Tumgik
#and this is mostly focused on the art but then theres all the ai of actors and VAs and music etc etc
hobgobbin · 5 months
Text
"Ai art isn't actually bad it's capitalism that's bad and an economic model that's based on working the most possible so you think ai is just taking away your money"
This isn't abt artists mad abt losing a few commissions on the internet this is about large numbers of artists getting their art stolen so people can make something out of THEIR stuff, that they worked for years to create, without permision. AND corporations using free software to steal instead of paying artists properly. You would think with the amount of artists that are like 'hey this is bad and harming me', as well as the whole ass Hollywood-wide strike that happened with AI usage being one of the key talking points you would understand that it's bad and should at the very least have rules put around it.
But actually artists should stop focusing on something they can try to curtail before it gets too wildly out of control and instead focus on uhhhhh dismantling the economy if they're so mad their stuff is being stolen
15 notes · View notes
ark-fork · 5 months
Text
Feel free to ask! (Low quality master-post)
Hello! My name is Ark Forger. This is my main blog that focused on absolutely random fandoms fan-arts, own settings and OCs. (OCs mostly, actually). I love creating some character designs (this is the one thing that I can do in best way)~ ALSO I can do not only character designs, but also an AU stuff! ((This is such a messy blog with some random ideas))
About:
I have a looot fandoms in my life. Sometimes I think theres too many of them actually. Randomly hyper fixation? yes please. Dont drug me in to another fandom please, my pc's folders are literally gonna explode. SO.
There's small list of fandoms that I know more than 50% of info:
Made in Abyss; FNaF; SU; Poppy Playtime; TADC; DND; MLP; HI3; GI; HSR; Ava's Demon; Hollow Knight; (Skyrim, Oblivion... PLS SENT HELP); Madoka magica; ...(theres more but im tired to try remember about all of it)
Im also doing spontan stuff like "podcasts" because me or my friends are fucking tired about something, so, I just speaking.
STUFF:
Podcast: 1: [The one who demand add\draw their OCs in your AU\Own world setting] 2: [Your pain is not a blogger's problem]
3: [💌Love letters; 👨‍🌾content farm]
THE TADC AU STUFF INFO:
🎪 [@thc-au - The Horror circus AU page]
🎠[Carnival AU: belongs to @/sm-baby]
Carnival Lottie: ask closed - tag [#Carnival Lottie] Additional 1 --- Carnival Maroon: ask closed - tag [#Carnival Maroon] [Additional] [Loading screen]
🎭 Lonely AI AU: CaiPo: ask closed
62 notes · View notes
lil-e-sideblog · 3 months
Text
woah. what are you doing here
hey. if youre here im cool with it! just uh. keep mention of it off my main. i'm keeping all the content i post on my main separate to what goes here, so don't worry about that i guess
prefacing this with this blog is 18+, but its not explicitly nsfw.
it definitely potentially will be at times but its not going to be EXPLICITLY so, if that makes any sense. not much nudity, but stuff will be Big. if there is nudity i'll obviously tag it as such.
this is just my sideblog for gts/giantess stuff. also with stuff like. hyper sizes and stuff of that nature yknow? theres lots here. itll make sense eventually. i gotta flesh more stuff out, but. yknow
anyways, under the readmore will be more details about my sona for this stuff. the tl;dr is that Cool 9 Foot Transgender Robot Lady who gets bigger. and a lot of it is STILL a work in progress, so stuff is subject to change and updates, as well as just generally fleshing the idea out. we're gettin there!
lotta this is ultra mega super self indulgent so like. dont worry bout it too much. and its still all being fleshed out with friends and the like
anyway!
