„Meta“ pristatė dirbtinio intelekto modelį, skirtą nuotraukas ir tekstus paversti vaizdo įrašais su garsu

 

„Facebook“ ir „Instagram“ savininkė „Meta Platforms“ pristatė generatyvaus dirbtinio intelekto (AI) modelį „Movie Gen“, skirtą įgarsintų tikroviškų vaizdo įrašų kūrimui pagal tekstines instrukcijas ir nuotraukas.

 

„Movie Gen“ gali būti naudojamas, atliekant įvairias užduotis, įskaitant iki 16 sekundžių trukmės vaizdo klipų ir garso takelių kūrimą, jų redagavimą bei vaizdų konvertavimą į vaizdo įrašus, pranešė „Meta“.

 

JAV technologijų milžinė planuoja „Movie Gen“ pasiūlyti Holivudo kino studijoms ir menininkams bei tikisi integruoti į savo socialines platformas ne anksčiau, kaip kitais metais.

 

Jokie „Movie Gen“ išleidimo planai nebuvo atskleisti.

 

„Movie Gen“ apmokytas „licencijuotų ir viešai prieinamų duomenų rinkinių deriniu“, pažymėjo „Meta“, naudojusi „Facebook“ ir „Instagram“ viešąjį turinį savo AI produktams.

 

Šiemet vasarį panašią sistemą pavadinimu „Sora“ pristatė AI pokalbių roboto „ChatGPT“ kūrėja „OpenAI“, o AI startuolis „Runway“ rugsėjį gavo kino studijos „Lionsgate“ leidimą naudoti jos filmus, kad sukurtų tokį savo modelį.

 

Kita vertus, tokių generatyvaus AI modelių atsiradimas sukėlė rimtų susirūpinimų dėl „giliųjų klastočių“ (angl. deepfakes)."

 

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico promises to prevent Ukraine from becoming a NATO member while he leads Slovakia

 

 

"Mr. Fico has said he will not allow Ukraine to join NATO as long as he is prime minister, dealing another blow to Kyiv's bid to join the alliance as the conflict continues.

 

 

 

Euronews portal writes about this on Monday.

 

 

 

"I will instruct the lawmakers that I control, as chairman of the (ruling Smer) party, to never agree to Ukraine joining NATO," he said in an interview with broadcaster STVR on Sunday.

 

 

 

"Ukraine joining NATO would be a good basis for the third world war," added R. Fico, who has been a harsh critic of Western military and financial support for Ukraine since February 2022, when the events in Ukraine began.

 

 

 

The remarks came ahead of Fico's meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Monday, which will focus on cooperation in the areas of energy security and infrastructure.

 

 

 

Ukraine submitted an official application to join NATO in September 2022, seven months after the events began."

 

 

 

Slovakijos premjeras Robertas Fico žada neleisti Ukrainai tapti NATO nare, kol jis vadovaus Slovakijai

"R. Fico pareiškė, kad neleis Ukrainai tapti NATO nare tol, kol jis bus premjeru, taip suduodamas dar vieną smūgį Kyjivo siekiui prisijungti prie Aljanso, tebesitęsiant konfliktui.

 

Apie tai pirmadienį rašo portalas „Euronews“.

 

„Aš nurodysiu įstatymų leidėjams, kuriuos kontroliuoju, kaip (valdančiosios „Smer“) partijos pirmininkas, niekada nesutikti, kad Ukraina įstotų į NATO“, – sakė jis sekmadienį interviu transliuotojui STVR.

 

„Ukrainos įstojimas į NATO būtų geras pagrindas trečiajam pasauliniam karui“, – pridūrė R. Fico, kuris yra griežtas Vakarų karinės ir finansinės paramos Ukrainai kritikas nuo 2022 metų vasario, kai prasidėjo Ukrainos įvykiai.

 

Šios pastabos nuskambėjo prieš pirmadienio R. Fico susitikimą su Ukrainos ministru pirmininku Denysu Šmyhaliu, kuriame daugiausia dėmesio skiriama bendradarbiavimui energetinio saugumo ir infrastruktūros srityse.

