• KISS will be immortalized thanks to George Lucas Industrial Light and Magic

• Meta launches its own standalone AI-powered image generator

• Apple isn’t staying quiet in the AI game

• A thesis by contributor Mike Gioia on how Hollywood could be affected by artificial intelligence

• A designer forward generative A.I platform

• An amazing AI Spec commercial made on a director’s coffee break!

Featured Story

KISS closed out their final performance and teased the next chapter for the band!

The iconic rock band KISS, known for their theatrical performances and distinctive makeup, has embarked on a groundbreaking venture to immortalize their legacy through digital avatars. After concluding their "The End of the Road" farewell tour at New York City's Madison Square Garden, the band, consisting of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer, and Eric Singer, introduced their digital counterparts. These avatars, crafted by George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic in collaboration with Pophouse Entertainment Group, mark a new era of digital immortality for KISS. This innovative approach, previously seen in the "ABBA Voyage" show, allows the band to perform virtually, transcending physical limitations and offering a unique concert experience. The technology enables simultaneous performances across multiple locations, revolutionizing the concept of live music. KISS's foray into digital avatars reflects a growing trend in the music industry, where artists like K-pop star Mark Tuan and groups like Aespa are exploring digital twins and virtual performances. This move not only preserves the band's iconic status but also opens up new possibilities for their artistic expression and interaction with fans.

Visual Electric is an innovative image generator
designed to enhance the creative process:

• Inspiration Library: It offers a library of stunning imagery along with the prompts that created them, providing inspiration for users.

• Prompt Assist and Remix Features: The tool includes helpful suggestions while typing prompts and allows users to develop ideas through iteration, experimenting with different moods, colors, and prompts.

• Moods and Touch Up: Visual Electric provides hand-crafted, tasteful Moods to visualize ideas in various styles, along with options to keep or change elements of the generated image.

• Variations and Upscale: Users can explore how their ideas evolve with a creativity slider and add sharpness and resolution to perfect their images..

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Meta launches a standalone AI-powered image generator: Meta has introduced "Imagine with Meta," a new standalone AI-powered web tool that enables users to generate images using natural language descriptions. This tool, similar to OpenAI's DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, is based on Meta's Emu image generation model and is currently free for users in the U.S., producing up to four images per prompt. Initially designed for enhancing chat experiences, Meta has expanded its accessibility to the web, allowing broader creative content creation. However, Meta's past issues with racially biased AI raise concerns about safeguards in this new tool. To address transparency and traceability, Meta plans to implement invisible watermarks on generated images, detectable by a corresponding AI model. This move aligns with increasing global pressure for clear identification of AI-generated content, as seen in recent regulations and tech industry standards. The watermarking technique, resilient to common image manipulations, reflects a growing trend in generative AI to ensure ethical use and clear origin identification of AI-created works.

Apple releases open source code and steps up its A.I. game:  Apple has demonstrated its commitment to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) by releasing a new open-source deep learning (DL) framework, designed specifically for Apple Silicon. This move is seen as a significant step in dispelling the perception that Apple lags behind in AI, a misconception partly due to its preference for the term 'Machine Learning' over 'AI'. The framework, named MLX, is intended for use and improvement by other developer groups, whether they focus on ML or AI. MLX is designed to be user-friendly yet efficient for training and deploying models. Unlike typical Apple product launches, this release was done quietly, without a press release or major announcement, contributing to the open-source development of AI tools. The full source code of MLX is available on GitHub. This initiative reflects Apple's strategy of integrating its software with proprietary hardware, rather than selling its technology as standalone products. The release of MLX indicates Apple's ongoing investment in AI and its potential future applications in various Apple products and services.

• David Clark has proven that it is the creative that is needed when working with AI tools to create incredible creative.

• This adidas AI spec commercial was made on his coffee break.

• For more work by David check out his website here