The Meta Economist meets professor Andrea Bertolini to make an interesting analysis about the EU AI Act. Bertolini is the Director of the European Center of Excellence on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Regulation (Eura) and professor of private Law at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna. His research starts from private law to technological regulation (robotics and AI) and bioethics, with a comparative and law and economics approach.
The Italian Newspaper la Repubblica just inserted professor Bertolini among the 500 italian researchers that counts on AI subjects.
The European market is still relevant - says Bertolini - and European citizens are still much of interest for even non-European companies, that anyone who will want to do business in Europe or with European citizens will have to abide by and comply with AI Act and all European legislation. So this should provide Europe the possibility of influencing the global development and production of AI systems. Because if an American company wants to bring their AI based product to the European market and have European users use that product, then they will have to comply with the AI Act".
And even if that is true, European technical research in the field of artificial intelligence is not as advanced as that occurring in the US and maybe China, Europe decided to regulate it before other Countries and that's the advantage now. About this and other topics we focused on this interview.
Read also---> The EU AI Act is law by Ilaria Vanni
Ilaria Vanni is a TV journalist for italian broadcasting and coordinator of The Meta Economist portal. She has a philosphy degree and she's now studing the economic and technological issues connected to the new frontiers of the metaverse.
Disney and Epic Games will collaborate to create an open and persistent game universe, bringing together characters from Star Wars, Marvel, Avatar and Pixar. The Walt Disney Company is taking a $1.5 billion equity stake in Epic Games to build what it calls a "persistent universe," less than a year after shuttering its Metaverse division. Founded in 1991, Epic Games is an American company founded by CEO Tim Sweeney. The company is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina and has more than 40 offices worldwide. Today Epic is a leading interactive entertainment company and provider of 3D engine technology.
In a official statement, Disney said the multi-year project — subject to regulatory approval — will be a gaming experience that interacts with Fortnite, Epic's flagship game. The project will be a “universe of games and entertainment,” allowing users to “play, watch, shop and interact with content, characters and stories” from Disney assets. Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games, stated that the two companies will "build a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem", while Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, stated that "this marks Disney's largest entry into the world of games". Disney added that "players, gamers and fans will be able to create their own stories and experiences." Epic's game engine, Unreal Engine, will power the so-called universe, but no details on the project's launch date have been shared.
Disney's move comes less than a year after it dismantled its Metaverse division in March 2023, cutting about 50 workers in an effort to reduce operating expenses. This choice is going to the direction, for Disney, to become part of one of the huge metaverse, without having the possibilities to own its space in the metaverse without using Fortnite. That's the turning point here. Is this the destiny of metaverse? Or maybe there's an alternative. Better said, we need the bravery to create independent metaverses, where data and users can run with precise rules and privacy.
The partnership announcement comes on the same day as Disney's Q1 2024 results, following a string of major box office and streaming flops in 2023. For the quarter ended December 30, 2023, Disney posted revenue of $23.6 billion, narrowly beating the estimates of Zacks Wall Street analysts. However, revenue growth remained flat compared to the $23.5 billion reported in the same quarter a year earlier. Disney said it will pay a dividend of 45 cents per share, a 50% increase from the last paid in January. Its stock price closed the day at around $99, according to Google Finance, but jumped nearly 7% to over $105 in after-hours trading. Epic's Sweeney has been focusing on the metaverse for some time and in May 2023 he joked about the idea that the latter was "dead", citing the 600 million monthly active users across multiple metaverses. However, four months later, in September, Epic cut its headcount by 16% — about 830 people — saying that unrealistic revenue expectations from the metaverse caused it to spend "way more" than it could afford. Epic has already collaborated on similar projects in the past.
SOURCE: Cointelegraph
READ ALSO ---> "Google's Gemini enters the AI market with a completely new model" by Ilaria Vanni
Ilaria Vanni is a TV journalist for italian broadcasting and coordinator of The Meta Economist portal. She has a philosphy degree and she's now studing the economic and technological issues connected to the new frontiers of the metaverse.
The number of startups and new companies led by women saw a slight increase from 8.3% in 2022 to 8.6% in the third quarter of 2023. A research by Bitget discovered that the gender gap is present also in this new workfield and this is due to the investments. Over the past two years, a research team has been studying, based on qualitative and quantitative data, to provide a transparent overview of the gap in investments received by male- and female-led blockchain startups between 2022 and 2023.
