design

AI Resources and Teaching [Kent State U] + other items re: AI in our learning ecosystems

On 04/16/2024, in adjunct faculty, art, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, bots, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, liberal arts, media/film, Microsoft, multimedia, music, Natural Language Processing (NLP), new media literacies, online media, online tutoring, Open AI, open courseware and systems, pedagogy, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, teaching & learning, tools, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

AI RESOURCES AND TEACHING (Kent State University) — from aiadvisoryboards.wordpress.com

AI Resources and Teaching | Kent State University offers valuable resources for educators interested in incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into their teaching practices. The university recognizes that the rapid emergence of AI tools presents both challenges and opportunities in higher education.

The AI Resources and Teaching page provides educators with information and guidance on various AI tools and their responsible use within and beyond the classroom. The page covers different areas of AI application, including language generation, visuals, videos, music, information extraction, quantitative analysis, and AI syllabus language examples.

A Cautionary AI Tale: Why IBM’s Dazzling Watson Supercomputer Made a Lousy Tutor — from the74million.org by Greg Toppo
With a new race underway to create the next teaching chatbot, IBM’s abandoned 5-year, $100M ed push offers lessons about AI’s promise and its limits.

For all its jaw-dropping power, Watson the computer overlord was a weak teacher. It couldn’t engage or motivate kids, inspire them to reach new heights or even keep them focused on the material — all qualities of the best mentors.

It’s a finding with some resonance to our current moment of AI-inspired doomscrolling about the future of humanity in a world of ascendant machines. “There are some things AI is actually very good for,” Nitta said, “but it’s not great as a replacement for humans.”

His five-year journey to essentially a dead-end could also prove instructive as ChatGPT and other programs like it fuel a renewed, multimillion-dollar experiment to, in essence, prove him wrong.
…

To be sure, AI can do sophisticated things such as generating quizzes from a class reading and editing student writing. But the idea that a machine or a chatbot can actually teach as a human can, he said, represents “a profound misunderstanding of what AI is actually capable of.”

Nitta, who still holds deep respect for the Watson lab, admits, “We missed something important. At the heart of education, at the heart of any learning, is engagement. And that’s kind of the Holy Grail.”

From DSC:
This is why the vision that I’ve been tracking and working on has always said that HUMAN BEINGS will be necessary — they are key to realizing this vision. Along these lines, here’s a relevant quote:

Another crucial component of a new learning theory for the age of AI would be the cultivation of “blended intelligence.” This concept recognizes that the future of learning and work will involve the seamless integration of human and machine capabilities, and that learners must develop the skills and strategies needed to effectively collaborate with AI systems. Rather than viewing AI as a threat to human intelligence, a blended intelligence approach seeks to harness the complementary strengths of humans and machines, creating a symbiotic relationship that enhances the potential of both.

Per Alexander “Sasha” Sidorkin, Head of the National Institute on AI in Society at California State University Sacramento.

“Do We Need Emotionally Intelligent AI?” [Watkins] + other items re: AI in general

On 04/04/2024, in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, bots, communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, design, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, graphics, hearts -- matters of the heart, Open AI, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Do We Need Emotionally Intelligent AI? — from marcwatkins.substack.com by Marc Watkins

We keep breaking new ground in AI capabilities, and there seems little interest in asking if we should build the next model to be more life-like. You can now go to Hume.AI and have a conversation with an Empathetic Voice Interface. EVI is groundbreaking and extremely unnerving, but it is no more capable of genuine empathy than your toaster oven.
…

- You can have the eLLM mimic a political campaign and call potential voters to sway their vote. You can do this ethically or program it to prey upon people with misinformation.
- An eLLM can be used to socially engineer the public based on the values someone programs into it. Whose values, though?
- Any company with a digital presence can use an eLLM like EVI to influence their customers. Imagine Alexa suddenly being able to empathize with you as a means to help persuade you to order more products.
- An always-on, empathetic system can help a student stay on track to graduate or manipulate them into behaviors that erode their autonomy and free will.
- Any foreign government could deploy such a system against a neighboring population and use empathy as a weapon to sow discontent within the opposing population.

