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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, memes, internet culture, Generation Z and Alpha, crypto, narrative economics, virtual humans, CGI influencers, vTubers, NFTs, DAOs, VR, Web3, 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.
Meta’s New AI Research Tool Turns Ideas Into Art
Meta released a generative AI system called Make-A-Scene, similar to OpenAI’s Dall-E 2 and Google’s Imagine. These tools will help humans visualize their thoughts, fast forward the shift from text based to visual based content, and influence our creativity skills and output. If you find this interesting; read our deep dive in our Infinite Machine Creativity report.
The Crypto Boom Runs On Hype Men
“This is the really interesting area where crypto and social media intersect,” said Jason Goldman, an early Twitter executive and chief digital officer at the White House during the Obama administration. “You’ve always had people who sell snake oil. But they had to go door to door, and now with social media they can sit at home and be amplified to every corner of the world.”
Metaverse Beyond The Hype
“The metaverse has the potential to extend the physical world using augmented and virtual reality technologies allowing users to seamlessly interact within real and simulated environments using avatars and holograms. Virtual environments and immersive games (such as, Second Life, Fortnite, Roblox and VRChat) have been described as antecedents of the metaverse and offer some insight to the potential socio-economic impact of a fully functional persistent cross platform metaverse. Separating the hype and “meta…” rebranding from current re- ality is difficult, as “big tech” paints a picture of the transformative nature of the metaverse and how it will positively impact people in their work, leisure, and social interaction. The potential impact on the way we conduct business, interact with brands and others, and develop shared experiences is likely to be trans- formational as the distinct lines between physical and digital are likely to be somewhat blurred from current perceptions. However, although the technology and infrastructure does not yet exist to allow the development of new immersive virtual worlds at scale – one that our avatars could transcend across platforms, researchers are increasingly examining the transformative impact of the metaverse. Impacted sectors include marketing, edu- cation, healthcare as well as societal effects relating to social interaction factors from widespread adoption, and issues relating to trust, privacy, bias, disinformation, application of law as well as psychological aspects linked to addiction and impact on vulnerable people. This study examines these topics in detail by combining the informed narrative and multi-perspective approach from experts with varied disciplinary backgrounds on many aspects of the metaverse and its transformational impact. The paper concludes by proposing a future research agenda that is valuable for researchers, professionals and policy makers alike.”
GeoGuessr
“In a game called GeoGuessr, competitors try to pinpoint where in the world a Google Street View image has been taken. Some can do it in seconds.”
MUST SEE: Samsung Space Tycoon on Roblox
Samsung’s virtual playground Space Tycoon targets Gen Z & Alpha customers and provides them with a metaverse experience that lets users create their own Samsung products, play games, and collect product-themed virtual accessories.
MUST SEE: Jason Derulo In The Metaverse
“Jason Derulo and Atlantic Records teamed up with TerraZero to recreate the music video for his new single, “Slidin’” in the Metaverse. Premiering in the Decentraland Metaverse, fans were able to dive into the music video’s recreated scenes, interact with Jason Derulo’s avatar and had a chance to win a special giveaway hosted by TerraZero.”
MUST SEE: Bored Ape Nazi Club
True or false? Is it an elaborate 4chan hoax or not?
Contact
Real Fake 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.
