A Brilliant Image of the Solar Eclipse Wins the 2024 Astronomy Photographer of the Year — from thisiscolossal.com by Ryan Imperio and grace Ebert
The Adorable and the Fierce Star in the 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert
The 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition broke its 60-year record with a whopping 59,228 entries from 117 countries and territories. Hosted annually by the Natural History Museum, the contest is known for showcasing the drama, humor, and harsh realities found in every part of the globe.
.
Bisected by the Milky Way, a Stellar Image Captures the Perseid Meteor Shower Raining Down on Stonehenge — from thisiscolossal.com by Josh Dury
On 08/13/2024,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), content development, aggregation, repositories, digital learning, digital photography, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, Google, graphics, human-computer interaction (HCI), internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, Microsoft, neurodivergent/special needs, NVIDIA, Open AI, platforms, tools, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
This is what AI is for. Just this use case alone is worth every dollar invested in it. pic.twitter.com/vaOm3dpyxK
— Andriy Burkov (@burkov) August 10, 2024
From DSC:
The above item is simply excellent!!! I love it!
We’re going to see a lot more of the Square, Stripe, Shopify-type startups pop up for agentic AI.
This one is like an AI-human broker.
1) Prompt an AI with a need
2) Give the AI a budget (real money)
3) AI turns need into plan with tasks
4) AI finds humans to complete the… https://t.co/UXf1bNZ4AK— Allie K. Miller (@alliekmiller) August 11, 2024
Google just announced their massive AI update in Chrome.
Google Lens is now inside Chrome
Here’s everything you need to know: pic.twitter.com/aXdqvi5wMP
— Poonam Soni (@CodeByPoonam) August 4, 2024
Also relevant/see:
3 new Chrome AI features for even more helpful browsing — from blog.google from Parisa Tabriz
See how Chrome’s new AI features, including Google Lens for desktop and Tab compare, can help you get things done more easily on the web.
On speaking to AI — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
Voice changes a lot of things
So, let’s talk about ChatGPT’s new Advanced Voice mode and the new AI-powered Siri. They are not just different approaches to talking to AI. In many ways, they represent the divide between two philosophies of AI – Copilots versus Agents, small models versus large ones, specialists versus generalists.
Your guide to AI – August 2024 — from nathanbenaich.substack.com by Nathan Benaich and Alex Chalmers
Microsoft says OpenAI is now a competitor in AI and search — from cnbc.com by Jordan Novet
Key Points
- Microsoft’s annually updated list of competitors now includes OpenAI, a long-term strategic partner.
- The change comes days after OpenAI announced a prototype of a search engine.
- Microsoft has reportedly invested $13 billion into OpenAI.
ChatGPT Cheat Sheet? pic.twitter.com/ETsPvJQfVA
— Nelly R Q (@nrqa__) August 5, 2024
1. Flux, an open-source text-to-image creator that is comparable to industry leaders like Midjourney, was released by Black Forest Labs (the “original team” behind Stable Diffusion). It is capable of generating high quality text in images (there are tons of educational use cases). You can play with it on their demo page, on Poe, or by running it on your own computer (tutorial here).
Other items re: Flux:
How to FLUX — from heatherbcooper.substack.com by Heather Cooper
Where to use FLUX online & full tutorial to create a sleek ad in minutes
.
Also from Heather Cooper:
Introducing FLUX: Open-Source text to image model
FLUX… has been EVERYWHERE this week, as I’m sure you have seen. Developed by Black Forest Labs, is an open-source image generation model that’s gaining attention for its ability to rival leading models like Midjourney, DALL·E 3, and SDXL.
What sets FLUX apart is its blend of creative freedom, precision, and accessibility—it’s available across multiple platforms and can be run locally.
Why FLUX Matters
FLUX’s open-source nature makes it accessible to a broad audience, from hobbyists to professionals.
It offers advanced multimodal and parallel diffusion transformer technology, delivering high visual quality, strong prompt adherence, and diverse outputs.
It’s available in 3 models:
FLUX.1 [pro]: A high-performance, commercial image synthesis model.
FLUX.1 [dev]: An open-weight, non-commercial variant of FLUX.1 [pro]
FLUX.1 [schnell]: A faster, distilled version of FLUX.1, operating up to 10x quicker.
Daily Digest: Huge (in)Flux of AI videos. — from bensbites.beehiiv.com
PLUS: Review of ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode.
