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afra-blueraz · 1 year

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🐺 Yuna Sekigetsuro 🐺

⚠️ Please note that Yuna is not a real person. But I wanna imagine her as myself for my self-insert ship with Yui. So she can be an OC or me. ⚠️

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General information

Real name: Sekigetsuro Afra

Changed name: Sekigetsuro Yuna

Kanji: 赤月狼優菜

Kana: せキげっロユナ

Name explanation:

赤 ( Seki ) _ red

月 ( getsu ) _ moon

狼 ( ro ) _ wolf

優 ( Yu ) _ gentleness

菜 ( na ) _ greens

Age: 18 ( Changed her records of her age to 20 )

Birthday: March 24th

Zodiac Sign: Aries ( Ram )

Race: A werewolf from the red moon clan

Blood Type: O_

Gender: Female

Pronounce: She / Her

Sexuality: Bisexual

School: Ryoutei Academi, English Teacher

Voice Actor: WIP

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Appearance

Sprites: WIP

Ryoutei Academi: WIP

Hair: When Yuna was a child, she had long and dark black hair. Her hair was wavy and sloppy. After immigrating to Japan, she cut her hair. Now she has short, dark wavy hair.

Before immigrating to Japan VS After that

Eyes: In her human form, Yuna has dark black eyes. But when the moon is full and her wolf power goes out of control, her eyes turn blood red.

Height: 163 cm / 5'4 ft

Weight: 46 kg

Body type: Yuna has a very skinny body.

Scent: Yuna was a girl who lived in the forest. She loved the pleasant and natural scent of flowers, that's why modern perfumes are too artificial and annoying for her. Because Yuna has a half-forest, her hair always smells of Afra flowers. If Yuna wants to use perfume, she prefers to use natural perfumes. She loves the scent of flowers, especially Afra flowers.

Style: Yuna is not a fashion girl and prefers to wear simple clothes. She wears glasses with a red frame, which was the symbol of their clan. During the red moon, when Yuna's wolf power is at its maximum and her eyes turn red, she does not need to wear glasses.

School: Yuna is employed as an English teacher at the academy so she doesn't need to wear a uniform. She usually does not wear formal clothes and appears in the class as a teacher with a normal look.

General: Yuna is not a fashion girl and prefers comfortable clothes. She usually wears clothes that cover most of her body because it makes her feel safe. She usually wears a white shirt and a blue wool vest. However, she likes to have a little girly style, so instead of wearing pants, she usually wears skirts. Yuna prefers to use boots instead of shoes.

Colors: Red is the symbol of her clan so everyone knows Yuna as a red girl. But her favorite colors are blue and purple so she usually use blue for her clothes. And white and black are so common in her clothes.

Yuna with Ryoutei outfit: WIP

Yuna's winter and autumn outfits: WIP

Yuna's underwear + pajamas outfits: WIP

Yuna's usual outfits:

Yuna's usual shoes:

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Personality

MBTI: INTJ_A

When Yuna was a child, she was very happy and lively. She was playing in the forest and was very happy. After what happened to her family, Yuna became a bit isolated and introverted. She is very kind, but she gets very angry when others take advantage of her kindness. Yuna hardly trusts others and tries not to get too close to people. She hardly forgets and forgives the mistakes of others, but still tries to be more kind. She is very loyal and her family and friends are very important to her and she tries her best to take care of them.

More information about INTJs:

INTJs are hardworking, independent, and curious. INTJs often train their analytical eye on systems to see how things operate. These personality types often have self-motivation and work best independently or on small teams.

INTJs can be both the boldest of dreamers and the bitterest of pessimists. They believe that, through willpower and intelligence, they can achieve even the most challenging goals. But these personalities may be cynical about human nature more generally, assuming that most people are lazy, unimaginative, or simply doomed to mediocrity.

Likes: reading books, writing, walking in a garden ( because she remembers her real home in forest ), smelling flowers, cooking, drawing arts ( she is a big artist ), blue sky, nature

Dislikes: Crowded places, big cities, polluted air, noisy places, two_faced people, hunters

Strengths:

intelligence

Creativity

Painting

Flight

wolf power

Strong sense of smell

mind reading

Knowing people

Playing chess almost better than anyone

Weaknesses:

Lack of trust in people

being isolated

not being social

Nervous attacks due to trauma

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Relationships

Canon story: In her canon story Yui is her girlfriend.

Au Ships / RP: based on our roleplays I don't mine ship Yuna with other OCs. But don't force her into relationships.

Yuna's relationship with canon characters: WIP

Yuna's relationship with other OCs: WIP

Ex-boyfriend: Hayashi Kenzo (deceased)

Father: Sekigetsuro Sota (deceased)

Mother: Kimaru Mika (deceased)

Cousin: Sekigetsuro Shina

Founded family: WIP

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Backstory

Before Yuna was born:

Sekigetsuro Sota was the son of the chief of one of the largest werewolf clans known as the Red Moon Clan. This clan had very strong wolves that absorbed their most power from the moon during the red moon. This clan had extraordinary powers that they had to hide from greedy people.

Finally Sota grew up and met a girl from another clan and they fell in love and got married and their marriage brought about the union of two great clans.

Chlidhood:

After Sota and Mika got married, they had a daughter. The girl who was born at the time of the red moon set and symbolized a new power for the red moon clan. The power that strengthened this tribe and made their union stronger and stronger every day.

The girl had dark black hair that smelled of Afra flowers. A flower that Mika loved so she named her daughter Afra. Every time she hugged her and stroked her hair, she smelled the pleasant aroma of Afra.

Sota was very proud of his daughter and knew that she was the symbol of the glory of their territory and tribe and that she was supposed to be the largest tribe of werewolves.

Sota loved his daughter and raised her with love. He used to play with his daughter in the forests among the dense trees and teach her to become a powerful queen for her tribe one day.

Before leaving the forest:

Afra had a boyfriend named Kenzo from her mother's clan. They secretly played by the river that glowed at night and shared their first kiss there. The only person who knew about Afra and Kenzo's relationship was her cousin Shina and she always encouraged Afra to make her relationship with Kenzo stronger. Those three people were also best friends.

One day when they were playing by the river, far from home, hunters attacked their clan and killed most of their tribe.

Sota ran to save his daughter and niece but could not find them. When Afra came back, it was already too late. Everyone was dead. Afra heard her father's last words to her: I love you.

After leaving the forest:

Afra, Kenzo, and Shina ran away together. But finding a safe place was almost impossible. The hunters searched everywhere to finally find the daughter of the chief of the tribe who has great power.

When the hunters found the three, Kenzo shielded himself to save the girl he loves with all his heart. Kenzo's body fell into Afra's arms and he said to Afra with a beautiful smile: I love you Afra. please be strong

It was hard for Afra to leave Kenzo and the house, but Afra and Shina had to run for their lives. The hunters chased them and almost succeeded in killing Afra until a very large orange wolf was found and saved them.

When Afra regained consciousness, she met a man who introduced himself as Tsukinami Shin. Shin took care of Afra and Shina for a while, that's why Afra owes her life to Shin. Shin helped them escape from their country and go to Japan.

After immigrating to Japan:

As strangers, Afra and Shina were forced to stay in Japan to avoid predators. Fortunately, both of them had good skills in learning foreign languages and were able to learn Japanese very quickly. But Afra, who was much smarter, learned other languages besides Japanese.

In order to find a suitable job, Afra manipulated her records and created a fake name and age for herself so that she could find a job. Her real name was Afra and she changed it to Yuna. The only people who called her Afra were her family, her boyfriend, her cousin and Yui.

Ryoutei Academi:

She was hired as an English teacher at the academy, where she met a girl named Komori Yui.

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⚠️ Spoil for her future route ⚠️

After finding a job at the academy, she met a girl named Yui Komori who lived with four brothers, the Mukami brothers.

One of the brothers, named Ruki, became suspicious of Yuna's fake identity and set out to uncover her secret.

While Yui and Yuna's relationship grew stronger, Ruki tried his best to keep Yui away from Yuna.

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⚠️ Important notes: All arts has been drawn by me. Don't repost. Reblog is OK. ⚠️

⚠️ The photos in edits are from pinterest. ⚠️

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#diabolik lovers #yui komori #komori yui #shin tsukinami #tsukinami shin #diabolik lovers oc #yuna sekigetsuro #ruki mukami #diabolik oc #will update #diabolik lovers fanart #diabolik lovers fanfiction #diabolik lovers fandom

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red84938dan · 23 days

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K.R.O.

ACTOR

Nolan North

REAL NAME

Knight Robot One Microprocessor

ALIAS(ES)

K.R.O.

BIRTH DATE

2021

DEATH DATE

2021 (briefly)

AGE

21 Years

ALTERNATE MODE

Highly modified Nautical Blue and Diamond Black 2021 Shelby Cobra GT500KR Super Snake

GENDER

Male

EYE COLOR

Blue

AFFILIATIONS

Eques Industries

POSITION

Field Unit Supercar

RELATED CHARACTERS

Garth Knight

Kenneth Franklin

PARTNER

Martin Marcus

"I'm voice of Knight Robot One microprocessor. K.R.O. for easy reference, KRO if you prefer."

"I'm Knight Robot One, K.R.O. if you prefer. I'm next generation of car of tomorrow day."

"Correct, I'm not a car. I'm Knight Robot One. First and bold new generation of car of tomorrow day, you may call me K.R.O."

K.R.O. (is an acronym for Knight Robot One) is one of next generation of car of tomorrow day. KRO's body appears as a highly modified Nautical Blue and Diamond Black 2021 Shelby Cobra GT500KR Super Snake. KRO's designer and creator is Kenneth Franklin. KRO's prime driver is Martin Marcus, field agent of Eques Industries.

KRO's General Specs:

Vehicle: Front engine, rear-wheel drive, two-door coupe.

Power: 789 HP (800 PS) and 590 lb⋅ft (800 N⋅m).

Weight: 4,000 lb (1,800 kg).

Engine: highly modified turbine ramjet engine with highly modified afterburners.

Transmission: computer-controlled 10-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with autopilot.

License Plate: blue-on-black vanity plates "KNIGHT", "SPYCAR".

History

KRO is conceived and designed by Kenneth Franklin when he working for Knight Industries. Car is supposed to be a new and refined version of KITT and KARR, complete with additional features and an alloy composed of a nano-polymeric compound which surpassed original Molecular Bonded Shell in resilience and stability.

KRO's main cybernetic processor was based upon schematics of KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand, Knight Industries Three Thousand) and KARR (Knight Automated Roving Robot, Knight Auto-Cybernetic Roving Robotic-Exoskeleton) and constructed by Garth Knight, his company Eques Industries. KRO is programmed with a male personality and bound to protect human life. Although he will kill a human unless ordered to. However, Kenneth say better use for "him" in Foundation's crime-fighting crusade and eventually system was installed in vehicle. KRO was in fact second vehicle built by Knight Industries with an artificial intelligence. His was K.R.O. (Knight Reformulation One). KRO was programmed for self-preservation, but this proved to be dangerous to the Foundation's interests. KRO was later deactivated and placed in storage while KRO was given to his new operator Martin Marcus.

Unlike KRO, KRO is programmed primarily to protect Martin and all human life at all costs. This is made clear when Martin asks James Marland if KRO will protect anyone driving it. James's answer is that KRO's primary function is protect of human life, and Martin's in particular.

