KC DEBRIEF WEEK 12, FRIDAY 2024/03/22
DIGITAL TITANS
_ US v. Apple: everything you need to know. The US Department of Justice has filed a case against Apple for violating antitrust laws. More specifically, the case revolves around how Apple has used its locked-down ecosystem to build a monopoly on the iPhone. The DOJ alleges that Apple blocks “super” apps, suppresses mobile cloud streaming services, blocks cross-platform messaging apps, limits third-party digital wallets, and even limits how well third-party smartwatches work on its platforms. This is also the third time that the DOJ has sued Apple for antitrust violations in the past 14 years. During a press conference announcing the lawsuit, Deputy AG Lisa Monaco said Apple’s efforts “smothered an entire industry.” A responseto the lawsuit from Apple spokesperson Fred Sainz says, “This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets.”This case is likely to have a widespread impact, and given how long the DOJ’s case against Microsoft in the ’90s lasted, it could be a while before we see a resolution.
_ Swedish composer becomes Spotify’s most-famous musician you’ve never heard of Johan Röhr’s 2,700 songs have been streamed 15bn times and have more plays than Britney Spears or Abba. A “secret” composer who has released music under hundreds of different names has been identified as Sweden’s most-listened-to artist on Spotify – pulling in more plays than Britney Spears or Abba. Johan Röhr, a Stockholm-based musician, has been unmasked as the person behind more than 650 different artists on the streaming service who have been played 15bn times, making him Sweden’s current most-played artist.According to the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN), which identified the 47-year-old, Röhr has created more than 2,700 songs on the platform under names including “Maya Åström”, “Minik Knudsen”, “Mingmei Hsueh” and “Csizmazia Etel”.Even by international standards, the newspaper said, the success of Röhr’s multitude of identities puts him among Spotify’s top 100 most-streamed artists – above Michael Jackson, Metallica and Mariah Carey. Much of his success is believed to be associated with his presence on more than 100 of Spotify’s official instrumental playlists, which the company itself curates.With names like “peaceful piano” or “stress relief”, such piano-heavy playlists are particularly popular among users seeking music to play in the background while they work, eat meals or relax. Inclusion on one of these highly popular lists can make or break a musician’s career.Last year Spotify celebrated paying out a record 90bn Swedish kronor (£6.7bn) to the music industry. “Many new and promising artists are now breaking through on Spotify and can finally make a full-time living from music,” Daniel Ek, Spotify’s chief executive, said at the time. “We are very, very proud of that.”
CULTURE, MEDIA, PEOPLE
_ Tech leaders gathered in Austin for the South-by-Southwest conference a few days ago. There they showed a video boasting about the wonders of new AI technology. And the audience started booing. At first, just a few people booed. But then more and more—and louder and louder. The more the experts on screen praised the benefits of artificial intelligence, the more hostile the crowd got. The booing started in response to the comment that “AI is a culture.” And the audience booed louder when the word disrupted was used as a term of praise (as is often the case in the tech world nowadays). Ah, but the audience booed the loudest at this statement:“I actually think that AI fundamentally makes us more human.”The event was a debacle—the exact opposite of what the promoters anticipated. And it should be a reality check for the technocracy.
_AI AI LA LAND
// An AI tool tested by the NHS successfully identified tiny signs of breast cancer in 11 women which had been missed by human doctors. The tool, called Mia, was piloted alongside NHS clinicians and analysed the mammograms of over 10,000 women. Most of them were cancer-free, but it successfully flagged all of those with symptoms, as well as an extra 11 the doctors did not identify. At their earliest stages, cancers can be extremely small and hard to spot. The BBC saw Mia in action at NHS Grampian, where we were shown tumours that were practically invisible to the human eye. But, depending on their type, they can grow and spread rapidly.
// Could an AI replace all music ever recorded with Taylor Swift covers? A thought experiment in which all music is replaced with AI-generated "Taylor's Versions" should prompt us to find ways to protect data from AI corruption, warn researchers Taylor Swift performing in Melbourne earlier this year Graham Denholm/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management . A rogue artificial intelligence obsessed with Taylor Swift could supplant all recorded music with artificially generated cover versions by her, say researchers. History would show the American singer-songwriter as being responsible for everything from Für Elise to Paperback Writer, leaving no evidence that Ludwig van Beethoven or The Beatles ever existed. Nick Collins at Durham University, UK, and Mick Grierson at the University of the Arts London give the unusual warning in a paper that says humanity must think of methods of resistance “now, rather than when it is too late”.
