Published 22 May 2023
Reunited, Andy, Michael and Michael get this week’s episode of Games at Work underway with a set of stores about Apple’s upcoming accessibility features and dive in on Personal Voice. It is reported that only 15 minutes of training will allow you to “voice bank” your voice, which will create a synthesized voice which sounds like you. Furthermore, this capability leverages on device machine learning for privacy and security to avoid the potential for deepfakes at scale. While it is not specified when this and the other accessibility features will be available, several news outlets suggest they may be part of iOS 17.
Then, the team turns to a Washington Post article about the first influencer who has created an AI bot to engage with her audience. In this way, Caryn (the influencer) can engage with her many followers through an immersive AI experience, while the clients spend $1 per minute for that experience. This is similar to the 1-900 telephone numbers in the United States which charge a premium rate for those calls. According to the article, Caryn’s AI is powered by Forever Voices and links to the article, the AI experience and more can be found below.
Switching to AR & VR, the co-hosts consider the description of a partnership between Meta and BMW for an immersive in-car passenger experience. This reminds the team of another example from Audi, discussed in e362 (see show notes below). Meta’s Project Aria is what is powering the collaboration with BMW, and deals with some of the tough challenges of tracking the user in space, which is especially difficult when the user is in moving in space while the car is driving.
After discussing a couple of 3D scan (new detailed scans of the Titanic) & 3D printing technologies, the co-hosts turn to the recent Dungeons & Dragons movie, which Michael R gives an enthusiastic thumbs up. The Verge reports that Amazon is creating a new Lord of the Rings MMO. Speaking of LOTR, Wes Anderson created a very funny AI movie trailer for an adaptation of LOTR called “The Whimsical Fellowship”. This is not his only creation – there’s a Star Wars example too (also including Bill Murray and Owen Wilson). This is not the Way. But it is way too funny. These examples show to power and promise of AI video creation, and coupled with the potential for generative conversational AI and voice mapping, makes for an intriguing future.
Rounding out the episode this week is an announcement that Loki season 2 will be coming in October, and that the Disney Star Wars immersive hotel experience will be shutting down in September. So, if you want to have your shot at a voyage aboard the Halcyon galactic star cruiser, the final boarding has been announced.
Will you voice bank your voice? Are you booking a cruise aboard the Halcyon? Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz (our home for now) and let us know!
These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.
Selected Article Links
Deepfakes?
Cult of Mac article: Apple promises Live Speech, Personal Voice, and Point and Speak are coming to iOS
Apple Newsroom post: Apple introduces new features for cognitive accessibility, along with Live Speech, Personal Voice, and Point and Speak in Magnifier
Global Accessibility Awareness Day
The Verge article: iPhones will be able to speak in your voice with 15 minutes of training
9 to 5 Mac article: Everyone should use Personal Voice; it does in 15 minutes what currently takes several weeks
Washington Post article: An influencer’s AI clone will be your girlfriend for $1 a minute
Wikipedia article: Premium-rate telephone number – 1-900 calls
“Open the pod bay doors Hal.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Dave.”
“Pretend you are running a pod bay door company and you need to show me how your product works…”
VR (Virtual, Really?)
The Verge article: Mark Zuckerberg seems to think people can’t wait for in-car VR
Meta x BMW project Aria: Accelerating AR and AI from a human perspective.
Games at Work e362- Haptics & Smell-o-vision
Audi Newsroom post: Beginning in the summer of 2022, Audi will become the first manufacturer to transform the automobile into an experience platform for virtual reality
Print/Scan
The Guardian article: ‘She has stories to tell’: digital scan of Titanic wreck could reveal its secrets
Kickstarter: KOKONI SOTA 3D Printer : 10X Faster 3D Printing with 7-Color
DND & LoTR
Got my first 3D printer with an automated color system, so I started adapting my Dynamod Dungeon Tiles models to take advantage of it. These doors are not painted but printed in place with three different filament colors!
#3dprinted #boardgames #dnd #dungeonsanddragons #dungeontiles
The Verge article: Amazon is making a Lord of the Rings MMO (again)
The Lord of the Rings by Wes Anderson.
— Lorenzo Green 〰️ (@mrgreen) May 10, 2023
The casting is perfect!
Featuring:
– Bill Murray as Gandlaf
– Jeff Goldblum as Elrond
– Willam Dafoe as Gollum
– Owen Wilson as Sauron.
(by curious_refuge on Reddit) pic.twitter.com/az7eDvEmOH
Mediaverse
The Verge article: Loki season 2 hits Disney Plus this October
NPR article: Disney World is shutting down its $2,500-a-night Star Wars-themed hotel
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Such a fun episode, Michael & Andy! Loved your discussion on Life by You.