EU goes easy on the metaverse

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✨ Today in the Metaproof Daily

🇪🇺 EU proposes new kind of governance for ‘unprecedented’ virtual worlds

🍃 How the metaverse can make your business green

🤖 Alibaba rolls out text-to-image AI tool

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EU proposes new kind of governance for ‘unprecedented’ virtual worlds [Link]

In a leaked European Commission paper, the agency floats the need for a new kind of global governance for the metaverse, pointing to the “unprecedented” opportunities that virtual worlds bring in many societal areas such as healthcare, education, and culture.

The finer details of the draft doc, which notes that the next generation of the internet should be “shaped as an open, secure space, respectful of EU values and rules”:

• It proposes relaxing regulations to aid innovation as well as encourages revisiting legal barriers to new forms of digital cooperation such as DAOs.

• It commits to support the forming of a technical multi-stakeholder governance process to tackle the critical aspects of the metaverse and web4 “that are beyond the remit of existing internet governance institutions,” likely referencing global bodies such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

• Early in 2024, it will promote “regulatory sandboxes” for testing out short-term projects under a lighter regime.

Meanwhile, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager - presenting next week on the metaverse to help regulators better understand how it works - said last week that the metaverse hasn’t triggered any concerns so far or the need for legislation to rein it in.

How the metaverse can make your business green [Link]

Nokia is envisioning and working toward the industrial metaverse, at the heart of which is mapping out plans to operate more efficiently, save costs, innovate, and reduce carbon emissions.

Here’s how this can be done:

• The industrial metaverse can repair facilities remotely, slashing emissions-intensive travel.

• Manufacturers can prevent machine downtime, cutting the emissions of having to build and operate backups.

• Transport firms can better model their network, keeping unnecessary trucks in the garage and planes on the ground.

It’s but one example of the increasing intimacy between digitization and climate change, assisting companies in their mission to decarbonize their operations and stay attuned to their energy use.

Alibaba rolls out text-to-image AI tool [Link]

Chinese tech giant Alibaba has made its entry into the generative AI space with the launch of Tongyi Wanxiang, an AI tool capable of generating images from prompts in Chinese and English, with styles ranging from sketches to 3D cartoons.

Alibaba's cloud division, which introduced the product, has made it available for beta testing to enterprise customers in China.

Tongyi Wanxiang represents the company's latest offering in the field of generative AI, as tech giants in both China and the US race to make advancements in this tech.

Alibaba touts Tongyi Wanxiang's release as a milestone that will make high-quality generative AI imagery more accessible, anticipated to innovate AI art and creative expressions across various sectors, including e-commerce, gaming, design, and advertising.

Voice actors decry AI deepfakes echoing their voices [Link]

A controversy has emerged on the Nexus Mods website involving pornographic mods and the unauthorized use of voice actors' work including April Stewart, Jon Curry, and Susan Eisenberg - without permission.

The National Association of Voice Actors and the wider voice acting community have voiced their concerns, emphasizing the damage caused by AI and synthetic voices. Twitter user Robbie92_ compiled a list of these mods to raise awareness and facilitate reporting. Nexus Mods' response, stating that mods may be removed upon credible complaints, does not appear to be a soothing solution.

According to voice actors, who called for support and protection for the community, they shouldn’t have to spend their time protecting themselves from such misuse amid the herculean effort required to fight AI-generated abuse en-masse.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• In the wake of announcing it’s backing off from developing a lot of its own games into web3 games and instead relying on 3rd parties, Sega teams up with Line Next to make a web3 game for the blockchain gaming platform Game Dosi. (Link)

• Wimbledon’s All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) venture on to the virtual court with a volley of themed games, apps, and clothing lines. (Link)

• Women wanting to get fit are getting chummy with VR headsets; Apple plans to incorporate workout content and Fitness+ into Vision Pro. (Link)

• “I don't think anybody's job on the creation side is going to be taken by an AI, but it will get taken by a human using AI." - John Riccitiello, CEO of Unity Technologies (Link)

• Might these be top metaverse casino games for crypto and NFTs, on top of VR fun? (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• 62-year-old accessories chain Claire’s wants to transcend its mall brand person and appeal to Gen Z and Gen Alpha with some digital action. (Link)

• South Korea‘s LG Uplus launches a fashion metaverse business, starting with clothing store Meta Slap, a digital service for office workers. (Link)

• Brands like Calvin Klein, Kith, Nike, Allbirds, Shein, and Uniqlo are starting to explore Threads. (Link)

• Fashion’s key dilemma, after being neck deep in everything metaverse in the last 5 years: How to engage the 99%? (Link)

• The month in fashion NFTs and web3 projects: Nike’s and Fortnite’s Airphoria, PUMA’s introduction of Black Station 2, Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin’s immersive experience on Roblox, and The Metaverse Pride 2023. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• 2023 MLB All-Star Weekend kicks off with the All-Star Futures Game and the Celebrity Softball game at Mobile Park in Seattle, along with the unveiling of its virtual ballpark for fans. (Link)

• In the digital era, Indonesia commits to hosting the 2023 FIBA World Cup. (Link)

• Wimbledon, Andy Murray, and Refik Anadol Studio come together for a unique NFT project that marries sports data and digital art. (Link)

• Infosys and the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) unveil the Metaverse Tennis Museum. (Link)

• NSATech, an AI tech company based in Qatar, receives fresh investment for its sports performance analysis. (Link)

• Metaverse fandom spaces are still on the rise, but is the trend made to last? (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is the mother of all self-aware AI panic flicks. (Link)

• Fresh $1.1M investment for metaverse studio Karta, which aims to make the metaverse accessible for musicians, brands, and sports rights-holders. (Link)

• How conversational AI can boost social media engagement and enhance customer experience. (Link)

• Sarah Silverman is suing OpenAI and Meta for copyright infringement. (Link)

• Odisha-based private news channel launches its AI-created news anchor. (Link)

• Inside Threads: How media companies have latched on to Meta’s Twitter latest rival. (Link)

• AI can't replace Mickey Mouse, says the voice of the Disney mascot. (Link)

🖼 Art

• AI art meets Van Gogh at the One Central Macau art exhibition that pushes the boundaries of digital art. (Link)

• Crypto booster Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has reportedly bought Bitcoin despite a recent claim. (Link)

• Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT prices drop after FTX’s crypto market crash. (Link)

• 13-year-old Laya Mathikshara has earned over $1M in 2 years by utilizing digital art forms to channel her creativity. (Link)

• Portal Of Truth NFTs takes players on an immersive journey into a fantasy world filled with adventure and magic. (Link)

🤖 AI

• Huawei rolls out a new version of its AI model for cloud computing services amid ChatGPT trend. (Link)

• This service enables AI to hold, send, and receive Bitcoin with new tools. (Link)

• VideaHealth is an AI platform for dentists that can detect dental issues and is accessible to 90% of US practice. (Link)

• UAE will harness AI in various fields to accelerate digital transformation. (Link)

• OpenAI launches a new alignment division to tackle the risks of superintelligent AI. (Link)

• AI will change your work significantly: Here’s how to respond. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Quantexa commits to AI with $155M investment and new agnostic large language model. (Link)

• MedTech firm CergenX raises an extra $1.3M (€1.2M) for its product that screens brain injury in babies. (Link)

• Aussie adtech MagicBrief secures $2M in pre-seed funding. (Link)

• Kenyan edtech startup Craydel raises $1M in pre-seed funding. (Link)

• AiM Future secures multi-million dollars in new series A funding. (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.

📈 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 📈

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