In the News: AI in the Metaverse, the Environmental Risks of Data, and the Strongest Password
This week we’ll explore how human interaction in the metaverse will be enhanced with AI. Also, with the continuing progress of our data storage capabilities, it’s important to understand the environmental ramifications of expansion. And finally, learn how to create the perfect password.
Human Interaction in the Metaverse
As news spreads around the applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the feasibility of a dominant metaverse grows. In fact, according to speculators the global metaverse market could surpass $1.3 trillion within the next 10 years. This shift to the metaverse will not only be a catalyst for economic change, but will impact social and cultural norms as well. Volumetric video, a technology that allows for the capture of three-dimensional spaces, will make virtual communication feel more physical and real, and decentralized virtual worlds like Sandbox already use avatars to represent users. Sandbox is now looking to incorporate AI that records movement captured with a camera that can then be translated into an avatar’s actions. It’s the latest attempt at imitating the human form. Beyond capturing motion, work is being done to bring audio into virtual spaces. Humans.ai is working to incorporate technology that will allow for real-time translation from and into any language. Creating a digital voice will further increase social engagement, making communication through the metaverse even more practical. These additional technologies will likely facilitate additional information flow, contributing to the role of the metaverse in disseminating knowledge among users. While the possibilities are immense, it should be noted that the metaverse does not seek to replace the physical world, instead simply looking to provide an additional avenue for experiences. The future intersections of AI and society are unknown but could prove to be extremely rewarding. As we continue to incorporate AI more into our lives, it is important that developers and users remain cognizant on how these innovations will impact our norms and culture.
The Environmental Storm Brewing in the Cloud
By Jason Yi
When we think about the current environmental crisis, images of massive oil fields or 20 lane highways often come to mind. However, as innovation presses on the digital front we have to be aware of the wider ramifications digital innovations have on the physical world. As more data is moved throughout the internet, this information has to be stored and processed somewhere. This is where the “cloud” changes from an esoteric concept to a physical force. As the internet expands, the physical infrastructure related to it expands as well; however, this has a heavy environmental cost. The first major environmental impact is the amount of carbon released in order to power the cooling systems that keep large data centers conditioned. But the environmental cost doesn’t end there. Another major resource digital infrastructure consumes is water. A large amount of data centers consume water in order to cool computers through elaborate water cooling systems. This leads to warmer water spilling into the environment which is a cause for concern as temperatures continue to rise in aquatic ecosystems. These cooling systems are not quiet either. The noise pollution that comes from data centers is immense which can cause hearing loss, increased stress, and more negative impacts on local residents. Lastly, these computers are not made from morally sourced materials. Many computers have a large environmental impact because they are made up of materials that are difficult to recycle. Often, computers require rare metals, which often come from third world countries in the Global South. These communities often have terrible working conditions and have little regard for the environment during the mining and refining process. As we look to the future of data and the cloud we have to simultaneously address the large environmental impacts digital infrastructure causes.
How to Build the Strongest Password
By Spencer Karp
We’ve all had that experience. You create an online account, then you create your password and sorry, that password is too weak. When we decide what our passwords are going to be, we are unconsciously balancing two factors: memorability, and guess-ability. On one hand, passwords like Qwerty123 are easy to remember but also easy to guess. On the other hand, a scramble of letters and characters is hard to guess but also hard to memorize. This is why many experts suggest using a password manager that is usually included with your web browser.
If a computer were to guess your passwords from scratch it would not just randomly guess characters. Many password leaks and breaches have allowed hackers to understand which are the most popular sequences of characters and it can program a computer to guess by commonality as opposed to randomly. This also means that passwords like pa$$w0rd are also poor choices. Computers can be trained to recognize common substitutions of letters and make more efficient guesses. So then what’s the best way to come up with a password? Well experts say the best password is a compilation of random words. For the average person, a four word password is all that is needed to create an easy to remember, but hard to guess password. Check out this article to understand the math behind this idea and learn more about keeping your data safe.
