Big Tech

1) Business will be able to accept IDs in Apple Wallet with iOS 17 among other changes (3 minute read)

Apple is enabling businesses to accept digital IDs via Apple Wallet with iOS 17. This change aims to streamline transactions, reducing reliance on physical ID cards.

2) Apple more affordable version of Vision Pro (4 minute read)

Apple is reportedly developing a more budget-friendly variant of its Vision Pro device, making spatial computing technology more accessible to a wider user base.

3) Allen Institute Teams up With AWS to Build First Ever Map of The Brain (5 minute read)

The Allen Institute for Brain Science is collaborating with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop an unprecedented 3D map of the human brain. This ground-breaking project will create a high-resolution, comprehensive model that could drastically improve our understanding of neurological disorders and enhance the development of AI technologies.

Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

4) SOL, ADA, MATIC tokens slide 20% in sudden move after SEC lawsuit (2 minute read)

Following a lawsuit by the SEC, SOL, ADA, and MATIC tokens witnessed a drastic 20% decline, demonstrating the regulatory challenges and market volatility in the crypto space.

5) Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Crypto is Expanding to London (4 minute read)

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is reportedly expanding its crypto operations to London. This move is part of the firm's plan to tap into Europe's growing tech and crypto scene. A16z has been a major investor in blockchain and crypto-related companies, and this expansion signifies their continued commitment to support and invest in the future of crypto and blockchain technologies in other parts of the world as the US battles regulatory headwinds.

Humans and Technology

6) New research aims to bring odors into virtual worlds (7 minute read)

While the idea of 'scent technology' is not new, incorporating it into VR presents unique challenges and opportunities. Scientists and engineers are exploring ways to stimulate the olfactory senses digitally, which could revolutionize immersive experiences in gaming, movies, and therapeutic applications.

7) Robot Gardener Grows Plants as Well as Humans Do, But Uses Less Water (4 minute read)

Simeon Adebola and his team at the University of California, Berkeley, have created an automated robot gardener, AlphaGarden, capable of nurturing a variety of plant types. The robot was tested against a team of expert human horticulturists and performed on par, but with a more efficient use of water.

8) Powering Human Impact With Technology (6 minute read)

Deloitte's latest insights point to the importance of human capital in boosting productivity for businesses in 2023. The relationship between intelligent technology and workers has seen significant evolution, with the focus shifting from substituting or augmenting human effort to genuinely improving human capabilities. New technologies in the workplace aren't just tools; they foster new behaviors and help workers become better versions of themselves. From dull task automation to enabling 'superjobs' and 'superteams,' workplace tech is now set on enhancing human skills, facilitating better individual growth and teamwork.

Arts & Lifestyle

9) Metaverse Beauty Week Is Coming (5 minute read)

The fusion of fashion and tech takes another leap with the announcement of Metaverse Beauty Week. This event is set to explore how beauty brands can innovate and engage customers in virtual spaces.

Tech Innovation

10) Virtual Typing for Spatial Computing with Fleksy's Predictive Keyboard SDK (4 minute read)

Fleksy is introducing a predictive keyboard SDK, enhancing the virtual typing experience in spatial computing applications.

11) Nvidia’s Neuralangelo is The Best Image-to-3D AI to date (5 minute read)

NVIDIA releases its new Instant NeRF approach, this time with with much better fidelity for surface structures, called Neuralangelo. NeuralAngelo uses artificial intelligence to generate unique pieces of art, exemplifying the growing intersection of AI and creative expression.

12) Swing Genius AI: A New Approach to Improve Your Golf Swing - 3 minute read)

Swing Genius leverages AI to analyze and improve golf swings, demonstrating the potential of AI in sports coaching.

Funding and Startups

13) TwinUp Receives $3 Million in Seed Funding for Metaverse Architecture Platform (3 minute read)

TwinUp, a company specializing in Metaverse architecture, recently raised $3 million in seed funding. The funds will go towards further development of their platform which empowers architects and designers to create 3D architectural models and renderings in real-time, streamlining the review process with clients and collaboration with teams.

14) Opportunities and Risks of the Trillion-Dollar VR Market (5 minute read)

The potential for the metaverse is vast and has caught the attention of investors with some predicting it to be a trillion-dollar market. Issues like technical challenges, user adoption rates, privacy and security concerns are among the risks to consider when investing in metaverse-related ventures.

Academic Papers and Research

15) Can Large Language Models Infer Causation from Correlation?

This research paper addresses a critical question: can large language models (LLMs) accurately infer causation from correlation? The authors propose Corr2Cause, a novel task and benchmark dataset for assessing LLMs' abilities in this area. The dataset, comprising over 400K samples, was used to evaluate seventeen LLMs. The results revealed LLMs' shortcomings in causal inference, with their performance almost equivalent to random.

16) Video-LLaMA: An Instruction-tuned Audio-Visual Language Model for Video Understanding

Researchers introduce Video-LLaMA, a multi-modal framework that enhances large language models (LLMs) with video understanding capabilities, including both visual and auditory content. Addressing challenges in understanding temporal changes in visual scenes and integrating audio-visual signals, the researchers employ a Video Q-former and an Audio Q-former to learn video-language and auditory query embeddings respectively. Video-LLaMA, trained on a vast array of video/image-caption pairs, demonstrated the ability to understand and generate meaningful responses based on the visual and auditory information presented in videos. This opens new possibilities for creating audio-visual AI assistants.

Guides & Resources

17) Detecting Objects with Precision: Polygonal Bounding Box Based Object Detection (5 minute read)

The article delves into polygonal bounding box-based object detection, offering a promising alternative to traditional methods for increased precision in object detection tasks.

18) Building a Truly "Open" OpenAI API Server with Open Models Locally (4 minute read)

LMSYS Blog explores the possibilities of constructing an OpenAI-compatible API server that can run open-source models locally. Through the use of FastChat's API server, developers can easily port applications built on closed-source OpenAI APIs to use open-source alternatives, all without having to modify the existing code. The post uses LangChain as an illustrative case, demonstrating the power and potential of this innovative approach.

⚡️ Quick Bytes

• Checkout JCrew's News Virtual Store

• Listen to Meta's Music AI (pictured above)

• Early Animations for Meta Quest 3’s Room Scanning Feature

• Demo: NVIDIA's Neuralangelo

• AR IRL

• AR Laser Tag Shot Accuracy

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