Innovation: From Meta to Medicine

Welcome back to The Chris Worsey Newsletter!

As is the case every Friday, today we will be breaking down five of the most intriguing stories that I encountered over the course of this last week. 

From technology, to healthcare, business, and even affairs related to outer space, stick around – there’s something here for everyone…

Let’s get into it!

1) Meta: Times Are Changing… 

There is no disputing that Meta is one of the world’s biggest and most influential companies. When they make decisions, the world takes note.

Now, why do I say that? Well, their most recent announcement could paint a picture of the current landscape of innovation.

• This week, Meta announced the impending closure of its Spark AR Studio

  • This came as a huge surprise to many given that Spark was the firm’s main platform for the creation and development of all things Augmented Reality

• While specific details behind why this was done have yet to been released, many speculate that the firm is set to turn their focus onto AI-related activities

  • In the above tweet – while it may be unrelated – this idea seems to have been given a new lease of life…

• By releasing content related to the creation of Sapiens, Meta have shown a deep commitment to progression in the field of AI

  • Using advanced tracking-AI, Sapiens is a collection of high-performance vision models developed to excel in real-world environments by performing various tasks

2) Ride Hailing in Space?

Elon Musk, as ever, has been in the forefront of people’s social media pages all over the world. 

With most news revolving around his recent interactions with former President Donald Trump, what we plan to talk about today has to do with something else; a more thought-provoking tweet sent out by Musk…

• While obviously said in tongue and cheek, Musk’s most recent tweet is referencing NASA’s collaboration with SpaceX – Musk’s space exploration company – to return astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS)

  • While Butch Wilmore and Suni William’s were originally set to return on the Boeing Starliner, SpaceX will now take charge of their return 

  • The decision, although not sounding as such at first, has provided a significant shift in the current makeup of space travel and could have major implications

• Musk has extensive plans for space travel and while, yes, this decision is merely operational, the growing presence of SpaceX as a major player in the industry could see us edge closer to some big changes in the future

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3) The Future of Medicine

As we continually mention, the potential for technology to contribute positively in this world is huge.

Allowing humans to achieve strides in various fields, the precision at which advanced systems work have shown their ability to contribute to increased accuracy and efficiency. 

• Earlier this week, Openwater – a medical equipment manufacturing company – announced that it has secured $54 million in a new round of funding

  • Bringing the total secured by the firm up to $100 million, developers will now be given more of an opportunity to continue the development of their unique work

• Aiming to break the boundaries of what is currently practised in modern medicine, Openwater is looking to create a foundation for which drug-free healthcare can become a viable and accessible option to treat illnesses

  • While more specifics can be found here, Openwater’s platform essentially uses various technological infrastructure to allow for new, ground-breaking visualisation and treatment of biological conditions 

4) The NFL: A Huge Change

In modern sport, while performances on the field are – obviously – incredibly significant, what often dictates the success of a team is the management off of it.

We’re one week away from the start of the new NFL season and, earlier this week, the organisation made a huge announcement. 

• This week, the NFL announced a huge change to the allowed ownership structure of teams competing in the league

  • From this week forwards, the league will allow private equity firms to buy passive minority stakes in teams

  • This deal will allow investors to buy between 3-10% of any given team

  • With the idea only being rejected by the Cincinnati Bengals in a vote that ended 31-1, the announcement comes after many months of deliberation

• This change signals a shift into an even more commercialised and investment-driven approach to the league. 

  • The implications of such a decision will, as you can imagine, vary depending on each team, owner, and other factors. 

  • On a more generalised scale, however, while the decision could lead to increased capital, diverse ownership, and strategic growth, it will be interesting to see whether potential conflicts of interest will grow from this

5) OpenAI: A New Era

When discussing the topic of AI, there seems to be one thing that gets universally mentioned… ChatGPT.

Bursting onto the scene over the last few years, ChatGPT – a chatbot created by OpenAI – has transformed the way people interact with AI. Offering accessible interfaces, the application has been revolutionary and soon, we may be witnessing the next step… 

• Set to be released in Fall, this week OpenAI announced their newest AI model ‘Strawberry’

  • Holding the ability to problem-solve beyond the capabilities of existing AI models, ‘Strawberry’ will be able to perform deep research and carry out complex tasks

• Pushing boundaries to reach a level of advanced reasoning that has been unseen before, if ‘Strawberry’ releases to the level it seems to be aiming to achieve, we could be in for – yet another – revolution in the realm of AI.

That’s all we have for this week… Enjoy the weekend! If you want to stay up-to-date with even more interesting bits of news, make sure to follow me on my socials!