300M jobs at risk + Elon Musk’s call for AI pause

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The Future, today. In just 3 minutes.

1/ 300 million jobs could be affected by latest wave of AI, says Goldman Sachs

The labor market takes a hit with AI’s current supremacy: As many as 300 million full-time jobs globally could be automated in some way by the latest wave of AI that has produced the likes of ChatGPT, Goldman Sachs economists have disclosed.

The predictions include:

• 18% of work globally could be computerized, with more pronounced effects in advanced economies than emerging markets

• About ⅔ of current jobs in the US and Europe “are exposed to some degree of AI automation,” and up to a quarter of all work could be performed by AI completely

• Widespread AI adoption could boost global GDP by 7% annually over 10 years

• 25% to 50% of the workload of US workers expected to be affected can be replaced

In related AI news, Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak are among over 1,100 who signed an open letter calling for a 6-month pause on “giant AI experiments,” dubbing the current AI race dynamic dangerous and calling for independent regulations to ensure safety in future systems.

The signatories include: author Yuval Noah Harari, Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn, politician Andrew Yang, and AI researchers and CEOs such as Stuart Russell, Yoshua Bengio, Gary Marcus, and Emad Mostaque.

2/ Fortnite as the hub for the future metaverse

Fortnite has come a long way since launching as a battle royale game, evolving into a platform that commands millions of players worldwide. Thanks to Epic Games’ vision, Fortnite has transformed into more than just a game and as an integral part of the metaverse.

Integrating Unreal Editor capabilities empowers users to create their own content, as well as facilitates the rise of an interactive, user-driven metaverse. Unreal’s open standards, too, ensures interoperability between platforms and paves the way for further innovation and collaboration.

It’s also not without mighty influence on other metaverse projects, from Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Yuga Labs’ Otherside to alignment with Improbable M2 for scalable, persistent online worlds.

3/ G7 soon to formulate and promote stricter crypto guidelines

The Group of Seven (G7), an alliance of the world's leading industrialized democracies including Japan, the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, and the EU, is poised to tighten the reins on the crypto sector.

The plan’s objective: increase transparency and provide better protection for consumers, following the major crypto wake-up call in November 2022 when FTX crashed, proving that poor governance in the industry entails serious consequences. Fast forward to now, the banking industry in the States is in shambles, leaving investors and governments alike in a state of panic.

The G7 is keen to take swift action on the matter at hand ahead of the upcoming meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in mid-May, just before the annual summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

4/ Japan’s metaverse ambitions: A virtual power play

Japan makes its own bid to revolutionize the metaverse with a virtual world that is unlike anything that currently exists. To make this dream a reality, Japan's top corporate giants - Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi, and Sumitomo Mitsui - have come together to launch the Japan Metaverse Economic Zone (JMEZ), a revolutionary collaboration that involves:

• Mizuho Financial Group's financial expertise and experience in digital payment systems, which could be key in developing seamless, secure transactions leading up to a user-friendly virtual economy.

• Mitsubishi's diverse range of businesses and expertise in cutting-edge tech such as robotics, AI, and renewable energy, helpful in building a sustainable, immersive metaverse.

• Sumitomo Mitsui's strong background in investment and asset management, experience in fostering innovative startups, and connections to various industries to nurture a thriving ecosystem within the metaverse.

🏃‍♂️ Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Yuga Labs releases 2D strategy game Legends of the Mara with its companion collection. (Link)

• Walmart shuts down a branded space in Roblox called Universe of Play after metaverse lands in privacy crosshairs. (Link)

• Roblox and its generative AI: how game creation, and the metaverse, may be changing. (Link)

• Long-lasting worlds, 3D characters, and customizable money are some of the 8 traits of blockchain gaming. (Link)

• Dubai-based metaverse project Everdome releases its first beta in-world gaming experience. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• See how metaverse search engine and social platform Lighthouse attempts to simplify MFW discovery with its custom tool. (Link)

• Meet web3-based sneaker brand SOL3MATES and its stakes in a noisy space. (Link)

• Digital fashion house MNTGE takes its next step in web3 with MNTGE + Sean Wotherspoon collection. (Link)

• Does Levi’s really need AI models to showcase body diversity? (Link)

• Cult & Rain taps AI and NFCs in its latest phygital fashion drop. Will luxury follow suit? (Link)

• The Big 8 of fashion tapping into the metaverse today. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• Meow Wolf expands to its first virtual attraction: online mini golf. (Link)

• What are sports NFTs and how do they work? (Link)

• It’s been a month - who’s building on sports-centric crypto project Chiliz Chain 2.0? (Link)

• It’s high time for India’s tech-enabled sporting ecosystem to “metaverse.” (Link)

• Automaker Lancia joins the metaverse, yet keeps its sports concept a mystery. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Wikipedia cracks the code to the “sound of all human knowledge”: it's its new audio logo. (Link)

• UK kids are increasingly turning to TikTok and Snapchat for their social media fix. (Link)

• Ethiopian-Eritrean rapper Heno is on fire, sparking social change via web3. (Link)

• Metaverse brings new problems and opportunities to music licensing. (Link)

• Popular Swedish AI-enabled app which lets women make friends launches in the UK. (Link)

• What’s in store with the Israel in Korea Metaverse this year? (Link)

• Pariz metaverse boasts of a Social District, where users can watch a movie, have a red-carpet moment, or attend a concert. (Link)

🖼 Art

• Digital security brand Ledger taps five artists for inspired works. (Link)

• The Y00ts NFT collection moves from Solana to Polygon. (Link)

• Debate rages over the legality of AI-generated works and who should own the copyright. (Link)

• Artist Patrick Amadon withdraws his work from Sotheby's Auction of Glitch Art in solidarity with female and LGBT artists. (Link)

• Spanish artist Edgar Plans’s traditional art practice naturally translated into “Lil Heroes,” a PFP collection of 7,777 avatars that dropped in January 2022 and sold out immediately. (Link)

• Can playing more Roblox make your kids more philanthropic? Metaverse fundraiser to fight poverty launches. (Link)

🤖 AI

• Tencent’s ChatGPT-like bot is sending the market into a frenzy. (Link)

• UNESCO unveils its Women 4 Ethical AI Platform. (Link)

• No holds barred: China's determined to take the lead in the AI race. (Link)

• Generative AI to mass-produce personalized videos? Shocker. (Link)

• Iowa State rolls out the English 222X course and surprise, surprise, it’s about AI. (Link)

• AI can draw hands now, so it looks like deep-fakes are about to get a serious case of artist's block. (Link)

• AI-powered Stylitics introduces automated styling to retailers. (Link)

• AI software revenue is expected to reach approximately $14 trillion, a prime opportunity for investment. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Mozilla launches AI startup Mozilla.ai with an initial $30M seed investment. (Link)

• ​​MetaKing Studios partners with Polygon Labs for upcoming medieval strategy game Blocklords. (Link)

• EigenLabs raises $50M in Series A funding to prepare for launching the initial version of its EigenLayer protocol in phases throughout 2023. (Link)

• Saudi Arabia's first NFT marketplace platform Nuktah secures a seed round of funding led by Animoca Brands and Polygon. (Link)

• Zoom augments the features of its Zoom IQ platform to facilitate worker collaboration through OpenAI. (Link)

• Oxbotica Ltd., a UK-based autonomous vehicle software developer, collaborates with Google Cloud for its self-driving technology. (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.

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