professional wordpress themes

AI tools and features; plus AI’s ongoing impact (both positive and negative)

On 08/05/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, bots, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, computer science, creativity, design, digital video, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future, geography / geology, Google, graphics, innovation, marketing/social marketing, media/film, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, tools, trends, writing, by Daniel Christian

Gen-AI Movie Trailer For Sci Fi Epic “Genesis” — from forbes.com by Charlie Fink

The movie trailer for “Genesis,” created with AI, is so convincing it caused a stir on Twitter [on July 27]. That’s how I found out about it. Created by Nicolas Neubert, a senior product designer who works for Elli by Volkswagen in Germany, the “Genesis” trailer promotes a dystopian sci-fi epic reminiscent of the Terminator. There is no movie, of course, only the trailer exists, but this is neither a gag nor a parody. It’s in a class of its own. Eerily made by man, but not.

Google’s water use is soaring. AI is only going to make it worse. — from businessinsider.com by Hugh Langley

Google just published its 2023 environmental report, and one thing is for certain: The company’s water use is soaring.

The internet giant said it consumed 5.6 billion gallons of water in 2022, the equivalent of 37 golf courses. Most of that — 5.2 billion gallons — was used for the company’s data centers, a 20% increase on the amount Google reported the year prior.

We think prompt engineering (learning to converse with an AI) is overrated. — from the Neuron

We think prompt engineering (learning to converse with an AI) is overrated. Yup, we said it. We think the future of chat interfaces will be a combination of preloading context and then allowing AI to guide you to the information you seek.

From DSC:
Agreed. I think we’ll see a lot more interface updates and changes to make things easier to use, find, develop.

Radar Trends to Watch: August 2023 — from oreilly.com by Mike Loukides
Developments in Programming, Web, Security, and More

Artificial Intelligence continues to dominate the news. In the past month, we’ve seen a number of major updates to language models: Claude 2, with its 100,000 token context limit; LLaMA 2, with (relatively) liberal restrictions on use; and Stable Diffusion XL, a significantly more capable version of Stable Diffusion. Does Claude 2’s huge context really change what the model can do? And what role will open access and open source language models have as commercial applications develop?

Try out Google ‘TextFX’ and its 10 creative AI tools for rappers, writers — from 9to5google.com by Abner Li; via Barsee – AI Valley 

Google Lab Sessions are collaborations between “visionaries from all realms of human endeavor” and the company’s latest AI technology. [On 8/2/23], Google released TextFX as an “experiment to demonstrate how generative language technologies can empower the creativity and workflows of artists and creators” with Lupe Fiasco.

Google’s TextFX includes 10 tools and is powered by the PaLM 2 large language model via the PALM API. Meant to aid in the creative process of rappers, writers, and other wordsmiths, it is part of Google Labs.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

The Evolution of Public Libraries [Khan]

On 07/17/2023, in design, learning spaces, library / librarians, society, trends, UK, by Daniel Christian

The Evolution of Public Libraries — from designinglibraries.org.uk by Ayub Khan
Designing Libraries Director, Ayub Khan, looks at the evolution of public libraries – and the implications for library design

Reinvention
Public libraries have always adapted and reinvented themselves to the changing needs and preferences of their users – and they continue to do so. Books and reading remain central to what libraries do but – it’s a bit of a cliché to say so – they are not just about books nowadays. They are social places at the centre of their communities.

Having worked on the initial design concepts for the new Library of Birmingham, earlier in my career, I know books were only part of the plans. When I started out as a librarian around 75% of library spaces were for books and 25% for other activities and events. Now it’s the other way round.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Reflections on “Introducing Superalignment” + other items re: AI in general

On 07/06/2023, in 21st century, architecture, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, copyright/ownership/NFTs, design, Europe, future, game-changing environment, health, India, platforms, skills, society, sociology, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

Introducing Superalignment — from openai.com
We need scientific and technical breakthroughs to steer and control AI systems much smarter than us. To solve this problem within four years, we’re starting a new team, co-led by Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, and dedicating 20% of the compute we’ve secured to date to this effort. We’re looking for excellent ML researchers and engineers to join us.

