The MiCA effect

The share of VC investment into European crypto projects is up almost 10x in one year - from a share of 5.9% in Q1 2022 to 47.6% in Q1 2023.

Regulatory clarity attracts capital & entrepreneurs from around the world.

Prediction: we're gonna see a wave of new A(G)I cos/large model companies in Europe (and perhaps other countries) that pitch the "AI sovereignty" agenda to local investors.

This will result in an exodus from local AI lab offices of large tech cos.

We heard France is cooking.

It’s a great way for large funds to deploy huge amounts of money diverted from metaverse/crypto/low-multiple SaaS investments.

But really don’t know if paying huge prices for cos that would otherwise have sold for these prices a few years back is wise.

Let’s see!

HuggingAGI

HuggingFace announced multi-modal agent API that can automatically chain 100,000+ of HF models (stable diffusion, whisper, OpenAssistant,...) for text, audio, image, video, time-series,… based on your commands.

All open-source so it can work locally!

How do we learn? A new study on the role of the hippocampus in memory replay used AI to find out.

Researchers built an AI model to emulate the brain’s memory replay to gain greater understanding of the way we learn.

Scale AI launched 2 major platforms to bolster government and enterprise:

1. Scale Donovan, the AI copilot for defense.

2. Scale EGP, full-stack generative AI for global enterprise.

This is BIG. Every angle of Web3 and Crypto covered in a single report, and a window into why the UAE is one of the busiest locations for Blockchain right now…

This report is more than just a showcase for Crypto Oasis. It shows the breadth of issues, opportunities, participants and challenges facing Web3 today. Just localised through the lens of one of the more progressive jurisdiction in the world right now.

You’ll find an impressive analysis (punctuated with some ads / paid content - sorry) on the following:

Layer 1 and 2 protocols
DAOs
Government incentives and free zones
Tokenisation platforms
Crypto exchanges
NFT platforms
The Metaverse
DeFi
Web3 gaming
Legal & compliance
Venture capital 
Incubators and venture builders.

Google and IBM ramp up generative AI plans

Google is training its generative AI system, Med-Palm 2, on imaging data such as X-rays and mammograms to help it communicate with doctors about data routinely used in patient care. The move highlights the broader push to get these models accustomed to working with the many kinds of data — from genetic sequences to billing codes — clinicians must use in real-life care. Greg Corrado, a senior research scientist at Google, spoke about the opportunities arising from the rapid advances in AI — and the risks of moving too fast.

Speaking of moving fast, IBM, which flopped badly in the AI race that surrounded deep learning, unveiled a new platform called WatsonX to help companies in multiple industries incorporate generative AI into their businesses. The company’s CEO, Arvind Krishna, said the lower costs of implementing large language models will quickly attract a wide variety of new users. Whether that will be for better or worse is anyone’s guess. 

Systemic racism on Mars is a huge issue.

A major leap forward in human genetics!

A consortium of 119 scientists – including engineers from Google Research and The National Institutes of Health – has announced a new human pangenome sequence that better represents humanity’s genetic diversity.

This new pangenome combines assembled genomes from 47 people from diverse ancestries around the and will help scientists and doctors to more accurately diagnose and treat diseases.

A University of Florida study revealed ChatGPT achieved a staggering 500% return in one investing model

This outpaces conventional sentiment analysis models used by hedge funds

This will be revolutionary in the finance and investment industry

Generative AI’s potential could spark a new arms race in the finance industry, potentially disrupting hedge fund strategies and empowering retail traders.

Draft AI Act by EU

Key changes:

1. Foundation models – the Act introduces a broad definition and new rules for foundation models. These rules will take into account the "generally acknowledged state of the art" in standards, benchmarks, and best practices.

2. Open-source – in a nod to the OSS research community, the Act will exempt some open-source activity from the rules... but not foundation models. May have big implications for grassroots or collaborative development.

3. High-risk systems – the Act expands the obligations for high-risk systems, and clarifies the scope of "high-risk". May touch everything from plagiarism detection to the gig economy.

EU crypto tax plans include NFTs, foreign companies, draft text shows — link

Meta unveils generative AI for advertisers

Meta introduced the AI Sandbox, a playground for advertisers to try new generative AI-powered ad tools.

