Innovative Insights: Sports, AI, Health, and More!

Welcome back to The Chris Worsey Newsletter, everyone!

Like always, we will be breaking down the five most interesting stories that I found over the course of this last week. 

Today, we have a technology special! From sport, to medicine, AI, and more, the digital revolution knows no bounds and we’re here to find out how!

Before we get into it, though, be sure to check out my newest Youtube video on venture capital, and its history you may not know about!

1) The MLS: Football’s Future?

Usually, we don’t kick off by talking about sport. However, this story caught my attention.  See, as someone who works in the sports-technology industry, I’m always looking for new trends in how elite clubs are integrating new technologies into their operations. 

In recent years, the MLS has been at the forefront of such innovations. This week, they added some more tools to their arsenal. 

• Through the league’s very own sports technology incubator – the MLS Innovation Lab – the MLS has introduced six new start ups.

  • Aiming to replicate the program’s success in its first year, the firms inducted are said to specialise in key technological priorities for the league including fan engagement, player performance, and media.

• In addition to that announcement, the league also introduced their newest partnership — one with OneFootball.

  • Made with the aim of improving global fans with the league, OneFootball repository will allow for data regarding the league’s action to become more easily accessible. 

2) The Only way is up!

When a certain level of success is reached in the corporate world, a company tends to go through some fairly big changes. 

Recently, OpenAI found that out first-hand. Seeing several top-level executives leave the company all while new initiatives were being made, it's fair to say the last few weeks have been fairly intense. 

Yet, with that, development hasn’t stopped. 

• This week, at the firm’s annual DevDay, OpenAI announced numerous new tools and features.

  • Specifically, the firm announced the introduction of a Real-time API. 

• Enabling the creation of applications with low-latency, AI-generated voice responses, the Realtime API can open increased avenues for developer innovation and user engagement.

3) A Huge Step in the Right Direction

Leaps in modern medicine never cease to amaze me. 

Although, seemingly a major theme of our newsletter every week, the way technology is being integrated into the healthcare industry is a sight to behold. 

• On Monday, Caltech released an article regarding new innovations in the field of cardiovascular disease detection. 

  • In fact, they released information regarding a new laser-based headset that can actually measure blood flow and assess the risk of stroke. 

• While current measures exist in clinical settings, there are no scalable and cost-effective ways to test the brain’s function. 

  • Using this technology, new avenues for early diagnosis and prevention of strokes will become available and, perhaps, lead the way for more personalised treatment options and improved patient outcomes.

4) One More Year…

When it comes to breakthroughs in the technology industry, time moves fast. Very fast. 

It doesn’t seem too long ago that generative AI broke onto the scene, and now, it seems as though its next big iteration is only one year away… 

• A few days ago, Microsoft’s head of AI, Mustafa Suleyman, stated that AI assistants with immense long-term memories are only around one year away… 

  • This move – if completed – would represent a huge leap in Microsoft’s AI capabilities

• Specifically, the product would be able to recall conversations and interactions from the past, enhancing user experiences and encouraging engagement through time investment and personalisation.

5) Not Done Just Yet…

On the topic of new AI models, earlier this week Nvidia – a world leader in AI computing – made a very big announcement… 

Launching their newest open-source AI Model, we could see yet another shift in the world of Artificial Intelligence.

• Named NVLM 1.0, the AI is said to excel in numerous unique applications.

  • Made to show improved performance in text-only tasks, NVLM 1.0 will be able to combine vision and language capabilities all while challenging companies like OpenAI and Google.

• What particularly interested me about this story, though, is the effects that Nvidia’s open-source resource could have on the future development of AI applications. "The use of AI in research has allowed us to map the distribution of geoglyphs in a faster and more precise way." 

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!