Friday, July 28, 2023

The promise of watermarking AI content

By Jon Parsons. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

The recent announcement by a group of major tech companies about watermarking AI-generated content might have been greeted with a sigh of relief by many, but cybersecurity researchers are already suggesting this new approach has several flaws.

Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI held a conversation with the White House to discuss how they can help to address the risks posed by the artificial intelligence they develop. They promised to invest in cybersecurity and watermarking of AI-generated content.

“The companies pitched a technology called watermarking, which embeds a secret message into the code of the content,” says Dr. Florian Kerschbaum, a professor of computer science and a member of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute at the University of Waterloo. “The idea is that the message cannot be removed unless the content is removed.”

But as Kerschbaum points out, there are still some uncertainties in the scientific foundations of watermarking. It is possible that malicious actors may be able to remove a watermark, and the question of digital watermarks has intrigued scientists for decades.

“The answers to some of the most important questions are somewhat unsatisfactory,” Kerschbaum continues.

Watermarking is a decades old technique and non-digital watermarks predate computers. Watermarking and secretly embedding messages last became a major area of attention when state intelligence services were concerned that they could be used to hide encrypted messages and make them undetectable.

Now, watermarking can possibly be helpful to label benign uses of AI generated content, since the content creator needs to cooperate and embed the watermark.

“In fact, AI itself may help to strengthen watermarks,” Kerschbaum says. “AI’s greatest weakness is that humans do not understand how it works. But that it is better than human performance in many tasks, such as image recognition, may help design watermarks that are more robust.”

Using AI, Kerschbaum continues, one can embed watermarks that only AI can detect. But again, is this reliable for a deployment on the scale necessary for the companies that visited the White House?

“Scientists cannot yet answer this question,” he says. “To see the companies making this promise is encouraging, but too many of the important questions are still open.”

LUNA: Overnight dry eye study for DD lens wearers

A message from the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE).

The Centre for Ocular Research & Education is seeking participants aged 18+ who wear contact lenses and experience dryness or discomfort for an overnight sleep study to evaluate the comfort of a new eye lubricant and whether it improves contact lens comfort throughout the day. This lubricant will be applied at night after contact lenses have been removed and before sleeping. The lubricant slowly dissolves over a minimum of 60 minutes to restore the tear film before contact lens wear the next day.

The study will involve the application of the lubricant for five consecutive nights and sleeping at a CORE-specific location after its application. Total time = 57 hours (40 hours inactive sleeping time; 15 hours of study visits and 2 hours of at-home tasks).

In appreciation of your time, you will receive $740 upon completion. Parking passes will be provided as required.

Participant requirements

• Age: At least 18 years old and have full legal capacity to volunteer;
• Currently wears daily disposable contact lenses;
• Wears contact lenses at least 5 days per week, 6 hours per day, for the past 4 months or longer;
• Experiences discomfort or dryness symptoms while wearing contact lenses;
• Must use rewetting drops at least 2 times per day to relieve contact lens dryness or discomfort for the past 60 days;
• Owns a pair of glasses for vision correction;
• Willing to sleep overnight, on-site at CORE or a CORE-specific location, for 5 consecutive nights.

Visit https://COREstudies.ca/LUNA for more info.

All studies conducted at CORE have been reviewed and received ethics clearance through a University of Waterloo Research Ethics Board.

If you’d like to be considered for other CORE studies, please create a participant profile and we will contact you based on eligibility: https://prescreen.uwaterloo.ca. 

SLC goes to the dogs today; other notes

The Student Life Centre is going to the dogs today as WUSA brings in a pack of pups to help support students in the run-up to exams. Undergraduate students are welcome to join the therapy dogs from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. in the SLC Black and Gold Room. "Did you know that affectionate dogs help reduce stress and anxiety and increase relief and happiness?" WUSA asks. "Get ready to experience their irresistible charm and the healing powers of their paws as they wag our worries away and instantly brighten up our day."  

WUSA will also be hosting a therapy dog session in the Hagey Hall Atrium from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. in conjunction with the Philosophy and Gender Studies and Social Justice Departments.

The Music department's ensemble concerts continue this weekend. On Sunday, July 30, the Jazz Ensemble presents Summer in the City. Directed by Michael Wood, the Jazz Ensemble plays a wide range of jazz standards and newer compositions.

The concert takes place at 2:00 p.m. in the Conrad Grebel University College Great Hall (Room 1111) Tickets are $10, with students and seniors paying $5. A reception will follow. Tickets are available at the door.

Later that day, the Instrumental Chamber Ensemble Concert will take place in the Conrad Grebel University College, Chapel at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free with a reception to follow. "This concert is a highlight of every term," says a note from the Music department. "Please join us for some beautiful classical music, performed by six different student groups playing a diverse range of instruments."

The chamber ensembles are directed by Ben Bolt-Martin.