Sure, plenty of people out there have been watching the ongoing storm of excitement, overpromising, and disaster with a look of disgust. But few companies have come out and said what lots of ordinary people are thinking. And that’s that generative AI can kind of suck. Specifically — generative AI in the creative world.
Fitting, I think, that it would be Procreate who had the resolve to speak out first.
The CEO of Procreate, James Cuda, took to social media to address the question head on. Is the popular drawing app working on generative AI features? Cuda, who says he doesn’t like getting in front of the camera, rather bluntly states his disdain for the technology.
We’re never going there. Creativity is made, not generated.
You can read more at https://t.co/9Fgh460KVu ✨ #procreate #noaiart pic.twitter.com/AnLVPgWzl3
— Procreate (@Procreate) August 18, 2024
“I don’t like what’s happening in the industry,” he says. “I don’t think what it’s doing to artists. We’re not gonna be introducing any generative AI into our products. Our products are always designed and developed with the idea that a human will be creating something.”
Cuda admits that they don’t know exactly where this is all heading but remains convinced that they’re “on the right path.”
It’s quite refreshing to hear someone come out and say those words, especially from a creativity-based tech company. After all, Microsoft, Adobe, and now even Apple are all-in on adding AI assistance and generation to nearly every creative task.
I don’t know that Procreate’s stance on AI will spark a larger movement to stand firm against the ongoing AI creep — heck, it may even turn out to be a mistake for the company. It certainly takes some courage though, and likely, at least a modicum of knowledge that Procreate’s users agree with him. Based on the replies on the post, I’d say they’re onto something.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.