KRO's Chassis was ultimately destroyed in a two vs one Battle with KRO (Knight Reformulation One). Although his Neural Processor Unit is saved by Martin Marcus, Garth Knight, KITT (Knight Industries Twelve Thousand) and KARR (Knight Agent Road Robot).

In 2023 Garth Knight and Kenneth Franklin found and rebuilt KRO in Satellite Surveillance Center, so they takes them, put them back together and combined features from KITT (Knight Industries Twelve Thousand) and KARR (Knight Agent Road Robot) with new ones aswell into one car Knight 12000 and together Martin with help of KRO they seek out to make a difference in world once more.

KRO's Features:

KRO is loaded with special features, most of which can be activated by buttons on panels to either side of steering wheel or on a console on ceiling of interior.

Some of KRO's features include following:

Computer AI - "brain" of KRO is Knight 12000 Neural Microprocessor, center of a "self-aware" cybernetic logic module that allowing KRO to think, learn, communicate and interact with Martin and others humans.

KRO is fully aware of himself.

KRO is a highly ultra-advanced quantum neural-net supercomputer on wheels. KRO's reaction time is 1/10 nanosecond, and his memory capacity is over unlimited quettabytes, also KRO's microprocessor can operate with 800 trillion operations with access time in 1 nanosecond.

KRO was programmed to obey all orders given to him by his human designer and creator, so long as humans didn't violate his prime doctrine - directive of protect human life (especially Martin's) to best of his abilities.

System can drive car better than any a human operator can be.

He can provide music, video and video games via an in-dash entertainment system, which is two 17-inch 1920x1080 IPS Full HD Super AMOLED TFT LED-LCD video display monitors and windscreen projection.

Armor - KRO has a layer of woven Teflon armor along his interior cabin while beneath his nanoskin is a tungsten-carbide and cobalt-chromium steel support lattice which maintains his structural integrity. Molecular Bonded Shell - Molecular Bonded Shell casing encases his cabin compartment to protect his driver from harm. Nanotech Skin Repair - His nanoskin which overlays his armor and molecular shell are just as fast and versatile as KITT's and KARR's, able to repair damage quickly as well as alter his appearance, changing his paint job at will if he so chooses. His nanoskin is not equipped for absolute stealth, though he does have a stealth mode. This stealth mode is essentially a matte black angular version of his attack mode which allows him to drop from radar like any stealth vehicle.

Molecular Bonded Shell - KRO is armored with "Tri-Helical Plasteel 2000 MBS", or Molecular Bonded Shell plating which protects him from almost all forms of conventional firearms and explosive devices. They can only be harmed by heavy artillery and rockets, and even then, blast usually leaves most of car's shell intact and only damages internal components. Shell protects every part of car including tires. As a result, KRO could act as a shield for explosives by driving over bombs and suppressing blast. He can literally drive over Anti-tank mines to neutralise them.

Shell also protects against fire and electricity; however, it is vulnerable to some potent acids and at least one formula was made to completely neutralize shell. Long exposure to seawater can weaken shell.

Shell provides a frame tolerance of 550,000 lb (275 tons) and a front and rear axle suspension load of 200,000 lb (100 tons).

Shell is actually a combination of three secret substances referred together as "Knight Compound". It was developed by Wilton Knight who entrusted parts of formula to three separate people. Each individual knows only two pieces of formula, ensuring that any two of them could make more of Knight Compound in an emergency situation and that no one person would be able to make it. Garth Knight and Kenneth Franklin upgraded MBS to be even more powerful by 300%, making KRO most indestructible Knight Industries vehicle ever.

Pyroclastic Lamination - KRO is protected by a thermal-resistant coating that can withstand sustained temperatures over 4980 degrees Celsius.

Power System - KRO is powered by highly modified turbine ramjet engine with highly modified afterburners and a computer-controlled 10-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with autopilot. Sound of KRO's turbine ramjet engine is rough and fierce. Specifications: 800 PS and 800 N⋅m, 0 to 62 mph in 0.286 seconds, ¼ mile in 4.286 seconds. Electromagnetic hyper-vacuum water-cooled carbon-ceramic disc brakes: 9 ft., 9 ft. braking distance (70 to 0, 300 to 0 mph).

Rocket Fire Boost - KRO has an internal self-charging rocket fire boost system. System consisted of a series of rear mounted undercarriage rocket motors which allowing car to accelerate to speeds in excess of 500 mph. Rockets can fire both forwards and backwards as needed.

System has one secondary use:

It can be using to provide power for pushing or pulling heavy objects when necessary.

Turbo Boost - KRO has an internal self-charging turbo boost system. System consisted of a series of rear mounted undercarriage rocket motors which allowing car to accelerate to speeds in excess of 500 mph. Rockets can fire both forwards and backwards as needed.

System has one secondary use:

It can be using to provide power for pushing or pulling heavy objects when necessary.

Turbo Boost - An internal self-charging power injector system that allows for large, but long amounts of power to allow KRO to jump over obstacles and to move forward, up, left, right, or reverse at high speed for long distances. This ability along with directional exhaust outlets allows KRO to jump from a standstill or at high speed and this ability with ion boosters and mini thrusters allows KRO do a Ski Mode.

Rocket Fire Motor - KRO also come with an internal self-charging rocket fire booster for providing a long burst of speed. It is concealed behind rear number plate, which flipped upwards and retracted into body of car.

Voice Synthesizer - KRO's Voice synthesizer allows KRO as well as other similar vehicles logic modules to speak and communicate. Other sounds, such as a police raid to fool criminals or a wild animal's growl, can also be simulated. Voice Synthesizer "speaks" through Voice Orb Modulator in interior of vehicle. KRO's primary spoken language is English, however by accessing his language module, he can speak fluently in German, Spanish and French. Module can also be adjusted to give KRO different accents.

Electronic Jamming System - KRO has an Electronic Jamming System which consists of three main components: Electromagnetic Field Generator, Electronic Field Disrupter and Microwave Ignition Sensor. System can take control of electronic machines, allowing such diverse activites as cheating at slot machines, breaking electronic locks, scrambling security cameras, and withdrawing money from ATMs. System is using most frequently to disable engine and activate brakes on a fleeing vehicle. Sometimes, KRO using system to magnetize and manipulate non-electronic objects such as a mechanical combination lock, and to create "poltergeist" activity, moving random objects to frighten people.

Anamorphic Equalizer - Equalizer device is a fiber-optic array of electronic "eyes". Scanner can see in all visual wavelengths as well as X-Ray and infrared. When KRO's surveillance mode was active, bar will light up and make an ominous swooping sound as it panned left and right. Occasionally, bar pulsed in different patterns and swept either rapidly or slowly. It is possible to disable KRO's electronics by penetrating equalizer with a laser making this one of his few vulnerabilities.

Etymotic Equalizer - This system allowed KRO to hear sounds. An array of audio sensors were threaded throughout his interior and exterior.

Aroma Monitor - KRO can "smell" via a much more complex atmospheric sample device mounted in his front bumper.

Microscanners - Microscanners are tiny audio and visual sensors embedded into grooves of KRO's body. They allow for visual tracking and display of anything around car.

Cruise Modes - These are KRO's three drive modes:

Normal - On "Normal", Martin had control of car. In an emergency, KRO can still take over and activate Auto Cruise mode. In order to prevent this, Martin has to use Manual Override.

Auto - In "Auto", KRO has an "Alpha Circuit" as part of his main control system, which allows CPU to drive himself utilizing a highly advanced Auto Collision Avoidance system.

Pursuit - "Pursuit" is used during high-speed driving and is a combination of manual and computer assisted operation. KRO can respond to road conditions faster than Martin's reflexes can; however, Martin is technically in control of vehicle and KRO helped guide certain maneuvers.

Silent Mode - KRO can run silently. Feature dampened his engine noise and allows him to sneak around.

Computer Override - KRO has a hidden switch and setting dial under dash that either completely shuts down his AI module or deactivates certain systems should need arise.

Manual Override - KRO has a function which can be activated in order to completely lock AI from all vehicle controls. Unlike Computer Override, Manual Override simply keeps KRO from activating Auto Cruise or preventing anyone inside car from doing something that would probably hurt them. KRO's AI is still able to protest such actions vocally.

Adaptive camouflage - KRO is equipped with a sophisticated cloaking device. Tiny cameras project what they see onto a light-emitting polymer skin on opposite side, rendering car effectively invisbile to naked eye.

Police Lights/Siren - KRO has police lights, and he has a siren in Police mode.

Grappling Hook and Winch - KRO has a hidden winch and grappling hook system, one mounted under his front bumper, and another in a compartment behind his tail light plate. Most often hook is connected by a strong cable, but a metal arm has also been seen.

Parachute - KRO is equipping with a parachute.

Oil Jets/Smokescreen - KRO can spray an oil slick and a plume of smoke from under rear bumper.

Machine guns - KRO has twin M134 Miniguns, concealed behind each of its retractable headlamps.

Flamethrower - KRO have flamethrowers mounted under his rear bumper.

Tear Gas Launcher - KRO can dispense a cloud of tear gas along with his smokescreen.

Rocket Fire - KRO can to fire a small rocket out of his tailpipe or retractable foglamps, also can launch magnesium flares which can also be used to divert heat-seeking missiles fired at him.

Anti Missile Flares - Deploying from rear bumper of KRO. Disk-like objects that when dispensed produce an intense heat source to deter heat-seeking projectiles.

High Traction Drop Downs - When activated, HTDD system hydraulically raises KRO's chassis for better traction when driving off-road.

Traction Spikes - When activated KRO's tires will have spikes coming out in order for KRO to drive up steep off-road hills.

Telephone Comlink - Martin can contact home base and communicate with others people using KRO's two 17-inch 1920x1080 IPS Full HD TFT LED-LCD video display monitors and windscreen projection.

Surveillance Mode - Surveillance Mode do several things:

Surveillance Mode with extended range up to 50 miles

ANPR (Automated Number Plate Recognition)

Speed radar front and rear

X-ray/infrared spectrum vision, Geiger counter, UV meter, camera, sound recorder

Lockpicking, computer cracking and information altering/removal

Scrambling electronic devices or vehicles

City Safety-like auto braking

Also, stuff like:

KRO can detect people and vehicles and track their movements and discern proximity.

KRO can gather structural schematics of buildings, vehicles, or other devices and help Martin avoid potential danger when he was snooping.

KRO can also monitor radio transmissions and telephone communications within a location and trace those calls.

KRO can tap into computer systems to monitor, download, alter, remove or upload information as long as he can break access codes.

Infrared Tracking Scope - KRO can monitor position of specific vehicles, including cars or helicopters in the area within 100 miles. For instance, if Martin wanted to know location of every cars or helicopters within 70 miles, KRO can display a schematic on his monitors of all vehicles, including police vehicles relative to his position and KRO can monitor position of very specific vehicles, including police cars or police helicopters in said or given area within 20 miles.

Laser Powerpack - KRO can fire a high powered ultra-frequency modulated laser capable of burning through steel plating. Like most of KRO's components, schematics for laser device are top-secret classified.

Bomb Sniffer - KRO has a bomb sniffer module that can detect explosives within 5 miles (8.0 km) of vehicle or by using a satellite connection uplink.

Bio Matrix Scanner - KRO have a medical scanner that includes an electrocardiograph (ECG). Medical scanner can monitor vital signs of individuals and display them It could indicate such conditions as if they were murdered, injured, poisoned, undergoing stress or other emotional behavior. KRO can even monitor Martin's physical activity through sensors inside driver seat. KRO can identify a humans by fingerprints, voice analysis, retina scan, or by face recognition. It used to detect health status of persons in immediate area and scanning vital stats of anyone in his passenger cabin, including heart-rate, breathing, temperature and brain-wave activity.

