Media
Hungryroot delivers AI-powered grocery experience
All the sessions from Transform 2021 are available on-demand now. Hungryroot, an AI-powered delivery service, hopes to occupy a similar niche for online groceries in the United States. The recommender system uses a collaborative filtering, supervised learning model to match consumer preferences to foods. Customers answer questions about their dietary habits, the kinds of foods they (and family members) like, the family size, budget, and more. On a weekly basis, the Hungryroot algorithm predicts the groceries the customer might like.
Anthony Bourdain's voice-cloning for new doc called into question: It's 'a slippery slope'
Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment. The revelation that a documentary filmmaker used voice-cloning software to make the late chef Anthony Bourdain say words he never spoke has drawn criticism amid ethical concerns about use of the powerful technology. The movie "Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain" appeared in cinemas Friday and mostly features real footage of the beloved celebrity chef and globe-trotting television host before he died in 2018. But its director, Morgan Neville, told The New Yorker that a snippet of dialogue was created using artificial intelligence technology.
Filmmaker used AI to re-create Anthony Bourdain quotes in new Roadrunner documentary
The director of a new Anthony Bourdain documentary admits he used artificial intelligence and computer algorithms to get the late food personality to utter things he never said on the record. Bourdain, who killed himself in a Paris hotel suite in June 2018, is the subject of the new documentary, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain. It features the prolific author, chef and TV host in his own words--taken from television and radio appearances, podcasts, and audiobooks. But, in a few instances, filmmaker Morgan Neville says he used some technological tricks to put words in Bourdain's mouth. As The New Yorker's Helen Rosner reported, in the second half of the film, L.A. artist David Choe reads from an email Bourdain sent him: 'Dude, this is a crazy thing to ask, but I'm curious...' You are successful, and I am successful, and I'm wondering: Are you happy?' Rosner asked Neville, who also directed the 2018 Mr. Rogers documentary, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, how he possibly found audio of Bourdain reading an email he sent someone else.
'Roadrunner' Recreates Anthony Bourdain's Iconic Narration With Artificial Intelligence. Is That Okay?
A gutting new documentary about Anthony Bourdain has arrived. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, from filmmaker Morgan Neville, hits theaters today, Friday, July 16. While most who've seen it seem to agree that the piece, much like the subject matter, is enthralling, questions regarding the ethics of the production have also been raised. Most of this attention is centered on one decision: featuring voiceover quotes from the acclaimed chef and author that, it turns out, he never actually said. As Neville revealed to the New Yorker, he and his team employed artificial intelligence technology to recreate Bourdain's voice to add in a few missing pieces that the director thought filled in holes in the story.
em Space Jam: A New Legacy /em Is Peak, Mindless Corporate Synergy
Here is a brief, not-nearly-complete list of Warner Bros. characters that appear in the movie Space Jam: A New Legacy: Harry Potter, Harley Quinn, Rick & Morty, Yogi Bear, Fred Flintstone, Space Ghost, the Matrix, Superman, Batman, King Kong, the Pink Panther, Pennywise the killer clown, the droogs from A Clockwork Orange, the Night King from Game of Thrones, and Rosey, the robot maid from The Jetsons. The complete roster runs to well over 100 entries, but this sampling should be enough to give you the flavor of what a random grab-bag of intellectual properties the movie presents. If the first Space Jam, released 25 years ago, was a brand summit between the Looney Tunes and the NBA, with Michael Jordan acting as the chief negotiator, its supercharged successor both literally and figuratively opens the vaults, zapping LeBron James into the "Warner 3000 Serververse," where all of the media conglomerate's holdings exist on the same plane. A New Legacy's villain and chief instigator is Don Cheadle's Al G. Rhythm, a Warner Bros. algorithm determined to get public recognition for his overlooked accomplishments. But what's noteworthy about the movie's garbage-dump of WB properties is just how arbitrary and non-algorithmic it feels. There's no apparent logic to what's included and what's left out, who makes the cut and who gets left to molder in some forgotten corner of the digital domain.
Amazon's Alexa voice options now include Shaq and Melissa McCarthy
Those who find Alexa's default voice too cold can have the digital assistant mimic celebs. Though, in the past, the only A-list impression the AI could do was everyone's fave badass Samuel L. Jackson. Turns out, people liked the idea of ordering a weather report from a superstar, because Amazon is adding two more famous voices to Alexa's toolkit. The new options include four-time NBA champ Shaquille O'Neal and Oscar-nominated actor Melissa McCarthy. Amazon says the SLJ skill, introduced for a limited price of $0.99, became one of its top-selling digital purchases upon launch.