Latest news with #UNSW
The Advertiser
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Student revolt against AI arts course at top university
Fine arts students are campaigning against a university subject teaching them how to use artificial intelligence to make artworks. The University of NSW is running the course Generative AI for Artists in September, covering the use of artificial intelligence to make image, text, sound, video and three-dimensional artworks. It also promises to critically examine the use of AI in art, including debates about artists' moral rights, copyright, data and energy use. Robin Chessell, 22, is in the final year of a double degree in fine arts and secondary education and has launched a petition that has so far garnered about 500 signatures calling for the subject to be cancelled. "I think a lot of students, especially on the art campus but even people who have no background in art whatsoever, are very concerned about AI," they said. One signatory to the petition said AI could not create anything new, "it can only corrupt and ruin". "This is absolutely messed up. Generative AI is a plagiarism machine that sucks the soul out of art ... I'm incredibly disappointed in UNSW," said another. Artificial Intelligence is generally trained to generate content using vast amounts of data, scooping up the work of writers and artists who in many cases, have not given their consent for its use. The technology can be used to produce disinformation, propaganda and pornography and also consumes massive amounts of electricity and water to run its servers. The course is being taught by Associate Professor Oliver Bown, who has been researching generative art for more than 20 years. He broadly agrees with the students' concerns about the impacts of AI, but says that's no reason to cancel the subject. "We're a university, we want to encourage free thinking, open debate, and therefore the very idea of shutting down a course because it's about generative AI doesn't sit right with me," he said. "But many of the fundamental views underlying that petition, I think, are completely valid - there's a really serious negative impact on the cultural and creative industries and artists in particular." He argues the technology can be used with integrity, such as students training a generative system using only their artworks, and commercial imperatives have caused many of the problems with AI. UNSW says the subject aligns with its Environmental Sustainability Plan and its Guidelines on the Ethical Use of AI. The subject provided students with the tools to understand and question the role of generative AI in the arts, a spokesperson for the university said in a statement. Fewer than 20 students are enrolled in the course so far. Chessell, who works in drawing, textiles, and moving image art, expects that because their art has been posted on social media, it has already been used to train AI models. But what the student fears most about the technology is a flood of what is known as "AI slop": generic online content churned out using AI that gets in the way of genuine artistic work being noticed. By contrast, some artists have had great success using AI technology. Earlier in July, an artwork by Turkish American artist Refik Anadol, which reimagined a goal by Argentinian soccer player Leo Messi, sold for $1.87 million in an online auction. In December 2024, UNSW signed a deal with US company OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, to develop uses for the tool ChatGPT Edu across the university. In September, UNSW will host a symposium on the societal impact of AI, bringing together participants from academia, government and industry "to explore how AI is shaping a better future". Fine arts students are campaigning against a university subject teaching them how to use artificial intelligence to make artworks. The University of NSW is running the course Generative AI for Artists in September, covering the use of artificial intelligence to make image, text, sound, video and three-dimensional artworks. It also promises to critically examine the use of AI in art, including debates about artists' moral rights, copyright, data and energy use. Robin Chessell, 22, is in the final year of a double degree in fine arts and secondary education and has launched a petition that has so far garnered about 500 signatures calling for the subject to be cancelled. "I think a lot of students, especially on the art campus but even people who have no background in art whatsoever, are very concerned about AI," they said. One signatory to the petition said AI could not create anything new, "it can only corrupt and ruin". "This is absolutely messed up. Generative AI is a plagiarism machine that sucks the soul out of art ... I'm incredibly disappointed in UNSW," said another. Artificial Intelligence is generally trained to generate content using vast amounts of data, scooping up the work of writers and artists who in many cases, have not given their consent for its use. The technology can be used to produce disinformation, propaganda and pornography and also consumes massive amounts of electricity and water to run its servers. The course is being taught by Associate Professor Oliver Bown, who has been researching generative art for more than 20 years. He broadly agrees with the students' concerns about the impacts