Author name: Paul Patrick

label-ai-generated-content-‘immediately,’-eu-urges-big-tech

Label AI-generated content ‘immediately,’ EU urges big tech

Label AI-generated content ‘immediately,’ EU urges big tech

Thomas Macaulay

Story by

Thomas Macaulay

Senior reporter

Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy. Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy.

The EU is pushing big tech to apply a new method for tackling AI disinformation: labels.

The bloc wants online platforms to mark any AI-generated photos, videos, and text, a top official announced on Monday.

“The labelling should be done now — immediately,” said European Commission Vice President Vera Jourová, per DW.

The request was made amid explosive growth in synthetic media. ChatGPT has been named the fastest-growing consumer application in history, while the rise of image generators has sparked claims that “art is dead.” Jourová warned that “malicious actors” can use these services to spread fake news.

The EU’s impending AI Act aims to allay the risks, but compliance with the regulation is unlikely to be mandatory before 2026. In the interim, the union has launched a voluntary code of practice on disinformation. Tech giants including Google, Meta, Microsoft, and TikTok have all signed up to the code. Jourova now wants all of them to stamp the synthetic content on their platforms. 

“Signatories who have services with a potential to disseminate AI-generated disinformation should in turn put in place technology to recognise such content and clearly label this to users,” she said.

Her demands, however, could prove ambitious. As the disinformation code is merely voluntary, the signatories have no obligation to comply — and those that try will face major obstacles.

To detect and mark all synthetic media in real-time, platforms will have to overcome immense technical challenges. Furthermore, their labels could be erroneous, edited, attacked, manipulated, or forged.

Jourová, however, said Google has already expressed confidence that it can fulfil her request. She told reporters that she recently asked Sundar Pichai, the Big G’s CEO, whether his company could identify and label AI-generated content.

“His answer was: ‘Yes, but we are developing technologies further’,” she said.

Yet not every tech giant has been so amenable. The most notable rebel is Twitter, which recently opted out of the EU’s anti-disinformation code. Ominously, Jourová said the social media giant had “chosen the hard way.”

“They chose confrontation,” she warned.

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Dutch students use iron balls for safe hydrogen storage and transport

Dutch students use iron balls for safe hydrogen storage and transport

Ioanna Lykiardopoulou

Story by

Ioanna Lykiardopoulou

Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.

Green hydrogen will almost certainly play a key role in the energy transition, but it does come with a number of inherent challenges. It’s highly flammable and must be stored at high pressures or cryogenic temperatures, which makes hydrogen storage and transport complex and expensive.

A student team at Eindhoven University of Technology, called SOLID, is trying to solve this problem by using small iron balls (iron pellets) as hydrogen energy carriers.

To achieve this, the team has developed a steam-iron process. When iron is exposed to a flow of hot steam under high pressure it reacts with the water molecules, producing hydrogen and iron oxide — also known as rust. Hydrogen can then be extracted to be used as an energy source, while the remaining rust can be regenerated back to iron with the addition of hydrogen. That way, iron works as a circular carrier of hydrogen.

According to the students, the fact that iron is stored and transported in the place of hydrogen brings numerous benefits.

First off, iron has higher energy density and can store approximately three times more energy per volume compared to pressurised hydrogen. In addition, iron pellets can be stored and transported in a safer and more compact way, minising logistical challenges.

“Iron is also one of the most abundant elements on earth, which means that our technology can offer a cheaper alternative for the large-scale storage and distribution of hydrogen in the future,” said Timme Ter Horst, Business Manager at SOLID.

In collaboration with its partners, the student team has built a test installation, the Steam Iron Reactor One (SIR One), to explore and showcase the potential of the technology.

In the next period, the students will use the reactor to improve the efficiency of the process and extend the pellets’ lifespan. They’re also planning to scale up the current system to SIR Two, which will have a fifteen times larger capacity than SIR One at 500kWh.

The aim is to realise a demo in the port of Rotterdam in 2027 and demonstrate the technology on an industrial scale for relevant end-users.