Reinforced chassis- KRO's chassis has been reinforced to withstand impact damage from firearms or sledgehammers. Front and rear windscreen are both bullet-proof with ultra-tough glass.

Caltrops dispenser - Dozens of spiked caltrops can be scattered in path of pursuing vehicles, shredding their tyres. Dispenser is located behind rear bumper of KRO.

Re-inflating tyres - KRO is capable of re-inflated tyres: KRO can deflate and reinflate his tyres, also tyres can self-sealing even after being hit by bullets.

Fuel Processor - KRO was powered by a highly modified turbine ramjet engine primarily fueled by liquid cryogenic rocket fuel. However, his complex fuel processor allows him to run on any combustible liquid, even liquid nitrogen gas, liquefied natural gas and liquid petroleum gas. KRO's actual fuel requirements and efficiency ratings were top secret classified, however official rating of KRO's fuel economy was 100 miles per gallon, but KRO mentioned fuel economy is 525 miles per gallon. It is means that KRO can measured his fuel economy for any combustible liquid, even liquid nitrogen gas, liquefied natural gas and liquid petroleum gas. However, when operating on fuels other than liquid cryogenic rocket fuel, KRO's fuel efficiency and power output may be lowered.

Electrochromic Windows - KRO's windows can change tint on motion: from transparent to opaque for various situations.

Voice Stress Analyzer - KRO can process spoken voices and determine if someone may be lying.

Auto Doors, Hood, and Trunklid - KRO can automatically open and close his doors and Trunklid. He can also lock his doors to prevent unauthorized entry into his driver compartment. He can also open his hood automatically.

Rotating License Plate - KRO can rotate his "KNIGHT" license plate to reveal a fictitious one reading "SPYCAR". Martin uses this to evade police when an APB was placed on him.

Seat Ejection System - KRO have two front ejection seats, mostly used when Martin needed a boost to fire escapes or building roof tops.

Passive Laser Restraint System - Restraint system helping protect Martin and any passengers from shock of sudden impacts and hard stopping, it is a primitive form of an inertial damping device.

Video Display Monitor - KRO has two 16-inch 1920x1080 IPS Full HD Super AMOLED TFT LED-LCD instrument cluster display monitors and two 17-inch 1920x1080 IPS Full HD Super AMOLED TFT LED-LCD video display monitors on his dashboard for various readouts. They are controlled by two systems, Graphic Translator (which sketches likenesses from verbal input) and Anamorphic Equalizer (which gathered visual information from KRO's front scan bar) and microscanners.

Windscreen Projection - Basically, entire front windscreen is configured to display extra information and aswell as display video communication link with other people.

Computer Printer - KRO can print incoming documents and incoming faxes, hard copies of data and faxed messages on a dashboard-mounted printer. It also doubled as a color printer/fax machine.

Radio Scanner - Mounted in two 17-inch 1920x1080 IPS Full HD Super AMOLED TFT LED-LCD video display monitors, radio scanner was capable of eavesdropping on civilian, police and military radio frequencies.

Revolving number plates - KRO is come with rotating number plates, some of which included: "SPYCAR" or "KNIGHT" (US), "BMT 216A" or "BMT 214A" (UK), "4711-EA-62" (France) and "LU 6789" (Switzerland). Martin uses this to evade police when an APB was placed on him.

Miscellaneous Items - Along with his nanoskin and automatic tire repair systems, KRO can forcibly jettison any passenger within his interior as well as any objects in his trunk if it necessary for Martin.

Holographic projections - KRO can project holograms of himself, as seen when he and Martin are being chased by a cop. These clones have different actions seemingly based on his personality or actions and will dissipate on command or when hit by someone with force.

Molecularly Transformation - KRO has ability to split into Molecules to change appearance.

Vehicle transformations - KRO has unique ability to change between multiple vehicle forms while prime is Nautical Blue and Diamond Black 2021 Shelby Cobra GT500KR Super Snake. Forms he takes do not affect size or weight when in robot form and they share same color.

Chemical Analyzer - KRO has a retractable tray with anelectron scanner that can analyze chemical properties of various materials. It can even scan fingerprints and read ballistic information off bullets and compare these with a police database. Aside from scanning tray, system can also analyze chemical information gathered from KRO's exterior sensors. KRO has an anelectron scanner that can analyze chemical properties of various materials. It can even scan fingerprints and read ballistic information off bullets and compare these with a police database. Aside from scanning tray, system can also analyze chemical information gathered from KRO's exterior sensors.

Fire Extinguisher - KRO can put out small fires from a CO2 sprayer in his bumpers and retractable headlamps.

Interior Oxygenator - KRO can release oxygen into his driver compartment and provide air to drivers and passengers if he was ever submariged in water or buried in earth. This is also used to overcome effects of certain drugs and alcohol.

Two-Wheel Ski Drive - Ski Mode setting allowed KRO to "ski" (driving up on two wheels).

Third Stage Aquatic Synthesizer - With this system, KRO can hydroplane, effectively "driving" on water, using his wheels and turbo system for propulsion.

Amphibious Mode - KRO can float and maneuver on water like a speedboat. Transforming components include wheel arches that turn into closed arches and one propeller which emerge from lower rear of vehicle.

Submarine mode - KRO has ability to transform into a two-man submarine. Transforming components include wheel arches that turn into fins and four propellers which emerge from lower rear of vehicle.

Torpedoes - In submarine mode, car can fire small, highly explosive guided torpedoes from a launcher located in car's radiator grille. Two torpedoes can be fired at a time, with a total of 30 torpedoes storing on-board.

Remote torpedoes - While submarine, KRO is equipped with with two remote-controlled torpedo launchers on either side of car and are concealed behind side vents. A total of 15 missiles are equipped.

Sub Zero - KRO can release cryogenic gases and "flash freeze" driver compartment.

Sleep Gas - KRO can spray a gas into driver compartment that can render an unwanted occupant unconscious.

Interior Tear Gas Dispenser - Using for anti-theft and defensive purposes. KRO can fill car's cabin with tear gas to incapacitate a will-be thief.

Vacuum - KRO can expend all breathable air from driver compartment, KRO using this to rid compartment of smoke after bombs were detonated in his trunk.

Attack Mode - Three silver hood scoops that look like they should be on an aircraft appear near windscreen on hood of KRO. His Cobra form appears sleeker, and a spoiler rises up on back of his form.

Convertible Roof - By pressing "C" button on KRO's dash, Martin can bring top down and KRO become a convertible.

Gatling Guns - 2 gatling-style guns that are retracted from hood. KRO deploys a single machine gun while in regular mode. KRO's gatling guns have an approximate rate of fire of 1,143 rounds per second.

Offensive Missiles - 4 tube launched missiles that are retracted from front bumper and either door.

Other equipment:

Comlink - KRO is in constant contact with Martin via a two-way communication wristwatch (a modified 2010's Xiaomi touchscreen watch ) Martin wore. Watch also had a micro camera and scanner that KRO can access to gather information.

Homing Device - In dire emergency, Martin can activate a secret homing beacon hidden inside Martin's head. Beacon sends a priority signal that can remotely activate KRO and override his programming so that he rushes to Martin's aid.

Gadgets:

Virtual Reality Heads-up Display

Rather than dash-mounted two 17-inch 1920x1080 IPS Full HD Super AMOLED TFT LED-LCD video display monitors and windscreen projection, KRO uses a virtual reality heads-up display (VR-HUD) that makes use of entire windscreen as video monitor.

Thermal Expander

KRO is equipping with an offensive weapon which consisted of a microwave projector that caused temperatures of targeted objects to quickly rise and either ignite or explode.

Remote Target Assist

This allows Martin Marcus aim and fire with a complete and perfect accuracy.

Microwave Stunner

Similar to "non-lethal" sidearms used by police, KRO is equipping with a microwave stunner that can incapacitate criminals.

Voice Activated Controls

KRO's dashboard is less "cluttered looking" than KITT's and KARR's original dash with most of controls now being completely voice activated rather than having to push a button.

Infrared Scanner

Infrared Scanner is a device with which KRO can scan on an Infrared level, which would identify laser scope rifles as well as hidden objects giving off heat.

Voice Sampler

Similar to KITT's and KARR's Anharmonic Synthesizer, this device can simulate any voice which has been recorded into KRO's memory.

Thermal Sensor

This system allows to KRO watch and record what is happening in a particular place. For example, inside a vehicle.

Specifications:

0-62 in 0.286 seconds

¼ in 4.286 seconds

Top Speed 200+ mph

Two 17-inch 1920x1080 IPS Full HD TFT LED-LCD video display monitors

HUD

VR-HUD

Map-System v2.3

Satellite Connection Uplink

Extended on-board power systems

Reinforced body structure and body panels

Enhanced tracking and navigation systems

a whole lot more

Dialogue Color Claim

082567 (Deep Sapphire).

Theme Songs

Miami at Night Drive by Allister Brimble

Rio at Day Chase by Allister Brimble

Las Vegas at Night Drive by Allister Brimble

#knight rider #transformers shattered glass

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potetopro · 1 year

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I Used Artificial Intelligence on Japanese Voice Actor (Seiyuu) Content

TL;DR Seiyuu fansubber rambles too long about how Whisper and other AI go *BRRRR!!!!* and the future of humanity is at stake. Actual TL;DR OpenAI's Whisper gives us a sneak peek into just how much automatic transcription and translation by artificial intelligence has improved. I wouldn't say it'll completely replace human translation just yet, but it's definitely something industries will have to adapt to.

Introduction

Let's start why I even decided to make this blog. I woke up today and noticed a message on The Seiyuu Stage Discord server that had a very interesting link to a reddit post. According to OP, they used OpenAI's Whisper to create a collection of English translated subtitles on the popular TV show "Tokyo Encounter", which is hosted by the famous Japanese voice actors (seiyuu) Nakamura Yuuichi and Sugita Tomokazu. OP claims that Whisper has "quite good translation" and was "roughly ~90% accurate". That's a pretty big claim if I do say so myself.

Although the link led to one of those shady pirating sites, curiousity got the best of me and I decided to download it like an idiot. Fortunately I didn't get hit with a trojan or anything, and the file was just a zip full of .ass files (subtitle files similar to .srt files). Before I jump into the main content of this blog post, I'd like to provide some important background information that is required to understand just what I'm talking about.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in the field of artificial intelligence. I am also not a native Japanese speaker.

Background Information

Even if you've been living under a rock for the past year or so, you've probably at least heard of the crazy fast advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) within the past few months. You've probably heard of Stable Diffusion, ChatGPT, and many other AI that have begun to revolutionize the world. Today I'll be doing a quick review of how well OpenAI's Whisper works on a certain type of niche content. For those of who are not yet unware, OpenAI is famous for it's AI "ChatGPT". I literally asked ChatGPT to explain what ChatGPT is here below.

What is OpenAI's Whisper?

So what about Whisper? What is its purpose? According to OpenAI's official blog post,

"Whisper is an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system trained on 680,000 hours of multilingual and multitask supervised data collected from the web."

To put it simply, Whisper is like a supercharged Google Translate for videos and audio or a better YouTube auto-captions.

