326 stranded people return from London, taken to quarantine centres
Bengaluru: As many as 326 people stuck in London due to the COVID-19 lockdown arrived at the Kempegowda International Airport here in the early hours of Monday.
After their arrival by an Air India evacuation flight at 4.45 am, a team of corona warriors checked the passengers' health condition before letting them go to the designated quarantine centres.
All the 326 passengers were found to be asymptomatic and put up in hotels as chosen by them, a senior Karnataka government official said.
The state administration has designated certain resorts and hotels as quarantine centres, especially for those stranded in foreign countries.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had instructed the officials that those returning from foreign countries and other states should not be allowed to mingle with others without undergoing 14 days quarantine and mandatory COVID-19 swab tests.
Soon after the passengers completed the initial tests, a BMTC bus took them to the designated quarantine centres. Those willing to quarantine in five-star hotels will have to bear the expenses.
The health workers took extra precautionary measures while screening the patients. They were asked to download Quarantine Watch, a mobile application developed by the Karnataka government to monitor those in quarantine so that they do not flout the norms.
The application switches on the geo-positioning system of the phone and makes it mandatory for the quarantined person to take a selfie every hour till night at the designated place and send it to the government.
Those violating quarantine norms face punishment.
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AI reshaping music, filmmaking in Kannada cinema
Bengaluru: Artificial Intelligence is slowly changing the way music and creativity are produced in the Kannada film industry, raising concerns among musicians, singers and technicians, The New Indian Express reported on Sunday.
Music composer, actor and director V Manohar reportedly said, AI is being used to write lyrics, especially in low-budget movies. Once lyrics are generated, AI can suggest thousands of tunes. It even asks whether the voice should be male or female. With one click, a complete song is ready.
“If this continues, singers and musicians will have less or no work in the coming days. But it may not succeed either. A few years ago, dubbing was allowed and people could watch movies in any language they preferred. But not many took to it as they wanted to watch a movie in the original,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
According to the report, Filmmaker Avinash U Shetty, a National Award winner, said resistance to new technology is not new. Those who resisted shifting from analogue to digital films years ago have now embraced it. The industry is now using only 10% of the AI potential. If it is scaled up, it can do unimaginable things. What we consider bad now, may not be after five years.
Highlighting the cost advantage, Sangamesh, an independent creator reportedly said, he made a three-minute video using AI for just Rs 4,500. Earlier, the same work would have cost nearly Rs 15 lakh. I finished the entire project in three days. The only expense was the AI software subscription, he said.
These days, it has become difficult to differentiate between the real and AI. AI is creating artistes. Scenes like war, big fights and dance can be shot with a lesser number of artistes. Then with the aid of visual effects and AI, you can achieve what you have in mind, he said.
Actor-director D P Raghuram felt that while AI has made an impact on music, it lacks emotional depth. Cinema earlier involved hard work and strong emotional connections. AI can help improve our work, but creativity should remain human, he reportedly said.
As per the report, earlier, Kannada cinema employed hundreds of junior artistes, who not only earned wages but also shared meals on sets and formed lasting bonds with stars like Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh. Today, filmmakers fear that increasing dependence on AI could reduce such human connections, turning creativity into just another automated process.
