[KC] DEBRIEF WEEK 37 FRIDAY 09/17
DIGITAL TITANS
_Instagram sponsors Met's new fashion exhibits. Instagram’s investment in an exhibition that seeks to codify American fashion reflects an interest in cementing the app’s reputation as the defining force in the industry and in visual culture at large. Inspiration for the Metropolitan Museum’s newest fashion exhibition supposedly came from the colorful 19th-century quilt referenced at the opening of the American-themed show by curator Andrew Bolton. Indeed, Adeline Harris Sears’ incredible showcase of 360 autographs sewn in a tumble-block pattern deserves a bigger spotlight. But walking through In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, which opens in New York on Sept. 18, it’s hard to shake the feeling that its curators were actually influenced by a more contemporary patchwork, one that lives on their mobile phones. Instagram, which is the corporate sponsor for the Costume Institute’s exhibit and gala, has more than 1 billion users, who regularly make #fashion one of the top five hashtags used on the app each day. The Facebook-owned social media platform seems to have seeped into the concept and curation of the year-long show. Consider the exhibition’s production design: Each garment is encased in a frame and captioned with a single word “bubble,” as Bolton calls them, floating above the mannequin’s head. For instance, the word “sweetness” is associated with Isaac Mizrahi’s candy-pink gown; “closeness” is attached to Bstroy’s twined sweatshirts, and “realness” captions a leather jacket stamped with Louis Vuitton’s monogram by the haberdasher Dapper Dan. They’re oddly reminiscent of the type of Instagram story filter with phrases or questions that pop up over the selfie-taker’s face. With display boxes arranged in a tight maze at the museum’s basement-level gallery, the show feels purposely designed for a quick scan or scroll through, discouraging visitors from lingering for more than a few seconds—especially during a time when we’re conditioned for social distancing.
ALSO
Instagram confirmed it’s developing a new feature called “Favorites,” which would allow users to select certain accounts whose posts they would like to see higher in their feed. A similar feature already exists on Facebook where it gives users a bit more control over the News Feed algorithm. On Facebook, users can select up to 30 friends or Facebook Pages whose posts get shown higher in the News Feed. It’s unclear what limit an Instagram Favorites feature would have, however.
__Facebook Apologizes For AI Labeling Black Men As ‘Primates’ In Video Recently, Facebook users who were viewing a video featuring a group of Black men received an automated prompt asking if they wanted to “keep seeing videos about Primates.” This “unacceptable error” is the latest gaffe involving possibly racist artificial intelligence (AI).
ALSO
WSJ is running a series of Facebook exposes this week. This one in particular reports that Facebook is very well aware of how toxic Instagram can be to teenagers' mental health. “Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse,” the researchers said in a March 2020 slide presentation posted to Facebook’s internal message board, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “Comparisons on Instagram can change how young women view and describe themselves.” For the past three years, Facebook has been conducting studies into how its photo-sharing app affects its millions of young users. Repeatedly, the company’s researchers found that Instagram is harmful for a sizable percentage of them, most notably teenage girls. “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” said one slide from 2019, summarizing research about teen girls who experience the issues. “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression,” said another slide. “This reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups.”Toxic Instagram
_Apple’s keynote announcements…KC member : “Unless you are a Gamer OR you haven't bought anything during the past release. Big push on Ipad Mini, I personally love it”
INNOVATIONS
_Honda Announces the Establishment of Ashirase, Inc., a Startup Originated from IGNITION, a Honda New Business Creation Program. Honda together with its new business creation program IGNITION is currently developing ‘ashirase’—a navigation system placed inside shoes to support the visually impaired with walking. The navigation system includes a smartphone app and a vibration device with a motion sensor attached inside the shoe. TOKYO, Japan, June 11, 2021 – Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced the establishment of Ashirase, Inc., the first business venture to originate from IGNITION, Honda’s new business creation program. Ashirase, Inc. is currently developing an in-shoe navigation system to support the visually impaired with walking and will strive to begin sales of the system, also named “Ashirase,” before the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. The Ashirase is a navigation system consisting of a smartphone app and a three-dimensional vibration device including a motion sensor, which is attached inside the shoe. Based on the route set with the app, the device vibrates to provide navigation. When the user should go straight, the vibrator positioned on the front part of the foot vibrates, and when the user is approaching a right or left turn, the vibrator on the right or left side vibrates to notify the user. The navigation provided by Ashirase enables intuitive understanding of the route, and therefore the user does not have to be constantly mindful of the direction, which makes it possible for the user to walk more safely and with a more relaxed state of mind.
_Xiaomi says its smart glasses could replace your phone. Smart glasses are back in fashion following the commercial failure that was Google Glass. In the wake of the Ray-Ban/Facebook collaboration on Ray-Ban Stories, Amazon’s 2nd-gen Echo Frames, Razer’s Anzu smart glasses, and more, Xiaomi is joining the party with a new take on the tech—and the Chinese giant claims its product could replace your phone. The world’s largest phone maker has lifted the lid on the Xiaomi Smart Glasses. The company says they look like regular glasses—if you ignore the camera pointing at you, presumably—and weigh just 51g.
