MIDNITE HOUR - 01 February 2023

Although AI is a broad topic including robotics and computer programming, we will drill down to focus on the audio-visual aspects available to the public for this reportage. The last few years we have seen a number of AIs software program come to light - many highly entertaining, and some bordering on frightening.

For example, there are a number of websites that have produced AI generated faces - such as the simply named Generated Photos <link>, which offers stock of 2,677,417 AI generated photos that you will not be able to tell from real persons. Further, you can dial in your specifications and the AI will provide you with dozens of new photo quality faces for your downloads - and it's all free.

Somewhat disturbing (if not downright frightening) are the DeepFake family of AI applications. Most of us already have seen some of this - where, for example, politicians are seen to say things they have not actually spoken - and much of the time, it looks 100% real. But the general category of 'Deep Fake' is not only visual, the faked voices of the politicians also sound real. But even that's not the end of it, as can be seen on the website Deepfakenow <link>, where they can link you to "10 Crazy Deepfake Apps That Will Make You Question Reality". Yes, really...

Night Entertainment ladies produced by Pixart's Artificial Intelligence software... Anyone for a virtual A Go-Go bar?.

There are at least two dozen AI 'essay writer' websites, but the most recently visited 'essay writer' software is from Open AI called ChatGPT <link>, which offers, in their lingo, 'Optimizing Language Models for Dialogue'. The AI does exactly as one imagines - the user simply types in the particulars of the essay he wants to write, the length, etc, and the AI does the rest - producing a document ready for download. A note of caution for this category of software - those same 'fact checkers' that have irretrievably destroyed free speech on Social Media sites have also polluted most of the AI essay writing websites. (As in : "If you think it's free, you are the product.")

More recently, the most interesting AI software to become available to the general public can be categorized as "AI image from text" (-for you Googlers). Probably the two most popular sites are Midjourney <link> and Open AI's Dall-E 2 <link>. Neither are as "user friendly" as they otherwise could be - we suspect they are subtly displaying their geek prowess over the common man.... However, our favorite (so far) is Pixart <link> . With Pixart there is no requirement to register, join, or submit personal information - it's "ready to use". It also has about three dozen 'characteristics' you can select to determine, or 'shape' how your requested output will appear. Waiting time, no matter how absurd your text request is - is about one minute.

We are betting you thought this was going to be all fun-and-games, and the lawyers were not going to get involved. Silly you. Yes, 'copyright' raises it's ugly head yet again. U.S. Code: Title 17 Copyright law allows that 'commissioned' work is generally the property of the person commissioning the work, and not the person(s) actually doing the work - as in portrait painters, etc. This appears to apply in the electronic world also. This, on its own, seems obvious and correct. So when a person accesses a website to create an AI image from his text, he has (in his mind) 'commissioned' the website - either paid or free - to create an image from that textual input. He considers this input to be copyrighted by himself. Some of the websites producing AI pictures from requestors' texts have stated that the requestors retain the copyright on whatever the AI produces. But a number of artists who have contributed to the AI websites' databases claim that the requestor cannot claim copyright, even though the actual AI output is an 'original' from the requestor's text, and contains only abstracted similarities to any existing artwork produced by humans. Let's see how long this goes on before we hear of court cases....

But what would any of this have to do with Night Entertainment? The first thing that comes to mind is the recent local crackdown on publishing photos of persons on line, particularly on websites and social media without their prior permission. A number of Night Entertainment Venues regularly post photos of their dancing staff, which may or may not please the staff. A quick AI face-swap with an imagined AI visage would remove any possibility of identifying the person in the photo (barring tats, of course). Another thought, AI produced models for promotional material would be immensely cheaper than hiring live models and pretties. And then, there is always the possibility that an unscrupulous website might create an AI visage to feature on their monthly A Thai Smile sub page...

Last month we noted that the night market had reoccupied fully one third of Patpong 1 Road (Silom Road end). We also noted that it appeared they were preparing to reoccupy the remaining roadway. This month we find that is exactly what happened. The remaining two thirds of Patpong 1 have been taken up, not by contraband watches and tourist items, but food stalls and an open air food court. In some places, the food stalls have crowded onto the sidewalks, making foot traffic impossible - the only option is to wander through the stalls in the street. This being the case, as far as the Night Entertainment Venues are concerned, the conditions that now exist are worse than pre-Covid times. We would not be surprised if Nitespots such as Thigh Bar complain that they have been cut off from their customer base. This does not bode well for the future of Patpong 1 as a Night Entertainment Area.

Traces of Bangkok's Early Years

his month we continue our coverage of 'The Sixties" - as Bangkok (and Thailand) began it's accelerated path to becoming the world's foremost Night Entertainment destination. The Night Entertainment Venues (of interest to the expats / tourists) fell into four basic categories - Live entertainment, Quiet bars / Lounges, Turkish Baths (massage parlors) and the Cinema.
Of those venues having live entertainment, there were three sub-categories : Those that featured well-known stars from overseas, those who featured entertainers which would, in today's terms be called 'B List', and those venues featuring 'local' entertainment, which almost always included Philippine nationals..

As noted in an earlier issue, the Sani Chateau, located in Gaysorn Night Entertainment Area, had been destroyed by fire at the peak of it's popularity in December 1965. The above ad indicates they imported entertainment directly from Paris for the occasion of the reopening - thereby re-igniting their rivaly with Cafe de Paris on Suriwong.

May 1966

      The popular Cafe de Paris night club was located directly across from Patpong 1 - and contributed to the synergy that was affecting the area's growth as a stand-alone Night Entertainment Area.
May 1966

      The original renown Ink Spots disbanded in 1954.   This precipitated up to 100 copy 'Ink Spots', occasionally having one of the original musicians as a member.   In 1967, a federal judge declared "Ink Spots" to be in the public domain.   The gentlemen above are not the originals.
         Note: The New Road Night Entertainment's Bar Mikado announced their closing 2 days before the reopening of the Sani Chateau.   Mikado was owned by the same group, and took up the slack during the renovations of the Sani Chateau.

May 1966

      It's rare to find any sort of photo of the Domino, one of Gaysorn Night Entertainment Area's main attractions.

May 1966

      The popular Can Can Cafe (a Night Club) was a spin-off of the nearby Oasis in the New Road Night Entertainment Area.   The Can Can featured mostly 'local' Philippine musicians

May 1966

      Max's continued to be one of the favorite 'after work' bars on Patpong 1.

May 1966

      The Starlight was one of the larger Venues in New Road Night Entertainment Area, and regularly featured 'imported' acts and musical groups.   We have no idea what a 'Korean Sovel Night' is...         May 1966

      Having recently discussed Dukes Coffee Shop with friends, we were surprised to find the above in our clippings.   While not a Nitespot per-se, it was a popular meeting spot for those '60's Patpong denizens.         May 1966

      Alan Dean (1924-2018) was a pop singer (bopper) who enjoyed relative popularity in Australia, England and the east coast of the USA.   He accompanied several well-known musical groups, heading up the Song Pedlars.   Later he formed his own touring groups, Keynotes, and then All Star Sextet.

May 1966