nature of this act of terrorism.

Simultaneously, a separate incident unfolded in Las Vegas when a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel. The driver, identified as Matthew Livelsberger, also had a military background and was reported to have detonated the vehicle packed with firework mortars and fuel, resulting in his death and injuring seven others. Investigators are exploring whether Livelsberger and Jabbar had any prior connection, as both men served at the same military base at different times.

While the FBI has confirmed that they are investigating both attacks as acts of terrorism, they have not established a definitive link between the two incidents. However, similarities in their execution—both suspects rented vehicles from the same company—have prompted further scrutiny into their backgrounds and any potential accomplices.

As investigations continue, authorities are urging anyone with information about either suspect to come forward. The tragic events have sparked discussions about security measures in public spaces, particularly as cities prepare for large gatherings in the coming months.

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