of AI, but says that's no reason to cancel the subject. "We're a university, we want to encourage free thinking, open debate, and therefore the very idea of shutting down a course because it's about generative AI doesn't sit right with me," he said. "But many of the fundamental views underlying that petition, I think, are completely valid - there's a really serious negative impact on the cultural and creative industries and artists in particular." He argues the technology can be used with integrity, such as students training a generative system using only their artworks, and commercial imperatives have caused many of the problems with AI. UNSW says the subject aligns with its Environmental Sustainability Plan and its Guidelines on the Ethical Use of AI. The subject provided students with the tools to understand and question the role of generative AI in the arts, a spokesperson for the university said in a statement. Fewer than 20 students are enrolled in the course so far. Chessell, who works in drawing, textiles, and moving image art, expects that because their art has been posted on social media, it has already been used to train AI models. But what the student fears most about the technology is a flood of what is known as "AI slop": generic online content churned out using AI that gets in the way of genuine artistic work being noticed. By contrast, some artists have had great success using AI technology. Earlier in July, an artwork by Turkish American artist Refik Anadol, which reimagined a goal by Argentinian soccer player Leo Messi, sold for $1.87 million in an online auction. In December 2024, UNSW signed a deal with US company OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, to develop uses for the tool ChatGPT Edu across the university. In September, UNSW will host a symposium on the societal impact of AI, bringing together participants from academia, government and industry "to explore how AI is shaping a better future". Fine arts students are campaigning against a university subject teaching them how to use artificial intelligence to make artworks. The University of NSW is running the course Generative AI for Artists in September, covering the use of artificial intelligence to make image, text, sound, video and three-dimensional artworks. It also promises to critically examine the use of AI in art, including debates about artists' moral rights, copyright, data and energy use. Robin Chessell, 22, is in the final year of a double degree in fine arts and secondary education and has launched a petition that has so far garnered about 500 signatures calling for the subject to be cancelled. "I think a lot of students, especially on the art campus but even people who have no background in art whatsoever, are very concerned about AI," they said. One signatory to the petition said AI could not create anything new, "it can only corrupt and ruin". "This is absolutely messed up. Generative AI is a plagiarism machine that sucks the soul out of art ... I'm incredibly disappointed in UNSW," said another. Artificial Intelligence is generally trained to generate content using vast amounts of data, scooping up the work of writers and artists who in many cases, have not given their consent for its use. The technology can be used to produce disinformation, propaganda and pornography and also consumes massive amounts of electricity and water to run its servers. The course is being taught by Associate Professor Oliver Bown, who has been researching generative art for more than 20 years. He broadly agrees with the students' concerns about the impacts of AI, but says that's no reason to cancel the subject. "We're a university, we want to encourage free thinking, open debate, and therefore the very idea of shutting down a course because it's about generative AI doesn't sit right with me," he said. "But many of the fundamental views underlying that petition, I think, are completely valid - there's a really serious negative impact on the cultural and creative industries and artists in particular." He argues the technology can be used with integrity, such as students training a generative system using only their artworks, and commercial imperatives have caused many of the problems with AI. UNSW says the subject aligns with its Environmental Sustainability Plan and its Guidelines on the Ethical Use of AI. The subject provided students with the tools to understand and question the role of generative AI in the arts, a spokesperson for the university said in a statement. Fewer than 20 students are enrolled in the course so far. Chessell, who works in drawing, textiles, and moving image art, expects that because their art has been posted on social media, it has already been used to train AI models. But what the student fears most about the technology is a flood of what is known as "AI slop": generic online content churned out using AI that gets in the way of genuine artistic work being noticed. By contrast, some artists have had great success using AI technology. Earlier in July, an artwork by Turkish American artist Refik Anadol, which reimagined a goal by Argentinian soccer player Leo Messi, sold for $1.87 million in an online auction. In December 2024, UNSW signed a deal with US company OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, to develop uses for the tool ChatGPT Edu across the university. In