AI experts say the image of Kamala Harris' rally does show hallmarks of being heavily edited -- though this was probably done using basic filters rather than AI. Donald Trump caused a furor over the weekend after claiming the picture had been'A.I.'d' to boost the size of Harris' crowd in Michigan and exaggerate her popularity. The former president and some of his online supports pointed to the unusual lack of crowd reflection on the plane's turbine as evidence the image had been doctored. They concluded there was only a four percent chance it has been warped using the software. But it's possible the photo had been heavily filtered and edited, they said. And the plane's curved reflective surface also creates an illusion where objects above and below the surface are most visible and dominate the reflection, they added.

No matter where you sit on the enormous and complex debate regarding AI models and their use of datasets to generate new images, artworks, writing and even movies, there's one thing everyone can agree on: they're damned creepy at drawing human hands. But why? Especially when AIs are so capable of recreating the seemingly far greater complexity of human faces. To find the answers, we decided to speak to a leading authority on this subject: an AI. ChatGPT is by far the most well-known AI language model just now, causing huge ways across the world with its ability to hold natural conversations, answer complex questions, and generate extraordinary poetry, writing, and even the most complicated of human discourse: games journalism. I began by asking ChatGPT, "Why is AI so bad at rendering human fingers?" "Rendering realistic human fingers is challenging for AI because they are highly articulated and have complex shapes and textures," the AI explained, adding, "capturing the subtleties of how light interacts with skin, nails, and wrinkles requires advanced modeling and rendering techniques."

Meta brings an AI-enhanced version of hand tracking to Quest 2. Meta introduced experimental hand tracking in December 2019 for Meta Quest 1. In May 2020, visual hand and finger tracking left the beta phase and became a regular feature. In April 2021, Meta brought high-frequency hand tracking to Quest 2, which improved gesture recognition and reduced latency. The downsides of this optional feature are that hands shake a bit more and the performance of the XR2 chip is artificially downclocked to avoid overheating, which can negatively impact the performance of VR apps. Just under a year after this upgrade comes "Hand Tracking 2.0", which replaces high-frequency hand tracking and eliminates its drawbacks.

WASHINGTON – An Ohio man paralyzed in an accident while diving in waves can now pick up a bottle or play the video game Guitar Hero thanks to a small computer chip in his brain that lets his mind guide his hands and fingers, bypassing his damaged spinal cord. Scientists on Wednesday described accomplishments achieved by 24-year-old quadriplegic Ian Burkhart using an implanted chip that relays signals from his brain through 130 electrodes on his forearm to produce muscle movement in his hands and fingers. Burkhart first demonstrated the "neural bypass" technology in 2014 when he was able simply to open and close his hand. But the scientists, in research published in the journal Nature, said he can now perform multiple useful tasks with more sophisticated hand and finger movements. The technology, which for now can only be used in the laboratory, is being perfected with an eye toward a wireless system without the need for a cable running from the head to relay brain signals.