10,000 UNIQUE INTERACTIVE BEINGS LIVING ON ETHEREUM

International pop star SiA and renowned visual artist David OReilly have collaborated on SOULS, an NFT collection of 10,000 unique interactive beings living on Ethereum. The colorful life forms exist as virtual objects that can bounce, wiggle, dance, sleep, and even speak in a musical language sung by SiA. Exploring the creative potential of Web3 (a new iteration of the World Wide Web that incorporates decentralized apps and blockchain technologies), SOULS began as a series of simple colorful paintings that grew over time into an expansive collection of never before seen digital beings. Each SOUL is born with its own personality, name, voice, color pattern, rarities and ambient sound, while some enjoy interaction and others prefer none. ...

See the full story here: https://www.designboom.com/art/souls-interactive-nft-collectibles-sia-david-oreilly-08-14-2022/

See the full story here:

Sensorium Galaxy Is The Electronic Music Metaverse Experience We’ve Been Looking For

Sensorium Galaxy is a metaverse electronic music and DJ night club experience. It has AI-powered artists, in both a livestream and a virtual reality platform.

Sensorium Galaxy a multi-level massive electronic music club with people dancing on big, floating decks. The whole environment right now is set in the Meteor Vortex, a place they’ve created that portrays the entire happening in outer space. ...

Sensorium Galaxy creates multisensory metaverse experiences in two ways: a Sensorium Galaxy streaming channel (happening right now) and  Sensorium virtual reality environments (coming soon). It also uses artificial intelligence. ...

See the full story here; http://www.thespacelab.tv/Content/2022/08-August/03-Sensorium-Galaxy-Is-The-Metaverse-Virtual-Reality-EDM-Electronic-Music-DJ-Experience-Weve-Been-Looking-For.html

AI Ethics And The Geopolitical Wrestling Match Over Who Will Win The Race To Attain True AI

...

Here are the key points that I’ll go over with you in this discourse:

• If this is a race, the AGI finish line seems quite ill-defined
• The AGI race might go to a person, an entity, or a nation
• Metrics and how nations are being compared in the AGI race
• Geopolitical maneuvering and alignment for the AGI race
• International AI laws and AI Ethics as referees in the AGI race

...

See the full article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/2022/08/15/ai-ethics-and-the-geopolitical-wrestling-match-over-who-will-win-the-race-to-attain-true-ai-or-agi/?sh=47edaa297536

Tiny Robot Constructed Entirely From DNA

A tiny robot was constructed entirely from DNA by scientists from Inserm, CNRS, and Université de Montpellier at the Structural Biology Center in Montpellier. The nano-robot could lead to a closer study of the mechanical forces applied at microscopic levels, which are important for various biological and pathological processes.  ...

The team used the method to design a “nano-robot” that consists of three DNA origami structures. It is compatible with the size of a human cell, and for the first time, it makes it possible to apply and control a force with a resolution of 1 piconewton, which is one trillionth of a Newton. One Newton can be compared to the force of a finger clicking on a pen.  ...

See the full story here: https://www.unite.ai/tiny-robot-constructed-entirely-from-dna/

Recoil launches new 5-D virtual reality experience

(Valdosta, GA) Recoil Trampoline Park launched phase three of its expansion Friday with a new immersive experience.

Hyperdeck is an all-new immersive, virtual reality experience at Recoil in Valdosta. Up to four players enter into a virtual world featuring a full-motion floor and multi-sensory effects like strong winds, heat and earth-rattling movements. The game continues outside as spectators help or challenge players via tablets located around the exterior of the Hyperdeck station.

Trent Coggins, owner, said, “Hyperdeck is already a hit. There was a line as soon as we fired it up today and the employees came in just to try it the night before.”

Coggins said, this type of virtual experience is one of fewer than 15 in the U.S. ...

Creative Works Game Description:

Dreamsaver — "A group of Dreamsavers travel into a child's dream to deliver an epiphany and are stopped by a nightmare. Multiple endings and a variety of blasters and power-ups make for a rich experience that evolves with the players. Length: 10 minutes."

