🦉 Creative AI Digest - Issue #6

This is your favorite weekly newsletter about the intersection of AI and creativity. Only Creative AI Digest brings you a humorous and experienced perspective from an artist who may or may not still have a pair of parachute pants.

A parable…

Once upon a time, in a small village nestled between the mountains and the sea, a new technology was introduced. This technology, a magical box, was said to have the power to change the world, to alter the way people lived their lives, and to revolutionize society.

The villagers were both excited and apprehensive about this new development. The village elder, a wise old man known for his wisdom and foresight, was given the honor of activating the box.

To everyone's astonishment, the box began to sing a beautiful melody, one that touched the hearts of everyone present. The villagers were amazed at this box that could produce music without any musicians, singers, or instruments.

However, not everyone was pleased with this new technology. Some feared that the box would replace humans and their skills would no longer be needed. They saw this box as a threat to their livelihood and to the cultural heritage of the village.

But the village elder reassured them, explaining that the box was a tool, not a replacement for human creativity and talent.

The year? 1906. The magical box? The Victrola, by the Victor Talking Machine Company.

✨ Personal Update

The parable? I'm joking, yet not joking.

I'm not on a mission to convert anyone, but it's hard not to comment on a conversation that we've been having for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. We have complete historical and cultural amnesia.

Is AI an existential threat? Absolutely. However, so are fire, bioengineering, and nuclear power.

[Stepping down from my soapbox.]

This weekend, I attended an industry conference and I can assure you that the majority of the “villagers” are deeply apprehensive.

On the upside, I had the opportunity to spend four days in New York City. In June. It doesn't get much better than that!

Reminder: Everyone subscribed to Creative AI Digest before June 12, 2023 will be eligible to win a free copy of my new book! Want it now? Available from all online retailers 👉 here.

💰 Musical Downpour: But Not All Drops are Created Equal, Insists Warner Music CEO!

Summary (by ChatGPT)

• It seems the music industry has turned into a factory production line! In Q1 2023 alone, we've got 10.08 million new tracks flooding into our ears thanks to music streaming services.

• With the rate of 120,000 new track uploads per day, brace yourselves folks, we're heading towards a colossal total of over 43 million new tracks by the end of 2023. No wonder Sir Lucian Grainge of Universal Music Group is grumbling about "oversupply"

• It's not just the quantity that's soaring, but the listeners are too. Global on-demand audio streams grew 23% YoY in Q1 2023, with the US following the trend at a 14.2% rise. Who knew there were so many ears to spare!

• According to Luminate, Latin, Country, and World Music are the fastest-growing genres in the US this year. Maybe it's time to shake up your playlists, everyone.

• The 'pro rata' royalty model is under fire by Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl, who thinks that Ed Sheeran's streams should be worth more than, well, streams of rain falling on a roof. It's raining music, but it seems some drops should be more valuable than others!

My Take (by… me)

The meteoric rise in music production began long before AI even entered the scene. The arrival of AI has simply turbocharged this growth, leading to an unprecedented surge in the volume of music being produced and distributed.

This evolution, or perhaps more aptly, this revolution, is not without its challenges. In a world where millions of new tracks are being uploaded each year, standing out from the crowd has become increasingly difficult.

It's essential to understand that AI is not a genie that can be forced back into the bottle. The technology exists and our challenge lies in how we choose to use it. Creativity, innovation, and a unique application of AI could well be the secret recipe for success in this new, musically oversaturated landscape.

🎮 Nvidia's AI-powered Ramen Shop: A Bowlful of Potential with a Side of Awkward Conversation!

Summary (by ChatGPT)

• At Computex 2023, Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a vision of gaming's future, featuring an impressively rendered cyberpunk ramen shop where you can chat with the shop owner - an exciting if slightly stilted conversation.

• This groundbreaking venture attempts to replace clicking dialogue options with natural speech. The AI even responds to the player's voice, a technological advance that could revolutionize gaming, if only the conversation didn't feel like an awkward first date.

• Nvidia collaborated with Convai on this demo to showcase Nvidia ACE (Avatar Cloud Engine), a toolset capable of deploying large language models, and converting speech to text and vice versa. As for the demo's graphics, they were a dazzling show of Unreal Engine 5 and ray-tracing capabilities. The chatbot, however, could use a charisma boost.

• The potential scalability of this technology could allow for multiple characters and even NPC conversations. The jury is still out on whether game developers will wholeheartedly embrace the ACE toolkit as demonstrated in the demo. Some components of the tech are set to appear in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chernobyl and Fort Solis.

• While Nvidia calls this a "peek at the future of games," the AI conversation featured in the demo leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe next time they could spice up the dialogue with GPT-4 or Sudowrite.