Some characteristics that emerge from the research are that:
•There is a strong need for incubators capable of nurturing start-ups founded by women and promoting a more inclusive and encouraging environment for their development
• Fundraising by blockchain startups declined 70.1% per quarter between Q1 2022 and Q3 2023.
•During the study period, blockchain startups raised $27.85 billion, with female-led blockchain startups securing only 6.34% of overall funding
•The number of female-led blockchain startups has declined by 45.2% since the start of 2022, but is already showing a recovery
The data about female-led blockchain startups is influenced, as Il Sole 24 Ore reported - by overall investment trends, the cryptocurrency market situation, investor sentiment and investor prejudices. At the end the result is that more than 90% of funding going to male-led projects. In relation to these numbers, the exchange therefore decided to launch the Blockchain4Her initiative, that allocates 10 million dollars to promote gender diversity and inclusiveness in the blockchain sector.
Gender bias has been proven to have a determining effect on investments, as statistics indicate that male-led startups have attracted $27.85 billion, while female-led blockchain startups have raised $1.77 billion, only 6.34% of the total amount. Based on this information, the amount of investments in start-ups has decreased, but does not present the same constant downward trend recorded in the previous year. Quantitative indicators of startup operations also decreased.
The new economic system was born with an equality and democratic aim. We need this to be also in order to create the same opportunities for new companies that wants to open this market crating jobs. The disparities highlighted by the study underlines that we must proactively work to create an ecosystem where talent and potential are the only criteria, without gender bias. Every work sector needs to become an inclusive environment, where everyone, regardless of gender, enjoys equal opportunities.
SOURCE: Il Sole 24 Ore
READ ALSO ---> "Google's Gemini enters the AI market with a completely new model" by Ilaria Vanni
Ilaria Vanni is a TV journalist for italian broadcasting and coordinator of The Meta Economist portal. She has a philosphy degree and she's now studing the economic and technological issues connected to the new frontiers of the metaverse.
2024 started with big news for metaverse and blockchain. One of the things we must analyze is the relationship between States, worldwide, and the new web technologies. If 3D experiences will be enabled for citizens to have public services, something will really change in daily life. And here come the States political decisions, with their strategies and their regulations of the Metaverse.
Finland has recently presented its Metaverse Strategy, which should lead it to become one of the global excellences of the metaverse by 2035. The Netherlands and South Korea are also investing on it. They will begin to seriously poke their noses into it with investments, regulations and long-term plans in general. Will Italy stand by and watch or play an active game? And finally, speaking of regulations, the first positive signs are already widely visible. Here once again the European Union demonstrates that it knows how to lead. In fact, with the recently ratified Digital Markets Act, which imposes the progressive opening of digital store monopolies, we will finally begin to get closer to the much desired interoperability of the various social worlds virtual, and therefore perhaps to the true Metaverse imagined by technology theorists.
The Finnish government report, entitled ‘Metaverse Initiative by the Finnish Ecosystem: Virtual Potential into Real-World Impact’, states that Finland would like to become “a global leader in the metaverse industry”. The country is home to leading companies in extended reality, such as Varjo, Dispelix, and Optofidelity, but also to important companies in the telecom sector, like Nokia and Cinia. Finland also ranks among the best in the world in several converging technologies. While China, Japan, the UK, and the United Arab Emirates have started to work on similar strategies, this is the first national metaverse strategy from an EU member state.
According to the Finnish report, as Euractiv reported, while there have been several definitions, today, “the term [metaverse] has been used to describe various visions of virtual worlds that are immersive and experiential, and that may integrate elements of the physical and digital worlds.”
For users, it is also possible to socialise, communicate, or trade in the metaverse and move between virtual worlds and platforms while transferring their data. According to Patrick Grady, editor at policy hub Metaverse EU, Finland’s “definition for the ‘metaverse’—and not ‘virtual worlds’—helps to clarify rather than confuse key elements of new immersive technology”.
In the report we can read: “Finland’s geopolitical position between superpowers of the world allows it to balance its interests between different actors and regions and to create mutual trust in other countries”.
