AI

Mark Matlock, the Reform UK candidate for Clapham and Brixton Hill, recently faced accusations of being an AI-generated bot. The specifics of this case are silly. Mr. Matlock overly-photoshopped one of his campaign ads and then fell victim to pneumonia. In the process, he sparked an epidemic of deepfake-itus, which sparked a debate about the authenticity of candidates in the generative era (he did not win the seat, BTW). Let's ask some more interesting questions. Could an AI run for office? If elected, could it serve? Continue Reading →

Google's DeepMind researchers have introduced a new method to accelerate AI training, which they claim significantly reduces the computational resources and time required. Continue Reading →

The rise of AI-generated music has been met with both excitement and skepticism. A recent article from Wired titled "The New 'Ethical' AI Music Generator Can't Write a Halfway Decent Song" highlights the shortcomings of Jen, a new AI music generator designed with ethical considerations in mind. Continue Reading →

Figma has temporarily disabled its AI-powered design tool "Make Design." The tool, which utilized OpenAI's GPT-4o and Amazon's Titan Image Generator G1, came under scrutiny after producing designs strikingly similar to Apple's Weather app. Continue Reading →

YouTube quietly updated its content removal policy to address AI-generated content. Users can now request takedowns of synthetic content that imitates their face or voice through the platform's privacy request process. Continue Reading →

AI is a power hog. According to the WSJ, roughly a third of domestic nuclear power plants are in talks with tech giants to supply carbon-free power for AI operations, driving a significant shift in the power industry. Continue Reading →

Character.AI has unveiled a new feature that allows users to engage with AI avatars through voice calls in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. Continue Reading →

Paramount has made a sweeping move to redirect users from its cable network websites to Paramount+. Comedy Central, CMT, Paramount Network, TV Land, and MTV sites now point visitors to the streaming platform, effectively removing vast archives of content from public access. This follows the unexpected shutdown of the MTV News website earlier this week, which erased two decades of content. Continue Reading →

I forgot to mention a super fun moment from Cannes last week. Zombie brand Toys"R"Us and OpenAI flexed a bit as they showed the "first-ever brand film" (aka commercial) using Sora, OpenAI's new (yet unreleased) text-to-video tool. Continue Reading →

In the least surprising lawsuit of 2024, the music industry is suing AI startups Suno and Udio for allegedly using copyrighted music without permission. Continue Reading →