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Meta Shows First Glimpse of Quest 3 Mixed Reality Gameplay and Improvements Over Quest Pro

With Quest 3 now officially announced, Meta is emphasizing the device’s improved MR capabilities.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Instagram to share a first look at mixed reality gameplay on Quest 3 which was announced yesterday.

The video shows the headset’s full color passthrough MR mode, which allows it to present a view of the outside world while selectively adding virtual content to the scene.

We also see some shots of virtual objects attached to the wall, like a glass window into an undersea world, or a zombie jumping through a window into the room to attack the player. While Quest 2 and Quest Pro have done the same in the past, Quest 3’s new depth sensor should make attaching virtual objects to walls, floors, and ceilings more convincing thanks to a more precise map of the world around the headset.

We also see Meta CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth jump into the action, showcasing a co-presence experience where both Zuckerberg and Bosworth battle each other virtually but in the same physical space.

Beyond Quest Pro

It’s difficult to tell from the footage how Quest 3’s passthrough resolution compares to Quest Pro. However, it’s notable that the footage doesn’t show any of the obvious color fringing that was an artifact of Quest Pro’s passthrough architecture, which used multiple black-and-white cameras that were fused with the color from a single RGB camera. That ought to be solved now that Quest 3 will include two RGB cameras which will allow stereoscopic capture of color information, rather than monoscopic like with Quest Pro.

Another common artifact of Quest Pro (and Quest 2) passthrough is the warping of objects (especially hands) that are close to the headset. This is caused by a breakdown of the computer-vision depth estimation which struggles with near-field objects, especially when they’re moving.

It’s difficult to tell from the footage we have so far, but there’s a good chance that Quest 3 significantly reduces these passthrough warping artifacts thanks to its included depth sensor. Whereas Quest 2 and Quest Pro estimate the distance to objects and surfaces around the headset with computer vision, Quest 3’s depth sensor will provide much more reliable distance measurements which the system can use to judge how far it should render each part of the scene.

It will be interesting to see if the prior issue with color fringing on Quest Pro manifests in the same way with depth. With a single depth sensor, the headset only has a monoscopic depth view, whereas it will have a stereoscopic visual of the real world. Ostensibly the stereoscopic view of the world will be projected onto the depth map, and ‘depth fringing’ may occur around near field objects for the same reason that we saw color fringing on Quest Pro.

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‘ghostbusters-vr’-co-op-game-coming-to-quest-2-&-psvr-2-this-fall,-gameplay-trailer-here

‘Ghostbusters VR’ Co-op Game Coming to Quest 2 & PSVR 2 This Fall, Gameplay Trailer Here

During Meta’s Quest Gaming Showcase today developer nDreams and publisher Sony Pictures Virtual Reality announced that the long-awaited ghostbusting VR game, Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, is set to launch this fall.

nDreams, also known for Fracked (2021)Phantom: Covert Ops (2020), and upcoming PSVR 2 exclusive Synapse, also released a new trailer featuring a few snippets of gameplay, showing off some of the game’s four-player co-op in action.

In it, we see some a bunch of the franchise’s iconic stuff, such as proton packs, ghost traps, P.K.E. meters, and even the Ecto-1.

If you’re just hearing about Ghostbusters’ first at-home VR title, here’s how the studio describes it:

Strap on your proton pack and step into the world of Ghostbusters in immersive virtual reality. Run your Ghostbusters HQ in a new city, San Francisco, and unravel a rich mystery in a new chapter for the Ghostbusters universe. Wield iconic equipment as you track, blast, and trap ghosts in gripping encounters across an extensive and engrossing campaign. Go it alone, or as a team with up to three friends in co-op to defeat a ghastly new threat – the Ghost Lord. Continue the Ghostbusters’ legacy, protect the city from fiendish ghosts, and experience all the humor and frights from the beloved franchise.

Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord is set to launch on Quest 2 and PSVR 2 at some point this fall. Notably, the game’s trailer was captured on PC, so it’s possible we may also see a release on SteamVR as well, although nDreams hasn’t confirmed as much.

In the meantime, you can wishlist the game on PSVR 2 here and Quest 2 here.

