Apple's AI model 🤖, Meta x Microsoft AI partnership 🤝, Pokémon sleep 💤, Samsung's smart ring 💍, and more!
#48
Augmented Rarity's Newsletter is free, but in a dystopian future of oppressive regulations, it could become a paid service due to high fees and censorship, aimed at maintaining quality and integrity within a controlled information ecosystem. But that's not likely... is it? 🤓
Hey there! Welcome back to Augmented Rarity 👽, your weekly newsletter on emerging tech and future trends.
Before we get into this week's update, could you please fill out a quick survey? 🤝 Your feedback would help me improve my content to make sure it's valuable to you, plus you'll soon get a freebie for answering 🫢
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🤖 Artificial Intelligence
This year’s AI revolution is here to stay, and make us pay. Microsoft's 365 AI assistant will now cost an additional $30/month 💰, sending its shares up 5.8% 📈
Image: Microsoft Apple didn’t have enough competing with Meta and Microsoft for the best (and extremely expensive) MR headset, that Apple is now entering its chatbot era with ‘Apple GPT’. GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformers, so nothing to do with ChatGPT. Of course this made their stock go up 📈.
But there seems to be a truce in the AI race, as Meta and Microsoft are now working together 🤝. Microsoft will use LlaMA 2, Meta's new open source LLM, for Azure. This is possible because Meta said that Microsoft is its “preferred partner” for its LlaMa 2 software 🦙, which is available for free for companies and researchers. Let's not forget that Microsoft invested $10 billion in OpenAI back in January this year.
Introducing WormGPT, ChatGPT's evil twin hiding in the dark web 🕸️, allowing around 1,500 cybercriminals to do their illegal stuff, but I guess that at the same time it’s helping cybersecurity companies train to avoid attacks ⚖️. Either way, the subscription costs between $60 and $700.
Image: WormGPT
Comply different topic: could sex robots ever end human trafficking? VR headsets combined with AI-powered robots will trick people into thinking the sex robot is real 🍌, according to Gawdat, ex-Google executive. In the unlikely event of AIs becoming sentient, would they feel used?
🥽 Extended Reality
Remember when the U.S. army ordered thousands of HoloLens but they made the soldiers dizzy 🤢 and they decided to cancel the $400 million deal? Well, HoloLens has made some adjustments (slimmer, lighter and more balanced) and they're back for testing 🥽. If the results are positive, they'll start using them by 2025.
Image: U.S. army
Mercedes-Benz just dropped their Vision One-Eleven concept car, packed with Magic Leap 🏎️, allowing you to customize your whole driving experience and control the car's systems with hand gestures and voice commands.
Image: Mercedes Pokémon wants your sleep data, and they have just released a game to trick you into giving it to them: Pokémon Sleep! 💤 It's like Pokémon Go, but instead of having to leave your house (or get a VPN and fake your location like I used to do from my sofa), Pokémons come to you based on how you sleep and snore.I've only just downloaded it, so I can't say much yet, but:
Cool stuff: using sleep data in a creative way.
Bad stuff: using sleep data in a creative way.
I wonder how Europeans are allowed to play as we are not allowed to be on Threads due to the amount of data Meta takes from you. Data is the new gold and we are underestimating it, so please fill out my survey so I can get some gold too 😗
Image: Pokémon
📟 Wearables
If you don’t feel like keeping your phone under your pillow, this Poké Ball device will measure your sleep in exchange for Pikachu singing you lullabies 🎶. Cute 🥺.
Speaking of sleep tracking, Samsung is getting ready to launch a smart ring 💍. It will probably have temperature and advanced sleep tracking, and the ability to control your devices like a smart TV, among many other features. No word yet on a release date or price. Considering the smart rings market is expected to reach $747.41 Million by 2023, how long until Apple launches one too?
WhatsApp is now available as a standalone app on Google's WearOS smartwatches, so you could send texts and audio messages without having to take your phone with you. However, we are still a long way from replacing smartphones with wearables.
3D printing is getting to Apple’s devices 🍏. Rumors suggest that the new Apple Watch Ultra 2, set to launch this year, will include 3D printed parts in its design. I just hope they stop using Niquel so I’m allergic to my Apple Watch :)
Augmented Rarity in numbers
Remember I once shared my metrics? Here we go again:
Despite taking a 3-4 month break, my numbers are still good! The goal is to reach 1000 subscribers by the end of the year 📈
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That's all for today! Please remember to fill out the survey to help me improve my content and make it more valuable for you 🤓
Best,
Martina
Btw you can find me on Instagram and Threads (whenever Threads is available in Europe again 😅)
It will be interesting to see what Apple has in store for their generative AI apps. They have been so secretive about such efforts thus far.