Technologies

Look Out AI-Generated Photos, Future Android Phones Could Reveal if You’re Authentic

Qualcomm is introducing photo authenticity software in new chips that will power upcoming Android phones.

As concern grows that images on the internet have been wildly manipulated by AI, chipmaker Qualcomm is doubling down on authenticity. The company wants to prove that the images taken on your phone look the same as when you clicked the shutter button.

At Snapdragon Summit 2025, Qualcomm debuted its new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a powerful chip that will be featured in next year’s top Android phones. Among its improvements is a digital content authentication standard called C2PA, which digitally watermarks photos and video footage to show how much AI, if any, was used in the final product.

In a world of deepfakes, digital content companies may increasingly adopt the open C2PA technical standard to prove veracity.

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«As generative AI grows, and as the need in social media grows to have photographs be understood and be authentic, I think [phonemaker support for C2PA] will grow,» said Judd Heape, vice president of product management at Qualcomm.

Qualcomm has teamed up with Truepic, a San Diego-based company that develops digital image verification software, to integrate its C2PA solution into Snapdragon mobile chips. The chipmaker is now streamlining the process, allowing phonemakers to sign up for Qualcomm’s software package to secure this functionality in their devices.

The caveat is that companies still have to choose to integrate the authenticity software into their devices. Once they do, users will have their photos digitally watermarked to the C2PA standard by default.

Whether this streamlining will be enough for the authentication to show up on more phones remains to be seen. At least one device manufacturer is moving toward integrating C2PA, Heape said, but declined to identify which.

«I can’t say who, but yes, there are [manufacturers] who are working with us and also working on their own to integrate C2PA,» Heape said.

Read more: Future Android Phones Will Have a Surprising Way to Prove Your Video Isn’t AI

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 16, #889

Here are some hints — and the answers — for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 16, #889.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a fun one. As a pop-culture junkie and game lover, I enjoyed the purple category. If you need help sorting the answers into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Different strokes for different folks.

Green group hint: Ho-hum.

Blue group hint: Flags often qualify.

Purple group hint: Do not pass Go.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Technique.

Green group: Run-of-the-mill.

Blue group: Stripy things.

Purple group: Words on Monopoly squares.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is technique. The four answers are approach, method, philosophy and school.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is run-of-the-mill. The four answers are banal, everday, humdrum and pedestrian.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is stripy things.The four answers are barcode, IBM logo, rugby shirt and zebra.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is words on Monopoly squares. The four answers are avenue, parking, railroad and tax.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 16 #623

Here are hints — and answers — for the NYT Strands puzzle for Nov. 16, No. 623.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is tough. It’s a weird theme, and some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Around it goes.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: They’re often on a roll.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CARE, SCARE, CRASS, SWAT, PELL, HELL, SCAR, HALT, STENT, HALTS, TENT, POLL, LOTS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

FOIL, SCARF, SHAWL, STOLE, FLATBREAD, CELLOPHANE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is THATSAWRAP. To find it, start with the T that’s three letters up from the bottom of the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.