TL;DR – Quick Summary:

• Singtel’s AI-powered “Project NarrAItive” celebrates Singapore’s SG60.
• Narrates the “Legend of Pulau Ubin” in seven languages using advanced AI.
• Bridges generational and linguistic divides.
• Enhances emotional connections and preserves cultural heritage.

In celebration of Singapore’s 60th anniversary (SG60), Singtel unveiled “Project NarrAItive,” an innovative AI-driven campaign designed to bridge linguistic gaps and strengthen familial bonds. At the core of this initiative was the retelling of the “Legend of Pulau Ubin,” an underrepresented folktale, beautifully narrated in seven languages.

AI Bridging Linguistic Divides

Created in partnership with Hogarth Worldwide and Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Film & Media Studies, Project NarrAItive allowed participants to narrate the folktale fluently in their native languages—English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil, Teochew, Hokkien, and Malayalam. AI technology effectively translated and adapted these narrations, preserving each narrator’s unique vocal characteristics, emotional nuances, and cultural authenticity.

Behind the AI Technology

The project incorporated multiple AI technologies:

• Voice Generation and Translation: Accurately cloned participants’ voices, translating them authentically across languages.
• Lip-syncing: Generated precise facial movements matched perfectly with the translated audio.
• Generative Art: AI-created visuals and animations enriched the storytelling experience, making the narrative visually engaging and culturally resonant.

Cultural and Emotional Impact

The campaign profoundly impacted families by enabling them to see loved ones communicate seamlessly in new languages. According to Lynette Poh, Singtel’s Head of Marketing and Communications, viewers were deeply moved—often to tears—by this unprecedented linguistic and emotional connection (according to Marketing Interactive).

Challenges and Innovations

Executing Project NarrAItive faced significant challenges, including:

• Multilingual Complexity: Ensuring accurate language translations while preserving natural tone and emotion.
• Visual Realism: Creating culturally authentic visuals using generative AI.
• Technical Integration: Seamlessly combining voice, visuals, and animations.
• Stakeholder Coordination: Effectively aligning production teams, educational institutions, and family participants.

AI and the Future of Cultural Preservation

“Project NarrAItive” illustrates the broader potential of AI technology in cultural preservation throughout Asia. By enabling stories to transcend linguistic barriers, AI offers a meaningful pathway for safeguarding heritage and deepening cross-generational connections.

As Singtel’s initiative proves, the thoughtful application of AI can empower communities, preserve invaluable cultural traditions, and foster stronger, more meaningful human connections across generations.

What do YOU think?

Could AI-driven cultural storytelling become a cornerstone of cultural preservation across Asia?

Don’t forget to subscribe to keep up to date with the latest AI news, tips and tricks in Asia and beyond by subscribing to our free newsletter.

You may also like:

• Can Singtel’s Free Access to Perplexity Pro Redefine AI Search?
• The AI Revolution in Asia: Singapore Leads the Way
•  Artificial Intelligence and the Quest for AGI in Asia

TL;DR – What You Need to Know in 30 Seconds

1. Adobe Has Launched a New AI Video Generator: Firefly Video (beta) is now live for anyone who’s signed up for early access, promising safe and licensed content.
2. Commercially Safe Creations: The video model is trained only on licensed and public domain content, reducing the headache of potential copyright issues.
3. Flexible Usage: You can create 5-second, 1080p clips from text prompts or reference images, add extra effects, and blend seamlessly with Adobe’s other tools.
4. Subscription Plans: Ranging from 10 USD to 30 USD per month, you’ll get a certain number of monthly generative credits to play with, along with free cloud storage.

So, What is the Adobe Firefly Video Generator?

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the AI scene, you’ll know it’s bursting with new tools left, right, and centre. But guess who has finally decided to join the party, fashionably late but oh-so-fancy? That’s right — Adobe! The creative software giant has just unveiled its generative AI video tool, Firefly Video Generator. Today, we’re taking a closer look at what it does, why it matters, and whether it’s worth your time.