// Saudi Arabia Plans $40 Billion Push Into Artificial Intelligence. The Middle Eastern country is creating a gigantic fund to invest in A.I. technology, potentially becoming the largest player in the hot market.
// Uhh, maybe not? Amazon, Google Quietly Tamp Down Generative AI Expectations / The Information
// Google researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence system that can generate lifelike videos of people speaking, gesturing and moving — from just a single still photo. The technology, called VLOGGER, relies on advanced machine learning models to synthesize startlingly realistic footage, opening up a range of potential applications while also raising concerns around deepfakes and misinformation. Described in a research paper titled “VLOGGER: Multimodal Diffusion for Embodied Avatar Synthesis,” the AI model can take a photo of a person and an audio clip as input, and then output a video that matches the audio, showing the person speaking the words and making corresponding facial expressions, head movements and hand gestures. The videos are not perfect, with some artifacts, but represent a significant leap in the ability to animate still images.
//Jack Morton’s innovation practice, Jack X, is diving into the possibilities and intricacies of AI’s impact on creativity, marketing and business as it welcomed on Feb. 26 its first AI-generated virtual intern, XARA, who will serve as a digital influencer and share insights on experience innovation and the potential of AI through social content and podcasts.XARA’s 3D character was designed by the Jack X London in-house design and development team, which leveraged the Unity platform to build and rig the character. XARA’s “skills” include real-time animation and lip syncing, as well as a text-to-speech AI plugin. XARA was also “crafted with a focus on diverse and accessible design thinking at the forefront.”Managing XARA is Damian Ferrar, global head of Jack X, and his team of strategists, creatives and technologists who are mentoring the character and monitoring the results for any bias or false information, often referred to in the space as “AI hallucinations.”
//Watchdog assessing McDonald's and Greggs IT failures. Greggs became the fourth major firm to suffer IT issues, following problems at McDonald's, Tesco and Sainsbury's. The Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) said it was reviewing the situation. "The PSR is aware of the recent payment issues and is assessing their nature to determine whether any further action is needed," it said. The PSR is the UK's economic regulator for payment systems, seeking to ensure they work well for those that use them. If it identifies an issue with payments infrastructure resilience, it can pass the matter on to the Bank of England. Such systems are firmly in the spotlight after a series of technical glitches which left customers unable to make purchases.
MMM OF THE WEEK
_ Lego heads in mugshots? Something looks a little funny on one California police department’s social media pages. The Murrieta Police Department is photoshopping Legos onto suspects’ faces in mugshots and arrest photos. Locals have noticed this phenomenon on the police department’s social media, and the department’s reason turns out to be simple. A new law that went into effect Jan. 1 prohibits law enforcement from sharing suspect photos for nonviolent crimes, except in special circumstances, MPD said in a March 18 Instagram post. They are also required to remove suspect mugshots from social media after 14 days. Wanting to continue to share with locals, “we chose to cover the faces of suspects to protect their identity while still aligning with the new law,” MPD said. To do this, the police department chose Legos, overlaying Lego heads on the heads of suspects in photos shared on its social media. MPD started doing this long before the law took effect. A scan of the department’s Instagram feed reveals Lego arrest photos dating back many months. In November, the department explained in a post that while they know other departments continue to post faces of arrestees, their department chose not to when Assembly Bill 1475 was passed in 2021, which banned posting booking photos for nonviolent crimes. With the new law expanding on that premise, the police department has even more reason to keep this up. “The Murrieta Police Department prides itself in its transparency with the community, but also honors everyone’s rights and protections as afforded by law; even suspects,” MPD said.Read more at:
_The cross of St George should not be messed with, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says, weighing in on a row over the colours of England's football team kit. Earlier, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer joined the chorus of prominent voices taking issue with Nike's design for the new kit. The design takes creative licence with the cross by adding navy, light blue and purple to the traditional red. BBC News understands there are no plans to change or recall the shirt. Speaking to reporters, Mr Sunak said he "prefers the original" and the national flag is a "source of pride" and identity. "When it comes to our national flags, we shouldn't mess with them because they're a source of pride, identity, who we are, and they're perfect as they are," he said. On social media, the culture secretary said: "Fans should always come first, and it's clear that this is not what fans want. Our national heritage - including St George's Cross - brings us together. Toying with it is pointless and unnecessary." Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told The Sun that the "flag is used by everybody, it is a unifier, it doesn't need to be changed". "We just need to be proud of it. So I think they should just reconsider this and change it back," he said. Nike says the shirt, launched earlier this week ahead of Euro 2024, includes "a playful update to the cross of St George" which "appears on the collar to unite and inspire".