Generative AI News - issue #6

Exploring AI’s potential and staying current with AI literacy

Oct 18, 2024

October 18, 2024

Hi everyone!

It’s been a while since I send this newsletter (last one was in July), because I’ve been busy creating my online course: AI Literacy for Library Workers. It’s almost ready and it goes live on November 3rd.

So now I’m back to sending this monthly. (I hope!)

In this issue we’ll look at:

news about OpenAI’s Canvas and their new o1-preview model.
news about Google’s NotebookLM (it’s getting a lot of press right now for its AI-generated “podcasts”)
several stories about genAI in education and in libraries
the latest news about genAI for images, video, and music
quite a few thought-provoking stories
the usual “just for fun” section, and what’s coming in the future.

Enjoy!

Abstract visual resembling soundwaves or city buildings stretching vertically, with a mirror-like reflection on a smooth surface. The image transitions from warm sunset hues to cool blues and whites. — Image generated with Microsoft Designer

Foundation model news

Open AI

OpenAI Launches a Document and Code Editor Integrated Into ChatGPT - Dan Shipper, Every
”Canvas is an Artifacts competitor aiming at the future of AI-human collaboration.” See Introducing Canvas - OpenAI.

OpenAI finally brings humanlike ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode to U.S. Plus, Team users - VentureBeat
”it’s shipping five new, different-styled voices today, too: Arbor, Maple, Sol, Spruce, and Vale — joining the previous four available, Breeze, Juniper, Cove, and Ember.” But it’s not available in the EU, see OpenAI’s Advanced Voice mode is unavailable in the EU, and now we might know why - TechRadar

OpenAI tackles global language divide with massive multilingual AI dataset release - VentureBeat
”… a multilingual dataset that evaluates the performance of language models across 14 languages, including Arabic, German, Swahili, Bengali and Yoruba. … This benchmark could open up more equitable global access to the technology.”

News about OpenAI’s new model: o1-preview

Introducing OpenAI o1-preview - OpenAI

OpenAI just unleashed an alien of extraordinary ability - Timothy B. Lee, Understanding AI
Very good explanation of how it works, what it can & can’t do.

Notes on OpenAI’s new o1 chain-of-thought models - Simon Willison
”One way to think about these new models is as a specialized extension of the chain of thought prompting pattern—the “think step by step” trick that we’ve been exploring as a a community for a couple of years now.”

Microsoft

Microsoft leans harder into AI, updating Copilot, Bing, and Windows - VentureBeat
So many updates.

Microsoft unveils ‘trustworthy AI’ features to fix hallucinations and boost privacy - VentureBeat
"“One of the key features introduced is a “Correction” capability in Azure AI Content Safety. This tool aims to address the problem of AI hallucinations — instances where AI models generate false or misleading information. “When we detect there’s a mismatch between the grounding context and the response… we give that information back to the AI system,” Bird explained. “With that additional information, it’s usually able to do better the second try.”

Nvidia

Nvidia just dropped a bombshell: Its new AI model is open, massive, and ready to rival GPT-4 - VentureBeat
”By making the model weights publicly available and promising to release the training code, Nvidia breaks from the trend of keeping advanced AI systems closed. This decision grants researchers and developers unprecedented access to cutting-edge technology.”

Meta

Meta’s Llama 3.2 launches with vision to rival OpenAI, Anthropic - VentureBeat
”Now, the two largest Llama 3.2 models (11B and 90B) support image use cases, and have the ability to understand charts and graphs, caption images and pinpoint objects from natural language descriptions.”

Google’s NotebookLM

NotebookLM’s automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective - Simon Willison
”Audio Overview is a fun new feature of Google’s NotebookLM which is getting a lot of attention right now. It generates a one-off custom podcast against content you provide, where two AI hosts start up a “deep dive” discussion about the collected content. These last around ten minutes and are very podcast, with an astonishingly convincing audio back-and-forth conversation.”

Google NotebookLM leader says more controls coming for AI generated podcasts - VentureBeat
”product leader Raiza Martin says her team will be adding new updates to allow users to control more of the Audio Overviews (AOs), including selecting different ‘personas’ to be the AI hosts, as well as select the length of the podcast episode.”

Google launches NotebookLM Business to make enterprise AI audio, text - VentureBeat
”Google will soon offer a paid version of its AI research tool NotebookLM, specifically targeting businesses. NotebookLM Business will have “enhanced features for businesses, universities, and organizations.”

Apple

What is Apple Intelligence, when is it coming and who will get it? - TechCrunch
Learn the details. It’s very good for privacy, see Apple Intelligence privacy features: Here’s what you should know - 9to5Mac.

Share Generative AI News by Nicole Hennig

Images, video, music, and voices

Images

Here, Now & Then: Black Joy & Generative Artificial Intelligence - Nettrice Gaskins
The artist Nettrice Gaskins showcases how GenAI can extend Black creativity and joy. She presented at the 2024 Black Joy AI Summit. Their slogan is “dreaming of an ethical AI tech ecosystem through Black Joy.”

