Jie Yee Ong

Wacom Japan Criticised By Artists For Sponsoring AI Art Contest
Art

Wacom Japan Criticised By Artists For Sponsoring AI Art Contest

Jie Yee Ong
Wacom, a popular drawing tablet manufacturer from Japan, is catching flak online for sponsoring a high school AI art contest. Wacom was founded in 1983...
Wacom, a popular drawing tablet manufacturer from Japan, is catching flak online for sponsoring a high school AI art contest. Wacom was founded in 1983 and positions itself as a brand made for artists, designers and photographers. Its most well-known product is a drawing tablet, which users connect to a computer to start drawing. In fact, you may have already seen Wacom tablets in action without even realising. Ever seen videos of artists drawing on a flat ‘board’ in front of a laptop or home PC, like this or this? There’s a fair chance they’re using a Wacom tablet! Wacom...
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What Is Midjourney And How Does It Work?
AI AI art Art artificial intelligence Culture Midjourney

What Is Midjourney And How Does It Work?

Jie Yee Ong
Technological advancements mean that in 2023 it can be challenging to distinguish AI-generated from that created by an artist.  One of the most widely-used AI...
Technological advancements mean that in 2023 it can be challenging to distinguish AI-generated from that created by an artist.  One of the most widely-used AI art generators is Midjourney. Launched in July 2022, the tool has now created over 964 million AI images online. In this explainer, we will dive deep into what Midjourney is, where it all began, how it works, and look at its pros and cons.  What is Midjourney AI? Midjourney is an AI art generator developed by San Francisco-based independent research lab Midjourney Inc. It was founded in 2021 by David Holz, the co-founder and CTO...
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GPT-4o Sounds Too Horny So Here’s Who Should Voice It Instead
Culture

GPT-4o Sounds Too Horny So Here’s Who Should Voice It Instead

Jie Yee Ong
It’s only been two days since OpenAI’s GPT-4o dropped, and punters online are already flooding the internet with memes and jokes about the interactive AI...
It’s only been two days since OpenAI’s GPT-4o dropped, and punters online are already flooding the internet with memes and jokes about the interactive AI assistant. GPT-4o’s voice sounds eerily similar to Samantha, an AI virtual assistant voiced by Scarlett Johansson in sci-fi drama film Her. Spoiler alert for those who haven’t seen Her — Samantha has a sultry voice, is flirty, and even gets naughty with the main character in the film. So, some experts in the tech community are complaining that GPT-4o’s voice bears too much of a resemblance to Samantha. Even OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman leaned into...
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Taylor Swift Speaking Mandarin Deepfake Goes Viral In China
AI artificial intelligence deepfake Finance

Taylor Swift Speaking Mandarin Deepfake Goes Viral In China

Jie Yee Ong
Is Taylor Swift a language mastermind who is secretly fluent in Mandarin? Some netizens in China seem to believe so, because the latest viral videos...
Is Taylor Swift a language mastermind who is secretly fluent in Mandarin? Some netizens in China seem to believe so, because the latest viral videos that have been trending on the Chinese language interwebs are two clips of the popstar giving interviews in Mandarin. Let’s dive into the Taylor Swift Deepfake China drama. In the first clip, Swift shared how she’d been globetrotting, travelling to Italy, France and Japan. In the second, Swift enthusiastically explained the creative process behind her albums: “These songs didn’t make it into the album because I want to save them for the next album …...
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The Guy Who Paid $270 Million For Two Pizzas
Bitcoin Bitcoin News Crypto Crypto News Finance

The Guy Who Paid $270 Million For Two Pizzas

Jie Yee Ong
This year on May 22, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency enthusiasts will come together to celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day. The date is a significant one for the...
This year on May 22, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency enthusiasts will come together to celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day. The date is a significant one for the crypto world. Why? Because 13 years ago a bloke used Bitcoin to buy Papa John’s pizza, marking the first time in history that crypto was used in the real world for a purchase. Storytime, friends. Laszlo Hanyecz & Bitcoin Pizza Day, Explained Let’s dial it back a little. On May 18, 2010, Bitcoin miner and software programmer Laszlo Hanyecz wanted to buy himself some tasty pizza. Mans wanted his fix bad, so he went on...
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Patreon ‘Artists’ Are Selling AI Art Of Big Tiddy Anime Girls
Art

Patreon ‘Artists’ Are Selling AI Art Of Big Tiddy Anime Girls

Jie Yee Ong
Patreon, a platform that allows people to directly fund and support their favourite content creators, is being flooded with users selling NSFW AI-generated art of...
Patreon, a platform that allows people to directly fund and support their favourite content creators, is being flooded with users selling NSFW AI-generated art of anime girls. This comes after platforms like DeviantArt and Etsy — where artists gather to display and sell their artwork, usually made from their own hand — have come under scrutiny for hosting AI-generated art. On X, formerly Twitter, a search of key terms “AI art”, “AI anime”, “Patreon AI” and similar returns with a seemingly endless list of accounts and posts by anonymous creators sharing AI art of mostly anime girls. One top X...
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Are Aliens Real?
Culture

Are Aliens Real?

Jie Yee Ong
It’s the ultimate question that’s been bothering mankind since the Universe was created. Are aliens a thing? Are there alternate life forms also living in...
It’s the ultimate question that’s been bothering mankind since the Universe was created. Are aliens a thing? Are there alternate life forms also living in the Milky Way? What do they look like? Could we ever establish contact with them?  For generations, space enthusiasts and alien hunters around the world have attempted to document — with questionable levels of success — alien life. So obsessive are some alien chasers that legitimate organisations dedicated to proving the existence of aliens have been set up in Silicon Valley So, are aliens real? Do they exist? Let’s explore further. Are aliens real? It’s...
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Sam Altman Woefully Missed The Point Of These 4 Films
artificial intelligence Culture

Sam Altman Woefully Missed The Point Of These 4 Films

Jie Yee Ong
Is Sam Altman a film bro who understands movies on a level beyond general human intelligence, or does he just… not get the point? Following...
Is Sam Altman a film bro who understands movies on a level beyond general human intelligence, or does he just… not get the point? Following the OpenAI CEO’s recent spat with Scarlett Johansson, technology enthusiasts are slamming Altman for completely ignoring the cautionary message in a number of Hollywood films about tech. With the ScarJo case, it’s Spike Jonze’s 2014 film Her.  Altman (unsuccessfully) asking the Hollywood A-lister to voice OpenAI’s latest AI voice assistant — in order to bring the dystopian film Her to life — might look like an aspirational move, but Sam, sir, that film was supposed...
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Best ChatGPT Plugins & How To Use Them: Food, Travel & More
AI artificial intelligence Business Industry

Best ChatGPT Plugins & How To Use Them: Food, Travel & More

Jie Yee Ong
ChatGPT is the gift that keeps on giving. Less than 14 days after GPT-4 was introduced to the world, OpenAI says that the chatbot will...
ChatGPT is the gift that keeps on giving. Less than 14 days after GPT-4 was introduced to the world, OpenAI says that the chatbot will now allow developers to build the best ChatGPT API plugins, which means users could soon use the platform to book flights and accommodation, search for restaurant recommendations, and shop, among other things. What’s an API plugin? In simple terms, they are third-party applications that enable a platform – in this case, ChatGPT – to access other apps to perform a wider variety of tasks. According to ChatGPT’s blog, the first plugins that are now live...
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