The suit of the tools include:
-Alternative text copy variations
-Generating various backgrounds
-Image cropping for Facebook and Instagram ads

Currently, Meta is working with a select group of advertisers but plans to broaden access to more advertisers come July.

Google announced Geospatial Creator powered by ARCore and Google Maps, allowing to visualize, design, and publish world-anchored content by using Unity

The negative narrative about the metaverse and blended realities could be very tempting to monetize clickbait articles, however the fact is that the development of digital augmented and virtual layers is growing and emerging as part of our daily life, becoming easier to design, deploy and access.

A new report, commissioned by Meta examines the economic opportunity of the metaverse that could be achieved in the US, Canada, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Turkey and Asia, also estimating the economic potential of the metaverse for the European Union and the United Kingdom.

The metaverse is transforming the way we interact with virtual environments and opening up a plethora of business opportunities across various industries

Check out these 5 promising sectors ready to thrive in the Metaverse:

1. Virtual Real Estate: Secure your digital presence by buying, selling, or leasing virtual land and properties.

2. Retail: Expand your product offerings with virtual goods and services, catering to the fashion-savvy, home decorators, and more

3. Advertising: Connect with your target audience in innovative ways through immersive ads, virtual events, and interactive experiences.

4. Entertainment: Revolutionize live performances, film festivals, and gaming events by offering unique, engaging experiences in the Metaverse.
5. Gig Economy: Create new job opportunities like virtual tour guides, event planners, and content creators for a more flexible and global workforce.

Amazon’s secret AI robot codenamed ‘Burnham’

A leaked internal document by Insider reports that Amazon is working on a secret AI project named Burnham, aimed at enhancing the intelligence of Amazon’s Astro robot with AI.

The new tech can add a ‘conversational interface’ and a deeper understanding of household contexts, allowing Astro to accurately remember and respond to situations.

This might include alerting homeowners about a stove left on, calling 911 in emergencies, or finding lost keys.

You don't need 1,000 AI tools. You need the ones that actually work.

Here are the first 20 tools.

This graphic on Chinese startups that claim to be working towards very large models and/or explicitly pursuing AGI.

Right now there's a big rush into this space in China, and many will likely fail/disappear in the year to come. Still very worth watching.

This article is written by an ER doctor, Joshua Tamayo-Sarver, MD, PhD, FACEP, FAMIA, who explains how he uses ChatGPT, to explain complex medical situations to patients and their families in a simple, compassionate, and understandable way, rather than as a diagnostic tool.

The author recounts an incident where he used ChatGPT to help explain to a family why their mother, who had pulmonary edema, could not receive IV fluids despite appearing dehydrated. The AI model provided a clear and compassionate explanation, which ultimately helped the family understand the situation and allowed the medical team to focus on treating the patient.

Tamayo-Sarver suggests that ChatGPT can act like a highly intelligent, though occasionally fallible, intern. It can take down patient histories, create written communication for patients and staff, and simplify complex medical information.

He emphasizes that the output must be carefully checked, but argues that reviewing the work is usually faster than starting from scratch.

He hopes that the Healthcare industry will focus on such immediately useful applications of AI, rather than on more distant possibilities, such as completely transforming Medicine.

He notes that there are challenges to integrating AI in healthcare, including issues of patient privacy and workflow, but argues these are not insurmountable.

He also points out that using AI to explain complex medical situations in simple terms could save significant time and help avoid "doctor speak," which often confuses patients.

Tamayo-Sarver argues that AI has actually allowed him and his staff to devote more time to the human aspect of healthcare.

EU council adopts legal framework for crypto sector

MiCA requires crypto firms such as wallet providers and exchanges to seek a license to operate across the bloc, and stablecoin issuers to hold suitable reserves.

Its main features were politically agreed in June, but it’s been subject to administrative hold-ups. Major provisions take effect just over a year after it’s published in the bloc’s official journal, which is now likely in June or July.

The finance ministers are also set to formalize their consent to new measures that will allow tax authorities to share data on people's crypto holdings on Tuesday.