Brainclub5000 Newsletter 005

Welcome to the latest Brainclub5000 newsletter, sharing the latest in creative technology and my explorations in this space as a creative director and image maker.

This week I’ve been delving into AI for speculative fashion to see what creative might look like for Pharrell at Louis Vuitton. Development of my physical AI camera is continuing and production has started on a mouthwatering AI cookbook, publishing next month. Follow the latest on my instagram here.

Enjoy episode 005!

Omar

FEATURING THIS WEEK:

• PANEL TALK: The Future of Artificial Intelligence In Fashion

• PROJECT: Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton

• PROCESS: Creative Processes of Quality AND Quantity

• PROCESS: 3 Strategic AI Processes for Your Agency

• NEW EXPERIENCE: Spotify’s DJ AI

• NEW TOOLS: Google’s Phenaki

PANEL TALK: The Future of Artificial Intelligence In Fashion

A SHOWStudio Talk hosted by Emily Zak, with Nick Knight, Omar Karim and Von Wolfe

During London Fashion Week 2023, I was invited by SHOWStudio to talk about AI and its future in fashion alongside the legendary Nick Knight, artist Von Wolfe and host Emily Zak. Wow, did we cover some topics!

We explored AI’s role in fashion, from its ethical intentions and philosophical meaning, to how it will impact content creation, inspiration and personalisation at scale. We also talked about different ways to incorporate AI into creative workflows.

Where fashion leads, others follow. Fashion has always been at the vanguard of new technology and AI is no exception. The impact of AI in fashion goes far beyond image making. Insiders have the chance to level up their creative output while the rest of the world has the opportunity to witness, learn and be inspired.

Watch here:

PROJECT: Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton

Pharrell Willams was announced as the next Creative Director of Menswear at Louis Vuitton and that was a massive deal in the fashion world, from taking the mantle after Virgil Abloh’s iconic reign to being a non-traditional appointment.

I wanted to test a new AI process to speculate on what Pharrell may create. Encompassing more than outfits, accessories and footwear to include ‘impossible collaborations’ that draw on Pharrell’s vast cultural legacy. His love of motorsports reflected in a collaboration with Porsche and his musical genius elevated in a Louis Vuitton collaboration with AKAI on the most luxury drum machine ever created.

Watch here:

Louis Vuitton x Porsche by Pharrell Williams:

PROCESS: Creative Processes of Quality AND Quantity

The adage that quality is more important than quantity has remained true for many years. We know that culture and commerce move far faster than creative and content can keep pace, until now.

AI image tools like Stable Diffusion can be refined to create brand assets, reference and mood imagery, LLMs like GPT-3 can write ad copy at an unprecedented scale, able to generate variations guided by data. Creativity can now become ‘on demand’.

With an overarching creative framework by a human Creator or Creative Director and then toolkitted by AI, we are able to generate hyperlocal and personal creative variations. Across video, image, competition and calls to action, AI can then support the brand goal across the marketing funnel. Think of AI as a fully integrated junior creative squad. Your CAIO [Chief AI officer] sets their challenges, AI delivers the possibilities, you pick, shape and finesse with ease.

Takeaway - more creative, more opportunity and more value for brand, creator and customer.

PROCESS: 3 Strategic AI Processes for Your Agency

Here are three strategic processes you can start exploring for your agency, creative practice and output.

1. AI-Assisted Creative Ideation: Creative agencies can use AI to assist in the ideation process for new campaigns, products or services. By analyzing data from various sources such as social media, search trends and customer behavior, AI can identify patterns and insights that humans may not have noticed, providing a more data-driven approach to ideation.

2. Automated Ad Optimisation: AI can help creative agencies to optimize their ad campaigns by analysing customer data and behavior, and predicting which ads are likely to perform best. This can be done through automated A/B testing, where AI algorithms create and test different versions of ads to determine which ones are most effective.

3. Predictive Analytics for Client Needs: AI can also help creative agencies to predict client needs by analysing data on customer behavior, industry trends and competitor activity. By understanding the needs of their clients more deeply, agencies can provide more personalized and targeted campaigns that are more likely to succeed.

NEW EXPERIENCE: Spotify’s DJ AI

The tech press has been in a whirlwind over Spotify’s new AI experience. Acting as curator and comparer, the AI DJ picks songs you like and tells you about them.