- During the weekend, image models made a comeback. Recently released Flux models can create realistic images with near-perfect text—straight from the model, without much patchwork. To get the party going, people are putting these images into video generation models to create pretty–trippy–videos. I can’t identify half of them as AI, and they’ll only get better. See this tutorial on how to create a video ad for your product..
7 not only cool but handy use cases of new Claude — from techthatmatters.beehiiv.com by Harsh Makadia
- Data visualization
- Infographic
- Copy the UI of a website
- …and more
Achieving Human Level Competitive Robot Table Tennis — from sites.google.com
On 08/01/2024,
in art, creativity, design, digital photography, photography, United States,
by Daniel Christian
In ‘Old Growth,’ Mitch Epstein Travels the U.S. to Capture Monumental Ancient Relics — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes and Mitch Epstein
On 06/13/2024,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), adjunct faculty, Adobe, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, bots, business side of he, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, creativity, culture, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, liberal arts, library / librarians, lifelong learning, media/film, microlearning, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), new business models, NVIDIA, online media, online tutoring, Open AI, pace of change, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, reinvent, skills, smart/connected TV, society, staying relevant, streams of content, student-related, surviving, teachers, technologies for your home, technology (general), the downsides of how people use tech, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Last Thursday, I presented at the Educational Technology Organization of Michigan’s Spring 2024 Retreat. I wanted to pass along my slides to you all, in case they are helpful to you.
Topics/agenda:
- Topics & resources re: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Top multimodal players
- Resources for learning about AI
- Applications of AI
- My predictions re: AI
- The powerful impact of pursuing a vision
- A potential, future next-gen learning platform
- Share some lessons from my past with pertinent questions for you all now
- The significant impact of an organization’s culture
- Bonus material: Some people to follow re: learning science and edtech
Slides of the presentation (.PPTX)
Slides of the presentation (.PDF)
On 05/12/2024,
in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, business, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, data related items, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, graphics, health, marketing/social marketing, Microsoft, multimedia, music, robotics, tools, vendors, writing,
by Daniel Christian
Microsoft’s new ChatGPT competitor… — from The Rundown AI
The Rundown: Microsoft is reportedly developing a massive 500B parameter in-house LLM called MAI-1, aiming to compete with top AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
2024 | The AI Founder Report | Business Impact, Use cases, & Tools — from Hampton; via The Neuron
Hampton runs a private community for high-growth tech founders and CEOs. We asked our community of founders and owners how AI has impacted their business and what tools they use
Here’s a sneak peek of what’s inside:
- The budgets they set aside for AI research and development
- The most common (and obscure) tools founders are using
- Measurable business impacts founders have seen through using AI
- Where they are purposefully not using AI and much more
2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn
AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part Employees want AI, leaders are looking for a path forward.
Also relevant, see Microsoft’s web page on this effort:
To help leaders and organizations overcome AI inertia, Microsoft and LinkedIn looked at how AI will reshape work and the labor market broadly, surveying 31,000 people across 31 countries, identifying labor and hiring trends from LinkedIn, and analyzing trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals as well as research with Fortune 500 customers. The data points to insights every leader and professional needs to know—and actions they can take—when it comes to AI’s implications for work.
On 05/01/2024,
in 21st century, art, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, bots, business, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, creativity, digital audio, digital photography, digital video, education, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, Google, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, Microsoft, multimedia, Open AI, society, technologies for your home, technology (general), the downsides of how people use tech, United States, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
The Verge | What’s Next With AI | February 2024 | Consumer Survey
DC: Just because we can doesn’t mean we should.
It brings to mind #AI and #robotics and the #military — hmmmm…. https://t.co/1J4XKiHRUl
— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) April 25, 2024
Microsoft AI creates talking deepfakes from single photo — from inavateonthenet.net
The Great Hall – where now with AI? It is not ‘Human Connection V Innovative Technology’ but ‘Human Connection + Innovative Technology’ — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com by Donald Clark
The theme of the day was Human Connection V Innovative Technology. I see this a lot at conferences, setting up the human connection (social) against the machine (AI). I think this is ALL wrong. It is, and has always been a dialectic, human connection (social) PLUS the machine. Everyone had a smartphone, most use it for work, comms and social media. The binary between human and tech has long disappeared.
Techno-Social Engineering: Why the Future May Not Be Human, TikTok’s Powerful ForYou Algorithm, & More — from by Misha Da Vinci
Things to consider as you dive into this edition:
- As we increasingly depend on technology, how is it changing us?
- In the interaction between humans and technology, who is adapting to whom?
- Is the technology being built for humans, or are we being changed to fit into tech systems?
