What was once a flat experience has been transformed by anamorphic billboards, also known as 3D billboards, that essentially trick your brain into perceiving someone, or  something, moving out of the blank canvas and into our world.

It’s a surprisingly effective idea when pulled off properly, and it’s getting more popular, which may lead you to wonder just how it works. Unlike when a poor magician reveals their secret, it’s fairly easy to explain but doesn’t diminish the effect.

Here’s how 3D billboards work …

Breaking the brain down

Much of the magic of a 3D billboard is derived from the same thing that creates any 3D effect, dating back to those weird blue-and-red glasses, right through to Nintendo’s 3DS and the kind of things you find in theme parks.

It all falls back to depth perception, specifically “binocular disparity.” Consider you’re lying on your side, and you close one eye. One eye is actually higher than the other, so it makes it easier to see the difference in perspective between the two.

The brain works nonstop to process images it receives and sort of “fill in the blanks” in-between, but it also works to assess the depth of things, as well as how far an object is from your eyes.

This, combined with data from what your eye sees, form the basis of a 3D model of the world around you. In fact, if you’ve ever strapped on a VR headset that maps the room, it’s a similar process–except it’s happening in real-time, all the time.

As with VR, though, it’s possible to trick the brain into forgetting where it is, if only briefly. That can throw off perspective, leading to fun instances like a really large giraffe seemingly poking its head out of a building (I think I’d struggle to get any work done if I lived opposite).

So what about 3D Billboards?

OK, so that’s how the brain works, but how do 3D billboards trigger that same effect, often for dozens of people at once? How come we’ve seen not just giraffes but monsters, panda bears, and giant Nike shoes and sunglasses popping (or floating) out of them?

It comes down to essentially using two displays, one in the foreground, and one in the background. These can be LED or OLED, but the key thing is that they’re showing the same subject from two different angles — a right eye, and a left eye angle.

That means that, when you’re looking at them, they’re letting your brain fill in the blanks but get things just a little off-kilter. While many have suggested curved displays work better, it doesn’t matter — it’s all about lining up those images just right.

Layering those images can make just about anything leap right from the display (or at least feel like it is).

Are they effective, though? Consider this — when was the last time you saw a 2D, flat billboard and told a friend about it?

Then consider something like this on your walk to work, crawling its way into your nightmares.

It seems like 3D billboards are likely here to stay, and while I know they’re almost always going to be selling me something, at least I’m getting some entertainment from them.

On an environmental side, they’re also easier to maintain than traditional billboards because they don’t require constant printing, reprinting, re-displaying, and then tearing down. While there are costs associated with running them, OLED panels can save power by not switching on pixels that are supposed to stay black, so they may cost less to run than you’d think.

From a safety standpoint, there’s an argument it’s easier to convey critical information through public announcements if things are a little more three-dimensional.

Will we end up seeing some Night City-style 3D ads projected into the air around major cities? Or ads that actually scan us as we stare gormlessly at them? Sadly, there’s always that chance. But equally, there’s the potential for interactive displays that go on to help with education, too.

It’s clear this nascent advertising medium isn’t going anywhere, and it’ll be fascinating to see how far it evolves over time.

Lloyd Coombes is an established freelance writer specializing in consumer tech and fitness. He’s also Editor-in-Chief of GGRecon, and when he’s not writing, you’ll find him at the gym.

How often have you watched a character with a robotic arm rip open a heavy door, or switch to thermal imaging to identify a hard-to-spot target? Many sci-fi movies and TV shows have more than a little fascination with humanity’s desire to upgrade itself using tech. We, as a species, have always looked for ways our tech can help us reach new heights, and while that’s allowed for projects like spaceflight, water filtration, air travel, and so much more, we’re also always ready to look inward for ways we can improve our physical selves.

Think about it — false eyes, replacement teeth, metal plating to help bones stay together. Implants have been a part of our day-to-day lives for decades, so what’s next?

It appears the future is cybernetic, and while we’re still some way off a Cyberpunk 2077-esque world of back alley “RipperDocs’” that can swap your ribcage for a titanium alternative, there are a lot of realistic avenues to get there — and not all of them are safe.

Here’s why cybernetic implants are closer to reality than you think, and why we need to be careful with them.

The state of play

While it may seem like a far-flung idea to implant microchips and the like into one’s body, it’s already happening in some corners of society.

