Author name: Mike M.

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‘Richie’s Plank’ Devs Are Creating a Spiritual Successor to ‘Astro Bot’ & ‘Lucky’s Tale’

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Toast Interactive, the developer behind Richie’s Plank Experience (2017), revealed working on a new VR platformer that seems to be taking more than a few cues from Sony’s beloved Astro Bot Rescue Mission (2018) and Playful’s Lucky’s Tale (2016).

Called Max Mustard, the VR platformer has been under development for three years now, with the team calling it a “modern VR platformer with moments of nostalgia, meaningful upgrades, first person interactions and game play that keeps you wanting more.”

Here’s how Toast Interactive describes the game’s setup: “You and the famous inventor, Max Mustard embark on an adventure to reunite adorable mudpups with their parents. Along the way, you are faced with a surprise dilemma when a friend reveals a secret about who they are.”

Image courtesy Toast Interactive

Max Mustard is set to include 40+ levels, four bosses, eight upgrades, and 4+ hours of gameplay. Beyond that, judging by the trailer it looks like some mechanics were inspired by Astro Bot Rescue Mission. In the video, we see the player wield a suction cup dart gun, letting you solve minor puzzles to move Max forward.

We’d be surprised if the dart gun was the only tool, as those eight promised upgrades may include more elaborate puzzle-solving gear for the player to wield. Fans of pioneering VR platformer Lucky’s Tale will also probably note the resemblance thanks to its family friendly vibe and bright colors, which is admittedly a pretty standard look for games in the genre since probably before Spyro: Year of the Dragon (2000).

It’s still early days too. Max Mustard is “deep in the production phase,” the studio says, noting that it’s slated to release early next year. Toast Interactive hasn’t specified exactly which platforms it’s targeting beyond Quest, saying only that the reveal trailer represents the visual quality of Quest 2, noting further that the Quest 3 version will be “able to be pushed further” in terms of visual fidelity.

‘Richie’s Plank’ Devs Are Creating a Spiritual Successor to ‘Astro Bot’ & ‘Lucky’s Tale’ Read More »

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New ‘Hellsweeper VR’ Trailer Shows off Co-op Carnage, Cross-play Confirmed

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Publisher Vertigo Games and Mixed Realms, developer behind Sairento VR (2018), revealed a new trailer for their upcoming combat VR game Hellsweeper VR that shows off more of the game’s co-op action, which thankfully is confirmed to include cross-play on Quest, SteamVR, and PSVR 2.

Hellsweeper VR is a follow-up to Sairento VR, this time letting two players join forces to descend into hell and slay twisted souls. The studios say we can expect shared combos and opportunities to execute unique co-op strategies as you take on all the evil the universe has to offer.

The studios say the game’s co-op mode offers a “full roguelike experience with a blend of strategic gameplay and RNG (randomized elements). Each player receives unique blessings, boons, and weapons, ensuring every playthrough offers different challenges and opportunities.”

In rogue-like mode, players fight rounds with various objectives, ending with a final boss fight. You’ll nab loot, upgrade your character, weapons or Hellhound.

Hellsweeper VR is coming to Quest, PSVR 2, and SteamVR headsets on September 21st, 2023. You can pre-order now on Steam, and wishlist on PSVR 2 and Quest. This also includes full cross-play support, so you can play with anyone regardless of their chosen headset.

New ‘Hellsweeper VR’ Trailer Shows off Co-op Carnage, Cross-play Confirmed Read More »

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Quest 3 Unboxing Reportedly Leaked Ahead of Fall Release, Video Here

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Meta’s upcoming Quest 3 headset is slated for a Fall 2023 launch, possibly even at the company’s Connect developer conference coming September 27th. It seems Meta has suffered yet another unauthorized pre-launch unboxing of their hardware, echoing the Quest Pro leak from last year.

The video in question was posted to Reddit today, and subsequently captured and reposted in full by X (formerly Twitter) user ‘VR Panda. Alex From CHN’ before it was deleted by the original Reddit poster.