Tumblr media Tumblr media
art is by @/prime-bewbs, her stuff is fantastic so please give her a look!
unit name: LIL-E "Lillie" (she/her)
height: 9'0, variable (we'll get into it!)
she's also a lesbian. cause yknow. women
LIL-E is a robotic body that hosts an AI upload of her creator's mind, effectively acting as a brand new body. essentially, she "pilots" the robot body, but for all intents and purposes, that's just her body now. this was for numerous reasons, mostly just for the desire for a new form. (as for why she's 9 feet - well, why not?). she goes by her old name, "lillie", just for the sake of ease.
her body is made out of a, self described, "compound element fuckery" that allows it to look and feel similar to skin, yet still be quite different. most notably in the ability to rapidly change sizes - but we'll get to that! there's also some light face panel lines/lines in the arms, which can
her eyes are displays, which can change eye colours/pupils and also display various different imagery. (yes, she can run and display doom. and lots of other stuff!) the core "gem" in her chest is also something that can change colour, and is just there for visual flair.
her power source is that of a white hole reactor, effectively allowing for a infinite energy supply. white holes *create* mass, after all. it's stored in her main body area, which also allows her cleavage to be a bit of a hammerspace. thats right. cool sword pulled out of boobs, baby
this reactor helps to allow the material objects of her to grow. which, she grows by absorbing electricity/general energy! (kinda working on this, still. bear with me) by utilizing this energy, she not only grows in height, but also in curves (bust/waist/you have it). the justification she gives is that "the energy has to go somewhere, and they act as safety", but really she just thinks it's hot really cool.
this, in turn, adds to her main "job", which is protecting various people in cities and areas from monsters, big bads, or whathaveyou in general! she effectively just fights to keep people safe from various attacks and disasters, working with whatever's needed. this is also supplemented by the armor dock-ons she has, which she also calls forth when needed. (these, unfortunately, are not designed YET. we'll make a cool combat form yet...) there's a variety of them! it's all cool.
these slot onto the arms/legs/etc. to kind of create an "armored" state. these armors can be modified in how they dock to create different modes - focusing on melee combat, long range modes, or a sword mode. there's funnels mounted on these armor bits as well that can fly off for various uses (such as a shield), as well as hi-nu esque wings to allow for flight
her panel lines glow a soft green when she's in this state, and her hair's bundled up into a ponytail. lastly, she gets a sick pair of shades, and an optional mask "covering" if the fight calls for it. she can use these armors for either casual fights or serious jobs, whatever calls for it. (there's a berserk/hyper mode she can enter too, where the hair flows out freely and the inner frame turns rainbow, but that's rare/not developed JUST yet...)
also, she's got a soundboard. yes, she can play cool music during a fight. fuck yeah
she's easygoing and upbeat, but also enjoys being smug about her size, both in her 9 foot form and even bigger. smushin people (gently, of course, we're not into snuff here), looming over them, the works. she has fun with it, after all!
also she's transgender fuck you.
AGAIN A LOT OF THIS IS A WIP SO LIKE. bear with me i guess! its subject to change/getting a proper "ref" sheet made/whatever. i literally only started making her last week anyway. work it out yknow? we'll get there
thanks 4 reading love u :]
1 note · View note
comicteaparty · 5 years
Text
April 15th-April 21st, 2019 CTP Archive
The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from April 15th, 2019 to April 21st, 2019.  The chat focused on Synthetic Life by Eve Z.
Tumblr media
Featured Comment:
Tumblr media
Chat:
RebelVampire
COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!
Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Synthetic Life by Eve Z.~! (http://www.slwebcomic.com/)
You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until April 21st to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!
QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?
QUESTION 2. Why do you think Alinski is out to destroy any androids that have migrated into human society? What do you think his plans are exactly to take down Lundstrom?
RebelVampire
QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?
QUESTION 4. Do you think Crystal will come to accept Michelle? If you think Crystal can change, what do you think it will take? If not, do you think Crystal would resort to hurting Michelle? What will Michelle do in general in this case?
