philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

McGraw-Hill developing augmented-reality apps to improve learning outcomes in chemistry courses

Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, the initiative aims to drive more active learning and to improve learning outcomes in introductory chemistry courses, which according to McGraw-Hill, often have high failure rates, especially among underserved student populations.

The AR tools will be available on both Apple and Android mobile platforms, and will eventually be embedded into McGraw-Hill’s digital courseware and learning platforms.

“We believe that with the right combination of technology, content and pedagogy this tool has the ability to have a significant impact on students in the future,” Virkler said. “AR does not replace other effective technology resources, but rather enhances the experience and the ability to reach a variety of different students with diverse learning modalities.”

See the full story here: https://edscoop.com/mcgraw-hill-developing-augmented-reality-apps-to-improve-learning-outcomes-in-chemistry-courses/

Senators Press For National Artificial Intelligence Strategy

Several U.S. senators have proposed the Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act to create a national AI strategy and fund federal R&D in this growing area to the tune of $2.2 billion. The initiative’s $2.2 billion would be awarded over a five-year period to multiple federal agencies. At the same time, although the European Commission put out guidelines for artificial intelligence technology, some experts are saying that the tech companies that participated in drafting guidelines compromised them to protect their own interests.

VentureBeat reports that the Act, created by senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), would fund agencies such as the Department of Energy and the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and would also “establish a National AI Coordination Office to lead federal AI efforts, require the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the effects of AI on society and education, and allocate $40 million a year to NIST to create AI evaluation standards.”

Wired reports that Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz philosopher Thomas Metzinger criticized the European Commission’s AI guidelines saying that, “too many of the experts who created [them] came from or were aligned with industry interests.” He and another group member drafted a list of prohibited AI uses, including autonomous weapons, but “tech’s allies later convinced the broader group that it shouldn’t draw any ‘red lines’ around uses of AI.” In the formal draft, “red lines” became “critical concerns,” which “appeared to please Microsoft.”

Harvard law professor Yochai Benkler also believes that, “industry has mobilized to shape the science, morality and laws of artificial intelligence … becoming too influential over how society governs and scrutinizes the effects of AI.”

Signs of pushback include San Francisco’s ban of the city’s use of facial recognition and the Algorithmic Accountability Act, introduced by senators Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and representative Yvette Clarke (D-New York), to require companies to “assess whether AI systems and their training data have built-in biases, or could harm consumers through discrimination.”

See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/senators-press-for-national-artificial-intelligence-strategy/

Samsung deepfake AI could fabricate a video clip of you from a single photo

A Samsung artificial intelligence lab in Russia developed the technology, which was detailed in a paper earlier this week.

Here's the downside: These kinds of techniques and their rapid development also create risks of misinformation, election tampering and fraud, according to Hany Farid, a Dartmouth researcher who specializes in media forensics to root out deepfakes.

"Following the trend of the past year, this and related techniques require less and less data and are generating more and more sophisticated and compelling content," Farid said. Even though Samsung's process can create visual glitches, "these results are another step in the evolution of techniques ... leading to the creation of multimedia content that will eventually be indistinguishable from the real thing."

In the paper, Samsung's AI lab dubbed its creations "realistic neural talking heads."

The system starts with a lengthy "meta-learning stage" in which it watches lots of videos to learn how human faces move. It then applies what it's learned to a single still or a small handful of pics to produce a reasonably realistic video clip.

Unlike a true deepfake video, the results from a single or small number of images fudge when reproducing fine details. For example, a fake of Marilyn Monroe in the Samsung lab's demo video missed the icon's famous mole, according to Siwei Lyu, a computer science professor at the University at Albany in New York who specializes in media forensics and machine learning. It also means the synthesized videos tend to retain some semblance of whoever played the role of the digital puppet. That's why each of the moving Mona Lisa faces looks like a slightly different person.

See the full story here: https://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-ai-deepfake-can-fabricate-a-video-clip-of-you-from-a-single-photo/

What the Oculus Quest Can Teach Us About the Future of Mixed Reality (Pass-thru video)

The Quest solves this issue with what is being called a guardian system. Upon first putting on the headset in a new environment, users get to see a grayscale, low-resolution view of the real world, and are then being asked to map out their play space. After that first setup, a grid appears every time a user is in danger of leaving that play space when in VR. Go further, and the Quest switches back to the grayscale view of the real world. Take a step back, and you are back in VR.

That experience of the real world lurking just beyond the borders of your VR playspace is oddly fascinating. The Quest uses its integrated cameras for video pass-through, which explains why the images are as low-fidelity as they are. The cameras are primarily meant to track the controllers used with the headset, as well as the position of the headset itself in a 3D space, making it possible to lean into VR experiences, and reach out for virtual objects.

But even with those visual constraints, walking up to a Quest guardian and sticking your head through it feels like a profound transition from one world to another.