In fact, thousands in Sweden already have them in their hands or fingers, giving a new meaning to tech at one’s fingertips, while scannable tattoos are also now triggering streaming services to play songs when scanned.

It’s all there, albeit on a relatively small scale, but a survey by tidio.com has revealed what  people (at least those sampled) are really after.

Healthcare takes the top spot with an implant that can improve the diagnosis of health issues, but other big items on the implant wishlist are cybernetic eyes capable of recording imagea and a way to beam them straight to your brain.

These are things with practical applications, and potentially dubious ethical ones, too. But what of the cosmetic potential of such experimentation?

Cosmetic surgery is pretty common in today’s world for a variety of reasons –- a post-weight loss tummy tuck, lip filler, even eyebrow tattoos. But what about UV tattoos that glow in the dark? Or new bionic biceps that can grow bigger with the press of a button?

The potential is seemingly endless, and according to the same survey, younger users are much more keen on the idea. Indeed, those raised with the experience of building small computers like Raspberry Pi are even more open to injecting their own chips.

Firmware upgrade

Arguably the most well-known company making headway in this space is Elon Musk’s Neuralink.

The controversial Twitter/X-owner’s company began in 2016 but has now received regulatory approval for clinical trials on its brain-computer interface, the Link. Musk has pointed to the device beginning life as a way to help users battle conditions like paralysis or mental health issues, then moving into something more people will look to install, linking up with computers and AI. Musk says it could even act as a kind of system backup

It’s a bold claim, but many are naturally pointing to his erratic handling of the social media platform as a reason to mistrust Neuralink’s ability to plug something into your brain. In fact, Musk reportedly demanded a cameo in the videogame Cyberpunk 2077, itself now a cultural touchstone on the potential and pitfalls of body modification –- and was turned down.

Error Code

Naturally, all of this raises plenty of ethical concerns, not just about Neuralink but the idea of cybernetics as a whole.

Considering the understandable concerns about bodycam footage of police forces around the world, and the constant scrutiny of it, imagine the privacy and legal ramifications of having eyeballs that continually record what they see–- can you gain consent from someone to feature in recordings? It’s a legal minefield.

There are also security concerns. Your home Wi-Fi right now could be connected to computers, TVs, and smart home assistants with access to your locks, electrical sockets, and more. Imagine that kind of access to your locally stored visual feeds or even your internal organs –- it doesn’t take a cybernetics expert to see the damage a potential hack or simple compatibility issue could do.

And then there’s the medical side of things. We’re likely already seeing much of the ‘”ow-level” modifications like the microchip implants being done by non-medical professionals, raising concerns about safety and cleanliness. These bodyhacks might be considered small procedures, but as we start putting chips in brains there surely has to be some kind of medical oversight one would hope extends further than an owner’s manual.

Plenty of questions need to be answered before that time comes, but cybernetic implants feel like an inevitable outcome at our current pace of innovation.

Here’s hoping they’re given some due diligence.

Lloyd Coombes is an established freelance writer specializing in consumer tech and fitness. He’s also Editor-in-Chief of GGRecon, and when he’s not writing, you’ll find him at the gym.

This week sees the 34th anniversary of Back to the Future Part 2, a movie that, despite debuting before I was born, has become a seminal part of my own science-fiction lexicon. By playing on the familiar beats of its 1985-set predecessor, it was able to make off-the-wall concepts like hoverboards and self-lacing Nike sneakers feel close enough to reality to be believable. Grounded in what was, at the time, the far-flung future of 2015, Back to the Future Part 2 held one promise that as yet remains unfulfilled — flying cars.

With the movie having so impressively predicted things like biometric scanners, personalized advertisements, and even a smartwatch, among much, much more, are we really so far from the idea of a flying car in 2023? As it happens, Back to the Future Part 2’s final big invention could be closer than you think.

Keeping things grounded

Automotive development has been constantly iterating for decades as cars get more rounded and comfortable, but the biggest disruptor in the space arguably has been Tesla.

Tesla vehicles have become more common on the streets year-after-year since the company’s founding in the early 2000s, and there’s a good chance you no longer need to Google what they look like. Spearheaded by controversial Twitter/X owner Elon Musk, the company certainly helped kickstart and popularize electric vehicles — but they’ve stalled somewhat with the divisive Cybertruck (itself looking perfect for the background of an eighties movie).

