Google’s AI-powered article summaries

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📝 Google banks on generative AI to summarize entire articles for you

⭐ Feeding AI ambitions, Saudi Arabia and UAE in a scramble to acquire Nvidia chips

🏪 7-Eleven enters Fortnite

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Google banks on generative AI to summarize entire articles for you [Link]

Google’s AI-powered Search Generative Experience (SGE) will now allow users to summarize articles they’re reading on the web. The article summaries will roll out for iOS and Android users before eventually coming to Chrome.

The AI-fueled details:

• While SGE can already summarize search results to forgo lots of scrolling, the new feature takes it up a notch by helping users out after they have clicked a link.

• However, it’s deemed “an early experiment” in Google’s opt-in Search Labs program. It will be available in the Google app on Android and iOS, to be made available in the Chrome browser on desktop “in the days ahead.”

• The feature is designed to work “only on articles that are freely available to the public on the web,” meaning it won’t work with paywalled content.

Google is in a continuing process of improving its SGE, which it announced at Google I/O back in May as its apparent bid to keep its leadership in the Search space - with a little help from generative AI, that is.

Feeding AI ambitions, Saudi Arabia and UAE in a scramble to acquire Nvidia chips [Link]

Aligned with their bid for AI dominance, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are purchasing thousands of high-performance Nvidia chips deemed crucial for building AI software.

Sources privy to the matter say Saudi Arabia has bought at least 3K pieces of Nvidia’s H100 chips, which cost $40K apiece and are designed for gen AI. The UAE has also secured Nvidia chips amid the ongoing development of its own open-source LLM called the Falcon.

The mass-scale purchase comes at a time when the world’s leading tech players are in a rush to obtain the scarce chips, and also raises concerns around the tech’s potential misuse among the oil-rich states and their autocratic leadership.

Sony patent elevates VR via real-world object detection [Link]

Sony's new VR headset patent sparks excitement due to its potential to bridge the gap between reality and the metaverse. The patent proposes replicating real-world objects within the digital realm, potentially transforming virtual spaces.

The finer details:

• At its core, this proposed VR headset merges real-life objects into virtual environments using audio cues, allowing users to interact with objects without disrupting their physical environment.

• This headset also offers immense potential beyond gaming, which is aiding those with impaired vision. By using sound as a guide, individuals can easily find and sit on objects such as chairs.

This patent signals Sony’s commitment to advancing VR tech, in particular its pursuit of realism in VR.

7-Eleven enters Fortnite [Link]

7-Eleven has extended its car-themed marketing campaign to the gaming world of Fortnite, offering players a scavenger hunt with the potential to win branded vehicles. Clues are shared on 7-Eleven's social media platforms, leading to the exclusive "There Car" Island.

With an interactive voyage that emphasizes increased user engagement, participants who capture and share pivotal moments on Instagram and Twitter enter a competition for prizes like gaming chairs and gamertag statues. Prizes include $500 in 7Now Delivery credits and fuel discounts at 7-Eleven and Speedway outlets.

This strategic maneuver signifies 7-Eleven's proactive evolution, seamlessly fusing tech, gaming, and brand interaction.

As a stalwart in the retail landscape since its birth in 1927 in Dallas, Texas, 7-Eleven has transformed convenience retailing through accessible 24/7 service, a pioneering self-service model, and iconic offerings like the Slurpee. The global convenience-store powerhouse now appears to tap into innovation and web3 movements to resonate with diverse, young audiences.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Russian operatives are said to aggressively push propaganda on online video game sites to boost domestic support for its war against Ukraine. (Link)

• Stardust launches Wallets-as-a-Service to enable game devs to integrate web3. (Link)

• In Dubai, streaming platform StarzPlay launches StarzPlay Fantasy Sports, touted as the 1st-of-its-kind game in the MENA region. (Link)

• Netflix will test games on select TVs and computers in a step to make them playable on more devices, the company’s VP of Games Mike Verdu says. (Link)

• Following its Roblox debut, online game Alpine Park’s parent firm expands to a younger fan base by adding a new AI character integration to the game experience. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• Shiseido Travel Retail creates the NARS “Light The Way” omnichannel beauty experience, rife with web3 elements. (Link)

