We all know that AI is set to take over our world, but is it about to take over the art world too?  Just recently, Christie’s, a famous art auction house, sold its first ever AI generated portrait, “The Portrait of Edmond Belamy.”  It didn’t just sell though, it blew way past the $7,000-$10,000 estimated bid.  This painting sold for $432,500.

The Portrait of Edmond Belamy

This painting was created with an algorithm.  The AI was given 15,000 portraits and has two different functions: A Generator and Discriminator.  The goal of these functions is to generate new images and run it through the discriminator to try and trick the AI into believing that the images generated are real-life portraits.  If the AI senses that the painting isn’t real, then the process begins all over again until a successful result.  The signature of the portrait is the algorithm used to generate the painting.

This portrait isn’t the first piece of AI art sold at Christie’s, however.  There is an “artist” that goes by the name of AICAN, that says it is “the first time that AI generates art without any human intervention…and generates art the people like” (AICAN.com).  These pieces, though modern and abstract, are generated with the knowledge of all different styles.  The website marketplace is selling different prints made by the AI, with prices ranging from $500 to $20,000.

A piece of art generated by AICAN

To see this huge step into the future of technology along with the future of art is incredible. Although, it is hard to say how art critics and art historians will react to this new leap in the art world.  Will they appreciate the technological advancements? Will they question the authenticity of the pieces?  Art is a study so deeply rooted in the past, with such a strong connection to the artist, I wonder if there will be lots of negative backlash to AI generated art?

More AICAN paintings can be found here: https://www.aican.io

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/10/25/painting-created-ai-going-auction-block-christies/1759967002/

https://www.christies.com/features/A-collaboration-between-two-artists-one-human-one-a-machine-9332-1.aspx?sc_lang=en

It is known that social medias try to outdo one another to gain the most users, but the battle between Snapchat and Instagram has been taken to a whole new level.  Snapchat always had stories, but then Instagram came out with their version of stories and the battle of two apps started.  There are so many common functions that overlap, not just on Snapchat and Instagram, but every social media platform. Several updates later, the question of which is better is still up in the air.

There weren’t many new features that were significant to Instagram or Snapchat for some time after Instagram started to have stories.  But eventually, Instagram decided to take the next step to try and outdo Snapchat.  Just recently, Instagram has started IGTV, which is a new way to watch original shows made by Instagram users.  Not much longer after this, actually just beginning last week, Snapchat started their own television feature called Snap Originals.  There are some differences between the two, but they both share the same idea of having viewers watch “tv shows” on their apps.  You could even say that these two apps are copying the idea of YouTube Originals, a previous original show concept done by YouTube.

Despite striking similarities, Snapchat and Instagram are still two different social media platforms.  The article from Business Insider compares the apps, talks about their differences, and decides which one is better for the specific categories.  For now, there are still difference, but in the future I would not be surprised if there is only one social media platform because all of these apps converge due to growing similarities. Snapchat or Instagram: Which do you prefer?

https://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-vs-snapchat-which-is-the-better-app-2017-7

I am always talking to my family while at school, mostly a few times each day.  My mom always asks, “What did you learn today?”  IST is a class that is sometimes a struggle to explain to my family because my grandparents and, partially, my mom are clueless when it comes to technology.  Some of the hardest concepts for them to understand are the Internet of Things and Virtual Reality, so I was impressed and surprised when the new Progressive Insurance commercial, “Future Son” came on the television and my family pointed out that this is what I was learning about in IST.

This commercial shows a boy entering his kitchen and telling the various appliances to perform jobs that are not typical of the appliances, like ordering the ice maker to find him a dog sitter, and having the trash can turn on the television.  He starts out just staring down at his phone, but eventually ends up in VR googles and gloves.  The boy’s father and Flo are sitting at a table watching the scene play out.  He questions what has happened to his son and Flo answers that this is how people live now, ultimately letting the viewers know that they can now quote their insurance on any device.  The commercial ends with the father and Flo doubting that the son will “be fine.”  I believe this ending is intended to be funny, but there is a deeper meaning to the adults’ doubt.

This commercial is obviously aimed toward the older generations, including my family members.  The older generation is scared of this transition into new types of technology, such as the VR headsets and IoT.  They have doubts about whether it can work, or if it will be safe in our society.  Too much technology is a bad thing for these generations, and they are not completely wrong. I agree that all of the technology that the boy is using in the commercial is a little ridiculous (Who needs an ice maker that can find you a dog sitter?!).  However, I believe as long as these advances into the new technological era are thought out clearly and beneficial to our world then there should be no doubts that arise, whether they be from my family, friends, or Flo.

Check out the commercial!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLTKvGgTb10