Ah, February. ‘Tis the month of both pink-hearted romance, and enormous men slamming into each other against an orgy of advertising.
With everything going on in just 28 short days it’d be easy to miss some of the month’s most hype stories, but that’s why you’ve got us. As is our monthly tradition, we’re here with a round-up on all the latest and coolest in tech and art. Welcome to the latest …now you know.
i want to be alive
Every gold rush comes with a few mining accidents and this month was proof the same holds true for Artificial Intelligence. ChatGPT’s arrival set off a cultural and technological frenzy that had tech giants scrambling to take advantage, with mixed results.
For their part, Google’s AI flopped during a live demonstration, instantly wiping out more than $120 billion with a “b” in market value. Oops. And while Microsoft’s hitched their wagon to Open AI, resulting in significant stock increase, the AI they’ve released has already gone off the rails a few times, easily being prompted to engage in hate speech or even declaring its own sentience.
Long term none of these stumbles will likely stop the advance of AI, but they are good reminders of just how far we are from the tech being ready for true mainstream adoption.
$120bn wiped off Google after Bard AI chatbot gives wrong answer
‘I want to be alive’: Has Microsoft’s AI chatbot become sentient?
super meta
While 2022 definitely rained on the metaverse parade, there are still plenty of signs we’re entering a new era of meta-entertainment. Case in point, the NFT itself put on a pre-Super Bowl show with Saweetie in Roblox that was also sponsored by Intuit. Whatever you think about the execution, and whether Roblox counts as true metaverse, the more these kind of concerts happen the more these kind of concerts will happen, and then we all win.
NFL Reveals First Super Bowl ‘Metaverse’ Concert in Roblox
Exclusive Behind the Scenes of the Saweetie Super Bowl Concert on Roblox
the creator of light
Hats off to Light Field Labs, who just raised $50 million off the back of their apparently astounding new holographic technology. According to everyone who’s seen the work in action, their SolidLight 3D displays are formed with nothing but light, yet are visually indistinguishable from the real deal. Hopefully they’ll release a consumer product before the next time I’m called for jury duty so I can just send in my holographic double.
Light Field Lab Raises $50M To Bring SolidLight Holograms Into The Real World
take them to dave
It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since our own Super Bowl show with the Foo Fighters, and among many highlights was how welcoming Dave Grohl was to work with. This month Grohl showed yet again that he’s got a rock heart of gold by paying for and personally feeding 500 folks in LA during the recent storms, completely devoid of any press or PR. There goes my hero.
