The week's developments on the intersection of AI and creative content | 09.04.24

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This week, the spotlight is on the clash between AI and the creative industry, with Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, and Stevie Wonder leading over 200 artists in a call for protection against AI's 'predatory' advances. Sam Altman, meanwhile, is in Hollywood arguing that AI will enhance rather than endanger the filmmaking process — will big tech ever listen?

Meanwhile, a new study finds that AI art is much more eco-friendly than human methods for writing and illustrating, emitting significantly less CO2e. 

We cover these stories, plus the boring reality of AI in Hollywood, Stability’s Stable Audio 2.0 (the new hot music-gen tool), and whether AI art can actually be intelligent?

— Charlie and the Research and Intelligence Team

PS. CogX Transatlantic Accelerator Early Bird offer closes on 15th April: If you are or know a UK startup they can apply for over $20k worth of support to attend, exhibit and network at CogX Festival in LA on 7th May here

Cinema and Industry

🎤Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj and Stevie Wonder demand protection from ‘predatory’ AI, alongside 200+ other artists in a signed letter. The letter urges tech firms to refrain from developing AI that could replace human artists, with concerns over copyright infringement and labour rights.

🎬Altman is trying to convince Hollywood that AI won’t destroy them. In meetings with top studios, he showcased Sora's capabilities for creating realistic videos, with some studios showing interest in its potential to save time and money in production. 

🖼️ Can AI art be intelligent? Pierre Huyghe's Venice exhibition is exploring this through his hybrids (or idioms) — unique human-machine art pieces that evolve in language and interaction through AI, challenging conventional boundaries of creativity and intelligence.

🎥AI finally hits Hollywood, but it's actually quite boring, mainly used for minor tasks like creating interstitial images in "Late Night with the Devil." Despite its minor usage, the film's use of AI sparked intense debate over its impact on jobs and creative quality.

Arts and Entertainment

🌱AI art is much better for the environment for humans, study finds. For writing and illustrating tasks, AI emits substantially less CO2e than humans, or normal computer usage: 130-1599 times less per text page, and 310-2900 times less per image.

🎵Stability AI has released Stable Audio 2.0, a text-to-music generator for users to create tracks and manipulate samples using text prompts, with a focus on copyright compliance. The tech can generate high-quality three-minute-long tracks and is available for free.

🧠Quiz: Is this AI? AI is everywhere, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to spot. The Washington Post asked 16 experts to judge 10 everyday technologies. Try to spot the AI for yourself and see how you compare to readers and the experts. 

🎨 Even AI finds modern art confusing, as models fail to create a simple white canvas. Despite numerous attempts with different prompts, AI consistently fails to produce a plain white image, a clear gap in the tech’s ability to grasp and execute minimalist art concepts.

In case you missed it

This AI generated Wes Anderson trailer for Justice League is an AI fever dream, go watch it:

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🚀 CogX Transatlantic Accelerator Early Bird offer closes on 15th April: If you are or know a UK startup they can apply for over $20k worth of support to attend, exhibit and network at CogX Festival in LA on 7th May here