January 2024 archive

Jan 02

The Rise of AI-driven “Virtual Influencers” (to no surprise)

Visit “Aitana Lopez” on Instagram. As you scroll down, the account looks like that of any of the hundreds (or thousands) of “influencer” accounts on Instagram. “Aitana” post photos from her travels, of her wearing various clothes, and making references to various brands. 

Except… it’s fake.

As described on Ars Technica, this account is a complete fabrication developed by an ad agency in Barcelona. 

Why? Because they found that regular human “influencers” were starting to charge to much.

And so they wanted a cheaper way for their customers to advertise.

And so “AI-tana” was created. To be fair, they are very open about it being AI-generated. It’s right there in “her” bio. 

But other “virtual influencers” will not be so clear. And you won’t be able to know if an account is real or virtual.

Now, let’s be honest, that can also be the case today without generative AI. You can have an Instagram account with photos that come from stock photography or some other service - or could be of someone else.

But generative AI just makes this SO much easier.

And there’s no surprise… advertisers have always been looking for ways to pay less for advertising. This is just the natural evolution.

Jan 01

AVFTCN 032 – Finding Hope Amidst the Chaos

Happy New Year! Climbing up into the proverbial crow’s nest as 2024 begins, it looks a bit bleak up ahead. LOTS of icebergs! Of course here in the USA we have the US presidential election, that is sure to bring out an added level of nastiness. We are not alone in this… a colleague of mine points out that in 2024 there will be 106 elections in 67 countries!

Given the current state of generative AI tools, I can only imagine the level of misinformation and disinformation we’ll see this year. And so many “deepfake” videos, I’m sure. All of which will lead to more polarization, and a decrease in trust in information – and calls from policymakers to impose restrictions on the Internet.

Beyond politics… it’s January 1 in Vermont and we have green grass, above-freezing temperatures and … no snow! This is not normal. We’re just coming off the hottest year globally in recorded history – and some signs that this year could be even hotter. There certainly seem to be climate challenges ahead. (There may be fewer actual ice bergs to see!)

There are housing issues… and a pandemic that is not gone… and issues of inequality and inequity… and serious substance abuse and mental health issues… and… and… and… there are SO MANY CHALLENGES.

BUT… that’s only part of the story. It’s the part that brings in eyeballs to media sites.

We definitely DO have VERY serious challenges… but off in the corners where the media doesn’t pay attention, there are many people working on solutions.

If you have not read this 2021 essay, please STOP READING this post and go take a few minutes to read it – and… pay attention to how you feel as you read the article: Collapse, Renewal and the Rope of History.

Did you find yourself despairing a bit as you began the post? Or getting anxious?

Take another moment to read this: 66 Good News Stories You Didn’t Hear About in 2023.

And then think about – why don’t we hear more about these stories?

The story we tell ourselves about the world around us matters.

There’s one story of “WE ARE ALL DOOMED! WE’RE GOING TO DIE!”. And there’s another story of “Things are bad – and they’ll get worse if we don’t do something about it!”

There is a story about doom and collapse… and a story about hope and renewal… and many stories in between.

To me, I believe that “hope” is about *action*. And that is the story we need to be telling ourselves… and sharing out into the wider world.

A few years ago I wrote a tweet (later shared on Mastodon) of:

The challenge that lies before us is more than choosing hope over fear.
It is choosing hope amidst the overwhelming narratives of fear and doom.
It is choosing hope and optimism despite those fears.
It is choosing hope as a daily, gritty act of resistance and resilience.

I stand by that today.

“Hope begins with the ability to imagine alternatives. And there is always an alternative.” – stated author Cory Doctorow in an excellent graduation address to York University last year.

As we begin this year of 2024, with so much potential darkness ahead of us, that is our calling… to find hope amidst the chaos, and share that hope with the wider world.

Happy New Year! May 2024 be a good one for us all!

Thanks for reading to the end. I welcome any comments and feedback you may have.

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Until the next time,
Dan

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Disclaimer

Disclaimer: This newsletter is a personal project I’ve been doing since 2007 or 2008, several years before I joined the Internet Society in 2011. While I may at times mention information or activities from the Internet Society, all viewpoints are my personal opinion and do not represent any formal positions or views of the Internet Society. This is just me, saying some of the things on my mind.

Jan 01

My Themes for 2024

a mind map with a main block with the text 2024 and then three child lines of Hope, Health, and Habits

As I have been doing for the past 15 years (see list), my first post of 2024 across all my sites is of three words that are my aspirations or “themes” for the year ahead. They are not “resolutions” so much as guiding thoughts or principles.

This year I decided on 3 H’s: Hope, Health, and Habits.

Hope

We live in challenging times… and 2024 looks to present even greater challenges. A colleague of mine noted that there will be over 100 elections in 67 countries in 2024 - all of which will undoubtedly create communication and societal challenges in this time of great polarization. I expect great amounts of mis/disinformation, especially in this era of “generative AI”. With the climate, we’re just coming off the hottest year in recorded history, and signs are that 2024 could be even worse. Economic inequality keeps rising. Fewer and fewer people can afford to buy houses around where I live. We have a dictator who wants to be our next US President (and some % of people seem ready to vote for him 🤯). There’s a lot of gloom out there.

And yet… as the good folks at FutureCrunch remind us - there are a lot of good things going on: “66 Good News Stories You Didn't Hear About in 2023”. The challenge is that all of that gets drowned out in the media’s desire to get eyeballs. (“If it bleeds, it leads!”)

A couple of years ago I wrote this (re-shared on Mastodon last year):

The challenge that lies before us is more than choosing hope over fear.

 

It is choosing hope *amidst* the overwhelming narratives of fear and doom.

 

It is choosing hope and optimism *despite* those fears.

 

It is choosing hope as a daily, gritty act of resistance and resilience.

I believe that is truly our calling.

Last year, as I was preparing to become President of our local Rotary Club in July 2023, I was thrilled to find that the “theme” for this year’s Rotary International president is “Create Hope in the World”. That resonates so strongly with me.

Now, more than ever, with so much chaos around us, we need to provide whatever small shreds of hope we can.

Health

Health (or a health-related word) has been one of my three words in 12 of these 15 years, including last year. This year I had some tests done and some checkups, and while I’m okay overall, my bad cholesterol levels are too high, my blood pressure is creeping toward a point where I need to be concerned, and I’m at the heaviest weight I’ve ever been. Addressing this MUST be a focus, or I won’t be here to write the 2025 version. 🙁

Habits

In 2023, I spent some time looking at how I spend my time, and some of the habits I have. Some of those are good (ex. daily language practice), but others need to change, such as being far too sedentary… or doomscrolling through social media instead of creating content. In 2024, I want to change and form some healthier habits… for my actual health, but also just for how I interact in the world. One of these I’ve already started is to rejuvenate my email newsletter (all are welcome to subscribe!) and to start writing there versus on social media.

To that point, I really want to focus on the POSSE model of publishing on my own sites first, and THEN sharing it out on social channels. Too much of what I’ve been writing lately has been on other people’s platforms. I want to form the strong habit of writing on my own sites first.

Interestingly, Om Malik recently wrote about his own desire to return to blogging, specifically to use his blog as more of a “commonplace journal”. I like that framing. Stay tuned to see if I actually do it!

I’m also hoping that the habit I’ve started in 2023 of doing a bit more with music continues. I’m trying to carve out time each day to noodle a bit with the piano or guitar. I want to see about doing even more.

The challenge, of course, will be to excise some of the not-so-good habits that have formed in my life. It will be an interesting year!

That’s what I’m looking forward to this year. How about you?