New AI from Google and WhatsApp

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📱 New AI from Google and WhatsApp

💀 FTX 2.0 in the works

🎮 Blockchain gaming app’s Apple Pay integration

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AI takes from Google and WhatsApp for ‘realistic’ chats and editing messages you already sent

This week in AI for (practical) daily work and living spotlights these innovations from two tech giants:

Google rolls out AI updates to its long-distance communication prototype dubbed as Project Starline. First launched two years ago, it uses cameras and AI to create a lifelike communication experience meant to bridge the physical gap between remote users.

With the update, AI integrations reduce the device’s size and complexity, as Starline previously filled an entire room and required complex equipment such as specialty cameras and infrared light emitters.

The latest prototype, now more standard for conferencing systems, requires only a few standard cameras and has gone from “the size of a restaurant booth to a flat-screen TV.”

Next up, WhatsApp gives global users a 15-minute window to edit their messages by just simply long-pressing on the sent message and then choosing “edit” from the menu.

Note, though, that all edited messages will display “edited” alongside them, a potential hit against user experience.

Amid an apparent pause in its metaverse development, Meta continues to test text-based AI tools, including a February announcement of a “new top-level product group” to integrate generative AI into its services.

FTX 2.0 in the works?

Latest court filings show that a rebirth of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX may be in the works, as its new CEO John Ray is working on a compensation report during the Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

What the review report contains: a series of activities with creditors on a revival plan, ensuring the debtor’s best interests, as well as a reboot of FTX, which actually catches the crypto community’s attention.

In April, a separate report suggested the exchange had recovered $7.3B in assets, and the FTX team is keen to start over by Q2 of 2024.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sounds the alarm on a new scam crypto job advertisement in circulation - false job ads linked to labor trafficking, primarily targeting victims in Asia.

Victims are said to have been “held against their will, intimidated, and forced to commit international cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes.”

These developments come to the downtrodden market hounded by the fallout from FTX and calls for decisive regulation.

StepN becomes first blockchain gaming app to integrate Apple Pay

StepN, a move-to-earn app developed by Find Satoshi Lab (FSL), claims to be the first blockchain gaming app to integrate with Apple Pay. Announced on May 22, 2023, the move is expected to simplify access to StepN products and drive further user growth.

StepN's integration with Apple Pay simplifies web2 and Web3 transactions, enabling users to add credit/debit cards to their iPhone Wallets for secure, convenient payments.

To FSL co-founder Yawn Rong, this opens StepN to a wider audience and advances the mainstream accessibility and adoption of web3.

Quick Hits

• Get a taste of Gordon Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen in the metaverse on The Sandbox. (Link)

• Care Bears gives web3 a warm, fuzzy feeling with avatars, NFTs, and gamified experiences. (Link)

• Harnessing AI for content moderation, Xbox reports a 450% increase in player punishments over "vulgar" content. (Link)

• Consumers seem fed up with trying on clothes physically and in store - 40% want to use virtual dressing rooms, according to a Klarna study. (Link)

• Fashion photographer Chen Man picks Grimes as her muse for her 1st NFT collection on LiveArt. (Link)

• Local label Tutera brings ancient Egyptian designs to life with AI. (Link)

• By recycling visuals from ‘90s websites, artist Rajeev Basu brings 2nd hand clothing to digital fashion. (Link)

• Arsenal Football Club star Alex Zinchenko takes center stage in Improbablelo’s test event in the metaverse. (Link)

• The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) delivers “digital awards” to some 300K league bowlers via Avalanche NFTs. (Link)

• The French Open leverages AI to curb social media abuse hurled against players. (Link)

• Paris Hilton announces her new NFT collection, slated for May 24 on The Sandbox with 5,555 avatars. (Link)

• Amid speculations that “Epic is going to ruin Bandcamp, it’s just a matter of when,” staffers vote to form a union and signal a real labor movement in the music industry. (Link)

• Mike Tyson gets stunned by the AI-sung 50 Cent collab with 2Pac and Biggie. (Link)

• Sotheby's GRAILS Part I digital art auction smashes expectations, cementing NFTs' place in traditional auction houses. (Link)

• Bitcoin Frogs jump into the NFT market with $2.2M in 24-hour trading. (Link)

• Artists at Gallery Weekend Berlin question what it means to be human. (Link)

• Apple seeks generative AI experts but remains quiet on future plans. (Link)

• AI-generated image of a Pentagon explosion sparks brief stock market sell-off and Bitcoin flash crash. (Link)

• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launches AI “Grand Challenge” for the developing world. (Link)

• Israel seeks to become an AI "superpower.” (Link)

• In the Philippines, 1k+ cell towers will be integrated with AI algorithms and drones. (Link)

Funding & Partnerships

• Openfort raises $3M for a “frictionless” web3 gaming wallet. (Link)

• Web3 gaming startup Arena of Faith raises $1.75M in a seed round. (Link)

• The Vegas Golden Knights collaborates with Cirrus Aviation and Jet.AI. (Link)

• Seed Group onboards Gennius XYZ in a bid to transform the digital asset ecosystem. (Link)

• Mocaverse and CyberConnect join forces to boost their Web3 Membership Program. (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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