Tilburg University Junior nominates four research projects for Klokhuis Science Award

Have you ever heard of deepfakes? With a new type of computer program, you can make a real-life video of anyone and have them do and say anything. You can make a video of yourself that seems to show that you are really good at break dancing, you can revive the voice of your grandmother who has passed away or make a funny video showing your teacher talking with the accent of politician Geert Wilders. That may sound funny, but bullies and criminals also use this technology. They spread fake news to influence the national elections or make fake videos of children to bully them. What do you think: should we ban this technology or allow people to go ahead without any form of legal control? 

More information on this project can be found here. 

Bunny ears, a cow face, or some extra make-up? I’m sure you know these filters on the social media! You can look quite different online than in real life. That may be fun, but it has also made children feel insecure. When you compare yourself to the ideal pictures you see online, your own life may seem boring to you. Or when you see the perfect bodies of influencers or athletes, you might start to have doubts about how you look yourself. As part of our project, we develop a teaching module, together with children, to ensure that those perfect pictures online do not lead to children feeling insecure in the schoolyard or at home! 

On October 25, Ini and Anne-Mette gave a Tilburg University Junior lecture on their research. Watch the lecture here (in Dutch).

North Sea fishermen catch thousands of kilos of fish every week. Our research has shown that many fishermen do not obey the rules: they use nets with openings that are far too small. They make sure that no fish can escape from their nets so they can sell a lot of fish. But as a result, they catch many little, young fish that are too small to sell. These young fish usually die as a result and are thrown back into the sea. If we do not do anything about it, it will soon be too late. There will not by any fish left in the sea and that is a bad thing for our earth. 

More information?

More information on this project can be found in this episode (in Dutch) of the consumer TV show Keuringsdienst van Waarde.
On Wednesday, February 28, Ben Vollaard will also give a Tilburg University Junior lecture on his research, for children aged 9 – 14 (in Dutch). Do you want to attend this lecture? Sign up here. 

Just image, you are invited to a job interview. You enter the room and on the other side of the table there is … a talking computer. It could happen to you, and maybe earlier than you think! We investigate whether computers can do job interviews with people. Can a robot decide whether someone is honest, cheerful, or accurate? We also investigate how you can trick the computer into giving you a job. For instance, are you more likely to get a job if you write a motivation letter using ChatGPT than if you write it all by yourself, and what do companies think about this? 

More information on this project can be found here (from 23:00 minutes; in Dutch).