Like YouTube's auto-captions feature, Whisper can transcribe human speech and even translate it into other languages. The one downside is that Whisper cannot auto transcribe and auto translate in real time, so you cannot watch a video/listen to audio at the same time. That leads me to the next section of this horribly organized post.

OpenAI's Whisper Vs. Japanese Voice Actor (Seiyuu) Content

Ok, with all of the background knowledge that's required to understand is now out of the way, I can finally jump into the main purpose of this blog. The main things I'll be exploring are listed below

Just HOW GOOD is Whisper AI at transcribing and translating Japanese? More specifically, speech from professional voice actors in Japan, who are usually known for having some of the most clearest enunciation in the country.

How does Whisper compare to other machine transcribers/translators such as YouTube's Auto-Captions feature and Adobe's Speech to Text feature for Premiere Pro?

Is Whisper AI even worth using?

Whisper AI - Transcribing & Translating

Due to some issues with my PC not cooperating with them, I am currently not able to actually use Whisper myself. Therefore, I will be using Whisper outputs that I got from other people.

Let's start by looking where Whisper messes up.

CLIP 1

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Nakamura: How about you set it to today? Hanae: It's the 9th.

So in the clip above, Nakamura suggests Hanae to set the date on the game to be the day the episode airs/is recorded, which is on the 9th of the month. For some reason, Whisper completely messes up the translation. This is about 1 minute and 30 seconds into the episode, and until then there were no obvious mistakes from Whisper.

CLIP 2

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There are two lines in the clip above that stand out to me.

花江「出た！懐かしい」 Hanae: I remember this 杉田「ちょっと声が若い」 Sugita: He's a young man

While the translation for Hanae's line isn't outright wrong, it lacks some nuance. I would've translated it as, "There it is! This brings me back!"

Whisper leaves out the nuance of Hanae being surprise when it suddenly appears on screen, and also him expressing his feeling of nostalgia.

With Sugita's line, Whisper straight up incorrectly translates the line. Sugita states that the voice of speaker in the game sounds like he's young (implying that the voice of the speaker sounds a lot older in the present day).

CLIP 3

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In this 3rd clip, I'd like to praise Whisper for accurately transcribing the input controls that Hanae is reading out loud. There were no mistakes in this particular clip, and it didn't make any mistakes when Hanae was reading the input controls before this scene as well.

If I had to nitpick, Whisper seems to really push back the timing of each subtitle line way too much. You can clearly see that the line appears before anyone actually says anything, and this issue persists throughout the rest of clips I'll be showing. Obviously, this is something you can manually fix and is rather simple.

Also, Whisper seems to not care about pauses within a sentence. Hanae laughs, causing him to not complete his sentence smoothly, however Whisper doesn't take that into account. This ties into the next clip.

CLIP 4

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In this next clip above, there are no mistakes. I would say that Whisper did a pretty good job here correctly translating what was said, and there's not really much to complain about.

However, I would like to note that Whisper lacks a sense of "spice" to all of its outputs. I can't say, "It's almost as if a machine made this", because well... a machine basically did. Whisper lacks that special feeling that a human took their time to think about and translate each line. It is quite literally robotic at times.

CLIP 5

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So in this clip above, you can clearly tell that the issues I mentioned earlier are all kind of compounded.

The timing of the subtitle line is way too early.

"He's not doing anything." is not what Nakuramura said.

Whisper completely ignored what Sugita said.

CLIP 6

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In this final clip from the show, I'd like to include it because what's happening on screen is just kind of funny.

Whisper mistakes Hanae saying すね毛 (sunege), which means leg hair, for the word "sneaky".

I would like to praise Whisper for properly indentifying that Sugita is the one actually controlling the character in this clip though. Japanese is a language where simply saying a verb can be considered as gramatically correct, which means that they can leave out pronouns like "I".

PIKA CLIP

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Let's look at a clip that includes both human translation and Whisper translation. This clip was made by Pika Can't Sub, a fellow seiyuu fansubber and the one who originally linked the reddit post I mentioned earlier. They set up Whisper locally on their PC and tested it out themselves.

In the clip above, the WHISPER translated subtitles are the white ones on the top, and Pika's manual translation on the bottom. You can clearly see that Whisper is REALLY GOOD. Both Whisper's and Pika's translations work really well and there's practically little to no unnatural English.

One thing to note here is that this is appears to be a Japanese news show. Narrators must speak very clearly in order to convey the informaton to the viewers, so that probably helped by making it far easier for Whisper to accurately pick up on what was said.

Comparing Whisper to Other Audio Transcribers

YouTube's Auto-Captions Feature

With my limited test of Whisper I would say it is far, FAR, more accurate compared to YouTube's auto-captions. I'm sure most of you reading this blog have at least used YouTube's auto-captions feature before. Whenever you're watching on YouTube that doesn't have manually added captions, you can turn on this feature. It will transcribe what is spoken in the video, and can even automatically translate it to your desired language.

The biggest downside is that this feature tends to make mistakes, and I mean A LOT of mistakes. In my opinion, it works pretty well for English, but for other languages such as Japanese it tends to be really iffy. Mileage may vary. When using YouTube's auto-captions feature to translate from English to Japanese or the other way around, you'll most likely get very unnatural and odd translations.

If you've ever studied a foreign language before, you'll also know that languages like English and German drastically different from languages like Japanese and Korean. I believe that's the reason why so much gets lost in translation when using machine translation like YouTube's auto-captions. Sometimes the top comment on a YouTube video is just about laughing at the mistakes that the auto-captions makes.

It's almost as if Google Translate was just slapped onto YouTube and they called it a day.

Adobe's Speech to Text for Premiere Pro

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I will using the video I created above as a reference for this section~

You may have also heard of Adobe's "Speech to Text" for Premiere Pro. Like YouTube's auto-captions and OpenAI's Whisper, it uses AI technology to transcribe human speech into text. As far as I'm aware though, Adobe's version does not have any translation feature, and also has a far more limited amount of languages that it can transcribe. In my personal opinion, it is far better than YouTube's auto-captions. Since Premiere Pro is a software application for video editing, the Speech to Text integration is really nice. One major downside is that this Adobe feature, along with the rest of their suite, is not free and you have to pay a monthly subscription just to use it.

Like Whisper, you give the AI an audio file that it will read. The AI will then spend a certain amount of time, which varies depending on the length of the audio file, and then spit out the transcription of what you originally fed it. What's nice about Adobe's Speech to Text is that you can literally select it word for word and it'll start playing the timeline from the exact point the AI picked up that word. With Whisper, it only gives you a completed file with timestamps. I believe Whisper gives you an SRT file and that's about it.

My Experience With Adobe's AI

The video is a snippet that I translated and edited from the Bocchi the Radio!, which is the official radio for the TV anime Bocchi the Rock!. The speakers in this clip are the voice actresses for Gotoh Hitori and Yamada Ryou. In this particular episode, 青山吉能 (Aoyama Yoshino) AKA Yoppii, has just physically moved away from her microphone in the studio in order to grab the mail that they have received from listeners of the radio. She is now rushing back to her seat and trying to make it in time to read the segment title and explanation before the music ends. You can also hear 水野朔 (Mizuno Saku) AKA Sakupi, laughing as she is confused as to why Yoppii is frantically running around the studio.

Adobe's version is definitely not perfect by any means. Below, I have provided a small snippet of the raw output I got from it after giving it a wav file (mp3 files work just fine as well). This is about 0:10 in the YouTube video above.

If you can understand Japanese and English, you can immediately tell there are some discrepancies in what Adobe's AI outputted.

Adobe's Speech to Text Output

Yoppii 「その割合こちらの。」 "Here's the proportion."

Yoppii 「コーナーリスナーさんから用件はこういうことをしているという最新四家情報を送ってもらうコーナーです。」 This is a corner where listeners send us the latest information about the latest four houses that are doing this kind of thing.

My Manual Transcription Fix

Yoppii 「ああああ！！！！間に合え！！」 "AHHHH!!!! MAKE IT IN TIME!!!!"

Yoppii 「こちらのコーナー！リスナーさんから陽キャはこういうことをしているという最新ら陽キャ情報を送ってもらうコーナーです。」 "It's a segment~~! This is a segment where we get listeners to send us the latest extrovert information about how extroverts are doing ____."

For those who don't understand Japanese I'll try to explain some common issues I have with this feature, and elaborate more on the mistakes that the AI has made in this particular case.

One of the many issues I've had with Adobe's Speech to Text feature is that it tends to split lines at an odd place in the sentence. Not quite sure why that is, but I suspect it has to do with how this feature tends to split English speech. Sometimes the AI will spit out a line that is just a huge blob of text and you have to manually split it into multiple lines.

Sometimes Adobe's Speech to Text just leaves out entire words and/or completely transcribes the wrong word. I've noticed this happens whenever there's music that plays at the same time, and/or the audio of the speaker isn't clear. This occurs with YouTube's auto-captions as well and I can't blame it. Error 1: Yoppii is basically doing that fake "AHHHH!!!!" scream, and also yells "MAKE IT IN TIME!!!!" as she tries to get back into her seat in time. The AI obviously did not transcribe this part at all. Error 2: The slang term 陽キャ (you-kya) in Japanese refers to someone who is rather bright, cheerful, and outgoing. I translated it as extrovert in the clip. The AI picked it up as 用件 (you-ken) which means "business; things to be done; errand". It also picked it up a second time as 四家 which is literally four houses lol

In conclusion, with all the bashing I've done on Adobe's Speech to Text feature, I think it's actually really great. The particular example I showed above is usually a tough one for most AI/machine transcribers anyway. It ends to do really well, and far better than what YouTube's auto-captions usually outputs. Although I still have to manually retime all the subtitle lines and manually fix transcription errors, this AI has been an amazing tool in bringing my content creation to the next level.

I would say as a fansubber, timing all the subtitle lines is one of the most time consuming parts of the process, aside from actually translating all the lines. With Adobe's Speech to Text, it actually speeds up the process. With all the AI I've used so far, which isn't just limited to transcribing and translating AI, I've realized that they're best used as a sort of launching pad. With Adobe's Speech to Text, it gives me a rough mold (starting point) and then I can reshape it to how I want, which is a lot faster than starting with nothing at all.

Some other things that make Adobe's Speech to Text feature better than OpenAI's Whisper

You can choose whether or not to distuingish between mulitple speakers, and you can even manually rename or add more if you like.

After the trancription process is done, you can even convert all of it to captions. Since Premiere Pro 2022, Adobe has added a dedicated captions layer and other updates to make the editing process a better experience. I personally don't use this, because I tend to split each line in a very specific manner that's not possible with the current settings.

I also used Adobe's Speech to Text to help me create this video below.

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Please check out the rest of my YouTube channel~

DeepL Translator

I'd like to just mention DeepL really quick. Like Google Translate, you can give it some text in one language and it will translate to one of the many other languages that are available. I would say DeepL gives far better translations than Google Translate.

DeepL also tends to do really well when translating single sentences. It is pretty good at keeping the nuances and that special human "spice" in slang. That's just my experience with Japanese to English and English to Japanese though.

Unfortunately, DeepL doesn't seem to have a video/audio transcription model or service. That means you would have to manually input each sentence if you were to do a video, and that would an absolute pain. DeepL does seem to have a feature that allows you to upload word documents and PDF files, but I have not tested that out.

Final Thoughts

If you actually read this far, you are a mad man and I truly appreciate you for taking time out of your day to do so. Thank you so much.

How should I conclude this blog...?

To put it simply, this is a game changer.

