The world is an extraordinarily complex place. I feel like we’ve only just come to terms with the concept of images being photoshopped, and now AI deepfake voices and videos are making it difficult to trust anything. It’s important to listen to that voice inside your head as one Ferrari exec did, as the company likely avoided a costly and embarrassing mistake by outsmarting the crooks in a deliciously ironic way.
Akio Toyoda can’t blame AI for the loss of confidence in his company. No, friends, this is a classic case of a company doing too much too fast. Japanese car companies as a group are, generally, in a weird spot, which is why it’s rumored that Mitsubishi is going to join the Honda/Nissan software alliance.
And, finally, let’s end this episode of The Morning Dump with a bit of news about the upcoming Cadillac Celestiq.
How A Book Beat An AI Deepfake
The scene painted by this Bloomberg article is quite concerning. An unnamed executive at Ferrari gets a bunch of WhatsApp messages from CEO Benedetto Vigna saying a big deal is coming and utmost secrecy is required.
It’s a little dicey, involves a lot of money, and must be kept secretive for the moment, according to the report. Vigna is using a different number because he doesn’t want anyone to know. The exec should expect an NDA to sign ASAP.
Obviously, no one would want an exec to send a bunch of money because of an email and a WhatsApp message in the Year of our Logano 2024, but then a phone call followed from Vigna:
The voice impersonating Vigna was convincing — a spot-on imitation of the southern Italian accent.
The Vigna deepfaker began explaining that he was calling from a different mobile phone number because he needed to discuss something confidential — a deal that could face some China-related snags and required an unspecified currency-hedge transaction to be carried out.
The executive was shocked and started to have suspicions, according to the people. He began to pick up on the slightest of mechanical intonations that only deepened his suspicious.
“Sorry, Benedetto, but I need to identify you,” the executive said. He posed a question: What was the title of the book Vigna had just recommended to him a few days earlier
I gotta say, this simple article has precipitated a flurry of thoughts in my brain.
First of all, great reporting by Bloomberg. Second, there are plenty of apps that exist to make a voice AI bot in about 11 minutes, and there’s a lot of public audio from a CEO to make this work.
Third, the world is an exceedingly complex place full of digital bad actors. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen CDK Global hand over potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to hackers. Hell, even applying to a job at a parts store five years ago is risky!
Fourth, great work by the exec here to have the presence of mind to combat all of this.
Fifth, and finally, the irony of how this all was resolved is almost too perfect. Not only was an AI social engineering/deepfake attack repelled by a book, the book itself is so on-the-nose you’d think they’re making it up: Decalogue of Complexity: Acting, Learning, and Adapting in the Incessant Becoming of the World
Here’s the (translated) description:
Why does complexity always increase? What is the dilemma of complexity? What does it mean to dance with complex systems? What are the implications of the law of necessary variety? What is the connection between paradox and metamorphosis? These are some of the questions that this Decalogue seeks to answer. In the sea magnum of existing literature on complexity, ten topics treated in a synthetic manner can represent for the novice reader an opportunity to discover a fascinating theme and for the expert reader an opportunity to reread, with a different thread, key themes of the subject.
The book seems to specifically be about systems complexity as it relates to business, and, here, we see an example of how complexity (in terms of communications and business structure) almost contributed to a serious loss of capital. Wild stuff.
Akio Toyoda: ‘I Can’t Be A Director Next Year’ If I Keep Losing Support This Fast
Former CEO and current Toyoda Chairman Akio Toyoda withstood an attempt to remove him as a director over all the issues Toyota has had with certification and its self-admitted exhausting work culture.
Now, per Reuters, we’re hearing from Toyoda himself that if he can’t turn it around he might be out next year:
Last month’s result marked the lowest support rating ever for a director in Toyota’s history, the 68-year-old grandson of the company’s founder said in an interview by the automaker’s own news outlet.
“If it continues at this pace, I can’t be a director next year,” Toyoda said.
His support rating among foreign institutional investors was particularly weak at 34%. Ahead of the meeting, proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis both took issue with the way Toyota has dealt with certification testing violations.
I think, given how this came out, one shouldn’t rush to the conclusion that Toyoda is toast. It’s hard to imagine investors tossing Toyoda after making them so much money and because of his family, but it’s a sign that Toyoda is at least is pretending to take what’s happened seriously.
Mitsubishi-Nissan-Honda?