‘Ghostbusters VR’ Co-op Game Coming to Quest 2 & PSVR 2 This Fall, Gameplay Trailer Here Read More »

apple’s-rumoured-mixed-reality-headset-may-be-the-miracle-the-european-xr-industry-needs

Apple’s rumoured mixed reality headset may be the miracle the European XR industry needs

Apple’s rumoured mixed reality headset may be the miracle the European XR industry needs

Callum Booth

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Callum Booth

Managing Editor

Callum is the Managing Editor of TNW. He covers the full spectrum of technology, looks after editorial newsletters, and makes the occasional Callum is the Managing Editor of TNW. He covers the full spectrum of technology, looks after editorial newsletters, and makes the occasional odd video.

Apple is a sector definer. While the company rarely creates entirely new products, its hardware ends up being the baseline other devices are measured by. You only need to look at how the iPod, iPhone, and iPad defined what people expect from MP3 players, phones, and tablets.

Now, Apple is hoping it can repeat this trick with an entirely new product: its rumoured VR/AR headset, expected to be announced on June 5th.

This is a huge moment for not only the company, but the European extended reality (XR) sector as a whole. While Apple has had some successes with products like the Apple Watch, it’s not released anything in recent years that has grabbed the world by the scruff of its neck in the way, say, the iPod did.

With its VR/AR headset, the Cupertino giant is on the brink of jumping into an entirely new industry, one that could either reinforce or destroy its reputation as a sector definer.

And for European XR companies? Apple’s hardware has the potential to do miraculous things. To find out exactly what and how, we spoke with several European companies — but before we get there, let’s spend some time analysing what’s actually happening with XR on the continent.

The state of extended reality in Europe

There are two sides you need to consider when looking at mixed reality in Europe: the consumer and the professional.

Let’s begin with the former. Various studies have found the European public are largely nonplussed about virtual reality and the metaverse — two of the current biggest elements of XR. This is something I’m certain many of us have experienced colloquially. It feels as though most people are generally unexcited by extended reality; hell, even those I know with headsets seem to stop using them quickly.

Where the consumer side of XR seems jaded, things are very different on the professional front. These sectors drive the majority of growth in the extended reality market, with the healthcare, industrial, and education sectors embracing the technology wholeheartedly and rapidly.

To put it another way, professional sectors have found uses for XR in Europe — while consumers are still waiting for a reason to adopt the technology. Despite this separation between the two markets, analysts are united in believing the continent’s XR market is about to get bigger. Much bigger.

According to Statista, the AR and VR market in Europe was worth $2.8 billion (€2.61 billion) in 2021. By 2025, this is expected to hit $20.9 billion (€19.4 billion), a 7.5x increase over four years.

This places consumer-focused European companies in the sector in a precarious situation. There’s potential to make a lot of money, but no guarantee that the public will actually embrace the technology.

An Apple-sized gamble

“The magnitude of the opportunity is enormous, but there’s a real risk that the technology could just not take off,” Leo Gebbie — Principal Analyst of Connected Devices at CCS Insight — tells TNW. “We’ve seen Meta pour billions of dollars into VR and the metaverse in recent years, but the technology has failed to inspire the masses.”

When I asked Gebbie why this is the case, he pointed to one major cause: “a lack of killer apps.”

The B2B XR market is growing because those tools have a clear use case, thinking training for surgeons or drivers. The thing is, that’s not the market Apple is after. It wants to put headsets into the homes of the public at large and, with no clear use cases for the public, Apple is taking a gargantuan risk.

The question, then, is what impact this dice roll will have on European companies already working in the sector?

More eyes means more money

There was one common response across all the companies TNW spoke with for this article: the release of Apple’s AR/VR headset will bring a lot of attention to the industry — and that will have financial implications for everyone.

“We expect it to have a substantial impact on the XR space,” Jerome Botbol — the Group Head of Immersive at Happy Finish, a creative production agency — says to TNW. When you consider Apple’s track record, especially when it comes to products that “command market share and drive adoption,” the headset could be “a major milestone for the industry.”

This is coming from a consumer perspective — precisely the market Apple’s headset will be targeting — as, generally, Happy Finish creates immersive experiences for the public on behalf of B2C clients

But will it have the same impact on the B2B sector? Or will things be different?