I started using Adobe's Speech to Text around the end of 2022, and at the time I thought it was an absolute game changer. I had seen some posts about OpenAI's Whisper on TikTok, but didn't think it would be better than Adobe's model. However, after doing some research and writing this blog, I think Whisper might be just as good, if not better than Adobe's. Of course, YouTube's Auto-Captions doesn't even compare. As for DeepL, I would say DeepL is way better for adding in that human "spice" and sounding naturally. Unfornatutely as of writing this blog, DeepL doesn't seem to be working on any video transcription service (that I'm aware of).

So is OpenAI's Whisper worth looking into and using it yourself? ABSOLUTELY. It's open-source, which means its free and the results it gives are without a doubt one of the best out there. AI such as Whisper aren't quite developed enough to completely replace transcribers and translators such as myself just yet, but I'm not sure how much longer until it will. As of right now, these types of AI can be used as a very powerful tool to accelerate your work and actually provide positive changes!

I can't wait to see how much further AI will improve within the next couple years!

Please check out the rest of my channel! I create japanese voice actor (seiyuu) subbed content, mainly on YouTube!

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#Youtube #youtube #AI #translator #OpenAI #seiyuu #japanese voice actor #japanese voice actors #artificial intelligence

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blurredlineswr122 · 18 days

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✩ Workers Against AI ✩

As we have seen in the SAG-AFTRA strike, which went well beyond AI and into workers' rights and equal pay, AI has already begun to have a negative effect on the entertainment industry. Part of the strike was the demand for workers to be protected from AI. There is the use of actors' faces without their consent, that they actively fought against. If they can just use someone's face on a much cheaper, exploited actor, what’s the point of paying the face the acceptable amount?

There were also the Writer’s Guild Association’s protests and strikes, which saw the incoming AI and demanded the stop of it, ““AI can’t write or rewrite literary material; can’t be used as source material; and [works covered by union contracts] can’t be used to train AI,” read the WGA’s demands issued on May 1,” (Richardson). They saw the threat to their careers, and as seen in the ways that productions halted, and my soap opera’s writing got even stranger than normal, the world saw the effects of the lack of writers and actors too.

In the end, many of their demands were met, including that of the ones surrounding AI. There were restrictions put in place on the use of actors' likenesses, alongside the pay that they received. There were also limitations applied to the use of AI in screenwriting. Their demands were met as the world seemed to accept that AI does not fill the role of humans and does not satisfy within the entertainment industry.

Works Cited

Richardson, Kalia, and Krystie Lee Yandoli. “SAG-AFTRA Members

Toast Historic Victory against AI: ‘It Was up to Us.’” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 9 Nov. 2023, www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv- movie-features/sag-aftra-actors-strike-deal-celebration-artificial- intelligence-streaming-hollywood-amptp-1234874168/.

Collier , Kevin. “Actors vs. AI: Strike Brings Focus to Emerging Use of

Advanced Tech.” NBCNews.Com, NBCUniversal News Group, 14 July 2023, www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/hollywood-actor- sag-aftra-ai-artificial-intelligence-strike-rcna94191.

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irfaniuk · 1 month

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Infinity AI: Infinity AI VS Sora AI, Make film Video with AI

Infinity AI - Film Videomaker

Ever dreamed of witnessing the battle of the minds unfold, where artificial intelligence transcends mere computation to craft cinematic masterpieces? Brace yourselves for an epic showdown between two titans of AI creativity: Infinity AI and Sora AI. In a world where innovation knows no bounds, these digital geniuses vie for film and video production supremacy. Join us as we delve into the captivating realm of AI-driven filmmaking, where imagination meets technology in an exhilarating clash of algorithms and artistry.

Infinity AI

What is Infinity AI? Infinity AI is a pioneering project aiming to produce exceptional videos with compelling narratives, championing the belief that a small team of writers can win prestigious awards like the Academy Award without the need for traditional actors or directors. They're diligently developing specialized tools tailored for these writers and sharing their journey on platforms like Discord, Alpha Web App, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok. It's akin to witnessing stories come to life in real-time!

Uses of Infinity AI The mission of Infinity AI centers on developing generative video models with a human focus, facilitating various applications such as:

Film and TV Content Creation

Personalized Video Content

Storytelling and Narrative Development

Education and Training

Creative Exploration

Exploring Infinity AI’s Vision Infinity AI is delving into the world of generative video models with a keen focus on storytelling and human connection. While specific details on full-length movie generation remain undisclosed, the project aims to transform filmmaking by harnessing the power of AI through:

Advanced AI Tools

Generative Storytelling Techniques

Minimal Human Involvement

Can Infinity AI write scripts for full-length movies? Yes, Infinity AI is dedicated to developing technology that aids in crafting scripts for entire movies, envisioning a future where a small team of writers can achieve Academy Award success without relying on actors or directors.

Features of Infinity AI

Generative Video Models

Scriptwriting Support

Future Vision

Technology Development

Engagement Channels

Benefits of using Infinity AI

Automated Scriptwriting

Storytelling Assistance

Future-Centric Approach

Creative Exploration

Accessible Progress Tracking

Infinity AI Pricing Infinity AI offers both free and paid plans, with the free plan providing limited functionality. Paid plans offer advanced features for personalized content creation, with pricing varying based on plan selection and usage.

#ai #ai tools #artificial intelligence #blogging #AI video maker #AI film Maker

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jcmarchi · 6 months

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3 deepfake prevention measures to implement ASAP - CyberTalk

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/3-deepfake-prevention-measures-to-implement-asap-cybertalk/

3 deepfake prevention measures to implement ASAP - CyberTalk

Micki Boland is a global cyber security warrior and evangelist with Check Point’s Office of the CTO. Micki has over 20 years in ICT, cyber security, emerging technology, and innovation. Micki’s focus is helping customers, system integrators, and service providers reduce risk through the adoption of emerging cyber security technologies. Micki is an ISC2 CISSP and holds a Master of Science in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA with a global security concentration from East Carolina University.

Are deepfakes the 21st century’s answer to photoshopping? Deepfake technology has steadily progressed and proliferated across the past decade.

Deepfakes rely on a form of artificial intelligence (known as deep learning) to create fabricated digital narratives; they can turn people into talking puppets, and convincingly depict events that never happened. In short, they mean that we can no longer trust our eyes.

In this article, knowledgeable and highly accomplished industry expert Micki Boland provides insightful predictions around deepfakes and discusses how to prevent them from negatively affecting your business operations.

Take steps to prevent deepfakes from undermining your enterprise. Learn more in the interview that follows:

In brief, based on everything that you’ve seen this year, what concerns you most regarding the business implications of deepfakes?

Ultimately, for the business world, especially for executive leadership, everyone should know the risks associated with the malicious use of deepfakes for CEO impersonation and financial fraud. These uses of deepfakes can lead to brand manipulation and harm, and present very real threats to all organizations. Take these threats seriously.

What are your predictions around how deepfake technology will evolve in 2024?

1. We will see an increasing number of attempts to utilize deepfakes — in the form of voicefakes, used for exploitation by cyber criminals — for financial gain and extortion.

These will increasingly be utilized for deep social engineering and impersonation of CEO and C-suite officers, board members and financial transaction owners.

I think it is highly probable that we will see direct malicious attacks using deepfake video against a publicly traded organization in 2024; with the intent to derail, disrupt, destabilize, or financially harm the organization and its shareholders.

2. We will see an increase in deepfake videos that impersonate private sector executives and authority figures in government.

These will be created by hacktivists, nation states and proxy actors for disruption, destabilization and disinformation, fomenting division and ultimately leading to election interference.

We will also see an increase in use of deepfake video technology for the purpose of generating non-consensual pornography and child exploitation.

3. We will see acceleration of synthetically generated content shared on the internet and virally disseminated via social media platforms. Media groups, advertisers, big tech platforms, news bots, and social engineering bots will rapidly spread this synthetic content.

It will become increasingly challenging to identify content that is created by humans vs. that generated by generative AI.

Best practices for deepfake prevention? How can organizations avoid being duped by deepfakes?

Right now, it is very difficult to detect synthetically generated content; whether deepfake video, audio, images, or news. And the technology is getting better.

ChatGPT and Large Language Models will accelerate the creation and distribution of deepfakes. Three key focus areas can help organizations and people from being defrauded or manipulated by deepfake technologies:

1. Training, awareness and preparation related to organizational use and consumption of generative AI and awareness around malicious deepfake content is absolutely crucial.

This awareness training must be delivered to all employees within enterprises and organizations, with special attention to training and awareness for the C-level and board, for officers, and for organizational financial custodians.

Business process reviews with separation of duties and “chain of custody” protocols for financial transaction management must be reviewed asap and shored up.

Organizations need to prepare for incident handling and response, and need to have a communications plan, should deepfakes be used against the organization.

2. Create guardrails defining which groups within your organization can use generative AI, and for what purposes. If your marketing department uses generative AI for creating synthetic videos, ensure that the right people are using the approved tools and platforms. Your organization can create a launch pad for organizationally approved generative AI platforms access. Cyber security solutions providers can enforce generative AI policies on security gateways.

3. It is unlikely that detection technologies will be able to keep up with the rapid acceleration of tools and platforms used to create generative AI and deepfakes. And detection requires yet another step to determine whether the deepfake content is malicious, illicit or benign.

These challenges will demand the development of zero trust principles around generative AI models (NIST AI Risk Management Framework), as well as clear identification, labeling, and authenticity verification mechanisms for AI-generated content that is posted to social media platforms.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with the C-level thought leadership audience around this topic?

Connect with Check Point or your cyber security partner. Take steps now to train yourselves and your people. Train people to be aware of and discerning in terms of the content that they are receiving and the use of social engineering bots to disseminate deepfakes.

Include malicious deepfake brand damage information in your IR/IH and communications plans. Once a deepfake is unleashed on social media, it is difficult to stop proliferation. Think outside of the box in your tabletop exercises and identify the potential ways a malicious executive deepfake would cause your organization the most harm. Prepare for this.

For mitigating use of deepfake technologies in the context of financial fraud, ensure that there are human validations and authentications for all steps in the financial transaction process, with separation of duties and multiple humans having the “nuke codes” for authorizing financial transactions.

Be sure to add or expand AI-based threat intelligence and proactive threat blocking within your organization.

Last, but not least, your HR teams need to understand that deepfake technologies have been used by prospective ‘job candidates’ in the hiring process, including in “face swapping” incidents. Take proper investigative steps to ensure that candidates are indeed who they say that they are.

Discover additional thought leadership insights around deepfakes here:

Proactively develop strategies to prevent deepfake threats – Read article

Find out about the most advanced deepfake prevention technologies – Learn more

To discuss deepfake prevention tools with an expert, click here

Lastly, to receive more timely cyber security insights and cutting-edge analyses, please sign up for the cybertalk.org newsletter

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kazzkarenlewsader · 10 months

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#sagaftrastrike

SAG Organizing Committee One-Sheet

Why Is SAG-AFTRA on Strike?

Background:

Major Studios, Networks and Streaming Companies are raking in billions. Corporate greed is making the acting profession unsustainable for most of our members.

What happened:

SAG-AFTRA proposed changes to our contract hat would address existential threats to our members' livelihoods, but the AMPTP rejected those proposals.

Key points:

While multibillion-dollar corporations enjoy immense profits, inflation and new distribution models have eroded the income of working performers — individuals who must now bear the burden of casting costs, now that self-taped auditions are the industry norm. Compounding these inequities is the threat of AI technology. If allowed to remain unchecked, this technology has the potential to eliminate acting jobs while replacing humans in storytelling with computer generated replicas.

