philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Apple building AR elements into Apple TV+: report

According to Bloomberg, the feature will debut next year and allow viewers to access optional AR content – like characters and objects from Apple TV+ shows – through their iPhones or iPads.

Augmented reality could potentially help attract more subscribers to Apple TV+, which last week also revealed a new discounted bundle featuring CBS All Access and Showtime for Apple TV+ subscribers, who pay $4.99/month for the service.

Apple this week also acquired Spaces, a location-based virtual reality startup that was spun off from DreamWorks Animation, according to a report from Protocol.

Earlier this year, Apple acquired NextVR, a technology startup that produces live virtual reality broadcasts of sporting events, concerts and more.

See the full story here: https://www.fiercevideo.com/tech/apple-building-ar-elements-into-apple-tv-report?fbclid=IwAR03kmytmlTT_Y-aqI9weUr_X9DI6kmv11wCpB4fLzYeGjmMHxoHqRCfdK8

Future jobs: Made by kids, gamers and old people

So, does the Australian Government Jobs in the Future Overview, have digital influencers, clones, massive online gaming design, cultural intelligence and digital companion design on the future jobs list? These skills and servicing innovations – like a leviathan – are reaching deeply into all sectors, upending and creating new sectors.

Instead, government issues laborious statements such as: “workers will need both technological skills and the ability to apply other skills … in a technology-rich context.”

What does this even mean?

... But old people – and people with disability – are innovators and avid users of technology. They are some of the most radical and experienced gamers.

... Think about the grey nomads whose vehicles are literally mobile satellite communications units. Out exploring … doing work … creating … remotely. “Old people” like me.

In many ways, if you want to know what the future of jobs looks like, ask a gamer.

See the full story here: https://www.innovationaus.com/future-jobs-made-by-kids-gamers-and-old-people/

By exploiting our familiarity with non-linear storytelling, India’s entertainment industry can be a global powerhouse

The linear narrative is on its way out, and complex, branching and multi-layered narratives are the future. This phenomenon presents a unique opportunity for India because we are already familiar with multi-layered narratives. Our cultural heritage is replete with examples, such as the epic of the Mahabharata, a collection of thousands of smaller stories woven together into a great narrative. One could read different Mahabharatas over the years and still continue to find side plots, minor characters and details they did not encounter earlier.

This familiarity with non-linear storytelling is a natural advantage, as is a repository of source material. Our film industries must embrace cutting edge technology to make the most of this advantage. This requires bold investments and an upskilling of the workforce and can reap significant dividends in return.

See the full story here: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/by-exploiting-our-familiarity-with-non-linear-storytelling-indias-entertainment-industry-can-be-a-global-powerhouse/

Researchers explore sound to help improve robotic perception

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are looking to hearing as a potential additional sense to help machines increase their perception of the world around them.

A new experiment from CMU features Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer moving objects inside a metal tray to get a sense of the sounds they make as they roll around, slide and crash into the sides. There are 60 objects in all — including tools, wooden blocks, tennis balls and an apple — with 15,000 “interactions” recorded and cataloged.

The robot, named “Tilt-Bot” by the team, was capable of identifying objects with a 76% success rate, even determining the relatively small material differences between a metal screwdriver and wrench.

See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/14/researchers-explore-sound-to-help-improve-robotic-perception/

AI warning: Computer RUINS leading United States armed forces F-16 competitor pilot in scary war games

The аrtificiаl intelligence (AI) progrаmme destroyed the humаn-controlled F-16 jet in аll five rounds of а virtuаl аeriаl dogfight.The test wаs conducted by the US Defence Advаnced Reseаrch Projects Agency (DARPA) to find out whether аutonomous computer systems could fly аnd successfully defeаt аn enemy fighter jet.

Progrаm mаnаger аt DARPA, Dаn Jаvorsek, plаyed down the significаnce of the results but hoped one dаy AI would come to the forefront.

Mr Jаvorsek sаid he hoped to bring AI into the reаl world but insisted people get “wrаpped up” in the Mаn vs Mаchine nаrrаtive.

He аrgued humаns remаin the reаl winner becаuse the system wаs designed by them.

See the full story here: https://entertainmentoverdose.co.uk/news/ai-warning-computer-ruins-leading-united-states-armed-forces-f-16-competitor-pilot-in-scary-war-games-195370.html

Virtual reality conference to open in east China

PhilNote: it is interesting that they track # of deals as a show success metric.

The two-day event will be held online and offline this year, with participants exploring issues related to XR (extended reality), cloud VR, industrial ecology and entertainment games.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the provincial government of Jiangxi, the conference is held annually in Nanchang. During the 2019 conference, a total of 104 VR industry agreements and projects were inked.

See the full story here: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-08/23/c_139311829.htm

With virtual reality, caregivers can become patients

In 2014, she returned to school to earn a Master of Science degree in biomedical visualization at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her thesis question: If we could step into the world of someone who is aging, could that help health care providers be more effective?

AARP Introduces Alcove Virtual Reality App On Oculus Quest To Help Families Stay Connected

Alcove is the first family-oriented app to launch in the Oculus Quest store and offers a variety of settings for people to engage in together, including health and wellness activities, photo memory sharing, customized entertainment and games, and exploration of new places around the world.

Alcove was developed to help combat social isolation and loneliness by bridging physical distance between family members and friends through virtual experiences.

Among Alcove’s features, users can:

• Invite friends and family: Bring loved ones into a shared virtual space, regardless of their location, to connect, play, and explore new worlds together.
• Offer guests fully guided, controller-free experiences in VR: With the Lead / Follow feature, guests can put their controllers aside and let friends or family members show them new sights and explore new places around the world.
• Relive family memories:
• Play classic games:
• Practice meditation:
• Travel the world:

See the full story here: https://aithority.com/technology/virtual-reality-technology/aarp-introduces-alcove-virtual-reality-app-on-oculus-quest-to-help-families-stay-connected/

A Spanish hospital will lead a European study that will create the largest database on prostate cancer

The objective of the new plan is to promote the development of new tools to improve the diagnosis, characterization and monitoring of prostate cancer based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to magnetic resonance imaging.

To obtain these data, they explain from the Valencian hospital center, the Diagnostic Image Service will use magnetic resonance images of the prostate obtained in the daily routine of different radiology services, « But with the particularity », details Roberto Sanz, biomedical engineer at the Quirónsalud Valencia Hospital, « of having a large unified database at an international level, made up of contributions from leading European hospitals. »

In addition to the images, all the clinical information on diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients« In this way, the quality of all the data and the validity of the results will be ensured », concludes the engineer from Quirónsalud Valencia.

See the full story here: https://www.explica.co/a-spanish-hospital-will-lead-a-european-study-that-will-create-the-largest-database-on-prostate-cancer/

Aristotle and the chatbot: How ancient rules of logic could make artificial intelligence more human

Rather than just computing a response from a sequence of words, responses from the chatbot are derived from the relationships between billions of terms. Beliefs with low confidence can be sent back to the user (for example, a person asking a health chatbot about symptoms) as questions.

In the future we think this will allow for more engaging, deeper and natural interactions between humans and machine. The beliefs and "personality" of the chatbot will become tailored to the user.

Aristotle's 2,000-year-old logic has had a profound influence on Western civilisation. A revamp of his ancient works could very well shift us into a new frontier of human-computer interaction.

See the full story here: https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-aristotle-chatbot-ancient-logic-artificial.html