philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

How fast is AI evolving? It’s now doing generative video

... It wasn't that long ago that games programmers started exploring with procedurally-generated cityscapes. These relied on algorithms built on basic parametric information about cities, using unchanging routines that could take a load of statistics about what buildings, roads and street furniture tended to be like, and create not particularly realistic "cities" based on those essential elements. This wasn't AI. It relied on fixed routines, almost certainly with an element of randomness built in. Randomness is arguably the opposite of intelligence, but it can give the appearance of design if it's applied to elements that are essentially random in the real world. ...

Today, AI techniques can generate photorealistic cities that seemingly go on forever. These don't rely on a fixed set of parameters but on extensive training and, ultimately, a "knowledge" of what a city is like. ...

And now - generative video. Just this week, Stable Diffusion developer Runway announced its generative video model: "Introducing Gen-1: a new AI model that uses language and images to generate new videos out of existing ones.” ...

So when will we achieve AGI? The answer is somewhere in between never and sooner than you think. ...

See the full story here; https://www.redsharknews.com/how-fast-is-ai-evolving-its-now-doing-generative-video

... In another section written by ChatGPT, Hill warned about “the potential for job loss”, that artificial general intelligence “could perpetuate existing biases and discrimination” and “could be used for malicious purposes, such as cyber-attacks and disinformation campaigns”.

ChatGPT also supplied possible benefits, such as AI’s “potential to revolutionise many industries, including healthcare, transportation and finance by increasing efficiency, reducing costs and improving decision-making”. ...

Hill, Australia’s most prominent politician on the TikTok social media app, gently trolled the Liberal opposition by suggesting they ask ChatGPT “is climate change real?” and “what do we stand for?”. ...

See the full story here: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/06/labor-mp-julian-hill-australia-parliament-speech-ai-part-written-by-chatgpt

A Message from our CEO, Sundar Pichai: An important next step on our AI journey

... Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence and creativity of our large language models. It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses. Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity, helping you to explain new discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old, or learn more about the best strikers in football right now, and then get drills to build your skills. ...

See the full editorial here: https://www.blog.google/technology/ai/bard-google-ai-search-updates/?mc_cid=066eaa8ac2&mc_eid=f55a714a2f

MIT engineers invent vertical, full-color microscopic LEDs for use in AR and VR devices

MIT has recently announced that its engineers have developed a new way to make sharper, defect-free displays, with the invention of vertical, full-color microscopic LEDs.

LEDs are reaching a limit as to how small they can be while still performing effectively. This limit is especially noticeable in close-range displays such as augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) devices, where limited pixel density results in a “screen door effect” such that users perceive stripes in the space between pixels.

To solve this issue of size, instead of placing red, green, and blue LEDs (light-emitting diodes) side by side in a horizontal patchwork, a team at MIT has invented a way to stack the diodes to create vertical, multicolored pixels. 

According to MIT, each stacked pixel can generate the full commercial range of colors and measures about 4 microns wide (for context, a human hair ranges anywhere from 17-181 microns). The microscopic pixels, or “micro-LEDs,” can be packed to a density of 5,000 pixels per inch. ...

See the full story here: https://www.auganix.org/vr-news-mit-engineers-invent-vertical-full-color-microscopic-leds-for-use-in-ar-and-vr-devices/

Avocados From Mexico Ad Campaign Features AR & AI

This year, Avocados From Mexico (AFM), one of the leading avocado brands in the US, recently dropped a teaser for the company’s 9th Super Bowl Digital Activation. According to an official release, the “Always Good” experience will include a TV spot featuring actress Anna Faris that will air during the big game as well as a series of interactive activities that make use of technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI).

For example, you can connect your Spotify account to create AFM musical pieces based on your personal listening habits. Another experience allows you to remix Avocados From Mexico branded music using a combination of AR and AI technology. Instead of an instrument or controller, you trigger various sounds of the brand by performing different facial expressions. ...

See the full story here: https://vrscout.com/news/avocados-from-mexico-ad-campaign-features-ar-ai/

Study shows students felt more engaged by augmented reality but learned less than those viewing video

... A new study from the University of Kansas found that an augmented reality lesson scored highly among users, who reported that they felt more engaged with the content than from a video lesson. However, objective data showed that those who interacted with the AR model learned less than those who watched the video. The results suggest that educators must carefully consider when and how to use augmented reality as part of the learning environment.

