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.
Dall-e mini, recently renamed Craiyon due to its resemblance to the unrelated Dall-e created by OpenAI, became an internet phenomenon in recent months for its image generation. For those unaware of the technology, users can type a hyper-specific prompt into the image generator, and the AI generates something similar to the image terms.
Dataro is the “GiveTech” startup’s propensity modeling software that uses machine learning technology to generate predictions about how donors are likely to behave. Dataro’s AI software aims to maximize income and minimize wasted costs, as well as transform the way that fundraisers stay alert and relevant to how donors are engaging with their organizations. I see Dataro as a revolutionary force in nonprofit fundraising. The technology, if truly effective with the right organization’s data, harnesses the potential to shape how we prioritize our time with donors.
Writing is often understood as a form of art that comes directly from soul to page, an intimate reveal of human emotion.This core concept of writing is complicated with the development of AI trained to write and write creatively. It is, of course, “thinking” about the act of writing while writing, and doesn’t really have the capacity to think about what it is writing in Flusser’s sense.
AI writing models present a challenge to our notions of writing, but they may also be an overlooked tool to writers themselves. What do they mean for writers and the craft in the future? Could an AI bot write a New York Times Bestseller? This review explains the process and technologies behind AI writing and compares two low cost programs.
Grammarly is a free multi-platform writing app that makes suggestions to improve your writing in real-time through grammar, syntax, and tone. It’s available for Windows, macOS, Chrome, and Android, and the premium tier for individuals provides extra features such as one-click sentence rewriting (available for the cost of $30 monthly, $60 quarterly, or $144 annually). Grammarly is available to educational institutions at special rates, and Grammarly Business is available for teams of 3 or more, with monthly rates of $25 per team member and annual rates depending on the size of the team.
Soundtrap is a collaborative, cross-platform digital tool that provides a simple and quick way to record and edit podcasts or act as a music composition aid. Whether for solo or group use, Soundtrap provides a free audio interface that works via desktop or mobile, ultimately delivering a platform that accommodates the user. Users are able to instantly upload their creations to Spotify with the click of a button, allowing them to share their work with millions of people.
OpeanSea is the largest marketplace for crypto goods, offering a variety of crypto assets with a primary focus on NFTs. Their seletion includes: Art, Trading Cards, Collectibles, Domain Names, Music, Photography, Sports, Utility and Virtual Worlds. OpenSea is essentially the Amazon of NFTs, providing access for users to buy, sell, and trade non-fungible tokens.
The web is overflowing with solutions for our personal and business productivity. As a busy professional and tech early adopter, many productivity tools have entered and exited my hard drives and operating systems over time. The good news from the pandemic (if you want to look at the silver lining) is a focus on improving personal and business project management tools. A newer solution called Notion allows for a free flow of thought in a wiki combined with a detailed framework of databases, offering a fantastic solution for the creative sector, from artists to museums or performing arts organizations, who want to archive their work while planning forward.
The sudden closure of performance hall doors in March 2020 forced orchestras to rethink the meaning of staying connected with their community. In an instant, all classical music organizations became media production organizations — otherwise, they ran the risk of entirely losing touch with their audiences. The pandemic, which accelerated many long overdue innovations in the orchestral world, provided a not-so-gentle push to those who treated digital media as an afterthought to the sacred pillar of live performance. The discoveries made during this last year and a half has challenged orchestras in their method of artistic production. Throughline serves as an exemplary model of what can be accomplished when orchestras use the digital world in a meaningful and intentional way.
What if your doodles could come to life? What if not only you you could interact with them, but they could interact with each other? While this may sound like the plot of a new Pixar movie, it can be achieved by using the RakugakiAR (らくがきAR) app on your phone. This interactive AR app trended #6 on Twitter, achieved #1 Top Overall Paid Apps in App Store (iPhone) in 8 countries/regions within the first week of release, and received the 2020 Digital Ethon Award in Japan. If you have the dollar to spare, I definitely recommend giving Rakugaki AR a try!
Figma, Adobe XD, and Invision Studio are vector-based user interface and user experience (UI/UX) design tools used to create prototypes of web and mobile applications. Before these softwares were available in the market, Sketch was previously known as the industry standard, along with other popular softwares such as Axure, UXPin, and Framer. While there are a multitude of UI/UX design tools available for purchase, this article will analyze three applications: Figma, Adobe XD, and InVision Studio. Looking to the future, as the field continues to see innovative change, it is likely that new features such as live code will be a new application introduced in the market. Regardless, UI/UX design has become more user-friendly and intuitive than it has ever has been.