- As time passes, will we become more like robots or the AI models we use?
- Over the next 30 years, as we increasingly interact with technology, who or what will we become?
It’s been an insane week for AI (part 2)
Here are 14 most impressive reveals from this week:
1/ China just released OpenAI’s Sora rival “Vidu” which can create realistic clips in seconds.pic.twitter.com/MnTv9Wxpef
— Barsee ? (@heyBarsee) April 27, 2024
Thread on the beauty of wildlife ?
1. When it’s cold enough to see the melody pic.twitter.com/NL1nbTZpGp
— James Lucas (@JamesLucasIT) April 18, 2024
Hyper realistic glass of water art
pic.twitter.com/V3ObMr6pQv— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) April 20, 2024
Great creativity. pic.twitter.com/KM4QhlqWov
— Figen (@TheFigen_) April 19, 2024
Thread on the beauty of our planet to celebrate Earth Day ?
1. Meteor over Mount Fuji by H. Manabe pic.twitter.com/ACjafIqCB6
— James Lucas (@JamesLucasIT) April 22, 2024
3. After 3 years of failed attempts, Leonardo Sens finally managed to capture this fantastic shot of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil seemingly holding the moon. pic.twitter.com/9qQ1lXh0sz
— James Lucas (@JamesLucasIT) April 21, 2024
16. A cherry blossoms tunnels made of millions of LED bulbs. Nabana No Sato, Japan. pic.twitter.com/Y1NruoqwLI
— James Lucas (@JamesLucasIT) April 21, 2024
“Aravaipa” by Photographer Andrea Koesters — from booooooom.com
Satisfying photos for perfectionists – thread ?
1. Crescent Moon bridge by Yier Wang pic.twitter.com/bnnJ57zW3U
— James Lucas (@JamesLucasIT) April 10, 2024
Researchers Uncover Hundreds of New Marine Species in the Underwater Mountain Ecosystems of the Pacific Ocean — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert and Co.
The beauty of spring around the world – a thread ?
1. A desert bloom in Utah by Emily Dickey pic.twitter.com/jaltpej1S9
— James Lucas (@JamesLucasIT) April 12, 2024
On 04/08/2024,
in art, creativity, digital photography, passions, photography, skills,
by Daniel Christian
Elaborate Fragments of Line and Color Transform into Bodies and Landscapes in Lui Ferreyra’s Vibrant Compositions — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothese and Lui Ferreyra
Beautiful art pic.twitter.com/ojAc7OHah7
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) April 4, 2024
Photographer Nicolas Bouvier Shoots Figures in Silhouette Against Mysterious and Foreboding Landscapes — from thisiscolossal.com by Christopher Jobson
On 03/26/2024,
in 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, animation, art, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, digital photography, digital video, emerging technologies, experimentation, face-to-face, Google, health, homeschooling/homeschoolers, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, mathematics, media/film, mobile technologies, multimedia, NVIDIA, online learning, online media, photography, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, trends, United States, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
NVIDIA just released FREE online courses in AI.
Here are 9 courses you can’t afford to miss: pic.twitter.com/4vkwX6SU07
— Shruti Mishra (@heyshrutimishra) March 22, 2024
How Early Adopters of Gen AI Are Gaining Efficiencies — from knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu by Prasanna (Sonny) Tambe and Scott A. Snyder; via Ray Schroeder on LinkedIn
Enterprises are seeing gains from generative AI in productivity and strategic planning, according to speakers at a recent Wharton conference.
Its unique strengths in translation, summation, and content generation are especially useful in processing unstructured data. Some 80% of all new data in enterprises is unstructured, he noted, citing research firm Gartner. Very little of that unstructured data that resides in places like emails “is used effectively at the point of decision making,” he noted. “[With gen AI], we have a real opportunity” to garner new insights from all the information that resides in emails, team communication platforms like Slack, and agile project management tools like Jira, he said.
6 YouTube Channels to Stay Up to Date with AI — from heaigirl.substack.com by Diana Dovgopol
Here are some cool AI YouTube channels.
Here are 6 YouTube channels I watch to stay up to date with AI. This list will be useful whether you’re a casual AI enthusiast or an experienced programmer.
1. Matt Wolfe: AI for non-coders
This is a fast-growing YouTube channel focused on artificial intelligence for non-coders. On this channel, you’ll find videos about ChatGPT, Midjourney, and any AI tool that it’s gaining popularity.