From DSC:
Marc offers some solid thoughts that should make us all pause and reflect on what he’s saying.

We can endlessly rationalize away the reasons why machines possessing such traits can be helpful, but where is the line that developers and users of such systems refuse to cross in this race to make machines more like us?

Marc Watkins

Along these lines, also see:

Student Chatbot Use ‘Could Be Increasing Loneliness’ — from insidehighered.com by Tom Williams
Study finds students who rely on ChatGPT for academic tasks feel socially supported by artificial intelligence at the expense of their real-life relationships.

…
They found “evidence that while AI chatbots designed for information provision may be associated with student performance, when social support, psychological well-being, loneliness and sense of belonging are considered it has a net negative effect on achievement,” according to the paper published in Studies in Higher Education.

Editing your images with DALL·E — from help.openai.com via The Rundown
You can now edit images you create with DALL·E

Below are some items for those creatives who might be interested in telling stories, designing games, crafting audio-based experiences, composing music, developing new worlds using 3D graphics, and more.

CREATING THE SOUNDS OF LIGHTFALL — from bungie.net; via Mr. Robert Bender

The sounds of any game can make or break the experience for its players. Many of our favorite adventures come roaring back into our minds when we hear a familiar melody, or maybe it’s a special sound effect that reminds us of our time performing a particularly heroic feat… or the time we just caused some havoc with friends. With Lightfall sending Guardians to explore the new destination of Neomuna, there’s an entire universe hidden away within the sounds—both orchestral and diegetic—for Guardians to uncover and immerse themselves in. We recently assembled some of Destiny’s finest sound designers and composers to dive a little bit deeper into the stunning depths of Neomuna’s auditory experience.

Before diving into the interview with our incredible team, we wanted to make sure you have seen the Lightfall music documentary that went out shortly after the expansion’s release. This short video is a great introduction to how our team worked to create the music of Lightfall and is a must-see for audiophiles and Destiny fans alike.

.

Game Dev Diaries: The Hidden World of Audio — from lianaruppert.medium.com by Liana Ruppert, via Mr. Robert Bender

Every game has a story to tell, a journey to take players through that — if done well — can inspire wonderful memories that last a lifetime. Unlike other storytelling mediums, the art of video games is an intricate interweaving of experiences, including psychological cues that are designed to entrance players and make them feel like they’re a part of the story. One way this is achieved is through the art of audio. And no, we aren’t just talking about the many incredible soundtracks out there, we’re talking about the oftentimes overlooked universe of audio design.
…
What does an audio designer do?
“Number one? We don’t work on music. That’s a thing almost everyone thinks every audio designer does,” jokes Nyte when opening up about beginning her quest into the audio world. “That, or for a game like Destiny, people just assume we only work on weapon sounds and nothing else. Which, [Juan] Uribe does, but a lot of us don’t. There is this entire gamut of other sounds that are in-game that people don’t really notice. Some do, and that’s always cool, but audio is about all sounds coming together for a ‘whole’ audio experience.”

Also relevant/see:

The New Stack of Entertainment, Tensions of the AI Age, & Navigating Cambrian Explosions — from implications.com by Scott Belsky
Let’s explore some fun albeit heretical Hollywood possibilities, face key tensions, and talk about how to stay grounded with customer needs.

On the Transformation of Entertainment
What company will be the Pixar of the AI era? What talent agency will be the CAA of the AI era? How fast can the entertainment industry evolve to natively leverage AI, and what parts will be disrupted by the industry’s own ambivalence? Or are all of these questions myopic…and should we anticipate a wave of entirely new categories of entertainment?

