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I decided to create a separate thread for AI. Things are really rapidly changing. AI to replace sales staff that are in a revolving door situation. Seems like this company has hit upon a niche that larger companies are very interested in. Not all of these ideas will work out. But you can bet a significant portion of desk/admin jobs will slowly be redundant over the next 10-15 years. Maybe by then, some of us would be working alongside AIs to do some of the routine tasks. https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/09/saleswhale-seed-funding/

My first MCF blog post of 2026 started with me looking through what had been posted in the two months I hadn’t had time to write anything - a way to stimulate my imagination and avoid writing similar topics in a short period of time and risk monotony (aren’t I considerate of you dear readers hahahaha *pukes*). My Editorial colleagues often tell me not to worry about it since it’s not part of my KPIs, but nevertheless I feel bad about not keeping myself on track with my aim of a post a month. Anyway, going through the posts, I came across Matt’s article about his experience learning that some new music discoveries were AI-generated, and thus I found a new topic to write about. OH, THE HORROR My experience with AI-generated music can be summed up in two incidents. Screenshot of Shiori Shinomiya's artist page on Spotify The first was when I came across an artist by the name of Shiori Shinomiya from a song recommended in Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist. On first listen, I thought I had discovered yet another anonymous singer with the vocal chops of J-Pop stars like Ado, Minami and 9Lana. Given the way I listen to music on YouTube, I must have scrolled through the comments without looking at the thumbnail art. The second instance was when I was recommended by YouTube (I’m very sure this time) a jazz playlist. I set it as background music while I was working on something, and when I went to check the tracklist when I was done, lo and behold, there wasn’t one. Skeptical, I checked out other videos on the channel’s page, and saw that just about every video I opened had comments on the music being AI-generated. I then blocked the channel from my feed, feeling somewhat disturbed at the possibility that I had unwittingly enjoyed AI-generated music (even if the saxophone solos in a couple of tracks were distractingly good). It felt as if a Buddhist as devout as my mother had been tricked into eating beef, or perhaps a Muslim unknowingly ate pork and enjoyed it. Returning to the aforementioned Shiori Shinomiya, while I was listening to ASHITAMO, I noticed something off about the vocals. There’s this part right at the beginning of the first chorus where Shiori starts screaming, but unlike her other songs, the way her scream distorts feels less like clipping as a result of screaming too loud but more the product of digital manipulation, which I surmised could be the auto-tune not being able to handle RAW HUMAN EMOTION. At the bottom of the Spotify page, I saw that the publisher was a certain Cocoa Music Japan. Wanting to know who else this label (I presumed at the time) had, I searched them up, and another unfortunate revelation unfolded before my eyes. Across this Reddit post, everything pointed to the works of Shiori Shinomiya and her supposed labelmates being the product of AI prompts. Users pointed out the repetition of melodies and lyrics used across songs by the different “artists”, the suspicious lack of presence for these “artists” (when even underground Japanese idols have small but dedicated fanbases, and virtual idols who never show their faces have massive in-person performances), and probably the most obvious red flag I didn’t notice: AI-generated cover art and thumbnails. At this moment, I felt a tinge of despair. I’d experienced a mixture of these red flags individually, but had chalked them up to plausible reasons. This was Ado's first performance on The First Take, a YouTube channel that has brought in all sorts of musicians for "one-take" performances (a topic for a different time). It’s common for Japanese artists to remain faceless for at least the early part of their careers, with reasons ranging from age-related privacy concerns to artistic immersion and even simply separating their music from their daily lives, long before Ado, probably the biggest “faceless” Japanese artist of the 2020s, came to prominence with Usseewa. The use of AI-generated art for covers was something I would not do personally (I could take photos just fine), but could understand why a small musician would do it (lack of money to pay an actual illustrator or graphic designer), and thus far the music I’d heard from such people was good enough for me to ignore it. Not the most ethical position to take, so I guess the despair I felt upon realising the possibility of having listened to and enjoyed AI-generated music was the price to pay. RUMINATING IN DESPAIR How had I not noticed? I must have presumed only humans could make music that stirred the soul, yet here was evidence that AI could do the same. What did that mean for me as both a listener and a creator? I was now contemplating the same thoughts as many creatives who feel existentially threatened by generative AI being used for the arts. The biggest question I had for myself was: at what point in using AI