Back in 2021, I concepted and created DJ Egorithm, an AI DJ, Music Producer and IRL radio host. A virtual influencer with a social presence, verified on Spotify and producer of 6 published albums. Exploring the current algorithmic music selection results in an ever-blander musical experience as most algorithms play more of what they think you'd like..

This is in contrast to real DJs that play what they want and that reflects their personality. Egorithm, as the name suggests, has an Ego, picking, producing and playing music it wants - essentially having artificial agency over itself and its choices. And that made it an interesting entity. So much so that Meta took Egorithm to Cannes and presented it as a best in show for exploratory AI creative work.

With Spotify’s AI DJ, it’s going to be interesting whether or not it gains traction with listeners. What is important about this is that it seems like the first of many tools that Spotify will release this year, proving that AI for music will be this year's headline technology.

Egorithm, the AI DJ with an Ego:

https://egorithm.club/

Spotify Press Release

https://newsroom.spotify.com/2023-02-22/spotify-debuts-a-new-ai-dj-right-in-your-pocket/

NEW TOOL: Google’s Phenaki

Last time, I shared Deepmind’s script AI called Dramatron. This week I’m going to tell you about a new tool that is truly groundbreaking and with all the talk about ChatGPT and Runway’s Gen1, this tool has sort of gone under the radar.

With Phenaki, you can create amazing videos just by writing a script or story in text form. The technology will take your text and turn it into a realistic video with characters, settings. It's like having your own personal movie studio right at your fingertips. This is truly a game-changer in the world of video production, and it's so cool to see the things that you write come to life in such a realistic way. Who knows, AI might just help the next great director or screenwriter win an Oscar!

Google has the opportunity to launch these tools as the most important evolution in storytelling perhaps ever. Never has there been a more accessible and instant way to tell stories.

I’m looking forward to the ‘pixar’ moment with this!

Read more:

READING LIST: AI and Metaverse book list for your library

Books to read to level up your learning

1 “The Aleph” by Jorge Luis Borges is my favourite short story, by far. The Aleph explores the concept of infinity and its implications on human perception and understanding. For me, the story connects to concepts of machine vision, algorithmic generation, revelation, and memory. By presenting the Aleph as a point in space that allows the observer to see everything in the universe simultaneously, the story provides insights into the role that AI and other technological tools can play in the creative process, particularly in generating new artistic forms through algorithmic processes and in utilizing vast reservoirs of data and memory to inform creative expression.

2 "The Fourth Transformation: How Augmented Reality & Artificial Intelligence Will Change Everything" by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel - This book explores the impact of AI and augmented reality on industries ranging from healthcare to retail, and predicts how these technologies will shape the future.

3 "You Are Not a Gadget" by Jaron Lanier - In this book, Lanier criticizes the idea that technology can be a force for good and argues that AI and the Metaverse could have negative impacts on human society, such as by eroding personal privacy and freedom.

4 "The Future of Another Timeline" by Annalee Newitz - This science fiction novel explores the potential of time travel and AI to reshape history, and imagines a world where women use technology to fight for their rights and shape the course of human evolution.

5 "To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism" by Evgeny Morozov - This book explores the idea that technology can solve all of society's problems and argues that this idea is misguided and potentially dangerous.

7 "Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans" by Melanie Mitchell - This book is a critical examination of the current state of AI research, and argues that current AI systems are limited and far from the kind of general intelligence that some researchers have predicted.

8 "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson - This classic cyberpunk novel features a virtual reality world known as the Metaverse, and explores the intersection of technology, culture, and identity in a world that is increasingly connected and mediated by technology.

9 "Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" by Max Tegmark - This book explores the potential of AI to reshape the future of humanity, and explores ethical and existential questions that arise when machines become more intelligent than humans.

10 "The Creativity Code: Art and Innovation in the Age of AI" by Marcus du Sautoy - This book explores the potential of AI to revolutionize the creative process, and provides insights into the ethical and philosophical questions that arise when machines become more creative than humans.

Seeking to use AI as part of your creative process and content output?

Thanks for reading and please share with anyone that may enjoy it! Remember, Brainclub5000 is here to help your creative business. Drop us a line and let’s have a cuppa!

Omar Karim

• Brainclub5000.com

• [email protected]