RebelVampire
1) my favorite scene so far is the one where nigel brings michelle to play volleyball. i was greatly satisfying to see michelle included cause up until that point nobody seemed to have consideration for how michelle might be feeling. i enjoyed seeing her getting to be innocent and just experience life a little and also being accepting for the first time. it was just all around adorable and touching. 2) I think Alinski is one of those sorts of people who hates the idea that mankind could make a better human than is biologically natural. so thus seeks to destroy this so he, and by association humans, can continue to believe they are perfect and can never be outdone. as for his plans, i think hes going to try and get close enough to lundstrom so lundstrom will inadventantly tell him where all the human posers are.
3) michelle is definitely my favorite character. shes just so sweet and innocent. and even her flaws are endearing since shes basically just a child who doesnt know any better. plus, being able to experience thsi sort of story from her perspective rather than a "humans" makes the whole experience all the more worthwhile
4) I am ardently cheering for Crystal to be redeemed where this is concerned, but honestly i dont think she will change at this point. I think Crystal has dug herself into a hole to the point that no matter what Michelle does, Crystal is gonna mental slap herself and remind herself to hate Michelle. All because I think at the end of the day, she's jealous of Michelle. Not just cause her husband is spending so much time with her, but just because Michelle doesn't have to deal with aging or addiction problems or jerk moms like Crystal does (at least in Crystal's mind). That being said, physically hurting Michelle? Nah probably not. I think it'll be mostly emotional scarring. As for what Michelle will do? Sadly keep trying over and over and over again until she runs out of options and becomes confident enough to realize that crystal shouldnt be allowed to make her feel bad.
RebelVampire
QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?
QUESTION 6. How do you think Nigel and Sean wound up working with the organization that is instructing Sean and providing Michelle’s software? What do you think their goal is in regards to integrating androids into human society?
RebelVampire
5) i really adore the last panel of this page http://www.slwebcomic.com/ch2pg22.html im a suck for nice backgrounds and i love balance of detail and simplicity in the city scape. i also really like how distance was handled with the colors becoming more blending together as the depth increases. i also think this was a great shot choice for the moment since it really expresses how large of a job sean has in front of him with finding michelle 6) i feel as though nigel must have met someone in the science field and he mentioned his son wanted to build a robot. and then some eavesdropping dude was like "orly" and then suddenly he was contacting sean and setting him up with an AI. and sean and nigel just went along with it cause theyre kind of...innocently gullible and dont seem to appreciate the full ramifications of what theyre doing. As for the goal, I think it's actually something like unlocking the true capabilities of AI and the joy of creating life from nothing. Or something like that. And if they can create life that is able to blend into humans, then its a benchmark where they can declare that yup, they can create true life and look at their godly powers or something.
RebelVampire
QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?
QUESTION 8. What do you think will happen in regards to Michelle’s school social life? Do you think she’ll get to see her friends more given her software breakdown? Also, will she remain hidden, or will suspicions about her being an android get her and Nigel exposed?
RebelVampire
QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?
QUESTION 10. What do you think Lundstrom’s goal is with the kidnapping and upgrades he’s doing of integrated androids? What risks do you think are involved with his activities, and why do you think he risks them?
RebelVampire
7) I think the characters i like seeing interact most are Michelle and Darlene. I like seeing how their genuine friendship blossoms in the face of Michelle's situation. And overall I think Darlene offers a good contrast to other ppl in Michelle's life. She isn't making a bit deal about Michelle being an android, and i think she offers a spirit of hope to the story that otherwise felt absent. 8) I think eventually Michelle will wind up going to the school in a guise to blend in with humans. Granted, after everyone develops some sympathy that if they leave her locked up all the time, that's going to leave her bored out of her mind is borderline abusive. If anybody exposes Michelle, I don't think it will be the girls at the school. Not that they won't try, but I don't think they're ahead of the game enough to make everyone believe them. That and I'd think after a point it'd become the boy who cried wolf situation where they tried saying she was an android so much everyone would just like "yeah yeah sure."
