#Meta AI Studio

[elsa16744]

Facebook-parent Meta launched AI Studio, a new platform that enables users to design their personalized AI characters. AI Studio allows users to create, share, and discover AIs. Read More: https://www.sganalytics.com/blog/meta-ai-studio-create-your-own-custom-ai-chatbot-tool/

[portsandstars]

Revisiting Red Spring Studio's Interview with Blerdy Otome - Select Quotes

It's been almost a year since RSS had this interview, but I think that many people have not listened to it, or recently revisited it. I thought I'd highlight some quotes from it, though the entire interview is worth watching! Some of these quotes I have lightly modified for clarity or succinctness but the majority are direct transcripts.

23:30: "Touchstarved is a horror romance visual novel where the entire cast is made up of characters where you're like, "I can fix them!" but you actually can't. I think that Touchstarved is a very complex and mature story with really really complex themes and interwoven routes and obviously it's very sexy at the same it's a romance - and I think it's one of those games that I've always wanted to see exist and I think that a lot of the team has always wanted to see this game exist as far as being this kind of like dark, broody, moody, but also very deep, right, and authentic and honest exploration - Monsters, and the feeling of being a monster - feeling of being an "other", right, whether you're queer or POC or anything like that… we've created a game that's not only really fun and action-packed and bloody and all that kind of stuff… but very heartfelt in a way that I hope readers can pick up on.

Imo, this line of reasoning ("you can't fix them", and the cast's monstrous nature and how it intrinsically ties to/is an analogy for being queer, or POC) - makes me think that even in the good endings for the game, your character won't be minimizing the character's monstrousness. For example, even if your character has the Power of True Love, it's not going to make Vere nonviolent or absolve Kuras's guilt.

25:35: "These themes are pretty complicated in a way that's messy and honestly bloody and I think for that reason is why we're looking at a mature rating - that said, when we set out to make the game our goal wasn't really to be explicit, it was much more to focus on sexiness . . ."

Just clarifying that there won't be explicit sex scenes in the game.

28:55: "What are some aspects of the story that you are most excited to showcase?" "I'm so excited that people get to die terribly, that just gets me so pumped up. Like in previous jobs I have not been allowed to brutally murder . . . main characters permanently and it's very important to me that I now have the power to write really just messed up awful endings…Don't worry, there's also good endings there too, they just get as much passion and all that stuff as the bad endings… but the bad endings, oh my gosh, those are some of my favorites."

This line makes me curious about whether the main characters are just MC, or if the other characters will brutally die as well!

30:50 "A little while ago we posted Kuras's character reveal and people really like the fact that he can't cook so for me it's really cute and innocent seeing people obsess over that fact and I really just want them to see the contrast between that version of Kuras in their head and what he's actually like in his route. Like I just really want to see them react to like the terrible things he's going to do. . . They're all awful in different ways that I'm really excited for people to see it - it's very funny to see everyone be like _Literally name any of the characters of the cast and be like "they're my little meow meow" and it's like, oh. good. I hope this continues once they learn more about the characters. Obviously they're all wonderful - right, the characters are all awful but they're also all wonderful".

32:26 : "the theme of monstrousness and how each character kind of approaches it differently . . . because they're all monsters, even if they're not literally monsters . . .it also plays into each character's brand of horror in their own way as well that ties into their monstrous nature."

This line especially (to me) hints at how Leander is likely not SPECIFICALLY a monster, but a human with a monstrous nature.

34:30: - Ais was the first character they made and each of the other characters build upon him, so they spent a lot of time getting him right. Vere was the easiest to create and they made him in a weekend. Kuras was the hardest to create (especially visually).

38:00 "This is a romance game and a big draw of the game is making a love connection with these characters - do you all plan on including platonic friendship routes in addition to romance routes, or is it strictly romance?" The way that we planned out this game is that we wanted to focus on the intimacy of these individual relationships between the main character and the love interest and the route that they're on, right, so this is the way we had planned the game from the beginning. We really like poly romances, for example, and friendships, but we think that it wouldn't have made much sense for the characters in the story that we had written for them because this entire story - with who the main character is and why they're having to turn to these mysterious monstrous strangers - there's a level of intimacy involved in the themes and stories that we really focused on for how we're writing…

It's almost like a narrative design intentionality we did early on because each route that you'll be able to play from the main five cast is very driven and each character is like a ticking time bomb in their own way. So if you choose to romance Vere, Kuras's route still continues and you can see the effects of what not choosing Kuras is in Vere's route when you're playing Vere's route. So the world is meant to be very interwoven and interconnected where you can see the ripples of everyone's choices even when you're not romancing them and in that way we've designed this cast that's woven together. So if we did want to do a poly route, we would probably have to do entirely new characters . ."

