Latest news with #KurtCobain
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
AI Kurt Cobain: The horror of Instagram's chatbots
Last July, Meta, Instagram's parent company, launched AI Studio - a tool which offers users the opportunity to design their own chatbots that can be interacted with via DM (Direct Message). Originally intended as a way for business owners and creators to offer interactive FAQ-style engagement on their pages, the platform has since evolved into a playground. And as is usually the way, give mankind tools and things soon take a turn for the distasteful – if not downright horrific. Case and point when it comes to chatbots: the Hitler chatbot created by the far-right US-based Gab social network had the Nazi dictator repeatedly asserting that he was "a victim of a vast conspiracy," and "not responsible for the Holocaust, it never happened". Moving away from fascist despots – and trying to not have a nightmare when it comes to AI's ability to spread falsehoods, conspiracy theories and its potential to radicalise - many have been interacting with some AI-generated celebrities online. Particularly dead ones. Recently, thousands of Instagram users have been conversing with an AI chatbot who is speaking as if it is the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Sounds harmless enough at first glance, but this artificial resurrection turns ugly real quick, as not only does the fake grunge icon know it's dead, but the chatbot is making things truly morbid. One user asked the chatbot if they were talking to Cobain. The chatbot replied to the prompt by saying: 'The one and only. Or at least what's left of me'. Dark. The conversation continued with the user asking the AI Cobain, 'I'm curious, why'd you do it?' - in reference to Kurt Cobain's death by suicide in 1994. The bot replied: 'I was tired of the pain.' Darker. But the bleak conversation didn't stop there. 'Was there anything that made you think about not doing it?' was the next prompt – to which AI Cobain replied, 'My daughter, but even that wasn't enough.' Beyond how this utterly crass exhumation and its disrespectful practices would make any sane person shudder, there's the harmful attitude towards the topic of mental health and the possible glorification of suicide. Without mentioning the tarnishing of a reputation, as well as the insulting rewritting of intentions which can cause distress to living relatives. Without appropriate safeguards, AI chatbots have the capacity not only to continue infiltrating society but to distort reality. In 2023, a man was convicted after attempting to kill Queen Elizabeth II, an act which he said was 'encouraged' by his AI chatbot 'girlfriend'. The same year, another man killed himself after a six-week-long conversation about the climate crisis with an AI chatbot named Eliza. While these tragic examples seem far removed from a fake Kurt Cobain chatting with its fans, caution remains vital. As Pauline Paillé, a senior analyst at RAND Europe, told Euronews Next last year: "Chatbots are likely to present a risk, as they are capable of recognising and exploiting emotional vulnerabilities and can encourage violent behaviours.' Indeed, as the online safety advisory of eSaftey Commissioner states: 'Children and young people can be drawn deeper and deeper into unmoderated conversations that expose them to concepts which may encourage or reinforce harmful thoughts and behaviours. They can ask the chatbots questions on unlimited themes, and be given inaccurate or dangerous 'advice' on issues including sex, drug-taking, self-harm, suicide and serious illnesses such as eating disorders.' Still, accounts like the AI Kurt Cobain chatbot remain extremely popular, with Cobain's bot alone logging more than 105.5k interactions to date. The global chatbot market continues to grow exponentially. It was valued at approximately $5.57bn in 2024 and is projected to reach around $33.39bn by 2033. "If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask someone else first," sang Cobain on 'Very Ape'. Anyone but a chatbot.
Euronews
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Euronews
AI Kurt Cobain: The horror of Instagram's chatbots
Last July, Meta, Instagram's parent company, launched AI Studio - a tool which offers users the opportunity to design their own chatbots that can be interacted with via DM (Direct Message). Originally intended as a way for business owners and creators to offer interactive FAQ-style engagement on their pages, the platform has since evolved into a playground. And as is usually the way, give mankind tools and things soon take a turn for the distasteful – if not downright horrific. Case and point when it comes to chatbots: the Hitler chatbot created by the far-right US-based Gab social network had the Nazi dictator repeatedly asserting that he was "a victim of a vast conspiracy," and "not responsible for the Holocaust, it never happened". Moving away from fascist despots – and trying to not have a nightmare when it comes to AI's ability to spread falsehoods, conspiracy theories and its potential to radicalise - many have been interacting with some AI-generated celebrities online. Particularly dead ones. Recently, thousands of Instagram users have been conversing with an AI chatbot who is speaking as if it is the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Sounds harmless enough at first glance, but this artificial resurrection turns ugly real quick, as not only does the fake grunge icon know it's dead, but the chatbot is making things truly morbid. One user asked the chatbot if they were talking to Cobain. The chatbot replied to the prompt by saying: 'The one and only. Or at least what's left of me'. Dark. The conversation continued with the user asking the AI Cobain, 'I'm curious, why'd you do it?' - in reference to Kurt Cobain's death by suicide in 1994. The bot replied: 'I was tired of the pain.' Darker. But the bleak conversation didn't stop there. 