Compensation:

● In real-dollar-value terms, scale rates for actors in 2023 are now 10% lower than they were in 2020.

● Accepting the AMPTP’s final offer would mean that performers would be paid 5% less in real-dollar terms over the next three years than they were paid in June of 2020.

● The streamers have been increasing their prices while actors’ wages have been eroded by inflation.

● The streaming companies’ goal? Reward shareholders at the expense of both their workers and their audiences.

Revenue Sharing On Top Of Residuals:

● The current residual structure has proven woefully inadequate for too many performers.

● SAG-AFTRA has proposed a revenue-sharing model that would ensure that the casts of every film or series will share in the revenue that it generates for its streaming platforms.

Health Care and Retirement Funding

● Employer contributions into the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan, the SAG Pension Plan and the AFTRA Retirement Fund are currently limited by episodic contribution caps that haven’t changed in 40 years.

● SAG-AFTRA’s proposal would increase these limits in line with inflation, resulting in meaningful additional funding to these vitally important benefit plans.

Online Casting Platforms

● No one should be required to pay a fee to access work opportunities and equitable consideration. Because of this, SAG-AFTRA seeks to ensure a fair casting process.

Artificial Intelligence

● Safeguards need to be put in place to ensure actors are always able to give consent and are compensated when their likenesses are used in the creation of new projects.

Why is a strike the solution?

Going on strike is an action of last resort. But when the conditions of our employment have become so thoroughly unacceptable, our union is truly left with no choice but to strike.

Are all SAG-AFTRA members on strike?

SAG-AFTRA is a union that represents many different types of media professionals and has multiple contracts. This strike is specific to TV/Theatrical/Streaming work being done under the 2020 TV/Theatrical Agreements by AMPTP signatories.

The Interim Agreement... What’s an agreement vs. a waiver?

There is no such thing as an interim waiver!

Any production who wants to get APPROVED to shoot during this STRIKE MUST GO through the “Interim Agreement” process. Any production who has been approved for us to WORK ON will be ON the site.

A waiver is a legally binding provision where either party in a contract agrees to voluntarily forfeit a claim without the other party being liable.

An agreement is a legal contract between two parties that allows for continued business operations during the transition of one owner to another.

Any questions about the status of a project and its approval, email the following: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Organizing Resources:

SAG-AFTRA Strike website (read through the whole thing!)

www.sagaftrastrike.org

Picket line/Captains Volunteer:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/StrikeSupportSurvey_2

Instagram Accounts Sharing SAG Strike Updates:

@sagaftra @AudreyHelpsActors @itsmillertaime @andrewleeds @unionworking @thekevine @danicecabinela @mikenelson @cheyenneperezzz @solidarity.us

Unofficial Union Literacy Guide (Created by Solidarity.Us)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gFlbKBnQ0xvdC_-YNwaKFo2bkGdoYIHR/view

**Encourage people to read their emails from SAG for up-to-date info**

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akitrausa · 1 year

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Why Automation is Important in Cybersecurity Compliance?

If talking about cybersecurity compliance then it is no exception to the trend of automating previously manual business operations in order to increase productivity and precision during the past decade. Traditional methods of ensuring compliance were time-consuming and laborious, making it hard to stay up with the ever-evolving nature of cybersecurity risks. If you want better results then you can check soc 1 vs. soc 2. Automation has changed that by making it possible to speedily respond to new dangers while also eliminating the need to manually perform routine operations.

Automating compliance procedures has many advantages.

You can probably guess that automation of soc 2 framework has improved cybersecurity compliance in several ways. We anticipate that the benefits will increase as machine learning and artificial intelligence technology develops further.

First, it can aid in increasing precision by eliminating human error from formerly manual processes. Scanning for flaws in a network manual ly, for instance, can lead to oversights that can be exploited by malicious actors. They can rest easy knowing that all vulnerabilities are being detected thanks to the use of an automated scanning technology.

Second, automating the compliance process can help to speed it up by doing away with manual duties and the requirement for man-hours. In dynamic settings where new dangers can appear at any time, this is crucial. By iso 27017 automating processes like incident response and patch management, security teams may better respond to emerging threats and lessen the likelihood that an assault would result in a data breach.

Automation enhances the precision of data gathering and processing for purposes of regulatory compliance. Software-based compliance solutions eliminate the need for manual data entry and create a single source of truth for your company's compliance team. Now that all your compliance data is in one place, the IT security team never again has to guess or rely on outdated or incorrect information when making decisions.

Regulations, policies, records, contracts, cis aws foundations benchmark and agreements that were once kept in several places can now be accessed centrally through automation.

Consistent Workflow — Compliance workflow automation allows software to be programmed to follow rules-based instructions to carry out a full task with no need for human intervention. One other example is software that renews subscriptions and keeps track of expiration dates without your intervention and only sends reminders in accordance with your preferences.

Prioritization of Essential Activities - Improved cybersecurity compliance programs can only be maintained with the help of automation. Automating processes like asset inventory, vulnerability management, and patch management is helpful in the context of iso 27701cybersecurity compliance. By automating these processes, compliance can be enhanced while resources are freed up for other strategic endeavors.

Lower the Risk of Noncompliance Businesses can avoid fines and other penalties for noncompliance with the use of specialized software platforms. They can, for instance, monitor their compliance and risk profile in real time via a centralized dashboard.

Costs of conformity reduction - For the forthcoming fiscal year, most CISOs have had to cut costs, which means they have invested very little in compliance, governance, and risk assessment technologies.

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stellarcyber-security · 1 year

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Unlocking the Potential of AI/ML in Cybersecurity: Challenges, Opportunities, and Progress Indicators

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been transforming the cybersecurity landscape for over a decade, with machine learning (ML) speeding the detection of threats and identifying anomalous user and entity behaviors. However, recent developments in large language models (LLMs), such as OpenAI’s GPT-3, have brought AI to the forefront of the cybersecurity community. These models use documented cybersecurity information to learn how to respond to prompts on the topic. LLMs can also explain complex security issues in easy-to-understand language, bringing the non-expert into the world of cybersecurity.

While LLMs are not a silver bullet for cybersecurity, they can quickly detect and mitigate cyberattacks at scale. Unfortunately, as with all advancements in the cybersecurity world, bad actors are using LLMs to increase the breadth and speed of their attacks with some early success.

One of the significant challenges in leveraging AI for cybersecurity is building trust. Trust is everything in security, and for years, vendors have played “fast and loose” with “AI/ML”, often overstating their capabilities to drive increased interest in their offerings. This practice has caused many cybersecurity decision-makers to be skeptical of any technology touting AI/ML capabilities. Additionally, accuracy and explainability are two significant challenges regarding AI/ML. The data used to train AI/ML models drives the output of the models. If the training data does not represent the “real world’, the model will develop a bias that can skew its ability to deliver expected results. Some data, such as threat intel, good and bad file characteristics, indicators of compromise (IOCs), and the like, are to everyone. However, user and entity behavior data only applies to the specific user or entity.

Another significant challenge is data security. Defining and controlling what training data can be shared and what data stays with organizations is essential. In the wrong hands, this data could assist bad actors in their attacks to subvert AI/ML’s ability to identify their files, applications, and behaviors as nefarious. As a result, governments and commercial entities need to build regulations, standards, and best practices to thwart new threats.

For example, Extended Detection and Response (XDR) products enable non-expert users to deliver outcomes once thought only for senior security personnel. Non-experts can complete comprehensive investigations and responses without writing complex queries or developing scripts. As a result, we can see the current talent gap between the supply and demand of security professionals.

Recent AI developments will speed up the automation process, making detection and response faster and more effective. However, while data collection, normalization, detection, and correlation automation are possible, complex bespoke attacks require professional security expert involvement. In addition, attackers exploit human vectors frequently, as seen in high-profile attacks such as SolarWinds and the Colonial Pipeline attack. While it is impossible to eliminate the potential of a user inadvertently becoming part of a cyberattack, continual technology advancement coupled with the availability of MDR/MSSP services makes it possible to continually reduce the likelihood a user’s actions, whether intentional or accidental, leads to a widespread breach.

Regarding progress indicators for AI in cybersecurity, security posture vs. security budget is the ultimate test. Does AI deliver better outcomes that are cheaper/faster than the alternative? Enterprise security teams’ represent AI impact in actual performance metric changes, such as mean time to detect and respond (MTTD and MTTR, respectively). MSSPs have the best opportunity to articulate the impact of AI on their bottom line, positively or negatively. Since they deliver services to drive revenue, they should see the tangible financial implications after adopting AI-driven cybersecurity solutions. There are no magic bullets in the cybersecurity world. Security vendors that promote any technology as 100% effective or claim the ability to prevent and detect all breaches should be derided by the community as they display their misunderstanding of cybersecurity for all to see. That said, recent developments in LLMs and other AI technologies can impact the speed and ease with which threats are detected and mitigated. The cybersecurity community must have trust, accuracy, and accountability to embrace AI’s full potential. Additionally, there will always be complex attacks that require human involvement, and progress indicators should focus on metrics such as security posture vs. security budget and SOC automation. AI can help us maintain a more secure digital world by addressing these challenges and tracking progress.

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mst3kproject · 5 years

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Abraxas: Guardian of the Universe

This is another treasure from the dollar bin at Wal-Mart, and unlike some movies I have acquired thus (Samson vs the Vampire Women comes to mind) it was actually worth spending a buck on. It’s bizarre and hilarious and put me in mind of MST3K even before it became a Rifftrack – and the Rifftrack is great. It gets off to a very strong start with Mike laughing out loud and going, “no seriously, what’s the real title?”

Abraxas is a Finder, one of ‘the cops of the universe’. His partner Secudus has gone rogue and is out to create a being called the Comator, who will solve the Anti-Life Equation. What does that mean? I have no fucking idea but it’s definitely bad, so Abraxas is sent to stop him. Secundus is eventually captured, but not before he impregnates a woman named Sonya, who promptly (and I do mean promptly) gives birth to her son Tommy. Abraxas is ordered to kill Sonya and Tommy both, but spares them – which just means that six years later, Secundus can escape from prison again and returns to Earth to claim his son. This is all set to music that sounds like a Kenny G. Christmas album.

This entire movie is just one big what. You can usually tell what they’re going for but the execution is always weird, starting with the title. Abraxas: Guardian of the Universe sounds like a shitty 80’s cartoon created to advertise a line of cheap action figures. What the film actually is, is a ripoff of Terminator II: Judgment Day, and nobody much bothers to try to hide that. There’s a precocious little boy with a very important destiny, his independent and protective mother, and two equally threatening burly dudes, one of whom is trying to kill him and one of whom is trying to protect him. A family dynamic forms between good Burly Dude and the mother and son, while bad Burly Dude pursues them implacably until the final showdown between good and evil.

Because the makers of Abraxas: Guardian of the Universe couldn’t afford to be sued by James Cameron, they have of course made a number of changes to the story, most notably using aliens instead of robots from the future, but the script gives the impression of having been written in too much of a hurry to get these changes right. For example, one of the rules of the Terminator universe is that you can’t take anything with you back in time, so nobody has any weapons or even any clothing from the future. Abraxas doesn’t need to keep this rule, but it does anyway, by ‘crossing the teleportation streams’ or something so that both Abraxas and Secundus lose their weaponry (but not, thank god, their clothes) on their way to Earth. There’s no reason for this, it’s only there because it was there in the Terminator movies.

