I received this disturbing automated voicemail the other day. To me, it clearly sounded like a scam (and a quick Google for the phone number shows that others who have received the same message are in agreement) but imagine if the computer voice used was more convincing. And what would it be like if there was more sophisticated AI being used behind the scam that pulled in some personal details to make it much more believable?
Adobe is Developing Photoshop for Your Voice
In the age of information manipulation, a new voice editing technology called Adobe VoCo could present mounting security challenges. Read the full article here: https://medium.com/s/story/adobe-is-developing-photoshop-for-your-voice-f39f532bc75f
Icelandic language battles threat of ‘digital extinction’
Lightform
I stumbled across this new product, Lightform, on Instagram at the weekend and I thought I’d share it with you. Lightform is a specially designed computer that you can plug into a projector and use to bring static, everyday objects to life. I thought this is good to show you as an example of how far forward we are with current technology to encourage you to dream a bit bigger for what will be possible in five years time.
Lightform is probably best described by looking at a few example videos that the company have posted to their Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSkJhATF0MA/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSRtdZqFh9M/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSOtXzzljOg/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSL_-nslMHk/
It’s also definitely worth taking a look at what the team behind Lightform have done in the past. Have a look at these videos (taken from their about page: lightform.com/about/).
Guest speaker: Yann Seznec
We are very happy to announce that artist, musician, experimental games designer and lecturer Yann Seznec will be coming in to give a talk about his work on Friday 16 February. Please have a look at some of his amazing projects on his website: yannseznec.com
A.I. Drawing experiment
This project from Google Experiments is a good example of the potential of co-creating with an Ai assistant. Have a go www.autodraw.com
Does YouTube’s algorithm favour extreme content?
Honk, Conk and Squacket
Are you the audile sort who can tell the difference between a bottle-bump and a gabbleratchet? Does your dog ouff, baff, channer, snook or whink?? Have you been kept awake by a box of toys from a randivoose, schlemozzle, callithump, or even a bobbery-pack? Or has a dose of the old gin-and-fog made you all reasty-cropped and gurragh like a hinchinarfer?
The answers are in the pages of Honk, Conk and Squacket, a unique collection of over 1,500 forgotten and obscure sound-words found in Victorian county dialect surveys and a host of other old sources from across the English-speaking world. There are strange and noisy apparitions from folklore, sonorous rural names for animals and their calls, bizarre instruments and inventions, and the slangs of thieves and the music hall. Taken together, they make the case that people in the past paid more attention to the sounds around them than we do today.
http://www.soundsurvey.org.uk/index.php/shop/honk-conk-squacket
How data is helping us decide who to trust
Creative collaboration: do many hands always make light work?
Collaborations can be incredibly productive and rewarding but they can also be very difficult to manage. This feature from It’s Nice That explores some of the problems you might face in creative collaborations and gives tips on how to make the most of working with others. I’d highly recommend reading it before you begin this project.