China’s AI risk warning

Today we are covering…

🇨🇳 China’s AI risk warning

👓 Mojo Vision and DigiLens’ bid for better AR glasses

🎾 Naomi Osaka x Meta for digital apparel line

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China’s AI risk warning - and call for greater state control

In a meeting in Beijing, China’s ruling Communist Party warns of the risks posed by speedy advances in AI and calls for increased national security measures.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his top officials call for greater state oversight of the technology in order to counter “dangerous storms” that it poses to the country, official news agency Xinhua reports.

A readout of the meeting sums up the Chinese leadership’s sentiments:

“We must be prepared for worst-case and extreme scenarios, and be ready to withstand the major test of high winds, choppy waters, and even dangerous storms.”

The statement is made at the back of China’s mission to “build up strategic self-confidence” on the national security front, with Xi Jinping underscoring the tension between China’s resolve to seize global leadership in cutting-edge tech and worries around such tech’s potential harms to society and government.

This development follows warnings by tech leaders and scientists in the US about AI’s perils to humanity, as well as governments such as the US and the European Union scrambling to draft guidelines around AI use.

Mojo Vision and DigiLens’ bid for better AR glasses [Link]

Mojo Vision, seeking leadership in the global display space, has partnered with holographic display company DigiLens to use micro-LED tech for improved AR glasses.

Key details we know:

• Mojo Vision recently moved away from plans to make AR contact lenses, instead using its tech to create better AR glasses. In April, it raised $22.4M as it pivoted from a very compelling ambition to a more practical product with broad potential.

• DigiLens seeks to craft futuristic glasses via surface relief gratings (SRG) tech and waveguides for peak optimization in lenses.

• The partnership will accelerate product development in the AR/XR market, mainly bringing AR glasses closer to mass-scale consumer electronics.

Naomi Osaka x Meta for digital apparel line [Link]

Tennis star Naomi Osaka has previously announced her pregnancy and plans to take a break from the sport for the rest of 2023. During this time, she has partnered with Meta to launch a digital clothing line, blending her love for fashion with the metaverse.

In her words:

“Being able to take trends from the real world and translate into the metaverse was really fun … I can dress my avatar in whatever I want—there’s a lot more freedom and flexibility to have fun and experiment with looks and designs.

The digital apparel line - yet another intersection between fashion, sports, and the metaverse - features designs personally created by Osaka in her attempt to “try a lot of new things when designing digitally … and pushing myself outside of the box.”

Metaverse hiring on the downtrend in banking and payments [Link]

The global banking and payments industry has experienced an 8% drop in new job postings related to metaverse in Q1 2023 versus the previous quarter - translating to a 51% decrease versus Q1 2022, GlobalData’s Job Analytics reports.

A couple of data findings:

• Computer and Mathematical Occupations jobs accounted for a 23% share of the industry’s metaverse-related total new job postings, up 43% over the previous quarter.

• The top companies posting new jobs were Provident Financial Services, Coinbase Global, Coinbase, PKO Bank Polski, and JPMorgan Chase & Co, having a combined share of 41%.

• The largest share of metaverse-related new job postings was in the US (52.44%), Canada (8.89%), and India (6.88%).

The metaverse is expected to be “the next mega-theme” potentially disrupting the banking industry.

Fast fashion’s greenhushing and metawashing issues [Link]

Is fast fashion, amid its current 8%-10% global carbon emission and 20% wastewater production rate, resorting to “metawashing" or prioritizing virtual product marketing over actual sustainability? Two prime examples:

• Inditex’s Zara has launched a long-term metaverse initiative and collaborated with Korean gaming platform Zepeto, yet continues to produce 450M items annually, resulting in a 10.4% hike in waste generation (20,400 tons) in 2021.

• Bershka, another Inditex venture, recently introduced AR tech to reduce overconsumption, yet its in-store sales exceed 4,000 products yearly.

Industry insiders warn of the lack of transparency and disclosure, referred to as "greenhushing," as impeding progress on sustainability commitments, and call for better transparency in web3 activations to minimize the industry's environmental impact.

Some bright spots:

• Emerging brands, such as Mntge, are utilizing vintage garments and new tech to reduce the need for new product creation and focus on environmental preservation.

