Coding's Dead + Virtual Worlds
This week's rumors
Is Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, the new Steve Jobs? Judging by his chic leather jackets and the roaring crowds he’s drawing, he’s definitely having a moment. He has also suggested that AI could soon make coding, a skill long considered a fundamental aspect of computer science, redundant. Check it out
“Over the last 10-15 years, almost everybody who sits on a stage like this would tell you that it is vital that your children learn computer science, everybody should learn how to program. In fact, it is almost exactly the opposite. It is our job to create computing technology such that nobody has to program, and that the programming language is human. Everybody in the world is now a programmer. This is the miracle of AI,” Huang said.
Sam Altman also says ‘Coding is going away”, but I’m going to throw a little water on those flames. The job of coding will become more accessible and more people will now be able to build applications without knowing how to type what looks like obscure gibberish. However, anyone who still takes the time to study object oriented programming, UX Design, Information Architecture, or any of the related disciplines will have way more opportunity. I spent most of the decade from 2010-20 as a WordPress developer, struggling to learn php and javascript. Nowadays, I hear people calling themselves by the same title while they are using drag and drop interfaces such as Elementor. So while coding might no longer be as much of a barrier to entry and there might be more opportunities (in the short term), I think it’s an educational path that is still worth pursuing. My 15 year old son wants to pursue a path in computer science and I think that anything that offers a world view with ‘systems thinking’ is a safe bet. In summary, coding is not going away and anyone who understands how to do it will still be leading the way.
How to Make Yourself Useful in the Age of AI
The original article from Inc. magazine uses the term ‘irreplaceable’, but I thought that seemed too optimistic. Since it’s probably paywalled and really just clickbait, I’ll extract a few snippets for you. Or, you can just check it out
1. Be curious -- make learning a daily practice. They recommend signing up for a few AI newsletters, so it looks like you’ve got that one covered.
2. Develop expertise in a specific niche. If you are already using a tool that’s improving your productivity, now is the time to become an expert at it.
3. Become your company's AI super user. By going above your job description and finding your passion in AI, you’ll became your team’s trusted AI expert.
Midjourney Plans on Making Virtual Worlds
While I had previously written about Midjourney launching a generative video tool, it now looks like that is several months away. More likely, and arriving sooner, will be the ability to generate 3D environments or virtual worlds. At first blush, this might seem like another ‘Metaverse’ (Mark Zuckerberg’s costly attempt at Virtual Reality), but you should really view it as a virtual production studio. In the same way that cinematographers are using giant LED screens and Unreal Engine to create virtual stages, you should think of this as a 3D environment where you can write a text prompt to generate content and then move your virtual ‘camera’ like in Blender or AfterEffects. Check it out.
I also wrote about RunwayML doing the same thing back in December. Check it out. Either way, if you’re already familiar with generated images and video, you’re going to need to expand your idea of what’s possible.
While we’re on the subject of RunwayML, they just added the ability to add lip-synching to your videos, which now gets them caught up with Pika Labs. For the record, both tools now offer lip synching, voice synthesis, and sound effects.
Related: Why can’t we get our hands on Sora yet?
The AI company is scheduled to meet with a number of studios, talent agencies, and media executives in Los Angeles next week to discuss partnerships, sources familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg. Getting more filmmakers familiar with Sora, OpenAI’s upcoming text-to-video generator, is a major goal of the meetings.
Although Sora is still awaiting a public release later this year, Bloomberg reports that a few A-list directors and actors have already been given access.
However, OpenAI has granted access to a select group of independent artists and filmmakers and has published some their work. These are not cherry picked examples, but finished projects and are truly mind-blowing. Check it out.
Stability AI CEO, Emad Mostaque, Steps Down
How AI Reduces the World to Stereotypes
What does an American woman look like? The best thing I read this week. And the page layout is pretty cool, too. Check it out
On a related note, New Scientist points out that Artists who use AI are more productive but less original. An analysis of work posted on a popular art-sharing website finds that users who adopted generative artificial intelligence tools increased their output, but saw a drop in novelty. Check it out
Free AI Generated Stock Photos from Pablo Stanley & Friends
To cheap or too lazy to get proficient with Midjourney? Check out Lummi.ai
That’s it for today, thank you so much for reading. I hope you’re getting some value out of this newsletter. If you’re curious about anything, or would like me to do a deeper dive, just send me a message.