Disney Forms A Task Force To Look Into AI And Save Money:
Walt Disney has set up a task group to study artificial intelligence to determine how it can be used across the entertainment company. This is happening at the same time that Hollywood writers and actors are fighting to limit the use of AI in the entertainment business.
The group was started earlier this year, before the Hollywood writers’ strike. Three people told Reuters that the group wants to make AI apps in-house and also work with companies.
Disney Is Looking For Experts Within AI And Machine Learning To Fill 11 Positions:
Disney’s interest is shown by the fact that it currently has 11 job openings for people alongside experience in the fields of artificial intelligence as well as machine learning (ML).
The jobs cover almost every part of the company, from Walt Disney Studios to the company’s theme parks as well as engineering group, Walt Disney Imagineering, to Disney-branded TV and the advertising team, which, according to the job ads, wants to build a “next-generation” AI-powered ad system.
One of the sources, an internal supporter who asked to remain anonymous because the topic is sensitive, said that traditional media companies such as Disney must figure out AI or risk becoming obsolete.
This supporter views AI as a way to help bring down the rising costs of making movies and TV shows.
AI is seen by this fan as a way to help control the rising costs of making movies and TV shows, which can reach $300 million for a big movie such as “Indiana Jones as well as the Dial of Destiny” as well as “The Little Mermaid.”
To just break even, movies with these kinds of costs need to make a lot of money at the box office. Over time, the person said, there would be cost saves.
The second person and a former Disney Imagineer who didn’t want to be named because he wasn’t allowed to talk publicly said that AI could improve customer service or build new ways for people to connect with the parks.
Machine Learning Techniques Were Used By A Former Imagineer To Make Baby Groot:
The former Imagineer brought up Project Kiwi, which utilized machine-learning methods to make Baby Groot, a small robot that moves and acts like the “Guardians of the Galaxy” character.
Machine learning is a part of AI that lets computers learn on their own without being taught. It tells the computer’s vision systems what to look for so it can recognize things and move around them. The former Imagineer stated that one day, Baby Groot will talk to guests.
In Hollywood, AI Is Turning Into A Time Bomb:
AI has become a ticking time bomb within Hollywood, where writers as well as players see it as a threat to jobs in general. It is the most important part of contract talks alongside the Screen Actors Guild as well as the Writers Guild of America, which are both on strike.
When talking about AI in public, Disney has been careful. The visual effects directors who worked upon the latest “Indiana Jones” movie talked about how more than 100 artists worked hard for three years to “de-age” Harrison Ford in order to ensure the 80-year-old actor could look like he did when he was younger in the beginning of the movie.
Disney Has Over Four Thousand Patents That Can Be Used In Theme Parks:
Since the beginning, Disney has put money into new technologies. “Steamboat Willie,” which came out in 1928, was the first cartoon with a synced music.
A review of U.S. Patent as well as Trademark Office records shows that it now has over 4000 patents that can be used in theme parks, movies, and goods.
Bob Iger is now within his second time as Disney’s CEO. When he initially became CEO within 2005, he made embracing technology among his three main goals.
Disney Announced A Big Research And Development Project With Some Of The Best Technology Schools In The World:
Three years later, the company launched a big research and development project with some of the best technology universities in the world. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology within Zurich as well as Carnegie Mellon University within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were two of the universities that were involved. In 2018, it shut down the lab in Pittsburgh.
Its website says that in Switzerland, Disney Research has been looking into AI, machine learning, and visual computers. It has spent the last ten years making “digital humans” that are “indistinguishable” from their real-life peers or “puppeteered” fiction figures.
A person who knows about this says that this technology is employed to add to computer effects, not to replace real players.
Without Using Motion Capture, The Medusa Performance Capture System Was Employed To Rebuild The Faces Of Actors:
Its Medusa performance capture system was used to rebuild actors’ faces without using traditional motion-capture methods. This technology has been used in more than 40 movies, such as Marvel Entertainment’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
“AI research at Disney has been going on for a very long time, and it’s all about the same things that are being talked about today,” said a former Disney executive. “Can we have something that can assist us build movies, games, or robots that people can talk to in theme parks?”
The AI Driven Virtual Models Were Also Made By Pinscreen:
Hao Li, CEO as well as co-founder of Pinscreen, a business in Los Angeles that makes AI-driven virtual models, said that he worked on several research papers with Disney’s lab while he was a student within Zurich from 2006 to 2010.
Li, who used to be a research lead at Disney’s Industrial Light & Magic, said, “They do research on pretty much anything related to the performance capture of humans and making digital faces.” “Disney will use some of these methods in their work.”
Disney Showed Off The D3-09 Cabin Droid At The Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser Hotel Last Year:
Last year, Disney Imagineering showed off the company’s first AI-driven character experience: the D3-09 bedroom droid within the Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser hotel. It answered questions on a video screen, learned from talks with guests, and changed as a result.
Imagineering executive Scott Trowbridge stated at the time, “She’s a great character to interact with, and she’s always within your cabin, which I think is extremely cool. Behind the scenes, it’s also a very cool piece of technology.”
Spotify Will Add To Its AI Driven DJ:
TechCrunch said that Spotify is finally bringing its trial AI-powered DJ feature to 50 countries around the world. Previously, the feature was only available to a small number of users in North America.
The feature was initially implemented in February 2023 within the US as well as Canada. In May, it was added within the UK as well as Ireland. Now, it will be sold in Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, and others.
The Feature Is Still In Beta Right Now:
But the function is still in beta, and only paying users will be able to use it. Also, the function can only be used in English, no matter what language is spoken in the market where it is launched.
The AI DJ makes a unique playlist of songs for each user and adds spoken comments using a computer-generated voice.
Vectra AI Has Announced That Its XDR Platform Will Provide Attack Signal Intelligence In Real Time:
A cyber intelligence company based in California called Vectra AI recently unveiled its newest platform, which is called extended monitoring and reaction. The new AI product has Attack Signal Intelligence, which is a unique technology that delivers combined signal businesses.
The company says that this new tool can help businesses keep up with mixed hacks, which are getting smarter, faster, and bigger all the time.
Vectra AI Helps Us Get Better At Dealing With Cyber Threats:
For us, it’s always regarding the results, not the letters. Jay DePaul, Chief Cybersecurity as well as Technology Risk Officer at Dun & Bradstreet, said in a news statement, “It’s about the end goal, not a set plan for how to get there.”
“Vectra AI is helping us reach our end goals, which are to stop powerful adversaries, modernize our security operations, and enhance our cyber resilience.”