Top AI mobile apps, Stable Video 3D, & my AI film workflow — from by Heather Cooper
Plus 1-Click 3D animation and other cool AI tools
#3 Photomath
Photomath is a comprehensive math help app that provides step-by-step explanations for a wide range of math problems, from elementary to college level. Photomath is only available as a mobile app. (link)
Features:
- Get step-by-step solutions with multiple methods to choose from
- Scan any math problem, including word problems, using the app’s camera
- Access custom visual aids and extra “how” and “why” tips for deeper understanding
Google researchers unveil ‘VLOGGER’, an AI that can bring still photos to life — from venturebeat.com by Michael Nuñez
Google researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence system that can generate lifelike videos of people speaking, gesturing and moving — from just a single still photo. The technology, called VLOGGER, relies on advanced machine learning models to synthesize startlingly realistic footage, opening up a range of potential applications while also raising concerns around deepfakes and misinformation.
Google just dropped VLOGGER and it’s insane
This is ChatGPT for Image to Talking Video
Here are 7 Powerful AI features you can’t afford to miss out pic.twitter.com/84gcWbQ4cG
— Poonam Soni (@CodeByPoonam) March 20, 2024
What We Risk By Automating Tasks We Loathe — from marcwatkins.substack.com by Marc Watkins
I’m fascinated by the potential of these tools to augment and enhance our work and creativity. There’s no denying the impressive capabilities we’re already seeing with text generation, image creation, coding assistance, and more. Used thoughtfully, AI can be a powerful productivity multiplier.
At the same time, I have significant concerns about the broader implications of this accelerating technology, especially for education and society at large. We’re traversing new ground at a breakneck pace, and it’s crucial that we don’t blindly embrace AI without considering the potential risks.
My worry is that by automating away too many tasks, even seemingly rote ones like creating slide decks, we risk losing something vital—humanity at the heart of knowledge work.
Nvidia Introduce AI Nurses — from wireprompt.substack.com | Weekkly AI Report from WirePrompt
Nvidia has announced a partnership with Hippocratic AI to introduce AI “agents” aimed at replacing nurses in hospitals. These AI “nurses” come at a significantly low cost compared to human nurses and are purportedly intended to address staffing issues by handling “low-risk,” patient-facing tasks via video calls. However, concerns are raised regarding the ethical implications and effectiveness of replacing human nurses with AI, particularly given the complex nature of medical care.
A glimpse of the future of AI at work:
I got early access to Devin, the “AI developer” – it is slow & breaks often, but you can start to see what an AI agent can do.
It makes a plan and executes it autonomously, doing research, writing code & debugging, without you watching. pic.twitter.com/HHBQQDQZ9q
— Ethan Mollick (@emollick) March 15, 2024
16 Changes to the Way Enterprises Are Building and Buying Generative AI — from a16z.com by Sarah Wang and Shangda Xu
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Resourcing: budgets are growing dramatically and here to stay
- Models: enterprises are trending toward a multi-model, open source world
- Use cases: more migrating to production
- Size of total opportunity: massive and growing quickly
This Year’s British Wildlife Photography Awards Revels in Oceanic Journeys and Flamboyant Courtships — from .thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothese & Company
On 01/19/2024,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, assistive technologies, communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, digital photography, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, Google, innovation, languages and translation, multimedia, photography, platforms, technologies for your home, technology (general), usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Enter the New Era of Mobile AI With Samsung Galaxy S24 Series — from news.samsung.com
Galaxy AI introduces meaningful intelligence aimed at enhancing every part of life, especially the phone’s most fundamental role: communication. When you need to defy language barriers, Galaxy S24 makes it easier than ever. Chat with another student or colleague from abroad. Book a reservation while on vacation in another country. It’s all possible with Live Translate,2 two-way, real-time voice and text translations of phone calls within the native app. No third-party apps are required, and on-device AI keeps conversations completely private.
With Interpreter, live conversations can be instantly translated on a split-screen view so people standing opposite each other can read a text transcription of what the other person has said. It even works without cellular data or Wi-Fi.
Galaxy S24 — from theneurondaily.com by Noah Edelman & Pete Huang
Samsung just announced the first truly AI-powered smartphone: the Galaxy S24.
For us AI power users, the features aren’t exactly new, but it’s the first time we’ve seen them packaged up into a smartphone (Siri doesn’t count, sorry).
Samsung’s Galaxy S24 line arrives with camera improvements and generative AI tricks — from techcrunch.com by Brian Heater
Starting at $800, the new flagships offer brighter screens and a slew of new photo-editing tools