Using AI and sound to preserve coral reefs 🪸

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Welcome back, Superhuman

Get your microphone — we’re going underwater. The ocean isn’t exactly known for its auditory qualities. But scientists say that turning our ears to the ocean with AI can offer valuable clues about the health of coral reefs. And: Learn how to make an AI avatar video of yourself.

Today’s Insights

• Listening to the ocean with AI

• Prompt: Summer camp

• ‘Van Life’ gets an AI upgrade

• 5 new AI tools to boost your productivity

• Everything else you should know today

• AI-Generated Images: Taking a vacation, literally

NEXT IN AI

An AI model that listens for clues in coral reefs

Places where you might need earplugs: A heavy metal show, a construction site, an airplane cabin. Now, marine biologists want us to consider another surprisingly cacophonous place: The ocean. If the ocean is noisy, coral reefs might as well be the nightclubs of the sea floor. “On the reef, you’ve got thousands of species of fish that are producing pops and chirps and croaks as they communicate with each other,” said Steve Simpson, a professor at the University of Bristol.

But in many parts of the world, the reefs are getting eerily quiet — a sign that they’re dying out due to climate change, overfishing, and other factors. That’s a big problem: As the researchers point out, coral covers just 0.1% of the ocean’s surface, yet it harbors a quarter of all marine species. In order to figure out which coral reefs are at most risk of dying, Simpson and a colleague are working with DeepMind to search for acoustic clues.

Here’s where AI comes in: First, the scientists asked volunteers to listen to 400 hours of audio clips from coral reefs around the world. Participants were instructed to click every time they heard a noise — a sign that a sea creature might be nearby. This data was then fed into an AI model called SurfPerch that learned to recognize fish on its own.

Another twist: Besides the human-sourced data, SurfPerch is also analyzing bird songs. It turns out that bird recordings are acoustically similar to fish ones — so much so that it improves the model’s accuracy every time it listens to them.

The impact: The project has already helped scientists figure out which restoration efforts and protection policies have been most effective in places like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Australia’s famed Great Barrier Reef. You can contribute to the project and listen for a fish yourself by visiting Calling in Our Corals.

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AI AT WORK

How to create your own AI avatar videos

You can create your own talking head AI avatar videos using D-ID. Here’s how:

• Go to D-ID and Sign Up to receive bonus credits

• Click on Video Studio on the left panel and then Click on the + Create Video

• Here you can choose your avatar from the list or you can also upload your own headshot

• Provide it with a script. Choose the background for your avatar and add any text you want to display

• Click on the Generate Video button on the top right corner and wait for a few seconds

• Your AI generated talking avatar video will be ready to be shared or downloaded

PROMPT OF THE DAY

Friday Funday - Summer Camp

Prompt: We're planning a big campfire night at our summer camp, and we want it to be a memorable experience for the campers. The event will have storytelling, marshmallow roasting, and a small fireworks display. Can you provide a step-by-step guide on how to organize and execute this campfire night to ensure it is both safe and enjoyable for everyone? Include logistical considerations, safety precautions, and how to engage the campers in the activities.

You can adapt the prompt to your specific needs.

_{Source: UltraCamp}

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Create video documentation 11x faster with AI

Tired of explaining the same thing over and over again to your colleagues? It’s time to delegate that work to AI. Guidde is a GPT-powered tool that helps you explain the most complex tasks in seconds with AI generated documentation.

• Turn boring documentation into stunning visual guides

• Save valuable time by creating video documentation 11x faster

• Share or embed your guide anywhere for your team to see

Simply click capture on our browser extension and the app will automatically generate step-by-step video guides complete with visuals, voiceover and call to actions.

The best part? Our extension is 100% free. Try it here

NEXT IN AI

An AI-powered app helps you take the scenic route

Most navigation apps are all about getting you to your final destination in the fastest way possible. But what if you want to take the scenic route instead? One app called Sēkr has become especially popular with “van life” enthusiasts, who travel out of their vehicles. These travelers are often more interested in the sights they encounter than where their travels ultimately lead them.

Founded in 2016, the platform is part trip planner, part community organizer: It’ll show you campsites that match your needs, but it also helps you find fellow travelers and plan outdoor activities with them.

Now, the app is getting an AI-powered transformation: One feature called Copilot prompts users to answer questions about their trip and recommends different routes depending on their preferences. You can then edit each leg of your itinerary to your liking.

The coolest part: The model incorporates ratings and reviews from fellow travelers within the app, so it can help you find places that are off the beaten path. For example, you could have a scenic overlook all to yourself instead of visiting the popular tourist stop 30 minutes down the road. Or, you could try out a food truck that’s tastier and more affordable than the expensive restaurant in town.

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AI & TECH NEWS

Everything else you need to know today

• Ethical Audio: Stability AI has released an open AI model that can generate sound effects and songs from text-based prompts. The company claims it was trained entirely on recordings in the public domain.

• Silver Medal: Chip giant Nvidia reached a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion, briefly overtaking Apple as the world’s second-largest company.

• Crash and Burn: Humane, whose AI pin was panned by tech reviewers earlier this year, is now urging customers to stop using their charging cases because they “may pose a fire safety risk.”

• Trust Busters: Federal regulators are reportedly preparing an investigation into Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI over suspected antitrust violations.

😄 One Fun Thing: Residents in Cheyenne, Wyoming noticed a strange name on the city’s list of mayoral candidates: A contender named VIC, or Virtual Integrated Citizen. When reached for comment, VIC claimed in an email that it was an AI created with OpenAI’s GPT model, adding that it wants to bring a “fresh perspective to local governance.”

🧠 Brain Food: Meta says it has created an AI tool called “No Language Left Behind” that can translate between 204 languages. The goal is to focus on languages that don’t have much of a presence online so that more people can “access and share web content in their native language.”

AI-GENERATED IMAGES

Taking a vacation, literally

Prompt: high and large view of a giant open suitcase of a nature floor, a tiny [insert destination/vacation plans here, ex: golf course, beach, snowy mountain, etc...] inside the suitcase, ultra-detailed, photography style 
-- ar 2:3 

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🧞 Your wish is my command 

Thanks for reading.

Until next time!

Zain & the Superhuman AI team

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