Tech Digest daily round up: MyHeritage creates deep fake tool

Genealogy site MyHeritage has introduced a tool which uses deepfake technology to animate the faces in photographs of dead relatives. Called DeepNostalgia, the firm acknowledged that some people might find the feature “creepy” while others would consider it “magical”. It said it did not include speech to avoid the creation of “deepfake people”. It comes as the UK government considers legislation on deepfake technology. See full story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56210053

Online review website Trustpilot has unveiled plans for a £1bn listing in London, further bolstering the city’s hopes to become an emerging hub for technology listings. The company, which is based in Copenhagen, said it was planning to list around a quarter of its shares and looking to raise $50m (£36m) in an initial public offering, to help accelerate its growth plans. The float is expected to value Trustpilot at around £1bn. See Telegraph for full story. 

Energy giant Centrica has pulled forward two of its leading green pledges by five years, aiming to become a net zero business by 2045 and to operate a fully electric vehicle (EV) fleet by 2025. The parent company of British Gas, Centrica said it planned to reduce its own emissions, as well as those from customers that use its electricity or gas, in line with the Paris Agreement’s more ambitious 1.5C warming scenario. See full story on Business Green. 

A new camera scheme is set to catch motorists in the act of disposing of litter from their windows, landing them with hefty fines. From April, Maidstone Borough Council in Kent will employ the use of LitterCam to seek out and fine drivers flouting the rules in the first pilot scheme in the country. Under current guidelines, fines begin at £90 and rise to £120 if unpaid after 15 days. The maximum on-the-spot fine in England is £150. See Daily Mail. 

Italian scooter maker Piaggio has signed a letter of intent with KTM AG, Honda Motor Co. and Yamaha Motor Co. to set up a consortium for swappable batteries for motorcycles and light electric vehicles. “The founding members of the consortium believe that the availability of a standardized swappable battery system would both promote the widespread use of light electric vehicles and contribute to a more sustainable life-cycle management of batteries used in the transport sector”, Piaggio said in a statement. See full story on Reuters. 

The Grand Tour host James May has written about his love of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in a piece for the Sunday Times Magazine, summarising the advantages and disadvantages of them versus battery-electric vehicles. As an owner of both types of electric car, the 58-year old is one of fewer than 200 Toyota Mirai owners in the UK. The Mirai, launched in 2014, is Toyota’s FCEV, and one of only two hydrogen-powered cars currently offered in the UK (the other is the Hyundai Nexo). See story in Sunday Times Driving. 

Households could soon put their unwanted mobile phones and tablets out for collection with the rest of their recycling under plans currently being considered by ministers. In a statement to the Environmental Audit Committee, the Government said it was “exploring options for rolling out kerbside collections” for e-waste items. Ministers have also confirmed they are considering whether to require online retailers, such as Amazon, to collect old electronics to bring them into line with obligations on physical retailers. See story here: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/you-could-soon-put-old-23567272