12M US jobs at AI risk

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🔀 Thanks to AI, 12M US workers may need to switch jobs by 2030: Study

🏛 British Museum enters the metaverse

👨‍💻 AI researchers test tech for writing news, turning brain scans into music

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Thanks to AI, 12M US workers may need to switch jobs by 2030: Study [Link]

Almost 12M Americans currently in occupations with shrinking demand may need to change jobs by 2030 - with lower-wage workers 14 times more likely to be disrupted, according to a McKinsey study on the impact of AI and other factors on employment.

Some of the sobering findings include:

• 11.8M workers from today to 2030 will have to change jobs out of necessity, with an estimated 9M of them potentially needing to find new jobs in other industries.

• A staggering 75% of the estimated declines in job levels are in office support, customer service and sales, food services, and production work such as manufacturing.

• While lower-wage workers are expected to be most affected, the demand for higher-wage professions in healthcare, tech, transportation, and other industries is likely to grow significantly.

A primary driver for these changes is job automation, potentially driven by the rise of generative AI: up to 30% of hours currently worked in the US could be automated by 2030.

Other factors include the continued rise of online shopping and an aging American population, affecting their spending habits.

British Museum enters the metaverse [Link]

In an otherwise surprising move from a highly traditional institution, the British Museum has partnered with Ethereum-based metaverse The Sandbox to bring its massive collection to life via a lineup of NFTs.

The world’s first public national museum is bringing its collections of human history, art, and culture to The Sandbox players, establishing its own immersive space within the popular metaverse and working with the likes of web3 platform IaCollection, known to bring art from leading museums worldwide into the digital space.

Other major museums that have found their way to the metaverse include:

• France’s Centre Pompidou, opening an exhibition comprising coveted CryptoPunks and Autoglyphs

• The Kharkiv Art Museum in Ukraine, launching NFTs as a fundraiser

• Belgium’s Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, the first in Europe to tokenize a class art piece fetching millions of euros

AI researchers test tech for writing news, turning brain scans into music

Amid worries among journalists of the tech’s misuse for nuanced news topics, Google is testing its AI tool Genesis for producing news content via generative AI.

While the inside details remain scant (with a Google rep saying it’s in the earliest stage of exploration with news publishers), the tool has already garnered attention from major news groups such as The New York Times and News Corp, which owns The Wall Street Journal. It’s highlighted not just to generate news stories but also to serve as a journalist’s personal assistant, automating specific tasks.

Researchers at Google have also collaborated with Osaka University to study scans of brain waves taken while subjects listened to music in the lab, the results transformed into “reconstructions” of the music they listened to using the AI model Brain2Music and providing promise of “mind reading” in the future.

Using MusicLM, Google's text-to-music AI music generator, the team saw the AI model create music that sounded similar to the music the subjects originally heard using only the data derived from the brain scans.

Why retailers should prioritize Gen Alpha in the metaverse [Link]

Gen Alpha, those born in 2010 or later and thus are digital natives, forms part of brands’ key customers in the years to come. Virtual 3D worlds come naturally to Gen Alpha given their social media and smartphone savvy, consistent tech exposure, and their “impatient” consumer parents - millennials - with strong retail expectations.

Businesses can capture this market by:

• Prioritizing Gen Z despite their limited buying power at present, as they are expected to be early adopters in the metaverse

• Creating seamless experiences, in light of the target market’s very low tolerance for non-intuitive digital experiences or latency

• Offering digital assets, not just physical assets, to pave the way for new potential products and business models, including accessories for their avatars or cars for test-driving in the metaverse

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Solana Foundation boosts NFTs and blockchain gaming at PlayGG event in San Diego - without actually saying “NFTs” or “crypto.” (Link)

• Hasbro Gaming on the game-changing potential of AI-driven mechanics in anticipated board games. (Link)

• Gaming metaverse Star Atlas is undergoing a headcount reduction to prioritize key projects and ensure long-term success. (Link)

• ChinaJoy, the biggest gaming expo in China, welcomes the era of chatbots. (Link)

• Russian propaganda found in video games raises alarm over potential misinformation and its effects. (Link)

• Jujutsu Kaisen collaboration brings exciting crossover to Fortnite. (Link)

• Super Mario Bros’ mysterious new villain gets unveiled. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• The Institute of Digital Fashion taps AI to celebrate Barbie and London’s queer club scene. (Link)

• Travis Scott’s latest Nike shoes fly off digital shelves in record time, and continue to sell out instantly. (Link)

• Fashion brands embrace experiential retail with AI tools to elevate customer engagement and shopping. (Link)

• The growing trend of virtual influencers: Will they surpass human influencers in impact? (Link)

• Learn more about AI influencers who are already raking in millions from fashion giants’ mega deals. (Link)

• Launched in March, fashion metaverse PARIZ is attracting users and investors. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• ChatGPT analyzes Notre Dame’s top 10 offensive linemen of all time. (Link)

• Meta’s XTADIUM gets onto the VR broadcast of the Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz match. (Link)

• How sports fans’ experience get a radical transformation due to VR, AR, and the metaverse. (Link)

• In football, remote audiences are the next frontier for stadium design. (Link)

• The MLB virtual ballpark, the 1st metaverse for a pro sports league, isn’t your typical sports stadium. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Twitter/X reinstates Kanye West’s account after suspension for violating platform rules. (Link)

• Is OneOf abandoning its most loyal customers? The Quincy Jones-backed NFT platform faces investor criticism. (Link)

• Israel’s ACT NEWS launches the world's 1st fully AI automated news edition with digital avatar clones. (Link)

• Apple’s App Store strengthens user privacy measures with new rules for app devs. (Link)

• Twitter/X rival Bluesky implements personalized algorithmic feed as Threads soars. (Link)

• World Scout Jamboree in South Korea is ready to showcase cutting-edge digital services and a metaverse experience. (Link)

• Sing!Meta will serve as a digital gateway for TV audiences in China to access a virtual stage. (Link)

🖼 Art

• After $30M investment from the gaming giant, Animoca Brands and financial app hi launch personalized NFT debit cards and web3 integration. (Link)

• MNTGE introduces patchwork NFTs to unite digital and embroidery art from renowned artists. (Link)

• Artist critiques Marvel’s AI-driven animation and its impact on artistic expression. (Link)

• The creative community remains skeptical amid the Biden admin’s agreement with AI companies on AI risks, such as job loss and copyright infringement. (Link)

• Refik Anadol thrills his audience anew with a digital artwork powered by rainforest data and NFTs to support Amazon’s conservation. (Link)

🤖 AI

• OpenAI releases a tutorial on how to use its GPT-4 and Whisper models to transcribe and summarize meeting minutes. (Link)

• In Japan, an AI suitcase empowers travelers with visual impairment. (Link)

• In their continuing mission to combat theft, retail giants collaborate with tech companies to deploy AI-powered surveillance systems. (Link)

• Global insurer AXA implements advanced AI service to enhance employee security and productivity. (Link)

• How it ends when a Redditor tries playing a game with GPT-4. (Link)

• EU’s latest AI Act spurs worries among ASEAN players on the increasing cost of compliance. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Compscience Insurance Services secures $10M in Series A funding to advance AI-powered insurance. (Link)

• Voia raises $3M in pre-seed funding to fuel expansion of AI-powered video creation platform. (Link)

• Nicolab and Titan collaborate to enhance pre-hospital workflows in acute stroke cases. (Link)

• Hexaware and Microsoft jointly harness the power of gen-AI for business advancement. (Link)

• Staynex pairs up with Huawei to elevate web3 innovations in travel and hospitality. (Link)

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

📈 If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse 📈

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