philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Meta’s social VR platform Horizon Worlds struggling to woo users

... "Simply put, for an experience to become delightful and retentive, it must first be usable and well crafted," he told employees in an internal memo seen by The Verge.

Horizon Worlds is a social VR experience where you can discover new places with friends, build unique worlds of your own, and form teams to compete in action-packed games. ...

See the full story here: https://www.business-standard.com/article/technology/meta-s-social-vr-platform-horizon-worlds-struggling-to-woo-users-122101600174_1.html

MMA fans can tune into first-ever virtual reality fight Friday night at Sanford Pentagon

... FIGHT PASS will feature its first "fully immersive" live MMA event 5:30 p.m. CT Friday with LFA 144 from the Sanford Pentagon. The main fight between Muin "Tajik" Gafurov and Diego "Magrinho" Silva starts at 8 p.m.

Fans will have access to a 180-degree panoramic view and connect in real-time to other fans in Meta Horizon World's immersive environment, according to a press release. ...

To participate, fans will need a Meta Quest 2 headset, download the Meta Horizon Worlds app and go to "Venues" in Horizon Worlds, said Smith . A subscription to FIGHT PASS is not required to attend. ...

See the full story here: https://sports.yahoo.com/mma-fans-tune-first-ever-205601638.html

How AI-generated art is changing the concept of art itself

PhilNote: The LA Times reran this excellent lengthy article on AI art, originally published in Sept., as the cover of the Oct. 16 Calendar section.

...DALL-E 2 has altered Cheng’s perspective as an artist. “I am now able to create different kinds of art that I never was before,” she says. ...

These programs have also drawn their fair share of critics. Illustrator James Gurney shared on his blog in April 2022 that while the AI technology is revolutionary, it’s causing fear among artists who worry the technology will ultimately devalue their livelihoods. “The power of these tools has blown me away,” he tells The Times over email. “They can make endless variations, served up immediately at the push of a button, all made without a brain or a heart.” ...

See the full story here: https://www.latimes.com/projects/artificial-intelligence-generated-art-ownership-bias-dall-e-midjourney/#nt=0000016a-0e43-dffa-a76b-3f6bfa3f0002-showMedia-liI5promoMedium-contentFooter

Danny Jolles Sees Both Sides Now In Interactive Comedy Special On YouTube

...With You Choose, his free comedy special debuting today on YouTube, Jolles has taken that sensibility to its logical extreme, creating a “choose-your-own-adventure” approach that required him to record entire sets of jokes on both sides of a string of issues, and give audiences their choice of which side to watch as the show unfolds. ...

In recording the special at a Los Angeles theater, Jolles taped it twice in front of a live audience. One taping featured the “pro” side jokes in a string, followed by an explanation of what’s going on, then the “con” side. The second taping reversed the order. ...

At the end, Jolles reveals “the prestige,” the magician’s term for a trick’s payoff. In his case, it’s the thing he strongly believes in, and for which he’s not working both sides against the middle. And it’s a lesson about what counts. ...

See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dbloom/2022/10/13/danny-jolles-sees-both-sides-now-in-interactive-comedy-special-on-youtube/?fbclid=IwAR3Oo4WtL9_b7QLGSP5LNwCIMtZyOfKem3FIYnseZPGyLPvPRx39KjUxMUM&sh=1df2bd1f718f

MyndVR, Oroi partner to expand virtual reality content for seniors

American VR digital therapeutic company MyndVR and European company Oroi announced a strategic partnership to expand MyndVR's catalog of cognitive, physical and occupational therapies using Oroi content. 

Oroi is a VR content platform aimed at improving the wellbeing and cognitive stimulation of seniors. The company currently works in Spain, France, Germany and the U.K.

With the partnership, MyndVR will offer Oroi Cognitive, which includes several exercises and games simulating daily life situations like orienting oneself within a city, shopping in a market, getting dressed and cleaning a room. ...

