RoWSFormer: A Robust Watermarking Framework with Swin Transformer…

RoWSFormer: A Robust Watermarking Framework with Swin Transformer…

In recent years, digital watermarking techniques based on deep learning have been widely studied. To achieve both imperceptibility and robustness of image watermarks, most current methods employ…

In the rapidly evolving field of digital watermarking, researchers have turned to deep learning techniques to enhance the imperceptibility and robustness of image watermarks. With the aim of striking a delicate balance between hiding watermarks within images and ensuring their durability against various attacks, current methods have been extensively explored. This article delves into the latest advancements in digital watermarking, shedding light on the innovative approaches that leverage deep learning to achieve optimal results. By examining the intersection of imperceptibility and robustness, this research holds significant implications for industries reliant on secure and tamper-proof digital content.

In recent years, digital watermarking techniques based on deep learning have been widely studied. Traditional approaches for image watermarking typically focus on achieving imperceptibility and robustness. However, these methods often fall short in terms of adaptability and efficiency. In this article, we propose a new approach to digital watermarking that addresses these limitations and brings about innovative solutions.

The Significance of Imperceptibility

Imperceptibility is crucial in digital watermarking as it ensures that the original image remains visually intact. Traditional methods rely on manipulating certain pixel values to embed the watermark, which often results in noticeable distortions. Our proposed approach takes advantage of deep learning algorithms to ensure a seamless integration of the watermark without compromising the visual quality of the image.

Innovative Deep Learning Techniques

Deep learning neural networks have revolutionized various domains, including computer vision. By leveraging the power of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and generative adversarial networks (GANs), we can achieve remarkable imperceptibility in digital watermarking. These techniques allow us to embed watermarks by modifying specific hidden layers within the neural network, ensuring minimal disruption to the visible image.

Moreover, the use of GANs enables us to enhance the robustness of the watermark. GANs generate a synthetic, slightly distorted version of the original image, which acts as a reference for detecting any unauthorized modifications. By comparing the generated image with the watermarked image, we can determine if any tampering has occurred, providing an added layer of security.

Adaptability and Efficiency: The Missing Puzzle Pieces

Current digital watermarking methods often struggle with adaptability, meaning they are limited to specific types of images or formats. Our proposed approach overcomes this limitation by utilizing a flexible architecture that can handle various image types, resolutions, and formats. This adaptability allows us to apply our watermarking technique to diverse content, such as photographs, paintings, and illustrations, without compromising the overall quality.

Efficiency is another area where traditional methods fall short. Embedding watermarks using pixel manipulation techniques can be time-consuming, especially for large-scale applications. Our approach addresses this issue through parallel processing using Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). The use of GPUs significantly speeds up the watermark embedding process, making it more viable for real-time applications and large datasets.

Incorporating Blockchain for Enhanced Security

While imperceptibility and robustness are crucial, we acknowledge the importance of data integrity in digital watermarking. To enhance the security of our proposed approach, we suggest incorporating blockchain technology, which provides a decentralized and immutable ledger. By storing information about the watermark within a blockchain network, we can ensure that the authenticity and integrity of the watermark remain intact, even in the face of potential attacks or data manipulations.

Conclusion

By reimagining digital watermarking techniques based on deep learning, we have uncovered new possibilities for imperceptibility, adaptability, and efficiency. Our proposed approach leverages deep learning algorithms, such as CNNs and GANs, to achieve seamless watermark integration while maintaining the visual quality of the original image. Additionally, the incorporation of blockchain technology ensures data integrity and adds an extra layer of security.

As technology continues to advance, it is necessary to explore innovative solutions that push the boundaries of existing methodologies. With our proposed approach, we have taken a step towards revolutionizing digital watermarking, opening doors for applications in various fields, including copyright protection, content authentication, and digital forensics.

advanced deep learning architectures such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and generative adversarial networks (GANs). These techniques have shown great potential in addressing the challenges posed by traditional watermarking methods, which often struggle to maintain both imperceptibility (the watermark should not be visually noticeable) and robustness (the watermark should be resistant to various attacks).

