Creative Tech Bytes

Version 41.0

Written & Compiled by Macklin Andrick, GPJ Sr. Creative Technologist

GPJ’s Experience Technology practice provides a view into the creative future through the latest technological shifts and how they might benefit your next experience. Strap in as we dive into a whirlwind of innovation and spectacle!

This week’s Creative Tech Bytes is all about groundbreaking shifts in AI and digital creativity that’ll have your brain firing on all cylinders! From IBM’s open-source Granite 3.0 and Runway’s animation revolution there’s a tech innovation for everyone! Grab your creative toolkit, and let’s dive into the future!

Runway Research: Introducing Act-One

Runway has introduced Act-One, a new tool designed to generate expressive character animations from simple video inputs, released within their Gen-3 Alpha platform. Act-One allows creators to transform an actor’s performance, captured with minimal equipment, into digital characters, preserving intricate details like eye-lines, micro-expressions, and pacing. Unlike traditional animation methods that rely on complex motion capture setups and manual face rigging, Act-One uses video and voice as direct inputs, making it accessible for a wide range of creators. Runway has also emphasized content safety, implementing measures to prevent misuse, including protections around public figure content and user rights verification.

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Anthropic’s AI tool that can take over a user’s mouse cursor

Anthropic has publicly released “Computer Use,” a new feature within its Claude 3.5 model that allows the AI to control a user’s mouse cursor to perform tasks on their computer. This tool enables multi-step actions based on visual cues from screenshots, allowing Claude to “see” the screen, move the cursor, click buttons and type text. Anthropic emphasizes safeguards to prevent misuse, particularly with concerns around election integrity. The release marks a significant development in AI-driven automation, with potential applications for streamlining repetitive tasks in office settings and quality assurance, but raises ongoing debates about automation’s impact on jobs.

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MLS launching NFT-based game platform with Sweet

NFT platform Sweet has announced MLS Quest, a blockchain-based collectibles marketplace and gaming platform developed in partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS) and the MLS Players Association. MLS Quest allows fans to collect NFTs in the form of virtual medallions featuring highlights from MLS matches, which can be redeemed for real-world rewards or traded with others. Unlike previous NFT initiatives, which focused heavily on monetization, MLS Quest emphasizes gameplay and fan engagement, allowing users to start for free by collecting medallions via QR codes available at games, on broadcasts, and online.

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How Jacob Collier helped shape the new MusicFX DJ

Google Labs has collaborated with Grammy-winning musician Jacob Collier to enhance MusicFX DJ, a generative music tool that enables users to create continuous, customizable music flows. Over the past year, Collier worked with Google DeepMind and Google Labs, contributing his creative insights to develop intuitive controls and an updated interface that allows users to shape music in real-time by adjusting aspects like tempo, brightness, and mood. The new features aim to make musical creation accessible for all skill levels, helping users enter a flow state of creativity. This collaboration highlights Google Labs’ commitment to co-creating technology with artists and creatives, pushing the boundaries of AI-driven artistic tools.

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Microsoft introduces ‘AI employees’ that can handle client queries

Microsoft has introduced “AI employees”—autonomous virtual agents capable of handling tasks like client queries and sales lead identification—as part of its Copilot Studio product, which allows customers to create customized AI agents without coding skills. Early adopters, including McKinsey, Clifford Chance and Pets at Home, are using the technology to streamline operations and improve productivity by automating routine tasks. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasized that these agents aim to reduce “drudgery” and increase efficiency, likening the AI shift to the advent of personal computers. While some experts view AI agents as a potential path to economic returns on AI investments, others caution that fully human-like capabilities are yet to be achieved.

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IBM debuts open source Granite 3.0 LLMs for enterprise AI

IBM has launched Granite 3.0, a suite of open-source large language models (LLMs) for enterprise AI, designed for use cases such as customer service, IT automation and cybersecurity. Available through IBM’s watsonX, Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Sagemaker and Hugging Face, Granite 3.0 models include general-purpose and specialized “Guardian” versions focused on safety and reliability. Trained on 12 trillion tokens of diverse data, these models are open-source, high-perfoming and secure, licensed under Apache 2.0, which allows partners to build proprietary applications, distinguishing IBM’s models from other open AI models that lack OSI-approved licensing. Senior IBM leaders noted that this approach to open-source AI aims to redefine how enterprises adopt and scale AI by allowing users to interact with AI models through examples rather than traditional coding.

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More Cool Stuff We Found

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