• South Korean metaverse platform Zepeto bets big on NFT as its ZTX (ZepetoX) venture with Jump Crypto announces a $13M seed round. (Link)

• From provenance to exclusivity, the fusion of fashion with web3 is promising to shape the future of how we perceive, interact with, and consume fashion. (Link)

• Here are the best fashion TikTokers that need to be on your FYP right now. (Link)

• Onboarding platform Conductive.ai and commerce metaverse Highstreet partner to bring the metaverse to the masses. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• Can ChatGPT play chess? (Link)

• All major attacking improvements in NBA 2K24: Intuitive offense, new animations, and more in next-gen consoles. (Link)

• Here’s how AI-powered videos drive fan engagement in niche sport categories. (Link)

• AI just might be a game-changer in sports medicine as it figures in injury risk assessment. (Link)

• The LA GOLF Fit Yourself Experience inside the Sportsbox 3DGolf app lets you effortlessly record your own swing and match them to the perfect shaft for the game. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Metaverse studio Karta unveils its Fortnite studio, partnering with IP owners from music, entertainment, and sports to create new takes on Fortnite maps and games. (Link)

• YouTube Music launches Samples, a personalized short-form video feed similar to TikTok and allows users to discover new music. (Link)

• Substack adds a Follow feature to its platform, allowing users to keep up with what writers are doing without having to subscribe to their newsletters. (Link)

• Scientists have decoded Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall from recordings of electrical brain activity - the 1st time a song gets decoded from brainwaves. (Link)

• From virtual tours to virtual celebrity fan meets, here are exciting possibilities in the virtual worlds. (Link)

• In the era of immersive entertainment, how will media companies navigate the shift from “lean back” to “lean forward”? (Link)

🖼 Art

• Kartoon Studios creates a limited-ed digital artwork commemorating its transition to the NYSE. (Link)

• Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon and Prohibition founder Jordan Lyall partner to launch the “Heart + Craft” project, aiming for more accessible, enjoyable NFTs. (Link)

• Here are the 10+ iconic brands that minted their 1st NFTs. (Link)

• TransientLabs and artist Patrick Amadon unveils the Doppelganger contract, enabling artists to add multiple images to an NFT and collectors to cycle through them. (Link)

• Discover ClubNFT‘s suite of premium tools for NFT collectors to manage, preserve, and expand their collections. (Link)

• The integration of the digital yuan into the international art market offers these benefits to artists, collectors, and investors. (Link)

• Emmy-Award winning artist and art professor Trish Gianakis unveils “hybrid” physical-digital NFTs to protect and help artists. (Link)

🤖 AI

• Amazon harnesses AI to show summaries of user reviews on its website. (Link)

• Bill Gates says AI could transform education: It “will be like a great high school teacher.” (Link)

• China is set to implement new rules that will balance control of AI with support for AI firms for their global competitiveness. (Link)

• OpenAI devises a method to leverage GPT-4 for content moderation, involving a policy-led model to expedite rollout times to hours. (Link)

• Google enhances its search tool via AI, providing definitions for words, key points from web pages, and color-coded code strings to help devs. (Link)

• WhatsApp tests a new AI feature generating personalized stickers when given a text prompt. (Link)

• AI edge company Kneron announces the shipment of its KL730 NPU chips by year-end. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• South Korean metaverse platform Zepeto expands into the blockchain space with its ZTX (ZepetoX) initiative and recently secures a $13M seed round. (Link)

• Liberty Global and Infosys partner for $1.6B (€1.5B) to develop digital entertainment and connectivity platforms, building on existing collaboration. (Link)

• CoDeTech and The Nemesis partner to integrate CoDeTech tech into the Nemesis VR/AR/Open World Metaverse platform. (Link)

• Animoca Brands and CyberConnect join forces to create a decentralized social layer for the NFT collection Mocaverse. (Link)

• Huawei Mobile Services collaborates with major Saudi Arabian banking apps to enhance user experience for Huawei device holders. (Link)

• Voiceflow, a platform for creating conversational AI, raises $15M in a funding round, valuing the startup at $105M. (Link)

• AI code cleanup startup Grit raises a $7M in a seed round to automate software maintenance. (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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