September, UNSW will host a symposium on the societal impact of AI, bringing together participants from academia, government and industry "to explore how AI is shaping a better future". Fine arts students are campaigning against a university subject teaching them how to use artificial intelligence to make artworks. The University of NSW is running the course Generative AI for Artists in September, covering the use of artificial intelligence to make image, text, sound, video and three-dimensional artworks. It also promises to critically examine the use of AI in art, including debates about artists' moral rights, copyright, data and energy use. Robin Chessell, 22, is in the final year of a double degree in fine arts and secondary education and has launched a petition that has so far garnered about 500 signatures calling for the subject to be cancelled. "I think a lot of students, especially on the art campus but even people who have no background in art whatsoever, are very concerned about AI," they said. One signatory to the petition said AI could not create anything new, "it can only corrupt and ruin". "This is absolutely messed up. Generative AI is a plagiarism machine that sucks the soul out of art ... I'm incredibly disappointed in UNSW," said another. Artificial Intelligence is generally trained to generate content using vast amounts of data, scooping up the work of writers and artists who in many cases, have not given their consent for its use. The technology can be used to produce disinformation, propaganda and pornography and also consumes massive amounts of electricity and water to run its servers. The course is being taught by Associate Professor Oliver Bown, who has been researching generative art for more than 20 years. He broadly agrees with the students' concerns about the impacts of AI, but says that's no reason to cancel the subject. "We're a university, we want to encourage free thinking, open debate, and therefore the very idea of shutting down a course because it's about generative AI doesn't sit right with me," he said. "But many of the fundamental views underlying that petition, I think, are completely valid - there's a really serious negative impact on the cultural and creative industries and artists in particular." He argues the technology can be used with integrity, such as students training a generative system using only their artworks, and commercial imperatives have caused many of the problems with AI. UNSW says the subject aligns with its Environmental Sustainability Plan and its Guidelines on the Ethical Use of AI. The subject provided students with the tools to understand and question the role of generative AI in the arts, a spokesperson for the university said in a statement. Fewer than 20 students are enrolled in the course so far. Chessell, who works in drawing, textiles, and moving image art, expects that because their art has been posted on social media, it has already been used to train AI models. But what the student fears most about the technology is a flood of what is known as "AI slop": generic online content churned out using AI that gets in the way of genuine artistic work being noticed. By contrast, some artists have had great success using AI technology. Earlier in July, an artwork by Turkish American artist Refik Anadol, which reimagined a goal by Argentinian soccer player Leo Messi, sold for $1.87 million in an online auction. In December 2024, UNSW signed a deal with US company OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, to develop uses for the tool ChatGPT Edu across the university. In September, UNSW will host a symposium on the societal impact of AI, bringing together participants from academia, government and industry "to explore how AI is shaping a better future".
The Australian
5 hours ago
- Climate
- The Australian
‘Bigger' and ‘more frequent' hail predicted for Australian cities
Younger generations of Australians are being warned to expect significantly larger and more frequent hail into the future with a new study revealing which cities are most at risk. The paper from UNSW's Dr Timothy Raupach and Dr Joanna Aldridge looked at the possible changes a 2.4 degree rise in global temperatures would have on Australian hailstorms from 2080-2100. 'Between (time periods), there were increases in seasonal hail days of 29 per cent around Sydney/Canberra and 15 per cent around Brisbane,' Dr Raupach told NewsWire. Large hailstones outside Parliament House in Canberra after a 2020 storm. Picture: David Foote/ AUSPIC/DPS 'Mean hail size increased by 0.5mm around Melbourne, Sydney/Canberra, and Brisbane, while maximum hail size, important for damage potential, increased by 7.8mm around Melbourne and 3.9mm around Sydney/Canberra.' Dr Raupach said any hail above two centimetres in diameter was considered damaging. 'Here we're talking about very large hailstones, sort of five centimetres or even 10 centimetres,' Dr Raupach said. 'Those are kinds of hail that can punch through people's roofs and cause their roof tiles to break and then you get flooding inside the house and of course they also can damage cars and be very dangerous for people as well. 