_GPT-4 Will Have 100 Trillion Parameters — 500x the Size of GPT-3Open AI - GPT4 -> best AI copywriter in the world, now 500x bigger than his previous version. This is SCARY, we will reach a point where we won't know the difference between a creator and a machine.
_China Cyberspace agency is pushing for companies to advertize GOOD stuff, and warn companies to stop encouraging people to buy "too expensive" stuff
_YC Demo Day is a window in the future of Tech. KC member Lucas : “2 companies I liked, with the same name: 1/ Muse: to help companies create 3D websites/world with no code and 2/ Muse card, to help pay content creators, without the headache of the paperwork”.
PEOPLE, MEDIA, CULTURE
_The Battle for Digital Privacy Is Reshaping the Internet.
_Kim Kardashian’s Crypto Instagram Ad Censured For Possibly Misguiding Decisions.On Monday, the chairman of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), Charles Randell, warned against potential cryptocurrency “investment fraud and scams” that may have come in the form of… Kim Kardashian? His speech at the Cambridge International Symposium on economic crime included a discussion on risks associated with “token regulation” and “rules which protect people from investment fraud and scams.” Kardashian’s Instagram story was called out in particular, which was posted to over 200 million followers in June. Describing it as a financial promotion with probably “the single biggest audience reach in history,” he highlighted the risks associated with the advertisement. Although Instagram’s guidelines dictate that she needed to disclose the story posts were a paid advertisement, they didn’t state she needed to make the audience aware of the currency. Ethereum Max, not to be confused with the popular and established Ethereum, was still a speculative token created a month ago by “unknown developers.”
_Hugh Jackman's Reminiscence Uses AI And Deepfake to Put Audience Into Its Latest Trailer. Hugh Jackman's upcoming sci-fi thriller Reminiscence has a trailer like no other. The evolution of technology has transformed not only the way we watch movies but the way cinema is marketed or presented to the audience. Earlier, people were informed about an upcoming movie through mass mediums like TV and the Internet, and producers would let curiosity build about their product. That is not true anymore. The audience is now part of the promotion as much as those working in the movies. How? Consider this: Warner Bros. is using deep fake technology to put the audience into the latest trailer of their upcoming movie Reminiscence. Jackman, who plays the character of Nick Bannister, a private investigator of the mind, then takes the person “down memory lane”. The person can see themselves in a short video created out of – literally – just their photograph. Watching the promotional video creates an illusion that you had actually behaved the way the video shows now. To try this yourself, all you have to do is to visit the website and follow Nick Bannister's directions in the baritone voice of Jackman. You will be asked to upload a photograph that shows a person's face. Then a few questions will follow and finally, your video will appear.
_Meet the Muslim girls harnessing the power of TikTok to make fun of racists“I thought, no one’s going to take me seriously.” Before she found viral fame on the platform, 20-year-old Aaliyah Aaden was skeptical of TikTok. She had seen the dance fads and the looping lip-syncs and she was unimpressed. “I hated TikTok,” she says emphatically, “I thought it was the cringiest thing.” But as any savvy internet-goer will tell you nowadays, TikTok contains multitudes. Over the past year alone, short clips on everything from personal coming out stories to the mass internment of Uyghur Muslims in China have gone viral. Users have employed the app to organize strikes in solidarity with underpaid teaching staff, decry school shootings, and protest the hypocrisy of their political representatives.
_NFT LALALAND
//This time, a masterpiece by Claude Monet is up for sale, and as the world’s first Impressionist NFT, it’s paving the way for people who wish to sell their collections without making themselves known or going through the auction house route. Minted by cryptocurrency consultancy Innovation Without Borders, Monet’s Spring Sunshine (1865) will also be the first-ever Impressionist piece sold on direct auction through a smart contract, WeRSMreports. Aside from an exclusive digital token, Innovation Without Borders says that the buyer will also receive the original physical painting
//Marvel Introduces Its First Official NFTs, Beginning With ‘Spider-Man. Marvel has finally jumped on the bandwagon with its very own non-fungible tokens (NFTs), collaborating with online marketplace VeVe to launch Spider-Man digital collectibles. This marks Marvel’s first foray into the world of official NFTs. Unsurprisingly, all rarities sold out in just a day.
_Communities: Talk about your thing with people who get you. With Communities, moderators pick the focus, create the Community rules, and invite the people who will make it a great place for conversation. It’s created for conversation where the vibe and tone are set by people who share the same interests and want to have relevant conversations.