Japanese automakers are, to varying degrees, enjoying a lot of success right now as the companies have generally taken a more cautious approach to electrification/automated driving/software.
This works for now but what of the future? The Rivian/VW deal is proof that software/automated driving is super hard and having every company try to do a version themselves is awfully expensive.
It’s therefore not a huge shock to hear that Mitsubishi, which was wedded to Nissan a few years ago, might be joining the previously announced Honda/Nissan tie-up.
This comes via Nikkei, which first reported the news:
Mitsubishi will work with Honda and Nissan to finalize specific details of the alliance. The three companies intend to standardize the in-vehicle software that controls the vehicle. Nissan and Honda are expected to jointly develop the basic software, and will discuss its use in Mitsubishi vehicles.
It would be utter lunacy for Mitsubishi to try and do this on its own.
Every Celestiq You See Is Going To Be Special
With all the problems GM’s current generation Ultium EV platform caused on rollout, I assumed the fancy $340,000 Cadillac Celestiq was a vehicle we wouldn’t see anytime soon.
Our pal Mark Phelan over at the Detroit Free Press went to Cadillac’s new Cadillac House at Vanderbilt in Michigan to get a tour of where fancy people get to design their fancy cars to fit their fancy standards:
Every Celestiq owner will sit down with GM designers to select their car’s interior materials and appearance. A selection of fabrics, leathers, woods and more hides behind wooden panels in the open-air space of Cadillac House, a former cafeteria that was restored and expanded to create areas for client consultations, viewings and design work.
Many luxury automakers have this service, though it’s not as common for American luxury brands. Also, enjoy this little bit about how the center got its name:
The building’s name honors Suzanne Vanderbilt, who became one of the auto industry’s first full-fledged designers when GM hired her from The Pratt Institute in 1955. She was one of a group dubbed the “Damsels of Design” for publicity purposes. Ever wonder how long it takes an idea to evolve from innovative to patronizing? Now you know. Vanderbilt was initially pigeonholed into giving cars a “feminine touch,” but persevered at GM into the 1970s, working on a number of concept and production cars, including some Cadillacs.
Henry Payne would never…
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, aka aka Bando Stone, has a new one out, so please enjoy “Lithonia” and all it portends for his future. Especially the horror movie twist at the end. Also, side note, I just learned that “This is America” started out as a Drake diss track, which makes me like it even more (TH and I as a Torontonian and a Houstonian, respectively, have earned our enmity towards Drake the hard way).
The Big Question
What one question could someone ask you that would indicate that you are/are not an AI deepfake?
Hate the Drake.
Question to fool an A.I. me? “Hey, Myk, what’s a close encounter of the 5th kind?” And no, I will not explain it.
“What one question could someone ask you that would indicate that you are/are not an AI deepfake?”
The question would vary depending on who I’m talking to.
Though a misleading question like “what colour is your pickup truck?” or “What is the name of your dog?” would work.
Because anyone that knows me knows I don’t have a pickup truck nor do I have a dog.
I just have to ask if your wife left you too? /s
Since that’s the epitome of a country song “My wife left me, my dog ran away and my pickup broke down” (or don’t have one in your case)
“I just have to ask if your wife left you too? /s”
I’m divorced… LOL
So yeah… I resemble that song!
But I still have my cat!
Nice!
I grew up before the internet therefore there is a portion of my life that is not documented. I just wish I remembered it.
I know it’s an AI because they called.
“I need to verify your identity…. is it espresso or expresso?”
My BIL has ordered espresso in two different coffee shops, one in the US, one in Europe, using both pronunciations and was corrected by the staff each time.
Now if you were Plymouth…
“ Japanese automakers are, to varying degrees, enjoying a lot of success right now as the companies have generally taken a more cautious approach to electrification/automated driving/software.”
I think this statement needs some proof. GM, who has most certainly not “taken a more cautious approach to electrification/automated driving/software” than Toyota… had a pretty good quarter. Tesla’s problems having nothing to do with “a more cautious approach to electrification/automated driving/software” and everything to do with a toxic CEO and stale product lineup.
I’d invite the AI to play a game of Tic-Tac-Toe then after a few matches set the number of players to ZER0.
“Wallet inspector.”
“Here you are my fine gentlemen. I think you will find everything is in order.”
“Huhh… I can’t believe that worked.”
What one question could someone ask you that would indicate that you are/are not an AI deepfake? “Can you please identify all the squares with a traffic light?”