43:30: "One of the fundamental goals of this game was to have, as you've been saying, a living world - a world that's evolving, and one of the ways that we wanted to communicate that was with the idea that these characters are not doing great… um, they're all in very very bad situations, uh, they're all essentially doomed if you do not go with them and it's seeing that carried out in each route that I hope will be really interesting for people.. it will be very sad, in a good way".

ARGHHH this is the WORST. This means that if you choose a character, you're essentially dooming the others. Though this will undoubtedly manufacture delicious angst, I'm soooo sad at imagining each of the other characters faltering and ultimately failing on their paths because you didn't chose them. Though, I wonder if there are some routes where multiple characters turn out ok, or if the entire cast is doomed as soon as you don't select them (in different ways depending on the route)?

54:30: "I also want to clarify too that even though we've been talking about blood a lot and all that kind of stuff and death and we love those parts of the story, um, if you get those endings there's a reason why, you know what I'm saying - you have to actively try to get those endings - poke the bear with a stick."

Definitely referencing Vere's bad ending in the demo. Personally I am too curious to avoid them, but it's encouraging that some of the MC deaths appear to be because you deliberately make dangerous choices, rather than simply "tricking" the player and surprising them.

Let me know what you think of these quotes, and the whole interview is definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it!

[anam-mana]

I keep coming back to that post from Red Spring Studio where MC catches Ais leaving a brothel and he says he was visiting friends.

I’m wondering if

1) he knows Elyon. Which would make sense as to why he was there, and also we have yet to know what Elyon and Sen’s kinda fit in the cast dynamics are.

Or

2) if there are members of the hive mind who either work at or hover around the brothels (not necessarily as sex workers or clients since I think that might go into too icky a territory for me considering they’re in a hive mind controlled by Ocudeus and what that implies about the ability consent, but think servers and or such). Because, if you think about it, that could be a very good way for Ocudeus to gather information. Or, you know, maybe Ocudeus has his hive mind recruiting in the brothels, looking for desperate souls the way he has them walking around near the Senobium when they try to recruit MC.

3) Ais has normal friends. Possible. Idk, I just find it hard to imagine they weren’t trying to tell us anything. Especially since Ais’s way of curing loneliness in the demo is going to drink with Leander and Vere and waiting for someone to mess up enough that he can justify fighting them. Kinda makes it seem like he doesn’t have a lot of normal friends to me. Heck, he even says he doesn’t have friends outside Ocudeus.

[ncorpjp]

Metaが「Llama 3.1」ベースの「AI Studio」を米国でリリース！

[applesferablog]

Meta Libera AI Studio para Creadores: ¡Chatbots de IA Personalizados al Alcance de Todos!

AI Studio de Meta: Empoderando a los Creadores con Chatbots de IA. Meta ha dado un paso audaz al lanzar su innovador AI Studio a todos los creadores en los Estados Unidos. Esta herramienta revolucionaria permite a los usuarios crear chatbots de IA personalizados que pueden interactuar con los seguidores, responder preguntas, generar contenido y mucho más. ¿Qué es AI Studio y Cómo Funciona? AI…

[doubledeadstudio]

Hello! Welcome to the official Double Dead Studio Tumblr, the solodev behind Reanimated Heart and Another Rose in His Garden.

(This Pinned is Under Construction. Still figuring out the tags...)

Reanimated Heart is a character-driven horror romance visual novel about finding love in a mysterious small town. There are three love interests with their own unique personalities and storylines. Play the demo on Itch now!

Content Warning: All my games are 18+! They contains dark subject matter such as violence and sexual content. Player discretion is advised.

This blog is ran by Jack, the creator.

Itch | Link Tree | Patreon | Twitter

Guidelines

My policy for fanwork is that anything goes in fiction, but respect my authority and copyright outside it. This means normal fan activity like taking screencaps, posting playthroughs, and making fanart/fanfiction is completely allowed, but selling this game or its assets isn't allowed (selling fanwork of it is fine, though). You are also not allowed to feed any of my assets to AI bots, period, even if it's free.

Do not use my stuff for illegal or hateful content.

Also, I expect everyone to respect the Content Warnings on the page. I'm old and do not tolerate fandom wank.

