H2O.ai raises $100M at a $1.6B pre-money valuation for tools to make AI usable by any kind of enterprise
H2O.ai — a startup that has developed an open-source framework as well as proprietary apps that make it easier for any kind of enterprise to build and operate artificial intelligence-based services — has seen a surge of interest as AI applications have become more ubiquitous, and enterprises beyond tech companies want to get in on the action. Now, it has raised $100 million to fuel its growth, a round of funding that values H2O.ai at $1.7 billion post-money ($1.6 billion pre-money).
The company has offered an open source component to its services, which it calls simply H2O, from its earliest days, and that is now used by over 20,000 enterprises. Part of the reason for that is its flexibility: H2O.ai says that its open source framework works both on top of existing big data infrastructure, on bare metal or on top of existing Hadoop, Spark or Kubernetes clusters and is able to ingest data directly from HDFS, Spark, S3, Azure Data Lake or any other data source into it’s in-memory distributed key-value store.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/07/h2o-ai-raises-100m-at-a-1-7b-valuation-for-tools-to-make-ai-usable-by-any-kind-of-enterprise/
Why are people with nothing to hide so scared of Clearview AI’s facial recognition?
If you or anyone else has ever uploaded a picture with your face in it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or just about any website, there’s a very good chance you’re in Clearview AI‘s database.
What does that mean? Clearview AI employees, millions of law enforcement agents, and anyone with access to the company’s data (which was recently exposed in a massive breach) can identify you as easily as snapping a photo with a smartphone or uploading a pic to an app.
The Australian government determined that Clearview AI posed a threat to its citizens. ...
What Clearview AI is doing may not be illegal in the US, yet, but it’s clearly unethical. ...
As it turns out, everyone either has something to hide or something to lose when their privacy is taken away.
See the full story here: https://thenextweb.com/news/why-are-people-with-nothing-to-hide-so-scared-of-clearview-ais-facial-recognition
This NFT Design Space Allows You To Work and Play in Virtual Reality
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Conceived by artists Benny Or and Cyril Lancelin, “The Meeting Place” is meant to function as a work and play space anchored in virtual reality. Part installation, part architectural design, the NFT is integrated with Spatial, a 3D design and augmented reality/virtual reality platform, and can be utilized on other metaverse platforms too.
“This project is the first generation of immersive metaverse spaces that are readymade and interoperable,” Kim said on why she chose to support this project. “More readymade spaces like this will increase in demand because we need out-of-this-world spaces that defy the laws of physics and stretch our imagination. Art and architecture are one in the metaverse.” ...
Or explained that “The Meeting Place” was developed to bridge the gap between virtual experiences and physical spaces. The building — an inverted triangle floating in the air — is surrounded by concrete textures and blue sky, meant to make the piece feel “familiar” while also maintaining a sense of whimsy. This intentional design invites collaboration and interaction. ...
“The Meeting Place” will be sold on November 18, 2021, in a two-day auction. It is currently hosted on Spatial, but can also be moved to other XR platforms. ...
See the full story here: https://hypebeast.com/2021/11/nft-art-installation-the-meeting-place-virtual-reality-metaverse
Taking Hollywood To Infinity And Beyond With The Infinity Festival
The conference is spotlighting a remarkable transition in the ways entertainment companies are making features and episodic series, aka, the entertainment products we now call video programming in an era when “TV” is far more than just what used to screen at a movie theater or run on a broadcast station’s linear feed.
But it’s also mixing in the tools and techniques of the video game world, virtual/augmented/mixed reality, blockchain tools, and more. The digital hurricane engulfing Hollywood was already underway two years ago but, forced by the pandemic’s limitations on traditional productions, only accelerated since. The Infinity Festival aims to reflect all that.
See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dbloom/2021/11/03/taking-hollywood-to-infinity-and-beyond-with-the-infinity-festival/?sh=61a7293262a8&fbclid=IwAR1O1sNlclrOR_H8M1D4Q1dNes6xb8xh8cZhe0q-ZnLDTN4hp6fO4_Uawfk
The Incredible Machines Bringing XR Stages to Life
Here are three common issues.
Seams. Remember how the LED wall is made up of multiple segments, and how all the computers have to work together to project a single scene onto them?
“Each of those segments has a different geometry, because the wall is typically curved,” Tankersley said. “So the computers also have to understand the specific curve of the wall and where the segments meet.” If the software picks up any errors in the geometry, “you’ll see some weird artifacts on the wall.” Artifacts include a range of undesirable visual elements.
Syncing. “All of the screens have to be synced to the [camera] frame so that the camera and the wall are in sync for every frame, so you don’t get any flicker,” Tankersley said. “If the sensor on the camera is running on a slightly different clock to the wall, you’ll see artifacts.” How precisely do all the sensors and clocks have to be synced? “To the microsecond.”
Camera angles and proximity. “LEDs have a color shift on different angles…you see this with any TV,” Tankersley said. “If you look at it straight on, the colors are right, and if you look at an angle, they’re off. So you have to pay attention to the angle of the camera to the wall.”
See the full story here: https://hitsonline.org/2021/10/28/the-incredible-machines-bringing-xr-stages-to-life
Virtual reality is fighting loneliness, both on Earth and in space
Given the risks associated with isolation, space agencies conduct large-scale simulation studies to investigate and mitigate these effects. SIRIUS (Scientific International Research in Unique Terrestrial Station)is a series of on-land isolation experiments simulating long-term spaceflight.
SIRIUS-21 is an eight-month isolation study in Moscow that begins on Nov. 4, 2021. A multinational crew of six people will go into a special facility, called NEK, modelling a spacecraft that was built in the 1960s and stay in there for 240 days, partaking in 70 experiments prepared by international research teams.
Through the journey they experience: cloud gazing, watching a sunset over a canyon in the company of wild animals, observing aurora in the night sky, witnessing Mars rising over the horizon and flying through space coming across a solar eclipse. Finally, participants orbit around the Earth, reflecting on the interconnectedness of all life on our planet. This virtual journey is inspired by the Overview Effect, a profound experience that astronauts have when witnessing the beauty and fragility of Earth from outer space.
See the full story here: https://thenextweb.com/news/virtual-reality-loneliness-earth-space-syndication
