Under a major Royal Mail shakeup, 500 AI-powered drones could soon deliver the mail.
The UK postal service wants to use 200 artificial intelligence-powered robots to provide better service to remote communities in places like the Isles of Scilly, Orkney, and the Hebrides, following successful trials in the Shetland Islands.
Fortunately, because drones do not deliver directly to the door, they will not be replacing the local postman. They will instead make it easier for postal workers to do their jobs. ...
The drones resemble smаll plаnes аnd pilot themselves using аrtificiаl intelligence, but they cаn be аssisted by а remote operаtor. ...
See the full story here: https://technotrenz.com/entertainment/under-a-major-royal-mail-shakeup-500-ai-powered-drones-could-soon-deliver-the-mail-1892439.html
HoloToyz: Rebooting augmented reality for Generation Alpha
... HoloToyz partnered with Nickelodeon and is preparing to launch a range of tattoos, stickers and books for the popular Paw Patrol series in the coming months.
The company has also started discussions with Sega to create a Sonic the Hedgehog range this summer, in time to ride the wave of popularity the ’90s gaming character is experiencing via a cinematic reboot. ...
The first HoloToyz products hit the market in December 2020 and they are currently available in more than 14 countries. ...
See the full story here: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/holotoyz-augmented-reality-toys-ar
Men twice as likely as women to consider an AI ‘companion’
Galloping advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) mean that the possibilities for romances and relationships with a computerised partner could be pulled from the realms of science fiction into reality.
The research for the Faraday Institute and the Theos think tank has exposed a major gender divide in attitudes to AI.
While 28 percent of men would consider getting an AI companion, only 13 percent of women would. ...
Perhaps unsurprisingly, young people were much more open to the idea of such a companion than older generations. The YouGov polling found that while 29 percent of those aged 16 to 29 would consider it, this was true for a mere eight percent of people aged 70-plus. ...
Kathleen Richardson, Professor of Ethics and Culture of Robots and AI at De Montfort University said: “Unfortunately, technology in these areas is being significantly shaped by men who have a very particular set of assumptions, motivations, priorities and goals. All too often, these risk excluding women and eroding human relations in a way that will ultimately harm both men and women.”
See the full story here: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1614014/AI-companion-research-men-women
Social entertainment drives ‘digital/physical’ development phase
... The rise of social entertainment has been personified by the popularity of the hospitality-centric entertainment venues seen with Topgolf, Puttshack, FlightClub, Swingers and other brands.
However, this new phase of entertainment experience is better described as "competitive socializing" — a term first coined in the U.K. as far back as 2015 and initially defining pubs incorporating a circus entertainment vibe, or bowling and food and beverage brands. ...
The twist for the current adoption of competitive socializing is the inclusion of guests' engagement, be it the use of tracked balls and scoring seen in the new generation of crazy golf properties such as with "Lucky Putt" from Creative Works, or the use of augmented reality projection technology in the "Smarts: Interactive Darts" platform, from 501 Entertainment. ...
Escape rooms lead change
One aspect of the social entertainment explosion that has been hard to pigeonhole was that of the escape room experience. A law unto itself, the closest affiliation had been with the "scare" attraction scene, and even LARP'ing (live action role playing). ...
The market expands
Another aspect of the social entertainment scene has been the number of new players. One of those is Toca Social, the company associated with the football players' training operation, which opened its flagship social entertainment experience a few months back in The O2 in London.
What some have described as "Topgolf for football!," the facility comprises 17 football simulator booths, using tracking software and a projected screen, with players demonstrating their shooting skills through a variety of mini games, scoring points. ...
Virtual Is the New Reality for M.B.A. Students
... More business schools are venturing into virtual reality, using video delivered via headsets to immerse students in far-flung locales. The pandemic forced many M.B.A. programs to curtail international travel just as VR technology took off and headsets proliferated. Now, early experiments such as Dartmouth’s are prompting more schools to explore the technology, both in classes and as part of the overall student experience. ...
See the full story here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/virtual-is-the-new-reality-for-m-b-a-students-11653017675
U.S.-E.U. Coordination on Artificial Intelligence Shouldn’t Ignore U.S. Voters’ Concerns About Jobs
See the full story here: https://morningconsult.com/2022/05/20/united-states-european-union-artificial-intelligence-job-concerns/
Meta won’t build a dedicated metaverse after all, exec says
... “All of us have a stake in the metaverse,” Clegg writes. “It isn’t an idea Meta has cooked up. There won’t be a Meta-run metaverse, just as there isn’t a ‘Microsoft internet’ or ‘Google internet’ today.”
Meta’s vision, as Clegg explains it, is for the “metaverse” to be a “universal, virtual layer that everyone can experience on top of today’s physical world — one where you can have a consistent identity (or even set of identities) that people can recognize wherever they see you.” This idea raises many questions for Meta’s business, perhaps most importantly: If the metaverse isn’t owned, how can Meta possibly maximize its profits off of it? ...
Decentralization and capitalism do not play well together. Clegg can assure us there’s not a “Microsoft internet” or “Google internet” all he wants, but both of those companies do have extreme power over the internet as we experience it. That control is how Big Tech makes its big bucks.
If Meta isn’t owning the metaverse space — owning at least its share of the market — then it loses what’s kept it so valuable. It’s unlikely the company will purposefully give up the control it’s wielded for so long to stick to this decentralized ideal. ...
Welcome to the ‘Network Generation’ by Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn co-founder)
...That is why I believe so strongly that adaptability is the new stability, and that personal and professional networks are the key to adaptability. ...
If you’re graduating this summer with the Class of 2022, this is what you already know: Without a strong network, you can easily get crushed as the waves of change roll in. With a strong network, you surf them. ...
See the full editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/welcome-to-the-network-generation-11653053050?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1