F.A.Q.

Who are the main Love Interests?

Read their character profiles here!!

Who's the team?

Jack (creator, writer, artist), mostly. I closely work with Exodus (main programmer) and Claira (music composer). My husband edits the drafts, and my friend Bonny makes art assets. I've also gotten help from outsiders like Sleepy (prologue music + vfx) and my friend Gumjamin (main menu heart animation).

For Reanimated Heart's VOs, Alex Ross voices Crux, Devin McLaughlin voices Vincenzo, Christian Cruz voices Black, Maganda Marie voices Grete, and Zoe D. Lee voices Missy.

Basically, it's mostly just me & outsourcing stuff to my friends and professionals.

How can I support Double Dead Studio productions?

You can pay for the game, or join our monthly Patreon! If you don't have any money, just giving it a nice rating and recommending it to a friend is already good enough. :)

Where do the funds go to?

100% gets poured back into the game. More voice acting, more music, more trailers, more art, etc. I also like to give my programmer a monthly tip for helping me.

This game is really my insane passion project, and I want to make it better with community support.

I live in the Philippines and the purchasing power of php is not high, especially since many of the people I outsource to prefer USD. (One time I spent P10k of my own money in one month just to get things.) I'll probably still do that, even if no money comes in, until I'm in danger of getting kicked out the street… but maybe even then? (jk)

What platforms will Reanimated Heart be released in?

Itch and then Steam when it's fully finished. Still looking into other options, as I hear both are getting bad.

Will the game be free?

Chapter 1 will be free. The rest will be updated on Patreon exclusively until full release.

Are you doing a mobile version?

Yeah. Just Android for now, but it's in the works.

Where can I listen to the OST?

It is currently up on YouTube, Spotify, and Bandcamp!

Why didn't you answer my ask?

A number of things! Two big ones that keep coming up are Spoilers (as in, you asked something that will be put in an update) or it's already been asked. If you're really dying to know, check the character tags or the meta commentary. You might find what you're looking for there. :)

Tag List for Navigation

Just click the tags to get to where you wanna go!

[xannerz]

100% rambling here but tbh i've known about cara for a while. atm i respect the platform enough, and the space it's trying to build for artists, but with all the chatter given the recent meta/ig AI bs-- idk. i don't like people treating it as the ai-free safe haven for Actual Artists when i'm seeing these 2 points on the site's FAQs. i feel like it's either being overlooked or there's a big game of telephone where people are urging each other to join b/c "oh finally! a space free of ai!!"

it's run by a creative for creatives and is supposed to be a space more hospitable towards artists' needs, but based on what i'm seeing it's still open to normalizing genAI ('ai art') to some extent. the language/attitude below seems contradictory or misleading at worst, and conveniently vague/noncommittal at best.*

overall disappointing because i personally don't think giving genai leeway -- even if there are filters or 'ethically sourced' datasets in place - should be normalized at all. i see it mention portfolios, but this type of approach is also putting the bar on the ground when employers are already undercutting artists and writers in favor of genai. someone can still gain momentum even if they're posting genai as regular posts.

i already see so many IG accounts that are nothing but genAi, but people don't know/don't care, and those posts get circulated here on tumblr. posting genai for discussion is one thing, but still providing some type of genuine platform is still feeding into the machines that are hurting artists (and, honestly, consumers, too!).

like okay, can't post genai in a portfolio, but i can still attract people and normalize genai use by treating my posts as a portfolio, instead. ik filters exist but i don't think that should be normalized (and we see how poorly they're moderated on artstation).

genuinely not trying to be a contrarian/split hairs, i'd like to see this platform succeed, but i'd like to see more of a hardline rule/statement on how genai would be moderated if posts including genai are just to be for reporting/discussion purposes.

*[insert obligatory ethical ai tools developed by and for studios to make their workflows more efficient are distinct from genAI content and media disclaimer here]

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Manga Update 229 Review:

No reason for this image, just me enjoying Saitama's meaty thighs. That's all.

Story: Like putting lipstick on a hyena

We open with Tatsumaki taking a phone call. She's dismissive of the idea of shooting a commercial to promote the Hero Association to prospective heroes -- until she remembers Saitama talking about how he'd once been weak and agrees. Let it be noted that Tatsumaki doesn't do anything half-assed: she throws herself into the role of ambassador with such enthusiasm that she ends up trashing the studio.

