After a month-long hiatus, Sharn and Andy are back with a bang in Episode 37. Tune in as they give updates on their 2023 goals, share insights into their latest creative ventures, and reveal how they're smashing through obstacles to achieve their dreams.
But first, the News.
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News with Sharn
It’s Monday 31st July 2023, and this is news with Sharn:
In Web3 and tech new this week:
The European Union (EU) continues to assert its leadership in the rapidly evolving landscape of Web3 technologies. With a focus on metaverse, crypto, and AI, the EU has made significant strides in shaping regulations and strategies to stay ahead of the curve. In late May, the EU signed the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework into law, establishing clear crypto regulations, and on June 14, the EU Parliament passed the AI Act, setting measures against illegal content and demanding disclosure of AI-generated content. The latest EU proposal aims to foster an open, fair, and inclusive metaverse while preventing Big Tech from monopolizing the industry.
NAB, the National Australia Bank, has joined the growing trend among Australian banks to tighten restrictions on cryptocurrency trading due to the rising risks of fraud and predatory scams. The bank announced its decision to block certain payments to "high-risk" cryptocurrency exchanges, following similar moves made by Commonwealth Bank and Westpac. While NAB did not specify the exchanges on its blacklist, it emphasized the need to protect customers from prevalent crypto scams, which have seen Australians lose over $221 million in 2022. The issue of crypto scams has become a significant security concern, prompting banks to take proactive measures to safeguard their customers.
As ChatGPT continues to impress, scientists are grappling with the best way to assess AI reasoning abilities. The Turing test, proposed by Alan Turing in 1950, has long been the standard for evaluating machine intelligence. In this test, human judges engage in short, text-based conversations with both a hidden computer and an unseen person, attempting to determine which is which. However, as language models like GPT-4 excel in language-based tasks, they struggle with simple visual logic puzzles, prompting the need for more comprehensive and robust assessment methods beyond the Turing test.
Moving now to the world of Publishing:
Authors have now entered the escalating legal dispute concerning generative AI tools as two class-action copyright lawsuits target tech developers. Recently filed by the Joseph Saveri Law Firm on behalf of five authors, the suits claim that Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Meta violated their copyrights by utilizing unauthorized copies of their books to train their AI models, some allegedly sourced from notorious pirate sites. These legal actions are part of a wider concern about protecting creators and creative industries from the potential disruptions of AI, and while some argue in favor of fair use, authors and copyright experts question the implications and call for safeguards on AI's creative outputs.
The Australian Publishers Association firmly stands behind the right to read and expresses strong opposition to attempts to ban books from bookstores and schools in the country. They condemn any harassment targeted at the dedicated staff and creators responsible for putting books into the hands of Australian readers. Emphasizing that the freedom to read, write, and publish is a cornerstone of democracy, the Association vows to continue curating and promoting quality books for all ages, advocating for accessible literature for every Australian.
Author Mark Dawson has faced criticism for buying 400 copies of his own book, "The Cleaner," to boost his sales and secure a top 10 spot on the Sunday Times bestseller list. While buying one's own books is not against the rules, it has raised ethical concerns among fellow authors and readers alike. Bestseller lists are often seen as a mark of prestige and can significantly impact an author's career, but some argue that this practice could tilt the playing field toward those who can afford such strategies, undermining the meritocracy of the publishing industry.
And that my friends, was news with Sharn.
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Sharn and Andy then dived into reviewing their 2023 goals that are as below:
Joint goals:
Podcast:
Interviews/guest
Continue to release weekly (baring travel, sickness, etc)
Shorten the time between recording and release
Tentative one shots (back half of the year)
Update logo/identity
Invoke Creations:
We want to focus on growing our subscribers
We want to do a proper photo shoot
Professionalise the website (Star Ranger own website etc)
Web3:
Wallets
NFT Art works
Spend some actual time in the Metaverse
Stay more across the moving world of web3/nfts/metaverses/crypto
Engage more in twitter and discord
Sharn Creative Goals:
AMO:
Find editor
Find cover designer
Release A.M.O. early November
Distribution channels
Tir-na book 2 skeleton done and start writing proper first draft
Tentative audio book podcast of A.M.O. - review in April
Invoke sounds:
Weekly releases
Quarterly album
Actual videos and cover art
Andy Creative Goals:
Star Ranger:
Continue with weekly release schedule (Eeek)
Start on book 1.5 (Had planned to do this over the holidays but you know, life!)
Audio drama/AI audiobook (Yay so excited for this. actually got a $300 amazon grant type thing to work on this)
Ambient tracks for the tube!
Star Ranger Website to make uploading everything easier
First draft of book 1 finished by Easter……. This should be achievable depending on all the above
Invoke arts:
Keep on keeping on hahahahaha
Want to do 1-3 traditional art courses
Keep up with chapter covers (although I'm almost done thank the gods!)
Draw more in the A5 sketch book.
Sharn Personal Goals
Teaching 1 night a week/4 times a year
1 night of dance class a week
Morning fitness classes 2-3 times a week
4 days a week at work
Invoke day
Being consistent
Fun time with family
Maintain current job
Improve writing skills
Complete self publishing course through Self Publishing University run by Indie heavy weight Mark Dawson
Level up all skills for Invoke
Andy Personal Goals
Go to the gym everyday
Work at night 5 nights a week
Improve skateboarding skills and go skating with the young blood
Family adventures in Sydney
Do some actual Skill Share and Udemy courses I have lined up
Listen to/read fiction for a change
Play video games
Sharn and Andy then wrapped it up by checking if they have any new plans/goals for the end of the year.
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As always, we have a lot to do and a lot more to learn. Hope you all have fun following along as we improve our understanding and knowledge!
You can find this podcast episode (and all our other episodes) here: https://anchor.fm/invokecreations , or directly on your favourite streaming services.
NOTE: Everything discussed during the podcast is simply our own interpretation of information we come across as we research topics, or is commentary based on our own personal experiences. We highly encourage everyone to conduct their own research into topics of interest as information, especially in the technical space, changes regularly.
Music track featured this week was titled Tinkling and can be viewed/listened to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggbOHWqeT3k
To check out our latest art and music adventures, make sure you like and subscribe to both our Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/invoke_art/ and Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPH5KySvBnWgWPXHi_OtTng
Or, if you want to read some musing from Sharn and Andy, or maybe see some random pictures of the two of them where Sharn doesn’t know what to do with her hands, then follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/invokecreations
Or if everything is just too confusing and you can’t remember where all our stuff is, head to our website www.invokecreations.com and it will point you in the right direction.
As always, we’re off to put our bums on seats and do some work, so until next time stay dangerous!
Byeeeeeeeeee!