An Endless Flow of Ideas and A Persistent Roadblock

As an avid technologist, I've never been short on creative ideas. They bubble up like a geyser - each one more exciting than the last, stirring a sense of obsession to bring them to life. As much as I relished in this creative process, there was an all-too-familiar antagonist: The Technical Roadblock.

There I would be, in the thick of development, when I'd run up against a challenge I couldn't crack. Without the resources to hire someone and with a stubborn desire to handle every aspect of a project, many of these beautiful ideas would inevitably get relegated to the back of my mind. Yes, the process made me a Jack-of-All-Trades in technology, but it was frustrating nonetheless.

Enter GPT-4: A Technological Game Changer

Imagine my delight when OpenAI released GPT-4, or as I like to call it, my private junior developer. After a year of playing around with AI, primarily in the realm of generative art, I found something that could truly amplify my creative output.

GPT-4 doesn't just help me code – it understands me. It listens patiently to my convoluted queries and idiosyncratic understanding of programming concepts, without a hint of judgement. If I'm stuck, I merely need to ask it to "explain it to me like I'm 12 years old," and it gladly obliges.

Starting with simple website creation, I found myself continually pushing the boundaries of what I could achieve with my new companion. CSS styling? GPT-4 handles it with more finesse than I ever could. And when I introduced it to documentation from niche projects or APIs, GPT-4 became an instant expert. This became particularly interesting when I was able to build chatbots, something GPT-4 wouldn't know out-of-the-box due to its 2021 knowledge cutoff.

Converting Imagination into Reality

Armed with GPT-4, I was finally able to manifest my creative whims. The FuseBox chatbot, Google Doc extensions, a GPT-powered game in Unity, a Python tool transforming children's drawings into regency era masterpieces – these are not just ideas anymore but tangible creations, all brought to life thanks to GPT-4's assistance.

What's more, these projects didn't require weeks to complete; with GPT-4, I managed to see them through in a matter of hours or over an evening. Error messages no longer stumped me for long. One simple copy-paste, and GPT-4 swoops in with a solution.

A Tinge of Existential Dread

However, this new dynamic does raise an existential question: If GPT-4 is so adept at programming, and indeed, even idea-generation, what's left for me? It's a fear I didn't fully comprehend when I was dabbling in AI art and observed artists voicing their concerns. But as GPT-4 continues to prove its prowess, I now find myself empathising with their perspective.

Yet, I choose to view it optimistically. I believe that our humanity, our unique experiences, perspectives, and our capacity to dream and create is something that AI, no matter how advanced, cannot replicate.

Yes, GPT-4 is an incredible tool, a powerful assistant. It helps us leap over technical hurdles, speed up development, and bring ideas to life quicker than we could ever have managed alone. But the seed of creativity, the spark of an idea, and the passion to manifest it still lies within us, the humans.

So, as we march towards an exciting future brimming with AI-assisted creativity, let's remember: tools are only as good as the people who wield them. And when the tool is GPT-4 and the wielder a passionate creator, the possibilities are truly endless.

Here's to more coding, creating, and exploring the vast expanse of our imaginations with GPT-4. The future is bright, and I can't wait to see what we create together.

To the future!

Chris

I recently spent the day in the midst of some incredibly bright minds. I was invited by the one and only Chris Hogg, lecturer in Creative & Social Media at Royal Holloway, to share my learnings about generative AI in creative storytelling. Picture this: a room full of multimedia students, eager to dive headfirst into the endless possibilities of AI and generative media. And in the midst of them, the renowned Professor David Howard, famously known for recreating the voice of a 3,000-year-old mummified Egyptian priest. I promise, the mummy comes back into this story later.

The talk, aptly titled "Cinematic Synthesis: Generative AI in Creative Storytelling", aimed to illuminate the process behind image generation, voice replication, and even 3D content creation using AI. But this was no standard lecture; oh no, the aim was to put theory into action by asking the students to create a short trailer for their dream movie using these concepts. It was a workshop designed to be as much of an adventure as it was a learning experience.

I kicked off the talk by introducing the class to a tool called Midjourney. It's an AI model that has taken significant strides in the past few years. The growth in this field was apparent when comparing images from a year ago to today's outputs – the progress is astounding! Together, we explored the realm of prompt engineering and how it can be used to fine-tune AI-generated images.