RebelVampire
9) I really like the subtle details in technology. Like the world doesnt seem more advanced then ares, but then theres these small things like the books that actually need to be plugged into the computers. I think it really helps separate the world just enough from our own to make an android as advanced as michelle and all the others feel completely plausible. 10) I mean the obvious assumption is that Lundstrom is part of the secret organization and is trying to increase android's ability to blend into society. But really I think he's just kind of just trying to create whatever he considers to be the true version of life from a machine. Which to a person obsessed with that, thats worth any risk usually. as for risks involved, well i mean, hes kidnapping. imagine if jade or onyx got caught in the middle of it. cause at that point they can a) go to jail or b) confess the person theyre kidnapping is an android. neither of which are good and honestly, they seem like they have a good chance of getting caught.
RebelVampire
QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.
QUESTION 12. Do you think an A.I. could ever be considered to be a human? In other words, do you see Michelle as a human? Further, what moment in the story was your favorite in regards to this topic being explored?
keii4ii
I haven't had the time to read the whole archive, but can I just mention that I really like the covers? It's an approach that I don't see often in webcomics, portraying sceneries/ still life images with no characters. They are visually interesting, and convey an interesting vibe, especially when juxtaposed with the comic's themes about AI, androids, etc.
RebelVampire
QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?
QUESTION 14. In general, how do you think Alinski and Lundstrom’s plotlines will tie into Michelle’s? Is Michelle in danger, or will the two tie together in some other way?
thats very true @keii4ii . I really like how they kind of make the chapter mysterious and dont give away whats to be expected.
11) i think this come really does a great job in portraying its themes an conflicts about AI. Its honestly really refreshing to me because this is a subject i see covered in novels a lot but never webcomics. So it's really nice to see a webcomic tackle the topic about what it means to be human and if an AI can be one. It does it in a fascinating way too since its from the perspective of the AI, not a human. so it really opens your eyes up to the possibilities. 12) That is a loaded question that depends on how were defining human. If we're talk species, then no. an AI will always be a machine while a human will be a homo sapien. an AI will always be mechanical and a human will always be biological. Thats just set in stone facts. However, if we want to talk metaphorical human in the sense of loving, empathy, having human emotions in general, then yes. And I definitely see Michelle as that. Is she the most perfect AI in terms of human likeness? No. But do I empathize with her and wnat her to find equality and happiness in society regardless of what shes made of? then yes. as for my favorite moment in the story regarding this topic, i really enjoyed the library scene where michelle was exploring the human biological processes and trying to understand why she couldnt have a baby. cause that ties back to what im saying earlier is about how are we going to define a human and that always really complicates the topic in a fun way thats easy to discuss.
13) im really looking forward to seeing michelle with darlene more. cause while darlene is being super duper nice, i feel there could be interesting convos still to go. cause i severely doubt darlene is fully ready to accept michelle as "human." i also think that michelle will learn insightful information from darlene about being a human and come to accept how she is different from michelle. 14) i do think michelle is in danger and inevitably gonna get kidnapped by one of the two. though i also consider it a possibility that sean or nigel will have a convo with lundstrom somehow about michelle and about what lundstrom is trying to do. but down the line alinski is definitely gonna be coming for her
RebelVampire
COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!
Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Synthetic Life this week! Please also give a special thank you to Eve Z. for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Synthetic Life, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!
Read and Comment: http://www.slwebcomic.com/
0 notes
fmservers · 5 years
Text
Why longer term sheets are better
Recently in a conversation, the length of term sheets came as a topic (I assure you, it was a riveting conversation). The complaint was that a term sheet which had recently been received was too long, and therefore the VC who sent it wasn’t being founder friendly. The travails of successfully raising money!
Actually though, a longer term sheet is much more founder friendly and good business practice, and founders should be leery of VCs bearing short contracts.