• Cult & Rain, 9dcc, and RTFKT's made-to-order systems ensure zero-waste outcomes and reduced material usage.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Game studio Rayark is under fire for plans to replace human artists with AI. (Link)

• 0N1 Force embarks on its comeback tour with Theia3D, coming to Fortnite as it embraces the metaverse. (Link)

• Spark Defense Alpha is a MOBA defense game that’s out to redefine the genre through progressive threat levels and dynamic crafting. (Link)

• “There are some top games launching in web3 in the next 6-18 months and it would be very interesting to see if some of them are able to crack the crypto code.” - Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal (Link)

• Qualcomm touts its Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform and a “strong momentum” for a cross-device, XR ecosystem to create an open ecosystem for head-worn XR devices. (Link)

• The UK, Germany, and France are a few in Western Europe investing heavily in developing new tech, particularly in gaming. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• In China, AI-generated models are massively popular - and sexist in their doe-eyed, big-breasted appearance, horrifying women. (Link)

• A Madrid uni offers summer courses in fashion and AI for Spanish high school students. (Link)

• How does ChatGPT figure into the fashion tech space? Ask Zalando. (Link)

• P3rson, a mobile app in the modeling and influencer industries, implements ChatGPT in beta. (Link)

• Fashion retailers hype clothing try-on in virtual changing rooms before making an online purchase. But is it all over for the metaverse? (Link)

🏀 Sports

• How do you use software like AI training apps to boost profits in sports? (Link)

• AI video content company WSC Sports inks a long-term deal with Spanish-language broadcaster TelevisaUnivision to produce highlights for 15 soccer properties in the US and Mexico. (Link)

• AI predicts 9 players that Manchester United is likely to sign. (Link)

• Meet The Savannah Bananas, Athletes Unlimited, and other sports tech firms to watch this year. (Link)

• NILs, NFTs, AI, Big Data, and the metaverse intersecting: Here’s a sports use case. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Snapchat launches a new generative AI feature called My AI Snaps for paid subscribers. (Link)

• Brands like Coca-Cola are collaborating with platforms like Tencent Music Entertainment Group to create virtual personas that enable users to immerse themselves in a cyberpunk meta-universe for shopping and entertainment. (Link)

• BLACKPINK the Game lets you control the digital avatar of your stan. (Link)

• South Korean giants Naver and Kakao prohibit webtoon contest entrants from using AI. (Link)

• Robosen Robotics and Hasbro introduce AI-powered programmable robots Optimus Prime and BumbleBee. (Link)

• Dragon Age narrative lead David Gaider says AI for content generation came out "soulless.” (Link)

🖼 Art

• Iconic Xenomorph sculpture from Alien franchise goes digital via 500 NFTs. (Link)

• 3AC Grails round two: Sotheby’s hosts largest ever live auction of digital art. (Link)

• Chinese artist Cao Fei’s Duotopia is a pixelated trip into the future of technology, art, and connections in between. (Link)

• Despite political turbulence, MAD Arts brings ClitSplash's feminist-curated program to Florida's vibrant art scene. (Link)

• Find Satoshi Lab releases GNT V3, an AI-powered NFT generator producing digital art from selfies. (Link)

• NFT artist Fewocious is releasing new digital art called Fewos in August. (Link)

🤖 AI

• Australia looks to regulate the growth of AI and may consider bans in areas deemed high-risk. (Link)

• South Korea uses AI to measure North Korean leader's weight. (Link)

• OpenAI pursues a new way to fight AI "hallucinations." (Link)

• An eating disorder group takes down AI chatbot Tessa following reports of detrimental advice. (Link)

• Google launches the 3-month program AI for Health to tackle healthcare in Africa. (Link)

• ChatGPT is cutting non-English languages out of the AI revolution. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Web3 wallet provider Magic raises $52M in a strategic funding round. (Link)

• Axelera AI secures a $50M series A funding round to further develop low-power, high-performance edge AI. (Link)

• Fingerprints DAO announces Maschine collection in partnership with Mercedes-Benz. (Link)

• Web3 payments startup Transak raises $20M in a series A funding. (Link)

• M80 raises $3M to expand its web3-enabled esports organization. (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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