We are starting to see material adoption of AI tools across many industries, including media and entertainment. No doubt, these tools will transform the processes behind generating content. But what entirely new genres of content might emerge? The platform shift to AI-based workflows might give rise to entirely new types of companies that transform entertainment as we know it – from actor representation, Hollywood economics, consumption devices and experiences, to the actual mediums of entertainment themselves. Let’s explore just a few of the more edgy implications:

Some very fun art and creativity for you!

On 03/12/2024, in art, creativity, design, graphics, by Daniel Christian

Aurélie Hoegy’s Surging Rattan Forms Oscillate Between Interior Design and Sculpture — from thisiscolossal.com by Jackie Andres and Aurélie Hoegy

10 of Our Fav Illustrators Using True Grit Texture Supply — from booooooom.com

A different perspective by Hugo Suissas – thread ?

1. Special Light pic.twitter.com/LYfbprSBqQ

— James Lucas (@JamesLucasIT) March 10, 2024

Wander into This Miraculous Miniature Library with Thousands of Books Made Entirely by Hand [Mayer and Andres]

On 03/06/2024, in art, creativity, design, library / librarians, by Daniel Christian

Wander into This Miraculous Miniature Library with Thousands of Books Made Entirely by Hand — from thisiscolossal.com by Jackie Andres and Tomas Mayer

The Future of Generative AI in Architecture, Design, and Engineering [Lindsay & Townsend]

On 02/05/2024, in 21st century, architecture, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, content development, aggregation, repositories, design, engineering, Natural Language Processing (NLP), by Daniel Christian

The Future of Generative AI in Architecture, Design, and Engineering — from aiadvisoryboards.wordpress.com; report referenced was prepared by Greg Lindsay & Anthony Townsend

The key findings of the report “The Future of Generative AI in Architecture, Design, and Engineering” include:

Generative AI (GAI) has the potential to disrupt fields such as architecture, design, and engineering by enabling users to quickly generate digital content in response to prompts.
GAI, represented by large language models like GPT-4, has shown remarkable capabilities in natural language processing, machine translation, and content generation.
GAI’s ability to produce thoughtful content and analysis at almost zero marginal cost is causing significant impact in global politics, industry, and culture.
The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is already experiencing the effects of GAI, with concerns about job displacement and the use of AI-generated avatars.
GAI is compute-bound, leading to a high demand for computing power, particularly GPUs. However, emerging trends suggest that future developments will establish a

Video, Images and Sounds – Good Tools #14 [Good]

On 01/14/2024, in blogs / blogging / vlogging, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, graphics, multimedia, music, new media literacies, platforms, podcasting, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, vendors, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

Video, Images and Sounds – Good Tools #14 — from goodtools.substack.com by Robin Good

Specifically in this issue:

Free Image Libraries
Image Search Engines
Free Illustrations
Free Icons
Free Stock Video Footage
Free Music for Video and Podcasts

Where to Submit Your Work: A Curated List of Websites that Feature Art + Illustration

On 12/14/2023, in art, career development, communities of practice, creativity, design, marketing/social marketing, by Daniel Christian

Where to Submit Your Work: A Curated List of Websites that Feature Art + Illustration — from booooooom.com

So you’ve just completed your latest creative project or maybe you’ve been building up your portfolio for a while and finally feel ready to share, what next? It’s important to be confident and put yourself out there, but let’s first talk about what all this process entails in order to make the most of your time and energy.

This comprehensive guide includes a collection of websites and magazines that currently accept art and illustration submissions. Plus we’ll cover how and what to prepare before you start submitting to help you improve the quality of your submissions and give you a sense of what to expect throughout the entire process!

Congrats LORD — how does it feel to have your wisdom, designs, and creations copied, yet again?! [Christian]

On 11/11/2023, in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, biology, Daniel S. Christian, design, emerging technologies, intelligent systems, learning, memory, by Daniel Christian

DC: Congrats LORD — how does it feel to have your wisdom, designs, and creations copied, yet again?!