'Because the damage you get from a hailstorm correlates very closely with the size of the hailstones that are produced by that storm, it indicates that in those regions we would be looking at an increased damage risk.' Maximum hail ball sizes are predicted to reach up to 10cm in diameter. Picture: Danni/Brisbane Weather Data from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) shows hail is already one of Australia's most costly natural disasters with the frozen water missiles responsible for more than 20 per cent of insurance losses in Australia from 1967 to 2023. Hail is also not currently part of the building regulations Australian constructors are expected to adhere to, it's a point Dr Raupach believes can be acted on now to strengthen our cities into the future. 'I think there's room for discussions around how they could be built in because hail already – even without the future climate forecast – causes really significant damage,' he said. 'It's a leading driver of insured losses year to year. 'So building in things like hail resilience into our building standards would be a really good way to start to strengthen our cities. And then we can also look at possible future changes as well.' The paper projected reductions in damaging winds in proximity to hail for Melbourne, Sydney/Canberra and Perth. Picture: weather zone Dr Raupach said the research was still in its early stages and further studies were needed to gain greater clarity and confidence in predictions. 'This is just one study, so it's looking at it from one angle. It's using one simulation and one model,' he said. 'Ideally, we'd have multiple simulations in what's called an ensemble where you have lots of different simulations and you can look at how much they agree or disagree.' For those who are confused how a rise in global temperatures equates to giant hail balls, Dr Raupach explained for every degree the atmosphere warms, it can hold 7 per cent more moisture. This added moisture means more 'fuel' for passing weather systems to draw on, when that weather system is a hail producing one it means larger and more damaging hail. Robert White Cadet Robert got his start as an Editorial Assistant at the Daily Telegraph in 2024 before entering the Newscorp cadet program. With a background in history and law Robert has a passion for politics and crime reporting as well as telling meaningful stories. @white_robb73416 Robert White
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘Bigger, more frequent' hail for Aus cities
Younger generations of Australians are being warned to expect significantly larger and more frequent hail into the future with a new study revealing which cities are most at risk. The paper from UNSW's Dr Timothy Raupach and Dr Joanna Aldridge looked at the possible changes a 2.4 degree rise in global temperatures would have on Australian hailstorms from 2080-2100. 'Between (time periods), there were increases in seasonal hail days of 29 per cent around Sydney/Canberra and 15 per cent around Brisbane,' Dr Raupach told NewsWire. 'Mean hail size increased by 0.5mm around Melbourne, Sydney/Canberra, and Brisbane, while maximum hail size, important for damage potential, increased by 7.8mm around Melbourne and 3.9mm around Sydney/Canberra.' Dr Raupach said any hail above two centimetres in diameter was considered damaging. 'Here we're talking about very large hailstones, sort of five centimetres or even 10 centimetres,' Dr Raupach said. 'Those are kinds of hail that can punch through people's roofs and cause their roof tiles to break and then you get flooding inside the house and of course they also can damage cars and be very dangerous for people as well. 'Because the damage you get from a hailstorm correlates very closely with the size of the hailstones that are produced by that storm, it indicates that in those regions we would be looking at an increased damage risk.' Data from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) shows hail is already one of Australia's most costly natural disasters with the frozen water missiles responsible for more than 20 per cent of insurance losses in Australia from 1967 to 2023. Hail is also not currently part of the building regulations Australian constructors are expected to adhere to, it's a point Dr Raupach believes can be acted on now to strengthen our cities into the future. 'I think there's room for discussions around how they could be built in because hail already – even without the future climate forecast – causes really significant damage,' he said. 'It's a leading driver of insured losses year to year. 'So building in things like hail resilience into our building standards would be a really good way to start to strengthen our cities. And then we can also look at possible future changes as well.' Dr Raupach said the research was still in its early stages and further studies were needed to gain greater clarity and confidence in predictions. 'This is just one study, so it's looking at it from one angle. It's using one simulation and one model,' he said. 'Ideally, we'd have multiple simulations in what's called an ensemble where you have lots of different simulations and you can look at how much they agree or disagree.' For those who are confused how a rise in global temperatures equates to giant hail balls, Dr Raupach explained for every degree the atmosphere warms, it can hold 7 per cent more moisture. This added moisture means more 'fuel' for passing weather systems to draw on, when that weather system is a hail producing one it means larger and more damaging hail.