I put this question to Jakob Way, the CEO of Gleechi, a Stockholm-based development company making VR training software. So far, Gleechi has raised over $33 million (€30.78 million) in funding.

“The launch of Apple’s VR/AR headset holds tremendous potential for our industry,” Way says. “Apple has a history of disrupting markets, and their entry into the VR/AR space could have a transformative effect.”

Way continues, telling me that an Apple headset “could have a significant impact on the adoption and mainstream acceptance of [XR] technologies.”

Apple creating a consumer-focused VR/AR headset will pay dividends for the professional market too. In fact, it will be beneficial for the European industry as a whole, as it increases the knowledge and understanding of the technology across a wide spread of people.

Gebbie from CCS Insight confirms this though: “The VR industry would welcome an Apple entry into the market as it would immediately drive interest and investment from all quarters.”

In other words, Apple entering the XR market will deliver a lot more attention, which will turn on the money taps for European companies and startups in the sector, no matter whether they’re consumer or B2B focused.

An antidote for developer woes

While attracting more eyes to XR in general will be a boon for the European industry, another interesting advantage of Apple’s headset will be the reaction it’s likely to inspire from developers.

As Gebbie previously mentioned, one of the big issues impacting the progression of the consumer XR space in Europe is “a lack of killer apps.” One way this could be remedied is bringing more developers into the fold.

Max Kraynov — Group CEO of FunCorp, an app development company — tells TNW that Apple entering the market could alter the talent balance in the industry. “Another major player providing a platform to develop on” makes it “highly likely” that the industry will see “a spike in VR software development, and talent procuring/nurturing.”

This is something that Gebbie from CCS Insight also believes, saying that “developers who may have stayed away from VR so far due to the small size of the market are likely to show willingness to work with Apple given the potential for a headset from the company to sell in volume.”

The swell in interest that Apple entering the market will cause may motivate European developers who previously didn’t see the point in developing XR applications, or thought the sector was merely a flash-in-the-pan. But when the Cupertino giant gets involved, that’s a signal to professionals everywhere that there may be a shift afoot. 

User experience: A helpful baseline

Apple “has a habit of redefining expectations around a technology and turning new ideas into smash hit products,” Gebbie tells TNW.

As previously discussed, one of the things Apple is most famous for is taking pre-existing devices and giving people a reason to use them. Generally, it has achieved this by creative thinking, attention to user experience, and delightful form factors — a trio of points that the XR industry has historically struggled with.

“The problem we’ve had so far is that people put on a headset, and may have only experienced content that was created by enthusiasts, not professionals,” Matt Littler, CEO and founder, ARK Immersive, a VR production house, says. “There [is] no governance, cinematic language, or real stringent base to build an experience from, which leaves people not wanting to do it again.”

Apple excels at these factors. The company “creates compelling use cases that provide purposeful experiences,” Littler says. “Immersive optimisation is about to begin.”

These factors — and particularly the focus on user-centric design — are key in encouraging consumers to overcome their distrust of extended reality. 

Consider the advent of smartphones. At the beginning of the sector’s journey, there were a myriad of different designs and user experience languages. Yet, with the iPhone, Apple effectively defined the way handsets should operate — many of these elements being adopted by other manufacturers along the way. 

The hope for European XR developers and creators, then, is that Apple’s headset provides a baseline user experience and design language. This may then not only draw the public towards XR as a whole — as the benefits of using it will be clearer — but also provide structure for those making software and content in the space on the continent, something that will benefit B2B applications too.

Will it be all rainbows and stardust?

While we’ve seen that developers and creators of XR content in Europe are likely to benefit from Apple’s headset, one element we haven’t discussed are the businesses making competing hardware.

On first inspection, one would assume Apple’s entry would be negative, with the company usurping those companies’ user bases and gobbling up market share. But is this the case? We put this to Varjo, a Finnish company making advanced VR headsets. To date, it has received over $165.8 million (€154.58 million) in funding over ten rounds.

“Varjo is the only company currently offering high-fidelity video passthrough technology, similar to what Apple is rumoured to be using,” Timo Toikkanen, Varjo’s CEO says. This, he tells TNW, is a validation of his work — and a technology that will be “​​the winning approach [to XR headsets] for a very long time.”

