ChatGPT and LLMs’ manipulation

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⚠️ IBM study reveals risks of manipulating AI models

🖥 Metaverse safety hinges on hardware

🚫 Dungeons & Dragons takes stand against AI-generated art

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IBM study reveals risks of manipulating AI models [Link]

IBM researchers' experiments reveal potential vulnerabilities of LLMs like ChatGPT and Bard, showing they can be manipulated to produce incorrect info and malicious code.

In these studies, the AI models were engaged in intricate, multi-layered games. The outcomes were alarming, with the AI generating responses that contradicted the truth, such as ChatGPT suggesting that the IRS might request deposits for tax refunds - a tactic exploited by scammers.

Key findings from the experiment:

• Vulnerability to manipulation: AI appears susceptible to manipulation and potential misuse, consequently offering misguided advice, endorsing risky actions, and even creating harmful code.

• Exploitation avenues: The research uncovers possible avenues for malicious actors to exploit AI systems, including injecting malicious commands to gain access to sensitive data.

• Variances in results: The AI models tested varied in terms of how easy they were to hypnotize: GPT 3.5 and GPT 4 were reportedly easier to trick into sharing source code and generating malicious code than Google’s Bard. This suggested that newer, more advanced gen AI models, while more accurate and safer in some aspects, also likely open up more ways to be hypnotized.

Metaverse safety hinges on hardware [Link]

With cybersecurity and data privacy as highly relevant concerns around the metaverse, physical devices and equipment - including all their endpoint vulnerabilities - need to be properly accounted for.

Experts urge taking a hard stance on security through the hardware approach, especially as:

• The metaverse will be accessible to billions of users via any web browser, mobile device or AR/VR system, with user data ultimately stored on servers in data centers used by platform and equipment providers.

• While vast amounts of data and networked systems will provide cyber attackers with an even larger playground, current platform providers, their chosen data centers, and users will mostly be unable to detect threats in real-time.

• Hot targets include physical devices that provide access to the metaverse, such as AR/VR headsets, controllers and sensors, but also IoT devices.

Dungeons & Dragons takes stand against AI-generated art [Link]

In the wake of the AI-generated art controversy, tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) - where artists contribute visuals to enhance the gaming experience - announces that commissioned artists will no longer be allowed to utilize AI for producing D&D imagery.

The decision comes as it was discovered that an artist, who had been collaborating with D&D Beyond (creator of the images, toolsets, and other optional assets for the game) for nearly a decade, employed an AI art generator to create an illustration of a horned giant with an oversized axe for an upcoming book. The AI-generated artwork raised questions from fans about its textures and proportions, ultimately leading to the disclosure of its AI origin.

In response, D&D Beyond stated that it was previously unaware of the artist's use of AI and that the practice would not be permitted for future commissioned pieces. The company outlined plans to reinforce its review process and artist guidelines to prevent AI-generated content from being part of the creative output.

Brands have a pragmatic take on metaverse marketing: Reports [Link]

While new reports beat the metaverse drum - noting its over 40% annual growth over the next decade, at a $2.3 trillion value - media circles maintain that the metaverse is last year’s buzzword.

Among luxury and retail brands, a pragmatic view of the virtual worlds stem from factors such as the relatively slow uptake in VR and AR, along with the high cost of Apple Vision Pro and similar tools.

Yet while there are bright spots ahead - Gen Z spending 15% of their “fun budget” in the metaverse and by 2027 some 2B people globally will spend at least 1 hour a day in the metaverse to work, shop, attend school, socialize, or consume entertainment - brands are advised to:

• Take a strategically appropriate and long-term view of the metaverse, identifying their immersive brand assets for such an environment.

• Define the metaverse properly and renounce incorrect definitions: position gaming as a mass media on-ramp, and to not think of scrapping advertising and instead incorporate it into these new areas.

