... The hardest question ever asked is: What is truth? GPT-4’s programmers think they have the answer. That’s what disturbs me the most. It turns out that the biggest problem of all is philosophical rather than technical, and I get the impression that the researchers have put little thought into this. The researchers’ perspective appears to be that all questions do have “right” answers, hence the model just needs to be trained and properly queried to say the right thing.
But this entirely misses the point that in human society “right” answers and “socially acceptable” answers often aren’t the same thing. ...
“For people who cannot vocalize sound, this silent speech technology could be an excellent input for a voice synthesizer. It could give patients their voices back,” Zhang said of the technology’s potential use with further development.
In its present form, EchoSpeech could be used to communicate with others via smartphone in places where speech is inconvenient or inappropriate, like a noisy restaurant or quiet library.
... “There are some ethical considerations mainly about who owns data,” notes Jacquelyn Ford Morie, Founder and Chief Scientist at All These Worlds LLC. “If you put it out on the web, is it up for grabs for scrubbers to come and grab those images for machine learning? ... But we are out at an inflection point with the Internet where there are millions of things out there and we have never put walls around it. We have created this beast and only now are we getting pushback about, ‘I put it out to share but didn’t expect anyone would just grab it.’” ...
We wanted to develop the technology to bring magic into our daily lives, and to do it ethically. We brought generative AI to the public in 2017. We knew that AI progress would be rapid, but we were shocked at how rapid it turned out to be, especially starting around 2020.” Baragona sees AI as having positive rather than negative impact on the artistic community. ...
Should AI art be the final public result? “I think that the keyword prompts used should also be displayed along with it, and any prompt that directly references a notable piece of existing art or artist should require a licensing deal with that referenced artist,” remarks Joe Sill, Founder and Director at Impossible Objects. ...
AI has given rise to a new technological skill in the form of “the person who can write a compelling prompt for a program like DALL·E 2 to extract a compelling image,” states David Bloom, Founder and Consultant at Words & Deeds Media. “To some extent it’s a different version of what artists have always faced. If you are a musician, you had to learn how to play an instrument to able to reproduce the things that you were hearing in your head. I remember George Lucas saying in the 1990s when they put out a redone version of Star Wars, ‘I’m never going to show the original version again because the technology now allows me to create a film that matches what I saw in my head.’ It’s just like that. ...
Clients will never stop wanting to deal with human beings to produce some work for whatever film or project that they have. However, there will be less of us to produce the same amount of work in the same way when tools in any industry evolve to become more efficient. ...
The release of the free, open-source neural network for generating photorealistic and artistic images based on text-to-images was such a resounding success that Stability AI was able to raise $101 million in funding for its open-source AI research, which involves other types of diffusion models for music, video and medical research. ...
I had a meeting with an indie studio creating a workflow using Stable Diffusion, and it’s as complex as a Hollywood workflow would be, and the results are incredible. ... We are moving towards a procedurally generated future where there is a whole other method of filmmaking coming.”
... The Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP), whose president is among the signatories of the open letter, has also filed a complaint with the FTC asking it to investigate OpenAI and halt its development of large language models (LLMs) for commercial purposes.
Even the normally pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce publishing a report last month that called for AI regulation, saying that, “failure to regulate AI will harm the economy, potentially diminish individual rights, and constrain the development and introduction of beneficial technologies.”
Complicating matters is that many of the tech giants leading the race for AI applications, including Microsoft, Amazon and Google, have all made cuts to their “responsible AI” teams as part of broader headcount reductions.
Somewhat ironically, the Big Tech companies scaling down employee headcount are commonly using the freed up cash to invest in bigger data centers and more processing power to support their AI initiatives.
The problem is not in the deep fake, which is essentially material created with AI, but in how it is used. The malpractices that this technology might facilitate include:
Breaching the moral integrity of individuals (e.g., by producing pornographic video montages).
Augmentation of visuals and sounds to defeat biometric passwords.
Fraud on digital channels.
Fake news and disinformation growth could disrupt financial markets and unsettle international relations.
Identity fraud.
Extortion (threatening the victim with disclosing fake compromising content) (threatening the person with distributing false compromising content).
... VR sleep rooms are becoming popular among people who suffer from insomnia or loneliness, offering cozy enclaves where strangers can safely find relaxation and company—most of the time.
Each VR sleep room is created to induce calm. ...
The opportunity to sleep in groups can be particularly appealing to isolated or lonely people who want to feel less alone. ...
“Neuroscientifically, VR works because you can modulate the environment you are in, but you have an anchor to reality and can feel safe enough to fall asleep.” ...
It’s well known that the metaverse is full of underage users, and my journey through sleep rooms confirmed that kids pop up disturbingly often in these adult spaces. ...
But while I found some rooms to be disturbing, I did discover sleep rooms that were hushed and peaceful, places to simply sit and be. ...
As ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence programs infiltrate workplaces, white-collar jobs are transforming the fastest.
That professional and office work is changing so fast is according to a panel of executives who addressed thousands of professionals and job seekers at Tuesday’s WSJ Jobs Summit. The biggest workplace challenge so far this year across industries is how to adapt to the rapidly evolving role of AI in office work, they say.
“AI is the next revolution and there is no going back,” Melissa Werneck, executive vice president and global chief people officer at Kraft Heinz Co. said.
As long as artificial intelligence has existed, so have the predictions that it could disrupt—and someday replace—blue-collar work. Now, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and OpenAI, most jobs will be changed in some form by generative pretrained transformers, or GPTs, which use machine learning based on internet data to generate any kind of text, from creative writing to code.