Can you identify all the shitboxes on this website?
ME ME ME!
Wait, you meant cars??
This week’s Shitbox Show down choose between which user is the shittiest.
I need an ego boost, so it’s on. I can win this easily.
I said shitbox, not shitpost. I already won shitpost. Back off.
LOL! Ego boosted.
Cue me screaming in rage after the 17th iteration of this game, just so I can google a fucking potato salad recipe.
“Your password is not strong enough. Try adding some unique non-alphanumeric characters, but not the yellow ones.”
“ What one question could someone ask you that would indicate that you are/are not an AI deepfake?”
Nice try.
I’m not gonna answer that.
That’s fair, I just want to know the name of your childhood pet, first boyfriend/girlfriend and your high school mascot. K thx.
You forgot mother’s maiden name, favorite color and childhood best friend
Wilson, Chartreuse, Bobby McMillain
Wait…oh damn, you got me!
“What type of vehicle ran over me, and how many times?”
That would stump human grifters, too.
Horse?
A jetski, 5 times, 2 of them on land.
That’s too many times. Was this a Stephen King situation with the jetski hunting you?
‘What did you name your latest car?’ would work as I haven’t named any of my cars in a couple decades
I think the correct way to verify me is to ask me about any anecdote I’ve ever told. If I stay on topic, be very suspicious. Also, if I’m unsurprised that you would ask about some anecdote, be very suspicious.
Greetings, fellow story teller!
And if I’m not constantly interrupting your anecdote with asinine comments, BE WARY.
Your question does not compute.
I had no idea DG could sing so well. Awesome! That guy is a Performance Polymath.
Thanks Matt!
Your comment got me thinking, I wonder what DT’s singing voice sounds like. What if he is secretly a world class opera singer?
What if he’s openly a world-class opera singer and we’re all too uncultured to recognize him?
I fully expect to never see a Celestiq, and it would indeed be very special. Does everyone who orders one really have to got to Michigan just to select the options? I understand it is a fancy bespoke thing, but cant you do that in Miami or LA where you buy one of these?
Nah. You can stay in your Palm Beach chalet while one of your people gets the dubious honor of spending time in a former cafeteria turned cubicle farm in Detroit.
It’s really great that all this capital and man-hours was spent to make fraud more effective re: deepfakes and generative AI.
Don’t forget the vast amount of electricity and fuel consumed to process the AI and deepfakes!
/R (Rant Mode On)
Don’t forget Crypto! I’m hearing the USA is going to mint a million new Bitcoins. All we need to do is drill, baby, drill. We’re going to extract every single calorie of energy from the ground and burn that shit into big money with processors forged right here behind the biggest, prettiest, most massive, fabulous wall you’ve ever seen, safe from the dark skinned pedophilic rapists and murderers hellbent on destroying the very place they are endeavoring to live. Then we can sell all that Bitcoin and buy even more calories from around the globe to run the air conditioners we’ll need because, climate variation is just cowinkydinking right in step with burning those calories.
Windmills Kill!
/r
I’m struggling to find a “good” use case for all this that outweighs the bad.
Crypto’s great. You can buy drugs with it, extort companies for data ransom, grift suckers with ICOs, buy old coal plants and make money polluting, bypass sanctions on North Korea.. all kinds of uses!
“Did Lamborghini build the Viper engine, or did it come from a truck?”
Actually its redesign on a classic Lambo Tractor Engine!!!
😀
Answering your question would invalidate the answer as an authenticator.
There’s plenty of things that most people like that I strongly dislike. All anyone who knows me would have to do is ask if I want to get pizza later, and if I don’t say “eww no thanks” it’s not me!
This is possibly the single largest red flag for any phone call/email. While yes, scammers can spoof phone numbers and email addresses, if I get a call outside of my contacts, it goes to voicemail. The only exception being a number that looks familiar and that I’m expecting. Otherwise, I will. not. answer. Scammers collect info from robot calls constantly, seeing who picks up and answers, and if you do, the frequency will only pick up.
Remember, if you get a call from a known person from a number different from theirs, immediately follow up with a call to their known number, regardless of the “top secret currency hedging deals importance”. This is how you/your company gets scammed, and how you end up broke or unemployed.
Actual identifying question: Have you finally fixed *recently identified vehicle issue* on *recent bad financial decision*. The cycle is continuous, unpredictable, and often discussed in person. What that combo is varies often enough and is seldom posted publicly online that it’s more secure than it probably should be.