Finland city Tampere has a pioneering position among metaverse cities and smart cities innovation. Many of the metaverse themes where at the center of Tampere Smart City Expo & Conference in Finland. By seamlessly combining the digital and physical worlds, the metaverse creates a vibrant digital environment that enhances the lives of city dwellers. It fosters and promotes a hassle-free everyday experience for citizens and provides a favorable platform for businesses to thrive. As Business wire reported, with its forward-thinking approach, Tampere is setting the stage for the future of urban living.
"We invite companies to test their solutions in Tampere. The city acts as a testing platform and an open partner for businesses and research. Through intelligent solutions, our goal is to enhance the well-being of citizens, provide a positive urban experience, and create favorable conditions for people's everyday lives", listed Teppo Rantanen, the Executive Director of Growth, Innovation and Competitiveness at the City of Tampere.
Tampere's metaverse development is a result of collaborations with industry-leading companies. Through partnerships with VTT and global technology giants such as Microsoft and Nokia. Revolutionize the urban planning and create intelligent solutions has to be mixed with the well-being of its residents.
2035 is the year, according to the report, that the annual metaverse industry turnover will be more than €30 billion. Finland aims to become a global leader by achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal and this would be translated in "reducing emissions, enhancing circularity, improving wellbeing, and fostering social cohesion”.
Finland’s Metaverse strategy highlights a firm commitment to protecting digital rights and ethics, placing premium importance on user privacy, security, and independence. The Finnish metaverse idea is shaped to connect “different actors, sectors, and domains” and to ensure an environment “for standardisation, regulation, cybersecurity, and education”. Metaverse has to be designed as "inclusive and accessible for all people regardless of their background, location, or abilities”. The other aspect that is underlined in the Finnish strategy towards metaverse is to become a “global advocate for digital rights and ethics in the metaverse”, making sure that the “users’ privacy, security, and autonomy are respected and protected” so to create transparency, and accountability in the governance and development of the metaverse.
Let's say in the end that step by step Finland could contribute to create a global model for States that wants to use web at the top of its potential, with the new immersive experience.
SOURCES: Euractiv, Businesswire
Read also: Metaverse: how many inhabitants?
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Ilaria Vanni is a TV journalist for italian broadcasting and coordinator of The Meta Economist portal. She has a philosphy degree and she's now studing the economic and technological issues connected to the new frontiers of the metaverse.
A look from Scott Newton's point of view about the digital transformation that companies are living in the last decade. Scott Newton is a company advisor, he is also The Managing Partner of Thinking Dimensions, and a member of the Board of Directors at Strategy Tools.
Mr. Newton works with Boards, CEOs, Private Equity, and senior leaders on Strategy, M&A, Value Creation, and Digital Transformation with an emphasis on embedding sustainability into their business models today and for the future.
His experiences have taken him to North America, Latin America, Europe, MENA, and Asia Pacific regions assisting global organizations in major change. Scott and his teams focus on building new business model portfolios, future proofing the organization, and linking impact to sustainable growth and profitability opportunities.
ESG is a major point of attention in the board room and the C- Suite, and with more than 25 years of international experience in advisory activities balanced between both multinational and family- controlled enterprises, Scott has had the unique opportunity to assist more than 250 CEO’s and Senior Business Leaders.
The organizations Scott works with achieve speed, alignment, and most importantly sustainable results by focusing on the necessary competencies to develop with a long-term view in mind.
Ilaria Vanni is a TV journalist for italian broadcasting and coordinator of The Meta Economist portal. She has a philosphy degree and she's now studing the economic and technological issues connected to the new frontiers of the metaverse.
FRANCE - The company Societe Generale has issued its first digital green bond, leading an important step toward a blockchain system working side by side with the classical finance. The bond is a Security Token directly registered by SG-FORGE on the public Ethereum blockchain. Société Générale is the fourth bank for capitalization of banking groups in the Eurozone. It is the fourth biggest French bank by total assets after BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole and BPCE.
This operation is ensuring greater transparency and traceability of ESG data. AXA Investment Managers and Generali Investments, fully subscribed these security tokens. This transaction represents the first digital green bond issued by Societe Generale to exploit the differentiating features of the blockchain, which allows for greater transparency and traceability, as well as greater fluidity and speed in transactions and settlement.
This inaugural transaction is structured as a 10 million euros senior unsecured bond with a 3-year maturity. An amount equivalent to the net proceeds of this bond will be used exclusively to finance or refinance Elispective Green Activity, as defined in the Green, Social and Sustainability Bond Framework of Societe Generale which, since its first inaugural issue in 2015, has been an issuer common occurrence of instruments of this type. This issuance also marks a first step towards the use of blockchain for data storage and as a certification tool for issuers and investors to promote greater ESG data transparency and positive impact on a global scale.