My Take (by… me)

Look at that last bullet point. Do you see what ChatGPT did there? LOL!

The video game industry might just be the next in line to experience a tidal wave of disruption. Nvidia's Computex 2023 demo is a prime example, promising an interactive gaming future where awkward AI chit-chat is as commonplace as power-ups and side quests.

What we're witnessing is the first wobbly steps of an epic transformation of entertainment. The demo, while visually stunning, offered dialogue that lacked the punch, a bit like a bowl of overcooked noodles. Still, it's just the beginning. The technology is improving at an exponential rate.

🚀 Get “Art-ificially” Intelligent with Adobe: Photoshop Levels Up with Firefly Integration

Summary (by ChatGPT)

• Adobe is adding some new shades to the Photoshop palette with the integration of Generative AI and Adobe Firefly. This "creative" family of AI models supposedly lets you chat up Photoshop in your own language, asking it to do something mind-boggling like creating 'extraordinary' images with Generative Fill. No biggie, just your casual chat with an AI Picasso.

• Firefly, which Adobe modestly labels as the most successful beta in the company's history (talk about humblebrag), lets creators directly tap into AI-powered design tools. It's like having a pocket-size graphic design assistant, but with the added bonus of potentially saving you from a copyright lawsuit.

• In an effort to wave the ethical AI flag, Adobe is also working on a compensation model for Adobe Stock contributors. They're also campaigning for open industry standards with the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), which is basically the "nutrition label" for digital content, letting you know if something has been artificially flavored with Generative Fill.

• But hey, Adobe's not just all about AI; they're also bringing some upgrades to good ol' Photoshop. Adjustments presets, Remove Tool, Contextual Task Bar, and Gradients update are all part of the latest release, making your editing experience smoother than a perfectly airbrushed model.

• Finally, a quick PSA: The Photoshop (beta) app is available to all Creative Cloud members with a subscription or trial that includes Photoshop. Generative Fill is currently only available to people over 18 and is not available for commercial use or in China. Also, it only understands English. So, non-English speakers, minors, and commercial users, you guys gotta wait!

My Take (by… me)

To be fully transparent (and in case you didn’t see it), this article is from Adobe’s blog.

Even still, Generative Fill looks to be a game-changer.

Check out examples in the “AI Superstar” section below!

🎯 Prompts

🎓 Want to learn how to direct ChatGPT in your writing projects? Check out this great course from PromptHero 👇

🎓 Want to learn how to guide AI when generating images and video? Check out this great course from PromptHero 👇

🤝 Getting Help - Book Descriptions

Dave and his team at Kindlepreneur are constantly innovating. Check out the new upgrade to their free Amazon Book Description Generator! From the site:

The original version of this book description generator just took your original book description, and gave you the code to make sure it was formatted correctly on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, or wherever you put it.

But now we've converted it into a tool that will actually generate an entire book description for you!

This new version of our book description generator utilizes ChatGPT's AI technology to produce a compelling and enticing description of your book based on your original book description.

👉 Go here to get it!

🤝 Getting Help - Prompting (Joanna Penn)

Learn from one of the best! My good friend Joanna Penn is offering several sessions called, “The AI Assisted Artisan Author: Prompting, ChatGPT, Sudowrite, Midjourney.”

But don’t sleep on this. They’re selling out. Here’s the description:

Do you want to be an AI-Assisted Artisan Author? Do you want to learn how to use AI tools to enhance your creative process and make the author journey more fun?

In this positive and upbeat online session, Joanna (J.F.) Penn will demonstrate how to use various tools for different stages of the writing and marketing process.

👉 https://www.thecreativepenn.com/live/

🎉 Fun!

“Turn your book into an AI generated music playlist.”

Yep! It’s that simple. Use any published book and have Muzify generate a playlist for you.

⭐ AI Superstar - Kris Kashtanova

Twitter threads from Kris are a can’t miss for me. She has such cool ideas, like using Adobe’s generative fill to imagine what historic artifacts looks like (see tweet below).

Here’s a bit of her bio:

Kris is an AI influencer on Twitter and a guest teacher (Columbia University, NYU, University of Miami). She is often invited to teach at schools (from preschool to High School), and to elderly people at the community garden where she volunteers.

Her work on AI was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal (twice), Reuters, Bloomberg Law, the Guardian, and others.

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I’m a qualified, professional, AI artist with 25 years teaching experience and a Masters degree in education. I’m currently doing freelance B2B consulting on a very limited basis. Reach out if you need your staff upskilled on creative AI.

I use several AI tools to create this newsletter, including but not limited to ChatGPT, Midjourney, and DALLE-2. But of course you already knew that.

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