2023-06-22

thewayne: (Default)
2023-06-22 03:33 pm

Marvel's Secret Invasion premiered last night on Disney+ (NO SPOILERS)

The opening credits are AI-generated and causing a lot of controversy.

Disney had always been about the artists, and now they bypass the artists and had a computer generate the credits. Now, granted it took a lot of coaxing and back and forthing to get that output, and lots of people were involved and paid for it, but amongst the controversies are that the AIs used are the ones that scraped the web and stole images from people without permission!

Now, the credits - linked in the article - are very evocative and atmospheric. I think they're pretty good, but honestly, a team of hoomans could have done better.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/06/marvel-angers-artists-and-fans-with-ai-generated-secret-invasion-tv-intro/
thewayne: (Default)
2023-06-22 03:50 pm
Entry tags:

Interesting Humble book bundle from MIT Press

Twenty-four books for $18 with the following titles:

Post-Truth
Espionage: A Concise History
Analog
Critical Thinking
Memory
Happiness
Neuroplasticity
Extremism
Quantum Entanglement
Behavioral Insights
Nihilism
Carbon Capture
Synesthesia
Free Will
The Book
Phenomenology
Smart Cities
Macroeconomics
3D Printing
Nuclear Weapons
Gender(s)
Content
Neurolinguistics
Robot Ethics

The books are DRM-free epubs, and the charity is "Covenant House is the nation's largest movement providing food, shelter, immediate crisis care, and ongoing services to homeless and trafficked young people".

The Bundle will be available for the next twenty days.

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/essential-knowledge-mit-press-books
thewayne: (Default)
2023-06-22 04:51 pm

All 5 people on the Titanic tour submersible are dead following an implosion

Very sad. Apparently the pressure vessel, i.e. carbon-fiber tube, suffered a catastrophic implosion, killing everyone pretty much instantly.

Early today an remote-operated vehicle (ROV) spotted a debris field on the ocean floor. Further study showed it to be pieces of the submersible. The Coast Guard Admiral who gave the news at a press conference was asked if the bodies could be recovered, he said he didn't know and that the bottom of the ocean is a very unforgiving place.

As to the banging noises heard on sonobuoys? Might have been man-made, might not have been. Classifying sounds on sonar and via sonobuoys is a very tricky thing. I don't know if they'll be able to determine when the vessel imploded in relation to when the banging noises were heard. Also, sound heard underwater: it's difficult to plot distance and location because thermal and salinity layers can make it a non-linear path.

There was very little hope the people would be found alive, but there was a little. Sadly, this was the likely result.

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/22/1183661199/sub-titan-titanic-missing-search