Historically (i.e. about 6 years ago), term sheets used to be staid affairs, printed on plain white paper in standard Times New Roman font right out of Word. It was a wretched and horrifying world until the cool VCs showed up, who added design accoutrements (Bolded section heads! Logos! Colors!) while claiming that they had a “single-page” term sheet for founders, implying that the term sheet’s simplicity and prettiness showed that they weren’t really investors, but more like a Brooklyn barista with an art side hustle (and a lot of cash).
Here’s the thing, term sheets have an incredibly important purpose, which is to set forth in clear language the terms of a deal. Unfortunately in modern venture capital, there are a lot of terms that have to be negotiated in any equity round, from financial terms to option pools, to board structure, to voting rights on major business decisions like selling the company, and much more. Simpler term sheets either relegate many of these items to “standard venture capital terms apply” or some other vague language, or just wholly don’t mention them at all.
The challenge is that once the term sheet is signed, it becomes the blueprint by which the legal counsels for the VC and founder begin to write up the legal contracts that allows the VC to buy equity in the startup. When term sheets are clear, precise, and comprehensive, the lawyers just go to work and turn those agreed-upon terms into legal language in relatively short order.
When there are key terms that are “standard” or absent from a term sheet though, lawyers do what lawyers have to do: they negotiate for their respective party. Suddenly a term that seems fairly standard is up for debate, and unless a founder (and their VC) is paying very close attention to the legal process (from experience, no one really is), then the legal bills for the round can spiral very, very rapidly. That can pose a double whammy for a startup, since many VCs continue to charge the legal fees of conducting a round to the startup they are investing in.
I’ve seen founders in absolute sticker shock after seeing the legal costs of their round total into the upper tens of thousands of dollars because their lawyers racked up time trying to plow through term after term that could have been made clearer by the parties up front.
So, what’s more founder friendly: a longer term sheet that sets the deal terms clearly up front and likely saves the founder legal costs, or a shorter (but color!) term sheet that can end up costing far more down the line?
This is mostly a problem for first-time founders raising their first round of capital. I have a sinking feeling that many VCs take advantage of this naiveté to get better terms than they might have gotten otherwise had they actually walked through all the language up front. In later rounds, founders either ask all the right questions about the next round of capital, or their other existing investors figure this out on their behalf.
It’s good legal practice to always get all material terms figured out before your lawyers start writing contracts, whether in fundraising, or customer contracts, or what have you. You can’t always predict if there is something else that will end up being a disagreement, but getting most of the terms squared away will save legal time, and that is money ultimately in your pocket.
Side note: Extra Crunch published part two of five of our comprehensive guide to legal issues facing startups, this time focused on intellectual property. Don’t miss out on part one which focused on corporate issues.
Extra Crunch’s first conference call is today
We are hosting the first conference call for Extra Crunch subscribers today at 2pm EST / 11am PST. Call-in details are being sent out to members by email roughly one hour in advance. Today, Eric Eldon and I will talk briefly about Extra Crunch, and then TechCrunch social and product maestro Josh Constine is going to talk about the strategic issues confronting the social giants. Join us!
More SoftBank Vision Fund sadness
Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Written by Arman Tabatabai
Get out your popcorn because there’s more drama involving SoftBank’s giant Vision Fund and its LP base. Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund stated that it no longer planned to invest in the Vision Fund. Despite previous discussions with SoftBank, the fund plans to instead put its money into infrastructure across areas like energy, healthcare, and education.
With assets of roughly $15 billion under management, Bahrain’s fund is small potatoes when it comes to SoftBank, and its contribution likely would have been much smaller than those of its Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia counterparts. However, after recent reports that Persian Gulf LPs are growing frustrated with the Vision Fund and are putting more money to work in infrastructure, Bahrain’s decision could indicate a broader change in sentiment towards the Vision Fund. Just look at the comment the CEO of Bahrain’s Fund gave to Reuters:
“We talked with them and with many people, but it shows we’ve not seen something we think we can add value to or it could add value to us.”
