China’s AI supremacy bid

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✨ Today in the Metaproof Daily

🇨🇳 China flaunts Ernie Bot, goes hard on AI bid

🤷 Nobody knows what web3 is

📑 AI-generated photos now on people’s resumes

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China flaunts Ernie Bot, goes hard on AI bid

Baidu's Ernie 3.5 AI model, powering the Ernie Bot chatbot, has shown remarkable performance in benchmark tests.

In Chinese language tests, Ernie 3.5 surpasses OpenAI's ChatGPT and GPT 4, highlighting the competitive landscape of AI development between the US and China. It excelled in exams and multiple-choice questions, outperforming the other models.

However, in English language tests, Ernie 3.5 trailed behind GPT 4 but still outperformed ChatGPT, suggesting potential for improvement in the English language domain.

China is fully embracing the transformative power of AI and vows to emerge as a world leader in the technology. Its mouthpiece, The People's Daily, says AI “will become an important driving force in the new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation, with a major impact on people's production and life.”

A new government report from the US admits that while the US leads China in industrial might, the latter has “a window of opportunity … to stake a leadership claim on emerging domains such as 5G, AI, quantum technology, cybersecurity, clean energy, and biotechnology."

Nobody knows what web3 is [Link]

Even if people are down for what it promises for a new and decentralized internet, web3 is still largely unknown as a term.

This is the major finding of a recent 15K-strong YouGov-Consensys survey, which reveals:

• 24% of respondents say they are at least aware of web3.

• Of the said number, 8% say they are very familiar with it and 16% say they are somewhat familiar with it.

• 37% say they are not at all aware of web3.

The survey also unearths greater awareness about crypto, where 92% say they are aware of crypto and 50% profess to understand how they work. Crypto embrace also varies across regions, where European countries, Japan, and South Korea are rooted in more skepticism about crypto.

AI-generated photos now on people’s resumes [Link]

Millennials and Gen Z are taking greater interest in AI Profile, a recent release by photo filter app SNOW, such that the AI-generated photos are increasingly being used on resumes.

AI Profile offers high-quality AI-produced photos resembling studio-taken pictures and showcasing various hair and makeup styles.

The uptake in the service’s adoption can be attributed to its resemblance to color ID photos, which have recently become more popular among the youth partly as an alternative to traditional studio photography that spares people from visiting a photo studio.

Meanwhile, in the continuing saga of using AI as a business tool, here are resume mistakes that will get an applicant instantly rejected by employers now that 99% of Fortune 500 companies use AI as a screening tool.

Marvel series’ AI opener accused of costing artists’ jobs

Marvel’s latest series Secret Invasion has made its debut on Disney+, sparking tons of backlash after it was confirmed the intro sequence was AI-generated.

Director Ali Selim reveals that the team fed the system ideas and themes, which AI then implemented. He also admits he didn't understand the tool, but could tweak it by using "words."

Method Studios clarifies that while they did employ existing and custom AI tools to enhance character attributes and movements in the opening, the production process involved a collaborative effort among various artists, including art directors, animators, and compositors.

The AI component is said to serve as a complementary tool, assisting the creative teams in achieving their vision, and is merely one of the tools utilized and as such no artists' jobs were replaced.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Roblox turns into a $23B metaverse sensation by decoding Gen Z - here are its 5 tips for success with this generation. (Link)

• In Meta’s new VR subscription service dubbed Meta Quest+ for VR gamers, the 1st games will be Pistol Whip from Cloudhead Games and Pixel Ripped 1995 from ARVORE Immersive Experiences. (Link)

• World of Dypians, claiming to be the biggest metaverse sandbox gaming platform ever built, wants to partake of the metaverse’s 400M+ monthly active users and $900B market by 2030. (Link)

• Human-centric metaverse: Will the next internet be filled with ads, payments, games, or even something beyond what we currently know to exist? (Link)

