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Photoshopping the Future š¤Ā šŖ
Photoshopās AI Leap, Neuralink Human Trials, Shutterstock Buys Giphy, China & Web3
ADOBEāS FIREFLY MAKES PHOTOSHOPPING AN EVEN BIGGER THREAT
š TLDR:
In this weekās Whatās Appening, we cover the next evolution of Photoshop. No, scratch that. This is more like a revolution, as Generative AI image doctoring goes mainstream with Adobe releasing the latest version of Photoshop powered by its Firefly AI engine. So you thought Photoshopped images posed a problem before? Just wait till you get a load of this. In other news this week, we cover the FDA approval of Elon Muskās brain implants! We also take a look at Shutterstock, which has pounced on Metaās woes to snap up Giphy for a bargain. Our Stat of the Week looks at ChatGPT App downloads. And Whatās Appening looks at a new frontier in web3 - China.
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Takes š¬ļø
š¤Ā šŖĀ Adobe ā Firefly AI Brings Photoshopping to a Whole New Level
For a while now, weāve learned to be a little bit skeptical when viewing images shared on the internet. Skilled (and letās be honest, unskilled) designers have been doctoring up photos for years and many of us have fallen for it. Thankfully, most of the fake images created online are easily distinguished from real ones, including last weekās āexplosion at the Pentagonā. While it was obvious to many of us that photo wasnāt real, it nevertheless caused social media to erupt, and, momentarily, even caused the stock market to take a dive! But the latest beta version of Photoshop dropped, and that may lead to far more believable and dangerous fake images in the future: Introducing Firefly, a Generative AI engine that allows one to simply imagine changes to an image, and Firefly magically makes it happen with a simple prompt. The results are astounding. Photographs can be changed, or extended. Some of the most fascinating examples include very easily adding background and further context around an original image. And yes, itās so easy, and spectacular, and frightening, but you can be your own judge of that. Check out the examples here or just search the hashtag #Firefly on Twitter. As of now, this new version of Photoshop is in public beta with the official version released later this year. Itās an exciting, yet dangerous, tool, able to shape our perceptions, our conceptions, and, perhaps, our elections. Awesome, yet very, very, very scary. #PhotoshoppingFuture Read more here.
š§ Ā š¾Ā Neuralink ā FDA Approval Granted for āBrain Implantā Human Trials
Last Thursday, the FDA granted approval for Neuralink, the Elon Musk-founded neurotechnology company, to proceed with human trials for its brain implants. The approval came at the second time of asking, as the FDA rebuffed the proposal in March, citing safety concerns. However, it has now changed course, paving the way for voluntary (we would hope so!) human trials to begin āsoonā. There is, of course, a touch of the dystopian cyberpunk movie about all this, and if we had a dollar for every social media post we have seen about Elon Muskās penchant for blowing things upā¦..But there is a serious side to this. Itās not about mind control or any crazy rewiring of your brain. In fact, the way Neuralink works is somewhat prosaic ā itās effectively Bluetooth technology for your brain. The Neuralink chip will interpret signals from your brain, which will then be relayed to devices ā computers, smartphones, etc. ā via a Bluetooth signal. That, in turn, could help those with severe disabilities use technology, helping them move, communicate, and even see for the first time. Of course, itās understandable that some folks will poke fun at the idea, and there are some who will focus on the ethics behind this. Yet, we should not forget that there are folks who will see this as a ray of hope, a moonshot opportunity that would not have been thought possible just a decade ago. We give Elon Musk plenty of criticism here on Whatās Appening, but weād like to believe that this is coming from a position of altruism. There are many more regulatory hurdles to jump over before Neuralink becomes a reality, but the FDA has given some people with disabilities reason to believe that day will come a little sooner. #MindBlowing Read more here.
šøš° Shutterstock ā Giphy Acquisition Comes at a Fraction of Metaās Outlay
Shutterstock, the platform best known for its stock photos and related services, has agreed to a $53 million deal to buy Giphy, the worldās largest GIF library. Itās a deal that certainly makes sense for Shutterstock as it extends the scope of its services across the digital marketing landscape. However, the deal is arguably all the sweeter for Shutterstock when you consider that Meta bought Giphy for $400 million just three years ago. While Meta has been known to overpay for stuff down the years, Shutterstockās bargaining position was strengthened by the fact Meta had to sell, given the antitrust order handed down by the UKās CMA regulator a few weeks back. With 1.3 billion search queries per day on Giphy ā and a whopping 15 billion daily media impressions ā this seems like a bargain for Shutterstock, although monetizing Giphy has never been easy. We should note, as well, that the terms of the deal include an API agreement with Meta, meaning access will continue to Giphy across Metaās family of apps. #GoodGiphyDeal Read more here.
š§ Stat of the Week: 500K DownloadsĀ
š¤šĀ ChatGPT ā iPhone App Hits Half a Million Downloads in Just Six Days
We always knew it would be a hit, but the rush to get the ChatGPT app was quite impressive, given the limited release and the fact it is an iPhone-only app (for now). Half a million downloads in such a short period of time make ChatGPT one of the highest-performing app releases of the last couple of years, only topped by Donald Trumpās Truth Social, which saw a flurry of downloads in February 2022. Nonetheless, itās an auspicious start for ChatGPT in app form, and one that will only gain traction when it expands to new territories and arrives on the Google Play Store. #FastChat Read more here.
šøļø Whatās dAppening?
ššļø Web3 ā Beijing Releases White Paper for Web3 Innovation and Development
China is widely viewed as anti-cryptocurrency. The Communist Party banned Bitcoin and all crypto transactions in September 2021 in one of many clampdowns on the industry. There has, however, been a softening of late, and that includes a White Paper published last week, which will position Beijing as a global innovation hub for web3. The language of the document is extraordinary when you consider the countryās previous stance on crypto, with statements calling web3 an āinevitable trend for future internet industry developmentā. The timing is also significant, as Hong Kong will open up crypto trading this Thursday. And last week, Nanjing, the capital of one of Chinaās eastern provinces, announced a government-backed metaverse project. Of course, we canāt see China becoming a hub for the kind of decentralized freedom web3 proponents believe in, but it is certainly seeing the potential in the web3 economy. Once again, it makes us wonder at some of the actions of the regulators in the US. If America doesnāt become the global epicenter of web3 innovation, other nations will gleefully grasp the opportunity. #ChinaWeb3 Read more here.
Meanwhile at 3Advanceā¦
Itās our 13th birthday!Ā ššš
What a journey! What started as a one-man half-smoke app developer (thankās Benās Chili Bowl! š) has transformed into a badass product team that's constantly pushing the limits and revolutionizing the digital landscape. But here's the thing: our success isn't solely measured by the projects we tackle or the products we deliver. It's defined by the deep connections we form, the true partnerships we forge, and the long-lasting impact we create.
We take immense pride not in our beautiful designs weāve brought to life, but most importantly the digital businesses weāve brought to life. And on this special anniversary, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to our exceptional team and remarkable clients. It's because of your unwavering trust and support that we've achieved incredible milestones and made a lasting difference.
Cheers to 13 years of growth, empowerment, and innovation. And here's to the many more years ahead, where we'll continue to make a lasting impact in the digital world.
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