She is less than impressed with what comes out of the session: a cutesy, saccharine call girl simpering in a commercial, about as true a reflection of Tatsumaki as lipstick and a pink bowtie on a spotted hyena. Fubuki, unfortunately, comes home [1] just as Tatsumaki gets hung up on. Oh, dear, there goes the roof. Looks like they'll be staying in hotels for a bit -- ar at Hero Association HQ -- while the damage is fixed.

More goings on under the cut.

I'd love to blame Amai Mask for producing the AI-edited monstrosity. But the true blame lies with McCoy. He orchestrated the campaign. The public lap it up, it conforming to an image that's palatable to see [I have A LOT to say about this but that's another post.]

Nastier-minded people would have asked, 'which organization', but so it goes when one has the benefit of the doubt

After the HA executives praise McCoy for his adroit management of the HA's image, they (especially a guy I'm calling Walrus 'stache) turn to the recruitment figures to find...

...ah, let me wind back a second. It's true that the Hero Association is always recruiting, but it's taken on additional urgency with Metal Knight having apparently thrown billions of Yen away on infrastructure and weaponry that don't work [2] and Tatsumaki being unmanageable. We return to the story...

...that...

...the ad campaign had made no difference. The Hero Association approval ratings were up, but recruitment was still on its downward slide.

What gave?

The answer comes from two other conversations happening contemporaneously. One is between a Hero Association scout and Axel, the leader of a vigilante group known as The Hunters, the other between another scout and a super-sumo champion named Raiden. In each case, the scout is sent off with a flea in their ear as the prospect in question has another engagement.

Yes, there's another hero organization in the wings, and it's hoovering up as much talent as it can find. It's even reaching out to current heroes.

We cut to a very dapper-looking Genos being asked by a very tired-looking Dr Kuseno what his intentions are, given this information and the former's feelings about the Hero Association. Genos starts to answer, but we'll have to wait for the answer as the scene switches to Saitama doing a spit-take as he sees the commercial.

Meta: Finally, some good fucking food

Everything can be faked (except truth)

Many people have already noted the jab at AI fakery inherent in 'Tatsumaki's ad,' so I won't belabour the point. I shall leave it to another post.

Alas, heroes don't grow on trees

The Hero Association's newfound desperation to find new heroes has been a long time coming. People who make good heroes are rare critters. There is not only the need for exceptional ability (even C-Class heroes are incredible), but there's also a need for willingness to serve as a hero, moral principles, and stability under very trying circumstances. Fooled by the previously buoyant numbers of applicants, leading to 55 Hero Tests being conducted as of the time Saitama and Genos applied, they've applied an 'easy-come, easy-goes' attitude to their recruits. When they should instead have recognised them as rare talent to be nurtured, even the lower-class heroes. Looks like there have been seven more Hero Tests since those two joined, and the news has not been good.

At no point does the HA appear to have had more than 600 heroes on the books: retention seems to have been a big problem. It fits in well with the executive Gobrich's frustration with the situation that support for heroes is too top-down and hasn't listened to their actual needs and concerns. Bushohige (the Bearded Worker) has made similar points -- but no one's listening to him, either!

Sekingar at least appears to have seen the light in this regard and at least appreciates that heroes, whatever their abilities, need to be used *well* rather than be treated as a disappointment for not being S-Class heroes. But he's just one person and has only recently been promoted.

And now... with the advent of actual competition, the spigot of fresh new bodies to take in and use up has largely dried up. What a to do!

Speaking of drying up

Genos is draining the very life out of Kuseno at the moment -- it reminds me of Uu and Reigen. Yes, the doctor made him a cyborg, and so on one level, he can't really complain if he's the it man when it comes to giving him upgrades. But Kuseno is all alone. The stress of worrying about Genos when the latter casually dumps horrors on him and the burden of designing upgrades (how do you God-proof a person, anyway?) is really getting to him. And he has no one to talk to, let well alone share the burden with. [3]

Try not to die of overwork, doctor! At least not before you can find Genos a new situation.

Asides

[1] Looks like Fubuki lives with Tatsumaki in the manga. Either that or she lives close by and has a key. Love to see it.

[2] Truly an eavesdropper hears no good of themselves. The manga change from Metal Knight being scolded in person to overhearing it is brilliant.

[3] In a kinder world, Kuseno would be able to call Bang to at least have a sympathetic ear (heh, and Bang had a personality transplant). Kind and ONE don't mix, at least when it comes to his fictional characters, so too bad.

