philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Meta’s China quest thaws thin layer of dense cube

... The $828 billion company has brokered a preliminary deal to sell virtual reality headsets in the country with Chinese technology titan Tencent (0700.HK) starting late next year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The agreement should help Facebook’s owner tap into the big market through gaming while avoiding thornier issues that come with social media. If successful, it also will put pressure on U.S. officials to soften their own stance. ...

See the full story here: https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/metas-china-quest-thaws-thin-layer-dense-cube-2023-11-10/

Jeffrey Katzenberg: AI Will Drastically Cut Number of Workers It Takes to Make Animated Movies

... “I think that on the one hand, it will be disruptive and commoditize things that are very inaccessible for artists and storytellers today,” He said. “In the good old days when I made an animated movie, it took 500 artists five years to make a world-class animated movie. I think it won’t take 10 percent of that. Literally, I don’t think it will take 10 percent of that three years out from now.”

However, the idea for those projects will not come from AI, he added.

“In my opinion, I think that is still going to come from creativity, from individual creativity,” Katzenberg said.

See the full story here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/jeffrey-katzenberg-ai-entertainment-animation-prediction-1235643311/

Snap adds ChatGPT to its AR with a focus on AI at Lens Fest

Snap said it is adding ChatGPT to its augmented reality Lenses as AI becomes an integral part of consumer products.

In a collaboration with OpenAI, Snap created the ChatGPT Remote API, granting Lens developers the ability to harness the power of ChatGPT in their Lenses. This paves the way for new and engaging learning, conversational, and creative experiences for Snapchatters. In addition, a 3D face mask generator has been integrated, enabling the rapid creation of self-expression Lenses. This amalgamation of Gen AI and advanced face mesh capabilities facilitates the creation of potentially viral Lenses in mere seconds. ...

See the full story here: https://venturebeat.com/ai/snap-adds-chatgpt-to-its-ar-glasses-with-focus-on-ai-at-lens-fest/

Emerging Media Arts program unveils AR glass cube installation, ‘The Dial’

The 14-foot, glowing glass cube — located past the entrance to the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts — has been turning heads at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The cube is home to The Dial, an interactive experience that utilizes augmented reality (AR) and projection mapping to tell the story of a serious car crash from several perspectives.  ...

“The idea of using the user’s position to trigger transitions and sequences is fascinating,” Sebastian Vladimir, a senior emerging media arts major and docent for The Dial, said. “You’re not just using augmented reality to explore or see something, you’re using it to tell a story.” ...

The Dial received its name because users control time by walking around the table, acting as the hand of a clock. ...

“Take a look where you wouldn’t expect to have to look,” Vladimir said. “Take a look under the table. Look up. You’re going to be talking about it for a while after the experience.”

The Dial will be available at the Carson Center until Dec. 1, and tickets are readily available for students. ...

See the full story here: https://www.dailynebraskan.com/culture/emerging-media-arts-unveils-the-dial/article_f1f3b378-7e8e-11ee-9c07-17b6be52beff.html

AI Misinformation: How It Works and Ways to Spot It

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What online giants are doing about AI misinformation

To combat AI-generated misinformation ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, Google will, from mid-November, require that political ads using AI have a disclosure on them. 

"All verified election advertisers in regions where verification is required must prominently disclose when their ads contain synthetic content that inauthentically depicts real or realistic-looking people or events," says Google's updated policy, which also applies to content on YouTube. "This disclosure must be clear and conspicuous, and must be placed in a location where it is likely to be noticed by users. This policy will apply to image, video and audio content."

Meta is bringing in the same requirement for political ads on Instagram and Facebook, from Jan. 1.

"Advertisers will have to disclose whenever a social issue, electoral or political ad contains a photorealistic image or video, or realistic sounding audio, that was digitally created or altered," Meta's new policy says. ...

As AI Battle Lines Are Drawn, Studios Align With Big Tech in a Risky Bet

... The unions landed on opposite sides of several hot-button issues with the Motion Picture Association, which reps major studios like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery. The MPA was joined by Meta, OpenAI and tech advocacy groups. Where they diverge the most is whether new legislation is warranted to address the unauthorized use of copyrighted material to train AI systems and the mass generation of potentially infringing works based on existing content. This has prompted some creators to question why studios aren’t allying themselves with actors and writers and against AI companies to oppose what could constitute the mass pilfering of their material in violation of intellectual property laws.

“Studios should be protecting their copyrights,” a WGA member tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s shortsighted, because it demotes them to another source of content for these AI firms.” ...

