In todays class we had a lecture on AI, looking at how we can manage it in design. We looked specifically at how AI can be used for storytelling and content creation. Creativity is something that humans are great at, so how can use machines to enhance this creativity using it’s power to analyse vast amounts of data?
Meta is allowing us to separate our minds from our body, being able to explore worlds without physically being there. It is primarily used for gaming, but can be used to go to concerts, socialise with friends, and can act as a user interface than can be controlled with your hands. From the outside you look a bit stupid with one on, but inside you can be doing pretty much anything you want. This is quite a cool piece of technology but I am skeptical about the health benefits of using these for a long period of time both physically with motion sickness, and mentally with it taking us away from interacting with others. AI
As a class we jotted down some of our ideas as to what we thought were the pros and cons of AI for storytelling and content creation. A lot of the same answers kept coming up such as, it is more efficient, can quickly give us ideas, and has a wide range of knowledge. One person noted down that it can translate languages, which is extremely useful for international students doing essays. The cons were that there is a lot of ethical concerns, it can make errors, and it can’t actually create, it uses existing data. Currently it is quite obvious when AI as generated an image, but with the way things are going it might become harder to distinguish in the future.
The main problem with AI is the fact that there can be misinformation spread, and also the use of deep fakes, which is when AI fakes to be someone else. These videos are often spread online with celebrities or political leaders to spread misinformation. In these videos it looks and sounds like the person, but it is all just AI generated. Especially with social media, deep fake videos can spread so quickly and they can be very believable. They are super realistic because they can convey the same emotions as real people, so we must be very careful that we aren’t being tricked by them. This article by Northwestern gives some tips for spotting deep fakes. One tip was that it can often make mistakes, such as giving someone an extra finger or a bigger chin. Light reflections also can catch out deep fakes, as this is an area that often has errors. When it comes to audio deep fakes, phone calls can be used to try to scam people. They can sound like friends who need some help or money. Asking them personal questions can help catch them out.
Don’t be duped: Here’s how to spot deepfakes
Todays class was super interesting as we looked into AI, which is a very relevant and important topic. I particularly thought that learning a bit more about deepfakes was interesting and it is something that is good to keep an eye out for. Overall todays class was both cool but scary as AI does seem to have a more issues than benefits so far, so lets hope it gets into the right hands and can find a way to use it ethically for the greater good.