[thefloatingstone]

Hi C-puff. Since you know your manga/anime, do you have any suggestions for a person feeling nostalgic for Chobits but not looking to re-read it?

hmmmm~ 🤔

I think it depends what it is you liked about Chobits itself. A Magical Girlfriend anime (not to be confused with magical Girl anime) that I quite like but which is a little all over the place with its anime adaptations is "Oh My Goddess" or "Aah My Goddess" depending on how it's translated. it's a lot lighter than Chobits in tone, but it does have a weird mix of magical girlfriend romance... and a SEVERE interest in motorcycles. The laborious detail the manga has on its machinery is ridiculous. Fujishima Kousuke just completely indulging himself. It's great. Also it has one of the most interesting concepts for how its whole "Goddess" system works. I recommend the movie from the 2000s (which wasn't attached to any specific anime at the time) which if only in aesthetic is one of my favourite "easy to watch" anime movies. It also had a proper anime tv series made for it around 2005 I think?

For something a little grittier that really explores relationships and especially heartache a little more in depth, I'd recommend "Video Girl Ai" which is a 6 episode OVA which is based on the manga Denei Shoujo. It's far more mature (in themes, not in adult content) regarding loneliness and relationships as experienced by normal Japanese teenagers in a way that focuses on the emotional side of things. So if you need something a little less wish fulfillment and a little more personal I'd recommend it.

If you don't mind an ecchi, there is Mahoromatic: The Automatic Maiden which I still have to watch myself past the first 3 episodes, but I find the plot synopsis extremely juicy;

Mahoro Andou is a powerful combat android designed by Vesper, a secret organization protecting the world against alien invaders. Unfortunately, her remaining operational time is running short. If she continues to fight, she will shut down in about one month. However, if she chooses to avoid combat, she can live freely for over a year.

Suguru Misato is a high school boy who lives alone in a large house left behind by his late parents. Like any other boy his age, he has trouble taking care of the house on his own, so he decides to enlist the help of a maid. His problem is solved in the most unexpected way: when a couple of thugs hijack the bus he is riding, a young, beautiful girl wearing a maid outfit saves the day. It turns out that this girl is Mahoro, who has chosen to live her remaining days as Suguru's new maid.

Mahoro makes the best of her remaining time and develops bonds with Suguru and his friends during their peaceful yet lively everyday interactions. However, Mahoro is hiding her true intentions behind becoming Suguru's maid, that being that she is the one responsible for his father's death.

Again, just be aware it IS an Ecchi and as such has a lot of adult humour, however if you're familiar with the Chobits anime it's about on par with that (although the Chobits manga is not as sexually focused as the anime is). Mahoromatic is also a show created by Gainax around the same time as Chobits but before the studio had made FLCL. (it also has some INSANE sakuga in it). Just be aware you're in for a lot of anime tiddy.

Then there's DearS but I wouldn't recommend DearS because it's literally a Chobits ripoff. They have the exact same plot except DearS is even more of an ecchi than Chobits with none of the interesting meta-human commentary and more "look at my hot alien waifu who has the intelligence of a child" thing.

I see a lot of people on MAL also recommend an anime called "Plastic Memories" but I am not familiar with it myself. It's got a pretty decent score tho, and the premise seems interesting as another Android/human love story which also has the plot point of the robot girl's lifespan being on a short timer.

I hope one of those might be what you're looking for!

[mariacallous]

Meta announced today that it will offer people a tool called AI Studio to build virtual characters with custom personalities, traits, and interests—including ones based on their own personalities. If you're a creator, you'll also be able to have your digital doppelgänger interact with fans in the DMs.

“Every creator can build an AI version of themselves or an assistant that their community can interact with,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during a SIGGRAPH conference fireside chat with Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, the chipmaker at the center of today’s artificial intelligence boom thanks to its all-important GPU chips.

Meta says AI Studio will start rolling out to Instagram Business account users today and will be made available to all Meta users in the US over the next few weeks. The tool will be accessible at ai.meta.com/ai-studio and through the Instagram app, but it also will be possible to access the chatbots through WhatsApp, Messenger, and the web.

Zuckerberg said that he expects users to create custom AI chatbots for entertainment or as personal support tools—for example, role-playing how to ask for a raise or navigate an argument with a friend. “You can basically role-play that and see how the conversation will go, and get feedback on it,” he said.

The company says AI Studio will let users limit who their chatbots interact with and prevent them from discussing certain topics. The AI Studio usage policy prohibits users from representing real persons other than themselves. It would also place off limits historical persons, religious figures, mass murderers, or “objects that could be considered hateful, explicit or illegal.”

