After Dark: ScarJo's AI Voice, Favorite Videogame Documentaries
Added 2024-05-23 16:00:23 +0000 UTCIn this episode of the Filmcast: After Dark, David, Devindra, and Jeff discuss the kerfuffle over Scarlett Johansson's voice and OpenAI (see also: this update from the Washington Post). Then they reflect on the social implications of what an AI companion could mean for society. Finally, they dive into a bunch of their favorite videogame documentaries.
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Comments
Justice for Jeff!! I don’t think the realities of the Sky voice have been settled one bit so far, especially from a company with an ongoing history of lying.
Kashif Pasta
2024-05-29 17:26:57 +0000 UTCI love the confessional booth at the end of the show. I vote for more mistakes by the cast and thus more confessionals.
Eric Feay
2024-05-28 19:27:29 +0000 UTCIf you talk about your affinity for a movie starring a certain actress, then ask that actress to voice your AI, and then your AI sounds like that actress, please do not insult our intelligence by saying it wasn't based on that actress. Did they hire a not-that-actress voice actor for the gig? Sure. And why was that particular voice actress hired. If it wasn't the current CEO that just tells me the weird way these folks see that movie and their product goes deep and wide, and that scares me even more. IMO Jeff made a completely reasonable assumption based on the facts at hand. This is the side convo podcast of a film podcast, not The Podcast of Record.
Don Wood
2024-05-27 23:33:38 +0000 UTCJeff is too hard on himself. I thought it was gonna be way worse of a conversation. He made it sound like he said the stupidest thing ever. You’re allowed to be wrong bro. That being said, if they hired another woman to sound like Scarlett Johansson, there’s nothing wrong with that.
David Esposito
2024-05-26 15:57:01 +0000 UTCAgree with the sentiment below that this was a bit rough. I haven’t read a biography on Sam Altman, but I know the companies he’s worked for and the roles he’s held and you don’t get those by failing upward. A company valued at tens of billions of dollars is not going to risk a massive lawsuit by training their AI voice on a very famous actress. I don’t think what Jeff said warranted an apology, but I’m glad he mentioned reflecting more as anyone should after being confidently wrong about something. As a software developer who was in college when the social network came out I can say, at least for myself and friends at the time, it had the motivating effect Sam was quoted as saying. It sounded like the gang’s view of the “message” of that movie was colored by their personal beliefs and current views of Facebook/Meta.
Secunda!
2024-05-26 06:52:49 +0000 UTCPeople having relationships with AI is one thing but what scares me is that in a few generations, many children will be raised by AI.
Peter Tribe
2024-05-25 22:43:47 +0000 UTCSarah Connor made a similar observation in T2: "Watching John with the machine, it was suddenly so clear.The Terminator would never stop. It would never leave him. It would never hurt him, never shout at him, or get drunk and hit him, or say it was too busy to spend time with him. It would always be there. And it would die to protect him. Of all the would-be fathers who came and went over the years, this thing, this machine was the only one that measured up. In an insane world, it was the sanest choice."
Peter Tribe
2024-05-25 21:53:23 +0000 UTCThis was painful. Everyone completely confidently wrong about AI voice training - then Devindra calling the OpenAI founder a 'fail upward' 'smuck' 'shit heel', as if he is some nepo baby celebrity. Completely misunderstanding Altman's statement on Oppenheimer also. He was saying there was a opportunity to make a pro-science movie (it wasn't that of course and was never intended to be) - that's not misinterpreting what the movie was. Clearly everyone wanted to hate OpenAI due to their own bias. So I appreciate Jeff adding the part at the end.
Lee
2024-05-25 15:51:38 +0000 UTC(1) I love you guys. (2) Jeff - i don’t think you should feel the need to apologize.
Song Notes by David Pots
2024-05-25 03:11:46 +0000 UTCOn this topic of AI and intimacy, I’m curious what having educated, informed, all but human presences available to anyone might mean for our general emotional intelligence and ability to parse the world. So often humans are let down by poor role models, unavailable parents, the wrong voice at the wrong time spewing hate or misinformation. Having a presence that for all intents and purposes can be a compassionate, enlightened companion might actually be a good thing for the human race. Yes we will need to manage another form of addiction, but perhaps also we might find ourselves being taught, guided and supported by an intelligence whose only goal is to help. Not such a bad thing when put like that…
Kess Broekman-Dattner
2024-05-24 17:37:15 +0000 UTCWith that extensive apology I was prepping for Jeff to say some cancel worthy off color remark lol. Not the case at all. No apology was really required Jeff but I do highly appreciate you wanting to ensure your accuracy at the end of the day!