Still, with Musk’s vested interest in projects like SpaceX, there’s bound to be some technological crossover with his other projects. As Musk himself stated in 2019, the company is working on a flying car. Yet despite Tesla’s dominant mindshare and popularity among consumers it’s been overtaken in the race to develop one.

Taking flight, slowly

The company making the biggest headlines in the world of flying cars right now is Alef Aeronautics, a California-based startup that’s acquired a special certificate of airworthiness from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) — and is the first in the United States to do so.

In simplest terms, that means test flights are now permitted for the company’s first vehicle, the Model A, one of the slickest designs you’ll see. Almost spaceship-like in appearance, it’ll run on land like a standard automobile, but is also able to take off vertically thanks to eight rotors under its body — and you’ll supposedly only need a drone pilot’s license to fly one (more on that shortly).

There’s also the small matter of the $300,000 asking price, but with prototypes being slated for 2025, we’ll soon find out if it’s worth the investment. 

Jetson, a Swedish company adorably named after the sixties cartoon that regularly featured a flying car, already has an eVTOL vehicle (electric vertical take-off and landing) called the Jetson One — and you can order one now for a mere $98,000.

The Jetson One can reach 1500 feet above ground level and uses a lithium-ion battery that gives 20 minutes of flight time, so don’t plan on any cross-country trips down the length of I-95. 

Chinese manufacturer Xpeng offers its own eVTOL, taking the form of a more traditional car with six rotors that’s almost like something from a Bond movie. It’s packing enough intelligence to fly with two rotor failures, too, and has a multi-parachute system.

Meanwhile over in Rome, Italy, Lazzarini Design Studio has unveiled its concept for “The Air Car,” a near ringer for the flying car–coincidentally(?) likewise called an “Air Car”– that comic book great Jack Kirby, co-creator of most things Marvel, gave Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. back in the mid-1960s:

Kirby Air Car:

Lazzarini “Air Car”:

Of course the reliance on technology for all these flying hotrods brings cybersecurity into focus more than ever before, especially with car thieves and other bad actors able to unlock vehicles using radio waves in today’s world.

The research paper “The Flying Car—Challenges and Strategies Toward Future Adoption” by Ahmed, Hulme et al discusses the potential threat of DDoS, or distributed denial-of-service, attacks — after all, it’s one thing for your satnav to drop out due to a glitch, but another for malware to stop your rotors working mid-flight.

Laws of physics

That same research paper notes that drivers of flying cars (or should that be pilots?) will also likely need some training if they’re to be rolled out en masse. This contradicts Jetson’s product page claiming no pilot license is required in the United States, and raises an important question about the safety of other drivers, and not just those flying the aerial vehicles — namely how does one manage traffic flow if cars can leapfrog each other? Will we need floating traffic signals and signs? How long before things start to look like Star Wars’ Coruscant?

With so many road traffic collisions across the globe daily, would the option to take to the skies increase or lower those numbers, especially when factoring in extraneous factors like long haul drivers, the potential for DUIs, or, in time, public transport going airborne?

Perhaps we should be glad that things are progressing a little slower than Back to the Future’s 2015 estimate, as it’s clear there’s much to be ironed out on a regulatory and technological level. In the meantime, why not start a little smaller — for the time being I’ll happily take a Marty McFly-style hoverboard.

Lloyd Coombes is an established freelance writer specializing in consumer tech and fitness. He’s also Editor-in-Chief of GGRecon, and when he’s not writing, you’ll find him at the gym.

The concept of the Metaverse has puzzled many, and perhaps because so many people are still perplexed by it, it’s hard to justify the fact that Facebook invested $13.7 billion in it by the turn of 2022.

The idea is simple, yet the conversation around the idea often makes it seem complicated. The original pitch of the Metaverse was basically an enhanced, immersive edition of Second Life — town squares, shopping malls, social activity centers and more that can be enjoyed by users in the comfort of their own homes via Facebook (hoped Mark Zuckerberg) with their in-game avatars.

It’s curious that Zuckerberg and company haven’t yet approached the concept from the angle of video game development, almost as if they’ve been deliberately trying not to admit this is what it requires. Their focus therefore floated over to just how we can make conversation in their ethereal world, seemingly before they considered what could be done to make the Metaverse a viable environment for conversing in the first place.

The game folks, meanwhile, had other ideas.