In a blog post, Meta touted several chatbots built by celebrities, including “Eat Like You Live There!” a chatbot for dining recommendations made by chef Marc Murphy, and “What Lens Bro,” a bot for photography made by photographer Angel Barclay. It said that several Instagram personalities—Chris Ashley, Violet Benson, Don Allen, and Kane Kallaway—had made chatbot versions of themselves.

Meta's AI Studio handbook says that users can customize a chatbot by providing a detailed description, along with a name and image, and then specifying how it should respond to specific input. Llama will then draw on those instructions to improvise its responses. Meta says Instagram users can “customize their AI based on things like their Instagram content, topics to avoid, and links they want it to share.”

Over the past year, Meta has become an AI success story thanks to its decision to offer robust AI models for free. Last week, the company released a powerful version of its large language model Llama, providing developers, researchers, and startups with free access to a model comparable to the powerful paid model behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The company says its new chatbots are all based on the latest version of Llama.

And yet Meta has struggled to find the right tone and niche for its own AI offerings. Last September, the company launched a range of AI chatbots loosely based on real celebrities. These included a fantasy role-play dungeon master bot based on Snoop Dogg, a wisecracking sports bot based on Tom Brady, and an everyday companion inspired by Kendall Jenner.

These bots failed to become big hits, however, and Meta has retired them. Jon Carvill, a spokesman for Meta, said the company had learned from the earlier experiments. “AI Studio is an evolution,” he said.

There is plenty of evidence that users may find fully customizable bots more compelling. A company called Character AI, founded by several ex-Google employees who helped make breakthroughs in AI, has attracted millions of users to its own custom chatbots.

Zuckerberg also touted other new open source AI advances from Meta at SIGGRAPH, held in Denver this year. The company has developed a new tool for identifying the contents of images and video called Segment Anything Model (SAM) 2. The previous version is widely used for image analysis. Meta says SAM 2 could be used to more efficiently analyze the contents of video, for instance. Zuckerberg showed off the technology tracking the cattle roaming his Kauai ranch. “Scientists use this stuff to study coral reefs and natural habitats and evolution of landscapes,” he told Huang.

Earlier in the day, in an on-stage interview with WIRED’s Lauren Goode, Huang said he would “absolutely” want a “Jensen AI” that knows everything he’s ever said, written, and done. “You’ll be able to prompt it, and hopefully something smart gets said,” he said. He could force stock analysts to pepper the bot—instead of him—with questions about the company. “That’s the first thing that has to go,” he said with a laugh.

[scifigeneration]

Westworld at 50: Michael Crichton’s AI dystopia was ahead of its time

by Keith McDonald, Senior Lecturer Film Studies and Media at York St John University

Westworld turned 50 on November 21. Director Michael Crichton’s cautionary tale showed that high-concept feature films could act as a vehicle for social commentary. Westworld blended cinematic genres, taking into account the audience’s existing knowledge of well-worn narrative conventions and playfully subverting them as the fantasy turns to nightmare.

The film centres on a theme park where visitors, in this case the protagonists Peter (Richard Benjamin) and John (James Brolin), can enter a simulated fantasy world – Pompeii, Medieval Europe, or the Old West. Once there, they can live out their wildest fantasies. They can even have sex with the synthetic playthings that populate the worlds.

This sinister idea went on to be explored further in later films such as The Stepford Wives (1975 & 2004), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) and Ex Machina (2014).

Of course, it all goes terribly wrong when a computer virus overruns the park and the androids become unbound from the safety protocols that have been encoded into them. The resultant horror climaxes with Peter being stalked through the park by the menacing gunslinger (Yul Brynner).

The film isn’t perfect. Westworld was Michael Crichton’s feature directorial debut, and it shows – as does the tight shooting schedule and frugal budget imposed by MGM. The studio was notorious at the time for mishandling projects and their directors.

Compared to some of the other notable films released that year, such as William Friedkin’s masterful The Exorcist, Nicolas Roeg’s terrifying Don’t Look Now and Clint Eastwood’s assured High Plains Drifter, Westworld has a B-movie aesthetic.

This is, though, elevated by a towering performance from Brynner, and the high-concept approach that later came to dominate the Hollywood system. The film also provided fruitful inspiration for an ambitious HBO adaptation in 2016.

Genre blending and bending

Westworld successfully blended science fiction with other genres. In this sense, it was a pioneering film, which made the most of its limitations due to the hugely influential imagination of Crichton and a postmodern masterstroke of the casting and performance of Brynner.