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

How do we ensure AI systems much smarter than humans follow human intent?
…
Currently, we don’t have a solution for steering or controlling a potentially superintelligent AI, and preventing it from going rogue. Our current techniques for aligning AI, such as reinforcement learning from human feedback, rely on humans’ ability to supervise AI. But humans won’t be able to reliably supervise AI systems much smarter than us, and so our current alignment techniques will not scale to superintelligence. We need new scientific and technical breakthroughs.
…
Our goal is to build a roughly human-level automated alignment researcher. We can then use vast amounts of compute to scale our efforts, and iteratively align superintelligence.

From DSC:
Hold up. We’ve been told for years that AI is at the toddler stage. But now assertions are being made that AI systems are smarter than humans — much smarter even. That said, then why is the goal of OpenAI to build a roughly human-level automated alignment researcher if humans aren’t that smart after all…? Which is it? I must be missing or misunderstanding something here…

OpenAI are jumping back on the alignment bandwagon with the brilliantly-named Superalignment Team. And you guessed it – they’re researching alignment of future superintelligent AIs. They reckon that AI can align other AI faster than humans can, and the plan is to build an AI that does just that. Head-spinning stuff…

Ben’s Bites

Plus…

Who else should be on this team? We certainly don’t want a team comprised of just technical people. How about including rabbis, pastors, priests, parents, teachers, professors, social workers, judges, legislators, and many others who can help represent other specialties, disciplines, and perspectives to protect society?

Authors file a lawsuit against OpenAI for unlawfully ‘ingesting’ their books — from theguardian.com by Ella Creamer; via Ben’s Bytes
Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay allege that their books, which are copyrighted, were ‘used to train’ ChatGPT because the chatbot generated ‘very accurate summaries’ of the works
.

How AI is Transforming Workplace Architecture and Design — from workdesign.com by Christian Lehmkuhl

London Futurists | Generative AI drug discovery breakthrough, with Alex Zhavoronkov — from londonfuturists.buzzsprout.com

Alex Zhavoronkov is our first guest to make a repeat appearance, having first joined us in episode 12, last November. We are delighted to welcome him back, because he is doing some of the most important work on the planet, and he has some important news.

In 2014, Alex founded Insilico Medicine, a drug discovery company which uses artificial intelligence to identify novel targets and novel molecules for pharmaceutical companies. Insilico now has drugs designed with AI in human clinical trials, and it is one of a number of companies that are demonstrating that developing drugs with AI can cut the time and money involved in the process by as much as 90%.

Watch This Space: New Field of Spatial Finance Uses AI to Estimate Risk, Monitor Assets, Analyze Claims — from blogs.nvidia.com

When making financial decisions, it’s important to look at the big picture — say, one taken from a drone, satellite or AI-powered sensor.

The emerging field of spatial finance harnesses AI insights from remote sensors and aerial imagery to help banks, insurers, investment firms and businesses analyze risks and opportunities, enable new services and products, measure the environmental impact of their holdings, and assess damage after a crisis.

Secretive hardware startup Humane’s first product is the Ai Pin — from techcrunch.com by Kyle Wiggers; via The Rundown AI

Excerpt:

Humane, the startup launched by ex-Apple design and engineering duo Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, today revealed details about its first product: The Humane Ai Pin.
…
Humane’s product, as it turns out, is a wearable gadget with a projected display and AI-powered features. Chaudhri gave a live demo of the device onstage during a TED Talk in April, but a press release issued today provides a few additional details.

The Humane Ai Pin is a new type of standalone device with a software platform that harnesses the power of AI to enable innovative personal computing experiences.

He Spent $140 Billion on AI With Little to Show. Now He Is Trying Again. — from wsj.com by Eliot Brown; via Superhuman
Billionaire Masayoshi Son said he would make SoftBank ‘the investment company for the AI revolution,’ but he missed out on the most recent frenzy

“Stunning”—Midjourney update wows AI artists with camera-like feature — from arstechnica.com by Benj Edwards; via Sam DeBrule from Machine Learnings
Midjourney v5.2 features camera-like zoom control over framing, more realism.

