Looking for your next read at the intersection of art, technology, and our world? The AMT Lab team shares what they have on their bookshelves this season. From the rise of AI in marketing to the urgent need for climate action, our team discusses the books we found most impactful. Read more to find insights on accessibility, the power of music, and the future of culture.
With a wide range of integration possibilities and reporting flexibility, Sage Intacct might be the right financial management software for your organization. In this review, guest contributor Stewart Urist highlights a few of the key functionalities that have improved his organization's daily workflow and the quality of the financial information available, and flags some pitfalls to keep in mind along the way.
Amidst a host of negative reviews, season three of The Bear seems to epitomize the promise of prestige television -- bigger stars, bigger budgets, and higher production quality. Season three is ambitious and challenging, and it doesn’t allow the limitations of the television medium to dictate how the stories it wants to tell should be told.
At the core of fundraising is the relationship between a nonprofit and those constituents who are most passionate about that organization’s mission. As development professionals it is vital to find touchpoints that cultivate and maintain these mutualistic relationships. Convenience for the donor is critical to getting a first gift that leads to a sustained philanthropic relationship. DipJar offers a unique giving opportunity for organizations “on the road,” those with a facility, or those hosting fundraising special events.
Many have likely browsed the internet long enough to have been fooled by an AI-generated image or two at some point. Text-to-image models like DALL·E , Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion have advanced enough that most people only have about a 50%-60% chance of discerning if an image is AI generated, and the odds aren’t improving - but are these models good enough to forego using human artists altogether? This article provides a comparative review of the various offerings of Midjourney.
Discord is a popular free-to-use browser app and software that gives users the ability to write, make voice or video conversations, and share their screen. The app provides users and their teams with the necessary real-time communication if they want to stay in sync when competing in esports, watching a movie, or video conferencing. This review dives into the pros and cons, and explains some of the basic and premium features of Discord.
#SelfCare is an application designed with a gamification approach to self-care. It was named one of Apple’s best self-care apps of 2018, when self-care was also named one of Apple’s top trends. Unlike most apps, #SelfCare has no advertisements, does not ask for a subscription when signing up, and sends out few notifications, which can also be turned off easily. It is difficult to obtain the number of downloads from the App Store, but as of 2019, it had more than two million downloads. This review looks at the application in a post-pandemic context wherein being alone is the new norm, at least for the time being.
Procreate, launched in 2011, is a digital drawing software that can be used on an iPad. It offers hundreds of brushes, filters, supports files with many layers, and has a very simple design interface. This review will go into the details about Procreate to give you better insight on what sets it apart from other digital drawing software.
Japanese startup Amadeus Code, an “artificial intelligence-powered songwriting assistant,” is the latest app that is riding the wave of A.I. art-generation. The algorithm scans a diverse database of popular music from the past 500 centuries (in theory - the earliest song this reviewer discovered was Schubert’s “Ave Maria” from 1825) and allows the user to specify the note range and length, drama, familiarity, and era. The app then creates a unique instrumental harmony based on these specifications, drawing inspiration from songs that have similar characteristics.
