Finally, Intelligence 🤖📲

👀 TLDR:

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover all the news from WWDC 2024. Apple had to go big on AI, and it duly obliged by announcing an integration with ChatGPT as well as the overarching Apple Intelligence. Whatever way you look at it, this is momentous news for Apple and OpenAI, directly injecting AI into the devices of 100s of millions of iPhone users. We cover all the updates and new features announced at WWDC in our main take below. Elsewhere, we look at IKEA building a metaverse-like experience in Roblox, the Nvidia juggernaut rolling on, and Mr Beast has a reason to celebrate. Our GPT of the Week comes from our very own Raf, who shared his expertise as a GPT Creator on our most recent Podcast. Our Stat looks at the anti-AI movement among artists. Finally, What’s dAppening peruses the launch of Smart Wallet from Coinbase.

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Our Top Take 🎬

🍏🤖 Apple – WWDC 2024 Sees ChatGPT Integration, iOS 18, and More

We’ve been saying for a long time that Apple needed to go big on AI at WWDC, and by and large it did. First, let’s look at the big headlines. Apple announced it would be integrating ChatGPT into its apps, including (as expected) Siri. This is clearly a big deal, both for Apple and OpenAI. The integration means you can access ChatGPT’s features without switching apps, but it also injects real intelligence into Apple’s apps, most notably Siri. As Paul pointed out on LinkedIn, the new AI-powered Siri will likely lead to a new era in voice-controlled apps, making fat-fingered typing a thing of the past. All of this comes under the broader pillar of Apple Intelligence, which will work across your apps, understanding, for example, who you are talking to on iMessage. This concept of “on-device AI” is arguably the biggest game-changer, as smaller, local models can handle so much without compromising data, not to mention the security benefits when considering on-device versus cloud. As expected, Apple had a bunch of snazzy feature updates, including some of those that would come with iOS 18. The Lock Apps Feature, where you can lock an individual app like YouTube before handing over your device (to the kids, for example) is great. Lots of folks celebrated the Send Later feature for iMessage (we developed an app with this feature on Android years ago, so it’s nice that Apple has finally caught up😜). Voice isolation on AirPods? Yes, please. Screen mirroring from iPhone to Mac? Ditto. An Image Playground app for image generation, an Image Wand for Notes, a Clean up Tool for Photos, a new password manager app, and 3D photos on Vision Pro. These are just some of the highlights from an AI-packed WWDC 2024. We will have to wait to see whether this was the moment Apple finally met AI expectations, but on the surface it looks like it is a very good start. #WWDC2024 Read more here.

🦾 GPT of the Week: Domestic Violence Statute Matcher

This week’s Custom GPT is “Domestic Violence Statute Matcher”, available free and accessible to all, at StatuteMatcher.org. This GPT was created by Rafael Testai (yes, that Raf!). On the most recent podcast we bade farewell to Rafael as a host, as he moved to the guest seat as GPT Creator himself, to talk about his journey and the impact his GPT is now making for others. Statute Matcher has been an incredible resource to survivors of domestic violence, playing the role of an attorney (Please note: GPTs should never be used for official legal advice) in matching incidents of abuse to legal statutes. Check out this amazing GPT and watch Raf’s interview on YouTube, or listen to it on your favorite Podcast Player — Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon Music.

Other Stories 🗞️

🏪 IKEA Opens New Virtual Store on Roblox. IKEA is bringing the “Co-Worker Game”, a kind of metaverse-like lifestyle shopping experience to Roblox. It will even pay you to work there virtually. While cosplaying as an IKEA worker might not sound like everyone’s dream, this actually looks like fun. Check it out here.

🔝 Mr Beast Is Now No.1 on YouTube. The Mr Beast juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down, and he has just replaced Indian entertainment platform T-Series as top dog on YouTube, surpassing 269 million subscribers. Details are here.

2️⃣ Nvidia Overtakes Apple As 2nd Most Valuable Company. Nvidia now ranks only behind Microsoft in stock valuation, recently taking over Apple as the world’s second most valuable company. What a ride. More here.

🧐 Stat of the Week: 650K

🎨🧑‍🎨 Cara – Disgruntled Artists Flock to Anti-AI Social Platform

We have watched with keen interest the anti-AI movement being propagated by artists on social media in recent months, and now it seems they are voting with their feet. The art-focused social media platform Cara has seen its userbase swell by more than 15-fold in the space of a week, going from 40K to 650K. Much of the movement has been led by artists, claiming that the AI policies of, in particular, Meta have given them no choice but to move. Keep an eye on this, as we think it’s only the beginning of a wider anti-AI art movement. #CaraOnRegardless Read more here.

🕸️ What’s dAppening?

👛🪙 Coinbase – Launch of Smart Wallet Dubbed Web3’s “iPhone Moment”

Coinbase launched Smart Wallet last week, with a bold claim that it would onboard the next one billion users to web3. Dubbed web3’s iPhone moment (we would reserve judgment on that), the Smart Wallet does make things a whole lot easier for using crypto and integrating dApps. Essentially, Smart Wallet is crypto without the need for extensions or app installations, or other “barriers” like gas fees and seed phrases. Crypto without the fuss, then. While Coinbase hasn’t really re-invented the wheel by making it easier to send/receive crypto, we are interested in the simultaneous campaign by Coinbase to integrate Smart Wallet into various web3 apps. Good work here from Brian Armstrong and his team. #SmartWallet Read more here.

Meanwhile at 3Advance...

Opening day at WWDC is a field day at 3Advance. It’s when we tune in, poke fun and revel in the spectacle that Apple puts on at their Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino. This year was no exception, as you’ve read above. There were big announcements, and BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS, Apple-style. Well, we feel like you’re due the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Check out our CEO Paul’s rundown of yesterday’s highlights from WWDC.

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