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has wanted to scale up the size of Vision Fund II, but that dream may well be fading as more large wealth managers decline to engage.
Steam and video game streaming
Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Extra Crunch writer Chris Morris had a dive into the challenges facing Steam yesterday. Steam is facing two trends. First, publishers are increasingly getting smart about owning their customer relationship, which is hard to do with the design of Steam’s platform. The second is that video game streaming is getting closer to reality, and that doesn’t bode well for a game store. Plus, developers want to keep more of their revenue, and Steam takes a lot.
What’s interesting here is that publishers (and I mean big, AAA publishers) are increasingly comfortable with the notion that they can attract customers to their own independent store fronts and don’t have to pay the Steam tax in order to get in front of customers. What concerns me is that indie developers both don’t have the leverage to negotiate with Steam and don’t have the marketing budgets or fanbases to reach out to a wide audience. That’s not a great world, and an opportunity I think to figure out how to create a more even playing field for independent game creators.
The chip space keeps getting hotter as Korea’s SK leads round for Chinese chipmaker
IvancoVlad via Getty Images
Written by Arman Tabatabai
TechCrunch writer Rita Liao reported overnight that the A.I.-focused Chinese chipmaker Horizon Robotics raised a $600 million round led by subsidiaries of Korea’s SK Group, including its semiconductors segment.
We’ve previously discussed the intensifying global competition in the chip space, and SK’s investment shows that no one wants to miss out on the next innovative technology like previous incumbents who now find themselves playing catch up.
It’s worth noting that Intel’s venture arm, Intel Capital, is also an investor in Horizon and led their previous fundraise, as Horizon seems to offer up another opportunity for the US chip giant to make up lost ground in AI chip innovation and to gain share in the Chinese market now that they have canceled a partnership with China’s state-backed chipmaker Unisoc.
The data point is another positive for Chinese chipmakers, who seem to still have access to foreign capital on top of more than enough domestic — often state-backed — investments. The city of Beijing just raised its first venture fund with $1.5 billion focused on chips, A.I., and other areas, while China is reportedly nearing the closing of its second state-backed semis fund that some estimate might be nearly $50 billion in size.
More news
Written by Arman Tabatabai
California may have canceled HSR, but China is moving forward with an IPO
While US high-speed rail (HSR) projects continue to fall flat on their face, China Railway Corporation is now planning to IPO its Beijing to Shanghai HSR line within the next year. There’s always some financial risk with publicly-traded infrastructure, but the line’s securely profitable and the deal should help shore up the finances of its owner as it plans to make its largest rail investments ever this year.
Japan’s antitrust investigation is the latest in Asia’s new wave of regulatory scrutiny
Japan is reportedly initiating an antitrust investigation into the country’s biggest ecommerce platforms. Investigators will be looking to see whether Amazon Japan, Rakuten and SoftBank-subsidiary Yahoo! Japan launched benefit programs that ultimately are subsidized by and cut into the revenue of its small-to-midsize vendor suppliers.
The investigation is the latest in Japan’s broader effort to increase regulatory scrutiny on big tech, a global trend that seems to be permeating Asia as seen in our previous discussions on India. While it’s unclear how the heightened scrutiny will impact companies’ perception of these markets, it’s certainly clear that the “move fast and break things” playbook is getting tougher to run.
Obsessions
We have a bit of a theme around emerging markets, macroeconomics, and the next set of users to join the internet.
More discussion of megaprojects, infrastructure, and “why can’t we build things”
Thanks
To every member of Extra Crunch: thank you. You allow us to get off the ad-laden media churn conveyor belt and spend quality time on amazing ideas, people, and companies. If I can ever be of assistance, hit reply, or send an email to [email protected].
This newsletter is written with the assistance of Arman Tabatabai from New York
Via Danny Crichton https://techcrunch.com
0 notes