The Société Généra's operation brings two fundamental innovations for the green bonds. The first thing is related to the informations on carbon emissions related to the digital green bond infrastructure, those infos will be available 24 hours a day in open access directly in the bond's smart contract. So that issuers and investors can measure the carbon emissions of their issues on the financial platform. In particular this tool was introduced by a new SG-FORGE service that follows the publication of its first comprehensive report on carbon emissions on Security Tokens. The other new option is to settle the delivery of securities on-chain (the data that are part of a blockchain) through the Euro CoinVertible, the digital asset issued by SG-FORGE in April 2023. While Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) solutions are in the testing phase, this range of settlement methods demonstrates SG-FORGE's broad capabilities in providing a full range of on-chain services.
SOURCES: La Stampa, Finance Community
Ilaria Vanni is a TV journalist for italian broadcasting and coordinator of The Meta Economist portal. She has a philosphy degree and she's now studing the economic and technological issues connected to the new frontiers of the metaverse.
NEW YORK - Forbes places on Ethereum its "Under 30" list. 30 names of 30 brilliant young people, in different categories, that could make the future of business. The decision is valid for the North America's list. So the data and profiles of the people included on the list, will be permanently recorded on blockchain. This decision indirectly promotes Web 3 and the new technologies linked to Web 3 and also underlines an important fact. Many blockchain and crypto innovators were part of the list in previous years.
The announcement was made by Forbes itself and will be active on Ethereum blockchain. This is to permanently archive published data, including profiles of individual people, but also to promote the potential of blockchain technology and Web3. The list has been published for 30 years now, and represents a now prestigious recognition for individuals in every type of sector, from media, through sports, technology, finance and education, up to art and music. “Forbes is at the forefront of combining traditional media with cutting-edge technology,” said Vadim Supitskiy, chief digital and information officer at Forbes. “By launching our 'Under 30' on the Ethereum blockchain, in addition to recognizing emerging young leaders, we are also demonstrating the vast untapped potential of blockchain technology in the field of data storage and security.”
As we can read in the official article by Forbes, on November the 28th, was announced the 13thannual Under 30 List for the Class of 2024, recognizing 600 leaders from North America, within 20 different industries, many of whom are creating meaningful change through their entrepreneurship.
“This is one of the most diverse and ambitious Under 30 classes to-date, and particularly in terms of the scope of their work and impact of their leadership,” said Kristin Stoller, Senior Editor, Forbes Under 30. “The large majority are founders or cofounders of a company, but creators and performers are also making their mark as they build their brands beyond traditional artistic scopes.”
Collectively, the Class of 2024 has raised $3.6 billion in fundraising and the celebrities, musicians and creators on the list captured a combined 780M+ social media following. Gen Z gained a stronger presence on this year’s list, making up 33% of the list, up from 22% in 2023.”
SOURCEs: Forbes, The CryptoGateWay
Ilaria Vanni is a TV journalist for italian broadcasting and coordinator of The Meta Economist portal. She has a philosphy degree and she's now studing the economic and technological issues connected to the new frontiers of the metaverse.
SINGAPORE - Cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex Thailand has thrown investors into disarray by announcing an immediate suspension of digital asset trading until early next year. On November 25, 2023 at 1:00 PM, the Company temporarily suspended digital asset trading and deposits. The decision was made in response to the stringent criteria imposed by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission, as stated by the platform through a post on Facebook on Saturday afternoon.
In an official post we can read: “Zipmex Limited wishes to ensure the proper and compliant conduct of its business operations in accordance with the stability criteria of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand.” However, customers will still be able to withdraw Thai baht and digital assets from their Trade Wallet via the website and mobile app until January 31, 2024.
As The Paypers reported: "The suspension follows several difficulties for Zipmex, with the most recent one being in April 2023 when the company delayed paying its customers due to an attempt to increase returns for them. At that time, Zipmex requested an additional extension that would enable a longer moratorium on its debt in Singapore amid the firm’s liquidity issues. In January 2023 the company was the subject of an investigation by SEC Thailand due to a potential breach of local regulations for digital asset service providers. The Thai SEC requested Zipmex to clarify whether it was operating as a digital asset fund manager without permission in the region and, if true, the company was obliged to obtain a permit before conducting business in Thailand. Investigations into the activity of the exchange had been going on for an extended period of time".
