WhatsApp hovers in the metaverse

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📲 WhatsApp hovers in the metaverse

🇺🇸 President Biden to meet with AI experts

💰Lenovo announces $1B AI investment

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WhatsApp hovers in the metaverse [Link]

In 2022, WhatsApp appeared to approach the metaverse with its Avatars testing. In its latest beta today, it attempts to embrace more of the virtual world - specifically hardware - with signs of support for linking with the Meta Quest VR headset.

Available details so far:

• A future WhatsApp update may allow users to officially link their accounts to Meta Quest for enhanced user experience.

• The device feature is still currently under development.

• WhatsApp has been playing around with linked devices lately, and beta 2.23.12.12 for Android hints at using iPads as linked devices in further extending the platform's reach.

This prospective linking to Meta Quest could very well signal a step toward Meta's continuing metaverse ambitions, promising a more immersive and integrated experience across platforms in the future.

President Biden to meet with AI experts [Link]

Joe Biden is set to meet with business leaders in San Francisco to discuss AI implications, challenges, bias, and benefits in education and medicine.

Participating leaders include:

• Sal Khan (CEO of Khan Academy Inc)

• Jim Steyer (CEO of Common Sense Media)

• Tristan Harris (Executive Director of the Center for Humane Technology)

• Oren Etzioni (Former CEO of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence)

• Fei-Fei Li (Co-director of Stanford University's Human-Centered AI Institute)

• Joy Buolamwini (Founder of the Algorithmic Justice League)

• Jennifer Doudna (Professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley), and

• Rob Reich (Political science professor at Stanford University)

The meeting follows the White House's recent discussions with tech giants like Google and Microsoft, where they explored best practices and announced a $140M investment in establishing 7 new AI research institutes.

Lenovo announces $1B AI investment [Link]

As its biggest AI investment to date following a record annual AI infrastructure revenue of $2B, tech giant Lenovo commits to allocate $1B (AU$1.45B) over the next 3 years to strengthen its AI infrastructure and augment the use of the tech by businesses globally.

The investment includes an additional US$100M earmarked for the expansion of the Lenovo AI Innovator's Program, which supports the commercialization of AI solutions by funding their shift from the lab to the marketplace.

With a portfolio of 70 AI-ready and supported products, including AI-optimized edged servers, smart devices, and services, Lenovo is well-positioned to drive the expansion of AI capabilities.

Bitmap to narrow Bitcoin and metaverse gap [Link]

Bitmap Theory is yet another innovation-driven product intended to close the gap between Bitcoin and the metaverse.

Not unlike Bitcoin Ordinals (which lets users permanently inscribe individual satoshis or the minimal unit of account in a bitcoin), Bitmap is a way for users to claim ownership over Bitcoin blocks - an open-source standard that could integrate any block into a part of the metaverse.

Besides inscribing any Bitcoin block, the goal is to also parse this data into the 3D realm, which allows owners to distribute fractionalized transactions to others. This means users can build on top of Bitcoin blocks, serve as contributors to the metaverse, and foster a community-driven space.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Web3 gaming hub Nakamoto Games rolls out its ecosystem and announces upcoming GameFi plans. (Link)

• YouTuber Tyler Green develops a Pokemon horror game in 6 days using AI. (Link)

• In Australia, Nir Shor joins forces with Minted Loot Studios to explore generative AI in creating adaptive video game music responding to game scenarios, characters, and player interactions. (Link)

• Online fantasy card game Champions of Otherworldly Magic, where players collect and trade NFT cards, gears up for launch. (Link)

• An AR mode for Quest turns VR game Espire 2’s physical environment into a stealth shooter. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• Fashion and Fortnite collide with the new Nike “Airphoria” experience. (Link)

• Holders of The Fabricant and Highsnobiety’s Not in Paris 5 collection can showcase their ultra-limited assets via AR, with only 300 pieces available. (Link)

• Major updates on Gucci x BAYC collab emerge. (Link)

• The global virtual fitting room market is expected to reach $20.63B by 2030. (Link)

• AR company Zero10, with recent collabs with Coach and Tommy Hilfiger, unveils its AR Store prototype, carrying out the operations of a traditional 100sqm store. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• From VR training and more, here are the cutting-edge tech tools transforming the NFL. (Link)

• FIFA files trademark applications regarding the metaverse as part of its WE ARE initiative. (Link)

• How AI can help detect and tackle match fixing in sports. (Link)

• Alabama head football coach Nick Saban hilariously spends Father’s Day boxing in virtual reality. (Link)

• In India, you can now play table tennis in the metaverse. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Generative AI's impact on Hollywood is a hot topic, producing text, campaigns, and visuals all critical to the entertainment biz. (Link)

• Discover how MIDNATT, HYBE's first AI-powered artist, was brought to life. (Link)

• Generative AI in media and entertainment is expected to be worth $12M by 2032 from $1.202M in 2022. (Link)

• As The Weeknd announces a web3 venture while touring, music continues to rise inside metaverse gaming. (Link)

• WhatsApp beta version adds support for VR tech. (Link)

• The new Black Mirror season begins by tackling actors’ anxiety about AI. (Link)

🖼 Art

• New Ethscriptions NFT protocol hits 30k mints and counting. (Link)

• The Hundreds collaborates with Holograph to launch Signs, a commemorative NFT collection celebrating a year-old staged protest. (Link)

• Mila Sketch: Austin’s visual artist “creating a portal” for art through AR. (Link)

• Air New Zealand brings the country’s largest metaverse gallery to life and lets people experience the country through the eyes of its youth. (Link)

• The world’s first AI art hackathon asks: Is AI a tool of artistic expression? (Link) 

🤖 AI

• German tabloid Bild replaces editorial jobs with AI. (Link)

• Google forms a policy on AI content and Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). (Link)

• Vimeo rolls out AI-powered editing tools to help users write scripts, record with a teleprompter, and edit out "ahs" and "ums." (Link)

• AI model predicts early-stage rheumatoid arthritis using MRI scans. (Link)

• Swiss-Israeli fintech firm Okoora launches an AI-integrated platform to expand its service into Europe. (Link)

• Storyboard launches voice messages with AI-powered transcripts. (Link)

• Seoul Metro taps AI to measure subway station congestion using CCTV, transport cards, and sensors. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Blackbird.AI raises $20M via series B to empower organizations with narrative and perception risk intelligence. (Link)

• Mexican startup VIOO marketplace secures $1M in seed funding to link up businesses and photographers for visual content creation. (Link)

• Ultimate Table Tennis announces partnership with Aatral Metaverse to target fan engagement. (Link)

• Vlerick Business School and Howest partner to launch the Metaverse for Business executive program. (Link)

• Kings Entertainment announces the signing of agreement to acquire Braight AI Technologies Inc. (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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