What is AIaaS? Guide to Artificial Intelligence as a Service — from eweek.com by Shelby Hiter
Artificial intelligence as a service, AIaaS, is an outsourced AI service provided by cloud-based AI providers.

AIaaS Definition
When a company is interested in working with artificial intelligence but doesn’t have the in-house resources, budget, and/or expertise to build and manage its own AI technology, it’s time to invest in AIaaS.

Artificial intelligence as a service, or AIaaS, is an outsourced service model AI that cloud-based companies provide to other businesses, giving them access to different AI models, algorithms, and other resources directly through a cloud computing platform; this access is usually managed through an API or SDK connection.

The Rise of the AI Engineer — from latent.space

Boost ChatGPT with new plugins — from wondertools.substack.com by Jeremy Caplan
Wonder Tools | Six new ways to use AI
.

A series re: AI from Jeff Foster out at ProvideoCoalition.com

The AI upskilling imperative to build a future-ready workforce — from businessinsider.com

Excerpts:

Skill development has always been crucial, but recent technological advancements have raised the stakes. We are currently in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, where automation and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionising the workplace. In this era of quick change and short half-life of skills, upskilling shouldn’t be an afterthought. Instead, reskilling and upskilling have to evolve into requirements for effective professional development.

To understand the significance of upskilling for your career trajectory, it is important to recognise the ever-evolving nature of technology and the rapid pace of digital transformation. Business Insider India has been exploring how businesses and thought leaders are driving innovation by educating their staff on the technologies and skills that will shape the future.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Beautiful creativity, design, architecture, and art.

On 06/20/2023, in art, creativity, design, Europe, UK, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

An Accessible Treetop Walkway Gracefully Winds Through Norway’s Hamaren Activity Park — from thisiscolossal.com

An Accessible Treetop Walkway Gracefully Winds Through Norway’s Hamaren Activity Park Photos by Rasmus Hjortshøj, © EFFEKT

School of Visual Arts presents 10 senior thesis interior design projects — from dezeen.com

Resilience by Raymond Xie

An instrument for a city: An audio project filling one of London’s busiest roads with serene sounds — from inavateonthenet.net where Paul Milligan speaks to Nick Ryan, the artist responsible for VoiceLine.

An instrument for a city: An audio project filling one of London’s busiest roads with serene sounds

Why shouldn’t we have a piece of audio infrastructure as we do with lighting (lampposts) or seating, and use it to enable us to change the sound of a place, not once every 300 years but every second? We could transform the street using the sound of a rainforest into the sound of a river into the sound of voices.

From DSC:
A very interesting idea here. I can’t help but think there are applications of this type of thing within some of our learning spaces out there.

Mantra’s Immense Butterfly Murals Flutter Across Buildings and Walls — from thisiscolossal.com by Jackie Andres and Mantra

Enormous beautiful blue butterfly adorns a building in Jackson, Michigan (USA) -- artwork/mural done by Mantra All images © Mantra

Web Design Inspiration (Examples) – Good Tools #7 — from goodtools.substack.com by Robin Good
70+ free inspirational collections showcasing over 55,000 best web design examples

A Veritable Aviary of Birds and Pollinators by The Paper Ark Are Small Enough to Perch on the Tip of a Finger  — from thisiscolossal.com by Brace Ebert and Nayan Shrimali and Venus Bird

A Veritable Aviary of Birds and Pollinators by The Paper Ark Are Small Enough to Perch on the Tip of a Finger
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Adobe to add generative AI to Photoshop — excellent.

