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| Hey there, Insiders! Welcome to today's edition of our Metaverse newsletter, where we share Europol's warning of terrorist threats, uncover Q1 2023 Roblox details, the world of crypto phishing thieves in the Roblox metaverse, and more.
But that's not all! Scroll down to check out the "Knowledge Hub" and our "Upcoming Events" sections. We value your input, so let us know what topics you'd like us to cover in future editions. Vildana
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| 1 | | Emerging technologies like the metaverse, conversational AI, and deepfakes could be used by terrorists for radicalization and recruitment, warns Europol in its latest report. Europol's TE-SAT Report 2023 highlights the potential use of the metaverse and decentralized platforms for terrorist activities, such as propaganda dissemination and coordination. More: - The report also identifies the challenges posed by P2P apps used for propaganda, which are harder to moderate and investigate.
- Terrorists could employ deepfakes, AR, conversational AI, and IoT tools to enhance propaganda efficiency and carry out remote operations.
- Current tools exploited by extremist groups include end-to-end encrypted messaging and gaming-related platforms for recruitment and propaganda.
- These groups utilize digital currencies for financing while maintaining anonymity.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: In Q1 2023, Roblox Corporation experienced a significant increase in global user engagement, accumulating over 14.49 billion hours of playtime in Roblox games. This marked growth from the previous quarter's approximately 12.8 billion hours of engagement.
Relevance: Roblox has also experienced a significant increase in revenue in Q1 2023, reaching $655M, representing a $118M growth compared to the same period last year. The company has also witnessed a substantial rise in daily active users, with a 22% increase, and engagement hours, which have surged by 23%. However, despite these positive trends, Roblox has faced challenges due to internal expansion and industry dynamics, resulting in losses of $268.3M, an increase from $160M in 2022. For the full details, check out the official Roblox report. | | | |
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| 3 | | The Roblox metaverse is a popular destination for crypto phishing thieves using NFT drainers to spend their stolen millions. NFT drainers are predominantly high school students, with approximately 95% of them being below the age of 18. More: - These young thieves openly display their wealth and often spend their stolen money on Roblox, purchasing gear for their avatars and other in-game items.
- Other spending methods include buying Bitrefill gift cards, designer clothes, cars on Uber Eats, and engaging in gambling activities.
- Notable NFT drainers include Inferno, Venom, Pussy, Angel, and Pink, with millions of dollars stolen from thousands of victims.
- Venom alone has stolen over 2,000 NFTs from more than 15,000 victims.
Zoom Out: - The Roblox metaverse also serves as a platform for world champions like motorcycling star Valentino Rossi, who recently collaborated on creating the virtual world Moto Island within Roblox.
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| 4 | | Binance and The Weeknd collaborate to launch the "Metaverse Dimension," an online space that brings The Weeknd's creative world to life. The web-based game offers a treasure hunt challenge, allowing users to unlock exclusive areas, content, and rewards related to The Weeknd's brand. More: - Players can explore a 3D virtual world featuring imagery from The Weeknd and Binance.
- Solving puzzles within the game allows users to win tickets to future Weeknd concerts and exclusive merchandise.
- Binance is sponsoring The Weeknd's After Hours 'Til Dawn world tour, and AR experiences will be available during tour stops.
- The partnership also includes an NFT collection co-designed by HXOUSE and the donation of $2M to The Weeknd's XO Humanitarian Fund.
Zoom Out: - The NFT market has seen significant growth, reaching $25B in trading volume in 2021 and continuing to thrive in 2022.
- Binance is facing regulatory scrutiny, including a recent lawsuit filed by the SEC in the U.S. However, the exchange is actively defending against these allegations.
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| 5 | | Tuwaiq Academy is introducing Metaverse camps in the Middle East and North Africa. In partnership with Meta, the nin-month-long camps are meant to train participants in the Metaverse concept and explore augmented reality and virtual reality technologies. More: - The camps will be conducted at Tuwaiq Academy's headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- The program includes multiple tracks focused on developing skills in Metaverse system building and applying augmented and virtual reality.
- Tuwaiq Academy has previously launched other specialized programs in collaboration with international companies like Apple, AWS, and Alibaba Cloud to meet the demand for emerging technologies in the labor market.
Zoom Out: - Earlier in 2022, Saudi Arabia launched a $6.4B tech fund to invest in blockchain, the metaverse, and other advanced technologies
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| 6 | | Unity partners with Vancouver Airport Authority (VAA) to deploy digital twins for environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) purposes at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Unity provides VAA with virtual replicas of physical assets, processes, systems, and environments to reimagine airport operations. More: - The digital twins enhance situational awareness for employees and streamline workflows through real-time and historical 3D data.
- YVR leverages digital twins to optimize collaboration, improve resource allocation, predict passenger flow, and achieve sustainability goals.
- The partnership includes a training program for Musqueam Indian Band learners and aligns with YVR's net-zero emissions target by 2030.
Zoom Out: - In June 2022, Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Doha, Qatar, launched its Digital Twin initiative to provide a real-time view of the airport through an intuitive 3D interface.
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| 7 | | QUICK HITS: - Notion combines traditional project management with your docs, knowledge base, and AI. Try it for free.*
- The metaverse may have arrived, but its applications are limited, and its use by public sector organizations is still very much up for debate.
- Here are some metaverse aspects that might be relevant when discussing metaverse programming languages.
- How Apple's visionOS can pave the way for mainstream metaverse adoption.
*This is a sponsored post. | | | |
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