philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

‘Get to know your enemy.’ How Hollywood workers are learning to use AI

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Curious Refuge burst onto the scene in April 2023 when it released an AI-generated trailer for a fake “Star Wars” movie in the vibrant, symmetrical style of director Wes Anderson that went viral on social media, inspiring awe in some — and inducing dread among others.

“It’s natural to see something new and to feel a sense of fear,” said Caleb Ward, co-founder and chief executive of Curious Refuge.

“I would encourage them to check out the tools and see what they’re capable of doing. ... These are not automatic processes of just typing in a prompt, clicking a button, and then you get something amazing. This is a storytelling process ... and it requires really good taste and storytelling [skills] to make something interesting.” ...

Ward said that his company guides hundreds of people through its AI training each month. Their AI Filmmaking course costs $749, with scholarships available depending on circumstances. ...

See the full story here: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-09-02/hollywood-workers-artificial-intelligence-ai-training

Tech titans target OpenAI deal, including Nvidia

Some of the biggest players in the tech sector are getting together with ChatGPT developer OpenAI. ...

"I think it was definitely a surprise for all of us how much people began using it," Agarwal said. "We work on these models so much, we forget how surprising they can be for the outside world sometimes."

Within five days of its release, the chatbot had attracted over one million users.

By comparison, it took Instagram about 2.5 months to reach one million downloads, while Netflix had to wait around 3.5 years to reach one million users, according to Exploding Topics, which cited Statista, Reuters, and Similarweb. ...

In June, Apple  (AAPL) named OpenAI the first official partner for its AI platform, Apple Intelligence. Apple's new AI will feature an improved Siri voice assistant, text proofreading, and custom emoji creation. ...

Llama models have been downloaded almost 350 million times since Meta began releasing them publicly last year, an increase from the 300 million downloads the company announced when it released the biggest version of its latest Llama 3 model in late July. ...

Gemini, formerly known as Bard, is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Google and rolled out last year. ...

See the full story here: https://www.thestreet.com/technology/nvidia-isnt-the-only-tech-titan-targeting-openai-deal

‘A tech firm stole our voices – then cloned and sold them’

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This particular podcast had a unique hook – they interviewed an AI-powered chat bot, equipped with text-to-speech software, to ask how it thought the use of AI would affect jobs in Hollywood.

But, when it spoke, it sounded just like Mr Lehrman.

"We needed to pull the car over," he said.

"The irony that AI is coming for the entertainment industry, and here is my voice talking about the potential destruction of the industry, was really quite shocking."

That night they spent hours online, searching for clues until they came across the site of text-to-speech platform Lovo. Once there, Ms Sage said she found a copy of her voice as well.

"I was stunned," she said. "I couldn't believe it."

"A tech company stole our voices, made AI clones of them, and sold them possibly hundreds of thousands of times."

They have now filed a lawsuit against Lovo. The firm has not yet responded to that or the BBC's requests for comment. ...

In their lawsuit, the couple set out how they say Lovo obtained just such a recording from them.

They allege anonymous Lovo employees contacted them to record audio assets on Fiverr, the popular freelance talent website, where they were selling their services to provide audio for television, radio, video games, and other media. ...

See the full story here: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3d9zv50955o

Anchorage police to incorporate virtual reality into training with emphasis on de-escalation

... The Anchorage Assembly approved the federally funded contract on Tuesday for up to $202,000. The vendor is a Toronto-based startup called ChimeraXR. It markets its products as “modern, realistic and immersive tactical training systems.” ...

The federal grant for APD’s VR system was created as a result of federal legislation stemming from George Floyd's killing at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020. ...

The Justice Department says the system can’t be used solely for tactical firearms training or use-of-force training. It must fit into a larger program that covers de-escalation, implicit bias and the duty to intervene when another officer uses excessive force. Patzke said those elements are continually reinforced in training for new and experienced officers. ...

See the full story here: https://alaskapublic.org/2024/08/30/anchorage-police-to-incorporate-virtual-reality-into-training-with-emphasis-on-de-escalation/

Ant Digital’s Zan Aims to Lead in Global Web3 with Hong Kong Expansion

... Zan was initiated by Ant in September of the previous year, with a clear goal of establishing itself as a critical technology provider at the heart of the emerging Web3 landscape. The CEO of Zan, Cobe Zhang Chenguang, explained in a recent interview that the company intends to bring the extensive technology services that Ant Group has developed over the years, particularly in areas such as blockchain and financial compliance, to Web3 developers worldwide. The goal is to become a central figure in the Web3 industry by offering a comprehensive suite of technical solutions, including node provider services and know-your-customer (KYC) verification. Zan aims to capture the largest market share in the Asia-Pacific region within the next two to three years. ...