Many executives and analysts said that transformation is already taking shape, and workers can find ways to use the ChatGPT and other new technology to free them from boring work.
“Every month there are hundreds more job postings mentioning generative AI,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter Inc., an online marketplace for job seekers and employers.
Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda at the WSJ Jobs Summit.PHOTO: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Be willing to adapt and learn
One thing leaders from sectors including retail, e-learning and consumer packaged goods agreed on is this moment’s level of uncertainty.
Several executives mentioned inflation, political tensions and fears of a potential recession that continue to mount. Jeff Maggioncalda, chief executive of Coursera Inc., said that amid all the chaos, there are opportunities to improve the workforce.
“The way things have been done in the past aren’t necessarily the way they need to be done today,” he said, adding that workers and employers should invest in retraining and upskilling where possible.
People who are willing to experiment should come out ahead, said Ms. Pollak.
“There is an enormous demand for people who are tech-savvy and who will be the first adopters, who will be the first to figure out what opportunities these technologies open up,” she said.
Work with AI, not against it
The jobs of the future will require a mind-set shift for employees, several executives said. Rather than viewing generative AI and other machine-learning software as a threat, workers should embrace new technology as a way to free them from less-rewarding work and augment their strengths.
“The level by which we can all operate will be enhanced by virtue of technology,” said Donna Morris, Walmart Inc.’s chief people officer. “This is a huge opportunity to advance a lot of professions—allow people to do work that’s, frankly, more stimulating.”
Malaika Myers, Hyatt Hotels Corp.’s chief human-resources officer, said she doesn’t see AI replacing workers soon, but expects it to better serve and engage consumers. For the hotel chain, that could look like using AI to determine which brand of wine a guest likes, and adjusting recommendations accordingly.
United Airlines Holdings Inc., aims to use AI to do transactions that shouldn’t require a human, such as placing someone in an aisle or window seat depending on their preference, or suggesting a different flight for someone trying to book a tight connection, said Kate Gebo, executive vice president of human resources and labor relations. That leaves employees free to have more complex interactions with customers, she added. Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Sima Sistani, CEO of WeightWatchers parent company WW International, at the WSJ Jobs Summit.PHOTO: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
AI can’t do everything
Workers—and bosses—would be wise to remember that AI can’t replace a human touch, several executives stressed.
Sima Sistani, CEO of WeightWatchers parent company WW International Inc., said services intended to help customers solve emotional problems require solutions a machine can’t provide.
“AI is not sentient. It can’t be emotional. And that is the kind of accountability and reciprocity that is needed…for people to have the outcomes that we’re hoping to provide,” she said of the weight-loss and lifestyle company.
Ms. Werneck of Kraft Heinz said that what is keeping her up at night is figuring out how AI can be co-piloted by talented people, instead of becoming something that runs on autopilot, replacing people.
“My advice is be curious, research it, try to understand how it can be used,” she said.
At Yelp Inc., employees are experimenting through internal pilot projects to see what ChatGPT could be used for, without eroding trust with consumers and employees.
“Certain business processes could be enhanced,” said Carmen Whitney Orr, Yelp’s chief people officer, adding that there are plenty of concerns, too. “We don’t want it for high human-touch things.”
... Proponents of widespread AI adoption have looked to these systems as tools, rather than total replacements, for the creatives who have clawed their way into Hollywood to tell the stories they care about the most. That’s the way OpenAI’s co-founder and president, Greg Brockman, described his company’s APIs on March 10 — as an “amplification of what humans can do.”
“It’s kind of like if you hire six assistants who are not perfect. They need to train up a little bit. They don’t quite know exactly what you want, always, but they’re so eager and never sleep. They’re there to help you. They’re willing to do the drudge work, and you get to be the director,” Brockman said at a SXSW panel. ...
“Human creators are the foundation of the creative industries and we must ensure that they are respected and paid for their work,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement on March 17. “Governments should not create new copyright or other IP exemptions that allow AI developers to exploit creative works, or professional voices and likenesses, without permission or compensation. ...
“There’s a fine line between when is something inspiring someone versus when is someone just ripping off or absolutely treading protected intellectual property,” Candle Media’s chief development officer, Brent Weinstein, said in a SXSW panel. “AI is going to force us to examine that fine line and rules will be written, and we will all adapt to a new world order.”
Apple is projected to ship fewer than 500,000 headsets in a year, according to Counterpoint Research, a market research firm. By comparison, the company was expected to ship about 40 million Apple Watches after its debut. ...
Seeking to define a nascent market is an aberration for Apple.
“Apple is always pretty good at coming into a market when the market is already established and changing that market,” said Carolina Milanesi, a consumer tech analyst for the research firm Creative Strategies. “This is not the case for Apple VR and XR. There’s still a lot of learning.”
Some internal skeptics have questioned if the new device is a solution in search of a problem. ...
The company has called the device’s signature application “copresence,” a word designed to capture the experience of sharing a real or virtual space with someone in another place. It is akin to what Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, calls the “metaverse.” ...
On March 2, an international gathering of media technology executives and startups spent an hour discussing “the multiverse” and related topics. It was part of a day-long SPROCKIT Sync and ETC@USC Multiverse Symposium co-sponsored by the ETC and SPROCKIT, with additional support from ETC member Ronin X Foundation. Moderated by ETC’s Phil Lelyveld and Ronin X’s Sandeep Casi, attendees debated how to define the metaverse; discussed how development would impact contracts, rights and payments; raised tech implications of free range experiences and dynamic storytelling on capture and distribution processes and infrastructure; and addressed mixed reality experiences being planned and tested for theme parks. Watch a 9-minute video highlight reel of the discussion.