BRANDS
_Ikea. If a trip to IKEA remains one of your go-to ways to spark inspiration for your space, the famous furniture retailer is about to up the ante in a major way. The company is hosting a virtual festival, a global celebration of all things home, and the all-day affair is free for anyone around the world to attend online. Bringing together a host of musicians, artists, chefs, designers, and creators, this inaugural event will take place in more than 100 homes across 50 markets worldwide, turning “living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and backyards into virtual stages for performances and experiences,” notes a press release announcing the festival. Set in “everyday homes, studios, and neighborhoods,” the virtual festival is “inspired by the IKEA vision to create a better everyday life for the many people.”
ALSO...
The world’s largest furniture manufacturer has planned a program that offers a rich picture of how the pandemic is transforming domestic spaces around the world. Cooking lessons, musical performances, talks, and room makeovers, all set in the speakers’ actual living or working quarters, are featured in the 24-hour virtual event that kicked off at 8am CET (2am Eastern US time or 2pm Hong Kong time). To appeal to its global customer base, IKEA queued an eclectic line-up. The roster of musicians itself is worth tuning in for. Performers include Italian hip hop duo Coma_Cose, Danish singer MØ, Japanese gypsy rock duo Fu Ching Gido, Mumbai born pianist Sandunes, and Haitian-Canadian DJ Kaytranada.Ikea
_‘Pokémon GO’ introduces form changes as part of Fashion Week event. Augmented reality game Pokémon GO will finally be introducing form changes for its collectible critters, with the long-awaited feature arriving as part of developer Niantic’s Fashion Week event in the game. In the world of Pokémon, many of the creatures can change form – or often “Forme”, in the game’s lingo – under a variety of circumstances. Sometimes it’s purely cosmetic, other times different forms will have distinct powers, but either way, it’s been a feature of the main games that has long been missing from the mobile counterpart. Instead of transforming a Pokémon, they had caught, players would have to catch monsters such as Castform, the weather Pokémon, in each of its distinct forms. That changes on September 21, when the Pokémon Furfrou debuts in Pokémon GO. In the core Pokémon games, the poodle-like Furfrou can be taken to a salon and be styled into multiple forms. As detailed in a Niantic blog post, when Furfrou arrives in Pokémon GO, it will share this quirk, allowing players to transform it into one of 10 possible forms. There are some restrictions though – globally, Furfrou will be caught in the wild in its Natural Form, and players anywhere will be able to change it into its Matron Trim or Dandy Trim forms. However, other forms will depend on the player’s location – for instance, Debutante Trim will only be available in the Americas, while Diamond Trim will only be accessible in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. France gets a bonus though, with the La Reine Trim also available – a nod to the fact that the Kalos region of Pokémon X and Y where Furfrou first appeared was based on France. Form changes won’t be free though – it looks like it will cost 10,000 stardust and 25 Furfrou candy, each being consumable resources earned through playing Pokémon Go.
MMMM OF THE WEEK
_Tiktokers took down a Texas anti-abortion site. “This website was essentially placing a bounty on the heads of women seeking abortions in Texas”. When the strictest abortion law in the US went into effect in Texas, teenagers took matters into their own hands. They took to social media to ask people to clog an anti-abortion website with fake tips about offenders. They managed to bring the site down temporarily, but now the anti-abortion webpage, run by Texas Right to Life is facing other challenges
_The Met Gala Guest List Sparked A Huge Debate About “Elitism” And Which Celebrities Should Be Invited After This Year’s Red Carpet Saw More YouTubers And TikTokers Than Ever. The influx of Gen Z TikTokers and YouTube stars — like Addison Rae and Emma Chamberlain — who secured coveted invites to this year's star-studded event has sparked a discussion about the “elitist” nature of the Met Gala.
OFF-TOPIC
_Last October, a large group of scientists made their way to Yuri Milner’s super-mansion in the Los Altos Hills above Palo Alto. They were tested for covid-19 and wore masks as they assembled in a theater on the property for a two-day scientific conference. Others joined by teleconference. The topic: how biotechnology might be used to make people younger.Milner is a Russian-born billionaire who made a fortune on Facebook and Mail.ru and previously started the glitzy black-tie Breakthrough Prizes, $3 million awards given each year to outstanding physicists, biologists, and mathematicians. But Milner’s enthusiasm for science was taking a provocative and specific new direction. As the scientific sessions progressed, experts took the stage to describe radical attempts at “rejuvenating” animals.That meeting has now led to the formation of an ambitious new anti-aging company called Altos Labs, according to people familiar with the plans. Altos is pursuing biological reprogramming technology, a way to rejuvenate cells in the lab that some scientists think could be extended to revitalize entire animal bodies, ultimately prolonging human life.
Also _Technology Review goes deep with scientists and technocrats betting on how biotech will make people younger .”
_When You're Living in an Immaterial World, What's for Sale? On influencers, symbolic analysts, and buying and selling in the age of turbo-capitalism. (Wired)