AR/XR/AI Weekly Insights

The Future of Shopping podcast: Why the future of the internet is back to basics

Vogue Business’s senior innovation editor Maghan McDowell is joined by Carol Hilsum, who has spent two decades in fashion e-commerce, including Topshop, Net-a-Porter and Farfetch, where she led corporate ventures and oversaw investments in over 40 startups at the intersection of fashion and tech. Now a co-founder of consultancy StudioThree, Hilsum advises startups and investors on the technologies and themes most important to the industry.

In this episode, she shared her predictions for the future and her perspectives on artificial intelligence, Web3 and spatial computing, among other hot topics. With first-person anecdotes from the early days of e-commerce —?including a professor who helped build Net-a-Porter’s first personalisation tool, and why the retail sales floor was her favourite job yet —?Hilsum highlights how far the industry has come, and the problems that remain. She also reveals her top advice for startups today, with unfiltered thoughts on which buzzwords should be left by the wayside. (Vogue Business)

Uber Eats launches a TikTok-like video feed to boost discovery

Uber Eats is launching a TikTok-like short-form video feed to boost discovery and help restaurants showcase their dishes. Uber Eats’ senior director of Product, Awaneesh Verma, told TechCrunch exclusively in an interview that the new feed is being tested in New York, San Francisco and Toronto. The company plans to launch the feed worldwide in the future.

With this launch, Uber Eats now joins numerous other popular apps that have launched their own short-form video feeds following TikTok’s rise in popularity, including Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Netflix to name a few. TechCrunch also recently learned that LinkedIn has started experimenting with its own TikTok-like feed. (Tech Crunch)

The first music video generated with OpenAI’s unreleased Sora model is here

OpenAI wowed the tech community and many in media and arts earlier this year — while also raising feathers of traditional videographers and artists — by showing off a new AI model called Sora that makes realistic, high-resolution and smooth video up to 60 seconds per clip.

The tech remains unreleased to the public for now — OpenAI said at the time, back in February 2024, that it was making Sora “available to red teamers to assess critical areas for harms or risks” and a selected small group of “visual artists, designers, and filmmakers.” But that hasn’t stopped some of the initial wave of users from making and publishing new projects with it. (VentureBeat)

Why AI-created virtual avatars are the future of digital selling

Welcome to the world of digital influencing, where AI avatars promote products and sing pop songs. Iva Filipovi? of EPAM Systems, Inc. explains why this trend is here to stay. The world of digital influencing is undergoing a significant shift, propelled by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), spatial computing, and 3D modeling. (The Drum)

Can AI Unlock AR’s True Potential?

Until fairly recently, developments in AR and AI have largely been two separate conversations in the tech community. While AI is already used on the back end to build immersive AR experiences on mobile devices, its role is quickly evolving to help merge the physical and digital worlds when applied to AR glasses.

AI enhances both the back-end development and the user experience; it allows developers to build 3D models faster and more efficiently than before, while enabling real-time communication across language barriers. Thanks to the evolution of both technologies, we’re on the precipice of a significant lifestyle change in which the physical and digital worlds will seamlessly merge with AI-enabled AR. (AR Insider)

"More Snapchat" Live at the 2024 NewFronts

Snapchat was purposely built to be different than traditional social media and as a place to communicate with real friends and family. Our relationship-driven platform and happy, active, and growing community of 422 million daily active users have created a positive environment where brands and advertisers can drive better outcomes.

Today, Snap returned to the IAB NewFronts with “More Snapchat" to bring the magic of Snapchat to life for partners and announce new solutions, programs, and content partnerships for advertisers to connect with Snapchat’s unique and growing audience. Leveraging innovative multimedia projection mapping technology, we reimagined the historic Cipriani 25 Broadway into an immersive experience that captures the spirit, vibrancy, and joyful world of Snapchat. (Snap Newsroom)

The Estée Lauder Companies is banking on AI with Microsoft

It’s a collaboration that perfectly embodies the rapprochement between technology and luxury beauty. The cosmetics group has formed a new partnership with digital giant Microsoft with the aim of creating an artificial intelligence innovation laboratory, dedicated to its Prestige segment.

New technological tools for luxury homes from Estée Lauder Companies

From beauty to technology, there is only one step. In any case, this is the vision of Estée Lauder Companies . The cosmetics firm has strengthened its relationship with Microsoft , the second most valuable group in the world according to the Brand Finance Global 500 2024 report, seven years after their first merger. (Journal du Luxe)

NewFronts '24: Introducing New Premium Ad Solutions for Marketers

TikTok is where culture starts, connecting people and brands across various experiences, cultures and communities. With our innovative product suite, advertisers have the opportunity to align their brand with the top trending, cultural moments. The TikTok Pulse suite guarantees ad adjacency to the top 4% of videos trending across categories, seasonal moments or content from our premium publishing partners in lifestyle & education, sports, and entertainment, increasing ad recall by +9.8%. (4)

We're excited to announce new publishers to the Pulse Premiere program including Paramount Global and the National Hockey League (NHL) that have joined our extensive roster of publisher partners including BuzzFeed, Conde Nast, Dotdash Meredith, Hearst, Vox, MLB, MLS, NBCU, NFL, WWE, and UFC. (TikTok Newsroom)

Walmart and Roblox are teaming up to make virtual e-commerce a reality

As of today, Walmart is able to sell physical goods directly to users inside Roblox. The introduction of real-life e-commerce could be a watershed moment for the company’s ambitions to become an all-encompassing destination for virtual life.

Walmart’s Roblox e-commerce experience launches later today, with users inside the pre-existing Walmart Discovered able to have real-life items shipped directly to their doorsteps. Users entering the experience will be greeted with a new storefront showcasing virtual twins of select physical items sold at real-life Walmart stores.?(Digiday)

More immersive projects here.

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