Occasionally the movie tries to be funny. It rarely works – the only bit that actually got a snicker out of me on purpose was when a waitress presented Secundus with his bill and he ate it. The rest of the jokes just fall flat. There’s a scene in which one alien snippily informs another that “parsecs are not an appropriate Earth time unit!”, and it’s obvious what they’re referencing but that’s not the same as being funny. Another really bizarre moment has Abraxas telling some campers that the artificial intelligence implanted in his wrist, his ‘Answer Box’, can find Secundus by detecting his vibrational frequency, and what he actually says is “my Box has V.D.” Was that a joke? If so, was Ventura in on it? Or did somebody just think it would be really funny to trick him into saying that his vagina has an STI? What?

On a similar note, there’s a bit where Abraxas, sitting in bed with no shirt on, tells Tommy he’s going to tell him a story ‘about two men who were partners’. I’m at least pretty sure that wasn’t an intentional innuendo but man, it’s an icky thing for a large hairy man to say to a six-year-old boy.

The main thing people who’ve seen this movie remember about it is the soundtrack, which is entirely inexplicable. There’s one little strain that really does sound like the opening to I’ll be Home for Christmas on alto saxophone, and the fact that the whole movie happens in the winter only heightens the effect. This is the entire score, too – Sonya contemplates killing her child, then decides against it, to saxophone music. Abraxas and Secundus pursue each other through the woods to saxophone music. The one major exception is the song that plays over the final showdown and that’s equally out of place. What were they thinking?

Performances and casting are weird. Ventura and Sven-Ole Thorsen mostly come across as robotic, which is okay for nigh-immortal defenders of the cosmos but quickly crumbles when they’re supposed to display emotion, as when Secundus proudly addresses Tommy as ‘my son’ or when Abraxas starts to develop feelings for Sonya. I have no idea how old Sonya is supposed to be – an early scene with her parents suggests that she’s a teenager but Marjorie Bransfield (Jim Belushi’s wife, if you’re interested) is clearly thirty-odd and nobody tries to make her look younger. Everybody else is kinda low-level bad with one rather stunning exception, and that’s Francis Mitchell as Tommy.

Tommy never speaks throughout the movie, until he finally gets two words in voiceover at the end – this means that his entire character arc must be communicated non-verbally. We see that Tommy loves his mother, that he knows he has strange powers and is afraid of them and the harm he could do with them, and that he’s terrified of Secundus but doesn’t know if he should trust Abraxas either. Mitchell isn’t a brilliant child actor but he’s good enough in a movie where very little even rises to that level, and that’s fairly impressive.

If this movie has a point, it’s that there is no destiny – Tommy can be the Comator and bring about the end of the universe, but he doesn’t have to be if he doesn’t want to. He can choose how he uses his powers. This is the same thing Kyle Reese tells Sarah Connor in The Terminator: the future isn’t written yet, and our choices are important. In this one instance, Abraxas actually manages to make its point a bit better than Terminator did, because it doesn’t have the time travel. The story of Terminator was a closed loop: John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time to meet Sarah so that John can be born. All this must happen because in a sense it already did. Abraxas is not chained to its own ending in this way, and so Tommy’s destiny is entirely his own without requiring a sequel to make it so.

This is also, as the summary implies, a film about rape, and the way the topic is treated ties in with the idea of our destiny being based on our choices. When Secundus kidnaps Sonya, he tells her I need your body, and makes it clear that he will use it with or without her consent. When she comes home with an infant, her father throws her out, accusing her of being sexually irresponsible. Sonya herself is tempted to do violence to the child who will always remind her of this traumatic evening.

But Sonya is actually a pretty tough cookie. She defends herself to her father, telling him she has nothing to be ashamed of. When she finds herself out in the cold, she picks herself up and builds a life for herself and her child, and she never lets the awful circumstances of Tommy’s conception colour how she treats him. Because Sonya raises him with love and support, Tommy is able to understand that his destiny does not have to be destruction. He can at last allow himself to speak, knowing his words will harm no one unless he chooses.

That’s honestly a really powerful arc for a movie, but Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe doesn’t use it effectively. The acting is way too bad and the situations far too silly for it to have an impact, and the ending focuses on Abraxas and Secundus fighting when it should be about Tommy’s internal struggle. Admittedly, external fistfights are way easier to film, but Sonya and Tommy are the emotional crux of this story, and after the arcs they’ve been through they deserve better than to be spectators at the end.

At some point in the writing process for this movie somebody seems to have realized that if Abraxas is going to be the main character he needs to learn something or evolve somehow, so that’s what they try to do. How do they do that? They have him learn emotions. Yes, it’s really corny. Yes, it involves falling in love with Sonya and deciding to retire and stay on Earth. I wonder… if they have more children, will they do it the human way, or will Abraxas hold a hand over her stomach while his Answer Box announces reproduction commenced? The other way they show us Abraxas learning emotion is having him argue with his Answer Box and eventually tell it to shut up, signifying that he’s becoming less of a machine, himself. The movie seems to think this is really funny but it’s not.

After two pages of complaining I need to reiterate that Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe is not annoying-bad, it’s hilarious-bad. In true B-movie style, its entertainment value lies in the disconnect between what the film-makers were going for and the result they produced. It’s much like Space Mutiny that way, trying so hard to be epic and falling comically short, and it would have made for similarly classic MST3K.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #abraxas guardian of the universe #tw: rape #90s

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keanuquotes · 5 years

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How Scary Is ‘Replicas?’ The New Keanu Reeves Sci-Fi Movie Is An Emotional AI Nightmare By ANGELICA FLORIO

About 20 years after Keanu Reeves starred in one of the most acclaimed sci-fi movies ever, the actor is leading a new movie with a trailer that seems to suggest another glitch in the matrix. In Replicas, out Jan. 11, Reeves plays a neuroscientist named William Foster, whose family dies in a tragic car accident. William, playing god with science, brings his family back to life by cloning them. As if that's not bone-chilling enough, the grieving father's sci-fi mission takes a dark turn when the police attempt to stop William's experiment and a battle between robots and humans commences. Replicas is actually way scarier than you might expect, because William's sci-fi scheme goes horribly wrong.

If you're a fan of Black Mirror, you'll probably appreciate Replicas and its eerie brand of horror because the new Reeves movie has a somewhat foreboding element to it. With real-life cloning experiments well under way, Replicas serves as yet another example of Hollywood's dark portrayal of why modern science could bring the whole world down in some sort of Artificial Intelligence vs. Humans battle.

What sets Replicas apart from other freaky movies about AI, like Ex Machina, is the fact that the "robots" in the movie are treated just like humans, at least by William.

If you can handle spooky sci-fi movies that make you question the direction that technology could be heading in, then you'll probably enjoy Replicas, even if it is pretty scary. You'd be in good company if sci-fi movies are your favorite source of jump scares, because Reeves himself has previously spoken about how much he enjoys the genre.

While at 2017's New York Comic Con, Reeves spoke on a panel for Replicas, according to the blog Bleeding Cool. "I love Science Fiction – love the world building, love the way it can be a Trojan horse — all other genres can fit inside SF... And sometimes you get spaceships and aliens and, you know, cool stuff,” Reeves said at the 2017 panel.

It's hard to tell exactly what you'll get from Replicas, as viewers will probably have a hard time picking characters to root for. On one hand, William's dangerous experiment is dangerous and illegal, but on the other hand, he's motivated by grief and love after losing his family. Then there are the cyborg clones — are they good or bad? And what about the law enforcers who take extreme measures to attempt to stop Williams' family?

The ethical questions, along with the suspense, make Replicas a quintessential sci-fi movie, and director Jeffrey Nachmanoff explained to the same 2017 NYCC panel as Reeves before that he's in it for the ethical conundrum. "There’s a price to pay when you play with mother nature," Nachmanoff said, per Bleeding Cool.

With real-life news stories these days about cloning, including Barbra Streisand cloning her dog, Samantha, movies like Replicas might become scarier and scarier as they seem to become more realistic. If you're a thrill-seeker who loves sci-fi, though, the new Reeves movie seems like the flick for you.

https://www.bustle.com/p/how-scary-is-replicas-the-new-keanu-reeves-sci-fi-movie-is-emotional-ai-nightmare-15571975

#Keanu Reeves #Replicas movie #movies

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adalidda · 3 years

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Illustration Photo: Application of fertilizer and herbicide mix to a field east of Genoa, Illinois, USA (credits: Bill Meier / Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0))

Optimisation of Nutrient budget in Agriculture

Sustainable agricultural production systems not only deliver nutritious food and other raw materials, they are also key drivers of economic growth in rural areas. Roughly 25% of the annually produced terrestrial agricultural biomass is used by humans, about 70% [1](mostly from grassland, by-products, and inedible crop residues) converted through animals into food and manure, and the remainder goes into biofuel. Unsustainable agricultural systems can cause a variety of adverse environmental effects, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, and air and water pollution due to poor management of nutrients.

When possible, the holistic consideration of plant and animal nutrition within the agricultural production systems could contribute to more sustainability of the food chain by promoting the minimization of nutrients leakage and improved nutritional values of fertilisers, feed and food. This approach could cover the basic nutritional elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen), the macro elements (phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, calcium, sulphur) but also the trace elements (zinc, copper, iron, iodine, selenium, manganese). In line with the European Green Deal, the development of a nutrient budgeting approach could focus on the fluxes of carbon (C).

However, there are substantial knowledge gaps regarding the measurement and understanding of the impacts of nutrients flow in different farming practices (conventional, agro-ecological and organic systems, specialised and mix farming systems) at various scales, from local to global, and the capacity to model those impacts.

Proposals should build on existing and new knowledge, data, models (including in situ calibration measurement), artificial intelligence and tools to:

Optimise and harmonise nutrient and water flow models, indicators and data for quantification and assessment to prevent or reduce environmental pollution caused by nutrients, across sectors, for different types of agricultural practices (conventional, organic and agro-ecological agriculture), and scales – farm, local, regional and river basin. Explore and assess safe alternative nutrient sources and pathways (e.g. organic vs inorganic), enhance management and recycling of organic wastes and explore nutrient recovery opportunities (e.g. by using treated sewage sludge or wastewater) as well as nutrient mobilisation through microorganisms; Build upon available results from previous EU projects funded under the Horizon 2020 topic CE-RUR-08-2018-2019-2020: Closing nutrient cycles. Enhance nutrient use efficiency at different levels. Analyse climate change effects of certain nutrient flows, including interactions between nutrient, water and carbon cycles. Develop biological models for nutrients flows remote sensing tools, in agricultural systems: for physical, chemical and biological parameters, using smart sensors and AI technologies. Develop digital platforms to allow precision nutrient management at farm scale and landscape scale. Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the farming sector and, as relevant, bio-based industry active in rural areas.

Expected Outcome

In line with the zero pollution action plan and the farm to fork strategy, the successful proposal will support to limit and reduce pollution due to the excess of nutrients and nutrient losses (especially nitrogen and phosphorus) in the environment, stemming from excess use in agriculture. It will contribute with new and enhance knowledge to the development of integrated nutrient management plan.