Where Toikkanen is particularly positive though is in how Varjo’s target audience differs from that of Apple’s.

“Instead of trying to go after consumer applications that are untested and unproven, we’ve built a whole market around advanced professional use cases,” he says. “Today, already 25% of Fortune 100 companies are using our products.”

Once again, the separation between consumer and professional XR rears its head.

If B2B-centric XR companies like Varjo are unworried about any negative impact Apple’s headset might have on their own hardware, what about other companies making consumer-focused VR/AR devices?

“Apple would pose a direct threat to headset makers already in the market, such as Meta and Pico,” Gebbie from CCS Insight says. This could somewhat explain why the former company unveiled its Meta Quest 3 headset merely days before the rumoured announcement of Apple’s device. It’s trying to both remain relevant in the XR hardware discussion and ride the wave of publicity Apple is generating.

Despite this, Gebbie believes that the launch of Apple’s headset could actually benefit businesses like Meta, saying that “this negative [threat] would likely be offset by a swell in interest in VR overall, which would likely help all companies to sell more devices.” 

Final thoughts: One headset to rule them all

Whatever happens with the launch of Apple’s headset, it’ll be good for European XR companies —in the short term, at least.

The interest and investment that Apple’s legacy and reputation brings will drag the extended reality market into a previously unseen amount of light. Whether that’s getting more consumer eyes on the market, encouraging developers to get involved, or providing a baseline for XR design language, Apple’s entry will have a positive knock-on effect for any European company in the industry. 

At first. Because if Apple’s headset falls flat, the initial spike in attention will swiftly drop, and this failure will likely be seen as a sign that the whole consumer side of the XR industry is untenable. If Apple can’t make a VR/AR headset an attractive proposition for the public, who can?

Of course, there will remain a thriving B2B market for the technology, but this will hardly be unscathed by the potential failure of Apple’s headset. The more money and interest that flows into a product category, the better and more efficient it will become. The reason laptops and phones are so advanced isn’t because they’re good for business, it’s because everyone wants them — and the same goes for XR headsets.

Apple is on a precipice, one that will shape the fate of the whole European XR industry. But, as Littler from ARK Immersive puts it, “If anyone can simplify the process, improve UX and ultimately get your grandma in a VR headset, it’s Apple.”

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AI trained on ape DNA predicts genetic disease risks for humans

AI trained on ape DNA predicts genetic disease risks for humans

Ioanna Lykiardopoulou

Story by

Ioanna Lykiardopoulou

Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.

A group of international researchers has shed further light on genetic variants responsible for human diseases by analysing primate DNA data with a novel AI algorithm.

Initially, the scientists sequenced over 800 individual samples from 233 species of non-human primates representing all 16 families, from lemurs to gorillas. To interpret the data, they developed a new algorithm: PrimateAI-3D.

PrimateAI-3D is built on deep-learning language architectures similar to those used in ChatGPT, but designed to model genomic rather than linguistic sequences. The team used natural selection to train its parameters, by presenting it with mutations that are ruled out for disease in our primate relatives. This way, the algorithm learned to recognise benign genetic variants and, by process of elimination, mutations that are likely to cause disease.

Then the scientists applied PrimateAI-3D to identify potentially harmful mutations in humans, using health records and gene variant data of over 400 people who have donated samples to the UK Biobank project. They found that the algorithm showed “impressive improvements” in predicting humans’ increased genetic risk for common diseases.

The method’s claimed ability to identify pathogenic mutations more accurately than existing techniques is also correlated with the fact that it can overcome genetic bias stemming from white European ancestry.

“Even though there are 8 billion of us, our genetic diversity still looks like the original population of 10,000 common ancestors we’re all descended from,” said Kyle Farh, co-author of the study and VP of Artificial Intelligence at collaborating company Illumina.

“There just isn’t enough information to glean from the human species. It became clear several years ago that, to really understand the human genome, the data contained in human genome sequencing was not enough,” he added.

Combining human and non-human primate data is key to that, especially as living primates share more than 90% of our DNA with one another. Research from Illumina has shown that a genetic variant is tolerated by natural selection in another primate, it’s 99% unlikely to cause disease in humans.