On 05/24/2023, in Adobe, art, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, communications, creativity, design, by Daniel Christian

Adobe supercharges Photoshop with Firefly Generative AI — from blog.adobe.com by Pam Clark

Excerpt:

Starting today, Photoshop subscribers can tap into the magic of Firefly, our family of creative generative AI models, directly in the Photoshop desktop (beta) app – using their own, natural language to prompt Photoshop to create extraordinary images with Generative Fill. These prompts can be used to add content, remove or replace parts of an image and extend the edges of an image. Generative Fill is infused into every selection feature in Photoshop, and we have created a new generative layer type so you can work non-destructively. In addition, Generative Fill is also available as a module within the Firefly beta.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Several announcements from Google I/O 2023

On 05/11/2023, in Adobe, art, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, design, emerging technologies, experimentation, Google, multimedia, new media literacies, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Google I/O 2023: Making AI more helpful for everyone — from by; with thanks to Barsee out at The AI Valley 
Editor’s Note: Here is a summary of what we announced at Google I/O 2023. See all the announcements in our collection.

Keynote here:

100 things we announced at I/O 2023 — from blog.google by Molly McHugh-Johnson
A lot happened yesterday — here’s a recap.

Google partners with Adobe to bring art generation to Bard — from techcrunch.com by Kyle Wiggers

Excerpt:

Bard, Google’s answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is getting new generative AI capabilities courtesy of Adobe.

Adobe announced today that Firefly, its recently introduced collection of AI models for generating media content, is coming to Bard alongside Adobe’s free graphic design tool, Adobe Express. Firefly — currently in public beta — will become the “premier generative AI partner” for Bard, Adobe says, powering text-to-image capabilities.

Also relevant/see:

 

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Some ideas & resources re: how we could use AI to enhance our learning ecosystems

On 05/09/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, blogs / blogging / vlogging, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, design, digital learning, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, graphics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, NVIDIA, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, podcasting, simulations, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, Virtual courts and law firms, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, Web3, by Daniel Christian

Brainyacts #57: Education Tech— from thebrainyacts.beehiiv.com by Josh Kubicki

Excerpts:

Let’s look at some ideas of how law schools could use AI tools like Khanmigo or ChatGPT to support lectures, assignments, and discussions, or use plagiarism detection software to maintain academic integrity.

  1. Personalized learning
  2. Virtual tutors and coaches
  3. Interactive simulations
  4. Enhanced course materials
  5. Collaborative learning
  6. Automated assessment and feedback
  7. Continuous improvement
  8. Accessibility and inclusivity

AI Will Democratize Learning — from td.org by Julia Stiglitz and Sourabh Bajaj

Excerpts:

In particular, we’re betting on four trends for AI and L&D.

  1. Rapid content production
  2. Personalized content
  3. Detailed, continuous feedback
  4. Learner-driven exploration

In a world where only 7 percent of the global population has a college degree, and as many as three quarters of workers don’t feel equipped to learn the digital skills their employers will need in the future, this is the conversation people need to have.
…
Taken together, these trends will change the cost structure of education and give learning practitioners new superpowers. Learners of all backgrounds will be able to access quality content on any topic and receive the ongoing support they need to master new skills. Even small L&D teams will be able to create programs that have both deep and broad impact across their organizations.

The Next Evolution in Educational Technologies and Assisted Learning Enablement — from educationoneducation.substack.com by Jeannine Proctor

Excerpt:

Generative AI is set to play a pivotal role in the transformation of educational technologies and assisted learning. Its ability to personalize learning experiences, power intelligent tutoring systems, generate engaging content, facilitate collaboration, and assist in assessment and grading will significantly benefit both students and educators.

How Generative AI Will Enable Personalized Learning Experiences — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

Excerpt:

With today’s advancements in generative AI, that vision of personalized learning may not be far off from reality. We spoke with Dr. Kim Round, associate dean of the Western Governors University School of Education, about the potential of technologies like ChatGPT for learning, the need for AI literacy skills, why learning experience designers have a leg up on AI prompt engineering, and more. And get ready for more Star Trek references, because the parallels between AI and Sci Fi are futile to resist.

The Promise of Personalized Learning Never Delivered. Today’s AI Is Different — from the74million.org by John Bailey; with thanks to GSV for this resource

Excerpts:

There are four reasons why this generation of AI tools is likely to succeed where other technologies have failed:

    1. Smarter capabilities
    2. Reasoning engines
    3. Language is the interface
    4. Unprecedented scale

Latest NVIDIA Graphics Research Advances Generative AI’s Next Frontier — from blogs.nvidia.com by Aaron Lefohn
NVIDIA will present around 20 research papers at SIGGRAPH, the year’s most important computer graphics conference.

