The AI Race: Bing coming into ChatGPT, Meta’s AI models for 1K+ languages

Today we are covering…

🤖 Microsoft and Meta in new AI developments

🎮 Game maker Blizzard tapping generative AI

🗣️ OpenAI leaders’ call for AI regulation

Did you read this newsletter from anywhere that’s not your inbox?

AI race: Microsoft Bing coming into ChatGPT, Meta’s AI models for 1K+ languages

As the AI race continues to heat up, here are two updates from tech giants Microsoft and Meta on the tech front.

In its annual Build conference, Microsoft discloses 50+ updates for its developers in AI and data analytics. In the continuing growth of the ecosystem, the company also revealed Bing will be coming to ChatGPT as the “default search experience.”

In dishing out more up-to-date answers with access from the web, ChatGPT will supposedly now have a “world-class search engine” built-in: answers are now grounded by search and web data, with citations to boot.

Rollout among ChatGPT Plus subscribers starts May 23 and will be available to free users soon.

Meta has built AI models that can recognize and produce speech for 1K+ languages, deemed a 10-fold rise from what’s currently available.

The company is publicly releasing its models via the code hosting service GitHub, claiming they will be kept open-source.

Why this matters: Meta touts this as a significant step in preserving languages at risk of going extinct. There are some 7K languages worldwide, yet existing speech recognition models cover only about 100 of them comprehensively.

World of Warcraft, Overwatch maker Blizzard taps generative AI for game creation [Link]

The game studio behind Diablo, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch is dabbling with generative AI as part of game development, the New York Times reports.

A few choice details:

• The move was announced internally in April in an email from Blizzard's chief design officer, Allen Adham, urging staff to prepare to be amazed as the company gets “on the brink of a major evolution” in its way of building and managing its games.

• Blizzard has deployed its own AI tools internally, with some employees reportedly saying the AI tech falls short in catching bugs or interacting with games.

• Other game makers that have openly acknowledged their use of AI include FIFA, which launched a mobile AI-powered World Cup Soccer game last month.

OpenAI leaders call to regulate ‘superintelligent’ AI

Leaders from ChatGPT creator OpenAI call for the regulation of "superintelligent" AIs to mitigate potential risks.

OpenAI's leaders suggest establishing an international regulator to safeguard humanity from potential risks of advanced AIs, pushing for oversight on inspections, audits, safety standards, and deployment limits.

The call includes business collaborations to guarantee safe implementation, noting potential risks like destruction, loss of autonomy, and inequality.

Meanwhile, governments around the world are in a scramble to regulate the use of AI, with steps ranging from seeking policy input to probing possible breaches. Some key developments:

• G7 nations are discussing the need for governance of AI and immersive technologies.

• Australia, Britain, China, the European Union, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the US are all taking specific action to regulate AI.

Chinese city launches government-backed metaverse platform [Link]

Nanjing, the capital city of China's Jiangsu province, has launched the China Metaverse Technology and Application Innovation Platform.

Chinese cities are vying for a prominent position in the country's metaverse development, as evidenced by:

• Nanjing unveiling its metaverse strategy of creating a thriving industry generating over 135B yuan ($19.13B) in annual revenues by 2025.

• Shanghai actively pursuing its metaverse aspirations via a targeted annual revenue of 350B yuan ($49.6B) from the industry by 2025, already presenting 20 use cases in sectors like healthcare and digital recreations of historic landmarks.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Fortnite unveils new outfits and accessories to give gamers a taste of the Spider-Verse. (Link)

• PlayStation is betting big on new franchises and live service games, with 12 currently in production. (Link)

• Niantic mulls over TikTok’s influence on gaming and their partnership to launch the developer’s brand-new IP Peridot. (Link)

• AI-powered Zamit launches game design internship for high schoolers. (Link)

• Catheon Gaming infuses generative AI into its flagship project Seoul Stars. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• GAP and Forever 21 bank on Barbie for their latest digital fashion collections. (Link)

• K-beauty brand Laneige launches its 1st immersive virtual store with experiential commerce firm Obsess. (Link)

• RSTLSS x Claire Silver merges fashion, art, and technology in Pixelgeist. (Link)

• Fashion retailer Windsor LLC taps Stylitics for styling and product recommendations. (Link)

• Rowing Blazers partner with Gucci's online store Gucci Vault to create a capsule of vacation and formal wear. (Link)

• The metaverse is in its nascent stage, but Indian retailers are already exploring AR, VR, and NFTs for immersive and interactive shopping. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• Web3 fantasy sports game Sorare works with French authorities on a framework for players who face tighter NFT regulations. (Link)

• The latest in web3 ticketing: MMA org Professional Fighters League to use NFT tickets. (Link)

• Live-sports closed captions finally catch up, thanks to AI. (Link)

• Candy digital CEO Scott Lawin talks web3, sports, and community intersection. (Link)

• Australia’s sports tech industry is now worth $4.25B, equal in value to its fintech sector. (Link)

• AI lets 100M+ viewers worldwide catch the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) in August for the new season. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• SoundCloud, just two weeks ago rolling out a fan-to-artist messaging tool, lays off 8% of its workforce. (Link)

• Netflix announces an extra $7.99/month for additional users on US accounts. (Link)

• Dequency, the soundtrack of the metaverse, is a marketplace for music artists and visual creators. (Link)

• Bad Bunny breaks Spotify's single-day streaming record with 61M+ streams. (Link)

• Amid the country’s big bet on the virtual world, only 4% of South Koreans use the metaverse, a survey reveals. (Link)

• ASIG's Uplive launches LiveAI Voice Chat, enabling users to converse with avatars using their voices. (Link)

🖼 Art

• Sotheby’s NFT auction reclaims $2.4M from bankrupt 3AC firm. (Link)

• Digital beauty: Coveteur and Wella Professionals present The Wella Generator. (Link)

• Art Blocks NFTs skyrocket this week, with multiple collections selling over $100K. (Link)

• SuperRare brings art and humanity together in NYC Gallery Pop-Up. (Link)

• NFT marketplace NFTrade now supports cross-chain buys on Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, and BNB Chain. (Link)

• Ben.eth, creator of $PSYOP, gets served an NFT legal notice from Mike Kanovitz of Loevy & Loevy. (Link)

🤖 AI

• AI will “exceed expert skill level in most domains” in 10 years. (Link)

• Microsoft unveils new safety updates for AI devs to create safer online platforms. (Link)

• AI-powered Copilot now available in Edge Browser, helping with tasks like summarizing, and drafting emails. (Link)

• Adobe unleashes generative AI in Photoshop beta. (Link)

• AI terms business professionals need to know. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Google-backed Anthropic raises $450M in latest AI funding. (Link)

• Modular app-building platform Builder.ai raises $250M in Series D funding. (Link)

• The US National Science Foundation (NSF) pours $140M into creating 7 AI research institutes. (Link)

• Metasport Arena and Soundpickr partner to transform virtual sports and entertainment music. (Link)

• Dispersion Capital launches a $40M venture fund to “bring web3 to the masses.” (Link)

• NVIDIA AI Enterprise software integrates into Microsoft Azure ML to accelerate AI initiatives. (Link)

--

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 📈

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse news every day.