Nanowire ‘brain’ network learns and remembers ‘on the fly’https://t.co/VTcfgS8M24

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) November 11, 2023

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

For the first time, a physical neural network has successfully been shown to learn and remember “on the fly,” in a way inspired by and similar to how the brain’s neurons work.

Also see:

Nanowire ‘brain’ learns like humans! — from tech.therundown.ai by Rowan Cheung

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The Rundown: University of Sydney researchers have created a “brain-like” nanowire network capable of learning and remembering in real-time, similar to that of human brain function.

The details:

The nanowire neural network self-organizes into patterns, functioning like the brain’s synapses by responding to electrical currents.

Graphic Design Trends 2024 – The Great Reset [Enchev]

On 10/17/2023, in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, change, communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, design, graphics, productivity / tips and tricks, by Daniel Christian

Graphic Design Trends 2024 – The Great Reset — from graphicmama.com by Lyudmil Enchev
2024 will be a year of revolution in graphic design, and we are about to share with you why and how trends in graphic design will totally change 180 degrees.

Ways to use AI in 2023 in your designs:

Find inspiration for your designs
Give you ideas for concepts and compositions
Help you with choosing colors
Help you change backgrounds or retouch images
Help you with revisions and variations
Resize and recompose designs in different dimensions for different platforms
Create visuals for websites, marketing, and social media

Adobe is going hard with it re: the use of Artificial Intelligence

On 10/16/2023, in Adobe, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, design, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Adobe revealed 4 new AI heavy hitters — from aivalley.com

Project Stardust
Project Primrose
Project Poseable
Project Dub Dub Dub

MAX sneaks — Generative Fill for Video, holymoly!!! #AdobeMAX pic.twitter.com/fAa5ONg241

— Julie W. Design (@juliewdesign_) October 12, 2023

Adobe is working on generative AI video manipulation — from theverge.com by Umar Shakir
The company revealed Project Fast Fill, a new way to remove people, add objects, and replace colors in videos using generative AI and text-prompt interactions.

Adobe is showing off a new generative fill feature, Project Fast Fill, that can easily add or remove objects in videos with the power of AI. It’s one of several new, wild, experimental AI features announced today at the company’s MAX conference. Project Fast Fill has the ability to swap in clothing accessories on people in motion or remove tourists from the background of a landscape pan.

Canva and Adobe are going hard with it re: the use of AI

On 10/09/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, colleges, communications, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, design, digital photography, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, graphics, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, IT in HE, K-12 related, liberal arts, maker movement, multimedia, online media, photography, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, visualizing information, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

Canva’s new AI tools automate boring, labor-intensive design tasks — from theverge.com by Jess Weatherbed
Magic Studio features like Magic Switch automatically convert your designs into blogs, social media posts, emails, and more to save time on manually editing documents.

Canva launches Magic Studio, partners with Runway ML for video — from bensbites.beehiiv.com by Ben Tossell

Here are the highlights of launched features under the new Magic Studio:

Magic Design – Turn ideas into designs instantly with AI-generated templates.
Magic Switch – Transform content into different formats and languages with one click.
Magic Grab – Make images editable like Canva templates for easy editing.
Magic Expand – Use AI to expand images beyond the original frame.
Magic Morph – Transform text and shapes with creative effects and prompts.
Magic Edit – Make complex image edits using simple text prompts.
Magic Media – Generate professional photos, videos and artworks from text prompts.
Magic Animate – Add animated transitions and motion to designs instantly.
Magic Write – Generate draft text and summaries powered by AI.

Adobe Firefly

Addendums on 10/11/23:

We released a new model ?

!!! Firefly Image 2 !!!!

As a scientist I am in disbelief that such model is possible with a small dataset as we had.

We compensated artists for training it.