Quest 3 leaked early again #metaquest #Quest3 pic.twitter.com/KfjXx5Qxi7

— VR Panda. Alex From CHN (@ZGFTECH) August 23, 2023

In the video, we get a brief (if not anticlimactic) glimpse at what appears to be the Quest 3 headset and Touch controllers. There’s not much else to say here: it definitely looks like Quest 3, floppy headstrap and all.

Meta announced Quest 3 back in June, just days prior to the reveal of Apple Vision Pro. Meta’s upcoming mixed reality headset is launching this fall for the starting price of $500, bringing with it much of the color passthrough functionality of the pricier Quest Pro, which sells for double the price.

At the time, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the company’s next standalone headset “[t]he first mainstream headset with high-res color mixed reality,” also touting it for its slimmer and lighter profile.

The headset, which integrates pancake optics instead of the Quest 2’s Fresnel lenses, is said to be “40% thinner” than Quest 2 when measuring without the foam facial interface.

Unboxing leak notwithstanding, we’re sure to learn more about Meta’s launch strategy at Connect in late September, and what games the company will highlight to make best use of the headset’s mixed reality capabilities.

Quest 3 Unboxing Reportedly Leaked Ahead of Fall Release, Video Here Read More »

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Hands-on: ‘The 7th Guest’ Delivers Disney’s Haunted Mansion Vibes & Tons of Visual Flair

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When the original The 7th Guest launched on CD-ROM in 1993, it was apparently a pretty big deal. The amount of pre-rendered 3D graphics spliced with live action video clips made it a standout title among all PC games at the time, making it and Myst basically the hottest PC games ever. Now, Vertigo Games is rebooting the interactive horror puzzler in VR alongside a fresh injection of volumetric video which was undoubtedly a highlight in our hands-on.

The 7th Guest is coming in October to all major VR headsets, however we got a chance to go hands-on with a demo specifically for Quest 2 via a Steam build. Having never played the original ’90s game, I don’t have a basis of comparison, although what I did see was pretty indicative that Vertigo Games has done a ton to make this a visually appealing and modern game through and through.

Here’s the setup. Six guests have been welcomed to a foreboding mansion. There’s something sinister at play, as a wealthy recluse and toymaker, Henry Stauf, hides in the shadows. The ultimate question: Who is the 7th Guest? You’ll have to battle increasingly difficult puzzles and keep clear of whatever bumps in the night to solve the mystery.

Here’s the announcement trailer in case you missed it.

In the 25-minute demo, I got a sense of the scale and refinement of the game, although I still have some questions about puzzle difficulty. Don’t worry, I won’t talk about specific solutions here, just general impressions.

Starting outside, I find myself paddling on a canoe to a boathouse where I’m immediately confronted with my first tutorial-level puzzle. My newfound ‘Spirit Lantern’ doesn’t just let me shine light, but also acts as a magical tool to fix the broken planks blocking my way up to the main house. Later, I spawn the Spirit Lantern to materialize hidden objects or repair them, which comes part and parcel with a ‘Spirit Board’, which lets me see a map of the mansion, get hints and solutions, and check out my general progression. These two feel like the main tools I’ll be leaning on throughout the game.

Spirit Lantern revealing creepy scrawling on the wall | Image courtesy Vertigo Games

Sparing you some of the minor tutorial puzzles to actually get into the mansion (I made heavy use of the Spirit Lantern), I toss open the gate and walk up into the foyer, play a record on the Gramophone, and receive my first set of ghostly memories.

In general, volumetric video can be hit or miss depending on how it’s woven into a game. Here, it seems like Vertigo Games really hit a homerun, as each little character vignette feels like a visual extension of the haunted mansion, replete with ghostly mist and echo-y voice overs.

The acting is admittedly a little pulpy, but I’d consider the ghostly vignettes the right kind of cheesy considering the game’s ’90s indie lineage. It’s supposed to be fun, dare I say, Disney-esque, so it feels right on brand with something you might experience in a haunted mansion theme park ride. I don’t expect any real frights here either—I certainly didn’t have any outside of the atmospheric creepiness of the mansion itself, that is.

Image captured by Road to VR

Again, I’m not going into puzzle solutions, but the early puzzles I did encounter were interesting, although not particularly difficult. A trio of magic hats create portals to one another, allowing you to put your hand into one, and solve a closed puzzle from afar. Unlock a series of boxes, and you’re led to the next vignette of a magician who met an untimely fate.