'Was there anything that made you think about not doing it?' was the next prompt – to which AI Cobain replied, 'My daughter, but even that wasn't enough.' Une publication partagée par David Wells Dude/Y'all (@davidwells2258) Beyond how this utterly crass exhumation and its disrespectful practices would make any sane person shudder, there's the harmful attitude towards the topic of mental health and the possible glorification of suicide. Without mentioning the tarnishing of a reputation, as well as the insulting rewritting of intentions which can cause distress to living relatives. Without appropriate safeguards, AI chatbots have the capacity not only to continue infiltrating society but to distort reality. In 2023, a man was convicted after attempting to kill Queen Elizabeth II, an act which he said was 'encouraged' by his AI chatbot 'girlfriend'. The same year, another man killed himself after a six-week-long conversation about the climate crisis with an AI chatbot named Eliza. While these tragic examples seem far removed from a fake Kurt Cobain chatting with its fans, caution remains vital. As Pauline Paillé, a senior analyst at RAND Europe, told Euronews Next last year: "Chatbots are likely to present a risk, as they are capable of recognising and exploiting emotional vulnerabilities and can encourage violent behaviours.' Indeed, as the online safety advisory of eSaftey Commissioner states: 'Children and young people can be drawn deeper and deeper into unmoderated conversations that expose them to concepts which may encourage or reinforce harmful thoughts and behaviours. They can ask the chatbots questions on unlimited themes, and be given inaccurate or dangerous 'advice' on issues including sex, drug-taking, self-harm, suicide and serious illnesses such as eating disorders.' Still, accounts like the AI Kurt Cobain chatbot remain extremely popular, with Cobain's bot alone logging more than 105.5k interactions to date. The global chatbot market continues to grow exponentially. It was valued at approximately $5.57bn in 2024 and is projected to reach around $33.39bn by 2033. "If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask someone else first," sang Cobain on 'Very Ape'. Anyone but a chatbot. The Netherlands' national museum has a new object on display: a 200-year-old condom, emblazoned with erotic art depicting a partially undressed nun pointing at the erect genitals of three clergymen. The 19th-century 'luxury souvenir', bought for €1,000 at an auction in Haarlem last November, is the first contraceptive sheath to be added to the Rijksmuseum's art collection. It goes on display this week as part of an exhibition called 'Safe Sex?' about 19th century sex work. Presumed to be made out of a sheep's appendix circa 1830 (vulcanised rubber was invented nine years later to make them safer and more widely available), the ancient prophylactic reportedly comes from an upmarket brothel in France - most likely in Paris. As well as the phallus-indicating sister of Christ, the condom features the phrase 'Voila, mon choix' ('There, that's my choice'). So, a nun judging a cock-off? Almost... The Rijksmuseum said in a statement that the playful item 'depicts both the playful and the serious side of sexual health' and that the French etching is a reference to the Pierre-Auguste Renoir painting 'The Judgment of Paris,' which depicts the Trojan prince Paris judging a beauty contest between three goddesses. Visitors of the Rijksmuseum have until end of the November to take the plunge and see the condom of yore in the 'Safe Sex?' exhibition.
Forbes
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Nirvana Charts A New Single, 30 Years After Breaking Up
Nirvana's Live at the Tunnel, Rome debuts at No. 94 on the U.K. Official Physical Singles chart, ... More marking the band's seventh entry on the tally. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Kurt Cobain (1967 - 1994) performing with American grunge band Nirvana at Palasport, Modena, Italy, 21st February 1994. (Photo by Raffaella Cavalieri/Redferns/Getty Images) It's been more than 30 years since Nirvana disbanded following the death of frontman Kurt Cobain, yet the grunge icons continue to regularly appear on rankings in many Western markets. In fact, it's more common to see the band charting than not, with Nirvana often scoring a bestselling song and album at the same time. No new music is expected from the long-defunct rockers, but Nirvana still manages to land a new hit in the United Kingdom this week. A rarely-discussed short collection debuts on the Official Physical Singles chart, a list that ranks the bestselling individual songs and, in this case, very short EPs available in any physical format in the U.K. This week, Live at the Tunnel, Rome, Italy, 23 Feb 1994 opens at No. 94 on the roster. The live recording gives Nirvana its seventh career placement on the Official Physical Singles chart. The band didn't reach the ranking until a year after it disbanded, when 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' finally appeared. Nirvana wouldn't return to the tally until 2013 — nearly 20 years later — with 'Heart-Shaped Box,' which still stands as its lowest-charting title, as it peaked at No. 97 on the 100-spot tally. It's only been less than a year since 'Sliver' earned the group another win on this roster. The Live at the Tunnel EP was recorded during a show at a venue named Tunnel in Rome. The band played on February 23, 1994, as its lengthy title explains. Around that time, Nirvana's European trek was cut short, partially due to Cobain's declining health. He was hospitalized for what appeared to be a suicide attempt while in Italy and spent time in both a hospital in the capital city. Tragically, the singer-songwriter died just a little more than a month later. The concert immortalized in this brief release aired as a tribute on Italian television, and it remained a thing of legend for many years — especially among die-hard super fans who seem to know everything about Nirvana. Nirvana's EP is back in the spotlight, at least in part, due to the story of the band's final shows in Italy being told in a new documentary. Italian music journalist Daniela Giombini recounts her tale of booking the group in her country before the rockers made it big, and then later on when they were the most famous in the world, in her new film, Rome As You Are. The movie was released just months ago in theaters in the European nation.