We worked very hard on it. Please, enjoy! #AdobeMax https://t.co/j2TUiiyjN7 pic.twitter.com/gqABThSBWZ

— Kris Kashtanova (@icreatelife) October 10, 2023

Adobe Releases New AI Models Aimed at Improved Graphic Design — from bloomberg.com
New version of Firefly is bigger than initial tool, Adobe says Illustrator, Express programs each get own generative tools

A few hours ago, Adobe released Firefly 2, their new AI image generator.

But how good is it?

I compared it to Midjourney & DALL-E 3 across 10 very different image categories so you don’t have to.

Here are the results:

— Chase Lean (@chaseleantj) October 11, 2023

Introducing Magic Studio: the power of AI, all in one place [Canva.com]

On 10/06/2023, in art, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, communications, creativity, design, digital storytelling, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, graphics, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Introducing Magic Studio: the power of AI, all in one place — from canva.com

Also relevant/see:

Canva’s new AI features make everyone a designer — from joinsuperhuman.ai by Zain Kahn

…here are all the cool new ways you can use Canva to create pro-grade designs for your work:

Magic Media: Generate photos and videos with text prompts.
Magic Design: Turn ideas into designs with AI-generated templates.
Magic Switch: Translate content into different languages and formats.
Magic Expand: Make images bigger with AI.
Magic Edit: Edit images with simple text prompts.
Magic Morph: Transform text and shapes with visual effects.
Magic Write: Generate texts and summaries with AI.

Canva also announced that they’re creating a $200 million fund to compensate creators who opt-in to train their AI models.

10 Free AI Tools for Graphic Designing — from medium.com by Qz Ruslan

With the advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), designers now have access to a wide array of free AI-powered tools that streamline their creative process, enhance productivity, and add a touch of uniqueness to their designs. In this article, we will explore ten such free AI tools websites for graphic designing that have revolutionized the way designers approach their craft.

Generative Art in Motion — from heatherbcooper.substack.com by Heather Cooper
Animation and video tools create an explosion of creative expression

World’s first AI cinema opening in Auckland to make all your Matrix fantasies come true — from stuff.co.nz by Jonny Mahon-Heap
Review: My HyperCinema experience was futuristic, sleek – and slightly insane as I became the star of my own show.

AI That Alters Voice and Imagery in Political Ads Will Require Disclosure on Google and YouTube — from usnews.com by Associated Press
Political ads using artificial intelligence on Google and YouTube must soon be accompanied by a prominent disclosure if imagery or sounds have been synthetically altered

Google will soon require that political ads using artificial intelligence be accompanied by a prominent disclosure if imagery or sounds have been synthetically altered.

AI-generated election ads on YouTube and other Google platforms that alter people or events must include a clear disclaimer located somewhere that users are likely to notice, the company said in an update this week to its political content policy.

Some incredible creativity!!!

On 08/07/2023, in art, creativity, design, digital video, by Daniel Christian

Against the Ream: An Expansive Exhibition Invites Thirteen Artists to Explore the Vast ‘Possibilities of Paper’ — Colossal — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes & various artists

It’s not often that something truly blows me away, but this is absolutely mind-blowing. This artist created an incredible stop-motion time-lapse!

Just think about the countless frames they had to shoot! ?

Source: @insta360 YouTube
Credit: ??????winga on BiliBili pic.twitter.com/O2W6eXxedQ

— Nicolas Neubert (@iamneubert) June 25, 2023

The Master’s Pupil is a hand-painted video game informed by Monet’s artworks — from dezeen.com by Amy Peacock and Pat Naoum

Game developer Pat Naoum has launched a video game with backgrounds, creatures and scenery entirely painted by hand, which took seven years to complete.

Available on Nintendo Switch and Steam for Windows and Mac, The Master’s Pupil is a 12-level puzzle-adventure game that explores a painterly world through the eyes of French artist Claude Monet.
…
The Master’s Pupil is the first game Naoum developed and took him seven years to complete.

Learning Ecosystems