MyndVR formed a strategic partnership with HTC VIVE, a virtual reality platform for businesses and consumers. HTC VIVE's VR accelerator, VIVE X, and MyndVR teamed up to launch MyndVR 2.0, the second version of the company's signature VR product for senior-care communities.

In March the company announced the launch of MyndConnect, an intergenerational communication platform for older adults intended to connect family members virtually and connect friends in a metaverse via HTC's VIVE Flow immersive glasses.

See the full story here: https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/myndvr-oroi-partner-expand-virtual-reality-content-seniors

What is the Oldest PFP NFT Project?

... It all started in early 2021 when Cryptopunks first hit the market. At the time, there weren’t many projects like it, and it quickly became a popular choice for investors and collectors. The current price floor of CryptoPunks is 66.58 ETH and the 24 hour trading volume is 467.57 ETH with 3 sales.  ...

What Is a PFP NFT Project?

PFP is a well-liked acronym in online and social media culture. Many full-form terms for PFP, including profile image, picture for proof, and pictures for profile, are used online by users. The NFT craze has elevated this pursuit to a new level—NFTs as PFPs—as users search for distinctive, bright, and statement-making PFPs. ...

Out of all the collections, CryptoPunk #7523 contains one of just nine aliens. ... The actual CryptoPunk #7523 was sold for 11.75 million US dollars, or IDR 168.2 billion. ...

See the full story here: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/what-is-the-oldest-pfp-nft-project/

The DeanBeat: RP1 simulates putting 4,000 people together in a single metaverse plaza

RP1 is a metaverse startup that has simulated putting 4,000 people together in a single metaverse plaza, or shard. ...

Sean Mann and Dean Abramson, the founders of RP1, aim to solve this problem by rearchitecting servers in a way that they can squeeze a lot more people in to the same space. Companies like Improbable and others are trying to do the same thing, but it’s kind of a metaverse Holy Grail. ...

See the full story here: https://venturebeat.com/games/the-deanbeat-rp1-simulates-putting-4000-people-together-in-a-single-metaverse-plaza/

Soul Machines and IBM Watson-Powered Virtual Human Concierge Expanding at Dallas Airport

A synthetic concierge generated by Soul Machines and IBM Watson has succeeded in helping thousands of passengers over the last few months at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Digital Iris has conversed with passengers from information kiosks in Terminal B since June by filtering IBM’s conversational AI and synthetic speech through Soul Machines’ autonomous animation of human facial expressions and body language. ...

Soul Machines’ AI powers Iris’ look and animation, including emotional detection, which the company likens to a ‘subconscious AI.’ IBM’s Watson Assistant provides the ‘conscious AI’ as it processes requests and questions, finds answers, and generates the synthetic voice customers hear. ...

See the full story here: https://voicebot.ai/2022/10/11/soul-machines-and-ibm-watson-powered-virtual-human-concierge-expanding-at-dallas-airport/

Meta Debuts $1,500 VR Headset Targeting Working Professionals

... The new headset is also much pricier than its predecessor — it will cost $1,500, or three times the price of the Quest 2, in part because the company is targeting more serious working professionals. ...

The device includes face- and eye-tracking, which can be used to humanize avatars so that conversations in VR feel more personal. It also has what Meta calls a “full-color mixed reality experience,” which uses cameras on the outside of the headset to let people see the world around them and overlay graphics while wearing the device. (The Quest 2 also has this mixed reality feature, but only in black and white.) ...

Meta is also launching new “self-tracking” controllers alongside its new headset, which means each controller has built-in sensors that can “track their position in 3D space independent of the headset,” according to Meta’s blog post about the product. ...

The company is working on a wristband that can detect neurological signals in humans and turn those signals into outputs on a digital screen. The technology essentially turns the human hand into a remote control, a helpful tool when trying to operate a pair of smart glasses. ...

See the full story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-11/meta-announces-1-500-quest-pro-virtual-reality-headset

Documentary – Written by Bots (Netflix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33CvXxLYp2c