Wi-Fi Routers can now track Humans

 

Smile and wave at the camera.

The world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) brings new ways of merging technologies in ways we never thought possible.

Is nothing truly safe anymore? With this discovery, potentially anyone with an adequately trained AI could look inside your home. If this nefarious character had access to your Wi-Fi router, you could be spied on within the confines (and privacy) of your own home.

In recent years, the field of artificial intelligence has witnessed remarkable advancements, with researchers exploring innovative ways to utilize existing technology in groundbreaking applications. One such intriguing concept is the use of WiFi routers as virtual cameras to map homes and detect the presence and locations of individuals, akin to an MRI machine. This revolutionary technology harnesses the power of AI algorithms and WiFi signals to create a unique, non-intrusive way of monitoring human presence within indoor spaces. In this article, we will delve into the workings of this technology, its potential capabilities, and the implications it may have on the future of smart homes and security.

The Foundation of WiFi Imaging: WiFi imaging, also known as radio frequency (RF) sensing, revolves around leveraging the signals emitted by WiFi routers. These signals interact with the surrounding environment, reflecting off objects and people within their range. AI algorithms then process the alterations in these signals to form an image of the indoor space, thus providing a representation of the occupants and their movements. Unlike traditional cameras, WiFi imaging is capable of penetrating walls and obstructions, making it particularly valuable for monitoring people without compromising their privacy.

AI Algorithms in WiFi Imaging: The heart of this technology lies in the powerful AI algorithms that interpret the fluctuations in WiFi signals and translate them into meaningful data. Machine learning techniques, such as neural networks, play a pivotal role in recognizing patterns, identifying individuals, and discerning between static objects and moving entities. As the AI model continuously learns from the WiFi data, it enhances its accuracy and adaptability, making it more proficient in detecting and tracking people over time.

Mapping a Home in Real-Time: When deployed in a home, a network of WiFi routers collaborates to create a dynamic map of the indoor space. The routers work in tandem to ensure comprehensive coverage, reducing blind spots and optimizing signal reception. As individuals move around, the AI system updates the map in real time, generating a detailed representation of their locations within the home. This continuous monitoring provides valuable insights for various applications, from optimizing energy consumption to enhancing security measures.

Potential Applications of WiFi Imaging: The potential applications of WiFi imaging are vast and diverse, extending beyond the realms of traditional surveillance. Some of the most promising applications include:

Elderly Care and Safety: WiFi imaging can aid in monitoring the movement patterns of the elderly, detecting falls, and ensuring their safety without the need for invasive cameras or wearable devices.

Intrusion Detection: Smart homes equipped with WiFi imaging can detect unauthorized entries and suspicious movements, alerting homeowners or security services instantly.

Home Automation: WiFi imaging can enhance the automation of smart homes by adjusting lighting, heating, and cooling systems based on the occupants’ presence and preferences.

Healthcare and Well-being: The technology may find use in healthcare settings, providing insights into patient mobility and aiding in remote patient monitoring.

Privacy and Ethical Considerations: As with any emerging technology, WiFi imaging raises privacy and ethical concerns. Although the system does not capture visual images, it still involves tracking people within their homes, raising questions about consent, data security, and potential misuse of the gathered information. To address these concerns, robust data protection measures and transparent policies must be implemented to ensure user privacy remains a top priority.

Every Wi-Fi router now has the ability to function as a dynamic camera finely tuned to seek out living beings.

What does it look like to align technology with humanity’s best interests? Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin discuss how existing A.I. capabilities already pose catastrophic risks to a functional society, how A.I. companies are caught in a race to deploy as quickly as possible without adequate safety measures, and what it would mean to upgrade our institutions to a post-A.I. world. Learn more about Tristan and Aza's work and listen to their podcast, Your Undivided Attention, at humanetech.com/podcast.

This talk was recorded at Summit At Sea in May 2023.

From the video:

“So while it is not yet the case that you can ask an AI to hack a Wi-Fi router you can see in the double exponential whether it’s one year or two years or five years at some soon point it becomes easy to turn all of the physical Hardware that’s already out there into kind of the ultimate surveillance.”

Link to the full video where Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin discuss The AI Dilemma

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB0_-qKbal4&t=1180s

Conclusion: WiFi routers transformed into virtual cameras using AI algorithms present a cutting-edge solution for indoor monitoring. By harnessing the power of WiFi signals, this technology enables real-time mapping of homes and the detection of individuals’ presence and movements. While the potential applications are promising, it is crucial to navigate privacy and ethical considerations to strike a balance between innovation and safeguarding individual rights. As this technology continues to evolve, it may herald a new era of smart homes and advanced indoor tracking systems, transforming the way we interact with our living spaces.