Artificial Aesthetics: Generative AI, Art and Visual Media - Lev Manovich and Emanuele Arielli.
New book, free PDF chapters online. Their book examines how generative AI is changing familiar concepts of aesthetics, creativity, design, and art appreciation.

From Museum Without Walls to GenAI Museum - Lev Manovich
”A more intriguing application, however, is to explore alternative possible art histories. We can re-imagine art history (and history of culture in general) as a speculative discipline—similar in spirit to speculative fiction, alternative history, or speculative design.”

Video
Several advances in video generation tools.

Meta enters AI video wars with powerful Movie Gen set to hit Instagram in 2025 - VentureBeat
Adobe previews Firefly Video AI model offering high-quality generations - VentureBeat
MiniMax’s AI video tool can create Star Wars battles in seconds – here’s why that matters - VentureBeat

AI video gains boost from prominent filmmakers James Cameron, Andy Serkis - VentureBeat

Landmark AI deal sees Hollywood giant Lionsgate provide library for AI training - Ars Technica

GenAI Video as a New Form: not just a cheaper way to make movies - Doug Shapiro
”… like all other new media, GenAI will also enable creatives to make new things in new ways.”

Music

Talking through AI and the future of music with will.i.am - Reed Albergotti, Semafor
”While many musicians and other artists believe AI poses a threat to their livelihoods and support lawsuits and regulation, will.i.am sees it as the latest example — Napster being the first — of the record industry’s Sisyphean effort to stop time. ‘They would rather sue than innovate,’ he says. ‘With the amount of money they’re spending on suing, they could have built it themselves.’ “

Voices

Meta Adds Celebrity Voices to AI Chat, Including John Cena, Awkwafina and Keegan-Michael Key - Hollywood Reporter
Who needs GPT-4o Advanced Voice Mode? Hume’s EVI 2 is here with emotionally inflected voice AI and API - VentureBeat

Tips

NotebookLM

Educators: Here’s How I Would Use NotebookLM - Remi Kalir
How to effectively use NotebookLM as a Student - Priyanka Vergadia
NotebookLM adds audio and YouTube support, plus easier sharing of Audio Overviews - Google
Google’s NotebookLM privacy policy
“We value your privacy and never use your personal data to train NotebookLM.”

Advanced voice mode in ChatGPT

Maximize Your Reading With ChatGPT's NEW Advanced Voice Mode - Dan Shipper, YouTube
ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode will Change English Learning Forever - Cloud English, YouTube

Accessibility

The Impact of AI in Advancing Accessibility for Learners with Disabilities - EDUCAUSE Review
Useful summary of many different developments.

AI could be a game changer for people with disabilities - Steven Aquino, MIT Technology Review
”It should be noted that disabled people historically have been among the earliest adopters of new technologies. AI is no different, yet public discourse routinely fails to meaningfully account for this. After all, AI plays to a computer’s greatest strength: automation. As time marches on, the way AI grows and evolves will be unmistakably and indelibly shaped by disabled people and our myriad needs and tolerances. It will offer us more access to information, to productivity, and most important, to society writ large.”

Be My Eyes and Meta Announce Accessibility Partnership - BeMyEyes
”Be My Eyes to provide “Call a Volunteer” on Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, unlocking hands-free accessibility for blind and low vision people for the first time.'“

What’s happening in education

What schools are doing

New certificate program helps students unlock and understand artificial intelligence - Boise State University
Google.org Invests $4 Million to Boost AI Literacy in India - APAC News Network
California schools will be required to integrate AI into curriculum - The Mercury News
The Future Is Hybrid: Colleges begin to reimagine learning in an AI world. - The Chronicle of Higher Education

View from students
Employers Say Students Need AI Skills. What If Students Don’t Want Them? - Inside Higher Ed
“ChatGPT seems too good to be true”: College students’ use and perceptions of generative AI - Computers and Education
Access to premium AI services is a significant concern for students - WONKE
Artificial Intelligence literacy among university students -a comparative transnational survey - Frontiers
This study aimed to provide a comprehensive, cross-border perspective on AI literacy levels by surveying 1,800 university students from four Asian and African nations.

What’s happening in libraries

Librarians Want to Adopt AI but Cite Lack of Expertise - Inside Higher Ed
”More than half those surveyed said the biggest challenge libraries will have is their lack of AI expertise, with 32 percent stating that no AI training is available at their universities. That number grows when looking at the U.S. respondents alone, with 43 percent lamenting the lack of training.”
White Paper – Building an AI Literacy Framework: Perspectives from Instruction Librarians and Current Information Literacy Tools - Sandy HervieuxAmanda Wheatley, Choice
Clarivate Releases Pulse of the Library 2024 Report - Information Today
Results of a survey: “More than 60% of respondents are evaluating or planning for AI integration. However, there is a notable difference between public and academic libraries in that more academic libraries are in the early or active stage of implementing AI tools and technologies than public libraries. “While 58% of public libraries either have no plans or are not actively pursuing AI, only 31% of academic libraries are in the same position.”
A proposed framework for a digital literacy course for artificial intelligence in academic libraries - South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science
Use of artificial intelligence in libraries, a systematic review, 2019-2023 - South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science
Academic librarian competencies and artificial intelligence - South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science
Responsible AI Practice in Libraries and Archives: A Review of the Literature - Mannheimer et al., Information Technology & Libraries. More interesting articles in this special issue: Information Technology & Libraries special issue on AI and libraries.
Primo Research Assistant launches- a first look and some things you should know - Aaron Tay
Interesting review and critique.
An Evaluation of Cutting-Edge AI Research Tools Using the REACT Framework - Information Today
”We focus on two categories of tools: citation-based literature mapping tools and text-extraction tools for literature reviews. The citation mapping tools are Litmaps, Connected Papers, and ResearchRabbit, which help researchers discover and visualize related academic literature. The text-extraction tools—Elicit, scite, and Consensus—assist in finding, summarizing, and analyzing relevant papers.”