Today’s cinema is saturated with meta-textual references – moments when a film makes a critical commentary on itself or another movie. This was typified by Michael Keaton’s recent reprisal of his role as Batman in The Flash. But when Westworld was released, such creative choices were novel and fresh.

Bynner’s android gunslinger wears a costume almost identical to the one he donned for his role in The Magnificent Seven (1961). The choice adds dramatically to the thematic concerns of the film – the saturation of consumer culture and the postmodern bent towards repetition, simulation and cliche.

The simulated scenes in the theme park itself are built around cliched movie moments. The three settings which high-paying customers can enter represent film genres: The Medieval simulation, the “swords and sandals” recreation of the Roman Empire and the titular western.

When Westworld was released, each of these genres (the Medieval history, the Roman epic and the western) were already past their heyday, both in terms of popularity and reliability at the box office. Using them furthered the film’s comment on contemporary Hollywood – that it had run out of original ideas and was simply cashing in on nostalgia.

Westworld and AI

Though other films, like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), were exploring the concept of nascent AI around this time, Westworld arguably did so in the most accessible style. And its legacy in doing so is clear in subsequent films, such as The Terminator (1984), The Matrix (1999) and recently in M3GAN (2023).

Crichton later revisited the notion of a theme park turning perilous due to the Promethean human instinct in his novel, Jurassic Park in 1990. Steven Spielberg’s adaptation remains one of the high points in American action-adventure cinema.

The fascinating scenarios Michael Crichton explored in his work successfully embodied the societal anxieties and technophobia of the 1970s. And in Westworld, he demonstrated a flair for capturing such fears in visual set pieces. This is no more evident than in the iconic, uncanny image of Yul Brynner’s deadly, sentient killer cowboy. Fifty years on, it remains one of the most memorable images in science fiction cinematic history.

[susieporta]

Il cammino dell'analisi, quella vera e non di facile consumo, richiede impegno, apertura autentica di mente e cuore. Richiede da parte del terapeuta profonda umiltà, condivisione emotiva. Il mestiere di analista del profondo non si impara semplicemente con l'avere frequentato un corso di formazione. Si è terapeuti dell'anima per predisposizione naturale, affinata dalle esperienze vissute, coltivata attraverso lo studio indefesso, la sensibilità estrema a cogliere gli aspetti più inverosimili dell'esistenza. Non ci sono tecniche migliori di altre da apprendere, sono forse tutte valide, ma non bastano. L'analista è in continua cura di sé stesso poiché nessuno può definirsi completo, o che ha annullato le ferite del passato. Sono sempre lì, e lì dove furono devono restare perché sono la verità con cui l'analista può entrare nelle difficoltà dell'altro. L'analisi non è il superamento del passato in vista di un futuro senza macchia. È piuttosto la continua riesumazione di esso affinché, riportato alla luce, non sia un cadavere in putrefazione cui si è messa una pietra sopra ma un humus da rivangare affinché sia terreno fertile per nuovi frutti. Il passato non si può e non si deve in nessun modo cancellare. L'analista ci convive, consapevole che è l'unica ricchezza di cui dispone. Un'analisi che prometta facili superamenti è disumana e idiota.

L'analisi non è per tutti, è per quei pochi capaci di sostenerla. Non promette falsa felicità, promette solo verità, per quanto sia possibile arrivarvi. La verità è il più delle volte scomoda. Smonta ogni idea che ci si è fatti di sé. La verità è cruda e solo chi ha coraggio vi si espone. Non si guarisce da chissà cosa. Si impara a convivere con le proprie fragilità facendole diventare punti di partenza per diventare forti e nello stesso tempo flessibili.

Si acquisisce semplicemente la capacità di accettarsi e accettare chiunque vivendo passato, presente e la contingenza del futuro ignoto, con coraggio e la volontà di cercare di migliorare, consapevoli che siamo tutti uguali per valore, ognuno nella sua diversa e indiscussa unicità.

L'analista non salva nessuno, non è né più né meno di nessuno e, se non sa questo, è meglio che faccia un altro mestiere.

Il paziente usa l'analista come il violinista usa il violino per inventare la sua musica.

L'analista non dà consigli, non offre soluzioni. Fa domande affinché l'altro si interroghi come l'analista stesso è in continua autointerrogazione.

L'analista lavora con l'anima e si offre all'altro, si mette a disposizione dell'altro affinché l'altro faccia buon uso della sua. Non ci sono miracoli.