One of the key advantages of using deep learning for digital watermarking is its ability to learn intricate patterns and features from large amounts of data. CNNs, for example, are well-suited for image watermarking as they can automatically extract relevant features from images, allowing for more effective hiding and detection of watermarks. This enables the development of more sophisticated and secure watermarking techniques.

Moreover, GANs have emerged as a powerful tool for watermarking due to their ability to generate realistic and high-quality image content. By training a GAN on a large dataset of watermarked and non-watermarked images, it can learn to generate visually appealing watermarked images that are difficult to distinguish from the original, non-watermarked ones. This helps to achieve imperceptibility, ensuring that the presence of a watermark does not significantly degrade the visual quality of the image.

In terms of robustness, deep learning-based watermarking methods also offer advantages. The use of complex architectures allows for the embedding of watermarks in a manner that is more resistant to common attacks, such as image compression, cropping, and noise addition. Deep learning models can learn to adapt to these attacks and still accurately detect and extract the watermark, ensuring robustness even in the face of malicious attempts to remove or alter the watermark.

Looking ahead, it is likely that research in this field will continue to focus on improving the imperceptibility and robustness of digital watermarking techniques. This could involve exploring novel deep learning architectures, optimizing the training process, or investigating new loss functions that better balance imperceptibility and robustness requirements.

Additionally, as deep learning methods become more advanced, there may be a shift towards exploring multi-modal watermarking, where watermarks are embedded not only in images but also in other types of media such as videos, audio, or 3D models. This would present new challenges and opportunities for researchers to develop innovative techniques that can effectively protect various forms of digital content.

Overall, the integration of deep learning techniques into digital watermarking has significantly advanced the field, providing more effective and secure methods for protecting intellectual property and verifying the authenticity of digital content. Continued research and development in this area hold great promise for the future of digital watermarking.
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“The Importance of Reasonable Doubt: Lessons from a Jury Trial”

“The Importance of Reasonable Doubt: Lessons from a Jury Trial”

The Importance of Reasonable Doubt: Lessons from a Jury Trial

As society continues to evolve and technology becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, it is only natural that future trends will emerge in various industries. In this article, we will explore the potential future trends related to the themes of reasonabledoubt and conflicting testimony. We will also offer our own unique predictions and recommendations for the industry.

Reasonable Doubt: A Digital Age Perspective

The concept of reasonable doubt is a fundamental principle in the legal system, but how will it be affected in the digital age? As technology advances, the definition of reasonable doubt may need to be reevaluated. With the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, we may see a shift towards a more data-driven approach to determine reasonable doubt.

Imagine a scenario where a defendant’s alibi can be verified through smartphone location data, social media posts, and surveillance footage. This evidence can provide concrete proof of the defendant’s whereabouts, reducing the room for doubt. However, this raises concerns about privacy and the potential for abuse of personal data. It will be crucial for lawmakers and the legal system to strike a balance between utilizing technology and protecting individual rights.

Predictions for Reasonable Doubt in the Digital Age

  • We may see the development of standardized guidelines and protocols for utilizing digital evidence in court to determine reasonable doubt.
  • Experts in data analytics and digital forensics will become increasingly valuable in legal proceedings.
  • New legislation and regulations will be introduced to address the ethical and privacy concerns associated with digital evidence.

Recommendations for the Legal Industry

As the legal industry adapts to the digital age, it is essential for legal professionals to stay updated on emerging technologies and their implications for the concept of reasonable doubt. Here are a few recommendations:

  1. Continuously educate oneself on the latest advancements in technology and their potential impact on legal proceedings.
  2. Collaborate with experts in data analytics and digital forensics to effectively utilize digital evidence.
  3. Advocate for responsible data practices and ensure the protection of individual rights in the face of increasing technological capabilities.

Weighing Conflicting Testimony: The Human Radar

The second element of the judge’s instructions emphasizes the importance of relying on our “human radar” to determine truth in conflicting testimony. This reliance on intuition and judgment is a core aspect of our decision-making process in both legal proceedings and everyday life. However, in the future, the human radar may face new challenges and opportunities.

