AI Top-of-Mind for 8.9.24 — Companions

Today: AI companions, Nvidia and video, and more AI art controversy

Top-of-mind is an update on AI companions. CNN reports on worries by OpenAI that their voice mode may create dependencies. From the article:

· Within minutes of OpenAI announcing the feature at an event earlier this year, it was being compared to the AI digital assistant in the 2013 film “Her,” with whom the protagonist falls in love, only to be left heartbroken when the AI admits “she” also has relationships with hundreds of other users.

· Now, OpenAI is apparently concerned that fictional story is a little too close to becoming reality, after it says it observed users talking to ChatGPT’s voice mode in language “expressing shared bonds” with the tool.

More details in the OpenAI GPT-4o system card.

As a follow-up to some of the negative news on Nvidia, do their chips have a fundamental architectural weakness? ‘The Information’ reports on how their GPUs handle video, specifically memory bottlenecks. The article goes on to describe how AMD could take advantage of these limitations as well as the reported delay of Nvidia’s Blackwell chipset.

Turning to marketing, brands try to distance themselves from inappropriate content as part of their digital presence. Over the past decade, they’ve had successes, but they are seeing mixed results with the new AI-driven placement tools. ‘The Drum’ details a recent survey that highlights the extent of the problem, with ads from Microsoft, Nestle, Disney, and others appearing on pages that also contain racial slurs, explicit sexual content and violent imagery.

And to close, more AI art controversy. ‘Exquisite Workers’ looks at the positive and negative responses to ‘A Girl & a Black Cat,’ and the artist’s response:

“AI is here to stay, & it is each person’s responsibility & decision how to live with it: with hate, fear, curiosity, or excitement. (…) I’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to reinterpret the work of the girl and the black cat & shared in the comments & RTs. It has been a pleasant surprise to see so many quality works with different styles & approaches. In the end, I am left with the idea that an AI work has triggered a truly vibrant illustration movement. This makes me think that illustration will never die no matter how much AI advances, just as painting did not die when photography was born.” (Roger Haus)