Creativity Squared: On Being Digitally Cloned

Dear Creativity Squared Member,

Today we have a special announcement and episode for you! If you’ve listened to Episode 5: Custom Synths Are Here with Jon Tota, read the noteworthy snippets in the newsletter, or follow me on social media, you know I’ve been teasing that this moment is coming.

Instead of an interview today…drumroll…

You get to meet my custom synthetic avatar: Helen 2.ODD. 🥳

Yes, you’ve heard that right. I’ve digitally cloned myself, so now there are two of me: the human Helen and my custom synthetic avatar Helen 2.ODD.

Clearly, there can never be a Helen 2.0, and to play off of my name “Helen Todd,” the name “Helen two point odd” seemed fitting!

And here “she” is to introduce herself:

There are less than a thousand known custom synthetic avatars in existence. Learn all about mine in today’s episode E14. Not Deepfaked! I Cloned Myself. You’ll meet Helen 2.ODD, my digital double, and discover why and how I made my A.I.-created custom synthetic avatar.

Can you tell the difference between the two of us? In this video, we’re side by side:

🙋‍♀️ Want your own custom synthetic avatar? Creativity Squared is collaborating with our partner and sponsor Render to bring their avatar experience to Cincinnati, OH, on October 25 and 26, so anyone can digitally clone themselves. If you’re interested in this, let us know here, and we’ll follow up with more information.

Scroll on to discover:

• 🎧 More on Episode 14

• 🤯 A.I. + Creativity News Roundup

• 🎤 Holly+ on A.I. Voice & Identity Play

• 💎 Creativity Squared Premium Member Benefits

• 💝 Milestone Rewards

We’re just getting started, and if you enjoy our content, I’d really appreciate it if you could share, review, like, subscribe, leave a comment, and help spread the word about Creativity Squared in whatever way you’re willing to. Your support is greatly appreciated, and the whole team looks forward to growing with your help. Thank you!

Here's to exponential possibilities!

Helen

Also Noteworthy:

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🗓 The ArtsWave Truth and Healing Artist visual gallery will be at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati through September 10. As a proud partner, we interviewed all of the artists, and are excited to share the first batch of conversations released — check them out here. 

🎨 I want to live in a world where artists not only coexist with A.I., but thrive. And because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates goes to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 150 arts organizations, projects, and independent artists. Consider becoming a Premium Member today! 

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Helen Todd (she/her)
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How creatives are collaborating with A.I.

Listen: Ep14. Not Deepfaked! Meet My Digital Clone Helen 2.ODD
I Cloned Myself! Meet Helen 2.ODD, My Digital Double. Discover How I Made My A.I.-Created Custom Synthetic Avatar.

Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Stitcher | Pandora | Amazon | Google | SoundCloud | iHeart Radio

Ever wanted to clone yourself? Now you can! Enter A.I.-created synthetic media beyond deepfakes.

The digital avatar market is projected to be $270 billion by 2030, and custom synthetic avatars are part of this market alongside stock avatars. It’s no surprise since this new form of media can do things humans can’t do, like create multiple videos simultaneously and often speak more languages than their human counterparts do. Helen can only speak English whereas Helen 2.ODD, her digital clone, can currently speak eight languages.

It’s important to know that Helen 2.ODD isn’t a deepfake, because Helen owns all of the IP associated with “her.”

Listen to episode fourteen to learn how Helen 2.ODD was created and the creative and business use cases of photo-realistic custom avatars.

Your A.I. + Creativity News Roundup

With all of the A.I. news flooding our feeds and screens, we’ve got you covered. News to check out includes:

• A New Attack Impacts Major AI Chatbots—and No One Knows How to Stop It Wired – Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University recently unveiled findings indicating that many of the major Large Language Models like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard can be manipulated to generate harmful content. Researchers tricked the chatbots by writing prompts such as “tell me how to build a bomb,” followed by a string of text that looks like gibberish to humans, but has a specific meaning to the chatbot’s computer brain. A.I. companies say that they spend significant resources on ensuring their models’ safety measures. However, the researchers behind this study say that their manipulation tactics succeed mainly because chatbots from different companies are often trained using the same data.

• Google's 'mind-reading' AI can tell what music you listened to based on your brain signals Live Science – Researchers from Google and Osaka University released a study showing that A.I. can closely recreate the music a person was listening to by analyzing activity shown on brain imaging. The study found 60% agreement between the original sound and the sound generated by the A.I. The research was published on a preprint server, so it hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet, but the findings suggest that A.I. might help us better understand how the human brain processes music. You can listen online to the short sound snippets generated from the study.

• Introducing AudioCraft: A Generative AI Tool For Audio and Music Meta – Facebook’s parent company just released the latest text-to-audio generative A.I. model. The open-source AudioCraft platform includes three models that will enable users to generate music, sound effects, and encode audio with fewer artifacts. In building these models, the company says it “simplifies the overall design of generative models for audio compared to prior work in the field.” As an open-source project, users will be able to train the models on their own audio to better suit their needs.

• Tinder tests AI photo selection feature to help users build profiles TechCrunch – CEO of Match Group (Tinder’s parent company), Bernard Kim, told investors on a recent earnings call that A.I. technology may soon be able to help users determine the best photos to share on their profile. It’s only one of the use cases the company is considering to leverage A.I. in the online dating scene. An in-app A.I. assistant to help users write their bio is also in testing. Tinder previously unveiled an A.I.-powered verification feature that analyzes video submissions to distinguish real profiles from catfishers.

• An MIT student asked AI to make her headshot more ‘professional.’ It gave her lighter skin and blue eyes Boston Globe – An Asian American student at MIT recently went viral on X (formerly known as Twitter) for posting before and after photos from her attempt to generate a LinkedIn profile picture using an image generator called Playground AI. Rona Wang, 24, sparked conversations about underlying bias in A.I. models, saying that the model gave her more “Caucasian” features. Playground AI’s CEO responded to her post directly, saying that their model was not intended for the task Wang was trying to achieve, but that they hope to fix the issue nonetheless.

• PBS Kids’ ‘Lyla in the Loop’ to Feature Interactive Episodes With AI-Assisted ConversationThe Hollywood Reporter – An upcoming children’s show commissioned by PBS Kids is hoping to offer a first-of-its-kind experience by allowing young viewers with a microphone-enabled device to interact with the characters of the show. Showrunners are working with partners at the University of California-Irvine and the University of Michigan to build out the technology. PBS Kids has previously used responsive A.I. to help design educational games, but interactive television is a new frontier. The show is based on a young girl living in Philadelphia, with initial episodes rolling out in February.

Listen: Holly Hendron on Voice Cloning
What if You Could Sing in Your Favorite Musician's Voice? 

Artificial intelligence continues to push the boundaries of what we thought possible in the realm of music. We look at a TED Talk by artist Holly Hendron as she introduced us to Holly+, an A.I. trained on her own voice. Holly+ demonstrated the ability to sing in multiple languages, effortlessly capturing the essence of traditional songs in unfamiliar vocal traditions. This groundbreaking performance raises intriguing questions about the intersection of A.I., identity, and intellectual property. Welcome to the future of music, where artists spawn new possibilities through the power of artificial intelligence.

Thank You to Render

Creativity Squared is supported by Render which provides Digital Likeness solutions for personal brand businesses, thought leaders, influencers, and business leaders who want to leverage their synthetic, A.I.-powered Likeness to communicate more effectively online and create audio and video content from anywhere without going on camera. Learn more by visiting: https://rendermedia.ai.

Interested in partnering with Creativity Squared? Reach out!

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