NEWS
► U.S. tech giant Meta has been hit with a record €1.2 billion fine for not complying with the EU’s privacy rulebook. The Irish Data Protection Commission announced on Monday that Meta violated the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when it shuttled troves of personal data of European Facebook users to the United States without sufficiently protecting them from Washington's data surveillance practices. Read it here.
► Space Force turns to metaverse to predict effects of spaceport congestion. Space launch operations at Cape Canaveral, the nation’s busiest spaceport, were recently replicated in a digital 3D “metaverse” that merged virtual and physical worlds. The demonstration, funded by the Space Force’s Spaceport Integration Office, simulated launches using real-world telemetry data from commercial rockets and Maxar’s high-resolution satellite imagery of Cape Canaveral. The data was merged using Cesium visualization software, Unreal Engine’s computer graphics game engine and NVIDIA’s Omniverse collaboration platform. Read it here.
►China launches government-backed metaverse platform. The capital city of China’s Jiangsu province, Nanjing, has launched a new government-backed metaverse platform. Specifically, the China Metaverse Technology and Application Innovation Platform is set to advance development in the sector across the country. The new program is being headed by the Nanjing University of Information and Science Technology (NUIST). Read it here.
► BBC Studios and Reality+ will take Doctor Who to The Sandbox metaverse. Doctor Who is setting up shop in the metaverse. BBC Studios has teamed up with Reality+ to launch a collection of immersive experiences in The Sandbox metaverse. In the world of The Sandbox, fans will be able to interact with immersive content from their favourite brands, including Top Gear and Doctor Who, and enjoy a BBC events space. Read it here.
► Elon Musk’s Neuralink gets FDA approval for human test of brain implants. Several times since 2019, billionaire Elon Musk has predicted his brain-chip company would soon secure FDA approval for human trials. But the company’s application was rejected in early 2022, and the company was working through the agency’s concerns over the safety of the experimental implant. Read it here.
► National eating disorder helpline embraces AI chatbot and dismisses staff. The National Eating Disorder Association has decided to shut down its longstanding telephone helpline. From June 1, NEDA will let go of a small team responsible for managing and operating the helpline. Instead, the organization will introduce an AI-driven chatbot called “Tessa” to assist individuals seeking support. The move comes after the employees running the eating disorder helpline formed a union, leading to their dismissal by NEDA. Read it here.
PERSPECTIVE
► Virtual reality and metaverse modify human emotions. Cyberemotions, i.e., the emotions generated and experienced in virtual environments such as virtual reality, offer unique opportunities to better understand the functioning of human affective states and to develop new therapeutic, educational, and awareness-raising approaches. The future of the study of virtual emotions looks promising and full of exciting discoveries, which could have a significant impact on our understanding of human emotions and on the quality of our lives. Read it here.
► OpenAI Raises Alarm on Superintelligence and AI’s Potential to Surpass Human Capabilities in the Next Decade. OpenAI issues a call for regulation of superintelligence, highlighting the need for governance in light of AI’s rapid advancements. AI systems are projected to surpass human expertise and corporate productivity within a decade, according to OpenAI. Read it here.
DATA & STATISTICS
► According to a survey conducted by Morning Consult in the U.S., 36% of online adults expressed interest in using the metaverse, with 12% being very interested. Gender differences were observed, with 7% of women interested and 50% having no interest, while 18% of men were very interested and slightly over a third showed no interest. 14% of internet users in the U.S. indicated that government-enacted regulations were important in determining their usage of the metaverse. Additionally, 22% of respondents considered such regulations somewhat necessary, while 45% stated that they did not play a significant role in their decision to use the metaverse. Read it here.
PRODUCT
► This Laptop Features AR Glasses Instead of a Screen. Sightful unveiled Spacetop, a personal computing device that allows you to access vital web applications from the comfort of your own virtual workspace. Instead of a conventional computer monitor, you view content using tethered augmented reality (AR) glasses. Read it here.