The study’s findings can be used to support health research, such as helping scientists prioritise variants that are most likely to pose a risk to humans. They can also help conserve the populations of the other primates.

“I think we’re only at the beginning,” Farh noted. “There’s a tremendous amount that can be learned here. And the idea that you can learn more about our own species from other species is, I think, deeply romantic.”

The full study is published in the journal Science.

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‘Attack on Titan VR’ Coming to Quest This Winter, New Trailer Here

Attack on Titan VR:  Unbreakable was first announced by Japan-based studio UNIVRS late last year, promising to bring the anime’s high-flying action to VR for the first time. It’s coming a little later than advertised, as the game was originally slated to arrive on Quest in Summer 2023; at today’s Quest Gaming Showcase the studio says it’s now targeting a Winter 2023 release.

As recompense, the studio showed off a pretty slick trailer which includes pre-rendered animations, but no actual gameplay.

Still, much of the rope-swinging action seen in the video, courtesy of the franchise’s iconic omni-directional mobility gear, is undoubtedly doable from a VR locomotion standpoint considering we’ve seen the same movement scheme across a number of VR games, such as Windlands, Yupitergrad, and Jet Island to name a few. It’s possible much of the action seen here could translate directly to gameplay, save a bunch of the smooth lighting effects.

UNIVRS says Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable is set to feature both single player and co-op modes, and will be available in both Japanese and English, dubbed and subbed.

Here’s how the studio describes the action:

In Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable, players are tasked with taking on unique missions as members of the Scout Regiment. They will need to combine entirely free three-dimensional movement through use of their Omni-directional Mobility (ODM) Gear with cross-range combat in order to defend themselves against killer titans. As players progress, the battle difficulty will increase, so only those with determination and skills critical to making it through to the final battle will survive.

Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable is coming to Quest 2 and Quest Pro. It’s uncertain whether it’s also targeting other headsets at this time, such as PSVR 2 or SteamVR headsets.

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openai-ceo-teases-european-hq-ahead-of-fresh-talks-with-eu

OpenAI CEO teases European HQ ahead of fresh talks with EU

Thomas Macaulay

Story by

Thomas Macaulay

Senior reporter

Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy. Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy.

Sam Altman’s turbulent relationship with European regulators has taken two more turns. The OpenAI CEO is reportedly set for further talks with the EU — and a new HQ on the continent.

Altman last sparked an uproar after criticising the EU’s AI Act. The 38-year-old threatened to withdraw OpenAI’s services over plans for the landmark legislation, which would force his company to comply with extra obligations. 

Following a fierce backlash from lawmakers, Altman made a swift U-turn. The ChatGPT maker was “excited to continue to operate here,” he tweeted, and had “no plans to leave.”

The charm offensive continued in an interview with Politico. “We really need an office in Europe,” Altman told the outlet. “We also just really want one.” 

Regardless of what he wants, the need is clear. Once the AI Act is passed, OpenAI will require a presence in the EU. But there are still chances to modify the regulation before it’s finalised.

With that in mind, a pair of new additions to Altman’s calendar could prove significant.

The first is scheduled for this Thursday, when he’s due to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels. The second is reportedly set for next month, when Altman and EU industry chief Thierry Breton will discuss compliance with the bloc’s impending rules.

Whatever the outcome, OpenAI’s explosive rise shows no signs of slowing down. New research from VezaDigital found that visits to openai.com grew by 54.21% in March to nearly 1bn monthly users — the greatest leap among the world’s top 50 websites. The site jumped 33 positions in the global rankings within just two months.

As for the company’s presence in Europe, Altman said he’d pick France if the choice was purely based on AI research talent. But he added that he’s “been super-impressed by the talent and energy everywhere.” Impressing the EU lawmakers will be the next test of his flattery.

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immersive-technology-for-the-american-workforce-act:-legislation-that-aims-to-provide-equitable-access-to-xr-tech

Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act: Legislation That Aims to Provide Equitable Access to XR Tech

The Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act of 2023 was drafted by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) with the support of organizations like the XR Association (XRA), Talespin, Unity, Association for Career and Technical Education, Transfr, and HTC VIVE, among others.

