philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Generative AI: a game-changer that society and industry need to be ready for

... Besides profound effects on tasks and jobs, generative AI models and associated externalities have raised alarm in the AI governance community. One of the problems with large language models is their ability to generate false and misleading content. Meta’s Galactica – a model trained on 48 million science articles with claims to summarize academic papers, solve math problems, and write scientific code – was taken down after less than three days of being online as the scientific community found it was producing incorrect results after misconstruing scientific facts and knowledge.

This is even more alarming when seen in the context of automated troll bots, with capabilities advanced enough to render obsolete, The Turing Test – which tests a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour similar to or indistinguishable from a human. Such capabilities can be misused to generate fake news and disinformation across platforms and ecosystems.

How is generative AI governed?

In the private sector, two approaches to the governance of generative AI models are currently emerging. In one camp, companies such as OpenAI are self-governing the space through limited release strategies, monitored use of models, and controlled access via API’s for their commercial products like DALL-E2. In the other camp, newer organizations, such as Stability AI, believe that these models should be openly released to democratize access and create the greatest possible impact on society and the economy. Stability AI open sourced the weights of its model – as a result, developers can essentially plug it into everything to create a host of novel visual effects with little or no controls placed on the diffusion process. ...

This is a task not only reserved for private companies, but which is equally important for civil society and for policymakers to weigh in on. This includes disruption of labour markets, legitimacy of scraped data, licensing, copyright and potential for biased or otherwise harmful content, misinformation, and so on. Only when solid checks and balances are in place can more thoughtful and beneficial expansion of generative AI technologies and products be achieved.

See the full story here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/davos23-generative-ai-a-game-changer-industries-and-society-code-developers/

CES 2023 was huge for AR and VR. Here’s everything important that was announced

HTC's new VIVE XR Elite is an "all-in-one" XR solution ...

TCL explodes onto the scene ...

See the full story here: https://www-zdnet-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.zdnet.com/google-amp/article/ces-2023-was-huge-for-ar-and-vr-heres-everything-important-that-was-announced/?fbclid=IwAR0EeWrV7PSClEbtkuqgX3X8T3kaVKa6xWCxdRiOAse4KDOYhnoUhG15ke4

THE ECONOMICS OF AI

• ...
• Expanding Overton window and AGI governance: As conversations about AGI become more commonplace, the Overton window — the range of ideas and policy options that people view as reasonable to discuss — is rapidly expanding. This will bring AGI governance to the forefront of the public discourse. Important questions include both how AGI will interact with existing governance structures and how AGI itself should be governed. Economists have much to contribute to these topics, providing ample opportunities for cutting-edge research papers and dissertations. Our Oxford Handbook of AI Governance, set to be published in early 2023, will make an influential contribution — and many of the chapters are already available online.
• Preparing for the nonexistent future of work: In the medium term, our society will have to adjust to a world in which human labor is largely redundant. And this may happen sooner than many expect, perhaps even within the current decade. Cognitive automation is making policies such as a universal basic income more urgent and more appealing. To better understand how to prepare for this nonexistent future of work, I recently published a report on the topic. What is more, if cognitive work becomes redundant, we must also reevaluate the purpose of education at a fundamental level.
• ...

See the full story here: https://ideas.darden.virginia.edu/economics-of-ai-roundup

CES 2023: AI’s at a ‘really important moment,’ says Sony’s AI ethics expert

The viral success of OpenAI's ChatGPT has triggered discussions everywhere these days from the classroom to the boardroom. At the center of many of these conversations – ethical concerns.

This amounts to a crucial moment for AI, Alice Xiang, Head of Sony Group's (SONY) AI Ethics Office and AI Lead Research Scientist, told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). “We're really seeing an inflection point with AI ethics, where it’s going from being just something that companies are doing on their own… [and now] we're seeing policymakers really dive into this space." ...

So, what are the AI issues that Xiang is watching as 2023 gets rolling? "Data, evaluation, and governance," she told Yahoo Finance. ...

See the full story here: https://news.yahoo.com/ces-2023-a-is-at-a-really-important-moment-says-sonys-ai-ethics-expert-200046533.html

Top AI conference bans use of ChatGPT and AI language tools to write academic papers

AI tools can be used to ‘edit’ and ‘polish’ authors’ work, say the conference organizers, but text ‘produced entirely’ by AI is not allowed. This raises the question: where do you draw the line between editing and writing? ...

According to the ICML, the rise of publicly accessible AI language models like ChatGPT — a general purpose AI chatbot that launched on the web last November — represents an “exciting” development that nevertheless comes with “unanticipated consequences [and] unanswered questions.” The ICML says these include questions about who owns the output of such systems(they are trained on public data, which is usually collected without consent and sometimes regurgitate this information verbatim) and whether text and images generated by AI should be “considered novel or mere derivatives of existing work.” ...

