Culture

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...

Nope, it’s not just you. AI-generated music and art was negatively perceived by participants in a study because it poses a “profound ontological threat” to our humanity, according to a study by the University of British Columbia (UBC). Researchers at UBC conducted four studies in which university students and people not at university evaluated two different forms of art, and shared their thoughts on which one they preferred more, and which one they didn’t. Here are two of the more important experiments from the paper. Study 1: Music In the first study 206 university students were given two pieces of...

AI art, film and photography, to put it lightly, aren’t welcome in creative circles. Actors in Hollywood are fighting against major studios using their likeness as “digital replicas”. Gamers who discover that their favourite game had used AI log onto the interwebs to voice their dissatisfaction. It seems that the general attitude towards AI in the arts, at least on the internet, is that of contempt. Artists say that AI-generated content lacks authenticity, steals from human-made art without their consent and robs creatives of their jobs.  There’s science to back up this behaviour. Research in August shows that we as...

Last week, a creator named ‘demonflyingfox’ uploaded a YouTube video of Harry Potter by Balenciaga. The entire video was generated with AI, and was so convincing that some social media users thought it was an actual ad from Balenciaga itself. If you were wondering how complex it is to create such a sophisticated video, wonder no further: you can actually create similar ‘AI ads’ yourself. It’s not a short process, but it’s not too complicated. A YouTube account named PromptJungle graciously shared a step-by-step tutorial on how to create your own luxury brand campaign. Here’s how to do it. How...

Can AI art generators be ‘accidentally’ racist? Seems like they sure can. A gamer nicknamed Jacques Tamagotchi recently used an unspecified AI art generator, and asked it to produce a meme of Homer Simpson. This is no ordinary meme, though. To add a bit more flavour, Mr. Tamagotchi entered the prompt: “guy with swords pointed at him meme except they’re pointing the swords at Homer Simpson”.  Some context for those who are not extremely online: the ‘guy with swords pointed at him’ meme most likely refers to this widely-used image on social media. The meme originates from the Disney animated...

The Melbourne Fringe Festival is back. From October 3rd to 22nd, epic theatre, cabaret, circus, dance and art will be on display across different venues in Melbourne and duh – you’re invited. Future technology has been all the rage this year, so, the Melbourne Fringe will be showcasing a selection of exhibitions and stage performances that revolve around AI and virtual reality (VR). Here are four of the must-try future tech experiences at the Melbourne Fringe. Pop this at the top of your Melbourne Fringe itinerary. In what could be a world first, attendees will have the opportunity to witness...

Last year, hardcore fans of Nicki Minaj – the ‘Barbz’ – were praised for unleashing their creativity with AI-generated art to promote the rapper’s latest album, Pink Friday 2. However, it looks like the general public soon grew tired of the inauthenticity of AI art. Now, users on social media are mocking Nicki Minaj herself for sharing what appears to be an AI-generated artwork to promote her upcoming single, ‘Press PLAY’, on Instagram. The AI art depicted a hand holding a pink button with a play symbol, against a pink background. Source: X Nicki Minaj feat. AI art: Why are...

Nicki Minaj’s fans, affectionately known as the ‘Barbz’, are using AI-generated art to create a fictional city to celebrate the launch of the artist’s upcoming album Pink Friday 2. Named ‘Gag City’, fans used AI art generators like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion to conjure up a futuristic metropolis city coated floor to ceiling in pink – a colour that Nicki Minaj’s brand is closely associated with. AI art and ‘Gag City’ Being Nicki Minaj’s fifth studio album and first full-length project in five years, some Barbz expressed on social media that promotional activity for Pink Friday 2 had been underwhelming....

Spotify AI art has now arrived. While traditional artists remain largely critical of AI, technology enthusiasts remain optimistic about the potential of machine-generated art. Following on from organisations such as  Amnesty International and Netflix – who have dabbled with it to varying degrees of success – Spotify is the latest to embrace AI art by letting users create custom AI-generated artwork based on the ‘vibe’ of their playlist. The fun, new feature arrived on the Spotify app for users. So, we had to test it out, of course. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it, as well as...

AI has made content creation cheaper and much more accessible. Online marketplaces including Etsy, eBay and Amazon are already seeing masses of users selling AI-generated merchandise to earn an income. So, it seems that any internet platform that allows users to make money off the material they produce cannot escape the infiltration of AI-generated content. This time, YouTube is no exception. People who are looking to generate passive income are now using AI to create lo-fi music on YouTube – but do they cut the mustard? YouTube’s Lo-Fi beats Generation Z internet users would immediately recognise the internet phenomenon that...