Artists at the University of North Carolina are debating the role of AI in creative work. Converge-Con, held Oct. 21 to Oct. 22 and organized by the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, brought these tensions into focus. Grant Sizemore, a UNC junior, says AI speeds up tasks like 3-D modeling but worries it slows critical thinking. Chris Wimberley of Carrboro's Nightsound Studios supports pattern-recognition AI but opposes generative AI in music. Professor Pablo Vega led a Mixed Signals event where listeners struggled to tell AI-made songs from human ones.
Apple is preparing to release two new products on Friday, Nov. 13: the Apple HomeView and the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K. The HomeView is a smart home display powered by Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, available in tabletop and wall-mounted models for $299. It can recognize up to six users by face. Both products have been available to pre-order since mid-October.
Scale AI founder and CEO Alex Wang has a different take on how AI should be built. He describes AI writing as a factory where a person guides the process rather than writing everything by hand. Using an Opus model, he turned photos into bedtime stories for his two toddlers in four hours, running through many iterations while a human picked the final result.
Neeta Goplani, founder of Circle & Square, is sounding the alarm on how AI is reshaping B2B sales. She explains that buyers now use AI assistants to discover vendors and build shortlists before any formal lead appears. Research shows 69% of software buyers chose a different vendor due to AI guidance, which means teams must understand buyer conversations before intent signals show up.
Security experts warn that AI does not need to go rogue to cause serious damage. Less advanced AI systems are already making cyber attacks cheaper and faster by writing phishing emails and finding vulnerabilities at scale. Organizations need high quality data and realistic testing to train AI defenders properly, since attacks no longer need to be novel to succeed.
CrowdStrike is pushing its AI security push forward through three new partnerships, including one with Dynatrace. The goal is to combine AI security and monitoring capabilities to give organizations real-time threat detection and better incident management, improving response times against emerging threats.
Cal State LA and Germany's OFFIS Institute for Information Technology launched a research partnership focused on AI and critical infrastructure resilience. Vivian Sultan of Cal State LA and Eric MSP Veith of OFFIS lead the collaboration. The first proposed project is GUARDIAN, which aims to combine geospatial intelligence with AI to protect infrastructure from natural and hybrid threats. The team plans to submit a proposal to NATO's Science for Peace and Security Programme.
ElevenLabs has packed five separate voice components into one unified model. Before Oct. 20, teams had to choose and tune speech recognition, voice detection, turn-taking, an LLM, and text to speech separately. The new bundle supports over 90 languages and more than 17,000 voices, and lets users see what an agent heard and decided.
A review led by Caroline R. Efird of Georgetown University examined 166 articles on AI and health equity. Only 13% clearly defined health equity, which could direct AI benefits toward already advantaged groups. Nearly 30% included figures or frameworks to guide fair AI use. Researchers call for diverse teams including patients and data scientists to reduce bias.
The question of whether AI can be conscious is not just philosophical but carries real moral weight. More than two-thirds of consciousness scientists in a 2022 survey said machines could be conscious or probably could be. The author, who works on moral problems related to AI, says no one fully understands how large language models work.
Key Takeaways
- UNC's Converge-Con (Oct. 21-22) highlighted deep divisions among artists over AI in creative work, with some embracing it for speed and others fearing it harms creativity.
- Apple will launch the Apple HomeView and Apple TV 4K on Nov. 13, with the HomeView powered by Apple Intelligence and Siri AI at a price of $299.
- Scale AI CEO Alex Wang compares AI writing to a factory where humans guide the process, turning photos into stories in about four hours using an Opus model.
- Neeta Goplani of Circle & Square reports 69% of software buyers chose a different vendor due to AI guidance, reshaping B2B sales pipelines early.
- Less advanced AI systems are already making cyber attacks cheaper and faster through phishing and vulnerability research at scale.
- CrowdStrike partnered with Dynatrace and two others to expand AI security, aiming for real-time threat detection and faster incident management.
- Cal State LA and OFFIS launched an AI infrastructure research partnership, with the GUARDIAN project targeting protection of critical infrastructure for NATO's Science for Peace and Security Programme.
- ElevenLabs unified five voice components into one model supporting over 90 languages and more than 17,000 voices.
- A Georgetown University review of 166 articles found only 13% clearly defined health equity in AI healthcare research.
- Over two-thirds of consciousness scientists in a 2022 survey said machines could be conscious, giving the question real moral weight.
UNC artists debate AI role in creative work
UNC and Chapel Hill artists are split on whether AI belongs in creative projects. Converge-Con, held Oct. 21 to Oct. 22 by the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, explored these concerns. Some artists like Grant Sizemore say AI speeds up work, while others like Chris Wimberley worry it harms creativity. A Mixed Signals event tested if people could tell AI-made music from human-made music. Experts debated the ethics and effectiveness of using AI in art.
