Version 28.0
Written & Compiled by Macklin Andrick, GPJ Sr. Creative Technologist
GPJ’s Experience Technology practice is your trusted guide through the latest technological shifts and how they might benefit your next experience. Another week, another opportunity to explore some of the weird and wild things going on in the tech world!
What a time to be alive in tech! Imagine Disney teaming up with Epic Games for a $1.5B mashup, bringing Marvel and Star Wars into a gaming universe. At the GRAMMYs®, IBM’s Watsonx is tuning the fan vibes with AI magic. Meanwhile, Google’s AI gets a makeover as Gemini, blending Bard and Duet into one. Cheers to another helping!
Disney invests $1.5B in Epic Games, plans new “games and entertainment universe”
Disney has announced a $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games, aiming to create a new “games and entertainment universe.” This partnership will leverage Epic’s Unreal Engine to expand Disney’s storytelling and experiences across various platforms. The collaboration signifies Disney’s largest venture into gaming, promising a “persistent universe” that will include content and characters from Disney’s vast portfolio, including Marvel, Star Wars, and more, with potential for significant growth and expansion in the gaming industry.
How the Recording Academy uses IBM watsonx to enhance the fan experience at the GRAMMYs®
The Recording Academy has partnered with IBM to utilize the Watsonx AI for the GRAMMYs®, enhancing the fan experience by automating content creation and providing insightful, engaging content about nominees across digital channels. This solution streamlines content production for social media and the GRAMMYs website, offering personalized stories and facts through an AI Content Builder dashboard. IBM’s comprehensive approach, from planning to implementation, aims to deliver a richer digital experience to music fans globally, demonstrating a significant advancement in leveraging AI for entertainment.
Google’s AI now goes by a new name: Gemini
Google has consolidated its AI efforts under a new singular brand, Gemini, merging the Bard chatbot and Duet AI features from Google Workspace into one entity. Gemini will serve as an all-in-one model and product, intended to be Google’s forefront in AI technology, including a dedicated Android app that can replace Google Assistant. The introduction of Gemini Ultra 1.0 marks the release of Google’s most advanced language model to the public, with a subscription-based model offering enhanced capabilities. This strategic move indicates Google’s commitment to simplifying its AI offerings and enhancing user interaction across its ecosystem.
Microsoft brings AI image editing to Copilot, unveils Deucalion
Microsoft has revamped its Copilot AI, previously Bing Chat, introducing a redesigned web interface, AI-driven image creation/editing features, and launching a new AI model called Deucalion. This initiative, highlighted in a Super Bowl commercial, positions Copilot as a multifunctional tool capable of generating content and software, signaling Microsoft’s commitment to leading in generative AI technology. The update is part of Microsoft’s broader strategy to integrate AI more deeply into its products and services, aiming to make these tools more accessible and functional for users, despite the ongoing debate and legal scrutiny over AI ethics and misuse.
Hugging Face launches open source AI assistant maker to rival OpenAI’s custom GPTs
Hugging Face has launched a free, open-source alternative to OpenAI’s custom GPTs, named Hugging Chat Assistants. This new offering allows users to easily create customizable AI chatbots utilizing a variety of open-source large language models. Unlike OpenAI’s subscription-based model, Hugging Chat Assistants provide a more accessible and versatile option for developers, emphasizing Hugging Face’s commitment to open-source AI development and the potential for more personalized and cost-effective AI solutions.
Roblox releases real-time AI chat translator
Roblox introduces a real-time AI chat translator capable of handling 16 languages to enhance user engagement by removing language barriers. Developed with a transformer-based large language model within a mixture of experts architecture, this feature aims to foster more comfortable interactions among users by providing instant chat translations, with options to view original messages. This innovation aligns with Roblox’s efforts to appeal to a broader audience and maintain privacy and safety standards, promising future expansions into voice translation and more nuanced language handling.
More Cool Stuff We Found
- “Pro Life Spider Man” tries to climb the Sphere in Las Vegas, gets immediately arrested
- A Disney Imagineer explains how they made the HoloTile floor, a magical walkway that moves in any direction
- MoonDrop awakens the spirit of Sony’s Discman with portable CD player
- Anti-aging pill for senior dogs is now in clinical trials
- Ford is turning olive tree cuttings into auto parts
- Europe’s deepest mine to become giant gravity battery
- You are not late to artificial intelligence
- We created an identity that encapsulates and reflects hand and body motion
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