Just for fun

”Cakeify-it” effect - made with Pika

Thought-provoking

Character-driven AI - Jurgen Gravestein
AI simulation gives people a glimpse of their potential future self - MIT News
The End of Advertising - Michael Mignano
The data center boom is giving clean energy a jolt - Semafor
Reddit is bringing AI-powered, automatic translation to dozens of new countries - TechCrunch
AI Tutoring Outperforms Active Learning - Kestin et al (preprint)
The 1912 War on Fake Photos - Pessimists Archive
China’s biggest AI model is challenging American dominance - RestofWorld
The Rapid Adoption of Generative AI - Harvard Kennedy School
Authenticity in the age of AI: Growing Content Credentials momentum across social media platforms, AI companies and rising consumer awareness - Adobe
How GenAI Changes Creative Work - MIT Sloan Management Review
Scaling: The State of Play in AI - Ethan Mollick
Durably reducing conspiracy beliefs through dialogues with AI - Science
New book: AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference - Princeton Univ. Press
Why We Fear Diverse Intelligence Like AI - Noema
The AI-Copyright Trap - Carys J. Craig, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto

My offerings

AI Literacy for Library Workers: Online Course
Six-week online course via Infopeople. Begins Nov. 3.
It looks like the course is just about full (85 people is the limit), so if you’re interested but didn’t get in, you can still sign up to be notified of future sessions. (I’ll do it again in the Spring).

Generative AI guides, tutorials, FAQs - University of Arizona Libraries
Here’s one page that brings together all our materials related to generative AI. Feel free to copy/share/use any of these.

NotebookLM – reverse engineering the system prompt for audio overviews - Nicole Hennig
My blog post about using Claude to figure out how those AI-generated podcasts work under the hood. Then I used Claude’s prompt in this custom GPT: Simulated podcast transcript generator (GPT).

A promotional poster featuring three characters: a male wizard wearing a hooded cloak, a female scholar with short red hair smiling confidently, and another young woman with long dark hair. The title reads: 'The Wizard and The Scholar (or, a Rapscallion Runs Amok in Rye)' with a lush, magical forest in the background. — An AI-generated feature film made by James Maynard.

The Wizard and the Scholar - James Maynard
My husband James, spent the last nine months working on a full-length AI-generated film! (It’s a bit over an hour long).

He wrote the script himself, used Eleven Labs for voices and sound effects, Suno for music, Midjourney for images, and Runway & Kling for video. (He even used Second Life to create a few visuals that needed more control than AI was able to generate). All of this he edited together with video editing software.

When he began work on the film, the tools weren’t as capable yet… you’ll see that in lips that don’t quite sync with the audio. But the tools improved quickly and the end of the film shows that. By next year we think this film will look outdated as the tools will be so much better!

It will have its premier at The Screening Room in Tucson on Oct. 29th at 7:30 pm. It’s also on on the schedule at an AI film festival in Phoenix, showing on Oct. 31st. For a little preview, see The Wizard and the scholar - What genre is it? and also the first trailer for it. So if you’re in Tucson or Phoenix, please come to a showing!

The future

What Are AI Agents—And Who Profits From Them? - Evan Armstrong, Every
”Agentic workflows are loops—they can run many times in a row without needing a human involved for each step in the task.“
Why Jensen Huang and Marc Benioff see ‘gigantic’ opportunity for agentic AI - VentureBeat
”In the future, Huang noted, there will be AI agents that understand subtleties and that can reason and collaborate. They’ll be able to find other agents to “work together, assemble together,” while also talking to humans and soliciting feedback to improve their dialogue and outputs.”
The Next Interface - Zeynep Evecen
“AI will be so integrated into apps and operating systems that we won’t even realize or think twice about it. It will be as intuitive to us as an OS is today. No one considers a phone capable of operating without an OS, and a few years from now, no one will think it can operate without AI.” … “The PCs, as we know them today, may eventually become obsolete.”
Why Generalists Own the Future - Dan Shipper, Every
”In the age of AI, it’s better to know a little about a lot than a lot about a little.”

Learn more

If you want to learn more about generative AI, contact me about doing a webinar for your group.

And as always, you can follow me on X, Mastodon, or Bluesky, where I post daily about generative AI.

And share this newsletter with your friends and colleagues!