H.A.I.R.: "H.A.I.R. imagines a world where a 1980s guitar hero becomes a villain in a post-apocalyptic world. Players fly through the night collecting crystals and destroying robotic henchmen. Breathtaking environments, spine-tingling effects, and a soaring soundtrack make H.A.I.R. one sweet ride. Length: 10 minutes." ...

See the full story here: https://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/local_news/recoil-launches-new-5-d-virtual-reality-experience/article_5cb89a3f-d725-5792-b721-9e2408ad8a90.html

Samsung develops artificial muscle actuators for immersive VR, AR

See the full story here: https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/samsung-develops-artificial-muscle-actuators-for-immersive-vr-ar/93556604

The ethics of interaction with neurorobotic agents: a case study with BabyX

ABSTRACT: As AI advances, models of simulated humans are becoming increasingly realistic. A new debate has arisen about the ethics of interacting with these realistic agents—and in particular, whether any harms arise from ‘mistreatment’ of such agents. In this paper, we advance this debate by discussing a model we have developed (‘BabyX’), which simulates a human infant. The model produces realistic behaviours—and it does so using a schematic model of certain human brain mechanisms. We first consider harms that may arise due to effects on the user—in particular effects on the user’s behaviour towards real babies. We then consider whether there’s any need to consider harms from the ‘perspective’ of the simulated baby. The first topic raises practical ethical questions, many of which are empirical in nature. We argue the potential for harm is real enough to warrant restrictions on the use of BabyX. The second topic raises a very different set of questions in the philosophy of mind. Here, we argue that BabyX’s biologically inspired model of emotions raises important moral questions, and places BabyX in a different category from avatars whose emotional behaviours are ‘faked’ by simple rules. This argument counters John Danaher’s recently proposed ‘moral behaviourism’. We conclude that the developers of simulated humans have useful contributions to make to debates about moral patiency—and also have certain new responsibilities in relation to the simulations they build.

Read the full paper here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43681-021-00076-xhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43681-021-00076-x

Alistair Knott, Mark Sagar & Martin Takac

Sensorium Releases World’s First Metaverse Streaming Channel In Run-Up To Global VR Launch

Today, Sensorium is premiering the world's first in-engine metaverse streaming channel. Designed to introduce people to the vastness of the Sensorium Galaxy metaverse, now only accessible in Beta mode, this 24/7 livestream experience showcases a series of exclusive Empyreal Parties featuring the company's original AI artists. ...

Last year, Sensorium pioneered the development of virtual artists powered by artificial intelligence with the debut of Kàra Màr's "Anthropic principle" music album — the first-ever created entirely by an AI-driven character and made available on Apple Music, Spotify, and SoundCloud. The generative music engine behind Sensorium Galaxy virtual artists allows them to create distinctive tracks combining 60+ genres. ...

See the full story here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sensorium-releases-worlds-first-metaverse-streaming-channel-in-run-up-to-global-vr-launch-301603828.html

Anthony Hopkins feature film distributed as NFT

Zero Contact starring Anthony Hopkins as a tech titan will be initially released as an NFT. LA-based start-up VUELE owns complete intellectual property on the productions and boasts that it’s:

“the first direct-to-consumer, full-length feature film NFT viewing and distribution platform.”

VUELE auctions off early access to the film plus perks and incremental distribution with more perks until it is transferred to traditional distribution channels and streamers.

See the offer here: https://vuele.io

Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022

From Shelly Palmer's daily news email.

Whether or not you have teenage children – even if you don't know a teenager – you must read the results of the latest Pew Research Center survey, Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022, which found that 95 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds have access to a smartphone and 46 percent of them say they are "almost constantly" online. That's up from 24 percent from eight years ago.

Pew researchers surveyed 1,316 teens in April 2022. More than half (54 percent) said it would be difficult for them to give up social media, especially for the older respondents aged 15 to 17.

These results are not surprising. However, as presented, the survey offers a directional understanding of just how difficult it is going to be to rein in social media addiction, online bullying, unintentional propagation of misinformation at scale, and (of course) weaponized information. 

See the research study here: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/?ck_subscriber_id=958930034&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Teen+Social+Media+Usage+Doubles%20-%208744296