Whatever the case, I hope the mechanics I’m learning in the early game will be compounded into more difficult stuff later. It’s still too early to tell if the puzzles are one-off things, which would be more like a smorgasbord approach (which is fine) than requiring the player to create specific skills and use them at opportune moments.

Image courtesy Vertigo Games

I came away mostly intrigued by The 7th Guest in my short time going hands-on with the demo, although there’s clearly one thing that I can say I don’t like about it out of the gate. Voiceovers during puzzles that are designed to be constantly ‘helpful’ typically overstay their welcome, and I was hoping whoever the hell was talking while figuring out puzzles would eventually stop. These can be turned off in the settings, although they are on by default. Hopefully in the full game this will be offered as a starting option so players don’t feel like they’re being unnecessarily held by the hand from the get-go.

As for comfort, the gamut of standard options is available: teleportation, free movement, and a mix of both, which is the default movement style. The game can be played standing or sitting, and with support for left or right dominant hands.

Whatever the case, Vertigo Games is one of those VR pioneers that has more experience both in and outside the genre than most, and it seems they’re hitting all of the quality bars you’d expect from a VR remake of such a beloved ’90s game. Maybe I’ll play the original while I wait to play the full game, which is slated to launch October 19th this year.

Hands-on: ‘The 7th Guest’ Delivers Disney’s Haunted Mansion Vibes & Tons of Visual Flair Read More »

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‘Half-Life 2: RTX’ Remaster Could Mean Big Upgrades for ‘Half-Life 2’ VR

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NVIDIA this week announced Half-Life 2: RTX, a community-made remaster of the legendary game featuring all-new assets, textures, and lighting. Pieces of the remaster are likely to make their way to the already existing Half-Life 2: VR Mod.

When it rains, it pours, as they say.

After years of delays, Half-Life and VR fans have been treated over the last 12 months to full VR mods of Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, and Half-Life 2: Episode Two.

And now it seems that fans are in for another treat; the Half-Life 2: VR Mod is likely to get a range of graphical upgrades thanks to the newly announced Half-Life 2: RTX remaster.

Though it already featured improved graphics and lighting over the original Half-Life 2, the Half-Life 2: VR Mod largely focused on touching up the game’s existing assets, and enhancing some key 3D models while building out full support for VR.

Half-Life 2: RTX, on the other hand, is a complete graphical overhaul says Nvidia.

The project is described as being in “early development,” with developers consisting of a range of experienced Half-Life 2 modding teams, including folks from the Half-Life 2: VR Mod team. The teams are working under the banner Orbifold Studios and say they’re seeking more talented people to work on the project.

According to Nvidia, the project will see “every asset reconstructed in high fidelity,” textures built with physically-based rendering techniques, and RTX ray-tracing support.

And while the project will likely mean that high quality 3D assets will make it over to the Half-Life 2: VR Mod, unfortunately RTX ray-tracing probably won’t.

A member of the Half-Life 2: VR Mod team called modding the full Half-Life 2: RTX game to support VR “just a pipe dream at the moment.”

“Currently RTX Remix [the platform used to build Half-Life 2: RTX] is not compatible with Half-Life 2: VR Mod, since they both hook into the rendering pipeline and abuse it in different and incompatible ways,” they said.

But, the member says there are plans to “work with other members of this new super-team [that’s working on Half-Life 2: RTX] on back-porting as much of the shiny new HD content as we can to the old source engine, and putting them into our Half-Life 2: VR Mod graphics update.”

There’s no timeline at the moment for when that might happen, but hey, these things, they take time.

‘Half-Life 2: RTX’ Remaster Could Mean Big Upgrades for ‘Half-Life 2’ VR Read More »

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Fast Travel Games Teases Mysterious VR Multiplayer, Full Reveal Coming in September

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Fast Travel Games teased a mysterious new multiplayer title today that the VR studio and publisher says we’re due to learn more about sometime next month.

The studio tweeted out a short teaser with a cryptic message, which reads: “The [redacted] have frozen time. I don’t know how it’s even possible. We need to work together to [redacted].”

