The week's developments on the intersection of AI and creative content | 06.01.24

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This week AI is the hot topic at Sundance 2024. Two docs, "Love Machina" and “Eternal You” delve into a dystopian future of digital consciousness and immortality, flirting with the edges of sci-fi and reality. Plus Brian Eno muses on AI’s role in creativity and the use of gen-AI in the “Eno” documentary — also featured at this year's Sundance film festival.

Meanwhile, artists can now “poison” AI, with new tool Nightshade, designed to corrupt AI's object categorisation. Will this tool be strong enough to protect against stolen art in model training data? 

We cover this, and more, including Will.i.am’s AI radio co-host, TikTok’s new AI song generator, and the British artists against Midjourney. 

— Charlie and the Research and Intelligence Team

🚀P.S. You can now register your interest for CogX Festival LA 6-9 May, where we’ll be talking all things AI, Impact, and Transformational Tech!

Cinema and Industry

🤖AI doc reviews at Sundance: "Love Machina" explores Martine and Bina Rothblatt's quest to transfer consciousness to a robot. "Eternal You” explores the controversial tech of digital afterlife, where AI avatars of the deceased are created for communication. 

⚡️Another Hollywood strike may be looming, with the American Federation of Musicians entering negotiations with AMPTP. They are demanding better wages, improved working conditions, AI protections, and fair streaming residuals.

🗣️Brian Eno talks AI, and its use in the “Eno” documentary. He acknowledges the inevitability and utility of AI in modern life and creativity, but emphasises the critical need for communal governance to prevent its monopolisation, by a select few, in Silicon Valley.

☠️Nightshade, a new tool, allows artists to “poison” AI models by subtly altering images at the pixel level, disrupting AI's object categorisation. It serves as an offensive measure against unauthorised artwork use in AI training, urging developers to pursue proper licensing agreements with artists.

Arts and Entertainment

🎙️Will.i.am's new radio show debuts with an AI co-host named qd.pi. The show covers music, pop culture, technology, and AI. Qd.pi, the first-ever AI co-host on SiriusXM, quickly provides insights and context during live conversations. 

👗Viral fashion brand Selkie is facing backlash for using AI-generated art in its 2024 Valentine's Day collection. Fans and artists criticise the brand for abandoning ethical practices and opting for AI-generated designs. Selkie defended its use of AI as an experiment. 

📱TikTok is testing an AI song generator that enables users to create unique soundtracks for their videos. The product raises concerns about the potential replacement of emerging artists by AI, in a platform known for promoting them.

🎨British artists may take legal action against AI firms, like Midjourney, for allegedly using their work to train AI without consent. The artists involved in the conflict include Bridget Riley, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, David Hockney, and Anish Kapoor.

In case you missed it

Check out Project Mythic, an AI generated short film, exploring the post-apocalyptic world of Earth in the year 2086.

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🚀 Remember to register your interest for CogX Festival LA 6-9 May!