Launch of OpenAI chief’s Worldcoin

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🪙 OpenAI chief Sam Altman launches Worldcoin

🚀 China’s blockchain satellite shoots off to space

❌ OpenAI, rather quietly, pulls the plug on AI Classifier

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OpenAI chief Sam Altman launches Worldcoin [Link]

Crypto project Worldcoin, founded by ChatGPT creator OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, launched on Monday. At the heart of it is World ID, a “digital passport” proving its holder is a human and not an AI bot.

An inside look at Worldcoin:

• Created by Tools for Humanity, Worldcoin has 2M users in its beta phase, has its crypto token called WLD, and from launch is bent on scaling up “orbing” operations to 35 cities in 20 countries.

• To get a World ID, a user signs up to do an in-person iris scan using “orb,” a silver ball about the size of a bowling ball and whose iris scan verifies a person is human.

• Blockchains can store the World IDs with a premium on privacy and any single entity cannot control or shut it down, according to the company.

With Altman believing that people should “start experimenting with things so we can figure out what to do," World IDs are being positioned as a necessity in the age of generative AI, which could produce human-like outputs and language.

China’s blockchain satellite shoots off to space [Link]

The Chinese satellite Tai’an Star Era 16 makes its maiden voyage as the 1st in the world to carry a blockchain imaging and screening system into orbit.

Local news outlet Red Star News reports it successfully launched into orbit from the China Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, featuring a visual blockchain on-orbit certificate storage system called ADAChain.

The satellite’s purpose is to “obtain rich spectral information on the surface of the target area,” serving various fields such as precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, and emergency safety, with blockchain helping attain “high spatial resolution, high spectral resolution, and high temporal resolution” in the satellite imaging.

OpenAI, rather quietly, pulls the plug on AI Classifier [Link]

Open AI quietly unplugs its AI detection tool called AI Classifier, which it announced back in January could help detect whether a piece of content has been produced using its very own, ChatGPT.

The reason: “its low raw of accuracy,” with the link to the detection tool also taken down online.

Outside of OpenAI, AI detection tools have been cropping up, creating an entire industry to identify the use of increasingly sophisticated AI coming to the fore. Yet the accuracy of such tools remain challenged, with OpenAI even dubbing its own classifier “not fully reliable” in performing its job of distinguishing human-written text from AI-written one.

Are VR casinos bound to replace the real ones? [Link]

Amid the rise of emerging tech like the metaverse and global pandemics that affect on-ground businesses, the relevance of land-based casinos is called into question: Will virtual reality play be the next frontier?

Experts predict that while top casinos will only get bigger, they will be reduced in numbers and will need to reinvent themselves, and that there’s no incentive anymore for gamblers to play in land-based casinos.

Not everyone agrees, though, pointing out that gambling in certain venues, such as integrated resorts, offers a wealth of enticements for the senses compared to online counterparts. The resurgence of casino hotspots in Macau, Singapore, and the Philippines post-COVID, they add, convene thousands of legally registered casinos and millions of “loyal” players.

The threat, according to industry insiders, is the possibility of an online casino as part of an online shopping experience, where one can travel through the metaverse to get to the casinos - complete with VR goggles.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• AI may allow more games to be made, bolster creativity, yet open a can of worms. (Link)

• A Minecraft fan develops a plugin to assist gamers in managing villagers. (Link)

• Fallout 4 introduces AI realism mod for enhanced combat experience. (Link)

• Gaming and sustainability? HEALV3RSE, a new game promoting real-world action for the planet, launches on the metaverse. (Link)

• Wombat web3 gaming platform gets a bullish rating of 0.74%. (Link)

• Spider Tanks introduces a rewarding spider friends referral program. (Link)

• NuxGame and Zeusplay team up to enhance online casino experiences. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• As if! House of Blueberry teams up with Paramount for a Roblox collection inspired by the film Clueless. (Link)

• Vans World reaches 100 million visits on Roblox. (Link)

• MCM teams up with Crocs for a limited-edition MEGA crush clog fronted by actress Lindsay Lohan. (Link)

• Sweden’s H&M launches a Disney collection with artist Trevor Andrew. (Link)

• Streetwear brand Aries and liquor brand Malibu embrace AI tech with a unique collab. (Link)

• Perfect Corp’s AI-driven AR solutions offer virtual try-on experience for Indian beauty and fashion brands. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• Prada partners with China's Women's National Football Team for the upcoming 2023 World Cup. (Link)

• Game of Silks adds sports and gaming veteran exec Ron Luniewski as its president and CEO. (Link)

• Unveiling the game-changers: The top 5 sports NFT cards creating an immersive digital playground for gaming enthusiasts. (Link)

• Fox Sports will incorporate an AI-powered "Catch Up With Highlights" feature in its FIFA women's world cup broadcasts. (Link)

• LaLiga enthralls sports fans with fresh AI solutions. (Link)

• Adventure Sports TV expands to France, Italy, and Spain on RakutenTV streaming platform with localized feeds. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Goliath documentary uses AI voice to recreate Wilt Chamberlain's legacy. (Link)

• Elon Musk initiates Twitter rebranding to “X,” dropping the iconic blue bird. (Link)

• DJ superstar Steve Aoki takes a hit with a staggering $1.6M loss on his NFT investments. (Link)

• What fizzling interest? Famous celebrities join the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT craze as proud owners. (Link)

• Melania Trump's NFT stirs legal concerns over NASA's image use policy. (Link)

• Spotify confirms price hike as monthly premium plan rises in the US. (Link)

🖼 Art

• CoinGecko enhances its NFT offering with a user-friendly collection tracker for efficient NFT management. (Link)

• Digital artist Hafiiz Karim fuses classical art with contemporary Singaporean backdrops. (Link)

• Ordinals shocks the Bitcoin community with innovative NFT-like additions to the ecosystem. (Link)

• Mastercard's web3 music accelerator breaks new ground with AI-generated music NFTs. (Link)

• Huddersfield artists collaborate with AI to create groundbreaking art called Pressure and Release. (Link)

• Another-1 commemorates street art and fashion through its newest NFT initiative. (Link)

🤖 AI

• What’s in store with Microsoft's TypeChat? (Link)

• In Australia, a grant gets an OK to merge human brain cells with AI. (Link)

• Taiwan experiences a surge in AI-related job vacancies of 26,000+. (Link)

• Here’s a novel self-supervised learning framework to create high-quality stylized 3D avatars. (Link)

• France seeks to firmly plant itself in the AI landscape. (Link)

• Bing AI chat Copilot is now available for search in Google Chrome. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• France invests $500M (€500M) in AI to drive talent nurturing. (Link)

• AI-powered personalized care startup K Health secures $59M in funding to redefine healthcare experience and expand global reach. (Link)

• Cognaize secures $18M in series A funding to meet global demand for AI solutions. (Link)

• Motion G raises $16M to meld engineering with AI and digital Twin Tech. (Link)

• Aizen launches an AI banking service partnership for Vietnam’s electric vehicle market. (Link)

• Mindware collaborates with OneSpan to bolster digital fraud protection for businesses and customers. (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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