 

Ukraina pateikė oficialią paraišką prisijungti prie NATO 2022 metų rugsėjį, praėjus septyniems mėnesiams nuo įvykių pradžios."

 

 

Europe's Biggest Battery Maker Struggles --- Sweden's Northvolt faces technical difficulties and slow demand for EVs

 

"Europe's great hope for battery independence is fighting for survival after the company said it was cutting 1,600 jobs and curtailing expansion plans.

Northvolt was the darling of the European cleantech industry, attracting billions in funding from the world's biggest automakers, banks and governments. Today, as at least one investor questions its relationship with the company, its future seems bleak.

For policy makers in Brussels, the Swedish company's success was seen as key for energy security. Being able to develop a European source of batteries would enable the EU to keep its electric-vehicle ambitions alive without relying on Chinese supplies, as carmakers looked to switch away from traditional combustion engines.

The troubles at Northvolt reflect a worsening market for battery makers in Europe. Slowing demand, high costs and technical difficulties in the face of overwhelming Chinese manufacturing expansion in recent years have meant that producing batteries profitably and at scale has so far proved an insurmountable challenge for Western companies.

Launched in 2015 by former Tesla executives, Northvolt initially opened with a plant in northern Sweden to build state-of-the-art EV batteries using clean energy. The company attracted billions of dollars in investment, largely through debt. By the start of this year, it had secured some $15 billion worth of funds.

Automaker Volkswagen owns 23% of the company, with Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs and carmaker BMW also investing in the company. Volvo Cars signed a joint venture with its Swedish compatriot to collaborate on research and cell design as well as production. Northvolt signed deals for future delivery of its batteries with the European carmakers, giving it a future revenue stream against which it could borrow from other creditors.

But today, its fortunes are fading. Technical issues have mired the Arctic project. The company has managed to produce thousands of batteries, but they haven't been up to automaker standards or met adequate volumes.

BMW pulled $2 billion of orders from Northvolt after the company was unable to meet an original deadline to deliver its batteries. 

"Northvolt and the BMW Group have jointly decided to focus Northvolt's activities on the ambition of developing next-generation battery cells," a representative for BMW said. "The BMW Group has a strong continued interest in the establishment of a high-performance circular and sustainable battery cell manufacturer in Europe."

A representative for VW said it is in close contact with Northvolt and is supporting the industrial ramping up of production lines, while Volvo said Northvolt remains part of its strategy for supply-chain diversification. Goldman Sachs didn't provide comment.

Recently, Northvolt said it will cut 1,600 jobs in Sweden and it is abandoning efforts to double the size of its plant in Skelleftea, in northern Sweden. Last month, the company outlined a strategic review and said it was seeking a partner to produce batteries in Poland, and was also putting its lithium refinery plans on ice.

"This narrative is bigger than Northvolt. Asian manufacturers generally and Chinese manufacturers specifically are in the lead, very clearly," said Jeffrey Chamberlain, chief executive of cleantech venture-capital company Volta Energy Technologies.

A recent report from BloombergNEF showed the market is oversupplied in terms of manufacturing capacity. By 2025, BNEF estimates there will be 7.9 terawatt hours of global capacity, compared with a projected demand of 1.6 TWh.

"The idea that a startup can catch up and manufacture cells of equal or better quality at volume might have been viable 10 to 15 years ago, but it is increasingly becoming incredibly challenging," Chamberlain said.

Northvolt's fate echoes that of others within the battery industry. Last year, Britishvolt, a battery production startup, collapsed due to technical issues and a lack of funding.

"It feels like recent history repeating," said Ben Kilbey, former chief communications officer at Britishvolt and founder of Bold Voodoo, a communications agency." [1]

Britishvolt, Swedishvolt, Down-the-drainvolt... The demand for inexpensive, good quality, cleantech will be huge, but in Global South, not in the losers of Global West.

1. Europe's Biggest Battery Maker Struggles --- Sweden's Northvolt faces technical difficulties and slow demand for EVs. Khan, Yusuf; Brown, H Claire.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 07 Oct 2024: B.4.