If you’ve heard whispers about Adobe’s foray into AI, it’s all about Firefly — their suite of AI-driven creative tools. Adobe has now extended Firefly to video, letting you turn text or images into short video clips. At the moment, each clip is around five seconds long in 1080p resolution and spits out an MP4 file.

The unique selling point is that Firefly’s videos are trained on licensed and public domain materials, so you can rest easy about copyright concerns. Whether you’re a content creator, a social media guru, or just love dabbling in AI, this tool might be your new favourite playground.

Getting Started: Text-to-Video in a Flash

Interested? Here’s the easiest way in:

• Sign In: Head over to firefly.adobe.com and log in or sign up for an Adobe account.
• Select “Text to Video”: Once logged in, you’ll see a selection of AI tools under the Featured tab. Pick “Text to Video,” and you’re in!
• Craft a Prompt: Type out a description of what you want to see. For best results, Adobe recommends specifying the shot type, character, action, location, and aesthetic — the more detail, the better — up to 175 words.. For example:

Prompt: A futuristic cityscape at sunset with neon lights reflecting off wet pavement. The camera pans over a sleek, silver skyscraper, then zooms in on a group of drones flying in formation, their lights pulsating in sync with the city’s rhythm. The scene transitions to a close-up of a holographic advertisement displaying vibrant, swirling patterns. The video ends with a wide shot of the city, capturing the dynamic interplay of light and technology.

• Generate: Hit that generate button, and watch Firefly do its magic. Stick around on the tab while it’s generating, or else your progress disappears (a bit of a quirk if you ask me).

The end result is a 5-second video clip in MP4 format, complete with 1920 × 1080 resolution. You can’t exactly produce a Hollywood blockbuster here, but for quick, creative clips, it’s pretty handy.

Here’s another one:

A cheerful, pastel-colored cartoon rabbit wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt. The rabbit is standing on a sunny beach, surrounded by palm trees and colorful beach balls. As it dances to upbeat music, it starts to juggle three beach balls while spinning around. The camera zooms out to show the rabbit’s shadow growing larger, transforming into a giant beach ball that bounces across the sand. The video ends with the rabbit laughing and winking at the camera.

Image-to-Video: Turn That Pic into Motion

To use this feature, you must have the rights to any third-party images you upload. All images uploaded or content generated must meet our User Guidelines. Access will be revoked for any violation.

If you prefer a visual reference to a text prompt, Firefly also has your back. You can upload an image — presumably one you own the rights to — and let the AI interpret that into video form. As Adobe warns:

Once uploaded, you can tweak the ratio, camera angle, motion, and more to shape your final clip. This is a brilliant feature if you’re working on something that requires a specific style or visual element and you’d like to keep that vibe across different shots.

A Dash of Sparkle: Adding Effects

A neat trick up Adobe’s sleeve is the ability to layer special effects like fire, smoke, dust particles, or water over your footage. The model can generate these elements against a black or green screen, so you can easily apply them as overlays in Premiere Pro or After Effects.

In practical terms, you could generate smoky overlays to give your scene a dramatic flair or sprinkling dust particles for a cinematic vibe. Adobe claims these overlays blend nicely with real-world footage, so that’s a plus for those who want to incorporate subtle special effects into their videos without shelling out for expensive stock footage.

How Much Does Adobe Firefly Cost?

There are two main plans if you decide to adopt Firefly into your daily workflow:

1. Adobe Firefly Standard (10 USD/month)
   • You get 2,000 monthly generative credits for video and audio, which means you can generate up to 20 five-second videos and translate up to 6 minutes of audio and video.
   • Useful for quick clip creation, background experimentation, and playing with different styles in features like Text to Image and Generative Fill.
2. Adobe Firefly Pro (30 USD/month)
   • This plan offers 7,000 monthly generative credits for video and audio, allowing you to generate up to 70 five-second videos and translate up to 23 minutes of audio and video.
   • Great for those looking to storyboard entire projects, produce b-roll, and match audio cues for more complex productions.

Both plans also include 100 GB of cloud storage, so you don’t have to worry too much about hoarding space on your own system. They come in monthly or annual prepaid options, and you can cancel anytime without fees — quite flexible, which is nice.