What Are Chestnuts (Castanea sativa)?

Pitomi kesten (Castanea sativa Mill.) važna je, široko rasprostranjena, višestruko korisna vrsta drveća u mediteranskom području, od koje se koriste drvo, plodovi, med i tanin. Rak kestenove kore, uzrokovan introducirnom gljivom Cryphonectria parasitica, ugrožava opstanak sastojina pitomog kestena. Glavni cilj ovoga projekta je utvrditi:

(1) neutralnu i adaptivnu raznolikost u prirodnim populacijama pitomog kestena u Hrvatskoj iz okolišno različitih staništa;
(2) povezanost genetičke strukture, morfološke raznolikosti, kemijske raznolikosti i okolišnih razlika (klimatskih i pedoloških) u prirodnim populacijama i kultivarima pitomog kestena;
(3) kvalitetu sjemena i zahtjeve za klijanje sjemena pitomog kestena;
(4) genetičku osnovu raznolikosti za adaptivna svojstva na sadnicama uzgojenima u stakleniku i u recipročno-transpantacijskim pokusima;
(5) epigenetičke odgovore na sušni stres;
(6) tolerantnost selekcioniranih genotipova na patogene;
(7) otpornost na patogene sadnica uzgojenih u rasadniku;
(8) povezanost između populacijsko-genetičkog pristupa i pokusa u stakleniku kao i recipročno-transplantacijskih pokusa;
(9) nastavak dugoročnog praćenja populacija C. parasitica;
(10) neutralnu i adaptivnu raznolikost hrvatskih kultivara pitomog kestena;
(11) razlike između hrvatskih kultivara pitomog kestena u morfologiji listova i plodova te kemijskom sastavu plodova;
(12) razgraničenje sjemenskih zona i izrada smjernica za prijenos sjemena za hrvatske populacije pitomog kestena.

Osim doprinosa osnovnim znanstvenim spoznajama o biologiji i ekološkim odnosima pitomog kestena, rezultati ovoga projekta doprinijet će održivom gospodarenju sastojinama pitomog kestena u Hrvatskoj. Rezultati će direktno doprinijeti zaštiti geografskog porijekla maruna, autohtonih hrvatskih kultivara pitomog kestena. Također će biti selekcionirani genotipovi tolerantni na sušni stres kao i oni s većom tolerancijom na biotski stres, odnosno infekciju gljivom Cryphonectria parasitica.

https://youtu.be/5xbyThtOcLM?si=ylt8WIBPfvF0FNTk

What Are Chestnuts (Castanea sativa)? Chestnuts are the edible fruit of a deciduous tree that grows throughout the world. They can be eaten raw or cooked, with a mild flavor that makes them versatile for both sweet and savory dishes. We want to know where there are healthy and unhealthy sweet chestnuts across Croatia to understand how far sweet chestnut blight and oriental chestnut gall wasps have spread since they were first reported. The information you provide will help us to produce an up-to-date map of healthy and unhealthy sweet chestnut trees and tell us whether our actions to control the spread of blight and gall wasps are working. Chestnuts vs. Water Chestnuts Some people wonder about the difference between chestnuts and water chestnuts, and they are completely different things. Unlike sweet chestnuts, which are the fruit of a tree, water chestnuts are part of the root structure of a grass-like plant, Eleocharis dulcis, that grows underwater in marshes. They're edible and popular in Chinese cuisine but can't be substituted for sweet chestnuts. Chestnuts vs. Horse Chestnuts There's also frequent confusion about the difference between sweet chestnuts and horse chestnuts. Horse chestnuts are the fruit of a different tree, Aesculus hippocastanum, sometimes called the horse chestnut or buckeye tree. These nuts are toxic. This isn't an issue if you purchase your chestnuts since horse chestnuts aren't cultivated or sold as food. But if you're foraging, note that horse chestnut husks are shiny and spiny, whereas sweet chestnuts grow in a husk that is covered in what looks like grassy, spiky hair or fur. Long-term prospects Sweet chestnut is native to southern Europe, western Asia, and North Africa. The first written records of them growing in Croatia date to the 12th century, and they have long been naturalized here. Today they can be found commonly throughout Croatia as urban trees, in parks, and in woodland.  Zeljko Serdar, CCRES