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redsh

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I'm trying to solve the problem of unlimited conversation practice for various languages with "CallAnnie", an iOS/android app with various kind of AI friends, powered by real time voice and avatars.

The interface is specifically made for advanced learners that want to simulate a conversation as close as possible to a real one (in terms of latency and without pushing any button). Learning to respond fast in a new language is important, so we're trying to keep a natural pace.

We support audio or video-calling the characters (with subtitle translations), guided conversations and we recently added mini games to learn vocabulary.

You can see a quick intro and demo video here: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1013961

We don't have a Dutch speaking character in the default character list, but you can follow this link https://app.callannie.ai/a/mhLnHflAyf1Ygb0D0wm6 after installing the app to use a custom character speaking Dutch (or you can create a custom character).

If you'd like to try it, check out: callannie.ai . I would love to get your feedback (here or francesco a t callannie.ai) and suggestions - we're trying to solve this speaking practice use case.

thanks! those are photographs of non-existing Santas generated with diffusion models like Dall-E, Midjourney or SD, animated with a GAN-like architecture. There is no depth involved as for other methods you mention, just user-rgb-in -> Santas out.

There is a simple voice changer as post-processing but nothing too fancy.

I don’t think the answer to fun will come from the tools, but from the problem.

Programming is not entertainment, but a way to enlarge your brain to solve a difficult problem.

Find a problem that you care about (like you did with the quadratic formula in high school) and program a machine to solve it. Maybe, you’ll be magically 19 again

How did it feel where you wrote that program on your own initiative? If it felt great, you already have an answer

In the renaissance paintbrush skills were a prerequisite for being for an artist, and maybe tomorrow’s artists will use giant GPU cluster with some ‘AI’ in them as paintbrushes.

Maybe, the only creative skills that will matter in the future (from a future art historian perspective) will be the ones to program or use AI.

Bu I don’t think the game is over:

- if you find AI art tools too demeaning and they make you feel that you’re only a dumb prompt writer, become or convince a programmer to build a better tool that connects with your own creative mind

- Or, come up with a new form of art that rebels against the current technological things. Your predecessors were able to raise a middle finger to photography by inventing new abstract forms of art

If you really need to stop, use cheats.

That will break the dopamine cycle and you’ll be free.

Maybe it also works to limit play time to healthy levels.

For example, I was once playing quite a bit of WoW, and after I trying it out on an unofficial server where I could teleport anywhere made the game lose all its appeal.