Project results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:

Improve nutrient budget and flows by identification of optimal combinations of nutrients in different farming systems (conventional, agro-ecological and organic systems) following, when possible, a holistic approach of the plant and animal productions system. New approaches and methods supported with sound indicators to monitor and measure nutrients flows and practices with the greatest climate change mitigation potential and water and nutrient leakages, and biodiversity preservation while ensuring economic farm viability. Identification and targeted implementation of individual or combined region-specific agricultural practices that help balance nutrient cycles and Nature Based Solutions for plant and animal nutrition and health optimizing the use of external inputs and implementation of regulated deficit strategies. Quantification of the potential to save particularly N and P emissions from the implementation of relevant individual or combined agriculture practices, e.g. organic agriculture, agro-ecology, conservation agriculture, improve organic and mineral fertilization management, etc., that enhance soils health and combat eutrophication and water pollution. Improved nutrient budget at different scales, by sound quantification of the inputs and outputs of water and nutrients in different agricultural systems including quantitative environmental and economic indicators for farms, regions and/or products. Enhanced models to identify contamination and pollution hotspots locally, to extrapolate to regional, national and global solutions. Strengthened transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and integrated scientific support for relevant EU policies and priorities (common agricultural policy (CAP), Green Deal, the zero pollution action plan, the farm to fork, etc.).

Application Deadline: 6 October 2021 17:00:00 Brussels time

Check more https://adalidda.com/posts/BYSYLdedqi2r9wz6i/optimisation-of-nutrient-budget-in-agriculture

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odanurr87 · 6 years

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My thoughts on... Altered Carbon

Apologies for not posting this review earlier but a few things happened during the week, one of which was the Farewell episode of Life is Strange: Before the Storm and I simply couldn’t not play it right away. Also, as you may have noticed by now, I hadn’t written up this review yet. I’ll try to keep this brief.

Overall, Altered Carbon is a series I enjoyed a great deal due to several factors, the first of which is its length. Much like British TV shows, Altered Carbon’s first season is short, comprised only of ten episodes, what’s good because it doesn’t dilute the narrative and keeps the momentum going. I’ve lost count of how many filler episodes there are in any given American TV show and I’ve often pondered how much better something like, say, The Flash would be if it were given half the number of episodes to tell a story. Not to mention there are only so many times I can be invested in Barry having to defeat yet another evil speedster. Altered Carbon is given 10 hours to make this work and I believe it succeeds.

The second factor that immediately appealed to me was the blend between sci-fi and crime thriller ala Blade Runner (probably leaning more towards 2049 than the original). The main protagonist, Takeshi Kovacs, is introduced to us as a mercenary on the run who is later hired as a private eye to look into a murder given his... colourful background. The investigation is certainly eventful and well-paced although it doesn’t do as good of a job as other murder mysteries, such as Poirot, or Miss Marple, in involving the audience and trying to get them to play detective themselves. By the time Kovacs decided to gather everyone in the traditional “room scene” I had few concrete reasons to suspect any of them for the murder but Takeshi managed to paint a colourful picture as was, indeed, the intention.

Perhaps this is compounded by the fact that, in Altered Carbon’s universe, the body is just a shell (wink wink), a sleeve, a skin that can be worn by anyone, what makes it difficult to guess who may be using a person’s sleeve at any given time, a fact that Altered Carbon takes advantage of throughout the series. This leads to a number of plot threads that introduce new characters and potential allies of Takeshi, such as Kristin Ortega (played by Martha Higareda), a police officer who’s aware of Takeshi’s colourful past and decides to keep tabs on him; and Vernon Elliot (played by Ato Essandoh), a former medic in the Tac Marines who initially becomes a prime suspect in Takeshi’s investigation. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Poe (played by Chris Conner), the Raven hotel’s Artificial Intelligence who takes on the appearance of, you guessed it, Edgar Allan Poe and sees himself as Takeshi’s partner in crime. If only. Poe’s introduction in episode 1 is probably the best in the series (certainly the funniest and a tad creepy as well) and I hope he returns in an eventual sequel.

Poe, one of the best supporting characters.

Since we’re talking cast I should mention a few other names that are tied to Takeshi’s past but for that I need to paint you a picture of the setting. As I mentioned earlier, in this alternate future, humanity has unlocked the means to live forever by storing their consciousness in a chip called a “stack.” In so doing however, humanity has paved the way for further differentiation of the classes, where the rich and powerful can practically live forever in the best and most alluring sleeves while the lower classes either die or often get placed in the cheapest bodies they can afford. At one point, a group of rebels called Envoys decided to rise against this system and tried to put an end to immortality. Needless to say, it did not go well for them and the series explores the events that led to their downfall alongside the murder mystery. In fact, Takeshi was the sole surviving member of their group and he was put on ice for a couple hundred of years. You can imagine he was none too thrilled about being brought back to solve the murder of an immortal, as he embodies everything Takeshi fought against.

Takeshi Kovacs, meet the new Takeshi Kovacs.

This segways nicely into an interesting discussion point as Altered Carbon’s main protagonist is played by two actors (three actually, as he’s briefly played by Byron Mann in the beginning as the above picture shows): Will Yun Lee, during his Envoy days; and Joel Kinnaman (whom you may recognize from Suicide Squad), during the murder investigation. Personally, I liked both their performances and I even felt, at times, that I could see Lee’s Takeshi in Kinnaman’s performance, what is no mean feat. Connecting the two is Quellcrist Falconer (played by Renée Elise Goldsberry), the smart and fearless leader of the Envoys and, incidentally, Takeshi’s love interest. I absolutely loved her interactions with Takeshi, be them past or present. Indeed, Altered Carbon successfully weaves and balances the Envoy storyline with the murder mystery in a way reminiscent of how Arrow used to balance Oliver’s past in the island and his day-to-day as a vigilante in Star City. Some, if not all, of the best moments in the series involve these two in some form or another. Quell is always present in Takeshi’s thoughts, even in death, and her wisdom helps him out of many a tight spot. It’s a rather beautiful, if tragic, love story and I’m a sucker for those. The ending of the series perfectly sets up the sequel playing to Quellcrist’s theme, undoubtedly the most emotional of the music tracks in the series and my personal favourite (sadly, it’s not a part of the OST). Since I mentioned music, I must admit Altered Carbon has some badass scenes that are perfectly enhanced by tracks like PJ Harvey’s “The Wicked Tongue.” Is the soundtrack worth listening to on its own? My first answer would be “no” but let me get back to you on that.

Quell is my favourite supporting character and I hope we see more of her in a sequel.

There are a few other positives and negatives I could mention about the show but I’ll do so in the spoilers section of this post. In general lines, the murder mystery is relegated to a second place after a certain point in the series as it switches to the heist genre once the criminal mastermind has been identified (perhaps somewhat sooner than I would’ve liked in retrospect). The reveal came as a bit of a surprise, even when it really shouldn’t have. Personally, I found the conclusion to the investigation more disappointing than the culprit’s identity as a few things line up rather too conveniently.

The series has also been, to an extent, criticized for its somewhat gratuitous depictions of gore and nudity but, to be fair, it’s nothing we haven’t seen in Game of Thrones before, a series that, if I remember correctly, was praised for that very same fact not too long ago (even though I always felt this was done for the shock value and to attract viewers). However, at least the nudity doesn’t seem too out of place in Altered Carbon when you consider most of the universe’s richer denizens see their bodies, their sleeves, as a sign of their power and would probably waste no opportunity to show off (indeed, one such scene transpires between Takeshi and Miriam Bancroft). Still, I believe the series would work just as well if there was less of it.

Overall, Altered Carbon is a series I would heartily recommend to any fan of science fiction and murder mysteries, not to mention it has a solid romance story between Takeshi and Quell (and maybe between Takeshi and the beautiful Kristin Ortega, you’ll just have to see!). I’m a bit puzzled by the critics’ tepid, if not outright dismissive, reception of this series, but for a while now I’ve had the feeling that critics have become increasingly out of touch with what people look for in entertainment. Their professionalism in analyzing or critiquing a film or a series has, sadly, become more and more influenced by their biases and agendas (be those political or otherwise), as recent releases like Ghostbusters or The Last Jedi would suggest (or the different reception to The Orville vs. Star Trek Discovery insofar TV shows are concerned). In fact, James Raney over at YouTube makes an interesting comparison between reviews for Netflix’s Bright and Disney’s The Last Jedi, highlighting the lack of consistency when reviewing one of the other (you can watch his video here). Erik Kain from Forbes also wrote an article about a month ago arguing some critics didn’t do their due diligence when reviewing Altered Carbon (you can read his article here). Is the takeaway here that I should start watching everything the critics review badly? I should hope not.

With that said, let’s dive into spoiler territory.

I didn’t like the character of Lizzie, Vernon’s daughter. I thought Poe’s therapy took way too long and was meant entirely to have her show up in the last episode to save her parents through Kovacs’ levels of badassery in an outfit that felt out of place, if not out of character. Not to mention she hints at being able to see the future, something that comes entirely out of the left field and certainly adds nothing to this series but perhaps it’s setup for the sequel. It’s also rather convenient that she has the single, most damning, piece of evidence for Takeshi to round up his investigation, something you will probably guess early on and that the show will do its utmost to make you forget (or you will have solved at least half of the puzzle).

Much criticism has also been directed at the character of Reileen Kawahara (played by Dichen Lachman; did I mention the women in this show are all absolutely gorgeous?), Takeshi’s sister. As you can undoubtedly guess, she’s the evil mastermind behind everything that’s going on to the point she even has her version of Oddjob (that’s from James Bond’s Goldfinger in case you didn’t know) to run interference and murder everyone that gets in her way. I personally liked how Lachman played the character as I felt she was very attached to her brother (maybe too much so), to the point I truly believed she was sincere about wanting him back at her side, the two of them against the world, even if it was also crystal clear everyone else was utterly expendable to her. In hindsight, perhaps the flashbacks don’t accurately convey this bond as Takeshi and Reileen have little time to reconnect, after being separated since childhood, before they’re recruited into the Envoys, but Reileen certainly comes across as (overly) protective of her big brother from that point onwards. Props to Joel Kinnaman also as Reileen’s and Takeshi’s last scene aboard the “Head in the Clouds,” is especially poignant as you can see how neither truly wants to harm the other and it tears Takeshi (and the viewer) apart when he finally pulls the trigger and end his sister’s life. As the resort plunges from the skies to its inevitable doom, Takeshi ignores Ortega’s pleas to escape with her and resolves to stay with his little sister to the very end.

Please find a way to reunite brother and sister in a sequel! It’s so sad we spent so little time with her before she was outed as the villain.

I think that about covers it. As you may have noticed, I’ve taken a liking to several of the supporting characters in the show. Sadly, all of these end up dead but I’ve learned not to take death for granted in a sci-fi show, especially one where there a technology exists that can backup a person’s consciousness. Let me add here that I also liked Ortega’s busybody character but I feel her arc was well-rounded at the end of the series so I don’t think it’s necessary for us to see her again in the sequel, but maybe Takeshi will run into Elias Ryker one day? That would be fun to watch.

What did you make of Altered Carbon? Who was your favourite character? Who would you bring back? Also, with the introduction of sleeves, this show could potentially go on for as long as it wants (or has enough material), similarly to Doctor Who. Will Yun Lee could certainly reprise his role as Takeshi Kovacs or perhaps he could be played by someone else. The ending takes every precaution not give away any hint as to his ethnicity, to the point his new sleeve is even wearing gloves. Who would you like to see play Takeshi Kovacs in a sequel?

#altered carbon #netflix #takeshi kovacs #reileen kawahara #quellcrist falconer #kristin ortega #joel kinnaman #will yun lee #dichen lachman #renée elise goldsberry #martha higareda #chris conner

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