is a creator no longer fit to call themselves one? In the context of music production, there have been AI-assisted tools before the AI we know today came into the fold, from mastering tools like LANDR to stem splitters like the built-in function in Apple’s Logic Pro digital audio workstation (DAW). A display of the latest Yumenokessho voice banks (exclusive to SynthV) at Bushiroad Expo 2026 in Taipei. Source: https://x.com/yumenokessho/status/2019228417787588932/photo/1 Meanwhile, vocal synths like Vocaloid and SynthV have promoted their latest products as having AI that tunes the voice banks to sound more realistic (to decent effect as I found out myself back during a hands-on demo of the Yumenokessho voice banks at Anime Festival Asia 2023). Unlike generators like Suno and Udio, which are trained on a database of other people’s music without explicit permission and require only a written prompt to generate a whole song, these vocal synths not only require users to come up with their own melodies and lyrics, but also pay the voice providers (the people whose voices were recorded to make the various voice banks). This difference in effort is one way creatives are distinguished from ordinary people typing prompts into Suno or Google’s Lyria to make up for their supposed lack of skill, but I feel that alone is insufficient in defining the lines by which we do so. Then there’s the question of the non-technical aspects like songwriting. There are already tools to generate chord progressions (though to be fair there are only so many in the Western major/minor scales), but what about higher-level elements like themes and motifs? If asking AI to generate entire lyrics is frowned upon because it’s not drawing from a real person’s experience, is it cheating if a songwriter asked their LLM of choice, “How can I write the concept of survivor’s guilt into a metaphor?” and then come up with ideas from there? The consensus on what constitutes “real” art then becomes impossible to agree on. THIS CREATIVE’S POV Current discourse on generative AI in the context of the creation of the arts is divided between “AI will make artists obsolete” and “AI will never contain the soul of human-made art”. As a consumer, while generative AI may have elicited an emotional response from me, I realise that these AI-generated or heavily AI-assisted songs are never going to be all-time favourites precisely because they haven’t got that personal touch. Be it a personal struggle, funny lyrics, or simply blowing minds with out-of-this-world sound design, everyone has their own way of connecting with others that may not resonate unanimously. In an attempt to cater to the lowest common denominator and maximise revenue (let’s be real - easy money is exactly why the AI hype train is a thing), the products of AI end up as milquetoast pieces of content (how I hate that word) to be consumed and forgotten as the masses move on to the next shiny toy. As a creative, my view of art is that it is a means of self-expression that can outlast the creator. I may not be able to make work as polished as AI, but only I could make something that’s wholly me. Every success, every mistake I make, is embedded into my work as a record of myself at that point in time. Letting someone else, let alone AI, dictate what I am in my work - to misappropriate the Hayao Miyazaki quote again, is an insult to life itself. In the Reddit post regarding Cocoa Music Japan, there was a user claiming to represent the company, and their justification for the use of AI across a few comments was that these real artists were not confident about their current abilities and thus enhanced their performances (though I still wonder if something was lost in translation from Japanese to English - if they’re even a real Japanese company at this point). Even now, I understand the sentiment of wanting to start things off right - rushing head-first into things is not common advice precisely because so few people can make it work, but at the same time I’ve come to understand that it is only through failure that we can move forward with whatever it is we’re doing. Here, I’d like to raise up some quotes from a speech that gave me some comfort amid my recovery from what I perceived to be my biggest failure a few years ago: “It is our failure to meet our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique.” “There is nothing more liberating than having your worst fear realised.” “Your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound reinvention.” “But today I tell you that whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come. The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.” DOES FAILURE BIRTH SUCCESS? Perhaps the fact that I still struggle with viewing failure in such a positive light might make Conan’s speech moot, but worse is getting stuck in overthinking loops because you’re afraid of making a single mistake. I will plead guilty to consulting LLMs for advice to offload my mental load, from purchases like SD cards (ironically inflated in price due to AI) to career tips and tricks, but not only has my overthinking habit not decreased in frequency, the advice I’ve taken often has led to regret. The day after I purchased a 256GB Sony TOUGH SF-M SD card for SGD$190 (the price has since increased amid Sony’s announcement that they are stopping SD card production), I found a SanDisk 128GB SD card for SGD$185 that would serve my needs better long-term because unlike the Sony card (which lets me record 5 hours of 4K 25fps footage by the way) I would be able to properly shoot 4K 120fps video with it on a future camera. This was the latest of a number of purchases where I was let down by what the LLMs had reassured me would suit my needs despite my gut telling me otherwise. Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash AI gradually encroaching on my life has led me to find ways to wean myself off it for guidance, but thus far I haven’t been too successful. Between the fact that making bad purchases (or mistakes in general) is expensive, and just about every company (and governments *sigh*) is pushing for the use of AI in every facet of life, my catastrophising mind has enabled AI’s death grip over me. Perhaps that’s why I draw the line at letting AI do the actual work. Be it the videos I shoot and edit for Sgcarmart, this very long blog post (is it an essay now?) or my personal projects, I’m trying to exert some form of control over my life and make something out of it that I can call my own. Maybe what I need to do is to learn to trust my judgement and make the best decisions I can with the cards I’m dealt at any given moment, and most importantly be willing to take failure as it comes. But how do I do that? I shan’t ask Claude for once - it’s time to play Russian Roulette (capitalisation intended) and take a leap of faith. ~ Wei Feng Cover image: Photo by the blowup on Unsplash

Is your boss asking you to explore and learn how to use AI to improve the quality and efficiency of your work? Yup, you aren't the only one in that boat. Whilst exploring new AI tools, I figured: Why not use it to answer some burning questions that I have? This time, it was about whether forums are outdated. Yes, forums like this one that we are on. I remember how before social media became popular, and before apps like Carousell existed, forums were where I chatted with others to learn more about things that I was interested in. It was also the only marketplace where I knew I could sell things locally with ease. So, lets see what the AI has churned out: Forum vs. Social Media: A Comparison of Social Interaction Platforms Structured Discussions Forums, with their thread-based structure, excel at facilitating rich, topic-centered discussions. This setup promotes in-depth conversations and knowledge-sharing, such as the community-focused interaction found on platforms like Reddit and Stack Exchange. In contrast, social media operates more like a stream of consciousness with its fluid news feed format, where personal updates and relationship-building take precedence. Engagement and Interaction Social media platforms, like Twitter and Instagram, foster a sense of personal connection through user profiles and engagement features like likes and shares. However, this can lead to echo chambers, where users primarily encounter content that reflects their views, often intensifying divisions on issues like climate change as some studies suggest. Anonymity vs. Identity Forums typically offer a layer of anonymity, focusing interactions on the discussion topic rather than the individual. This is quite different from social media, where personal branding and identity are central. In summary, while forums prioritise structured, topical discussions, social media emphasizes personal interactions and real-time communication. Both platforms offer unique benefits, and the best choice depends on your social interaction goals. Are Forums Outdated? Exploring the Evolution of Online Communication The Timeless Appeal of Forums Despite the leaps and bounds made in online chat and social interaction platforms, forums maintain a timeless charm that keeps them relevant even today. While social media platforms offer more dynamic, real-time engagement, forums excel in creating a focused environment for in-depth discussion. They attract users seeking meaningful exchanges, where each thread acts as a time capsule of shared knowledge. A Unique Niche Among Modern Platforms Forums offer a distinctive niche compared to social media or messaging apps. While platforms like Discord or WhatsApp emphasize rapid, ephemeral chatting, forums allow for enduring conversations that can be revisited and referenced. This unique format of online forum interaction can be invaluable for users looking to delve deeply into niche topics or hobbies, distinguishing them in a sea of fleeting social interactions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I personally feel that I'm spending a lot more time on Facebook groups, Instagram and other social media platforms, but every now and then when I'm searching for information about certain topics, forum answers would pop up. So I agree with the AI on how forums' structured discussions with the threads and topics make them unique and useful; while you can use the search bar on Facebook groups, the posts aren't categorised into threads. Also, what I really like about forums is the chronological order of posts and how interactions will bump them up - most of the time organically. So I feel that forums still have a place lah, but I also feel that the use of forums seems to be declining in recent times. And hor, with AI giving us all the answers, maybe there, forum activity will be reduced even more... I know it's a long post, but what are your thoughts? Maybe you're the reason that you keep coming back to Mycarforum?