Fast Travel, which is known for developing Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife, Apex Construct and The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets, has also become a prolific publisher of VR games, with titles under its wing including Broken Edge, Cities VR, Guardian’s Frontline, We Are One, and Virtuoso.

The short teaser says it’s coming from Fast Travel Games without mentioning any other studio though. Much like the studio’s upcoming single-player RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Justice, it could be the product of in-house development.

Promising a September reveal, the most logical date could be Meta Connect, which is starting September 27th. There, we’re sure to get an info dump of Quest 3 games, release dates, and everything under the sun about Meta’s next big consumer headset release.

In the meantime, we’ll have our eyes peeled on Fast Travel’s social channels for any clues as to what the mysterious multiplayer game may hold.

Fast Travel Games Teases Mysterious VR Multiplayer, Full Reveal Coming in September Read More »

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Meta Shows Off Quest Hand-tracking Improvements, Claims “almost as responsive as controllers”

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Apple is going all-in with hand-tracking for its upcoming Vision Pro, but can hand-tracking really replace proper VR controllers? Meta, Apple’s main competitor in the space, isn’t going so far as to make that particular claim, however the company says Quest’s recent hand-tracking improvements are now “almost as responsive as controllers” thanks to its recent v56 software update.

First announced in late July, the company’s Hands 2.2 tracking improvements are introducing what Meta says is better hand responsiveness and a few new experimental features that we’ll probably see in Quest 3.

Now rolling out to Quest headsets, Meta says users should notice hand-tracking latency reduced “up to 40%” in regular use, and “up to 75%” during fast movement. Meta says those dramatic gains in fast movement latency are thanks to the introduction of a new Fast Motion Mode (FMM) for more frenetic games, like fitness and rhythm games that require you to punch incoming objects.

Here’s a look at controllers relative to the new Hands 2.2 release:

v56 is also rolling out to Quest Pro, which includes two new experimental features: simultaneous hands and controllers (Multimodal) tracking, and controller-driven hand pose (Capsense Hands).

Multimodal tracking is said to unlock a number of mixed input style, including Hand+controller gameplay, instant transitions between hands and controllers, and improved social presence when using one controller. It’s only available on Quest Pro for experimentation, although Meta plans to add support for additional devices later.

On the other hand, Capsense Hands lets developers show a natural hand model visualization on top of, or instead of, a user’s controller. Check out both in action in the video below:

“Hand Tracking gives your app’s users the ability to engage with their VR or mixed reality environment in a way that is natural and intuitive,” Meta says in a developer blogpost. “These interactions deepen the immersive experience and help people feel more connected to what’s going on around them in-headset. Hands can also provide a faster on ramp for users new to VR. By integrating Hand Tracking in your existing apps, you can give your users more flexibility to tailor their experience and find what works best for them—and thanks to Hands 2.2, you can feel confident knowing your app’s users will enjoy a great experience regardless of whether they play with hands or controllers.”

Meta says we should hear more about its hand-tracking upgrades in the near future, as the company is hosting its annual Meta Connect developer conference on September 27th, which ought to include an info dump (and likely release date) for its upcoming Quest 3 headset, which is bringing much of the functionality of Quest Pro to the consumer price point of $500.

Meta Shows Off Quest Hand-tracking Improvements, Claims “almost as responsive as controllers” Read More »

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Sandbox VR Reeled in $23M Annual Revenue from Most Popular Location-based VR Experience

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Sandbox VR, the location-based VR destination, announced that its most popular experience has generated $23 million in ticket sales in the last 12 months.

Launched in the summer of 2022, Deadwood Valley is said to be the company’s most cinematic game, letting players defend against a horde of zombies as a squad.

It’s been so successful, Sandbox VR says the experience has now surpassed $23 million in ticket sales across 30 locations, and is projected to make $100 million in lifetime sales.

All of the company’s multiplayer VR experiences have been developed by in-house gaming studios, allowing teams of up to six players to tackle a host of missions in games such as Star Trek Discovery: Away Mission, Curse of Davy Jones, Deadwood Mansion, and Unbound Fighting League. An experience based on Squid Game is also set to launch sometime in late 2023.