Excerpt:

NVIDIA today introduced a wave of cutting-edge AI research that will enable developers and artists to bring their ideas to life — whether still or moving, in 2D or 3D, hyperrealistic or fantastical.

Around 20 NVIDIA Research papers advancing generative AI and neural graphics — including collaborations with over a dozen universities in the U.S., Europe and Israel — are headed to SIGGRAPH 2023, the premier computer graphics conference, taking place Aug. 6-10 in Los Angeles.

The papers include generative AI models that turn text into personalized images; inverse rendering tools that transform still images into 3D objects; neural physics models that use AI to simulate complex 3D elements with stunning realism; and neural rendering models that unlock new capabilities for generating real-time, AI-powered visual details.

 

Also relevant to the item from Nvidia (above), see:

Unreal Engine’s Metahuman Creator — with thanks to Mr. Steven Chevalia for this resource

Excerpt:

MetaHuman is a complete framework that gives any creator the power to use highly realistic human characters in any way imaginable.

It includes MetaHuman Creator, a free cloud-based app that enables you to create fully rigged photorealistic digital humans in minutes.

From Unreal Engine -- Dozens of ready-made MetaHumans are at your fingertips.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Three-Dimensional Narratives Spring from Antique Books in Emma Taylor’s Meticulous Paper Sculptures [Mothes]

On 05/03/2023, in art, creativity, design, reading, writing, by Daniel Christian

Three-Dimensional Narratives Spring from Antique Books in Emma Taylor’s Meticulous Paper Sculptures — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes

Three-Dimensional Narratives Spring from Antique Books in Emma Taylor’s Meticulous Paper Sculptures

Three-Dimensional Narratives Spring from Antique Books in Emma Taylor’s Meticulous Paper Sculptures

Also see:

Barry Underwood Illuminates Human Presence in the Landscape in Geometric Light Sculptures — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

“Work Shift: How AI Might Upend Pay” [Jo Constantz] + other AI-related postings

On 05/02/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Adobe, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, assistive technologies, business, computer science, corporate / business world, design, experimentation, graphics, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, learning agents, learning ecosystem, programming, by Daniel Christian

Work Shift: How AI Might Upend Pay — from bloomberg.com by Jo Constantz

Excerpt:

This all means that a time may be coming when companies need to compensate star employees for their input to AI tools rather than their just their output, which may not ultimately look much different from their AI-assisted colleagues.

“It wouldn’t be far-fetched for them to put even more of a premium on those people because now that kind of skill gets amplified and multiplied throughout the organization,” said Erik Brynjolfsson, a Stanford professor and one of the study’s authors. “Now that top worker could change the whole organization.”

Of course, there’s a risk that companies won’t heed that advice. If AI levels performance, some executives may flatten the pay scale accordingly. Businesses would then potentially save on costs — but they would also risk losing their top performers, who wouldn’t be properly compensated for the true value of their contributions under this system.

US Supreme Court rejects computer scientist’s lawsuit over AI-generated inventions — from reuters.com by Blake Brittain

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON, April 24 – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge by computer scientist Stephen Thaler to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s refusal to issue patents for inventions his artificial intelligence system created.

The justices turned away Thaler’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that patents can be issued only to human inventors and that his AI system could not be considered the legal creator of two inventions that he has said it generated.

Deep learning pioneer Geoffrey Hinton has quit Google — from technologyreview.com by Will Douglas Heaven
Hinton will be speaking at EmTech Digital on Wednesday.

Excerpt:

Geoffrey Hinton, a VP and engineering fellow at Google and a pioneer of deep learning who developed some of the most important techniques at the heart of modern AI, is leaving the company after 10 years, the New York Times reported today.

According to the Times, Hinton says he has new fears about the technology he helped usher in and wants to speak openly about them, and that a part of him now regrets his life’s work.

