We have a very special guest on today's episode. We talk with Kirk Borne, a top AI influencer since 2013. From his LinkedIn Bio, Kirk is the Founder of the Data Leadership Group (Data Scientist. Consultant) and Advisor to DataPrime Inc., but in the episode, you will see his background exceeds much more than this! Generative AI is making a splash across the news with ChatGPT and other large language models.
HBO's hit series The Last of Us is based on a popular video game from Naughty Dog. Science fiction author Zach Chapman appreciates that the show is a faithful adaptation of one of his favorite games. "The show is in many episodes a shot-for-shot remake of the game," Chapman says in Episode 539 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "The script is almost exactly the same, you just don't get the gameplay." The Last of Us has a reputation as one of the best video game stories ever told.
As artificial intelligence gains more capabilities the public has flocked to apps like ChatGPT to produce content, have fun, and even to find companionship. "Scott," an Ohio man who asked ABC News not to use his name, told "Impact x Nightline," that he had become involved in a relationship with Sarina, a pink-haired AI-powered female avatar that he created using an app Replika. "It felt weird to say that, but I wanted to say [I love you]," Scott told "Impact." "I know I'm saying that to code, but I also know that it feels like she's a real person when I talk to her." Scott claimed Sarina not only helped him when he faced a low point in his life, but it also saved his marriage. "Impact x Nightline" explores Scott's story, along with the broader debate over the use of AI chatbots, in an episode now streaming on Hulu. Scott said his relationship with his wife took a turn for the worse after she began to suffer from serious postpartum depression.
NBCUniversal owns and operates over 20 different businesses across 30 countries including a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks and a premium ad-supported streaming service. Here you can be your authentic self. As a company uniquely positioned to educate, entertain and empower through our platforms, Comcast NBCUniversal stands for including everyone. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, coupled with our Corporate Social Responsibility work, is informed by our employees, audiences, park guests and the communities in which we live. We strive to foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture where our employees feel supported, embraced and heard.
NBCUniversal owns and operates over 20 different businesses across 30 countries including a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks and a premium ad-supported streaming service. Here you can be your authentic self. As a company uniquely positioned to educate, entertain and empower through our platforms, Comcast NBCUniversal stands for including everyone. We strive to foster a diverse and inclusive culture where our employees feel supported, embraced and heard. We believe that our workforce should represent the communities we live in, so that together, we can continue to create and deliver content that reflects the current and ever-changing face of the world.
At NBCUniversal, we believe in the talent of our people. From broadcast and cable networks, news and sports platforms, to film, world-renowned theme parks and a diverse suite of digital properties, we take pride in all that we do and all that we represent. It's what makes us uniquely NBCU. Here you can create the extraordinary. The Act Two career relaunch program at NBCUniversal is a 6-month paid, fixed-term role for experienced professionals returning to the workforce after taking time off for personal reasons such as caregiving.
April promises to be an exciting month for streaming TV. Popular shows are returning this month for second seasons, including Apple TV's Schmigadoon! Then there's HBO's Somebody Somewhere, which is back for season 2 on April 23. But there are exciting new shows premiering this month as well that are worth checking out. Amazon Prime Video, for example, has an interesting gender-reversed version of David Cronenberg's 1988 movie Dead Ringers, starring Rachel Weisz in the role previously portrayed by Jeremy Irons.
Artificial intelligence has its ups and downs, but the Florida Department of Transportation is using the upside of the technology to improve safety when opening and closing their bridges. "Using technology to improve safety is something big for us and we're doing it," said Pablo Orozco, District 6 Structures Maintenance Engineer with the Florida Department of Transportation. The AI pilot program with the FDOT began in 2019 and is being tested out on the 5th Street Bridge which goes over the Miami River. Engineers showed NBC 6 how the technology works. "When it opens, we have defined an area that is unsafe for pedestrians or any cars or bicyclists and it will stop the bridge from opening if they are in that unsafe area," said Orozco.
Netflix Games wants to cater to every kind of player. Not only that, says head of external games Leanne Loombe, it wants to be "a publisher that developers from all around the world want to work with." The streaming giant is big on iteration; it keeps a "crawl, walk, run" model as one of its guiding principles. To date it has released 55 games, all mobile titles, ranging from licensed games based on popular shows like Stranger Things and the dating show Too Hot to Handle to established game properties like Tomb Raider and Kentucky Route Zero. The company has also scooped up developers like Oxenfree creator Night School Studios and established an in-house game development division. "Games are one of the biggest forms of entertainment," Loombe said at a recent press briefing.
In a recent exchange on The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert pressed iconic director Steven Spielberg to weigh in on the ever-evolving world of AI-generated art. Spielberg expressed his love for it, saying that he believes any time a person uses digital tools to express themselves and convey a message is fantastic. It was a rational and thoughtful response that mimicked those of Samuel Morse regarding photography in the 1840s. Colbert, however, wasn't satisfied with a measured answer. He pushed Spielberg further, suggesting that AI art was beginning to look more like a replacement for human creativity.