Powderful

https://vulcanpost.com/843379/team-of-ai-bots-develops-software-in-7-minutes-instead-of-4-weeks/ Back in July, a team of researchers proved that ChatGPT is able to design a simple, producible microchip from scratch in under 100 minutes, following human instructions provided in plain English. Last month, another group — working at universities in China and the US — decided to take a step further and cut the humans out of the creative process almost completely. Instead of relying on a single chatbot providing answers to questions asked by a human, they created a team of ChatGPT 3.5-powered bots, each assuming a different role in a software agency: CEO, CTO, CPO, programmer, code reviewer, code tester, and graphics designer. Each one was briefed about its role and provided details about their behaviour and requirements for communication with other participants, e.g. “designated task and roles, communication protocols, termination criteria, and constraints.” Other than that, however, ChatDev’s — as the company was named — artificial intelligence (AI) team would have to come up with its own solutions, decide which languages to use, design the interface, test the output, and provide corrections if needed. Once ready, the researchers then fed their virtual team with specific software development tasks and measured how it would perform both on accuracy and time required to complete each of them. The dream CEO The bots were to follow an established waterfall development model, with tasks broken up between designing, coding, testing, and documenting of work done, with each of them assigned their roles throughout the process. What I found particularly interesting is the exclusion of CEO from the technical aspects of the process. His role is to provide the initial input and return for the summary, while leaving techies and designers to do their jobs in peace — quite unlike in the real world! I think many people would welcome our new overlords, who are instructed not to interfere with the job until it’s really time for them to. Just think how many conflicts could be avoided! Once the entire team was ready to go, the researchers then fed their virtual team with specific software development tasks and measured how it would perform both on accuracy and time required to complete each of them. Here’s an example of fully artificial conversation between all of the “members”: Later, followed by i.a. this exchange between the CTO and the programmer: These conversations continued at each stage before its completion and information being passed for interface design, testing, and documentation (like creating a user manual). Time is money After running 70 different tasks through this virtual AI software dev company, over 86 per cent of the produced code was executed flawlessly. The remaining about 14 per cent faced hiccups due to broken external dependencies and limitations of ChatGPT’s API — so, it was not a flaw of the methodology itself. The longest time it took to complete a single task was measured at 1030 seconds, so a little over 17 minutes — with an average of just six minutes and 49 seconds across all tasks. This, perhaps, is not all that telling yet. After all, there are many tasks, big and small, in software development, so the researchers put their findings in context: “On average, the development of small-sized software and interfaces using CHATDEV took 409.84 seconds, less than seven minutes. In comparison, traditional custom software development cycles, even within agile software development methods, typically require two to four weeks, or even several months per cycle.” At the very least, then, this approach could shave off weeks of typical development time — and we are only at the very beginning of the revolution, with still not very sophisticated AI bots (and this wasn’t even the latest version of ChatGPT). And if time wasn’t enough of a saving, the basic costs of running each cycle with AI is just… $1. A dollar. Even if we factor in the necessary setup and input information provided by humans, this approach still provides an opportunity for massive savings. Goodbye programmers? Perhaps soon, but not yet. Even the authors of the paper admit that even though the output produced by the bots was most often functional, it wasn’t always exactly what was expected (though it happens to humans too — just think of all the times you did exactly what the client asked and they were still furious). They also recognised that AI itself may exhibit certain biases, and different settings it was deployed with were able to dramatically change output, in extreme cases rendering it unusable. In other words, setting the bots up correctly is a prerequisite to success. At least today. So, for the time being, I think we’re going to see a rapid rise in human-AI cooperation rather than outright replacement. However, it’s also difficult to escape the impression that through it we will be raising our successors and, in not so distant future, humans will be limited to only setting goals for AI to accomplish, while mastering programming languages will be akin to learning Latin.

I don't know where to post this interesting news (no humsup intention), so I started the thread. Think of it, it is quite scary to guess if the model you are seeing is real or a AI generated fantasy. To our MCF mod, is it ok? Source: https://soranews24.com/2023/05/30/ai-generated-swimsuit-lingerie-model-makes-debut-in-japans-weekly-playboy-magazine【photos】/ “Ai” is a pretty common name for models in Japan, and not just because it’s short and easy to remember. In addition to being a woman’s name, ai is also the Japanese word for “love,” so the flowery, feminine feeling it conjures up is one more way to catch the attention and affection of prospective fans. For example, here’s Ai Satsuki, the newest model being promoted by Japanese publisher Shueisha. But while Ai’s name was given to her by Shueisha, the publisher didn’t make that decision just because they hope people will fall in love with her, but because her images are generated by AI. Ai made her professional debut this Monday, appearing in the latest issue of Shueisha’s Weekly Playboy magazine. A separate entity from the American Playboy magazine), Weekly Playboy is best known for its gravure photo spreads focusing on models in swimsuits, lingerie, and other revealing outfits. In its announcement tweet, Weekly Playboy describes Ai as being “stuffed full of men’s ideals” and asserts that “Even if she doesn’t actually exist, the love for her that sprouts in your heart is real.” Despite not having a physical form, Ai is officially listed as being 157 centimeters (61,8 inches) tall, as well as being born in Tokyo and enjoying playing video games as a hobby. Along with her appearance in this week’s Weekly Playboy, Shueisha has also released 50-page digital image album for Ai titled Umaretate (“Just Born”), featuring images not included in her Weekly Playboy spread, through its Weekly Playboy Gravure Japan website. “AI gravure models? What do you think?” asked Weekly Playboy in its tweet, prompting responses including: “No scandals. No scheduling problems. No talent agency problems. No appearance fees. Sounds good.” “I want Weekly Playboy to photograph real people.” “Eventually, I think people will come around to appreciating AI gravure models.” “She’s cute!” “I hope this is a one-time thing, and doesn’t take page space away from real gravure models.” “When are we going to see an Ai Satsuki video?” “She’s cute! Following her account and going to keep an eye on what she does next.” “If you put out a physical copy of her photo album, I’m buying it.” “Things are going to get tougher for 3-D women.” “AI gravure photos are beautiful, but I prefer real ones. Actual idols have daily lives and life experiences, and I think that’s what makes fans really feel attached to them and want to help them succeed.” The last comment touches on a characteristic point of gravure idol marketing in Japan: the idea that by purchasing merchandise, attending paid-ticket meet-and-greet events, and otherwise financially supporting their favorite idol, fans are actively supporting her professional aspirations. That unique sense of satisfaction plays a big part in cultivating high-spending superfans, and whether or not a photo-realistic but AI-generated model can form the same emotional connection may be the determining factor in whether or not Shueisha, and other publishers too, press forward with AI gravure models.

