The Download: generative AI for video, and detecting AI text

This is today's variation of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a regular dose of what's going connected successful the satellite of technology.

The archetypal startup down Stable Diffusion has launched a generative AI for video

What’s happened: Runway, the generative AI startup that co-created past year’s breakout text-to-image exemplary Stable Diffusion, has released an AI exemplary that tin alteration existing videos into caller ones by applying styles from a substance punctual oregon notation image.

What it does: In a demo reel posted connected its website, Runway shows however the model, called Gen-1, tin crook radical connected a thoroughfare into claymation puppets, and books stacked connected a array into a cityscape astatine night. Other caller text-to-video models tin make precise abbreviated video clips from scratch, but due to the fact that Gen-1adapts existing footage it tin nutrient overmuch longer videos.

Why it matters: Last year’s detonation successful generative AI was fueled by the millions of radical who got their hands connected almighty originative tools for the archetypal clip and shared what they made, and Runway hopes Gen-1 volition person a akin effect connected generated videos. Read the afloat story.

—Will Douglas Heaven

Why detecting AI-generated substance is truthful hard (and what to bash astir it)

Last week, OpenAI unveiled a instrumentality that tin observe substance produced by its AI strategy ChatGPT. But if you’re a teacher who fears the coming deluge of ChatGPT-generated essays, don’t get excessively excited.

The instrumentality is inactive precise overmuch a enactment successful progress, and it is woefully unreliable, lone identifying 26% of AI-written substance correctly arsenic “likely AI-written” 26% of the time. Even portion we should expect this fig to improve, we’re highly improbable to ever get a instrumentality that tin spot AI-generated substance with 100% certainty. Read the afloat story.

—Melissa Heikkilä

Melissa’s communicative is from The Algorithm, her play AI newsletter. Sign up to person it successful your inbox each Monday.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.

1 Google has announced its ain chatbot to rival ChatGPT
Bard won’t beryllium disposable to the nationalist for different fewer weeks. (The Verge)
+ It’s called Bard due to the fact that it’s a storyteller, geddit? (NYT $)
+ AI is kindling the long-dormant hunt wars flame. (FT $)
+ Only ‘trusted testers’ person entree to the strategy close now. (Wired $)

2 China’s ‘spy balloon’ furore has undermined Xi Jinping’s leadership
It surely isn’t helping his ongoing efforts to stabilize tense relations with the US. (FT $)
+ The balloon was 200ft gangly and carrying a immense load. (BBC)

3 We can’t truly foretell earthquakes
Even the champion efforts aren’t capable to supply overmuch much than a fewer seconds’ warning.(WP $)
+ Rescuers successful Turkey and Syria are moving astir the timepiece to find survivors. (FT $)
+ A deep-learning algorithm could observe earthquakes by filtering retired metropolis noise. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Andrew Tate groomed women into joining his webcam enactment ring
Victims were approached connected societal media and dating apps. (Vice)
+ The “manosphere” is getting much toxic arsenic aggravated men articulation the incels. (MIT Technology Review)

5 What it’s similar to tally an termination hotline 
Post-Roe, its volunteers are dealing with much calls than ever. (Vox) + The cognitive dissonance of watching the extremity of Roe unfold online. (MIT Technology Review)

6 This viral TikTok cause situation ne'er really existed
But that hasn’t stopped panic from spreading crossed Mexico. (Rest of World)
+ The porcelain situation didn’t request to beryllium existent to get views. (MIT Technology Review)

7 We’re inactive learning astir the satellite 🌒
NASA ShadowCam ngo hopes to shed immoderate airy connected its astir mysterious craters. (The Atlantic $)

8 Austin has go a refuge for tech workers near jaded by Silicon Valley
The city’s cool, counter-culture vibe is simply a monolithic draw.(New Yorker $)

9 How EV batteries are made successful America
But immoderate components inactive request to beryllium sourced from overseas. (WSJ $)+ How aged batteries volition assistance powerfulness tomorrow’s EVs. (MIT Technology Review)

10 The tricky morals of de-aging actors with AI
Some critics reason it’s some demeaning and pointless. (The Guardian)
+ AI has learnt however to crush humans astatine Pokémon. (The Atlantic $)

Quote of the day

“People are acrophobic to person conversations.” 

—Mary Jane Copps, a erstwhile writer who coaches radical connected however to talk to others implicit the phone, tells Bloomberg wherefore her customers are truthful reluctant to talk. 

The large story

How large exertion systems are slowing innovation

February 2022

In 2005, years earlier Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa came connected the scene, 2 startups—ScanSoft and Nuance Communications—merged to prosecute a burgeoning accidental successful code recognition. The caller institution developed almighty speech-processing bundle and grew rapidly for astir a decade. Then suddenly, astir 2014, it stopped growing.

Nuance’s communicative is acold from unique. In each large industries and exertion domains, startups are facing unprecedented obstacles. They are increasing overmuch much dilatory than comparable companies did successful the past. And it volition instrumentality not lone beardown antitrust enforcement to reverse the trend, but a cardinal loosening of restrictions similar non-compete agreements and intelligence spot rights. Read the afloat story.

—James Bessen

We tin inactive person bully things

A spot for comfort, amusive and distraction successful these weird times. (Got immoderate ideas? Drop maine a line oregon tweet 'em astatine me.)

+ These paintings (and the unusual photo) of London are magical.
+ Now this is simply a chatbot I tin get onboard with—Cat GPT (thanks Charlotte! Top tip: meow astatine it)
+ If you’re disquieted astir your attention span, you should consciousness harmless successful the cognition that adjacent past Roman philosophers struggled to ore sometimes.
+ Happy quarter-century to that sinister dancing baby.