In other words: in response to the rise of disruptive and novel technology, the organizers are relying on traditional social mechanisms to enforce academic norms. ...

See the full story here: https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/5/23540291/chatgpt-ai-writing-tool-banned-writing-academic-icml-paper

RIAA Lobbying Disclosure Form Lists ‘Artificial Intelligence’ as a ‘Specific Lobbying Issue’

The RIAA, representing the Big Three (Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment), has recently reported several AI-music mixing platforms to the United States Trade Representative. The goal is to have them listed as upcoming threats in the USTR’s “Notorious Markets” report. Additionally, a 2022 lobbying disclosure report shows that RIAA lobbyists have raised AI as a “specific lobbying issue” with the US government.

The RIAA is a member of the Copyright Alliance, which lobbies the government on behalf of its members and recently expressed concerns that AI-generated works collide with copyright law. A GoFundMe campaign launched by the Concept Art Association has surfaced intending to raise funds to pay a lobbyist to “educate government officials and policymakers” on the threat to the creative industries that is AI-generated artwork. The Concept Art Association has said a portion of the funds will also go to the Copyright Alliance.  ...

See the full story here: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2023/01/05/riaa-lobbying-disclosure-form-lists-ai-as-specific-lobbying-issue/

Rendever Acquires AARP’s Alcove Virtual Reality Platform to Expand VR-powered Social Network for Seniors Globally

Rendever, the company pioneering the future of aging through VR, today announces its acquisition of Alcove, a popular consumer VR platform publicly available to families at home through their own VR headsets. The Rendever team has been co-developing Alcove with AARP since 2020. By bringing Alcove in-house, Rendever is amplifying its reach through an integrated ecosystem of products that enable a better aging experience for seniors worldwide, regardless of where they live. ...

Through the acquisition, Rendever better supports the aging population by bringing the joy and inspiration of its targeted shared experiences to the millions of seniors at home, along with their families and caregivers. ...

See the full press release here: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/01/05/2583975/0/en/Rendever-Acquires-AARP-s-Alcove-Virtual-Reality-Platform-to-Expand-VR-powered-Social-Network-for-Seniors-Globally.html

Elevators of the future to employ AI and facial recognition

The latest breed of elevators can recognize your face, greet you by name, take you to your floor automatically — and even stop to let on a robot bearing a catering platter or hospital tray.

Why it matters: The widespread fear of elevators that hit during the pandemic served to turbo-charge new innovations, in what some are calling a "digital revolution."

• New features make the ride safer, faster and more convenient, but come with a big price tag for building owners.
• For developers who want to spend the cash, the sky's the limit: AI and facial recognition can push customized entertainment and advertisements on elevator screens to passengers who opt in.
• Elevators that travel horizontally may be on the horizon, paving the way for new architectural innovations.

Driving the news: The race is on among the "big four" elevator manufacturers — Otis, Schindler, Kone and TK Elevator — to sell new or retrofitted high-tech elevators to property owners.

See the full story here: https://www.axios.com/2023/01/04/artificial-intelligence-facial-recognition-elevators-otis-schindler-horizontal

CAA Metaverse Officer Joanna Popper On Evolving AI

DEADLINE: Talk about CAA’s work with Soul Machines. What does it do?

POPPER: Soul Machines is a client and we’re helping them build their entertainment division. This area is so new, it’s moving so fast, and there are huge opportunities for talent to monetize in this area. They’re working with Carmelo Anthony, Mark Tuan, Marilyn Monroe, and Jack Nicholas’s teams on AI-generated ‘digital twins’ who can have real-time, face-to-face conversations. We recognize there are really important steps we have to take to protect the talent, and we are working with companies charting the way in technology and that are ethically-led and talent-friendly. That is our main goal as the industry continues to grow and migrate. There’s a lot more to come. Stay tuned.

See the full story here: https://deadline.com/2023/01/caa-metaverse-officer-joanna-popper-deep-fake-technology-ces-1235210327/

Holoride launches new device to bring VR entertainment to any vehicle

Holoride, the Audi-backed startup, is ready to take its in-vehicle virtual reality entertainment system into the mainstream.

The company unveiled Wednesday at CES 2023 in Las Vegas a device about the size of a smart speaker that can be retrofitted into any vehicle to make it VR ready. The product marks a turning point for a company that has been reliant on partnerships with automakers for its growth.

Today, Holoride’s in-car VR technology is only available in certain 2022 model year (and newer) Audi vehicles. This new product would greatly expand its market reach — if consumers opt to plop down $799 for the package.

See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/04/holoride-launches-device-to-bring-vr-into-any-vehicle