• Be discerning and employ a range of strategies to master the metaverse.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Nvidia's RTX GPUs were largely known for gaming and graphics, but are being configured and repackaged for enthusiasts trying out AI on desktops. (Link)

• After signaling its intentions to expand into cloud gaming, Netflix launches a new app that will soon allow subscribers to play games on their TV. (Link)

• Gala Games relocates its unsold and reserved NFT game items from the Ethereum network to GalaChain, allowing gamers to use their NFT game items without paying Ethereum gas fees. (Link)

• The Bornless opens a new frontier in multiplayer horror gaming. (Link)

• India’s Mobile Premier League cuts its staff by 50% in the wake of New Delhi unveiling a 28% tax on online real-money games. (Link)

• From Square Enix to Ubisoft, here are the biggest publishers building NFT games. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• Fashion’s NFT collections have shared a similar trajectory: They launched with a lot of hype, but then enthusiasm quickly faded. (Link)

• AI offers solutions for human errors but struggles with accuracy and relevance, such as addressing fit and fabric issues in the garments space but still challenged by fact-checking. (Link)

• Private equity firm Advent International buys a majority stake in Australian brand Zimmermann, now valued at $1B+ with the deal. (Link)

• AI firm Bold Metrics power-fits for men’s brand Mizzen+Main, offering Find My Size solution for customers’ ideal fit. (Link)

• Vietnamese e-commerce retailer K&K Fashion incorporates AI personalization cloud to automate and enhance customer experiences. (Link)

• How clothing apps could make fast fashion a thing of the past. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• ESPN’s business model is about to change, a part of which is a billion-dollar licensing deal for online sports betting. (Link)

• Canadian Football League partners with WSC Sports to deliver AI highlights directly to CFL Fantasy. (Link)

• With Nike and Adidas taking up bandwidth in the UK, how does Under Armour subvert the competition? It utilizes the buzzy trend of AI to partner with athletes. (Link)

• British athletic retailer JD Sports incorporates AR into its omnichannel promotional campaign. (Link)

• AI ‘s unusual take on area prep football helmets. (Link)

• Walt Disney's ESPN and casino-owner Penn Entertainment agree to jointly launch a sports betting business under the brand ESPN Bet. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Spotify expands its AI-powered “DJ” feature to 50 markets globally, including in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. (Link)

• Bondee appoints Fei Yu as its new CEO to help with global expansion and developing new features. (Link)

• Genies introduces AI avatars for celebrities and launches the Avatar social network. (Link)

• Warner Music Group and Polygon jointly launch the Music Accelerator Program, empowering musicians to shape culture and control their art. (Link)

• Disney invests in AI to stay competitive and aid in cost-cutting, particularly in high-budget movie production. (Link)

• Google’s Messages app now uses Rich Communication Services (RCS) by default and encrypts group chats. (Link)

🖼 Art

• The world's most expensive painting Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci, returns as an NFT. (Link)

• The founder of Superchief Gallery aims to create a global network of 50 physical NFT galleries for artistic exchange. (Link)

• Vault launches Cassette Culture 3.0, an NFT music platform to boost up-and-coming artists. (Link)

• Samsung Art Store partners with Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí to bring 12 of the artist's most notable paintings to The Frame TV. (Link)

• Beeple’s $29M 3D sculpture and generative video installation takes center stage at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. (Link)

🤖 AI

• Nvidia unveils new AI products: the GH200 superchip, RTX workstations, and L40 data-center scale GPU. (Link)

• OpenAI releases GPTBot, a web crawler to collect data for training its AI systems. (Link)

• Project IDX is a new AI-enabled browser-based development space to help devs write code faster and better. (Link)

• Pope Francis’s recent communiqué urges responsible use and ethical reflection on AI. (Link)

• Shutterstock collaborates with innovators in 3D NeRF Technology to explore development and 3D asset publishing. (Link)

• This AI-powered doctor-to-patient translator instantly turns highly technical medical terms into plain language. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Xsolla teams up with Crypto.com to integrate cryptocurrency checkout solutions for gamers. (Link)

• Zurich-based L1 digital closes its 2nd venture capital fund, with $152M raised for blockchain and crypto projects. (Link)

• Fxhash, a generative art NFT platform,secures $5M in seed funding. (Link)

• CommerceHub integrates with Miravia to expand its e-commerce platform reach in Spain. (Link)

• Puffer Finance secures $5.5M in seed funding to enhance Ethereum’s decentralization and scalability. (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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