“Emerging technologies, such as XR, can help meet people where they are and expand access to cutting-edge technology and training resources,” remarked XRA CEO Elizabeth Hyman in a press release shared with ARPost. “Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester’s and Rep. Tim Walberg’s bill recognizes the importance of equitable access to skills training and workforce development programs and the key role immersive technology plays in delivering better outcomes.”

What Is the Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act of 2023?

One advantage of incorporating immersive technologies for workforce training is that these are cost-effective and safer. They can also provide expanded training to underserved communities, as well as to workers with disabilities.

The Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act aims to create a five-year program that provides support to various institutions, allowing them to utilize immersive technologies in their educational and training programs.

Furthermore, it aims to promote the development of inclusive technology while prioritizing underserved communities, such as rural areas and areas of substantial unemployment. It seeks to foster partnerships between private and public entities to address skills gaps, meet the needs of the workforce, and assist individuals who are facing barriers to employment.

“We’re excited to be able to work with Rep. Blunt Rochester, a member of Congress who cares deeply about ensuring underserved populations are able to tap into next-generation technology and skills training,” said XRA Senior Vice President of Public Policy Joan O’Hara.

There’s almost a quarter of Americans living in rural communities who are facing unique workforce challenges. Moreover, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, at the start of 2023, the country had 10.5 million unfilled jobs. The bill seeks to fill these gaps by enabling Americans from underserved communities and various backgrounds to have access to effective and high-quality training programs.

“XR technologies can dramatically change the way America’s workforce is recruited, trained, skilled, and upskilled. Scalable solutions are necessary to meet the diverse needs of today’s undiscovered talent to meet the needs of our complex workforce,” said Transfr CEO Bharanidharan Rajakumar.

How Will the Legislation Impact the Future of Work?

The Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act follows the footsteps of “recent legislative successes”, such as the Access to Digital Therapeutics Act of 2023, which effectively extends “coverage for prescription digital therapeutics”. It aims to provide support, in the form of grants, to community colleges and career and technical education centers.

The grants will allow them to leverage XR technology for purposes such as workforce development and skills training. Furthermore, Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act will enable such organizations and facilities to utilize XR technology to enhance their training, which, in turn, can help address the speed with which American companies meet workforce needs.

Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act: Legislation That Aims to Provide Equitable Access to XR Tech Read More »

bmw’s-new-electric-5-series-lets-you-play-games-while-charging-the-car

BMW’s new electric 5 Series lets you play games while charging the car

BMW’s new electric 5 Series lets you play games while charging the car

Siôn Geschwindt

Story by

Siôn Geschwindt

BMW has partnered with Swiss gaming platform AirConsole to bring in-car gaming to its new all-electric 5 Series.  

Drivers and passengers can play the games to kill time while the vehicle is charging, for example. Sadly, but probably for the best, you can’t play while the car is moving. 

In addition to the new BMW 5 Series, which debuted this week, the AirConsole app will be rolled out in other BMW vehicles. The service has been available on TVs for some time, but this is the first time it has been available in a car.  

To use the gaming app, players need their smartphone, which acts as a controller, and the BMW Curved Display, which acts as a TV. After booting up the AirConsole app in the car, users simply scan a QR code to link their phones to the screen and then get gaming.  

Around 15 titles are initially available including Go Kart Go, Golazo, Music Guess, and Overcooked, with the list expected to be continually expanded. While not exactly catering to the hardcore gamer, the console should provide enough entertainment for families or anyone partial to smartphone games.   

To celebrate the launch of in-car gaming, BMW is presenting the electric i5 version of the 5 Series with a gaming wrap, featuring large pixels as a homage to the iconic 8-bit era of computer games.

BMW-5-series-gaming
Credit: BMW

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‘digital-bridge’-between-brain-and-spine-enables-paralysed-man-to-walk-again

‘Digital bridge’ between brain and spine enables paralysed man to walk again

‘Digital bridge’ between brain and spine enables paralysed man to walk again

Ioanna Lykiardopoulou

Story by

Ioanna Lykiardopoulou

Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.

