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On the 15th of October our book “Real Fake – Playing with Reality in the Age of AI, Deepfakes and the Metaverse” has been released. It is our take on synthetic media, deepfakes, fake news, conspiracy theories, virtual humans, NFTs, the Creator Economy and the Metaverse. Real Fake is about how humans continuously manipulate reality and how new digital technology tools enable us to go one step further in this ancient game.
Twitter Admits Bias In Algorithm For Rightwing Politicians And News Outlets
“Twitter found a statistically significant difference favouring the political right wing. […] Twitter said it wasn’t clear why its Home timeline produced these results and indicated that it may now need to change its algorithm. […] Algorithmic amplification is problematic if there is preferential treatment as a function of how the algorithm is constructed versus the interactions people have with it.”
It’s a good thing that Twitter is honest about algorithmic amplification. But they are not the only social network that has the same problem. The question remains how we are going to solve this?
This Climate Does Not Exist
“Climate change does not impact everyone equally. For the planet to tackle the climate crisis, we all need to act as though our homes were directly affected. We have harnessed AI to build a tool that lets you imagine the impact of the climate crisis we face, one address at a time.”
Reddit Is Preparing Its Own NFT platform
“With every new NFT project, a vibrant community of owners pops up with it. Fans of today’s biggest creators and brands are now flocking to buy digital goods directly from them — to support them, to gain exclusive access, and to feel a greater sense of connection with them. Over time, we believe this will only grow, and NFTs will play a central role in how fans support their favorite creators and communities.”
Reddit is the largest community website on the internet. So combining this network with NFTs makes sense te me. Interesting to see how this will develop in the future.
The Playboy Rabbitars
“The Playboy Rabbitars are a lagomorphic-themed civilization of 11,953 unique, non-fungible rabbits inspired by Playboy iconography, heritage and lore. In the context of the metaverse, the Rabbitars are NFTs that live on the Ethereum Blockchain as ERC-721 tokens. Each Rabbitar is generated from 175+ traits including fur, ears, facial expressions, apparel, accessories, occupation-related characteristics, and more. Some of the rarest Rabbitar traits are inspired by culturally significant aspects of Playboy’s art and editorial history. (And yes, you can tell your friends you officially belong to a Playboy Club!)”
The Strange Appeal of Shelter TikTok
“TikTok has developed its own approach to home-design content: Skip over the home to obsess over the objects inside. […] On Shelter Tok, you don’t move through a space so much as lurch through it, gravitating from item to item. Mainstays of the genre include zoomed-in footage of carefully placed objects and a lack of interest in negative space. On TikTok, everything flashes by; why should homes be any different?”
Why Chinese Millennials Prefer Virtual Influencers To Reallife KOLs
“The year 2020 was a momentous one for us all, and that goes for luxury fashion, too. Amid the global pandemic, the industry faced a moment of reckoning with its digital dimension. As brands reshaped their offering to embrace the online world, their approach to influence and engagement had to change in step. Enter a new generation of unreal influencers, with computer-generated humans, AI-created personas and digital iterations of celebrities among a growing list of virtual idols taking over the KOL (key opinion leader) landscape.”
Superplastic Raises $20M to Build Entertainment brands in the age of NFTs and virtual characters
“Superplastic has raised $20 million to build a global entertainment brand in the age of nonfungible tokens, virtual characters, and viral videos. […] Superplastic wants to rewrite the rules of celebrity, social media, fashion, and entertainment through their metaverse in which intellectual property crosses over to other media properties and worlds, and where fans interact directly with Superplastic virtual celebrities on social media.”
The character universe is expanding. Superplastic is working on other characters as well, they have an animated hip hop group coming next year, and they’re working on two movies, one of which is funded. The next famous universe of animated characters will come from social media rather than TV shows or movies. It will be the decentralized version of Disney.
Boomer Or Not-Quiz
How many iconic brands do you know? Are you a digital native or not? Are you prepared for the future?
Contact
Playing with Reality is a weekly newsletter in which SogetiLabs’s Research Institute VINT examines the future where synthetic reality becomes part or our objective reality. We investigate the impact of new technology on people, organisations and our society. If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to contact us. You can reach us at vint@sogeti.com.