Yeah I am the same way I never answer calls even if it says it is from work, insurance, Dr, bank and so on. My fiance will complain at me for not picking up but I have gotten those spoof emails and calls before, shit I regularly get one for “Your Xfinity has been cancelled” that some how always gets through spam filters and almost clicked on the link before because of how legit the email looked but then went to the Xfinity sight to login and account was fine and bills were being paid. Looked at the email and yup from some goofy ass fake email. So yeah every thing to voicemail and I almost always go to the websites myself and rarely click links in emails anymore.
Yeah, basically all companies have standard rules in place like this. I got several emails purporting to be from our CEO, but with really obvious spoofed URLs, report spam, straight into trash, call to her actual cell phone to advise on what was happening so a warning could be sent to the rest of the company. Happened last summer and hasn’t recurred that I know of
I love the fake ones that your own IT sends to report to phishing that are like here is a free gift card for xyz from your company. And you just get a happy reply email if you report it correctly or if you don’t report it and click on it you get sent to training. So fun.
I like the fake ones that are specifically set up to NOT be a phishing test, click “report”, and get a dialogue box pop up saying that this was a test intended to resemble an unsolicited marketing email, but should not be treated as a phishing attempt.
Like, what am I supposed to do with that? Do you want me to be reporting these things or not?
Then they have the gall to send a follow up email to “take a survey on your satisfaction to their response ” No! you started this!
I report the follow-up survey emails from IT as phishing attempts…they asked me not to in a follow-up email that I also reported as phish. The best part is they all come back as having “suspicious or malicious elements”…
I have thankfully not encountered that before, but at a previous employer, IT did the usual Phishing training, but nearly all of us being under-30 aged engineers just wanted to see what it would say, so half my department clicked on it for fun. IT was not amused.
The worst is when your company sends out a legitimate email that still looks like a phishing attempt. “Click here (link to random domain unassociated with the company) to take the 2024 associate survey!”
When I was in college we had a school-wide email sent out from some department that asked everyone to click a link and enter personal data. I was working at the help desk at the time and it caused a pretty nice shitstorm in the IT department. We already spent most of our time cleaning spyware off people’s machines because they clicked on emails like that.
Then there was the suspicious phishing email from something called Facebook. Wanted you to give them all your personal details in perpetuity. Can’t believe anyone fell for that one. 😉
If I don’t know who called and it might be from a valid person, I pick up and say nothing. If a valid call they will eventually initiate conversation by saying my name. If not, they hang up and receive nothing. For calls that I don’t even pick up and go to voicemail, my VM message informs them that even after I know there is a VM, it could be days before I actually listen to it, so, don’t even bother to leave one. Obviously I don’t get many VMs. Hmm, I wonder if I have checked recently? Ah, who cares.
Regarding the fake executive, hats off to the real one for recognizing that something was stinky.
As the old journalist’s proverb says, “If your mother says she loves you, get independent confirmation”.
That question seems like you want me to create and answer one of those goofy security questions you get when you make an account and it is needed for password recovery. So I see what you are doing and you won’t get me to answer what is my favorite color is in definitely not the color of my car. I would really hope my recovery question isn’t just what my favorite color is though haha
As long as the answer to that security question is “cheese” or “Watkins Glen”, it’s probably safe from an AI infiltration.
Haha my favorite color banana. Favorite food? Red. First concert NHRA drag race. Just give a bunch of nonsense haha
Exactly. No one said the answers to those questions need to be the truth or make any sense! Just be sure to remember what your answer was yourself…
Hah yeah which I never remember. I have gotten so lazy especially when applying places they always require an account I just let Google auto generate passwords now. Now if my Google gets hacked sure I am SOL anyways but I just make sure that has 2 step and a decent password so it isn’t easy to have vs the person that just sets their password to pizza and doesn’t have any verification turned on.
The Big Question: how many times has your head been on fire?
The Big Answer: more than once, but less than six. I’m keeping the actual answer secret, in case I need it.
yeah, but…this requires remembering when you set the question and answer. Depending on the interval, the number will presumably rise.
Jeez, I hope not!
So it was on fire 2, 3, 4 or 5 times.
So anyone who guesses has a 25% chance of being right!
Unless it was a trick question and the actual answer is “I lied. My head has never been on fire”