In addition to recently opening its second in-house gaming studio in Vancouver, the company says it will also start letting third-party game developers to create titles for its location-based platform starting in 2024.

Billing itself as the world’s fastest growing location-based VR company, Sandbox VR is now operating in 43 locations spanning major cities in North America, Europe, and Asia, a dozen of which launched in the last 12 months.

Sandbox VR Reeled in $23M Annual Revenue from Most Popular Location-based VR Experience Read More »

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‘Ghosts of Tabor’ Hits $3M Revenue Ahead of Debut on Main Quest Store

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Passing Meta’s content review process for Quest games is an essential step to being listed on the Quest Store, although some studios choose to offer their games in beta via App Lab first, meaning they can take time to get things right before listing on the store proper. That’s what developer Combat Waffle Studios and publisher Beyond Frames Entertainment did with their hit multiplayer shooter Ghosts of Tabor, and it’s seemed to have paid off.

Released on App Lab back in March, Ghosts of Tabor is an extraction-based survival game that tosses in player-versus-environment (PVE) and player-versus-player (PVP) combat, all of which is set in the suitably bombed-out near future. Inspired by games likes Escape from Tarkov and DayZ, there are plenty of guns, customization options, and opportunities for crafting and looting along the way to extraction.

It’s been such a winning mix of familiar gameplay, no doubt fueled by sheer developer grit, that it’s already surpassed $3 million in revenue. And that’s without being searchable on the Quest Store, a main feature of games sold via App Lab.

In a Meta developer blogpost, the team describes how listing through App Lab has forced them to focus on direct marketing and generating a community first—arguably the most important things for online multiplayer games in VR. Here’s how Combat Waffle CEO Scott Albright describes the game’s journey:

Getting the game into the hands of players early in closed tests has been the very foundation of our efforts to gain traction. Even initially, we noticed that there is a stickiness to the game and people were enjoying themselves, and from there we made sure to connect with influencers to get their perspective and spread awareness.

By giving people an early hands-on experience, we hoped that they would see the game for what it was and enjoy it as much as we do, despite it not being completely polished or finished.

Thankfully, most people trying the game in those early days really got into it and started posting videos on social media. It didn’t take long to find out that people have a lot of fun watching game clips, and it’s been super exciting to see people’s reactions in the comments. With attention increasing on social media, peoples’ expectations for the title are also starting to build, even before the launch.

While App Lab has stolen the thunder somewhat from SideQuest, the original unofficial content distribution outlet for Quest content, it’s been an increasingly important outlet for developers looking to generate loyal fanbases. The most successful to date is undoubtedly the free-to-play phenomenon Gorilla Tag, which managed to create so much hype in its time on App Lab that it reported a lifetime revenue of $26 million less than a month after moving to the main store.

In addition to being on App Lab, Ghosts of Tabor is also available on Steam Early Access. It’s also said to launch on the Quest Store sometime next year, where it is planned to include “many more maps, gameplay features, and improvements that are currently not present in the Early Access version,” the team says.

‘Ghosts of Tabor’ Hits $3M Revenue Ahead of Debut on Main Quest Store Read More »

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European space telescopes spot tiny jets that could power the solar wind

Corporates and innovation, Deep tech, Government and policy, Insider / /

A spacecraft has detected tiny jets that could be the elusive source of the sun’s solar wind.

The discovery was made by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Solar Orbiter. According to ESA, the satellite is the most complex scientific lab ever sent to the sun.

Using the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) —a suite of remote-sensing telescopes —  the probe spotted jets of material emerging from the sun’s outer atmosphere.

Each jet lasts between 20 and 100 seconds. During these fleeting moments, they expel charged particles — known as plasma — at around 100km per second. Scientists suspect the jets are powering the solar wind.

This mosaic of images shows a multitude of tiny jets of material escaping from the Sun’s outer atmosphere.
In this mosaic of images of the jets, the sun’s south pole is to the left. Credit: Credit: ESA and NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team

The solar wind is created by the outward expansion of plasma from the Sun’s outermost atmosphere. That atmosphere is known as the corona.

