Chaos & Amazement 2309: Meta’s Neural Watch, Realtime Deepfaked Voices, and 144 Rectangles
Chaos & Amazement 2309: Meta’s Neural Watch, Realtime Deepfaked Voices, and 144 Rectangles
Exploring the Intersection of AI and Reality, one API at a time…
Interfaces between the Real World, AI, and us
Dutch artist Jasper van Loenen has created a novel AI camera that describes what it sees to an AI image generator, synthesizing the picture and instantly printing it out for the photographer. https://jaspervanloenen.com/black-box-camera/ This technology could greatly improve photography and make it more accessible to visually impaired people.
Have I Been Trained? is a project of
http://Spawning.ai, an artists’ group, that lets you search for your work in image databases frequently crawled by AI artists.
OpenAI launches a ChatGPT API for businesses with dedicated capacity plans, priced at $0.002/~750 words, and says Snap and Shopify are among the early adopters. The API, not the AI, is the product. https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/01/openai-launches-an-api-for-chatgpt-plus-dedicated-capacity-for-enterprise-customers/
Here’s another one: the AI Food Generator, built on the DALL•E 2 technology by OpenAI, produces food 'photography' that's incredibly impressive https://ai.lunchbox.io/
This technology could generate realistic images of food for advertising or recipe websites.
Coca-Cola, through a partnership with Bain & Company and OpenAI, will use artificial intelligence for marketing purposes. They will be able to use DALL.E and ChatGPT to create personalized advertising copy, targeted messages, customized marketing materials https://www.marketingdive.com/news/coca-cola-OpenAI-Bain-ChatGPT-AI-marketing/643381/
Meanwhile, in a Metaverse far, far away
Colombia's Magdalena Administrative court held a hearing where participants in a traffic dispute appeared as avatars in a virtual courtroom. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombia-court-moves-metaverse-host-hearing-2023-02-24/ This technology could make court hearings more accessible and efficient by eliminating the need for physical travel. Here’s the YouTube stream: https://www.youtube.com/live/LXi2TX9OBmQ
Meta's plans for AR/VR interfaces hinges on a "neural watch" URL: https://nitter.net/alexeheath/status/1630758323082661888#m Meta's plan for a neural watch as part of their AR/VR interface is an exciting development. Using the watch as a control interface for AR/VR devices can revolutionize how we interact with technology.
Meta to create a new "top-level product group" focused on generative AI https://www.businessinsider.com/zuckerberg-new-meta-top-level-team-ai-products-chatgpt-metaverse-2023-2 The creation of a top-level product group by Meta focused on generative AI shows the company's commitment to advancing this technology. Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize how we interact with technology, from language processing to virtual assistants.
About TikTok
TikTok continues outperforming other social media platforms as Rival IQ's Social Media Industry Benchmark Report shows it had a 5.69% engagement rate per post. Instagram has an engagement rate of 0.47% per post. https://www.marketingdive.com/news/tiktok-engagement-rate-instagram-facebook-2022/643417/ This technology highlights the popularity of short-form video content and its impact on the social media landscape.
New research across 2100 brands and 14 industries reveals that brand engagement is collapsing on Instagram. Is Reels the answer? https://www.fastcompany.com/90854357/instagram-engagement-down-brands-why-tiktok-posts Or is TikTok the question?
According to Datareportal.com, TikTok is now the 5th most popular social media platform in Belgium, after Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram (which all happen to be owned by Meta). In a stricter sense, it’s actually the 3rd if you exclude the messaging apps. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-belgium Imagine if Meta would buy TikTok…
Where are the Crypto use cases?
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, said that good user experience is not about the average case but about the worst case in relation to crypto use cases. https://vitalik.ca/general/2023/02/28/ux.html This highlights the importance of prioritizing user experience in developing crypto applications. So far, there are not a lot of them.
Brain Computer Interfaces
Synchron receives $75m in funding to develop a brain-computer interface https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2023/02/bill-gates-and-bezos-back-a-neurolink-competitor.html The allocation of $75 million in Synchron, a brain-computer interface company, by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos is an indication of the growing interest in this field. The development of BCI technology has the potential to revolutionize healthcare and communication.
From my blog
The Dubious Possibilities of Deepfake Voices https://www.bnox.be/2023/02/the-dubious-possibilities-of-deepfake.html The advancement of deepfake technology could lead to the creation of more realistic fake voices, which could be used to deceive people and cause harm.
Belgian internet personality and Twitch streamer Athene is continuously streaming a ‘fully autonomous’ podcast starring a rolling cast of AI characters including Joe Rogan — all of whom respond to questions typed into the chat by the audience on Twitch. https://www.twitch.tv/atheneaiheroes
Weird but interesting
Wist is an app that turns ordinary photos into immersive 3D projections, allowing you to 'step back inside your memories' using an AR or VR device. This technology could revolutionize the way we capture and relive our memories.
A visual tool to beat procrastination: 144 rectangles https://rectangles.app/ The 144 rectangles let you see how much of the day has passed and how much time is left. This can help users prioritize their tasks and increase their productivity.