‘Delegate and experiment'
Within a blink, a man turns into a Lego figurine.
Not actually. The man's image is dancing in a video; via artificial intelligence, his face and body change into blocks, shifting with the song's beat.
The clip garnered more than 928,000 views on TikTok. It's one of a few shorts Adam Fainman created that reached online viral status.
PARISA SEPEHRI PHOTO Moonlite Labs' online platform
Fainman saw the interest, read the comments — 'tutor pls' — and decided to turn the AI model he'd created into a user-friendly platform.
Two years later, he and a team are launching the Moonlite Labs tool. When on the web platform, people can upload or record music and dictate AI-generated visuals to go alongside. The platform can pulse video graphics to song beats by detecting beats per minute.
'I think it's going to allow a lot of artists and creators to go much further with their art than they ever imagined,' said Fainman, who grew up in Manitoba. 'Ideally, they can delegate and experiment.'
Nearly one-quarter of Canadian businesses in information and culture industries used generative AI in 2024's first quarter, Statistics Canada reported.
The sector led other industries in generative AI use.
Fainman, 32, started tinkering with AI as soon as he noticed it used for image creation. He's been toying with computers since childhood after his grandfather bought one for his family. The elder, Jacob T. Schwartz, is credited as a pioneering U.S. mathematician and the founder of New York University's computer science department.
Schwartz taught Fainman about programming during a summer together. He died when Fainman was in high school.
'I wanted to lean into … computer science to honour him,' Fainman said.
Meantime, he was building his beatboxing career. His mother — who goes by the stage name Rachel Kane — was making records and performing, and encouraging Fainman to beatbox with her. He's since output music under the name Beatox.
'Everything was always based around music,' Fainman said, considering his education.
A University of Winnipeg computer science degree — a foundation to create websites for artists. Visual production courses at Red River College Polytechnic? A pathway to music video creation.
While completing a masters degree at the University of Toronto in music technology and digital media, Fainman began using Vochlea's Dubler 2, a system and microphone where people use voice to control instruments digitally.
Fainman recalled teaching the system what a snare drum was and a kick sound: 'You could work with tech to make this human expression fuller.'
So when he saw the first images being created using artificial intelligence, he decided generative AI was a rabbit hole he wanted to fall down.
Fainman used open source codes and math calculations to make AI-generated images that morphed with music beats. Once some videos went viral online, he pitched himself to the National Research Council.
'I basically proposed — how about we create the platform that does the calculating and does heavy lifting for people who aren't as math or technically savvy?' Fainman said.
It worked. The NRC granted Moonlite Labs — also called Moonlite Media — several rounds of funding. Fainman hired developers, enrolled in a North Forge incubator program and saddled up to mentors like Bronuts' founder and the founding tech lead of SkipTheDishes.
Months before its Wednesday launch, Moonlite Labs' concept won an audience choice award at the Manitoba AI Innovation Showcase.
JOSH KIRSCHNER PHOTO Adam Fainman is the founder of Moonlite Labs.
Fainman's mother was among the first clients. She and Fainman used the platform to create videos for songs on her new album, Holler at the Wind.
'That was really funny and cool,' Fainman said. 'She's maybe not the most tech-savvy person. My goal with the platform was like, if my mom can use it, then almost anyone can use it.'
The platform — moonlitelabs.com — is best on a laptop or desktop. Users can import music, record from the site or opt to go without audio, Fainman said.
From there, people use text to describe scenes they want. Credits for video creation are available for purchase. Subscriptions for individual artists and corporations will come later, Fainman said.
He's Paris-bound this month for Viva Technology, Europe's largest startup event. The conference — namely, its 165,000 attendees — is an opportunity to grow Moonlite Labs internationally, Fainman stated.
'(They're) pretty scrappy,' said Harry Roy McLaughlin, founding chairman of the Manitoba Association of AI Professionals. 'That's what you need to be able to succeed.'
Many AI startups want to leave Manitoba for Silicon Valley or Toronto. Moonlite Labs growing in Winnipeg is 'encouraging,' McLaughlin said.
Joelle Foster, North Forge president and CEO, said she anticipates demand for Moonlite Labs.
'Most people require extensive engineering and design resources to do this,' she said. 'Now people who don't have that background … but have the ideas and the passion to do this will be able to use his platform.'
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Artificial intelligence will likely eliminate some jobs, Foster said. However, it could 'open up the world' to more creativity, mitigating losses, she predicted.
Backlash came when people started using computers for music creation, Fainman recalled. He views AI, like computers, as a tool.
'It can't just do things on its own,' he said. 'It needs to be directed, it needs to be worked with … I believe that it just improves your ability.'
Credits to Moonlite Labs will range from $10 to several hundred dollars. Subscription costs are still being finalized.
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
Gabrielle PichéReporter
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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