As it sweeps through the solar system, the solar wind reaches speeds of over 1 million miles per hour. When it hits Earth’s magnetic field, it can create the northern lights and southern lights — as well as disruptions in GPS and communications systems. It also protects Earth from other harmful particles coming from space.

Despite its immense impact on the cosmos, the solar wind’s origins remain mysterious. But the Solar Orbiter has shone a new light on the secrets.

The research team gave much of the credit to the EUI instrument.

“We could only detect these tiny jets because of the unprecedented high-resolution, high-cadence images produced by EUI,” said Lakshmi Pradeep Chitta, the principal author of a paper on the findings.

The spacecraft will now slowly incline its orbit towards the polar regions. When that happens, it will provide another view of the solar winds.

ESA’s project scientist for the Solar Orbiter, Daniel Müller, hopes the new observations produce further evidence.

“It’s harder to measure some of the properties of these tiny jets when seeing them edge-on, but in a few years, we will see them from a different perspective than any other telescopes or observatories so that together should help a lot,” he said.

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European space telescopes spot tiny jets that could power the solar wind Read More »

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Here’s how the EU’s Digital Services Act changes the content rules for big tech

Data and security, Ecosystems, Government and policy, Next Featured / /

The EU’s latest crackdown on big tech begins before the end of the week. Starting on Friday, a total of 19 major companies must adhere to the sweeping rules of the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Essentially, the DSA is a landmark content moderation rulebook, designed to empower and protect users online against harmful or illegal content, disinformation, and the violation of privacy and free speech.

The tech firms listed are not only the first required to comply, but also the ones facing the act’s strictest and most far-reaching measures. That’s because they reach at least 45 million European active users per month, which according to the EU, translates to their “significant societal and economic impact.”

The legislation will eventually apply to all businesses providing digital services within the bloc, expected to come fully into force in February 2024. Violations could result in fines of up to 6% of their global revenue, or even a temporary ban from the union.

“The whole logic of our rules is to ensure that technology serves people and the societies that we live in — not the other way around,” said Margrethe Vestager, Executive VP of the Commission.

“The Digital Services Act will bring about meaningful transparency and accountability of platforms and search engines and give consumers more control over their online life.”

Who’s on the naughty list?

Ranging from social media platforms to online marketplaces and search engines, the list so far includes: Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Amazon, Booking, AliExpress, Zalando, Google Shopping, Wikipedia, Google Maps, Google and Apple’s mobile app stores, Google’s Search, and Microsoft’s Bing.

5 key DSA obligations big tech have to follow

1. Remove illegal content

The designated companies are required to identify and remove any illegal content as defined by laws either at EU or national level from their platforms.

In the case of online marketplaces, this also means tracing sellers and conducting random checks on existing product databases to ensure protection against counterfeit and dangerous goods or services.

2. Ban some types of targeted ads

The big tech giants can no longer use targeted advertising that’s based on profiling of minors or sensitive personal data, such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, or political views.

3. Increase user empowerment

Users will have a set of new rights, such as flagging illegal content, contesting the decisions made by online platforms if their own content is removed, and even seek compensation for any rule breaches. They’ll also be able to receive information about the advertising practices, including if and why an ad targets them specifically with the option to opt out.

4. Constrain harmful content and disinformation

The selected companies will further have to perform an annual risk assessment and take corresponding measures to mitigate disinformation, election manipulation, hoaxes, cyber violence, and harm to vulnerable groups — while balancing freedom of expression. These measures are also subject to independent audits.

5. Be transparent

In an unprecedented move, the platforms will need to disclose long-guarded information on their data, systems, and algorithms to authorities and vetted researchers. They’ll also have to provide public access to their risk assessment and auditing reports alongside a repository with information about the ads they run.

“Complying with the DSA is not a punishment – it is an opportunity for these online platforms to reinforce their brand value and reputation as a trustworthy site,” Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a statement.

Who has complied so far?

In the group of social media, TikTok is introducing an “additional reporting option” for European consumers that allows them to flag illegal content, including advertising. It will further provide them information about its content moderation decisions and allow them to turn off personalisation. Targeted advertising for minors aged 13-17 will stop.

Snapchat has made similar changes. For instance, personal advertising for minors is no longer allowed and adult users have a higher level of transparency and control on the ads they see. Meanwhile, Meta has launched non-personalised content feeds on Facebook and Instagram.