A representative for Scarlett Johansson last week said the actress took legal action against an AI app developer for using her name and likeness in an online ad posted on X that featured an AI-generated version of her voice. While copyright law doesn’t account for a person’s voice or face, some states carry right of publicity laws that protect against unauthorized commercial uses of a person’s name, likeness and persona. It’s meant to provide individuals the exclusive right to profit off of their identities. ...

See the full story here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/ai-copyright-law-studios-tech-actors-writers-1235638242/

Baidu’s Du Xiaoxiao opens up shop on Taobao selling digital humans

Since the 6th of November, for 300,000 RMB (41,190 USD), you can get your own personal digital person powered by Baidu’s ERNIE Bot language model, which also comes with a lifetime guarantee. Better still, it’s readily available on digital human Du Xiaoxiao’s (度晓晓) Taobao shop “Xiaoxiao General Store” (晓晓万事屋). ...

The General Store is also stocked with single-purpose ERNIE-driven chatbots, such as one that flatters you, one that comforts you, or even one that purports to “reset your life” ...

See the full story here: https://daoinsights.com/news/baidus-du-xiaoxiao-opens-up-shop-on-taobao-selling-digital-humans/

Roth, Founder of AZULIK, Speaks About the Launch of New SFER IK Open-Air Museum and a $100K AI Artist Award

Together, with SFER IK’s Creative Director Marcello Dantas, Roth has launched The SFER IK Award, a new award for artists to create a work using artificial intelligence. The winning artist will receive $100,000 USD to develop their AI-integrated artwork, as well as a two-month residency with access to on-site resources at AZULIK Uh May—a sprawling creative campus with several workshops, local artisans, and a suite of new digital facilities called FabLab. Art residencies will also be offered to second- and third-prize winners.   ...

The award is open to international artists from all disciplines to create an AI-integrated work addressing themes of biodiversity, interspecies collaboration, ancestral knowledge, and the harmonious integration of science, technology, and nature. The purpose of the open call is to create an opportunity for artists to generate new and daring artworks that will expand the boundaries of technology and their artistic practices within the natural environment of the Mayan jungle. The winning artwork will ultimately be showcased at SFER IK’s upcoming open-air museum in Tulum, close to the Jardín de la Esperanza (Garden of Hope), an artistic natural space currently under development by artist Cristina Ochoa that will be a sanctuary of biodiversity and ancestral memory. ...

By inviting artists to create their work in the middle of the jungle, we hope they will be inspired and transformed by the environment and have the chance to intervene in the landscape. ...

See the full story here: https://www.artnews.com/art-news/sponsored-content/sfer-ik-roth-founder-azulik-speaks-launch-new-open-air-museum-100k-ai-artist-award-1234682736/

C2PA Specs (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authentication)

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3.4. What does it mean that provenance data is cryptographically bound to the asset?

The provenance data and the asset are the two parts of the same puzzle - a unique puzzle. The possibility of any other pieces ever matching, either by coincidence or by purposeful creation, is so low that it would be practically impossible. This is known as a hard binding.

This inability to always be able to verify the provenance of an ingredient is not problematic, because the trust of the asset remains in the signer of the asset’s C2PA Manifest. However, having the ingredient’s C2PA Manifest included in the asset’s C2PA Manifest Store, enables the verification of the ingredient’s assertions (which are important trust signals), even if its hard bindings cannot be validated.

3.5. Use of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AI/ML)

3.5.1. How does C2PA address the use of AI/ML in the creation and editing of assets?

Each action that is performed on an asset is recorded in the asset’s C2PA Manifest. These actions can be performed by a human or by an AI/ML system. When an action was performed by an AI/ML system, it is clearly identified as such through it’s digitalSourceType field. ...

See the full specs here: https://c2pa.org/specifications/specifications/1.3/explainer/Explainer.html#_what_does_it_mean_that_provenance_data_is_cryptographically_bound_to_the_asset_2

China’s ByteDance to overhaul VR arm Pico as global demand declines -sources

• Pico to cut jobs with 'hundreds' of staff to be affected-sources
• ByteDance has pared back efforts to develop Pico brand-sources
• Multiple senior managers have left Pico this year-source

... However, VR demand has sputtered this year. Augmented reality (AR) and VR headset shipments have fallen for the last four consecutive quarters, according to data from research firm IDC ended June 30, with volumes down 44.6% in the second quarter year-on-year.

Since the acquisition, Pico has been aggressively expanding both inside and outside China. In China, it has become the leading VR producer by total shipments and globally it trails only Meta. ...

See the full story here: https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-bytedance-overhaul-vr-arm-pico-global-demand-declines-sources-2023-11-07/