The new Apple TV series Foundation, based on the classic novel by Isaac Asimov, isn't slated to be released until next year, but science fiction author Anthony Ha is already anticipating its release--Foundation is one of his all-time favorite books. "Foundation was the series that made me realize I was a science fiction fan," Ha says in Episode 434 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "It brings me as much pleasure as any book can when I re-read it, so I probably end up re-reading it every few years." Foundation tells the story of Hari Seldon and his followers, who use the futuristic science of psychohistory to plot their course through a galactic dark age and preserve scientific knowledge. Geek's Guide to the Galaxy host David Barr Kirtley has always loved the concept.

Gagliano previously won the first ever Emmy for a VR experience in 2015. Now he and producer David Oppenheim, who works at the National Film Board of Canada, are experimenting with a kind of storytelling they call dynamic film. "We see Agence as a sort of silent-era dynamic film," says Oppenheim. Agence was debuted at the Venice International Film Festival last month and was released this week to watch/play via Steam, an online video game platform. The basic plot revolves around a group of creatures and their appetite for a mysterious plant that appears on their planet: can they control their desire or will they destabilize the planet and get tipped to their doom?

Addis Ababa — The recently inaugurated Artificial Intelligence Center has signed Memorandums of Understanding with five institutions to cooperate …

A long time ago – nearly four decades ago – in arcades near and far away, Star Wars fans climbed into a cockpit-shaped game cabinet, plunked in their quarters and experienced the virtual thrill of piloting an X-wing starfighter à la Luke Skywalker. With Star Wars: Squadrons, out today, players can get that Star Wars Arcade experience on steroids, right at home. The new video game ($39.99, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PCs, rated for ages 13-up) puts players in the cockpits of New Republic and Imperial fighters and other spacecrafts in the Star Wars universe after the Rebel Alliance's victory at the end of the movie, "Return of the Jedi." Upgrading to a new Xbox or PlayStation?:What to do with your old video game console Stay sharp as you play and you can eventually become a fighter ace on both sides of the coming-to-a-close Civil War. Switching back and forth between your two customized fighter pilots – one with the New Republic, the other with the Galactic Empire – you will fly eight different types of ships.

This latest experiment involves applying machine learning to sound to create an entirely different sound, in this case, music. Tone Transfer, as the experiment is known, uses machine learning algorithms to transform your voice, the sounds of birds chirping, pots and pans clanging or any other sound into a short ditty.Record 15 seconds of sound and then let the tool does its work and you'll hear a tune played back with a flute, saxophone, violin or trumpet. To give it a go, head over to the Tone Transfer site. You can do this from an Android phone or from a desktop machine. Then click to try it out.

Intelligent algorithms are used to create paintings, write poems, and compose music. According to a study by an international team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Center of Humans and Machines at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, whether people perceive artificial intelligence (AI) as the ingenious creator of art or simply another tool used by artists depends on how information about AI art is presented. The results were published in the journal iScience. In October 2018, a work of art by Edmond de Belamie, which was created with the help of an intelligent algorithm, was auctioned for 432,500 USD at Christie's Auction House. According to Christie's auction advertisement, the portrait was created by artificial intelligence (AI).

I often sit on my sofa and hum tunes that I made up in my head. While doing that, I also imagine that my automatically gets converted to a beautiful musical piece. Google's new machine learning algorithm experiment, Tone Transfer, makes that fantasy come true -- at least to an extent. Go to the Tone Transfer site from your Android phone or desktop (Windows or Mac), select "Add your own," and record your 15-second hum or tune. You can use your voice, tap on your table, or play an actual instrument.

Disinformation is when someone knows the truth but wants us to believe otherwise. Better known as "lying," disinformation is rife in election campaigns. However, under the guise of "fake news," it's rarely been as pervasive and toxic as it's become in this year's US presidential campaign. Sadly, artificial intelligence has been accelerating the spread of deception to a shocking degree in our political culture. AI-generated deepfake media are the least of it.

Even during quarantine, there was a lot of back and forth and "fact" checking with the Lucasfilm brand team. Frazier said Lucasfilm is practically a co-developer, at least in terms of the amount of input and assets they provided for art and audio files. Last year's "Jedi: Fallen Order" by Respawn Entertainment and EA was also similarly collaborative and canonical, taking place just after the prequel trilogy. Frazier said he's a huge fan of the "Star Wars" animated series "Rebels," and was eager to tackle his first project for the brand.

The trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen's long-awaited sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan was released by Amazon this morning, and the biggest question it leaves is: Who's that playing Borat's daughter? The trailer has no credits, and there's no Internet Movie Database page for the film, but Amazon's press release says that the movie, to be released on Oct. 23 on Amazon Prime Video, is "starring Sacha Baron Cohen & Irina Nowak," which would seem to be that. The internet is surprisingly little help on this point. There's no Irina Nowak on IMDb, and the closest search return is an actress named Irina Novak, who's 39--far too old, assuming there's no Irishman-type de-aging budget involved. Baron Cohen used relative unknowns as his castmates in the first Borat, including character actor Ken Davitian as Azamat Bagatov and comedian Luenell Campbell as the sex worker whom Borat eventually marries, but even the latter had a previous bit part in Nash Bridges on her CV.