Saturday, September 6, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

AI and speech therapy to help police identify voices

Published 14 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

Researchers at Lund University are developing a forensic speech comparison using speech therapy, AI, mathematics and machine learning. The method will help police analyze audio recordings in criminal investigations.

Like fingerprints and DNA, the voice carries unique characteristics that can be linked to individuals. Speech and voice are influenced by several factors, such as the size of the vocal cords, the shape of the oral cavity, language use and breathing. While most people can perceive the gender, age or mood of a speaker, it takes specialist knowledge to objectively analyze the unique patterns of the voice an area in which speech therapists are experts.

The police turned to Lund University for help analyzing audio recordings in an investigation. The request led to the development of forensic speech comparison as a method of evidence gathering.

The police often handle audio recordings where the speaker is known, but also recordings where the purpose is to confirm or exclude a suspect.

– What we do at the moment is to have three assessors, speech therapists, analyze the speech, voice and language in the recordings in order to compare them. We listen for several factors, such as how the person in question produces their voice, articulates, seems to move their tongue and lips, says Susanna Whitling, a speech therapist and researcher at Lund University, in a press release.

Both larger datasets and cutting-edge analysis

The number of requests from the police has increased, making it difficult for analysts to keep up with all the recordings. To handle larger data sets, researchers have developed AI-based methods that can identify relevant audio files, which are then analyzed by experts.

– By combining traditional speech therapy perceptual assessment of speech voice and language with machine learning, we want to make it possible to both scan large amounts of data and offer cutting-edge analysis. Based on the hits that the AI then extracts, experts can make a professional assessment, explains Whitling.

The researchers are also collaborating with Andreas Jakobsson, a professor of mathematical statistics, to develop specialized software. The vision is to have an accurate and reliable speech comparison.

– We speech therapists can do perceptual assessment and examine the probability that two recordings contain the same person’s speech, voice and language. When adding the development of specialized software for so-called acoustic analysis such as voice frequency, intensity and temporal variations, we collaborate with experts in signal processing and machine learning.

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Stop feeding Apple your data

Homebrew is the app store that doesn’t spy on you.

Published today 8:21
– By Naomi Brockwell
5 minute read

If you’re on a Mac, chances are you download apps from Apple’s App Store. Add your Apple ID, and everything is neatly in one place, updated with the click of a button.

But convenience comes at a price. Linking an Apple ID to your computer ties all your activity together and makes profiling you effortless.

In past articles, we’ve shown how much data Apple collects, and explained that Linux is the gold standard for privacy. But if you’re not ready to switch, there are still steps you can take right now to make your Mac more private.

This article focuses on Apple IDs, the App Store, and a powerful alternative called Homebrew. It’s a package manager that gives you the convenience of centralized updates without the surveillance.

Apple ID and the App Store

It may seem impossible to avoid Apple IDs and the App Store. On an iPhone, you’re locked in: You need to add an Apple ID and use the App Store to download any apps. (The EU recently forced Apple to allow sideloading, but that doesn’t apply everywhere.)

On a Mac, things are different. You don’t need the App Store at all. You can download software directly from each developer’s website, which means you never need to attach an Apple ID to your computer. And that’s one of the best privacy moves you can make.

Unfortunately, Apple makes it a little tricky to opt out.

When you buy a new Mac, the store will push you to hand over an Apple ID at checkout. You should tell them you don’t have one.

Then when you first set up your computer, it will prompt you to add an Apple ID, and it’s not immediately clear how to skip past this step. The “Continue” button is grayed out unless you fill in your ID. What you might have missed is in the bottom left corner it says “Set Up Later”. Click that.

But Apple still puts up roadblocks. Gatekeeper, which is a macOS security feature that controls which apps are allowed to run on your Mac, by default only allows apps from the App Store or from developers that Apple has verified. If you want to allow downloads from elsewhere, you first have to turn off Gatekeeper’s strict enforcement using command line, and then go back into your settings and select the option to allow apps from “Anywhere”.

Apple really wants every download to run through them. That way, they can log every install, every update, and build a permanent profile of your habits and interests.

App Store: Convenient, But Costly

Of course, there are perks. The App Store makes managing your apps painless. You can update everything with a single click. If you’ve downloaded apps from a dozen different sites, updating becomes a chore. Each app has to be opened and checked manually.

You can always enable auto-updates, but that means your apps constantly ping servers in the background. For many people, that’s a privacy trade-off not worth making.

In fact, I use the firewall software Little Snitch to block my apps from unnecessarily talking to the internet, which makes auto updates even harder. I have to disable the firewall, check every app one by one, and then remember to re-enable the firewall afterwards. It’s easy to slip up, and Apple knows most people won’t bother with this manual process.

Enter Homebrew

This is where Homebrew comes in handy, by providing the convenience of the App Store without all the tracking.

Homebrew is a package manager for macOS and Linux. A package manager is similar to an app store in many ways. Think of it like a hub: a single place to find, install, and update apps quickly and reliably.

Homebrew is well known and open source, but it looks different from the stores you’re used to. There’s no visual store or GUI: Instead you use the command line in Terminal. You can’t buy anything in the store, the software is free. Some apps have paid upgrade features, but Homebrew itself has no ability to collect payments. You don’t need any account to access it, there’s no hidden tracking, and no ads.

Benefits

There are three main benefits, in my opinion, to using Homebrew over downloading apps directly from random websites.

Convenience

Instead of bouncing between dozens of sites to find, install, and update apps, Homebrew gives you simple commands that do it all in one place. One system, and you can use it without handing over telemetry about everything you’re doing.