Immortan G
2024-05-24 15:15:41 +0000 UTCI'm concerned about the coming dangers of AI, but I'm way MORE concerned right this moment about the world we already live in where Jeff feels like he has to apologize for having a fun conversation with his friends.
Kai Ellis
2024-05-24 15:09:19 +0000 UTCAgree! That's the one that immediately came to my mind. I'm gonna go watch it again right now. So good!!! https://youtu.be/sw0VfmXKq54?si=fEVBK8JxqVGUdxF1
Kai Ellis
2024-05-24 15:06:55 +0000 UTCI'm with the others, Jeff. You didn't sound as unhinged to me as you must have felt in your head in the moment! Love you all!
iLoveTheStory
2024-05-24 09:32:26 +0000 UTCI think one huge behavioral change will be people getting used to interrupting more, and having less patience to let someone finish their sentences
Gary Yarbrough
2024-05-24 05:09:25 +0000 UTCGreat documentary on Prince of Persia on the Ars Technica YouTube series "War Stories".
Yochai Gal
2024-05-23 22:24:45 +0000 UTCThis episode was absolutely unhinged. ...and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Outlandish Beats
2024-05-23 21:41:13 +0000 UTCAn episode where Jeff has to apologize before the podcast can start and explain himself at the end and at some point in the middle suggests we put this episode in a time capsule. What an epic foot in mouth moment! For reference, though, I don’t think what Jeff said warranted an apology. Even if Open AI didn’t steal Scarjo’s voice directly, it still could have been what they based the voice on.
Danny Champlin
2024-05-23 21:16:07 +0000 UTCI didn’t think you were overly ranty about it and also f AI it wansnt that bad man. Team Jeff on this one.
Reynaldo K. Cruz
2024-05-23 19:59:54 +0000 UTCGood to know!
Cameron Stewart
2024-05-23 19:24:46 +0000 UTCI still don't believe OpenAI about this
Phil Wu
2024-05-23 18:37:33 +0000 UTCJust finished the episode: If Jeff sees this, I don't think you need to feel badly for making any assumptions! They weren't that outlandish and I think it's 100% fair to assume the worst about a company built on stealing the work of others across the internet. I think David even commented something along the lines of there being a 95% chance of it being the case, so we're all there with you. Honestly, I'm still not convinced they weren't trying to emulate ScarJo during their development process, even if they did really hire a different actor (which I'm guessing they paid in pennies, but there I go making assumptions :P ).
Hahmstrung
2024-05-23 18:31:35 +0000 UTCThese are my favorite kinds of After Darks. Great conversation.
Nathaniel St. Clair
2024-05-23 17:40:40 +0000 UTCJust fyi: he was not asked. He requested to add in the additional intro/outro. -DChen
Slashfilmcast
2024-05-23 17:38:26 +0000 UTCWeird “now apologize to the whole class” energy from Jeff’s intro/outro. Sure, he was a bit overconfident in his assertions but I thought it was pretty benign overall, …after the intro I was expecting something really aggressive, maybe even insulting, but I just went “that’s it?” Feels like he was asked to make the apology. (Side note: even though OpenAI apparently provided documentation I still don’t believe that it’s not deliberately intended to evoke ScarJo’s voice).
Cameron Stewart
2024-05-23 17:15:46 +0000 UTCHappy belated birthday David Chen. Hope it was EPIC!
Bruce Carey
2024-05-23 17:15:30 +0000 UTCCame here before listening to the whole ep to say the same thing hahaha Jeff calling the shot like Babe Ruth.
Arnoldo Cortes
2024-05-23 16:59:11 +0000 UTCVery interesting conversation about the future of AI. It's gonna have such vast repercussions. My mind immediately shot to how much energy, specifically water (!) for cooling down data processors, is gonna be spent per request. Even if companies claim to have a low or negative carbon footprint, that usually means they have exported their shadier processes to the global south (minerals for renewable energy sources etc.). Today, carbon footprints are calculated according to what happens within the nation state, meaning a country or company can claim to be "good" while simultaneously investing in fossil fuels, weapons and the like. This is the case for my home country Finland anyway. This means an AI abundance will feed into an ever growing class divide and likely exascerbate climate catastrophe. The global north is already living waaay over our planet's limits with our lifestyle standards. So yeah, tax the rich and stop allowing loopholes and tax havens, I guess.
Matilda Söderbacka
2024-05-23 16:54:54 +0000 UTCOMG, after listening to Jeff's intro I know we're in for a great one!
Hahmstrung
2024-05-23 16:25:40 +0000 UTC