Although the concept of a Metaverse is still in disconnected fragments, some figured out that, since video game communities have been bustling since the advent of online gaming, we’re closer to a virtual town square than the Silicon Valley overlords presume they can reach. Now these creative developers are getting the jump on the giants.

Which brings us to Minecraft.

Say what you will, a total overhaul mod of the core Minecraft game with the intention of bringing short films to people across the globe is undeniably ambitious, and even kind of daring. But the mere fact that it takes place in the game’s building-block universe does an awful lot to draw the experience into the realm of the bizarre.

Loading into the World of MyMetaStories

When actually loading into the world of MyMetaStories, you’re met by a vast town plaza designed solely for the festival experience and populated with cinema workers, film critics, and directors for you to interact with … and to complete quests for. That’s right, quests. The game-ification of the festival is immediately clear. When extended out into the rest of the experience, it feels particularly segmented.

The twelve movies shown are on hourly rotations, meaning players have to jump in at the right time to catch the films they’re intent on seeing. It drip-feeds in a similar atmosphere to that of a standard film festival, echoing the from-home workarounds that the London Film Festival, for instance, came to employ during the pandemic. But the question here is whether, and just how much, these films can be taken seriously in that environment.

One shining example is the beautifully shot and sorrowfully told story of Scrap. The short follows the relationship of two Irish boys as one distances himself from the other to save face due to his itinerant Pavees heritage. It’s a film that takes itself mighty seriously, and has every right to in its examination of Ireland’s social classes and ingrained prejudices. But sat in the virtual cinema, transfixed by the concept of being there alone, I turned to my left and right to see other Minecraft players in their square-headed glory, and felt like it was undercutting the sincere work of director Jamie O’Rourke.

Asking the other users in the game’s chat what they thought of the film, I was met with, well, nothing. They were either completely un-immersed following the short film or disinterested in engaging in the social aspect of the film festival at large (or possibly bored by me as an individual player!). Either way, it became clear all in an instant that players weren’t here for the films. They were here for the novelty of being in a film festival in Minecraft.

It’d be silly to assert that Minecraft-based film festivals are any kind of norm. Users can’t embrace it in their lives in a way that can approximate their regular trips to the cinema or get-togethers with friends. It was clear by the introduction of PvP arenas and creativity games in the server that mods were trying to keep players engaged via Minecraft’s most foolproof methods, but the vastly slim sum of fellow players willing to interact with them proved they were inclined to get this kind of entertainment elsewhere. Which begged the question: What exactly were we all doing here?

The Missing Key

It’s impossible to say right now if what’s drawing players to MyMetaStories is the experience’s oddball novelty or any kind of sincere interest, but it feels as though the former is the real decider here. Short film festivals are traditionally a clubby thing for the short film director community, and roping ordinary moviegoers into them is a tough proposition. If we’re looking for ways to get people in the door, why shouldn’t curators use the digital landscape of a Minecraft server to get them there? The game has been around for over a decade now, after all, and still holds communities of fans firmly in its hands. Exploring Minecraft’s sandbox world full of fetch quests and mini-games through this lens certainly helps to make sense of the idea.

In theory. But in practice MyMetaStories does the opposite of what it wants to do — it brings short films to Minecraft fans, rather than a Minecraft world to short film fans. And there’s the rub. It’s hard to see how the format will take off, even allowing  that Zuckerberg’s dreams of the Metaverse may someday come true. There’s Interactivity, yes. But with limited native communications players don’t have many ways of experiencing the festival with friends in a meaningful way without using third party chat systems like Discord. The missing key, then, is an organic, natural-feeling means of connecting, networking and being present alongside other festival attendees. And so far, the virtual festival simply can’t replace the physical act of showing up to a local theater and being part of it all alongside other flesh-and-blood moviegoers. With the Metaverse still seeming too much like the flighty brainchild of Silicon Valley billionaires who’ve never smelled the rewarmed snack bar popcorn with the rest of us, that kind of real, palpable connection might be a challenge that just can’t be surmounted.

Tomorrow might not come today, or ever, for MyMetaStories or the Metaverse at large, but we can now say the experiment’s been made. Which itself is arguably worthwhile. If it someday happens that the London Film Festival finds its new format in a game that lets players punch each other with free will and travel to alternate dimensions to kill otherworldly dragons, then we can at least say we saw the groundwork being laid.