Safety

Homebrew can help decrease the risk of installing fake or malicious software. When you download apps manually, there’s always the chance that you spelled the URL wrong or landed on a fake site through a phishing link. Homebrew pulls apps from official, verified sources, and it automatically checks the integrity of every file. Generally open source repos include a checksum of the file on their website, which is a hash of the exact file. The checksum of what you downloaded should be identical to the checksum the app has provided. Homebrew verifies that they match, so you’re not getting a tampered or unsafe version. Their code is watched over by a large community, and they log every change publicly. No system is 100% safe, but Homebrew is highly reputable and widely regarded in the open source community.

Gateway to Linux

Homebrew is also compatible with Linux. If you ever decide to switch operating systems, Homebrew is a great way to make the transition easier, and get comfortable with tools you’ll probably use on Linux too.

Tutorial coming soon

Friday week we’ll release a full video tutorial on how to install and use Homebrew, so keep an eye out.

For now, the takeaway is simple: Homebrew gives you the convenience of centralized updates without the privacy trade-offs. You get easy installs, built-in safety checks, and you never have to tie your Mac to an Apple ID.

If you want the benefits of an app store without the profiling that comes with it, Homebrew is the smarter choice.

 

Yours in Privacy,
Naomi

 

Naomi Brockwell is a privacy advocacy and professional speaker, MC, interviewer, producer, podcaster, specialising in blockchain, cryptocurrency and economics. She runs the NBTV channel on Rumble.

IP addresses are used in Sweden to track unemployed people

Published 1 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The Swedish Public Employment Service has already identified approximately 4,000 people who appear to have logged in from a country other than Sweden.
2 minute read

The Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) has begun tracking the IP addresses of unemployed individuals to verify that they are actually located in Sweden. Approximately 4,000 people who logged in from foreign IP numbers now risk losing their benefits.

To be eligible for unemployment insurance (A-kassa) and other forms of compensation linked to being unemployed, certain requirements must be met. One of these requirements is that individuals must be located in Sweden, in order to be available in case a job opportunity arises.

When job seekers log into the Swedish Public Employment Service’s website, their IP address is now checked. If a person logs in from a foreign IP number, this suggests that they are located in another country.

The Swedish Public Employment Service has been tracking job seekers since the end of June, and the agency has already identified approximately 4,000 people who appear to have logged in from a country other than Sweden.

It’s a way to counteract the risk of incorrect payments. We’re talking about people who are abroad even though they should be in Sweden looking for work or participating in labor market policy programs, says Andreas Malmgren, operations controller at the Swedish Public Employment Service, to the Bonnier publication DN.

None of these individuals have been contacted yet, but the agency plans to make contact during September. These people risk having their benefits withdrawn.

Furthermore, the agency has also established a special tool to check whether job seekers are using VPN services, so that no one ends up among those flagged by mistake.

Wifi signals can identify people with 95 percent accuracy

Mass surveillance

Published 21 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

Italian researchers have developed a technique that can track and identify individuals by analyzing how wifi signals reflect off human bodies. The method works even when people change clothes and can be used for surveillance.

Researchers at La Sapienza University in Rome have developed a new method for identifying and tracking people using wifi signals. The technique, which the researchers call “WhoFi”, can recognize people with an accuracy rate of up to 95 percent, reports Sweclockers.

The method is based on the fact that wifi signals reflect and refract in different ways when they hit human bodies. By analyzing these reflection patterns using machine learning and artificial neural networks, researchers can create unique “fingerprints” for each individual.

Works despite clothing changes

Experiments show that these digital fingerprints are stable enough to identify people even when they change clothes or carry backpacks. The average recognition rate is 88 percent, which researchers say is comparable to other automatic identification methods.

The research results were published in mid-July and describe how the technology could be used in surveillance contexts. According to the researchers, WhoFi can solve the problem of re-identifying people who were first observed via a surveillance camera in one location and then need to be found in footage from cameras in other locations.

Can be used for surveillance

The technology opens up new possibilities in security surveillance, but simultaneously raises questions about privacy and personal security. The fact that wifi networks, which are ubiquitous in today’s society, can be used to track people without their knowledge represents a new dimension of digital surveillance.

The researchers present their discovery as a breakthrough in the field of automatic person identification, but do not address the ethical implications that the technology may have for individuals’ privacy.

Danish students build drone that flies and swims

Published 18 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

Four students at Aalborg University in Denmark have developed a revolutionary drone that seamlessly transitions between air and water. The prototype uses innovative rotor technology that automatically adapts to different environments.

Four students at Aalborg University in Denmark have created something that sounds like science fiction – a drone that can literally fly down into water, swim around and then jump back up into the air to continue flying, reports Tom’s Hardware.

Students Andrei Copaci, Pawel Kowalczyk, Krzysztof Sierocki and Mikolaj Dzwigalo have developed a prototype as their thesis project that demonstrates how future amphibious drones could function. The project has attracted attention from technology media after a demonstration video showed the drone flying over a pool, crashing down into the water, navigating underwater and then taking off into the air again.

Intelligent rotor technology solves the challenge

The secret behind the impressive performance lies in what the team calls a “variable rotor system”. The individual rotor blades can automatically adjust their pitch angle depending on whether the drone is in air or water.

When the drone flies through the air, the rotor blades work at a higher angle for optimal lift capacity. Underwater, the blade pitch is lowered to reduce resistance and improve efficiency during navigation. The system can also reverse thrust to increase maneuverability when the drone moves through tight passages underwater.

Most components in the prototype have been manufactured by the students themselves using 3D printers, since equivalent parts were not available on the market.

Although the project is still in an early concept stage and exists only as a single prototype, it demonstrates the possibilities for future amphibious vehicles. The technology could have applications in everything from rescue operations to environmental monitoring where vehicles need to move both above and below the water surface.

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