West Australian
7 hours ago
- Climate
- West Australian
‘Bigger, more frequent' hail forecast for Australian cities
Younger generations of Australians are being warned to expect significantly larger and more frequent hail into the future with a new study revealing which cities are most at risk. The paper from UNSW's Dr Timothy Raupach and Dr Joanna Aldridge looked at the possible changes a 2.4 degree rise in global temperatures would have on Australian hailstorms from 2080-2100. 'Between (time periods), there were increases in seasonal hail days of 29 per cent around Sydney/Canberra and 15 per cent around Brisbane,' Dr Raupach told NewsWire. 'Mean hail size increased by 0.5mm around Melbourne, Sydney/Canberra, and Brisbane, while maximum hail size, important for damage potential, increased by 7.8mm around Melbourne and 3.9mm around Sydney/Canberra.' Dr Raupach said any hail above two centimetres in diameter was considered damaging. 'Here we're talking about very large hailstones, sort of five centimetres or even 10 centimetres,' Dr Raupach said. 'Those are kinds of hail that can punch through people's roofs and cause their roof tiles to break and then you get flooding inside the house and of course they also can damage cars and be very dangerous for people as well. 'Because the damage you get from a hailstorm correlates very closely with the size of the hailstones that are produced by that storm, it indicates that in those regions we would be looking at an increased damage risk.' Data from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) shows hail is already one of Australia's most costly natural disasters with the frozen water missiles responsible for more than 20 per cent of insurance losses in Australia from 1967 to 2023. Hail is also not currently part of the building regulations Australian constructors are expected to adhere to, it's a point Dr Raupach believes can be acted on now to strengthen our cities into the future. 'I think there's room for discussions around how they could be built in because hail already – even without the future climate forecast – causes really significant damage,' he said. 'It's a leading driver of insured losses year to year. 'So building in things like hail resilience into our building standards would be a really good way to start to strengthen our cities. And then we can also look at possible future changes as well.' Dr Raupach said the research was still in its early stages and further studies were needed to gain greater clarity and confidence in predictions. 'This is just one study, so it's looking at it from one angle. It's using one simulation and one model,' he said. 'Ideally, we'd have multiple simulations in what's called an ensemble where you have lots of different simulations and you can look at how much they agree or disagree.' For those who are confused how a rise in global temperatures equates to giant hail balls, Dr Raupach explained for every degree the atmosphere warms, it can hold 7 per cent more moisture. This added moisture means more 'fuel' for passing weather systems to draw on, when that weather system is a hail producing one it means larger and more damaging hail.
Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Climate
- Perth Now
‘Bigger, more frequent' hail for Aus cities
Younger generations of Australians are being warned to expect significantly larger and more frequent hail into the future with a new study revealing which cities are most at risk. The paper from UNSW's Dr Timothy Raupach and Dr Joanna Aldridge looked at the possible changes a 2.4 degree rise in global temperatures would have on Australian hailstorms from 2080-2100. 'Between (time periods), there were increases in seasonal hail days of 29 per cent around Sydney/Canberra and 15 per cent around Brisbane,' Dr Raupach told NewsWire. Large hailstones outside Parliament House in Canberra after a 2020 storm. David Foote/ AUSPIC/DPS Credit: Supplied 'Mean hail size increased by 0.5mm around Melbourne, Sydney/Canberra, and Brisbane, while maximum hail size, important for damage potential, increased by 7.8mm around Melbourne and 3.9mm around Sydney/Canberra.' Dr Raupach said any hail above two centimetres in diameter was considered damaging. 'Here we're talking about very large hailstones, sort of five centimetres or even 10 centimetres,' Dr Raupach said. 'Those are kinds of hail that can punch through people's roofs and cause their roof tiles to break and then you get flooding inside the house and of course they also can damage cars and be very dangerous for people as well. 'Because the damage you get from a hailstorm correlates very closely with the size of the hailstones that are produced by that storm, it indicates that in those regions we would be looking at an increased damage risk.' Maximum hail ball sizes are predicted to reach up to 10cm in diameter. Danni/Brisbane Weather Credit: Supplied Data from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) shows hail is already one of Australia's most costly natural disasters with the frozen water missiles responsible for more than 20 per cent of insurance losses in Australia from 1967 to 2023. Hail is also not currently part of the building regulations Australian constructors are expected to adhere to, it's a point Dr Raupach believes can be acted on now to strengthen our cities into the future. 'I think there's room for discussions around how they could be built in because hail already – even without the future climate forecast – causes really significant damage,' he said. 'It's a leading driver of insured losses year to year. 'So building in things like hail resilience into our building standards would be a really good way to start to strengthen our cities. And then we can also look at possible future changes as well.' The paper projected reductions in damaging winds in proximity to hail for Melbourne, Sydney/Canberra and Perth. weather zone Credit: Supplied Dr Raupach said the research was still in its early stages and further studies were needed to gain greater clarity and confidence in predictions. 'This is just one study, so it's looking at it from one angle. It's using one simulation and one model,' he said. 'Ideally, we'd have multiple simulations in what's called an ensemble where you have lots of different simulations and you can look at how much they agree or disagree.' For those who are confused how a rise in global temperatures equates to giant hail balls, Dr Raupach explained for every degree the atmosphere warms, it can hold 7 per cent more moisture. This added moisture means more 'fuel' for passing weather systems to draw on, when that weather system is a hail producing one it means larger and more damaging hail.