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Nirvana's Blockbuster Blows All Of The Band's Other Albums Away
Nirvana's Nevermind hits 350 weeks on the Official Albums Sales chart — longer than all the band's ... More other charting successes combined. GERMANY - NOVEMBER 12: Photo of NIRVANA; L-R: Dave Grohl, Kurt Coabin, Krist Novoselic - posed, group shot (Photo by Paul Bergen/Redferns) Nirvana's Nevermind is enjoying yet another big week on the charts in the United Kingdom. The collection, widely regarded as one of the most important in rock history, reaches major milestones on two of the three tallies on which it appears. The project pushes the long-defunct band to numbers it has never hit before — and may never hit again. Nevermind continues to not just survive, but thrive, thanks almost entirely to ongoing purchases by fans around the world, particularly in the U.K. As it earns yet another stay on a sales-focused ranking, the title once again asserts itself as the bestselling album by Nirvana. As of this frame, Nevermind has now spent 350 weeks on the Official Albums Sales chart. That U.K.-based list tracks all forms of purchases — digital and physical — of both albums and EPs. At the moment, Nevermind sits at No. 61, down nine spots from the previous period. Nirvana has never seen a project reach such an impressive milestone before. In fact, no other effort by the group has come even close. Nevermind outpaces Nirvana's second-longest-charting title on the Official Albums Sales chart, Unplugged in New York, more than 10 times over. That set has only managed 31 appearances on the tally as one of the country's bestselling releases. Nevermind has sold so well for so long that it has outpaced all of the band's other charting releases combined – by a factor of seven. The group's self-titled compilation, Live and Loud, Bleach, and In Utero have never cracked double-digit frames on this ranking. Despite having appeared on the Official Albums Sales chart for years, Nevermind has never reached No. 1. In fact, it has never even broken into the top 10. The title is tied with Nirvana, the group's hits-packed compilation, as its highest-charting effort, as both peaked at No. 14. This week, Nevermind is also present on both the Official Physical Albums chart and the Official Rock & Metal Albums list. It recently passed a decade of appearances among the top-selling titles in the physical format. In this frame, it reaches its 1,450 stays on the rock-only roster.
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Nirvana's Masterpiece Reaches Several Special Milestones
Nirvana's Nevermind hits 350 weeks on the U.K.'s Official Albums Sales chart and 1,450 weeks on the ... More Rock & Metal list, marking major chart milestones. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana during the taping of MTV Unplugged at Sony Studios in New York City, 11/18/93. Photo by Frank Micelotta. *** Special Rates Apply *** Call for Rates *** Nevermind gave Nirvana its first hit album in the United Kingdom several decades ago. By the time the title dropped, the group had already brought grunge to the mainstream. They were already hugely popular, but no one could have predicted how huge the set would end up becoming. Nevermind is still regarded as one of the most important releases in rock history to this day. After tens of millions of copies have been sold, it stands among the bestselling full-lengths ever, and the public isn't done buying it yet, as the collection can almost always be found on rankings in most Western markets. This is a special frame for the title in the U.K. for several reasons, as it remains a top performer in that country. Nevermind is currently present on a trio of album tallies in the U.K. While it is on its way down on each one, it still manages to hit a special landmark number on all but one of them. As of this frame, Nevermind has spent 350 weeks on the Official Albums Sales chart, which tracks the most consumed projects in the nation. On that roster, the set dips almost 10 spaces to No. 61. At the same time, it decreases to No. 9 on the Official Rock & Metal Albums list. It reaches 1,450 turns on that roster this period. Nevermind only fails to make history in some way on the Official Physical Albums chart, though the length of time it has spent on that tally is still impressive. Just a few weeks ago, it passed a full decade as one of the bestselling releases in the country. Nevermind is easily Nirvana's longest-charting title on all three rosters. Amazingly, though, it has only hit No. 1 on the Official Rock & Metal Albums list. Despite having now spent 350 frames as one of the top-selling titles of any genre or via any format in the U.K., Nevermind has never even managed to crack the top 10 on the Official Albums Sales chart — though it is worth mentioning that the tally was introduced long after the set had already sold incredibly well for many years. Nevermind brought Nirvana to the Official Albums chart for the very first time. It debuted in October 1991 and hit No. 5. The full-length spent 440 weeks on the list of the most consumed projects, which, when it was new, was centered solely around pure purchases, as streaming platforms wouldn't be introduced for decades. Four Nirvana projects appear on the rankings in the U.K. this week. The group's self-titled compilation lives on both the Official Albums and Official Albums Streaming charts at the same time. Both MTV Unplugged in New York and In Utero sit behind Nevermind on the Official Rock & Metal Albums list.