Mugur Geana, associate professor of health communication and director of KU's Center for Excellence in Health Communications to Underserved Populations, led the study in which 44 students completed an educational module about the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the infectious agent responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic). Half watched a video that shared information on the virus, its protein spikes, the virus capsule and its genome. The other half interacted with an AR model of the virus in which they used a tablet that imagined a 3D virus model in the experimental room, where they could move around the virtual model and click on the 3D graphic. While doing so, they received audio instructions with the same information about the viral components as in the video. ...

See the full story here: https://phys.org/news/2023-02-students-felt-engaged-augmented-reality.html

TikTok’s Transparency Campaign Echoes Effort by Huawei to Ease Security Concerns

CULVER CITY, Calif.—TikTok is trying to win Washington’s trust with a playbook recalling the unsuccessful strategy that another Chinese-owned company, Huawei Technologies Co., took in the U.S. and swaths of Europe.

As part of its push to demonstrate openness to U.S. authorities, TikTok this week gave journalists a tour of what it calls its Transparency and Accountability Center. In an office park in this city next to Los Angeles, screens explained how TikTok moderates and recommends the short-form videos on its app.

See the full story here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktoks-transparency-campaign-echoes-effort-by-huawei-to-ease-security-concerns-11675323193

Direct info on cntr - https://www.tiktok.com/transparency/en-us/

Report: Microsoft plans to update Bing with a faster version of ChatGPT in the coming weeks

Microsoft is working to incorporate a faster version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, known as GPT-4, into Bing in the coming weeks in a move that would make the search engine more competitive with Google, according to a new report from Semafor. The integration would see Bing using GPT-4 to answer search queries.

People familiar with the matter told Semafor that the main difference between ChatGPT and GPT-4 is speed. Although ChatGPT sometimes takes a up to a few minutes to form a response, GPT-4 is said to be a lot quicker in responding to queries. The latest software’s responses are also said to be more detailed and more humanlike.

The planned incorporation of ChatGPT into Microsoft products is expected to trigger new competition in internet search, which has largely been dominated by Google. By using GPT-4, Bing would be able to provide users with humanlike answers, as opposed to just simply displaying a list of links. ...

See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/01/report-microsoft-plans-to-update-bing-with-a-faster-version-of-chatgpt-in-the-coming-weeks/?fbclid=IwAR2ax0TrnRUrDpBYmVFSHFkY7OzRAeCGvMnSeCe_DK48XPf4MjQ4gpwBZCA

AI-powered surveillance sought for US Central Command

The U.S. Air Force is interested in installing always-on surveillance systems fueled by artificial intelligence and other advanced computing technology at sites overseen by U.S. Central Command.

In documents published last week, the service sought industry feedback on a potential high-tech “monitoring system” at Al Udeid Air Base, in Qatar, and other undisclosed “forward locations.”

Such a system could dramatically slash the manpower and man-hours needed to keep tabs on foreign workers, an around-the-clock assignment, the Air Force said. Al Udeid is the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East and served as a crucial evacuation hub amid the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.

See the full story here: https://www.defensenews.com/artificial-intelligence/2023/01/31/ai-powered-surveillance-sought-for-us-central-command/

Watermark-Erasing AI Worries Photographers, Other Creatives

... While the ability to remove watermarks or other unwanted objects from a photo has long existed using tools like Adobe Photoshop or Google’s Magic Eraser, Watermark.io takes it to another level, with the AI reconstructing the image that would have been under watermark. Some photographic enterprises have embraced AI.

“Stock image giant Shutterstock recently introduced its own text-to-image generator based on OpenAI’s DALL-E 2, and Adobe Stock has also welcomed the technology by accepting AI-generated content for sale on its platform,” The Verge writes, explaining “this is despite criticism from creatives that their content is often scraped from the web without compensation or consent to train these same systems.”

The situation is rife with moral and ethical concerns. “AI technology is calling out for strong, clear regulation,” writes Creative Bloq, adding that “right now, no-one is really sure what’s allowed and what isn’t, as was proven recently when a user got suspended on Reddit for posting their own AI artwork.” A blockchain record of ownership, such as is used for NFTs, could be a helpful step, the outlet concludes.

See the full story here: https://www.etcentric.org/watermark-erasing-ai-worries-photographers-other-creatives/