Web3 is Essential in the Age of AI, Is GPT-5 Cancelled? 5 Things to Do, & More
Discover more from Future Essentials
Web3 is Essential in the Age of AI, Is GPT-5 Cancelled? 5 Things to Do, & More
FUTURE OF THE WORLD - Edition 29
Hey everyone,
It’s been a few months of unchecked AI mania. But this week brought pushback as some of the world’s top technologists asked for a pause in new development.
I have other thoughts on how to keep AI in check.
Dive in, and let’s get caught up.
Misha
Here’s what you’re getting today:
web3 is essential in the age of AI
Nasdaq, Ticketmaster, and Sony join web3
AI gets major pushback
5 things to do
Web3:
Web3 is essential in the age of AI.
Critics of ChatGPT and other LLMs (large language models) have been complaining. But as Ezra Klein puts it, “We are talking about the technology but ignoring the business models that power AI.”
LLMs are owned and controlled by a small group of people. They are about to take control of, and monetize, the future of the world.
That would be a massive step backward for humanity.
Fortunately, blockchain technology and web3 can solve this problem.
In my latest Twitter thread, I wrote about this and other reasons web3 is essential in an AI-dominated world. You can check it out here:
Ticketmaster rolls out wallet integration for NFTs.
Ticketmaster has rolled out crypto wallet integration for Avenged Sevenfold’s upcoming tour, allowing NFT holders from the heavy metal band’s fan club — Death Bats Club — to get priority access to tickets and reserved seating with no queues.
Here’s an excellent take from Rob Abelow:
Full story here:
Ticketmaster Tests NFT Pre-Sales With Avenged Sevenfold Tour – Billboard
Nasdaq joins web3.
Global exchange Nasdaq Inc. plans to launch custody services for Bitcoin and Ether in the next three months.
The exchange’s move into crypto would mark a change from its traditional business of dealing in stocks and bonds. It would also help fill the gap in crypto custody services that was left after the collapse of FTX last year.
Other companies, such as BNY Mellon and Fidelity have also jumped into crypto to offer custody services.
Despite a spate of crypto company bankruptcies and a sharp decline in the value of digital assets last year, the crypto market has been on an upswing in recent weeks.
Nasdaq Eyeing Q2 2023 Release for Bitcoin and Crypto Custody Platform | Nasdaq
Sony Files Patent for NFTs.
The move by the gaming giant aims to make assets more interoperable, not only between different games but also hardware like VR headsets, computers, and different consoles.
The patent, originally filed last week, would allow players of Sony products such as its flagship PlayStation to have an interoperable Web3 gameplay experience. Gamers would be allowed to transfer in-game assets between devices such as virtual reality (VR) headsets, tablets, computers, and smartphones. The patent application also noted that “In some examples, the NFT can be used cross-generationally (e.g., from PS4 to PS5).”
Full article here:
Sony Files Patent for NFTs to Allow Transfers Between Games and Consoles
AI:
Pushback for AI from 1000 technology leaders.
A lot happened in AI this week, again. But the most significant story is this:
More than 1,000 technology leaders and researchers, including Elon Musk, have urged artificial intelligence labs to pause development of the most advanced systems, warning in an open letter that A.I. tools present “profound risks to society and humanity.
”We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.”
The number of signatories is up to 2446 and counting, including Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Yuval Noah Harari, Emad Mostaque, Stuart Russell, and Max Tegmark.
Here is Tegmark’s tweet:
This is the open letter:
OpenAI’s Sam Altman responded:
My take:
this will prick the AI bubble and slow the pace of growth
legislators will be forced to get involved much faster
GPT-5 may be cancelled for now
5 Things to Do:
TRY:
Smithsonian Open Access | Smithsonian Institution
Download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images—right now, without asking. Access to more than 4.5 million 2D and 3D digital items—with many more to come. This includes images and data from across the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo.
READ:
Humans Will Achieve Immortality by 2030: Ray Kurzweil Prediction
Futurist Ray Kurzweil believes that our technological and medical progress will grow to the point that robotics—he dubs them “nanobots”—will work to repair our bodies at the cellular level, as reported by Lifeboat, turning disease and aging around thanks to the continual work of robotic know-how. And then, voilà: immortality.
WATCH:
Embrace the "dark horse" mindset to find success - Big Think
It has perhaps never been easier to feel as if you’ve fallen behind in life. From the anxieties of comparing yourself to others online to our fetishization of success, it can seem like everyone else out there is attaining their goals and feeling happy while the rest of us are stuck.
Todd Rose, the co-founder and president of the think tank Populace, offers a framework called the “dark horse” mindset. Weighing in on Rose’s strategies and answering broader questions about success are other big thought leaders including Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michio Kaku, Sarah Robb O’Hagan, and Alex Banayan.
PRACTICE:
9 Minutes of Guided Meditation for Overthinkers | SELF
Meditation teacher and co-founder of Awarehouse, Christine Alfred, guides us through a 9-minute meditation designed for those of us who overthink, overanalyze, and ruminate to a fault.
POLL:
Would you be interested in a one-day live online event that explores the convergence of AI and web3/blockchain?
It would focus on ways web3/blockchain can decentralize AI, and how AI can improve web3.
If you share it on social media, tag me on Twitter so I can thank you.
Web3 is Essential in the Age of AI, Is GPT-5 Cancelled? 5 Things to Do, & More
Thank you for covering web 3 in the most sensible way.