***

What Is Agent Assist? — from blogs.nvidia.com
Agent assist technology uses AI and machine learning to provide facts and make real-time suggestions that help human agents across retail, telecom and other industries conduct conversations with customers.

Excerpt:

Agent assist technology uses AI and machine learning to provide facts and make real-time suggestions that help human agents across telecom, retail and other industries conduct conversations with customers.

It can integrate with contact centers’ existing applications, provide faster onboarding for agents, improve the accuracy and efficiency of their responses, and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

From DSC:
Is this type of thing going to provide a learning assistant/agent as well?

A chatbot that asks questions could help you spot when it makes no sense — from technologyreview.com by Melissa Heikkilä
Engaging our critical thinking is one way to stop getting fooled by lying AI.

Excerpt:

AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Bing, and Bard are excellent at crafting sentences that sound like human writing. But they often present falsehoods as facts and have inconsistent logic, and that can be hard to spot.

One way around this problem, a new study suggests, is to change the way the AI presents information. Getting users to engage more actively with the chatbot’s statements might help them think more critically about that content.

Stability AI releases DeepFloyd IF, a powerful text-to-image model that can smartly integrate text into images — from stability.ai

Stability AI releases DeepFloyd IF, a powerful text-to-image model that can smartly integrate text into images

New AI Powered Denoise in PhotoShop — from jeadigitalmedia.org

In the most recent update, Adobe is now using AI to Denoise, Enhance and create Super Resolution or 2x the file size of the original photo. Click here to read Adobe’s post and below are photos of how I used the new AI Denoise on a photo. The big trick is that photos have to be shot in RAW.

 

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

The GPT-4 Browser That Will Change Your Search Game [Banks]

On 04/28/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, design, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, game-changing environment, graphics, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, IT in HE, Microsoft, platforms, tools, United States, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, by Daniel Christian
  1. The GPT-4 Browser That Will Change Your Search Game — from noise.beehiiv.com by Alex Banks
    Why Microsoft Has The ‘Edge’ On Google

Excerpts:

Microsoft has launched a GPT-4 enhanced Edge browser.

By integrating OpenAI’s GPT-4 technology with Microsoft Edge, you can now use ChatGPT as a copilot in your Bing browser. This delivers superior search results, generates content, and can even transform your copywriting skills (read on to find out how).

Benefits mentioned include: Better Search, Complete Answers, and Creative Spark.

The new interactive chat feature means you can get the complete answer you are looking for by refining your search by asking for more details, clarity, and ideas.

From DSC:
I have to say that since the late 90’s, I haven’t been a big fan of web browsers from Microsoft. (I don’t like how Microsoft unfairly buried Netscape Navigator and the folks who had out-innovated them during that time.) As such, I don’t use Edge so I can’t fully comment on the above article.

But I do have to say that this is the type of thing that may make me reevaluate my stance regarding Microsoft’s browsers. Integrating GPT-4 into their search/chat functionalities seems like it would be a very solid, strategic move — at least as of late April 2023.

Speaking of new items coming from Microsoft, also see:

Microsoft makes its AI-powered Designer tool available in preview — from techcrunch.com by Kyle Wiggers

Excerpts:

[On 4/27/23], Microsoft Designer, Microsoft’s AI-powered design tool, launched in public preview with an expanded set of features.

Announced in October, Designer is a Canva-like web app that can generate designs for presentations, posters, digital postcards, invitations, graphics and more to share on social media and other channels. It leverages user-created content and DALL-E 2, OpenAI’s text-to-image AI, to ideate designs, with drop-downs and text boxes for further customization and personalization.
…
Designer will remain free during the preview period, Microsoft says — it’s available via the Designer website and in Microsoft’s Edge browser through the sidebar. Once the Designer app is generally available, it’ll be included in Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions and have “some” functionality free to use for non-subscribers, though Microsoft didn’t elaborate.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

“How Audi Used AR Tech To Build Its New Concept Car” [Melnick] + other AR/VR-related items

On 04/23/2023, in 21st century, Augmented Reality (AR), communications, creativity, design, engineering, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

Cleveland Cavaliers Turn Their Arena Into An AR Arcade — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick

.

