INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Real Life Body Snatchers? 
​Julien Sanchez-Levallois 2/20

A new technology is rising that can force celebrities, politicians, and anyone else to say anything against their will.

    In 1978, a new adaptation of the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers was released. The film featured Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, and Leonard Nimoy, and is about a detective investigating a woman’s complaint that her husband is acting strange. Upon further investigation, the detective discovers that, in fact, aliens are swapping places with everyday people. As the film continues, the arsenal of imposter-people grows more vast until there are only a few non-imposter characters left. They don’t know who they can trust and are pushed into a corner of conspiracy.
     For a while, the film was unsettling, but a work of pure fiction. No one could convincingly masquerade as another person with their unique diction in real life. Now, they can.
     Recently, the Youtube channel Collider Videos released a fifteen minute video of a roundtable discussion containing Jeff Goldblum, Tom Cruise, Ewan McGregor, Robert Downey Jr., and George Lucas. Obviously, one would think a lot of work must have been put forward in order to get all of those prominent figures in one room. In reality, all it took was four impressionists. Jamie Costa (Ewan McGregor), Josh Robert Thompson (Jeff Goldblum and George Lucas), Evan Ferrante (Tom Cruise), and Jeff Richards (Robert Downey Jr.) are the four people who mimicked the celebrities’ voices and body language. A computer did the rest. 
     Over the course of the past few years, a technological technique has slowly been developed to do the astonishing things it’s doing today. Several companies have been making breakthroughs in the obscure industry of mimicking other human beings, mainly celebrities. This applies to the technology mentioned previously, Deepfakes, as well as another technology that will be mentioned later on.
     The deepfake works by taking two artificial intelligences, one to replicate a human face, and one to detect a false human face. Whenever one artificial intelligence detects a false face, the other tries again over and over again until it makes a seamless deepfake. The technique has been used for all sorts of purposes from comedic sketches, as explained before, to political demonstrations.
     That brings us to our next point. On April 18, 2018, Buzzfeed released a demonstration in which Barack Obama talks about the dangers of deepfakes. As the video continues it’s revealed that it is, in fact, Jordan Peele’s mouth superimposed on a video of Barack Obama. Though much less advanced than a full deepfake, an artificial intelligence analyzed the shapes of Mr. Obama’s mouth, resulting in a nearly undetectable video. If we progress any further with this technology, the deepfake could be as common as a hoax news story or even a stolen credit card. The difference is that with both of those scenarios, it’s easier to detect fraud, whereas with deepfakes, you’re seeing a person say something, and to most people seeing is believing.
       Similar to deepfakes, under specific circumstances VFX companies de-age older actors to flawless effect. The Marvel movies are most famous for their de-aging technology, de-aging actors like Kurt Russell, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and Clark Gregg. As of now, the technology takes an entire team of VFX artists to perfect de-aging to this degree. In the possible future, if made easier for the average person to use, people could use the technology for more optimistic, sentimental reasons, such as a senior citizen being able to see their younger self with the clarity of the cameras we have today.
     A similar effect has been displayed in Blade Runner 2049, in which Sean Young’s character, Rachael, is recreated entirely using visual effects. It is possibly one of the greatest full-human recreations we’ve seen in modern cinema, with the only giveaway being an unnatural fall after the character (who isn’t the original replicant from the first film) is shot in the head.
     Obviously not everyone is an impressionist like the four from the Collider video, so the technology does have its setbacks; not necessarily. In 2016, Adobe unveiled a new technology it was developing called Project Voco. In the demonstration, the host took an average sentence in which a husband kissed his wife and his dogs, and altered it so that the man said he kissed Jordan Peele, who was present on the stage. Not only did the host demonstrate that you can swap the words in a sentence, but he also demonstrated that you could add in words that were never present in the initial audio. After Jordan Peele embarrassingly brought up the dangers of the technology, the host clarified that Adobe was working on ways to prevent forgery by adding watermarks or cues that would suggest when it wasn’t an authentic sentence.
     That being said, the costly Adobe software tend to be followed by lower quality, free versions (ex: Photoshop to Gimp/MS Paint). Adobe has the time and money to develop watermarks and cues, but these other software companies don’t.
     In a time when not even the major news sources are trusted, it seems like we live in enough doubt and paranoia. If deepfakes and software like Adobe’s project Voco progress, we could potentially dive even deeper into this digital grave that we’re digging. We don’t want to get to the level of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but things could get much worse. 

