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A (BLACK EYE) TRENDS

Collectively, we cannot turn off or turn away from Artificial Intelligence bulldozing its way into our daily lives. It is everywhere. It is pushing boundaries. It is as polarizing as modern politics.

The U.S Copyright office continues to push back on the whiny AI evangelists who want copyright protection for AI generated works. But the Library of Congress office continues to hold firm on legal principles and the spirit of the law: only humans can create copyrightable materials. But AI keyboard jockeys claim that they creatively input words and prompts so it is their work product. No, the Copyright Office said, those prompts are just the same as a client giving a check list of items to include in a commissioned work. The words or recipe is not so unique or creative to warrant copyright protections.

To take an existing work and make it your own, the second person needs to transform the first work into something original. Transformative question is currently pending in the US Supreme Court, Goldsmith v. Warhol Foundation. A photographer who took a picture of Prince sued Warhol for infringement of her work in Warhol's colorful stylized version of it. The trial court ruled in Warhol's favor, but the appeals court reversed saying that the original image was dominant and Warhol did not transform it into something new. At the Supreme Court, Warhol also argued fair use of the photograph which is another subjective call for most legal scholars. Warhol's basic work was to take iconic images of celebrities or trademarks and splash 1060s psychedelic water color tones over them. That was his style. But is style enough to overcome infringement?

A YouTube artist went to investigate how AI art generators really create exceptional works. He went to the generator's data base program (which is a cumbersome tool for artists to try to find their work to opt out of the program) to see what the learning images looked like in the data base. He put in the most simple prompt: cat. The program spit out tens of thousands of images of cats - - - and they were toddler to elementary school crayon good. They were actual school scrawl image and after image. He concluded that the AI generator using these images as base line could create a photo-realistic painting of a Bengal tiger. He concluded to get a very good image, one needs to put in the prompt IN THE STYLE OF. And that is where he found his answer: the program is relying on a very small group of exceptional artists to create exceptional outputs.

If that is not bad enough, A.I. is taking over the office space. Many firms are using AI chat bots to do research from prompts, write reports and business proposals. It is a very scary development since reporters have tested these ChatBots and found a massive amount of basic factual errors. What would be the complications if a patient is relying on medical advice from an AI program and not a real doctor? And what if that patient is not told it is AI generated? The same holds true for people who want to use AI to generate legal forms or defenses. The old saying, if you represent yourself, you have a fool for a lawyer, rings true. Yet, some law firms are embracing the technology.

Some remote workers have been using AI to game the system: they can work full time at home, but use AI reports and memos to have several side jobs without anyone knowing what they are doing. This is now the leading reason why employers want employees back in the office: to stop them from working for other people during company work hours.

But the fiercest battle is just getting started. AI generated music is flooding the digital platforms. And consumers really cannot tell real from AI fakes. These music AI platforms are using existing song data base to learn how to construct new songs. But like with the art AI generator litigation, music publishers are saying this is just another form of unauthorized music sampling infringement. One needs permission from the music publisher to sample or take or use parts of an existing song into a new work. Generally, no more than 30 seconds is allowed unless one totally alters the sample so that it is unrecognizable. But currently, artists are spilling out the same formatted electronic auto-tuned songs so the AI is merely duplicating what is popular. The key is that the music industry is the most aggressive defender of its rights. It took down Napster and other music sharing services. It extracts copyright license fees for all digital music downloads.

In all these industries, proponents claim AI is merely a tool to get work done. A carpenter may use the same Sears hammer as million other workers, but it is his own skill that makes a cabinet. An AI generator uses existing works of other people since it does not create anything new on its own. If you would just put in a digital guitar fretboard and a data base of notes, it is extremely doubtful that AI could compose a song better than a two year old banging on a keyboard. If you give an AI art generator a color wheel, digital paint brushes and electronic canvas and tell it to paint a picture, what would happen? There is no experience or reference for a computer program to create art without copying from existing reference works.

Since this area is in such a state of flux, there is a cottage industry on social media teaching people how to make money off AI content. Tutorials on how to make sellable artwork on-line for minimum cost. It seems to have a get-rich-quick scheme. Much of this is guised under fair use disclaimers, but fair use does not equate to wholesale free use of another's work. But people using AI generators for commercial purposes do not care about the ramifications, ethics or legal consequences. Exploiting a gray area is what some people like to do.