From this we learn.

Netflix has always been an innovator when it comes to home entertainment. From its beginnings as a DVD-by-mail rental service, something that completely changed the game from the brick-and-mortar rental stores like Blockbuster Video, it went on to launch the first successful streaming service in 2007. Since then, it has remained a leader in the streaming video industry, producing a plethora of original movies and shows. And it continues to introduce fresh ideas, such as interactive programming in the form of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Trivia Quest, and more. However, there’s been one major addition to Netflix’s services that has gone largely unnoticed by its subscribers since its introduction in 2021: mobile video games.

For the past couple of years, anyone with a Netflix subscription using the app on a mobile device could see there were a large number of games available to play at no extra cost. That is, unless they happened to scroll right past the gaming section, which is not a difficult mistake to make. But the crux of the problem is that more than three-quarters of all streaming subscribers use their services on a television set rather than on a mobile device, according to video analytics firm Conviva. Since the games have thus far only been available on mobile devices, many Netflix users have remained completely ignorant of the fact that they could be enjoying free video games on their phones and tablets.

Of Netflix’s 248 million subscribers, less than 1% play the service’s games on a regular basis. This is an unfortunate state of affairs for the company, as it has steadily ramped up its gaming division over the past two years to attract more subscribers at a time when the streaming service business has become saturated. In the past year alone, Netflix has grown its selection of games from 24 to 77–and many of these titles aren’t just half-measures to attract the casual gaming crowd, but full-blown high-quality experiences that have become hits on other platforms.

For instance, Immortality, the latest game from pioneering developer Sam Barlow and his company Half Mermaid was released for Xbox Series X/S and PC in August 2022 for full price and was made available to Netflix subscribers a few months later in November for free. This is a highly acclaimed indie darling that won a BAFTA Games Award for its narrative. Netflix went on to acquire Night School Studio, the developer of Oxenfree and Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals before the latter was even released so that Netflix users could play it on Day 1. Both titles have earned much critical and consumer praise and have done well financially on consoles and computers. Other lauded games in Netflix’s library include world-building simulation Terra Nil, story-driven adventure Spiritfarer, and surreal interactive story, Before Your Eyes.

Combined with a large selection of more casual games and titles based on Netflix properties such as Stranger Things and Love Is Blind, the gaming library Netflix has curated is actually quite impressive and warrants more attention than it’s presently receiving from subscribers. However, the lack of interest in the streamer’s gaming offerings has not deterred the company’s efforts in the slightest. As described by Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters regarding the company’s games on a pre-recorded earnings call, “This trajectory is not dissimilar from what we’ve seen before. When we’ve launched a new region — or when we launched new genres, like unscripted [we had to] crawl, walk, run, but we see a tremendous amount of opportunity to build a long-term center value of entertainment.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, plans are in the works to adapt even more of Netflix’s hit programming into game form, including Wednesday, Black Mirror, and Squid Game. These are meant to provide fans of these shows with something to do in between seasons, and keep them from abandoning Netflix for other streaming services.

Additionally, Joseph Staten, the Creative Chief behind Xbox’s Halo Infinite joined Netflix to develop a brand-new IP into a AAA multiplatform game. Ubisoft is also apparently working with Netflix on a new Assassin’s Creed entry to take advantage of the hype surrounding the live-action series that the two companies are producing.

The question ion remains, how will Netflix garner more interest and attention from its subscribers toward its gaming efforts? Well, as most customers utilize television as the primary (and often only) method of using streaming services, Netflix has strategized a method to make its games available for play on the small screen.  The company has already begun testing this system, first with some select subscribers in Canada and the UK, and now in America. Players will install and use a special app on their phones (below) that will turn the devices into controllers for the games on the television. While there is some worry about bandwidth usage and lag, Netflix seems confident that this will be optimized to make its games the new revenue stream it’s been looking for.

Image courtesy Netflix

In the meantime, gamers with a Netflix subscription should really check out the offerings on their mobile devices. There are titles there that people paid full price to enjoy on other platforms and original games that fans of Netflix shows will surely like. Paying for a subscription and not experiencing and enjoying all the content provided is an unfortunate waste of money and entertainment value.

Jason Robbins is a features editor and writer, attorney, computer scientist, bio-exorcist and inventor of the piano key necktie.

