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Largest volcanic eruption in recorded history was underwater. Plus: deepfakes are out of control – is it too late to stop them?

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Undersea eruption

The largest volcanic eruption of the current geological epoch happened underwater off the southern coast of Japan about 7300 years ago. The blast produced more than three times as much material as the largest modern eruption known, that of Mount Tambora, which exploded in Indonesia in 1815 and caused such drastic climate changes that it led to the “Year Without a Summer” in 1816. The new record-holder, the Kikai-Akahoya eruption, came from a submerged caldera in a region of sea near the Japanese island of Kyushu.  Read more.

Drowning in deepfakes

Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has something in common with a growing number of non-celebrities: the appalling experience of featuring in fake sexual images made by strangers using artificial intelligence. Barely a week after explicit AI‑generated images of Swift went viral online last month, more AI-manipulated images and videos appeared that falsely portrayed her expressing support for US presidential candidate Donald Trump. These incidents were preceded by a scam campaign that cloned the voices of Swift and other celebrities. Swift’s experience reflects the troubling trends involving AI-generated images, audio and video called deepfakes. Now that they are trivially easy for anyone to create, is it too late to stop their spread?  Read more.

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Hans Neleman/Getty Images

Forgetting where you put your car keys, or what you had for dinner last Friday, can be frustrating or even worrying. But cognitive scientists now think that this “natural forgetting” – as opposed to “pathological” forgetting in dementia, say – is a key part of how your brain works. Their research suggests not only that forgetting underpins the human brain’s capacity to efficiently process sensory information to make sense of the world, but also its unique ability to generalise knowledge across a range of problems.  Read more

In the footsteps of Alexander von Humboldt: Ecuador

16 August 2024 | 11 days 

Explore Ecuador's stunning natural wonders, including the Amazon and Cloud Forest, and follow in the footsteps of ecologist Alexander von Humboldt.

Coen Elemans at the University of Southern Denmark talks about how humpback whales have a specialised larynx for underwater singing and a sac that lets them recycle air back into the lungs.

Thanks for reading and have a great Thursday.

Chris Simms

Assistant news editor, New Scientist

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