Over a decade ago, a cycling accident left Gert-Jan Oskam paralysed after causing him a spinal cord injury. Now, he’s able to stand and walk again thanks to an innovative brain-spine interface (BSI) developed by a team of Swiss neuroscientists.

To walk, the brain must send a command to the region of the spinal cord that’s responsible for movement control. But a spinal cord injury interrupts this communication.

“Our idea was to reestablish this communication with a “digital bridge”, an electric communication between the brain and the region of the spinal cord that is still intact,” said Professor Grégoire Courtine, one of the project’s lead neuroscientists.

To do that, the team created a wireless interface between the brain and the spine using brain-computer interface (BCI) technology that transforms thought into action. As a result, Oksam can now stand, walk, and climb stairs naturally just by thinking about it.

brain-spine digital bridge for paralysis
Oskam walking with the digital bridge at Lausane University Hospital. Credit: EPFL/ Jimmy Ravier

To establish this digital bridge, two electronic implants in the brain detect neural activity when Oskam wants to move his legs. These signals are then transmitted to a processing unit, which he wears as a backpack. A specially-developed algorithm decodes them and sends them as instructions to another electronic implant, inserted in the spinal cord regions that controls leg movement. This implant works as a neurostimulator which, in turn, activates muscles to move.

Oskam had to undertake two surgeries and around 40 rehabilitation sessions to regain voluntary movement of his legs. “The most surprising thing, I think, happened after two days,” he said during an interview. “Within five to 10 minutes, I could control my hips.”

brain-spine interface for paralysis
Oskam walking with scientist. Credit: CHUV/ Gilles Weber

What is particularly noteworthy is that Oskam can also walk short distances without the device if he uses crutches. The researchers believe that the device has not only improved his sensory and motor perceptions, but also helped develop new nerve connections.

Oksam is the only individual to have tested the technology, but the research team is currently recruiting three people to examine whether a similar device could restore arm movement. The neuroscientists believe that the BSI could also deliver promising results for stroke-caused paralysis.

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) along with project affiliated companies ONWARD medical and CEA have received funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) to develop a commercial version of the digital bridge and make the technology available worldwide.

You can find the BSI study here.

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microsoft’s-appeal-over-uk’s-activision-veto-is-‘chance-to-find-a-third-way,’-say-legal-experts

Microsoft’s appeal over UK’s Activision veto is ‘chance to find a third way,’ say legal experts

Microsoft’s appeal over UK’s Activision veto is ‘chance to find a third way,’ say legal experts

Thomas Macaulay

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Thomas Macaulay

Senior reporter

Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy. Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy.

Microsoft’s appeal against a veto of its Activision Blizzard takeover offers a chance to “find a third way” in the feud, say legal experts.

The Xbox maker on Wednesday formally appealed a UK regulator’s decision to block the $69bn (€64bn) deal. The shock intervention was a potentially fatal blow to the bid for Activision, which owns the Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and Warcraft franchises.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had concluded that the purchase would give Microsoft an unfair edge in the nascent cloud gaming market.

The decision made the CMA an international outlier among antitrust regulators — and anathema to Microsoft. The tech giant’s president, Brad Smith said the move was “bad for Britain” and Microsoft’s “darkest day” in its four decades of working in the country. He promised to appeal the ruling.

That promise has now been fulfilled. A Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed that a formal appeal was lodged on Wednesday — the deadline for filing one.

Gareth Mills, a partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, said Microsoft’s rhetoric shows the company is taking “an extremely robust approach” to the appeal. He added that the company is willing to use its “considerable resources to test the CMA’s resolve.”

That resolve is already under significant strain. In addition to enduring heavy pressure from Microsoft, Activision, and countless gamers who support the deal, the CMA has become increasingly isolated.

In the last fortnight, both China and the EU have approved the deal. According to Microsoft, the takeover has now been cleared by 37 countries, which collectively represent more than two billion people.”

In the appeal against the CMA veto, the EU’s decision could be particularly influential.

“The EU’s approval of the Activision acquisition (albeit with conditions attached) may give both parties an opportunity to find a third way,” says Mills, “although such would represent a considerable change in tone and attitude from those currently being expressed.”

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