On October 11, 2023, a presenter stepped onto the stage wearing what seemed to be an ordinary white dress. However, the crowd was quickly treated to several “changes of attire” as the dress transformed into a reflective covering that was then capable of shifting colors and patterns with the woman’s movements. Essentially, the dress is a flexible textile display capable of changing its appearance in real time. For any comic book fans out there, the closest sci-fi example of this type of technology would be the mask Rorschach wears in Watchmen, which has black patterns that are constantly swirling on its white surface.

Dubbed ‘Project Primrose,’ the dress utilizes a technology called Non-Emissive Flexible Display Systems, in which polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) uses reflective light-diffusing modules to create and shift patterns and colors dynamically. Of course, the tech is designed to take advantage of modern Adobe software for its creative flair. As outlined by the Adobe Communications Team, “Project Primrose, displayed at MAX as an interactive dress, makes this possible with wearable and flexible, non-emissive textiles which allow an entire surface to display content created with Adobe Firefly, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Stock, and Adobe Illustrator.”

As such, it is no fantasy to consider a future in which people could buy new designs by famous brands online and download them to implement into their clothing. Since the material can be molded into any number of shapes, it isn’t hard to imagine a person’s entire wardrobe incorporating flexible display systems, from formal wear to t-shirts and pants. The concept could be carried even beyond the fashion world, perhaps one day even being used to design furniture or wallpaper an entire house.

Experts are already praising the extraordinary new tech, some citing it as being even more advanced and awe-inducing than other similar technologies, such as E Ink. This is the color and pattern-changing material used by BMW to coat the exterior of the company’s iX Flow automobiles (for an example of it used in current fiction read NET FORCE: MOVING TARGET). Still, it isn’t hard to imagine a time when people might be able to coordinate the designs displayed on their cars and clothes to really stun onlookers during a night of club-hopping or use them as camouflage to ditch a bad first date.

Although Project Primrose is still only in the proof-of-concept stage, fashionistas and designers are hoping it won’t take too long for the tech to become commercially available. But as the future looms ahead promising incredible marvels such as dynamically changing clothing, one has to wonder: Will it be machine washable or dry-clean only?

Jason Robbins is a features editor and writer, attorney, computer scientist, bio-exorcist and inventor of the piano key necktie.

I’ve been chit-chatting with you about responsible AI, and in my previous piece suggested  it’s up to us to set the tone and define what that responsibility really means. I often think of us being on this rocket ship into a future where artificial intelligence is becoming as common as the skinny latte. AI’s pervasive societal reach will touch everyone from your mailman to your grandma. We therefore need to consider everybody who’s got skin in the game. It isn’t just about who’s developing the fastest gun in the west, it’s about who’s got the steadiest hand on the reins.

The idea of ETHICS as an anagram–and easy mnemonic–for the principles that keep us on the straight-and-narrow as AI evolves was introduced by Dhar, a self-described “entrepreneur, technologist, human rights advocate, and a leading global voice on equity in a tech-enabled world.” We’ll get to what the five-letter shorthand stands for in a moment. As we do, I’ll ask that you think of it as something like Star Trek‘s Prime Directive. For non-Trekkies, that’s the principled mission statement of StarFleet, mandating that no starship crew may interfere with the development of societies on newly discovered planets. To stay in full nerd mode a second, the Prime Directive is StarFleet’s clearcut declaration of responsibility as it explores the final frontier. Which for it is the furthest, as-yet-undiscovered reaches of outer space.

So what’s ours with regard to AI?

According to most experts we’re near the stage when AI will evolve into ASI, or artificial super intelligence, implying full sentience of a sort comparable to our own human consciousness and self-awareness. In grappling with how we’ll deal with that coming reality, Elon Musk has spoken about AI alignment, which has been described as developing principles and protocols to ensure that AI systems are designed to act in the best interests of humanity rather than in the narrower and potentially selfish interests of their creators.  Now, while Elon hasn’t asked me, I happen to think trying to indirectly control ASI will be like trying to slow down the water gushing from an open fire hydrant with a toothpick … but more about that later.

Right now, I want to tackle what the individual letters in ETHICS stand for, breaking it all down like a well-planned Starfleet operation:

E is for Executives and board members. They’re the ones at the top making overarching company decisions, shaping the overall tone and attitude inside the boardroom, creating a culture that will emphasize ethical AI. It isn’t about approving projects willy-nilly or flaunting their status. It’s about weaving ethics into the fabric of the decision-making process and ensuring their organization’s integrity remains intact. Executives are also the ones adjusting the financial dial, guaranteeing there’s enough juice to power ethical AI development.

