📔 Weekly Journal: 3 Practical Use-Cases for AR
[6 min read] Your weekend guide to getting ahead on the digital frontier. Today, the usual market news & how AR glasses could help expert-guided learning, driving safety, and enhance accessibility.
Welcome to this week’s Weekly Journal 📔, your guide to the latest news & innovation in emerging technology, digital assets, and our exciting path to the Metaverse. This is week 102 of the 520 weeks of newsletters I have committed to, a decade of documenting our physical and digital lives converge.
New subscribers are encouraged to check out the history & purpose of this newsletter as well as the archive.
- Ryan
🌐 Digital Assets Market Update
To me, the Metaverse is the convergence of physical & virtual lives. As we work, play and socialise in virtual worlds, we need virtual currencies & assets. These have now reached mainstream finance as a defined asset class:
🔥🗺️ 7-day heatmap below, showing the current share of the market for the top cryptocurrencies, and their change in price over the last week. A sea of green this week.
🎭 Crypto Fear and Greed Index is based on volatility, social media sentiments, surveys, market momentum, and a few other bits and pieces.
🗞️ Interesting news from this week
Mark Zuckerberg’s early metaverse investment, once seen as a costly gamble, has now dramatically paid off, boosting his wealth to $201 billion—nearly six times its value in two years. Meta’s shares surged 60% this year, driven by the success of its Orion augmented reality glasses and pivot from social media to the metaverse. The company’s transition to a metaverse-focused business, bolstered by AI advancements, has revitalized its stock. Zuckerberg's shift in public image, along with strategic cost-cutting and investments in AI and hardware, has positioned Meta as a key player in the emerging metaverse, driving his remarkable financial growth.
Speaking of Meta, their Project Aria, part of the development of Meta Orion AR glasses, introduced three exciting potential applications:
Learning from Experts: Orion could teach practical skills by providing real-time, expert-guided AR lessons. Researchers are capturing expert actions (e.g., chefs, athletes, mechanics) to help users gradually improve their skills. Watch Project Aria Case Study - University of Bristol:
Driving More Safely: Using outward cameras and eye-tracking, Orion could predict driver intent, such as detecting if a driver hasn’t seen a pedestrian and alerting them to prevent accidents. Watch Project Aria Case Study - IIIT Hyderabad:
Maximizing Accessibility: Orion could assist individuals with hearing loss by using sound directionality and visual prompts, as well as aid those with visual impairments by providing real-time navigation assistance. Watch Project Aria Case Study - University of Iowa:
👓 Read of the Week
This weeks read is: Elon Musk and Dogecoin: How the Billionaire Became the 'Dogefather'. Dogecoin was once a joke, but the meme coin gained traction after Elon Musk backed it. Now he's set to co-lead a D.O.G.E. government agency.
Elon Musk's involvement with Dogecoin, once a meme cryptocurrency, has transformed it into a significant digital asset. Initially created as a joke, Dogecoin gained traction through Musk's social media endorsements, with his playful tweets fueling price surges. In 2024, Musk's influence expanded with his role in leading the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.), further elevating Dogecoin's profile. His public affection for the coin, combined with its growing mainstream awareness, highlights how meme-based digital currencies could gain relevance in the emerging metaverse, where humour, community engagement, and blockchain innovation intertwine to shape new economic landscapes.
🎥 Watch of the week
In this video, Maya Murad explores the evolution of AI agents and their pivotal role in revolutionizing AI systems. From monolithic models to compound AI systems, discover how AI agents integrate with databases and external tools to enhance problem-solving capabilities and adaptability.
AI 🎨🤖🎵✍🏼
In the Metaverse, AI will be critical for creating intelligent virtual environments and avatars that can understand and respond to users with human-like cognition and natural interactions:
I enjoyed reading how New York Times reporter Eli Tan experimented with AI-driven dating apps and services, where chatbots were trained to replicate his personality, mannerisms, and even voice. The concept of AI clones, envisioned as "dating concierges" or "synthetics" by industry leaders, is still in its infancy. These clones engage in conversations with real people on behalf of users, helping them navigate dating profiles, initiate conversations, and provide feedback on interactions.
However, Tan’s experiment revealed mixed results. While some AI clones mimicked his behaviour well, others faltered, producing awkward or impersonal exchanges. Apps like Ice and Volar allowed clones to engage in simulated dating scenarios, while AI coaches like Amori and Rizz offered real-time advice and message-crafting support. Despite the promise of AI’s convenience and efficiency, Tan found the experience to be somewhat dehumanising, as it lacked the genuine connection found in face-to-face interactions.
Ultimately, the AI clones failed to enhance his dating life, highlighting the challenge of balancing automation with human emotion in the metaverse, where technology continues to shape new forms of virtual intimacy.
That’s all for the free version this week! If you have any organisations in mind that could benefit from learning about emerging technology, be sure to reach out. Educational workshops are one of many consulting services I offer.
DCA With Me 🤑
Dollar Cost Averaging is an investment strategy in which an investor regularly invests a fixed amount of money into a particular asset/asset class at regular intervals, regardless of its current market cycle. By doing so, the investor can reduce the impact of market volatility and potentially earn a better return over time. Motto = time IN the market beats trying to time the market
To experiment with this, I invest $50 NZD into a Digital Asset every week. Each week I will choose an asset that seems underpriced in the short term and has positive long-term potential. My timeframe is 3-5 years. I don’t give financial advice but if you want to follow along with me you can use my easycrypto.co.nz referral link to support this newsletter. Let’s dive into this week’s pick:
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