Play What the Heck Is That With Us and How to Create a Killer Panel

Concern is rising over AI-powered cyber-brothels. —?BBC?

Summer Test??

?Can you spot an AI-generated image? Can you guess “What the Heck is That?” Thursday, July 18th, we turn the camera on you as we study deepfakes and then play What the Heck is That: The Gadget Game Show hosted by Emmy Award winner Steve Greenberg. Want a sneak preview of the game? Check out Greenberg’s space on the Room3D platform and see how you do.??

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Making Panels Less Terrible??

You know the drill. Four panelists. They move down the line and introduce themselves. They use their PowerPoint crutches. And 45 minutes later it's on to the next. Pile these up hour after hour and you’ve got a recipe for tedium. But how do you shake things up without seeming contrived??

The First 60 Seconds The first 60 seconds of your panel are the hardest. Nail the first 60 and you’re legit. So make those 60 seconds about surprise and delight. Here are a few suggestions:

• Start with a single question to your panelists to be answered in a snap that makes for a conversation, not a recitation. For example: “In one sentence tell us your hope for the next decade.”?
• Start with an audience quiz or poll. What amazing fact wouldn’t they ever guess about your subject matter? (For us recently it was a question from AARP’s Rick Robinson that asked, “If the 50-plus population in the U.S. were a country, it would be the world’s ___ largest economy.” (Answer: 3rd). Or ask their general sentiment about a topic. Then tell them that you’re about to change their preconceptions.?
• Start with a prop or photo and ask the audience “do you know what this is?”
• Start with a personal story. This is very TED-ish. Almost every TED Talk draws you into the speaker’s head with a personal vignette.?

Own the Narrative A strong narrative can keep the audience engaged for the entire panel.?

• A moderator can and should explain why they’ve curated the panel a certain way For example, ”Jim can provide the background research, Jane shows you how this is applied to real life, and Susan looks at the future.” It shows you’ve thought hard about the story.
• Set a limit on the number of slides your panelists can use (and set a time limit for videos, too). Remind them to start planning with their brains, not their screens.?
• Don’t ask each panelist the same question and run down the line. Tailor the question to let each point of view shine.?
• Play the speakers off of each other. “Jimmy just said this. Jane, what do you think of that?” This approach is conversational and shows that you’re listening and thinking in real time. Don’t be afraid to have your panelists banter back and forth. Moderators should always be ready with questions and objections to a panelist's statement.?
• It’s ok to check in with the audience during a panel. Not with just “are there any questions” but perhaps a show of hands or a “Let’s hear a yea or nay for Jim’s ideas.” It’ll wake them up and let them become participants. You are working with them.?

And remember, if you’re planning an entire day of panels, vary the cadence: short one-on-ones, audience AMA (Ask Me Anything), a 15-minute keynote, or a 30-minute 3-person panel. The more varied your timing the more surprise and delight.

Deepfakes Update

?More than 60% of people who viewed this video, generated completely using Sora based on an AI prompt, were convinced it was real. Read more in the HarrisX survey.?

?Deepfakes continue to have a pejorative connotation but many people are starting to see where having a clone or digital fake of yourself would be useful and potentially lucrative. At the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, Australia, a professor found himself unable to deliver his lectures due to medical issues. His student created a digital version to use as the professor's clone.?

Some of you remember when Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder of LinkedIn, made news when he had a wide-ranging conversation with his AI clone (Reid AI). To continue your deepfake adventure, you’ll want to watch this episode of Masters of Scale, where the creators of Reid AI (as it's called) divulge all. The discussion touches on the techniques, but also the ethics behind the deepfake debate.

Scuttlebutt?

Trade Show Idea Generators You don’t have to look any further than Infocomm, which caters to the pro AV crowd, to get inspired about the shape of future trade-show exhibits. From larger screens, kinetic walls, projection mapping, and other interactive experiences, Event Marketer calls out 6 of the best.?

Games for Change Winners Games for Change is an inspiring conference. As the name implies, it’s a conference to celebrate the power of games and social media to be a force for good. Take a look at this year’s winners including Daybreak, a game about the effects of climate change, and MLK: Now Is The Time, a VR game that immerses you in Martin Luther King’s speech. See the full list of award winners.

Artifact Lets Anyone Build Code

Claude is Anthropic’s version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Claude’s new Artifact tools are like the paint-by-numbers version of coding. On the left side of its split screen, you give Artifact basic instructions, and watch it create your results on the right side. Here, Dahlia El Ghazzar, of Dahlia+ Agency, fed Artifact the agenda for an event and asked it to build code for the web app. You can watch as Artifact churns out the code.?

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Join Us

?Help us build the first world-wide marathon climate conference. Wall Street Green Digital takes place in October. We’re looking for speakers, partners, media sponsors and attendees to make this a summit like no other. Pass this along to anyone you know who cares about the planet.

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