T is for Technologists, engineers and developers. Their charge is to build applications that are comprehensible, transparent and secure. These digital whizzes need to craft AI tools that are as wide-open and clear as a summer sky, while ensuring they’re safer than a lockbox at the bottom of the ocean.

H is for Human Rights advocates. They’re like magnifying glasses scrutinizing the details in an AI puzzle. The mission? To ensure every single AI application respects the rights and dignity of all users. These advocates establish the guardrails, carefully monitoring the potential effects of AI on society’s most vulnerable and calling foul if any ethical lines are crossed.

I is for Industry experts. Think of them as the mapmakers in the ethical AI expedition. With their understanding of the AI landscape, they guide the journey, sharing valuable insights, pinpointing possible issues, and collaborating with others to navigate through the murky and uncharted waters of AI ethics.

C  is for Customers and users. They’re the testers, the critics, the voices that give life to AI applications. Their experience, feedback and vigilance are the litmus tests of the AI tools’ ethical performance. They navigate the farflung frontier of AI like the crew of the USS Enterprise (sorry, couldn’t resist), staying informed about ethical requirements and providing the invaluable insights that can help steer AI development.

S is for Society-at-Large. Think of society as the broad canvas where the AI picture is painted. The goal? To ensure that AI not only blends into the landscape but enhances it, enriching the lives of everyone, not just a select few. Society plays a crucial role in shaping AI tools that are inclusive, accessible, and beneficial for all.

These roles are all interconnected cogs in the machine of ethical AI development. Or to put it another way, they’re like musicians in a jazz band, each one playing a crucial part. At their finest they riff off each other, harmonizing their efforts to produce the sweet sound of ethical AI.

So there you have it. ETHICS. A simple six-letter word laying out the foundations and support structure for principled human conduct, for treating each other with fairness and respect, and for Vilas Dhar’s model of integrating artificial intelligence into that moral framework. It’s a complex mission, and a cooperative one. If we want to make it work, it’s not enough for any of us to just know our own roles. We have to get talking, build bridges, and ensure everyone’s on the same page.

Final Thoughts From AI Fleet Command

To anyone who reads this and cares about ethics in business, I suggest you round up your your workmates, customers, execs and tech teams–in other words, your stakeholders–and begin training them about ethical AI. But don’t procrastinate. I can’t emphasize enough that the time for this is now because of the rapid pace of AI development. If we don’t take responsibility as private citizens, don’t squawk when government agencies step in with Draconian regulations.

In terms of integrating ETHICS into your company’s philosophical approach toward AI, consider investing some time and effort into the formation of a dream team cherrypicked from different departments, tasking it with setting up a system that collects feedback about AI systems and ultimately creates some basic guidelines for their use. Also, be transparent. Get out there to your customers and clients to gauge their concerns and measure their collective pulse. Diversity of ideas and perspectives is our strength. Talk to human rights advocates, industry experts, and others to educate yourselves and ensure you’re considering all the implications of AI.

We’re at an exciting time where creating AI-based products feels like the best way to explore what the technology can do. The field’s wide open, the horizon endless. But if we don’t consider how these products will be used, who they’re serving or how they might affect vulnerable people–if we act like kids in a toy factory, grabbing at shiny new playthings because, well, they’re there within easy reach–we’re missing the chance to act in our best and most mature capacity as members of society. So let’s use ETHICS as our guiding light, getting everyone involved as we create not just products but a healthy ethical AI ecosystem … and a future that’s good for everyone,

Or to offer one last nerd-blast: As we explore that final frontier, we must always keep ethics in mind, remembering ASI is NOT that far away.

According to most experts we’re near the stage when AI will evolve into ASI, or artificial super intelligence, implying full sentience of a sort comparable to our own.

Let’s kick this off by taking a page out of a certain South Park episode that did the unthinkable: it was wholly created by artificial intelligence. With the use of AI in movies and television having been a heated point of contention during the prolonged Writers Guild of America strike, and on the heels of a tentative agreement between the WGA and Hollywood’s motion picture producers, I expect some of you will get upset with me saying the future of entertainment remains one where AI will handle many creative tasks, reshaping the industry. That isn’t science fiction. It’s a reality we should accept and embrace.

