Latest news with #UniversityofNSW
The Advertiser
a day 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".
7NEWS
a day ago
- 7NEWS
UNSW PhD candidate Ali Alghamdi charged after police allegedly find 25,000 child abuse images on phone
A PhD candidate at a prestigious Australian university and father of two has been charged after police allegedly found more than 25,000 child abuse videos and images on his phone. Ali Alghamdi, a 35-year-old Saudi Arabian national, was arrested at the University of NSW's Randwick campus about 3pm on Monday. He was identified as a suspect in the online distribution, supply, and access of child abuse material after a strike force trawled the dark web in late 2022. Police allege that during a search of his phone, they located more than 25,000 videos and images of child abuse material, with 42 marked as 'favourites'. He was charged with using a carriage service to access child abuse material. The part-time Uber driver faced court on Tuesday, where it was revealed the alleged material was 'significantly depraved', involving children between the ages of two and four, as well as infants. The material was described as too graphic to be published. Commonwealth prosecutor Melanie Tam told the court Alghamdi denied knowing about the 42 favourited files and claimed he had obtained the content in order to report it to authorities, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. He allegedly stored child abuse content on encrypted messaging apps, and one of his three email accounts reportedly contained nearly 650 gigabytes of material. According to Alghamdi's LinkedIn and UNSW profile, he began a Master's degree in Optometry at UNSW in 2020, funded by a scholarship from the Saudi Ministry of Health. He then received the University International Postgraduate Award (UIPA) scholarship to undertake a PhD in Optometry in 2022. Before coming to Australia, he completed his bachelor's degree in optometry at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia in 2014 and worked as an optometrist for three years at a general hospital there. The court heard his wife joined him in Sydney six weeks ago and currently lives in Waterloo. In a translated reply on Facebook, Alghamdi wrote to someone: 'May God protect your children, and may we see you in good health, God willing.' Magistrate Michael Barko refused bail, describing Alghamdi as an 'extreme' flight risk due to his student visa status. 'They searched devices which contained film which could only be said to be the most perturbing child sexual abuse,' he said. Alghamdi is due to return to court on September 23.
9 News
2 days ago
- Climate
- 9 News
Call for action as huge storm change to hit millions of Aussies
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Millions of Australians in the country's largest cities could be facing a future of giant, more intense hailstorms, according to a new study. Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and Perth are all in the firing line, according to the research from the University of NSW's Sydney's Institute for Climate Risk and Response. The study found that climate change could bring more damaging hailstorms as the globe heats up. The larger a hailstone is, the more damage it can cause. (Instagram/@smashleaduff) In analysing simulations of weather in a warmer world, "we're seeing an increase in hail size over some capital cities", study lead author Dr Tim Raupach said. However, other cities such as Adelaide did not show major changes in the simulations. "More research is needed to better address the complexities in modelling hail," Raupach said. Australia is facing a future of increased hail intensity, according to one study. (Nine) Hailstorms were responsible for more than 20 per cent of insured losses in Australia from 1967 to 2023. The damage is largely driven by the size of hailstones, with the record in Australia standing at about 16cm across for a stone found near Mackay, Queensland – more than twice the size of a cricket ball. Raupach said more intense storms in the future could increase the chances of large-diameter hail. Particular regions of Australia are most vulnerable. (Nine) "We looked at changes in hailstone size between simulations of historical and future periods," he said. "And we can see increases in hail size produced by the model around Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Perth. "For example, in past simulations, very large, 10 cm hailstones were expected once every 20 years around Melbourne. But in a warmer future, it's once every three years." Solar panels are vulnerable to hail storms. (Wolter Peeters/SMH) Despite being made of ice, hailstones rely on warmth for their formation. In a thunderstorm, strong winds – updrafts – carry moisture high up into the atmosphere, where it freezes. These ice particles – known as 'hail embryos' – pick up supercooled water as they circulate through the storm cloud. To grow large hailstones, the storm cloud needs to be tall, with lots of energy to keep the stone suspended long enough to gather layers of ice. While hail can fall anywhere in Australia, certain regions are particularly exposed. "The main region is the East Coast from a bit north of Brisbane to a bit south of Sydney," Raupach said. One of the major concerns about an increase in hail in that heavily-populated area, is the vulnerability of solar panels – though Raupach said this should not deter investment in renewables. "We should also think about how to strengthen our cities to resist hail damage, especially if hailstone size is increasing with climate change," he said. But in the meantime, Australians should become more acquainted with hail preparation. "To be protected from hail you can move undercover, move your car undercover, have good insurance and have strong roof tiles," Raupach said. He says some farmers use hail nets. QBE Insurance's Dr Joanna Aldridge, co-author of the study, warned that Australian building standards don't include hail resistance. This left many properties "vulnerable", she said. If Australians need to take steps in the short term, Raupach also urged long-term action, both to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to further the study of future hail trends and how they could affect urban environments in particular. "It's very early days, but maybe one day we could design cities with a reduced storm risk," he said. science storm Wild Weather Australia national climate change CONTACT US
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
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".
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Australian-made green plane fuel closer with grant win
Forget farm waste: Australian researchers are developing a way to make environmentally friendly aviation fuel using renewable energy, water and carbon dioxide. The innovative project, undertaken at the University of NSW, has won a $1.2 million grant to progress the technology and scientists say a prototype could be as little as six months from launch. The announcement on Thursday comes amid increasing demand for sustainable aviation fuel in Australia and worldwide and follows the launch of several multimillion-dollar projects designed to turn waste into jet fuel. Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is typically made from agricultural waste such as sugarcane, tallow, canola and cooking oils and can reduce emissions from aircraft by 80 per cent compared to traditional jet fuel. But the UNSW project deploys an electrolyser that uses low-cost metals, carbon catalysts and renewable energy to turn carbon dioxide and water into fuel precursors. The approach could cut out the need for farm waste and make environmentally friendly fuel easier to produce at scale, project leader Rahman Daiyan said. "Most of the work so far has been on bio-based sustainable aviation fuel projects," he told AAP. "But those sort of biomass resources are limited to some extent." The Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy program, established by the federal education department, has awarded the UNSW research team an additional $1.2 million to scale up its technology. While the electrolyser has been proven to work in a lab, Dr Daiyan said a validated prototype would be ready within six to nine months, and the project would be commercialised with industry partners Tjindu Power and Chinese energy firm Chuangqi Times. If successful, he said, the project could help to realise Australian ambitions to become a green fuel exporter. "One of the best aspects of this technology is that it allows us to leverage Australia's potential – we want to be a hydrogen exporter or a low-carbon fuel exporter," Dr Daiyan said. "There is domestic demand but there is also overseas demand because apart from Singapore and Malaysia there are not a lot of places to make SAF for the Asia Pacific region." Sustainable aviation fuel is considered to be one of the leading ways to reduce carbon emission from air travel and is in high demand worldwide after major airlines committed to using the fuel to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. A report by the CSIRO and aircraft maker Boeing, released in November, found Australia could lead the world in production of the sustainable fuel but warned it had made only moderate progress so far. Sustainable aviation fuel projects are under way in Queensland and Western Australia, including a refinery planned by Wagner Sustainable Fuels and plans to transform BP's Kwinana Energy Hub in Western Australia.