First Impressions: Late to the Party?

Overall, Firefly’s biggest plus is its library of training data. Because it only uses Adobe-licensed or public domain content, creators can produce videos without fear of accidental infringement. This is a big deal, considering how many generative AI tools out there scrape the web, causing all sorts of copyright drama.

Adobe’s integration with its existing ecosystem is another big draw. If you’re already knee-deep in Premiere Pro and After Effects, having a built-in system for AI-generated overlays, quick b-roll clips, and atmospheric effects might streamline your workflow.

But let’s be honest: the AI video space is already pretty jam-packed. Competitors like Runway, Kling, and Sora from OpenAI have been around for a while, offering equally interesting features. So the question is, does Firefly do anything better or more reliably than the rest? You’ll have to try it out for yourself (and please let us know your thoughts in the comments below).

This sentiment might ring true until Adobe packs in some advanced features or speeds up its render times. However, you can’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Adobe does offer free video generation credits, so have a go. Generate your own videos, add flaming overlays, and see if the results vibe with your style.

Will Adobe’s trusted brand name and integrated workflow features push Firefly Video Generator to the top of the AI video world? Or is this too little, too late?

Ultimately, you’re the judge. The AI video revolution is in full swing, and each platform has its own perks and quirks.

Wrapping Up & Parting Thoughts

Adobe’s Firefly Video Generator is an exciting new player that’s sure to turn heads. If you’re already an Adobe devotee, it makes sense to give it a whirl and see how seamlessly it slides into your existing workflow. You’ll enjoy its straightforward interface, the security of licensed content, and some neat editing options.

But with so many alternatives on the market, is Firefly truly innovative, or just the next step in AI’s unstoppable march through our creative spaces?

Could Adobe’s pedigree and safe licensing edge truly redefine AI video for commercial use, or is the industry already oversaturated with better and bolder solutions?

You may also like:

• Revolutionising the Creative Scene: Adobe’s AI Video Tools Challenge Tech Giants
• Adobe’s GenAI is Revolutionising Music Creation
• Try out the Adobe Firefly Video Generator for free by tapping here

TL;DR – What You Need to Know in 30 Seconds

1. AI Chip Designs Outperform Humans: A new study in Nature shows that AI can generate wireless chip layouts that work better than those humans typically devise.
2. Alien-Like Geometry: The resulting designs look bizarre, and even experts have trouble understanding exactly how they work.
3. Fast-Growing Industry: The millimetre-wave wireless chip market, valued at around $4.5 billion, is expected to triple over the next six years (Sengupta et al., 2023). AI design could become a game-changer in meeting that demand.
4. Not a Total Human Replacement: While the AI can produce awe-inspiring (and sometimes baffling) layouts, human engineers are still essential to ensure the chips are functional and safe.

So What is This AI Alien Chip All ABout?

If you’ve been paying any attention to the world of high-tech gadgets lately, you’ll know that our devices just keep getting smarter, faster, and more efficient. But how would you feel if you discovered that an AI — effectively an “alien intelligence” — was behind designing the very chips you depend on every single day? Talk about your smartphone feeling a wee bit out of this world!

The fascinating twist is that researchers have recently developed an artificial intelligence system capable of churning out wireless chip designs that, while effective, have left the folks behind it scratching their heads. The chip layouts, described in research published in the journal Nature (Sengupta et al., 2023), don’t exactly look like something a human mind would dream up:

And yet, these alien-looking shapes work better than many chips crafted by us mere mortals.

A Quick Overview of the Research

An international team of engineers used a deep learning algorithm to produce brand-new, highly optimised wireless microchip designs. Not only did these chips exceed the performance of their human-designed counterparts, but their geometry was so perplexing that even experts couldn’t quite figure out the “why” behind their success. It’s as if our AI overlords already speak a different language altogether.

In fact, the designs were so strange that they sparked conversations likening AI to an alien form of intelligence. Well-known academics such as Harvard’s Avi Loeb have previously suggested that we can think of advanced AI as more “alien” than “human” in its cognitive processes. And this project seems to back that up. At times, not even the designers of AI truly grasp how it’s thinking.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Lead researcher Kaushik Sengupta emphasises that AI is meant to be a tool — one that can save time and let humans focus on creativity and innovation.

