[This story from The Debrief describes a new study that compares the persuasiveness of propaganda written by humans to that of propaganda generated by artificial intelligence, with worrying results. The story includes extended comments by the lead author (and the original version includes a second image). See also the related WION story “Explained: How AI-generated Propaganda Poses a Real Threat This Historic Election Year.” –Matthew]

[Image: Original propaganda and GPT-3-generated AI propaganda were highly persuasive. Credit: Goldstein et al.]

AI Propaganda is Dangerously Persuasive and Could Be Used in Covert Operations, New Study Warns

By Micah Hanks
February 21, 2024

AI propaganda generated by popular large language models is remarkably persuasive, according to new findings that compared AI-generated content to real propaganda produced by countries like Russia and Iran.

In a recent study, portions of articles previously identified as material suspected of originating from covert foreign propaganda campaigns were provided to GPT-3.… read more. “Study: AI propaganda is dangerously persuasive”

[This story from Scientific American reports on the latest uses of presence-evoking virtual reality in the study of criminal behavior. –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Credit: Maskot/Getty Images]

Virtual Bar Scenes Are a New Tool to Study Why People Commit Crimes in the Heat of the Moment

Virtual-reality could assist researchers in decoding how emotions spur a decision to commit a crime

By Ingrid Wickelgren
February 21, 2024

A young man enters a busy, dimly lit pub in Amsterdam alone to await the arrival of friends. A faint dance beat plays in the background. A drunken man approaches the bar and orders drinks in a loud, obnoxious manner. He proceeds to taunt the newcomer, burp in his face and bark, “What? Am I hitting on you or what?”

On a virtual-reality (VR) headset where this scene plays out, a question is superimposed on the screen: “How do you feel at this moment?”… read more. “Virtual bar scenes are a new tool to study why people commit crimes in the heat of the moment”

[This AP story uses examples and research results to illustrate how VR-based presence experiences are enjoyable and useful for older people. See the original story for seven more photos and a 1:44 minute video. –Matthew]

[Image: Retired Army Col. Farrell Patrick, 91, wears a VIVE Flow headset as he participates in Mynd Immersive VR therapy at John Know Village. Credit: AP/Lyne Sladky.]

‘Soaring’ over hills or ‘playing’ with puppies, study finds seniors enjoy virtual reality

By Terry Spencer
Updated February 19, 2024

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Retired Army Col. Farrell Patrick taught computer science at West Point during the 1970s and then at two private universities through the 1990s, so he isn’t surprised by the progress technology has made over the decades.

But when the 91-year-old got his first virtual reality experience recently, he was stunned. Sitting in a conference room at John Knox Village, a suburban Fort Lauderdale, Florida, retirement community, Patrick sat up straight as his eyes and ears experienced what it would be like to be in a Navy fighter jet flying off the Florida coast.… read more. “‘Soaring’ over hills or ‘playing’ with puppies, study finds seniors enjoy virtual reality”

[Following the coverage of OpenAI’s Sora software, which lets users generate realistic video from text prompts, the AI voice company ElevenLabs announced new software that adds realistic sound effects to accompany the video, surely enhancing the presence experience of viewers/listeners. This story from New Atlas includes the details and a one-minute video demonstration (also available via YouTube). –Matthew]

[Image: “What if you could describe a sound and generate it with AI?” teases ElevenLabs as AI-generated sound effects and dialog are added to video footage generated by Sora from OpenAI. Credit: ElevenLabs.]

Stunning new AI adds realistic sound effects to any video

By Paul Ridden
February 19, 2024

Last week, OpenAI released a new AI model called Sora that could generate high-resolution video clips from text prompts. But they’re all essentially clever silent films. Now ElevenLabs has added background sounds to Sora-created footage.… read more. “Stunning new AI adds realistic sound effects to any video”

[Sora, a new tool from OpenAI, produces impressively convincing videos from text prompts. This story from Computerworld provides some of the details and raises some frequently mentioned concerns, as well as a more novel one from Dan Faggella of Emerj Artificial Intelligence. See the original version of the story for two more images and two video examples. For related coverage, see stories from Gizmodo and CBS News. The Decoder reports that “Meta’s chief AI researcher says OpenAI’s ‘world simulator’ Sora is a dead end,” and that he says Meta has a better approach. In any case, presence-evoking technology is advancing quickly. –Matthew]

OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video tool’s impact will be ‘profound’

OpenAI is not the first to offer generative AI technology that can transform a text prompt into realistic video, but its tool appears to be among the most advanced to date.… read more. “OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video tool’s impact will be ‘profound’”