So what we know so far is that the exchange company, based in Singapore and operating in Thailand, Australia and Indonesia, is currently subject to sanctions by the Thai SEC and this began several months ago. The sanctions stem from the improper use of a digital asset custody service and steering customers to another exchange, Singapore's Zipmex Pte, causing a potential conflict of interest.
Lately the platform has been hit by a number of difficulties over time. Last year, it suspended withdrawals due to market volatility and liquidity crisis resulting from exposure to Babel Finance. Zipmex has also run into problems repaying creditors following losses related to exposure to cryptocurrency lenders such as Babel Finance and Genesis. Zipmex's $100 million takeover attempt collapsed earlier this year when the buyer, V Ventures said, withdrew its takeover offer. Despite attempts to restructure and sell a majority stake, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation into alleged regulatory violations in the offering of digital products continued to cast a shadow over the exchange.
SOURCES: Crypto News, The Paypers
Photo credit: Steve Johnson
Ilaria Vanni is a TV journalist for italian broadcasting and coordinator of The Meta Economist portal. She has a philosphy degree and she's now studing the economic and technological issues connected to the new frontiers of the metaverse.
Over the weekend, AI tokens went at the top of their trend, linked to a series of developments related to key companies in the sector. There were a couple of example followed by a big enthusiastic answer about this trend. One is the Elon Musk statements on xAI tokens: "Elon Musk said that X Corp shareholders boast a 25% stake in xAI, his new AI venture, and that he recently began testing his Grok chatbot. As Crypto Slate explains, Sam Altman's move from OpenAI to Microsoft, where he will head a new research team on advanced artificial intelligence, also had positive repercussions. Bittensor's TAO token rose a further 4.2% after rising 77% over the past week. Ocean Protocol's OCEAN, Fetch AI's FET, and SingularityNet's AGIX have increased by up to 16% in the last 24 hours". Data from CryptoSlate shows that digital assets in the sector grew by more than 9% over the last day and by over 11% during the past week. Additionally, tokens in the sector saw their trading volume exceed $1 billion during the last 24 hours.
On the surprising raising of AI tokens a central role was played by YPRED, whose pre-sale is sailing quickly towards 5 million dollars. yPredict is an advanced platform used for research and analysis in the field of trading. Its goal is to provide valuable information to help operators make informed decisions. It brings together artificial intelligence/machine learning experts, financial quants and expert traders, committed to developing various analytical tools and platforms that use the latest financial forecasting methods and metrics. yPredict offer access to data-driven insights, proven analytics metrics and even a prediction marketplace.
The cryptocurrency market is always going ap and down, for this reason it can discourage the less experienced from investing their money in any token. YPredict, an all-in-one trading dashboard, was born to simplify the prediction of price movements for those who want to invest in cryptocurrencies. The aim of yPredict is to become a point of reference for investors, analysts and traders, given that it uses artificial intelligence to make the results of its forecasts accurate and offers metrics that are easy to understand for everyone, even the less experienced. The platform offers a free subscription, but you will need to have YPRED tokens to access the premium tools.
yPredict stands out as one of the most cutting-edge cryptocurrency platforms, thanks to the integration of Artificial Intelligence. It offers a range of interactive services based on real-time market data, such as creating crypto predictions through AI, which analyzes assets precisely thanks to access to relevant data and machine learning models. Furthermore, the platform provides a trading signal system that allows users to receive real-time notifications on the best market opportunities, even for assets already present in their wallet. Finally, yPredict offers market sentiment analysis, allowing you to identify purchasing trends and identify cryptocurrencies to monitor more carefully. According to numerous cryptocurrency market experts, the promising future of this platform is largely linked to the key role of its native token: YPRED. The services mentioned previously, in fact, are accessible exclusively through the purchase of a subscription with the YPRED token, which gives them a crucial role in the internal dynamics of the ecosystem.
SOURCE: Crypto Slate, Coin News, Coin Market Cap
Photo credit: Steve Johnson
Ilaria Vanni is a TV journalist for italian broadcasting and coordinator of The Meta Economist portal. She has a philosphy degree and she's now studing the economic and technological issues connected to the new frontiers of the metaverse.
