The Big Thing: AI's Video Revelation

This video was generated with 18 words plugged into Sora, a new OpenAI tool that can create stunning videos — and potentially troubling fakes — from text prompts alone.

Why it matters: A generative AI system that concocts realistic videos at this scale and speed could reverberate through Hollywood and beyond. OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, doesn't plan to publicly release Sora (which means sky in Japanese) anytime soon. The company will use the testing to try to reduce the tool's potential for misinformation, hateful content, and bias.

Early testers will poke at potential security vulnerabilities. Sora will also be made available to a swath of visual artists, designers, and filmmakers to get feedback on how the model could help them.

• State of play: Other companies — including Meta, Google, and Runway — have announced or released their own text-to-video engines.

• Sora is yet to be released to the public. The restricted release is an effort by OpenAI to stanch the flood of deepfakes that's expected when the tool is in the wild.

🤖 Between the lines: The visuals are jarringly realistic. Many of the examples published by OpenAI look like they could've been cut from a movie trailer.

• While still stunning, Sora contains quirks — misspelled words and jumbled fingers — that give away the AI. So far, Sora can turn text into a video of up to one minute in length.

• Reactions reflected a Rorschach test for how people already view the impact of generative AI, with a mix of excitement, awe, fear, and revulsion.

• AI creator and ex-Googler Bilawal Sidhu said: ''Is it real or is it fake?' isn't just for photos now. Videos too have fallen, and I couldn't be more excited."

• Prominent YouTube creator and tech reviewer Marques Brownlee noted: "If this doesn't concern you at least a little bit, nothing will."

The bottom line: "The technology could speed the work of seasoned moviemakers, while replacing less experienced digital artists entirely," the N.Y. Times' Cade Metz wrote.

Tour de Headlines:

• Bitcoin Surpasses $1 Trillion Market Cap Again.

  The world's leading cryptocurrency surged past $1 trillion in value for the first time since 2021, propelling the overall crypto market to exceed $2 trillion. This surge, driven by investor confidence, positions crypto as the fourth-largest entity globally, following Microsoft, Apple, and Saudi Aramco.

  What's igniting investor fervor? The recent approval of spot bitcoin ETFs by the SEC is a significant factor. Since their approval last month, crypto funds have garnered nearly $10 billion in deposits, as per CryptoQuant. Another reason for the excitement? The approaching halving event.

  Halving, a mechanism within Bitcoin, slashes the rate of new coins entering circulation by half to regulate supply. As bitcoin is finite, reduced supply theoretically inflates prices. This event occurs roughly every four years and historically has sparked remarkable price surges. For instance, the 2020 halving triggered a 700% gain for investors.

  However, despite the anticipation among crypto holders, experts caution about diminishing returns. They suggest that this year's halving event may not produce price hikes akin to those witnessed in the past.

• Gemini 1.5 is Google’s next-gen AI model — and it’s already almost ready

  Google introduces Gemini 1.5, the successor to its recent Gemini launch, offering significant enhancements for developers and enterprise users. Gemini 1.5 Pro competes with Gemini Ultra and outperforms its predecessor in 87% of benchmark tests. It employs the "Mixture of Experts" technique for faster and more efficient processing. The highlight is its vast context window, capable of handling queries spanning a million tokens, empowering users to explore extensive information at once. Gemini 1.5 is initially accessible to business users and developers via Google's Vertex AI and AI Studio. Eventually, it will replace Gemini 1.0 and standard Gemini Pro versions, offering a 128,000-token context window. Google remains committed to refining Gemini's safety and ethical boundaries amidst ongoing advancements in the AI landscape. Users will engage with AI experiences without delving into underlying technologies, yet the underlying technology remains pivotal as the AI landscape evolves rapidly.

Kenya

• Kenya's tech community voices opposition to the proposed robotics and AI bill by the Kenya Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Society. The bill suggests imposing fines and imprisonment of up to 2 years on unregistered tech firms. Tech professionals and companies argue that such legislation could hinder the growth of Kenya's tech sector.

• Roam, a startup in Kenya focused on electric mobility, secures $24 million in funding through a combination of debt and equity. Equator Africa spearheaded the $14 million Series A equity round, while the US government's Development Finance Corporation offered a $10 million debt commitment. With this funding, Roam intends to ramp up electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing and extend its presence across Africa.

  

  Roam

Zuck says Quest 3 Outshines Vision Pro

Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire kingpin of the metaverse, made waves last week by critiquing Apple's latest wearable tech in a snappy three-minute Instagram reel showcasing Meta's Quest 3 headset. The underlying message? "She's a real stunner!"

In the video, filmed on a Quest 3 by an individual seated opposite him, the Meta CEO confidently asserted, "I don't just believe Quest offers better value; it's simply the superior product." Such a declaration from Zuck about Quest 3 overshadowing Vision Pro is about as surprising as discovering he has a gaming sanctuary at home.

What truly raised eyebrows was his public endorsement on his personal Instagram account. Zuck's casual demo of the Quest 3, while lounging on a couch with Apple Hands™, speaks volumes about Meta and Apple's intense competition to craft the ultimate mixed-reality headset.

In his candid review comparing Quest 3 and Vision Pro, Zuck highlighted:

• Quest's ability to conjure up mixed-reality floating screens, akin to Apple's "spatial computing," but at a starting price of $500, a fraction of Vision Pro's $3,500 tag.

• The absence of a cumbersome wired battery pack on the Quest, which remains lighter than Vision Pro, criticized for causing discomfort like headaches and neck strain.

• Zuck acknowledged the Apple "fanboys" who defend the brand fervently but admitted Vision Pro's superior screen resolution and the appealing eye-tracking feature.

Despite Meta's head start in the AR/VR realm following its acquisition of Oculus in 2014, the recent buzz around Vision Pro has overshadowed its efforts. Reviews of Apple's new product haven't heralded an iPhone-esque revolution yet, and some users have even returned their headsets. The game remains wide open.—ML

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