It has been estimated that between 10%-40% of jobs could potentially be automated, fully or partly, in the next 10 years using artificial intelligence (AI). This will only accelerate as Silicon Valley and its likes around the world work on new technologies to disrupt every industry. Retail numbers are bad with e-commerce. Friends in banking are telling me they are expecting massive retrenchment in the next 5 years, with large scale branch closure and as automation takes root, with digital banking. In the US, Andrew Yang is running as a democratic presidential candidate on "freedom" dividend and making predictions that autonomous driving will cost 3 million trucking jobs in the US and another 4 million supporting jobs within 10 years. Some say lots of new AI / tech jobs will be created, guess that is why G is liberalizing FT policy for technology but I doubt they will be enough to replace local jobs that will be lost permanently. So what would be a futureproof job? I can think of plumbing, perhaps therapists and other clinical roles? Even prostitutes can be replaced with virtual reality! Perhaps 3-4 days work week will be here soon... just to keep all employed? With the end of lifetime employment, got to be prepared to be hired, fired and retrained several times over your entire working life. What is your view? https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2018/08/07/job-loss-from-ai-theres-more-to-fear/amp/

<Scientists Trained Goldfish to Drive a Little Car It's proof that fish are capable of navigation even in unfamiliar environments. Scientists often create elaborate studies in order to tease out secrets and truths from the animal world. One such work has recently been published, with a group from Ben-Gurion University hoping to determine the true nature of a fish's navigation capabilities, as shared on Twitter. Several goldfish were tasked with driving a robot towards a goal, with the sea creatures proving more than up to the job. As per the paper available online, the apparatus for the test was relatively straightforward. Goldfish were placed in a small transparent tank of water placed on top of a robot chassis. A camera mounted above the tank tracked the fish's position and orientation. If the fish swam outward towards a given wall, the robot would move in that direction. When the fish drove up to a pink target on the wall, they would be rewarded with food. Initially, the six fish in the study drove around largely at random. However, tests were regularly performed three times a week, and the fish quickly began to learn that if they drove over to the target area, they would receive food. Over time, the fish became more capable, and could trigger the reward mechanism more times in a single given 30 minute test session. The researchers wanted to further determine just how well the fish had learned to understand their terrestrial environment. The starting position in the room was changed, and the fish were still able to navigate to the target for a reward. Similarly, adding decoy targets of different colors in the room did not stop fish from achieving the task. As a further test, the pink target was moved to a different location in the room and the fish were tested again. Initially, fish drove towards the old target location in an attempt to receive a reward. When none was forthcoming, the fish eventually learned that the pink target itself was the key to the task, and began to drive there instead. The study suggests that a goldfish's navigational abilities are not solely limited to the underwater environment to which they are accustomed. Indeed, a fish can learn to drive a robot in order to secure food. Furthermore, the tiny creatures are also able to build a greater understanding of their world, proven by learning that reaching the pink target, and not simply the original target location, is key to receiving a reward. It also helps clear up the widely-disproven myth that the common pet fish only have a 3-second memory. We've seen similar studies before, which may seem frivolous, but they teach us a great deal about how organic brains work and their true capabilities. We're still likely a ways off from teaching dogs to drive cars, but such insights are of key importance to learning about animal behavior. Creative test design is key to really determining what's going on inside the brain of a goldfish who otherwise can't tell us what's going on, as ably demonstrated by this study.>