Kim K’s robo-romance, IG’s synthetic sinfluencers, and deepfakes for the mind
Reality? I don't know her
If you’re reading this, you survived the late-stage capitalist nightmare of a post-election Black Friday. Congrats! Now it’s back to reality…or is it? May be it’s time to let go of all you hold dear and true and embrace the chaos because, TBH, shit is only going to get weirder from here. In this week’s edition of Cyborg Media Entertainment News:
Kim K raises red flags with Tesla’s bad bot
Musk’s need to seed expands to Mars
AI pimping has its moment
Researchers take deepfakes even deeper
And so much more!
Deepfakes just got a whole lot deeper. Researchers from Stanford and Google DeepMind claim their AI model can replicate a user’s personality (with up to 85% accuracy) after a single, two-hour conversation. The resulting “simulation agents,” which mimic a person’s attitudes and behaviors, are meant to aid in studies where using human subjects may be too expensive or unethical. They could also be a boon for deepfake porn and disinformation.
Source: MIT Technology Review
The rise of AI pimping and synthetic sinfluencers
In another sign of the hellscape ahead, AI pimping is having a moment. The practice of creating AI-generated social media influencers using deepfakes of real adult stars is apparently a booming industry, complete with online master classes and million-dollar success stories. 404 Media uncovers the tricks of the trade in this investigation of 1,000 AI-generated Instagram influencers.
Source: 404 Media
Get an insider’s view of pet replication through the eyes of a customer service manager at a commercial cloning operation. She reveals, among other things, that cloning surrogates are bred to be good mothers and are sometimes implanted with embryos from various breeds. “So instead of a surrogate giving birth to one cloned Chihuahua, a surrogate could give birth to a litter of a cloned Chihuahua, a cloned Yorkie, a cloned miniature pinscher.”
Source: Wired
Considering cloning your kitty? Maybe give my explainer on pet replication a quick read first. Aside from being insanely expensive, cloning comes with the risks of overproduction, life-threatening deformity, and death. Awwwe. How cute!
Source: SATC
Check the genetics! The life-altering consequences of IVF mix-ups
Imagine giving birth to someone else’s baby without knowing it. This isn’t a dystopian nightmare scenario, it’s real life. In a sci-fi twist on an old Hollywood trope, two LA-area mothers found their embryos were switched at artificial insemination. After raising their respective birth children for three months, the mothers were confronted with the truth: the babies they each carried and cared for weren’t their own, genetically. Errors like these, while rare, shed light on a bigger issue: the political maneuvering keeping IVF clinics from meaningful regulation.
Source: NYT
Kim K falls for another bad boy bot
Kim Kardashian’s taste in questionable men has taken an unexpected turn. KK was recently caught cozying up to a mysterious hunk of metal, and its name is Optimus. The celebutante posted racy pics of herself in a Tesla Cybercab, cuddling with the automaker’s new humanoid, just weeks after the bot was revealed to be a remote-controlled phony.
The New York Times asked, “Has Kim Kardashian gone MAGA?” following speculation that the pics were a sign of her allegiance to President Trump and his biggest fan, Elon Musk. Here’s another question we may never know the answer to: Was Robocop anatomically correct?
Source: Instagram
How bad is AI for the environment? It's complicated.
Recent reports of AI’s excessive energy use may be overblown, according to this piece from ArsTechnica, which attempts to fact check and contextualize alarming figures about the present and future environmental impact of ChatGPT and its competitors. According to one report, generative AI is no more of an energy hog than online gaming. Choose your fighter? … I guess?
Source: ArsTechnica
Elon Musk’s Mars plans reportedly include his semen
The billionaire has determined that long-term life on Earth isn’t sustainable. His short-term solution? Colonize Mars and seed the population with his own sperm.
Source: NYT
A dazzling, queer take on space colonization
We could all use a break from the narrow, bro-coded utopia championed by Musk and his followers. Enter Doppelgängers³, the dizzying brain-baby of London-based artist and educator, Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian. This mind-bending documentary “draws on the experience of diasporas to challenge the commercialisation of the moon.” It might sound like heavy stuff, and it is, but Ben Hayoun-Stépanian’s unique perspective and unwavering curiosity make the exploration worth the weight.
Source: Doppelgängers³
The heartbreaking reality of AI companionship
AI is poised to upend life as we know it, so why not death? This 2023 Washington Post feature shows how loss is evolving in the age of artificial companions. While apps like Replika promise digital solutions to grieving humans, they can create fresh wounds with simple software updates.
Source: Washington Post