The Know Daily - Tuesday 16 April 2024

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The Caribbean island of Aruba is moving to amend its constitution to recognise that nature has the right to exist. If the country’s legislature votes in favour of the change, Aruba would become only the second country in the world to make such a move, after Ecuador did the same in 2022. Watch this space 👀

👏 Criminalising deepfakes

Creating a sexually explicit deepfake image is set to be made an offence in England and Wales, the government has announced.

Tell me more.
A deepfake is an image or video that has been digitally altered using AI to replace the face of one person with the face of another, explained the BBC. The sharing of intimate deepfakes is already a crime under the Online Safety Act 2023, but now the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes will also be made an offence - regardless of whether the creator intends to share them. 

What will the law look like?
Under the legislation - which will form part of the Criminal Justice Bill currently making its way through parliament - anyone who makes explicit images without consent will face a criminal record and a fine. They could also face a prison sentence if the image is shared more widely.

Laura Farris, minister for victims and safeguarding, said the new offence sent a “crystal clear message” that making sexually explicit deepfakes is “immoral, often misogynistic, and a crime”. 

How big a problem is it?
As The Guardian pointed out, as AI advances, so too does the creation of deepfakes, which overwhelmingly target women. According to an analysis conducted by Channel 4 News last month, in 2016 researchers identified just one deepfake pornography video online. In the first nine months of 2023, over 143,000 videos were uploaded online - more than in all the previous years combined.

How’s the announcement been received?
Labour welcomed the announcement, as did women’s rights campaigners. Glamour UK’s editor-in-chief Deborah Joseph described the proposed legislation as an “important first step” towards helping women feel safer from the technology.

🇬🇭 Returned artefacts

The UK has returned disputed artefacts to Ghana on a long-term loan, amid a wider debate about what to do with other contested items.

Which items have been returned? 
Around 32 gold and silver items have been sent to a museum in Ghana by London’s V&A Museum and the British Museum. The artefacts - which include a sword of state and a peace pipe - were stolen during 19th century conflicts between the British and the Asante people. 

Nana Oforiatta Ayim, writer and special adviser to Ghana's culture minister, told the BBC that the objects have “spiritual importance”, adding: “they are part of the soul of the nation”.

Why have they only been loaned?
Because some UK museums - including the V&A and the British Museum - are banned by law from handing back contested items permanently. In the case of the Asante artefacts, the loan will last for three years, with the option to extend.

I’m guessing some people want the law to change?
Right. They argue that British museums have no right to hold such disputed items in their collections, given that they were effectively stolen during the heyday of the British Empire. But those who argue against repatriation say that it’s often unclear who such artefacts belong to, and that Britain has cared for the items for generations.

What else is going on?
Despite the law, other countries have upped their demands for the return of disputed items in recent years. The ongoing diplomatic row over Greece’s Parthenon Sculptures is perhaps the most high-profile example, but Nigeria, Egypt, China and Ethiopia have all asked for artefacts held by the British Museum to be returned to them.

🔌 Tesla layoffs: Elon Musk said he had made the “difficult decision” to cut more than 10% of the electric carmaker’s workforce, amid slowing sales.

📣 PSA: If you’re eligible to vote in the 2 May local elections in England and Wales, register to vote by midnight tonight! It takes two minutes. 

🧑‍⚖️ Trump trial: Dozens of potential jurors were ruled out of Donald Trump’s unprecedented criminal trial because they could not be impartial about the former president.

🔬 Transplant tech: In a new NHS trial, lung transplant patients will also receive a skin patch graft from their donor as a way of spotting organ rejection sooner.

📸 “Have some manners”: Actress Hannah Waddingham drew praise from fans after a video of her calling out a photographer who appeared to ask her to “show leg” was posted online.

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Trivia answer: B) Wendy’s - which returned to the UK in 2021 after a 20-year hiatus - has plans for a major expansion across the UK. 

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