In the past, our machine-driven characters would plod along with heavy pre-programmed behaviors and continuous prompts. But players in the futuristic world of entertainment soon will be able to improvise their own scenes to meet high storytelling standards and goals crafted by AI. What we need to realize, though, is that this isn’t all dystopian doom and gloom. There’s potential here for a shift in roles and responsibilities, not just job obsolescence, a host of opportunities for true collaborations between human and machine creators. Today’s writers could become tomorrow’s AI whisperers, and animators might evolve into AI art directors.

Here’s the how and why.

The Wit and Wisdom of … Bots?

Imagine you’re listening to a symphony and it just stops. Not familiar with that? Well, neither was I … until I heard Schubert’s Symphony No. 8. Halfway through, it abruptly ends, unfinished by its famed composer, like my many attempts to assemble IKEA furniture. No one really knows why Schubert quit work on it. Some say he contracted syphilis and suffered deteriorating health. Some say he got distracted by another piece. It’s a mystery, the subject of open speculation by historians and classical music lovers. What we know is that Schubert lived on for six years after abandoning the symphony. For some uncertain reason, he wrote only two of its four movements, and that was all folks. Musicus interruptus. Over and out. Symphony 8 has left people hanging like a bad 5G connection on a ski trip.

Until now. After two centuries, the composition’s final movements are finally written. And guess what? A smartphone with AI did it. Yes, the same device you use to take selfies,  play Candy Crush or ignore phone calls from unknown numbers–the phone you accidentally dropped in the toilet once or twice while posting on social media–now composes symphonies.

You’re about to find out how.

AI: The New Maestro in Town (And It Fits in Your Pocket)

Need to complete the work of an all-time master? Enter Huawei’s AI technology. A maestro with a digital baton, it is ready to finish what Schubert started. It’s like Beethoven meeting Siri, a blend of classical genius with modern tech-savvy. And it all happened on a Huawei smartphone.

When the Chinese technology company decided to try and use AI to complete Schubert’s symphony, it was with the help of the Emmy-winning producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Lucas Cantor. Engineers fed music, in the form of data, into the phone’s dual neural processing unit, or NPU, a specialized microprocessor that accelerates machine learning. The AI then created melodies from that information, and Cantor orchestrated those melodies into the final two movements. It’s like having a personal Mozart on speed dial.

The new completion was performed in London at Cadogan Hall, in an event hosted by British singer Myleene Klass. Speaking ahead of that world premiere, Cantor said working with the AI was “like having a collaborator who never gets tired, never runs out of ideas.” But, he added, having his music performed immediately after Schubert’s was slightly nerve-wracking: “It’s a bit like being a comedian and having the greatest comedian in the world go on before you.”

Talk about a tough act to follow!

The Future of AI: Beyond Music (And Beyond Your Smartphone Screen)

Imagine a world where AI doesn’t just crunch numbers; it speaks, sings, and composes. It’s not just about algorithms, it’s about artistry, creativity, and innovation. Walter Ji, the president of Huawei Consumer Business Group, said: “We used the power of AI to extend the boundaries of what is humanly possible and see the positive role technology might have on modern culture.”

And the completion of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony is just the beginning.

A Symphony of Possibilities

For those who’ve never heard of it, Bark AI is a cutting-edge AI text-to-speech and music maker that’s taking the tech world by storm. It isn’t just a tool; it’s a creative partner, transforming the way we interact with sounds and music. The main difference between Bark AI and an ordinary text-to-speech generator is that the latter focuses solely on converting text into spoken audio. Bark AI, a fully generative text-to-audio model, not only creates speech but music, background noise and simple sound effects.

What’s especially cool, but also a bit creepy about Bark AI is that it can also produce nonverbal human communications like laughing and crying or even a gentle sigh, which a text-to-speech generator cannot do. As an open-source project, Bark invites collaboration and innovation from nerds and hipsters around the globe. However, due to the way it makes sound pretty much from scratch, BARK currently produces no more than 15 seconds of generated content at a time. But fear not, fellow geeks and voice-over enthusiasts … I’ve got some cool stuff in the works for Bark, such as voice-cloning with AI podcast producer/script writer agents that can produce full stories, as well as sound effects and music from a television or film treatment upload. To name a few interesting tweaks.