Advancements in technology, such as deepfake technology, have the potential to manipulate audio and video evidence to create deceptive and convincing content. This poses a significant threat to the accuracy of our human radar and the credibility of testimony. Additionally, the increasing availability of big data and machine learning algorithms may enhance our ability to detect patterns and uncover hidden truths in conflicting testimony.

Predictions for Weighing Conflicting Testimony

  • We may witness a rise in the use of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and natural language processing, to analyze and compare testimonies.
  • New methods of authentication, such as blockchain technology, may be adopted to ensure the integrity of audio and video evidence.
  • Training programs for legal professionals and jurors may incorporate elements of technology and cognitive psychology to enhance decision-making skills.

Recommendations for the Legal Industry

In the face of evolving technologies and the challenges they present in weighing conflicting testimony, the legal industry must adapt and prepare for the future. Here are a few recommendations:

  1. Invest in research and development to explore innovative technologies that can aid in the analysis and authentication of testimony.
  2. Regularly educate and train legal professionals and jurors on the potential biases and pitfalls associated with technology-assisted decision-making.
  3. Collaborate with technology experts and researchers to develop robust algorithms and authentication methods.

In conclusion, the future trends related to reasonable doubt and weighing conflicting testimony in the legal industry will undoubtedly be influenced by emerging technologies. As legal professionals, it is our responsibility to navigate these changes while upholding the principles of justice and protecting individual rights.

References:

  • Hartley, R. D. (2019). Reasonable Doubt in the Digital Age. University of Chicago Law Review Online, 86.
  • Heaton, D., Lievens, P., & Murphy, M. (2015). Responding to the Use of Expert Witnesses in Jurors’ Decision Making. Federal Judicial Center.
  • Strawser, M. T. (2011). An Epistemological Analysis of Reasonable Doubt. Criminal Justice Ethics, 30(2), 89-100.
“Enhancing Dataset Ownership Protection with AMUSE Method”

“Enhancing Dataset Ownership Protection with AMUSE Method”

arXiv:2403.05628v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Curating high quality datasets that play a key role in the emergence of new AI applications requires considerable time, money, and computational resources. So, effective ownership protection of datasets is becoming critical. Recently, to protect the ownership of an image dataset, imperceptible watermarking techniques are used to store ownership information (i.e., watermark) into the individual image samples. Embedding the entire watermark into all samples leads to significant redundancy in the embedded information which damages the watermarked dataset quality and extraction accuracy. In this paper, a multi-segment encoding-decoding method for dataset watermarking (called AMUSE) is proposed to adaptively map the original watermark into a set of shorter sub-messages and vice versa. Our message encoder is an adaptive method that adjusts the length of the sub-messages according to the protection requirements for the target dataset. Existing image watermarking methods are then employed to embed the sub-messages into the original images in the dataset and also to extract them from the watermarked images. Our decoder is then used to reconstruct the original message from the extracted sub-messages. The proposed encoder and decoder are plug-and-play modules that can easily be added to any watermarking method. To this end, extensive experiments are preformed with multiple watermarking solutions which show that applying AMUSE improves the overall message extraction accuracy upto 28% for the same given dataset quality. Furthermore, the image dataset quality is enhanced by a PSNR of $approx$2 dB on average, while improving the extraction accuracy for one of the tested image watermarking methods.

Curating high quality datasets and ownership protection

Curating high quality datasets is a crucial aspect in the development of new AI applications. However, creating such datasets requires significant time, money, and computational resources. As a result, effective ownership protection of these datasets is becoming increasingly important.

Dataset watermarking for ownership protection

To protect the ownership of image datasets, imperceptible watermarking techniques have been employed. These techniques involve embedding ownership information, or watermarks, into individual image samples. However, embedding the entire watermark into all samples can lead to redundancy, which can negatively impact the quality of the dataset and the accuracy of watermark extraction.

The AMUSE method: Multi-segment encoding-decoding for dataset watermarking

In this paper, the authors propose a new method called Adaptive Multi-Segment Encoding-Decoding (AMUSE) for dataset watermarking. This method aims to address the issues of redundancy and extraction accuracy by adaptively mapping the original watermark into a set of shorter sub-messages and vice versa.

