PERSPECTIVE
► Why your next workplace training session might be in the belly of a volcano
Whoever said workplace training had to be boring? Thanks to advances in virtual reality, workplace learning and development might finally be something to get excited about. Educators have understood for quite some time that engagement is critical to the learning process. Thanks to the emergence of technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality, organisations can upskill a distributed workforce in a way that’s interactive, inclusive, and sustainable. Read it here.
LITERATURE
► Metaversed: See Beyond the Hype
In this book, Luis Bravo Martins and Samantha G. Wolfe explore what the metaverse is and how it’ll impact our jobs and the world around us. They also explain how we can prepare teams and companies, avoid making costly mistakes and more. Find a book review and author interview here.
DATA & STATISTICS
► New research released from KPMG UK has revealed that 47% of consumers in the UK think that the metaverse will become widely used in the next 10 years. The professional services firm polled 3000 UK consumers asking for their views on the metaverse. More than a third of consumers have positive opinions of the metaverse (37%) and just under a third (31%) have negative opinions of the metaverse, but almost a third (32%) don’t know enough to form an opinion or have no opinion. Global technology, media, and telecoms executives share a similar perspective to UK consumers, with 84% of respondents planning to increase or maintain their investments in the metaverse over the next 5-10 years, according to a separate KPMG study. Read it here.
RESEARCH & THEORY
► Virtual is so real! Consumers' evaluation of product packaging in virtual reality.
What would happen if consumers were asked to assess a product's attribute, for example packaging, in a virtual environment, instead of being able to physically hold the product? This study aims to analyse consumer evaluations of packaged products in immersive VR, to compare to consumer responses in real life. Read it here.
NEWS
► Digital and technology ministers attended G7 Digital and Tech Ministers' Meeting in Takasaki, Japan, on April 29, 2023. G7 nations should adopt "risk-based" regulation on artificial intelligence, their digital ministers agreed. But such regulation should also "preserve an open and enabling environment" for the development of AI technologies and be based on democratic values, G7 ministers said in a joint statement issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Japan. Read it here.
► The man often touted as the godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, has quit Google, citing concerns over the flood of misinformation, the possibility for AI to upend the job market, and the “existential risk” posed by the creation of a true digital intelligence. Hinton, 75, said he quit to speak freely about the dangers of AI, and in part regrets his contribution to the field. He was brought on by Google a decade ago to help develop the company’s AI technology, and the approach he pioneered led the way for current systems such as ChatGPT. Read it here.
► Boston Dynamics, the robotics firm known for creating complex and intelligent machines, has just added another impressive feat to its repertoire. They have used ChatGPT to give their robot dog Spot the ability to communicate with humans via speech. This feat has been accomplished with a combination of natural language processing capabilities and machine learning techniques. Read it here.
► Meta has hired a number of engineers specialising in AI networking chips formerly from British chip company, Graphcore. The new hires will support Meta’s AI and machine learning efforts in the company’s data centres. Read it here.
► Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it is launching an initial review of AI foundation models, including large language models and generative AI. The initial review will explore the opportunities and risks AI models could bring for competition and consumer protection. CMA’s initiative comes after the US administration held a meeting with big tech CEOs to discuss the risks of AI. Read it here.
► Rats can move objects in virtual reality using only their thoughts. By reading a rat's intentions from its brain patterns, an AI can help the rodent move objects in a virtual environment. Read it here.