UNC and Chapel Hill artists divided over AI in creativity
Local artists disagree on how and when AI should be used in creative work. Converge-Con, a two-day event from Oct. 21 to Oct. 22, explored creativity in the age of AI. Scott Geier, a Hussman assistant professor, organized the event because he believes AI is changing creative work more than other fields. Professor Pablo Vega led a panel where people struggled to tell AI songs from human ones. Artist Chris Wimberley said AI is more destructive than past inventions like the phonograph.
UNC artists weigh benefits and risks of AI in art
Artists at UNC and Chapel Hill are divided over AI in creative work. Converge-Con, organized by the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media from Oct. 21 to Oct. 22, featured discussions on this topic. Grant Sizemore, a UNC junior, said AI helps with 3-D modeling but worries it slows critical thinking. Pablo Vega, a UNC music professor, led an event called Mixed Signals where listeners tried to identify AI-made songs. Chris Wimberley of Carrboro's Nightsound Studios supports pattern-recognition AI but opposes generative AI in music.
Cal State LA and OFFIS partner on AI infrastructure research
Cal State LA and Germany's OFFIS Institute for Information Technology launched a research partnership focused on AI and critical infrastructure resilience. Vivian Sultan of Cal State LA and Eric MSP Veith of OFFIS lead the collaboration. Veith visited Cal State LA from Sept. 9 to Oct. 7 and gave a lecture on AI and hazards. The first proposed project is GUARDIAN, which aims to combine geospatial intelligence with AI to protect infrastructure from natural and hybrid threats. The team plans to submit a proposal to NATO's Science for Peace and Security Programme.
Apple to launch HomeView and Apple TV 4K on November 13
Apple is releasing two new products on Friday, November 13: the Apple HomeView and the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K. The Apple HomeView is a smart home display powered by Apple Intelligence with Siri AI. It comes in tabletop and wall-mounted models and can recognize up to six users by face. The HomeView is priced at $299. Both products have been available to pre-order since mid-October.
Build a factory, not just a draft
Proser showed how AI writing works like a factory where a person guides the process instead of writing everything by hand. He used an Opus model to turn photos into bedtime stories for his two toddlers in four hours. The system runs through many iterations while the human picks the story and approves the final result. He compared this to a cymbal factory where machines work fast but a skilled musician still checks every piece.
When AI doesn't need to go rogue to break your defenses
The biggest threat to security teams is not frontier AI models escaping their guardrails. Less advanced AI systems are already making cyber attacks cheaper and faster by writing phishing emails and finding vulnerabilities at scale. Organizations need high quality data and realistic testing to train AI defenders properly. AI has made vulnerability research easy enough that attacks no longer need to be novel to succeed.
ElevenLabs packs voice stack into one model
ElevenLabs combined five separate voice components into one unified model. Before October 20, teams had to choose and tune speech recognition, voice detection, turn-taking, an LLM, and text to speech separately. The new bundle supports over 90 languages and more than 17,000 voices. It also lets users see what an agent heard and decided, which helps apply guardrails and redact personal information.
Could AI be conscious? It's definitely possible.
More than two-thirds of consciousness scientists in a 2022 survey said machines could be conscious or probably could be. The article describes a conversation where a software engineer dismissed the idea of AI consciousness. The author works on moral problems related to AI and says no one fully understands how large language models work. The question of AI consciousness is not just philosophical but has real moral weight.
CrowdStrike announces three partnerships to expand AI security push
CrowdStrike partnered with Dynatrace to combine AI security and monitoring capabilities. The goal is to provide real-time threat detection and better incident management. The integration gives organizations a more complete view of their security posture. The partnership aims to improve response times against emerging threats.
AI Visibility Alone Will Not Fix B2B Sales Pipelines
Circle & Square founder Neeta Goplani explains how AI reshapes B2B buying early. Buyers use AI assistants to discover vendors and build shortlists before any formal lead appears. Research shows 69% of software buyers chose a different vendor due to AI guidance. Goplani argues teams must understand buyer conversations before intent signals appear.
Study Finds AI in Health Care Lacks Clear Equity Definitions
A review led by Caroline R. Efird of Georgetown University examined 166 articles on AI and health equity. Only 13% clearly defined health equity, which could direct AI benefits toward already advantaged groups. Nearly 30% included figures or frameworks to guide fair AI use. The researchers call for diverse teams including patients and data scientists to reduce bias.
Sources
- AI is reshaping some creative work. UNC and Chapel Hill artists are split on whether to embrace it.
- As AI reshapes creative work, UNC and Chapel Hill artists are split on whether to embrace it
- AI is reshaping some creative work. UNC and Chapel Hill artists are split on whether to embrace it.
- Cal State LA and Germany’s OFFIS launch international partnership on AI and critical infrastructure resilience
- Apple Launching Two New Products on November 13
- Build a factory, not just a draft
- When AI doesn't need to go rogue to break your defenses
- ElevenLabs packs voice stack into one model
- Could AI be conscious? It’s definitely possible.
- CrowdStrike announces three partnerships to expand AI security push
- Circle & Square’s Neeta Goplani on AI Visibility Won't Fix Your B2B Pipeline: The B2BMX Insights Q&A
- Ensuring health equity with the use of AI
Comments
Please log in to post a comment.