As he explains, reminding us that the best approach is to merge the brilliance of human ingenuity with the raw computational power of deep learning.

The (Very) Human Problem of Chip Design

Traditional chip design is laborious. Whether it’s for your phone, laptop, or the radar system guiding air traffic, engineers rely on expert knowledge, classical design templates, and a significant amount of trial and error. The result? It can take weeks or even months to refine a new design.

But that’s just the start. After the layouts are initially created, you have to test them in simulations, tweak, repeat, and eventually move on to real-life prototypes — possibly many times over. And even after all that, the geometry of some cutting-edge chips can be so complicated that it’s really tough to grasp what’s going on.

Enter AI and Inverse Synthesis

With the new approach the Princeton-led team used, you start with the desired outcome (like a certain frequency range or power output) and then let AI figure out the geometry needed to achieve those specs. They call it “inverse synthesis,” and it’s a bit like giving AI the final picture in a jigsaw puzzle and asking it to generate all the pieces.

Deep learning excels in pattern recognition and can handle tasks involving complex data structures. But the “alien” aspect creeps in when we realise that deep learning doesn’t necessarily adhere to human logic or aesthetics. It might create odd lumps and squiggles that don’t make sense at first glance — yet they tick all the right boxes for performance.

Let’s keep that in mind the next time we worry about AI taking over our jobs.

AI’s Faulty “Hallucinations”

AI doesn’t always get it right. In fact, sometimes it churns out total nonsense. The researchers found that the same system capable of fabricating record-breaking designs would just as quickly create faulty monstrosities — chips that wouldn’t work at all in practical tests.

And that’s precisely why human oversight remains crucial. If you imagine a future where we unleash AI to design the next generation of everything, from medical devices to nuclear facility components, you can also imagine the potential risks if there’s no one around to say, “Hang on, that’s nonsense.” So while these breakthroughs are jaw-dropping, they’re also sobering reminders of AI’s limitations.

A $4.5 Billion Opportunity

Millimetre-wave wireless chips form a massive $4.5 billion market today, a figure projected to triple in size over the next six years (Sengupta et al., 2023). That’s a potential goldmine for AI-based design solutions — or perhaps an “alienmine” if we keep up the cosmic analogy. And yes, expect to see these strange new designs in everything from advanced radars to next-generation smartphones.

Looking Ahead

For now, the AI system focuses on smaller electromagnetic structures. But where the real magic lies is in scaling up, chaining these structures together to form more intricate circuits. If you think a Wi-Fi chip looks complicated now, just wait until AI starts connecting thousands or even millions of these “alien” components.

We might soon reach a point where no single engineer can fully grasp the entire design of a system because of its complexity — not just from the standpoint of manufacturing but at the very conceptual level. And that begs the question: at what point does technology become so advanced that we can’t meaningfully explain it anymore?

Bridging the Gap Between Humans and AI

Despite the somewhat sci-fi vibe, there’s room for humans and AI to collaborate harmoniously. AI can break down the barriers of our imagination, while humans can do the vital sanity-checking and fine-tuning needed. As Sengupta puts it: “The point is not to replace human designers with tools. The point is to enhance productivity with new tools” (Sengupta et al., 2023).

And here at AIinASIA, we’re always excited to see how tech can spark leaps forward in every field — especially when it unearths new ways to manage the complexities of hardware design that can support our ever-growing digital demands.

Wrapping Up

So, there you have it: alien-esque chips conjured by AI, promising faster processing and new frontiers in wireless technology — and leaving a bunch of brilliant researchers mildly baffled. Perhaps we’re finally catching a glimpse of a future where machines don’t just assist us, but actively forge paths we couldn’t dream of. The question that remains is: how do you feel about relying on alien-like AI designs for the technology that powers your life?

You may also like:

• The AI Chip Race: US Plans New Restrictions on China’s Tech Access
• Delays Impacting the Shape of the Tech Landscape
• Read more on Princeton Engineering’s website by tapping here.