• Gaming developers enish and GeekOut launch their own unique Verse on the gaming blockchain Oasys, releasing their first title, De:Lithe Last Memories, in 2024. (Link)

• In India, metaverse gaming platform AvatarLife gets $1.5M in seed funding, believing the next iteration of the internet will be more visual and socialized as it runs 25+ games across three operations. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• Anti-AI casual couture? VETEMENTS’s SS 2024 collection draws inspiration from themes of exaggerated couture, streetwear, and AI. (Link)

• The colorful quartet of Teletubbies launches in the metaverse with House of Blueberry and via a 130+ piece virtual clothing capsule collection exclusively available in online world Second Life. (Link)

• Could the new court ruling on the MetaBirkins be the latest blow to the flatlining business of non-fungibles? (Link)

• Nigerian AI artist, fashion designer, and filmmaker Malik Afegbua creates a fashion show for the elderly. (Link)

• Digital fashion may be accused of being non-physical, lacking tangibility, and therefore importance - but how about the sheer level of creativity, inclusivity, and personalization it affords? (Link)

🏀 Sports

• Virtual sports could look to their physical counterparts for competition design as most virtual sports merge technology with traditional sports. (Link)

• Virtual advertising will be available in Ligue 1 for the 2023-24 season after France’s Professional Football League (LFP) inks a deal. (Link)

• EA Sports FC will feature men and women on the same team, per social media leak. (Link)

• Social media and betting startup Betr Media, co-founded by influencer Jake Paul, raises $35M in fresh VC from investors known for focus on sports franchises, sports tech, and web3 ventures. (Link)

• Blockchain Sports (BCS) is building a football academy in Brazil to support young athletes around the world amid a fresh private funding round. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Future AI teddy bears will make up bedtime stories for kids. (Link)

• Warner Music Group launches a music accelerator program aiming to onboard next-gen blockchain music projects and dapps on the Polygon network. (Link)

• LA: Where Hollywood magic and creativity meet web3. (Link)

• Emotion AI, an AI tech designed to recognize, interpret, and respond to human emotions, can majorly impact film and entertainment. (Link)

• Sony Music Entertainment hires Geoff Taylor as its VP of AI. (Link)

• Virgin Voyages launches a new personal AI cruise invitation in partnership with Chief Celebrations Officer JLo. (Link)

🖼 Art

• Azuki NFT floor plummets as collectors blast “identical” Elementals art. (Link)

• The Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) and the Museo Nacional del Prado unveil the FrAI Angelico project, which uses AI to promote cultural heritage. (Link)

• Berlin-based onformative creates digital and interactive works to forge a relationship between humans and tech. (Link)

• Cozomo de’ Medici and Avant Arte unveil a new artist program. (Link)

• Ginoa officially launches a platform to barter, trade, and explore analytics for NFTs. (Link)

• Web3 infrastructure firm Crossmint launches wallet-as-a-service to expand NFT use cases. (Link)

🤖 AI

• Japan allows limited use of generative AI in schools. (Link)

• Google reportedly kills its Project Iris AR glasses. (Link)

• The US considers new restrictions on AI chip exports to China. (Link)

• Brilliant Labs puts AI in front of your eye with its tiny open-source AR lens. (Link)

• AI travel planner? Booking.com to use ChatGPT to plan itineraries and accommodation options. (Link)

• How Google Messages writes texts for you using AI. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Mythical Games secures first close of $37M toward its latest round of funding. (Link)

• Augmedics snaps up $82.5M to advance spinal surgery using AR and AI. (Link)

• TinyTap and Open Campus showcase blockchain educational platform and $10M Global Educators Fund at ISTE Live 2023 Conference. (Link)

• Klaytn Foundation signs a partnership with zkSync era developer Matter Labs to build HyperChain implementations for Klaytn blockchain. (Link)

• Avalanche-backed web3 gaming studio Pixion games closes $5.5M seed round. (Link)

• Forta and Quicknode partner to better monitor and protect all assets in web3. (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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