And while the Quest currently uses a guardian system to keep you safe in VR, future guardian systems may be outward-facing, and alert you that immersion is just a step away.

See the full story here: https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/oculus-quest-guardian-system-mixed-reality-1203223870/

Snapchat Takes Down Porn Lenses, May Start Cat-and-Mouse Game

Snapchat quickly removed a handful of x-rated augmented reality lenses Tuesday, dealing a blow to efforts by adult entertainment company Naughty America to promote its subscriptions to the service’s users. However, the porn studio may not be quite done with Snapchat just yet, as it is still distributing the source files that allow Snapchat users to build their own naughty lenses.

Naughty America had begun to distribute Snapchat lenses to its users earlier this week. The lenses allowed Snapchat users to super-impose porn stars in various states of undress over images of their own living room, and share the results with their friends on the service.

If anything, the conflict between Snapchat and Naughty America goes to show that user-generated augmented reality isn’t immune to the very same content moderation issues that video sites and other user-generated content hosting services have been dealing with for some time. And as companies like Snapchat are making it easier to build lenses for their services, they’ll likely face these issues a lot more often.

See the full story here: https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/snapchat-porn-lenses-removed-ar-1203223589/

Handheld games device Playdate looks adorable and innovative

Announced on Wednesday, Playdate is due out next year, at a price of $149. It comes with a few interesting quirks. First, it has a crank on the side, which manufacturer Panic says puts “a whole new spin on games.” The company’s website shows one game, Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure, in action. Players use the crank to control an on-screen character.

Second, its launch library of 12 games are all included in the price of the hardware. The games are released on a weekly basis, and are designed to surprise and delight players.

See the full story here: https://www.polygon.com/2019/5/22/18636485/playdate-release-games-handheld-panic

DDI Pioneers Groundbreaking Virtual Reality Experiences to Transform Soft Skills Training for Leaders

DDI is creating a library of VR scenarios that deliver powerful, memorable experiences that help leaders develop and practice critical leadership skills such as empathy, communication, and coaching in realistic scenarios.

Working with top VR companies such as Strivr and Friends with Holograms to create the experiences, DDI offers a library of scenarios spanning several applications, including immersive experiences that help leaders understand diversity, and inclusion and interactive environments where leaders can practice skills such as coaching and having tough conversations.

"In most cases, leaders don't intend to be exclusionary, but it's a natural part of being human that we tend to gravitate toward people like ourselves, which creates a lot of bias in the workplace," said Tacy Byham, Ph.D., CEO of DDI. "Trying to accuse people or make them feel guilty for being part of the 'in-group' won't work and is counterproductive. What VR enables us to do, however, is make people understand at a visceral, emotional level how exclusion works and the negative effect it has on people, including highly talented people who could be adding a lot of business value if given the chance."

See the full story here: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ddi-pioneers-groundbreaking-virtual-reality-223000397.html

Could This Be The Big Break-Out Moment For Augmented Reality?

“Key players like Snapchat use AR almost only to boost video creation,” Braverman explains. “This approach is good as an initial step, but it cuts the potential of spatial experience.” He and his co-founder noticed the lack of in-camera apps with depth of experience and interactivity and decided there was a massive opportunity. WATTY Remote was born, and now the company is working to make AR more accessible by bringing multiuser AR experiences to daily activities such as grocery shopping, sports viewing and social interaction.

In order to demonstrate the company's capabilities, WATTY Remote is launching an AR ping-pong application. Braverman says that this activity was selected given the fact that it is fast-paced and, therefore, showcases AR elements, such as matchmaking, lag compensation and latency, at their best,  WATTY is also currently at work on a stealth AR business solution that will be revealed later this year.

See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencoleman/2019/05/22/could-this-be-the-big-break-out-moment-for-augmented-reality/#1ae6d5fc67bf

Google announces a new $999 Glass augmented reality headset

Google has announced a new version of its business-focused Glass augmented reality headset, which it’s now designating an official Google product instead of an experiment. The Glass Enterprise Edition 2 costs $999, although, like its predecessor, it’s not being sold directly to consumers. It’s got a new processor, an improved camera, a USB-C port for faster charging, and a variety of other updates.

Google is also adding new safety frames to Glass in partnership with Smith Optics, plus a bigger battery and other upgraded components. Glass also now runs on Android, with support for Android Enterprise Mobile Device Management. The Glass Enterprise Edition 2’s existence leaked months ago, complete with news that it would likely be moving to Android. But we haven’t gotten a full picture of Google’s plans for it until now.

See the full story here: https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/20/18632689/google-glass-enterprise-edition-2-augmented-reality-headset-pricing

WATCH A REAL PASTOR BAPTIZE AN ANIME GIRL IN VIRTUAL REALITY

See the full story here: https://futurism.com/the-byte/pastor-baptize-anime-virtual-reality