Among the online marketplaces, Zalando has introduced content flagging systems on its website, while Amazon has opened a channel for flagging illegal products and is now providing more information about third-party merchants.

Nevertheless, both companies have taken legal action against the EU, claiming they have been “unfairly” added to the list.

The DSA’s potential impact

Historically, the rules for data sharing and online content moderation have been determined by big tech.The DSA aims to change that by setting an unprecedented touchstone, much like the EU’s regulatory efforts with the GDPR and the upcoming AI Act.

“The European Digital Services Act is trying to respond to online corporate practices that are considered inappropriate by the European Union,” David Frautschy Heredia, Senior Director of European Government and Regulatory Affairs at Internet Society (ISOC) told TNW.

“The impact of the act is being closely watched. By nature, corporate organisations operate across jurisdictions, and so their potentially damaging behaviour is not limited to a single region. Moreover, the EU has come to be widely regarded as the benchmark authority for digital regulation and as the example to follow.”

But as parts of the act and its implementation are still to be defined, experts are also pointing to potential risks.

“It is of crucial importance to ensure that these new obligations do not have unintended consequences, or they may be inadvertently mirrored across the globe, ” Frautschy Heredia noted, adding that misaligned policy could lead to the “fragmentation” of the internet.

Meanwhile, Mozilla alongside 66 civil organisations across the globe are urging the Commission to ensure that the DSA will not lead to censorship and the violation of fundamental rights.

Here’s how the EU’s Digital Services Act changes the content rules for big tech Read More »

germany-doubles-funds-for-ai-‘made-in-europe’

Germany doubles funds for AI ‘made in Europe’

Artificial Intelligence, Deep tech, Europe, Government and policy / /

On Wednesday, the German government announced that it would nearly double its funding for artificial intelligence research. The money pledged towards the development of AI systems now amounts to nearly €1bn, which is still far behind the $3.3bn (€3.04bn) in public funding the US reportedly threw at the field last year. 

The Federal Ministry for Education and Research said that AI is a “key technology” that offers enormous opportunities for science, growth, prosperity, competitiveness, and social added value. It further added that “technological sovereignty in AI must be secured,” and that Germany and Europe should take a leading position in a world “powered by AI.” 

This means that Germany on its own is drawing level with the funds pledged by the EU. The European Commission has also committed €1bn to AI research per year through the Horizon Europe program. Meanwhile, the Commissionstates that it will mobilise additional investments from both the private sector and the member states to reach an annual volume of €20bn. 

The increased funding was presented along with Germany’s Artificial Intelligence Action Plan by Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger. Earlier this month, the Minister argued that Germany “must bring its academic practices in line with its security interests in light of tensions with systemic rivals such as China.” 

The global AI race

Figures for public spending in China are notoriously tricky to pin down. However, in 2022, private AI investments in China were at $13.4bn (€12.35bn), still trailing far behind the US with a total of $47.4bn (€43.4bn). 

This week, the German government also proposed harsher export curbs on China for semiconductors and AI technologies, similar to the executive order signed by US President Biden a little while ago. Furthermore, it laid out plans to tighten the screening process for Chinese FDI.

With the funds, Germany is looking to set up 150 new university labs dedicated to researching artificial intelligence, expand data centres, and increase access to datasets for training advanced AI models. The goal is to then convert the research and skills to “visible and measurable economic success and a concrete, noticeable benefit for society.”

Additionally, the government says it hopes to show the unique selling point of AI “Made in Germany” (or “Made in Europe”). “We have AI that is explainable, trustworthy and transparent,” Stark-Watzinger said. “That’s a competitive advantage.”  

Indeed it is, if you have the intention of using it somewhere affected by forthcoming artificial intelligence regulation. While the world waits for the EU AI Act, which will set different rules for developers and deployers of AI systems according to a risk classification system, the Cyberspace Administration of China last month published its own “interim measures” rules for generative AI.

Although the internet watchdog says the state “encourages the innovative use of generative AI in all industries and fields,” AI developers must register their algorithms with the government, if their services are capable of influencing public opinion or can “mobilise” the public.

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