Ant Group, known for its affiliation with the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, operates AntChain, which is currently the largest enterprise-facing blockchain platform in China. ... Despite its dominance in mainland China, Ant recognized the need to establish Zan in Hong Kong to further expand its blockchain services on a global scale. ...

See the full story here; https://www.cointrust.com/market-news/ant-digitals-zan-aims-to-lead-in-global-web3-with-hong-kong-expansion

Artificial Intelligence ‘Must Serve Humanity Equitably, Safely’, Secretary-General Stresses, in Message for International Day of Democracy

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This year’s Democracy Day focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool for good governance.

Left unchecked, the dangers posed by artificial intelligence could have serious implications for democracy, peace and stability.  This can start with the proliferation of mis- and disinformation, the spread of hate speech and the use of so-called deepfakes. 

Yet, AI has the potential to promote and enhance full and active public participation, equality, security and human development.  It can boost education on democratic processes, and shape more inclusive civic spaces where people have a say in decisions and can hold decision-makers to account. ...

This month’s Summit of the Future offers a crucial opportunity to strengthen international cooperation, build trust, and safeguard current and future generations. ...

See the full story here: https://press.un.org/en/2024/sgsm22347.doc.htm

Magic Raises $320 Million to Develop AI Coworker for Coding

Magic raised $320 million from a group of investors that includes former Google CEO Eric Schmidt to build an artificial intelligence coworker for AI research and code generation, the company said in a Thursday (Aug. 29) blog post.

The investment brings the total amount the company has raised to $465 million, according to the post.

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“We believe the most promising path to safe [artificial general intelligence (AGI)] is to automate AI research and code generation to improve models and solve alignment more reliably than humans can alone,” Magic said on its website. 

Magic also said in its blog post that it will build its next two supercomputers on Google Cloud. ... 

See the full story here: https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2024/magic-raises-320-million-dollars-develop-ai-coworker-coding/

Oprah Winfrey Lines Up AI Heavy Hitters for ABC Special

Winfrey will host an ABC special titled AI and the Future of Us: An Oprah Winfrey Special on Sept. 12, in which she’ll talk to some leading figures in the artificial-intelligence space, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI head Sam Altman, as well as FBI Director Christopher Wray and a couple of skeptical voices. ...

In addition to Gates, Altman and Wray, the special will feature interviews with technologist and widely followed YouTube tech reviewer Marcus Brownlee; Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, co-founders of the Center for Humane Technology who warn of the risks of AI growing too powerful, too fast; and author Marilynne Robinson, who “reflects on AI’s threat to human values and the ways in which humans might resist the convenience of AI,” per ABC’s description. 

The goal of the hour, according to ABC, is to “provide a serious, entertaining and meaningful base for every viewer to understand AI, and empowers everyone to be a part of one of the most important global conversations of the 21st century.” ...

See the full story here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/oprah-winfrey-abc-special-ai-1235987248/

Post-apocalyptic education

What comes after the Homework Apocalypse

... As of eight months ago, a representative survey in the US found that 82% of undergraduates and 72% of K12 students had used AI for school. ...

[Cheating on homework] is not a new problem. One of the first uses of any new technology has always been to get help with homework. A study of thousands of students at Rutgers found that when they did their homework in 2008, it improved test grades for 86% of them (see, homework really does help!), but homework only helped 45% of students in 2017. Why? The rise of the Internet. By 2017, a majority of students were copying internet answers, rather than doing the work themselves. ...

The Homework Apocalypse has already happened and may even have happened before generative AI! Why are more people not seeing this as an emergency? I think it has to do with two illusions. ...

Detection Illusion: teachers believe they can still easily detect AI use, and therefore can prevent it from being used in schoolwork. ...

While teachers grapple with the Detection Illusion, students face their own misconception: Illusory Knowledge. They don’t actually realize that getting help with homework is undermining their learning. ... As the authors of the study at Rutgers wrote: “There is no reason to believe that the students are aware that their homework strategy lowers their exam score... they make the commonsense inference that any study strategy that raises their homework quiz score raises their exam score as well.” ...

We know that almost three-quarters of teachers are already using AI for work, but we have just started to learn the most effective ways for teachers to use AI. ...

See the full article here: https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/post-apocalyptic-education

Sony Drops New Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid

... Sony says there's advanced sound technology in the C20, with a feature that prioritizes speech clarity while maintaining awareness of surrounding noises. 

The new C20 hearing aids will retail for $1,000. With the new model on the market, the C10 will have a suggested retail of $800; the E10 hearing aids, which resemble earbuds and -- like the new C20 -- are rechargeable, will be priced at $1,100. They'll be available through Sony and at Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, CVS, HearUSC  and through some hearing care places. ...

See the full story here: https://www.cnet.com/health/medical/sony-drops-new-over-the-counter-hearing-aid/