Attraverso il buon uso dell'analista il paziente trova la verità su sé stesso per sciogliere problemi che gli apparivano insolubili e riuscire a vivere al meglio la propria vita.

L'analisi richiede tempo, tutto il tempo necessario per giungere alla meta desiderata. Non si raggiunge di corsa la vetta di una montagna. Si va piano, attenti ai crepacci e ben equipaggiati.

Una casa si costruisce a partire dalle fondamenta, non dal tetto. A volte, per eccessivo entusiasmo, ci si illude di essere giunti subito alla meta quando invece è solo un miraggio. Ci vuole pazienza, anche da parte dell'analista che sarebbe opportuno non si vantasse di un facile successo. Pazienza, calma, prudenza affinché ciò che si è costruito resista ben solido nel tempo ai sismi della vita.

Giovanna Breccia

[zontarzon]

Well, it was a long time coming, but I finally deleted my fucking Instagram.

Meta introduced a new "AI Studio" feature and simultaneously disabled all users from the US from the ability to opt out, on any of their platforms.

Fuck AI and fuck Meta. I will give my time to a platform that gives a damn about the safety and privacy of its users.

"Not having enough data" is not a fucking excuse for such blatant disrespect.

[quotejungle]

Meta は最近、 AI Studio というサービスを展開すると発表した。これは、ユーザーが生成モデルをカスタマイズして自分の興味に合わせて調整できるようにするというものだ。 「誰でも、あなたを笑わせたり、ミームを生成したり、旅行のアドバイスをしたり、その他さまざまなことをする独自の AI を作成できます」と Meta の広告コピーは謳っている。 友人の勧めでどこかに行くのと、特定の単語パターンを関連付けたために機械が提案した旅程でどこかに行くのには、実際には違いがないからだ。機械の方が優れているのは、あなたがそのアドバイスに従うかどうかは気にせず、決して卑屈にならないからだ。 同社は、「さまざまなプロンプト テンプレートを使用することも、ゼロから作成して、料理の仕方を教えてくれる AI を作成したり、Instagram のキャプション作成を手伝ってくれたり、友達を笑わせるミームを作成したりすることもできます。可能性は無限です」と主張しています。

仲間なしの友情 - ロブ・ホーニング

[yenleak]

Most often I do reblogs, but you can see my posts under #enlik:3. I like to share my own opinions and talk about the internal problems of different fandoms, but most of my posts are usually related to ATLA. My favorite ships are: Zutara, Jetko, Mailee, Maizula, Bakoda, Jiangtara, Sukka and so on.

Hypocritical and thoughtful, and I love questioning a lot of things including the ones I like. I adhere to different currents of feminism, taking a little from each, the only theory of feminism that doesn't go well for me is the liberal one which I openly criticize. My blog is definitely not for men AND misogynists.

I live in Kazakhstan and like to talk about my homeland, about Central Asia in general. I practice English with my blog because it is not mandatory in my country. However, I speak Russian well! Im also open to any content that includes the turkic culture! (✿◠‿◠)

From the rest: Infj 4w3 Capricorn, extremely introverted, I can play the piano, listen to almost everything but it is older stuff mostly; like to read modern classics and silly/angsty smut :D, my favorite film is “10 things I hate about you”, but im also into Bollywood and Studio Ghibli. Im not a fan of fast fashion and really into vintage clothes even though my wardrobe is mostly my mothers' stuff from early 2000s. As I said before I really like to think, thats why im so into different metas and analysis'. Neurodivergent and hot IRL, dreaming of starting to write my own fics and also enjoy life for real. Enlik is actually the name of my OC in ATLA universe, it can be translated as “edelweiss” from kazakh.

I will be glad to communicate with all those interested, so do not hesitate to write to me!

My Account is NOT a safe space for:

cis men

ai supporters

basic dni stuff: antifeminists, racists, pedophiles, pedo creators (esp those who draw nsfw with minors), homophobes, xenophobes, people who have anything against women in general.

war supporters, people who think that hatred and violence is the way out🖕🏼 and the silent ones

katara haters

aggressive aang/azula/sokka stans, the same can be said about k.t..ng/m.iko/z.kka shippers

weird MLM fans in the main like the whole fandom of jegulus and such.

Thats all, I guess. Hope you have fun on my page!

If you want to know more about the situation in Xinjiang!

[hackernewsrobot]

Meta Launches AI Studio in US

https://ai.meta.com/ai-studio/