There will come a time, maybe in the near future, when AI will fall flat in a humbling way. Hopefully, it does not have a high cost (like the promise of self-driving cars that do not self-drive). Many people are using it as form of entertainment, like opening a Christmas present after each command send to the output screen. Put an astronaut on a camel, write a bad poem to a lover, write my dating program (cringe or non-cringe). When people get used to AI in a utility sense that is when entertainment turns to reliance and that is unintended consequence that the world in general is not ready to accept.

cyberbarf

BARF BAGS COMMENTARY

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote Senator Dick Durbin to inform him that he would decline the invitation to appear at an upcoming Senate hearing to explain various reports or ethics violations among the Justices. The Senate is interested in getting some insights into how the Chief Justice of the United States intends to restore confidence in the judiciary when there are allegations of expensive gifts and commisisons from law firms who have matters before the Court. Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by the Chief Justice of the United States is exceedingly rare, only two prior instances - - Chief Justice Taft in 1921 and Chief Justice Hughes in 1935, appear in the record. Roberts sent a declination letter and copy of the court's ethics policy but that will probably not be enough. It is important to note that Congress in the last decade has spent more time investigating other branches of government than trying to balance the budget.

Shortly after US President Joe Biden announced his 2024 presidential run where he asked Americans to reelect him so he can finish the job he started with his agenda, the Republican National Committee ((RNC) responded with an AI generated video. The 30-second RNC ad urged voters to Beat Biden or else suffer disastrous consequences that the RNC suggests would likely come to pass if Americans voted to re-elect “the weakest president we've ever had.” Despite the inference the RNC has no speechwriter to prepare copy against a candidate, is AI copy going to be the new DEFENSE against inaccurate statements or mudslinging by political parties?

A young Harrison Ford will grace cinema screens for 25 minutes this summer, aided by some new Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) software. The news that LucasFilm's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny would feature a de-aged Ford came at the end of last year, but an interview with director James Mangold in Total Film indicated that young Ford will have about 20 percent of the screentime . This movie version starts in 1944, about eight years after Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark took place. The producers know that the technology will be talked about but they hope audiences will think it would be a seamless viewing experience. The rest of the movie shoots forward to 1969, with Indy on a mission to prevent a comeback of Nazism. Hollywood's Holy Grail for the past 50 years has been to develop a virtual studio where actors are not human beings and locations can be manufactured in a computer landscape. It is getting closer but actors may not realize their jobs are at stake until it is too late.

cyberbarf

FOUND BUT NOT LOST ON THE INTERNET

There are plenty of places in the world where air pollution and fine dust warnings are common place. Dyson has released its $949 filter mask in the US. We have not read any reviews, but it appears not to be a closed system as nostrils can be seen in the photograph. It has a Stormtrooper vibe. Maybe this will be a hit with the cosplay crowd.

Source: Ars Technica

We can find art in many different places. Mother Nature creates the best natural landscapes. But a British woman recently found this cute potato in her grocery bag. The soil had sculpted a nice version of a baby seal. Whether this cutie was turned into chips is unknown.

Source:Daily Mail (UK)

The Mars Rover continues to send back to Earth data on the Red Planet. In the latest batch of images, NASA and scientists were caught off guard by a strange rock with clear bony features. One scientist said she had never seen anything like this rock formation. It does look like fossilized fish bones across a spine. It gives alien theorists something more to chew on.

Source: Daily Mail (UK)

What happens when you combine a guitar and a keyboard? This Thing. It has strings and a fret board laid out like piano keys. One can tap the strings to play notes or chords. Is this for the keyboardist who cannot learn the guitar, or the guitarist who cannot play the piano, or a lazy loaf who cannot play either instrument?

Source: YouTube Shorts

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THE WHETHER REPORT

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STATUS

Question: Whether the State of Florida's push to control the Disney World special district will have an adverse effect on Disney operations and profitability?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

Question: Whether the FOX-Dominion lawsuit settlement have a chilling effect on the First Amendment?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

Question: Whether employers will continue to complain about Gen Z workers' work ethic and expectations as new hires?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

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