LOCAL NEWS

​Students Celebrate Lunar New Year

Response to Justin Elicker's Inauguration Speech
Charlotte Wilcox 1/20
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     As I read the first couple of paragraphs our our new mayor's inaugural speech (read it here), I could already tell that Justin Elicker is passionate about New Haven and his job. He first talks about New Haven’s history, so that shows us that he is educated and knows about his town. He talked about how the European settlers took the land from the Quinnipiac. He talked about the Black migration from the south and about Middle Eastern, Arab and Latinx citizens. I think this was good information to add to the speech because most people don't know all about New Haven’s history and how New Haven became what it is.
     Mayor Elicker talks about how he and his wife moved here so that their kids could be born in New Haven. You can tell he likes the city from this because I don't think he would want his kids to live in a bad environment. I think this was a good use of pathos in his speech because it lets the audience know he truly believes in the potential of New Haven if he wanted his own children to be born here. 
     He then goes on to talk about how fast New Haven is growing. He states that by 2050, 89% of New Haven's population is predicted to live in an urban setting. I thought this was interesting because where I live right now is near downtown but not very urban. It is cool to think that in 30 years it could be more city-like. I also thought it was interesting that the city has added nearly 1,000 rental units since 2014. It is crazy to see how fast our city is growing. It is really good that Mayor Elicker is encouraging growth in the city and wants New Haven to continue to have lots of growth.
     Overall, this was a very good speech and I think that Justin Elicker will make a good mayor for New Haven.
     

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Hello, Co-op!  It’s Ms. Capo, and I am here to talk about and answer many of the common questions about the Seal of Biliteracy. This is an amazing opportunity offered to Co-op students starting this spring! 

------------------------  Watch the Seal of Biliteracy video  -----------------------------

What is the Seal of Biliteracy? 
It is a graduation award recognizing that you have achieved a “high level of proficiency in English and one or more foreign languages.”  With the award, you receive a “Seal of Biliteracy” pin to wear on graduation day. It will also be shown on your transcript and there will be a gold “Seal of Biliteracy” on your diploma.   
 
Why should I take the test? Isn’t it long? 

• It shows universities and potential employers that you have the ability to effectively communicate with people from two or more languages and cultures.  
• SCSU and UNH will award you 9 credits on your college transcript, if they teach the language you have the Seal of Biliteracy. 
• Many other colleges & universities nationwide will award credits or special placement into language classes. 

• The Seal recognizes the value of your academic efforts & the many benefits of being bilingual and biliterate. 
• While the test can take 2-4 hours (it doesn’t in all cases) it is worth it for all of the benefits explained above.  So show off those second language skills!!!  Being bilingual is an amazing thing, and you deserve the recognition for it! 

 
How do I earn the Seal of Biliteracy? 

• To prove your English language ability, you must be on-track to pass all of your English classes. 

• To prove your second language ability, you must take a test of your skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  
• The test takes 2-4 hours and will be offered at school.   
• You must be able to communicate on daily, familiar topics, create their own sentences, and read/write at the sentence or paragraph level.    
• The language other than English may be your home language OR a language that you learned in school. And yes, you can test in any language! 

 
How do I know if I am proficient enough in my other language? 
We have developed a checklist for you to fill out and honestly answer.  After looking it over you may decide the test is or isn’t for you.  The information with the checklist is on my desk.  Feel free to stop by and grab one.   
 
Who can take the test this year? 
This year is unique.  Since it is the first year we are offering it to Co-op students, Seniors are allowed to take the test.  The test for Seniors will take place in March.  Juniors will also test this year, later in the Spring.  Starting next year, only juniors will be allowed to test in the spring. 
 
What happens if I fail the test? 
While we will do our best to only recommend you take the test if you are proficient in your other language, I completely understand why this question is asked a lot.  Hopefully the answer will provide some relief and help ease some testing anxiety.  If you are a senior this year, it will be like it never happened.  Nothing will go on your transcript either way - no official record of you not passing will be kept on any official document.  Juniors who fail all parts will not be allowed to retest next year, and the same thing applies - it is like it didn’t happen.  However, juniors who pass at least one section will be allowed to retest in the fall. So go for it!  As your language teachers we are here to support you! 
 
What is the test format? 
This is an excellent question.  Knowing what to expect helps you to prepare and feel more confident the day of the test.  The test is done on the computer.  Students who are interested will have the opportunity to take a demo test so they feel comfortable with the style and testing process.  Part of my role as the coordinator is also helping students understand how they will be tested.  Come see me for more information!  
 
Is it free? 
Yup! 
 
I’m a Senior and I am interested, what do I do? 

• Come see me!  I also have an envelope labeled “Seal of Biliteracy” on my desk.  Please take one of the information sheets inside. 
• Send me a remind  if you don’t have time to see me 
• You can register by going to the link on the information sheet. 

 
I’m a Junior and I am interested, what do I do? 
Please also come see me!  More specific information will be coming to you in February but if you know you are interested come and see me! 
 
I have more questions, how can I reach you? 
If I am not in my office, please feel free to email me: [email protected] 
 
Thanks for reading!  Being bilingual is something to be honored and respected.  I hope if you are eligible to take the test you really consider it!   
 
Here is link to a video made by some NHPS students and faculty about the test: 
https://tinyurl.com/NHPSSOBL ​