And it wasn't just about static images, no siree! The students were also introduced to the magical world of AI-generated 3D content and sound generation. We delved into the exciting prospects of neurally enhanced radiance fields (NERFs), AI's answer to more realistic and high-quality 3D models. Additionally, we explored the fascinating potential of AI mocap with Move.ai, and Wonder Dynamics, which can replace an actor with a CG character. And let's not forget the wild world of AI video generation, currently undergoing its growing pains, but with promise of significant improvements on the horizon.

In this rollercoaster of a workshop, the students made trailers for their dream films using the AI tools I’d shown them. The result? In just four short hours, they produced films that, while still rough around the edges, were brimming with potential and showcased a fresh approach to filmmaking. The beauty of it all? I managed to employ GPTChat to aid us in generating ideas, content, plots, and even a shotlist - all through AI.

Now, I did promise you a mummy, didn’t I? The professors, in good spirit, decided to form a team for the workshop and came up with a film idea based on...you guessed it...the mummy! The outcome? An unnervingly compelling horror trailer that I dare say could easily terrify a cinema audience.

It was genuinely exciting to see how quickly students embraced these advanced tools and concepts. But then again, this is what generative AI does: it breaks barriers, fosters creativity, and opens doors to possibilities we hadn't even considered a few years back. As an industry, we’re moving closer to a point where the only limit to content creation will be our imagination.

So, what does all of this mean for media going forward? In my opinion, the future of content creation is a marriage of human creativity and AI technology. While the tools and technologies are advancing at a rapid pace, it’s the human element – the creative vision, the ability to dream, and the power to inspire – that will guide the course of these advancements and ensure their use in meaningful, impactful ways.

And so, to the students, Chris Hogg, and even the mummy, thank you for this amazing experience. I learned as much from all of you as I hope you did from me.

Rockin' the Digital Music Scene

For years, the digital music scene was somewhat like a cool kid dressed in their parents' clothes. Yes, you could see the potential, but something was missing - the soul of the live gig experience, the energy of the crowd, the camaraderie among attendees. Everything was there, but it felt a bit...isolated, a tad sterile.

Enter Alternative Stages. Our vision? To design a platform that would offer a truly immersive, interactive, and social VR gig experience. We wanted to transport fans to Brighton's iconic grassroots music venues - right from the comfort of their own homes.

Building the Digital Playground

We started by LIDAR and 3D scanning iconic Brighton venues - The Green Door Store, The Hope and Ruin, St Georges Church, and the Brighton Dome Auditorium. We then recorded performances, each artist captured in 4k glory, with static lighting to match the scanned venue's atmosphere.

I cannot begin to tell you the joy I felt when we first explored these digital replicas. The level of detail was mind-boggling! It was like capturing a moment in time, preserving the venues as they were, giving us the ability to revisit them anytime, anywhere. And believe me, the 'wow' factor never wears off!

The Art of Moderation and a Slice of Chaos

Then came the crucial part: moderation. We wanted to ensure that everyone could enjoy the gigs without disruptions. So, we kept a tight lid on the ability to spawn objects or media. The gigs went smoothly, and everyone seemed to enjoy them. But a little experiment on the side made me rethink our approach.

One day, I invited my World of Warcraft guild to a private room on our platform. For them, I lifted the restrictions, let them spawn whatever they wished, and boy, did they run wild with it! Anime characters, gifs of strippers - it was a chaos-fuelled digital playground. And here's the surprising bit - they loved it, more so than our "normal" attendees!

Lessons Learned - Gamification and Freedom

That experiment taught me a valuable lesson about the divide between what big tech companies think users want and what they actually desire. You see, my WoW guild wasn't just playing around; they were experimenting, being creative, and engaging with the platform in ways we hadn't imagined. They were not just viewers; they were active participants, creators in their own right.

And this, my friends, leads me to a crucial point about the future of the Metaverse. Now, I know what you're thinking. The word 'Metaverse' has become a bit of a hot potato after Zuckerberg staked his claim on it. But believe me, his vision of a clean, corporate Metaverse is not the only path we can take.

I envision a future where our digital spaces reflect the fun, the messiness, and the joy of human interaction. An environment where we can truly express our creativity, make a little mess, and, yes, even offend our sensibilities a bit (within limits, of course). Because isn't that what makes us human?

So here's to a future filled with music, fun, freedom, and a sprinkle of chaos! To the future, we go!

Cheers,

Chris