How Audi Used AR Tech To Build Its New Concept Car  — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick

.

Celebrate Earth Day With An Out-Of-This-World VR Film — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

“There Is No A.I.” [Lanier] + “35 Ways Real People Are Using A.I. Right Now” [Paris & Buchanan]

On 04/23/2023, in 21st century, 3D, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, data related items, design, digital audio, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, Europe, privacy, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, United States, by Daniel Christian

35 Ways Real People Are Using A.I. Right Now — from nytimes.com by Francesca Paris and Larry Buchanan

From DSC:
It was interesting to see how people are using AI these days. The article mentioned things from planning Gluten Free (GF) meals to planning gardens, workouts, and more. Faculty members, staff, students, researchers and educators in general may find Elicit, Scholarcy and Scite to be useful tools. I put in a question at Elicit and it looks interesting. I like their interface, which allows me to quickly resort things.
.

Snapshot of a query result from a tool called Elicit

 

There Is No A.I. — from newyorker.com by Jaron Lanier
There are ways of controlling the new technology—but first we have to stop mythologizing it.

Excerpts:

If the new tech isn’t true artificial intelligence, then what is it? In my view, the most accurate way to understand what we are building today is as an innovative form of social collaboration.
…
The new programs mash up work done by human minds. What’s innovative is that the mashup process has become guided and constrained, so that the results are usable and often striking. This is a significant achievement and worth celebrating—but it can be thought of as illuminating previously hidden concordances between human creations, rather than as the invention of a new mind.

 

 

Resource per Steve Nouri on LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

“AutoGPT might be the next big step in AI”; “software agents that use natural language to simulate human behavior” + other items re: AI

On 04/13/2023, in 21st century, architecture, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, design, education technology, emerging technologies, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, Natural Language Processing (NLP), simulations, skills, society, tools, training / L&D, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, by Daniel Christian

AutoGPT is the next big thing in AI— from therundown.ai by Rowan Cheung

Excerpt:

AutoGPT has been making waves on the internet recently, trending on both GitHub and Twitter. If you thought ChatGPT was crazy, AutoGPT is about to blow your mind.

AutoGPT creates AI “agents” that operate automatically on their own and complete tasks for you. In case you’ve missed our previous issues covering it, here’s a quick rundown:

    • It’s open-sourced [code]
    • It works by chaining together LLM “thoughts”
    • It has internet access, long-term and short-term memory, access to popular websites, and file storage

.

From DSC:
I want to highlight that paper from Stanford, as I’ve seen it cited several times recently:.

Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior -- a paper from Stanford from April 2023

From DSC:
And for a rather fun idea/application of these emerging technologies, see:

  • Quick Prompt: Kitchen Design — from linusekenstam.substack.com by Linus Ekenstam
    Midjourney Prompt. Create elegant kitchen photos using this starting prompt. Make it your own, experiment, add, remove and tinker to create new ideas.

…which made me wonder how we might use these techs in the development of new learning spaces (or in renovating current learning spaces).

From DSC:
On a much different — but still potential — note, also see:

A.I. could lead to a ‘nuclear-level catastrophe’ according to a third of researchers, a new Stanford report finds — from fortune.com by Tristan Bove

Excerpt:

Many experts in A.I. and computer science say the technology is likely a watershed moment for human society. But 36% don’t mean that as a positive, warning that decisions made by A.I. could lead to “nuclear-level catastrophe,” according to researchers surveyed in an annual report on the technology by Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered A.I., published earlier this month.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

Proverbs 8:27-31 NIV

On 04/13/2023, in design, faith, religion, by Daniel Christian

Proverbs 8:27-31 NIV (speaking about wisdom)

I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 

This amazing demo shows how the real estate market will change. From search, tour or interior designing your new home. [Burgar]

On 04/03/2023, in A/V -- audio/visual, architecture, Augmented Reality (AR), design, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, innovation, learning spaces, tools, vendors, vision/possibilities, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!

 
Previous Entries Next Entries
© 2024 | Daniel Christian