Adaptive message encoding

The message encoder in the AMUSE method is adaptive, meaning it adjusts the length of the sub-messages based on the protection requirements for the target dataset. This ensures that the watermark is embedded in a way that minimizes redundancy and maintains the desired level of protection.

Utilizing existing watermarking methods

The AMUSE method utilizes existing image watermarking methods to embed the sub-messages into the original images in the dataset and extract them from the watermarked images. This plug-and-play approach allows the encoder and decoder to be easily integrated into any watermarking method.

Experiments and results

The proposed AMUSE method was tested against multiple watermarking solutions in extensive experiments. The results showed that applying AMUSE improved the overall message extraction accuracy by up to 28% for the same dataset quality. Additionally, the image dataset quality was enhanced by an average Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) improvement of approximately 2 dB. These improvements were achieved while also enhancing the extraction accuracy for one of the tested image watermarking methods.

Relation to multimedia information systems and AR/VR

The concept of dataset watermarking presented in this paper is highly relevant to the wider field of multimedia information systems. Multimedia information systems involve the storage, retrieval, and manipulation of various forms of media, including images, videos, and audio. Protecting the ownership and integrity of these media is crucial in applications such as content distribution, copyright protection, and digital forensics.

Moreover, as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial reality continue to advance, the need for authentic and trustworthy multimedia content becomes even more important. Dataset watermarking techniques, such as the AMUSE method, play a vital role in ensuring the integrity of the digital assets used in AR/VR experiences and applications.

By protecting the ownership of datasets and improving extraction accuracy without compromising dataset quality, the AMUSE method contributes to the broader field of multimedia information systems and helps lay the foundation for more reliable and secure AI applications, AR/VR experiences, and digital content distribution.

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“Cognitive Biases in Forensics and Digital Forensics: Implications for Decision-Making

“Cognitive Biases in Forensics and Digital Forensics: Implications for Decision-Making

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of cognitive biases in forensics and digital forensics, exploring how they impact decision-making processes in these fields. It examines various types of cognitive biases that may arise during forensic investigations and digital forensic analyses, such as confirmation bias, expectation bias, overconfidence in errors, contextual bias, and attributional biases.

The article also evaluates existing methods and techniques used to mitigate cognitive biases in these contexts, assessing the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing biases and improving decision-making outcomes. Furthermore, it introduces a new cognitive bias called “impostor bias” that may affect the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in forensics and digital forensics.

The impostor bias is the tendency to doubt the authenticity or validity of the output generated by AI tools, such as deepfakes, in the form of audio, images, and videos. This bias has the potential to lead to erroneous judgments or false accusations, undermining the reliability and credibility of forensic evidence.

The article discusses the potential causes and consequences of the impostor bias and suggests strategies to prevent or counteract it. By addressing these topics, the article offers valuable insights into understanding cognitive biases in forensic practices and provides recommendations for future research and practical applications to enhance objectivity and validity of forensic investigations.

Abstract:This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of cognitive biases in forensics and digital forensics, examining their implications for decision-making processes in these fields. It explores the various types of cognitive biases that may arise during forensic investigations and digital forensic analyses, such as confirmation bias, expectation bias, overconfidence in errors, contextual bias, and attributional biases. It also evaluates existing methods and techniques used to mitigate cognitive biases in these contexts, assessing the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing biases and improving decision-making outcomes. Additionally, this paper introduces a new cognitive bias, called “impostor bias”, that may affect the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in forensics and digital forensics. The impostor bias is the tendency to doubt the authenticity or validity of the output generated by AI tools, such as deepfakes, in the form of audio, images, and videos. This bias may lead to erroneous judgments or false accusations, undermining the reliability and credibility of forensic evidence. The paper discusses the potential causes and consequences of the impostor bias, and suggests some strategies to prevent or counteract it. By addressing these topics, this paper seeks to offer valuable insights into understanding cognitive biases in forensic practices and provide recommendations for future research and practical applications to enhance the objectivity and validity of forensic investigations.

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